Jump to content

Nothing like driving 1:15 ...


Recommended Posts

  • Members

... to get to a gig, only to find another band setting up :mad:

 

Club manager says "whoops, looks like the person who books bands double-booked.. and she's on vacation.. I will have her call you when she gets back"...

 

They sent us packing :mad:

 

burnt about 4 hours loading and travelling, and about $12 in gas... argh!!

 

:mad:

:mad:

:mad:

:mad:

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members

That sucks! We only had one double booking but we found out a week before the gig. Husband bar owner booked us, wife booked another band. We had two different baccalaureate buses coming to our gig vs. a new band that's friends with the wife. She won, then we told her about the buses.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members

I've done it (though not that far of a drive) where I was mostly set up when the other guy arrived. Since I had a regular spot and the other guy was a special "one time" booking, I was sent packing.

 

Pretty humbling to have to pack your stuff up and leave while a bar full of people is watching.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members

Since we have moved into the privates, obviously not a problem. For the few times this year we will book clubs I will do what we used to do. Confirm with the club the day before the gig after I have already sent a flyer via e-mail or personally posted one myself a week before at the club. Usually will expose any problems with double booking. This has always worked well for us.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members

We had a {censored}ty night last night also.

 

Got to the club and set up, nobody there but a half a handful of regulars. Start playing and three songs in, my amp takes a {censored}. Have to stop and pull out my backup (always keep a Crate Powerblock in my kit for such an occasion). End of the first set the manager comes up and sez "Where's your crowd? We can't pay you if we don't make any money" and goes on to tell us all about how she usually gets young bands in there and they work for the door instead of a guarantee.

 

$10 in gas and $4 in tolls later, we ended up doing 2 sets and went home with half pay. What a bull{censored} night.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members

 

I knew I guy that took a bar owner to court because he was double booked and he did have it in writing. He won the case but was never actually paid a dime.

 

 

Good example of how contracts are sometimes not worth the paper they are written on... We won! Wait, whatddaya mean you're still not paying us??

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members

I had one about ten years ago with my previous band. Got there and there was another band loading in. The bar owner knew he {censored}ed up. Apologized... and asked if we could make it work some how. The other band was an alternative rock band and I was friendly with their guitar player. There was maybe 20% crossover in our setlists. So while we're waiting to see what we could do the owner comes up and says "Look, this was my fault... I apologize. I want to do the right thing but I have an idea." He asked both bands to play just two sets and he would pay us full pay. He said "come on it will be a mini Woodstock. We went along with it. He had a back banquet room so he had us set up there. They played their first set, then us, then them, then we played until last call. The first couple of songs people didn't want to tear away from the bar area so the owner came in and opened the banquet bar. By the end of the night we had their singer, bass player our guitar, actually both bands mixing back and forth on songs we both knew. It was actually a pretty cool night.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members

 

Long ago, we drove from DC to Fort Wayne for a two-week gig, only to find another band set up. How our agent found another two week gig relatively close by starting the next night is still a mystery.

 

 

For good bands, there's always a way for a good agent to find a gig.

 

Years ago we were travelling through Texas just as a chain of clubs we were scheduled to play were closing down with very short notice. These were gigs that had been booked months in advance. Our agent always managed to find another club for us to go play instead.

 

I'm sure SOME band(s) must have gotten a last-minute cancellation so that we could take the date. Never found out the details though.

 

But we were one of the agents top bands and I don't think there was anyway he was going to leave us stranded in the middle of Texas 1,000 miles from home without a gig.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members

I usually call the venue the day of the show. To find out what time they expect us to load in, and also to confirm the booking.

 

If there is still a mixup about a double booking, I figure they will go with the band that confirmed the booking.

 

 

dk

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members

 

I guess what really angers me about it is the total lack of sympathy or ownership of the problem. No "let us buy you a beer or dinner or something". Didn't even get a "sorry".

 

 

That would be nice. Or maybe a "garaunteed" make up date on the spot

 

bars:arg:

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members

 

We had a {censored}ty night last night also.


Got to the club and set up, nobody there but a half a handful of regulars. Start playing and three songs in, my amp takes a {censored}. Have to stop and pull out my backup (always keep a Crate Powerblock in my kit for such an occasion). End of the first set the manager comes up and sez "Where's your crowd? We can't pay you if we don't make any money" and goes on to tell us all about how she usually gets young bands in there and they work for the door instead of a guarantee.


$10 in gas and $4 in tolls later, we ended up doing 2 sets and went home with half pay. What a bull{censored} night.

 

 

Some good friends of mine got that "We can't pay you what we promised because we didn't make it" line from a club owner recently, who was really being an asshole about it.. so they started loading bar stools in the band trailer after they loaded up the gear. Doesn't hurt that they all look like bikers and roughnecks. Anyways, once the club owner asks what they're doing, they comment that if they can't get paid in cash, that they can sell some bar stools to make up what they're owed. They were paid, in full, quickly. I can't see this working all the time.. but it certainly let this club owner know that they weren't {censored}ing around...

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

×
×
  • Create New...