Members burdizzos Posted July 5, 2009 Members Share Posted July 5, 2009 So we got booked last minute(two weeks ago) for an evening gig on the 4th at Bar Norfolk by the booking agency with which we are trying to establish a relationship. First off, the gig was never put on the band website or myspace page. The bar owner was a little bit bothered that the band did zero promotion for the gig, and he's absolutely right to be pissed. Getting there was a nightmare since most of downtown Norfolk was closed down yesterday for Harbor Fest, so we had to sweet talk the police into letting us pass since the bar owner made no effort to get us passes. We got to the place really early so we could have ample time to get our stuff to the second floor bar using an elevator designed to hold six people. Huge pain in the ass. While we were loading in, we got a text from the guitarist to inform us that he had been detained by the police. His people skills are worse than mine because he wasn't able to convince the police to let him through. The cop apparently got {censored}ty with him and he said, "Look I just need to get down to waterside to unload my stuff, then I'll park where ever the {censored} you want me to." That set the pig off and Tommy ended up downtown getting a breathalyzer, which he passed without issue since he hadn't been drinking. By the time the {censored}ing pigs released him he was too pissed to even bother trying again, so he went home. We played as a three piece, which is not uncommon, and the performance section of the gig went off without a hitch. We played, people had fun, we got free drinks and we got paid. Then the load out. Ridiculous. By the time we finished, the bar was filling up with its usual saturday night crowd of twenty-somethings who want to get wasted, dance and go home with someone they just met. I ended up just being an asshole to people to get them out of my way when I was rolling {censored} across the bar to get to the exit. Once everything was out of the bar, I got home without incident, but Z-x got stuck in traffic for a couple of hours because VDOT is {censored}ing useless and the Hampton Road Bridge Tunnel was closed again. All in all, it {censored}ing sucked. The police and set themselves on fire and I hope to never play that place again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members georgestrings Posted July 5, 2009 Members Share Posted July 5, 2009 Sorry to hear it, bud - although from your description, things could've went far worse... - georgestrings Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members burdizzos Posted July 5, 2009 Author Members Share Posted July 5, 2009 Things can always be worse and I am happy to be back at home safely. I'm very detail oriented and cautious, so it drives me {censored}ing nuts when someone misses simple obvious {censored}. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members georgestrings Posted July 5, 2009 Members Share Posted July 5, 2009 Things can always be worse and I am happy to be back at home safely.I'm very detail oriented and cautious, so it drives me {censored}ing nuts when someone misses simple obvious {censored}. Yes, and same here - but on the bright side, no one ended up in jail, and you did get paid... I'm sure most of us - including yourself - have had worse gigging experiences... Atleast nothing happened to any of your gear, or any of you... You know as well as I do, that gigging is like bear hunting - sometimes you eat bear, sometimes bear eats you... We played a gig not too long ago that conflicted with another local act's re-emergence after a lengthy absence - they drew 350 peeps, and we didn't draw for squat... At the end of the night, we cut our fee nearly in half to "work" with the venue owner - and he still wasn't very happy... Can't win 'em all, dude... - georgestrings Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members oldivor Posted July 5, 2009 Members Share Posted July 5, 2009 Ouch. At least you got paid though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members burdizzos Posted July 5, 2009 Author Members Share Posted July 5, 2009 I left out the 100 minor details that continuously elevated my blood pressure all day. Coupled with the last month I've had at my day job and dealing with a 1 year old, I'm getting burnt out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members t3ch Posted July 5, 2009 Members Share Posted July 5, 2009 Man, on one hand, I would be livid that my guitarist would just decide to up and go home. On the other hand, if I were the guitarist, I'd probably up and go home. At least the gig went off well and you guys got your money. In the end that's what it's about right? Can't all be perfect. I definitely understand frustrations with people not having their {censored} together though. Oh well though, right? You control what you can and take the rest with a grain of whiskey. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members georgestrings Posted July 5, 2009 Members Share Posted July 5, 2009 I left out the 100 minor details that continuously elevated my blood pressure all day.Coupled with the last month I've had at my day job and dealing with a 1 year old, I'm getting burnt out. Yeah, that's a pretty tough pace to keep up with - especially while working a full-time job and a small child... - georgestrings Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Sugarskull Posted July 5, 2009 Members Share Posted July 5, 2009 Ohh that sucks. I had a crazy couple of gigs too, but my night ended up a bit better. I hauled my gear up a rickety ladder to play on top of a roof yesterday. The wind was so heavy, it made my bass act like a sail and I nearly blew off the roof twice. We got food, but no money because we only played one set. Which I think is kind of bullcrap, so I'm going to have it out with the guitarplayer from the other band who kept our share on Wednesday when I see him. We were supposed to go on at noon, but the PA didn't arrive until 1:00, so I really don't see it as being my fault. We did one set and then had to bail so we could drive for 2 hours to get to our next gig. They knew that, they should have been on time. On the way to the next gig I had to pull onto side roads, The rain was sooo terrible, they shut down hiway two for 20 minutes. (they almost never shut down hiway 2) so I was slightly delayed by then. Then I finally get to Red Deer, drop off my 2 kids at their grandparents house and head east to Alix and I see the Tornado I linked to in the other thread. We get there amazingly still on time, but we had to hold out for half an hour for the rain to chill out a bit. We played at a mudbogging motocross, so (well, I assume it was merely dirt earlier, but it was total mud at this point) there was mud everywhere! We waited for the rain to quit, slopped our stuff out of the van and onto the stage and played to a small crowd of 100 or so soaking wet folks with free beer in them. The sound guys couldn't get any return from their PA and they had some grounding issues so it took nearly an hour to get things runing. I didn't blame them at that point, except the assistant sound guy kept complaining about the main guy the entire time saying, welll, if he had checked this before we left.... I can't believe he wants me to do this, this is so Fing stupid etc.etc. Which I thought was a little unprofessional. A blast of rain and mud later, my setlist was completely washed out haha, so we had to wing it. Well, I tell you. Those folks standing there in the mud just to hear a bit of rock and roll deserved the best damn show I could ever hope to pull off. They danced, they sang along, they jumped around in the mud and boy oh boy.... what a freaking awesome time! My guys were especially on fire and pulled off runs and solos I have never ever seen before and I was simply aghast with how wicked they were. Haha. It just goes to show, ya never know. The guy running the whole thing gave us an extra hundred for the performance too. lol. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Zeromus-X Posted July 6, 2009 Members Share Posted July 6, 2009 Here's what we had the pleasure of loading out through (our set ended at 10:00, the club doesn't close until 1). aXZa2a1OfE0 Keep in mind we're talking 40' of box truss, subs, tops, drum riser, drum hardware case, mic stands, banners, etc. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members s4001 Posted July 6, 2009 Members Share Posted July 6, 2009 Sometimes I think 'I"m too old for this {censored}e.' But I keep playing anyway. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members t3ch Posted July 6, 2009 Members Share Posted July 6, 2009 Keep in mind we're talking 40' of box truss, subs, tops, drum riser, drum hardware case, mic stands, banners, etc. Who's the sexy bitch with the sideburns and glasses? Did you guys hire some attractive help to bring in more ladies? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members burdizzos Posted July 6, 2009 Author Members Share Posted July 6, 2009 Who's the sexy bitch with the sideburns and glasses? Did you guys hire some attractive help to bring in more ladies? Leave it to my number one fan to spot me in the crowd. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members gonzobassman Posted July 6, 2009 Members Share Posted July 6, 2009 I would have some real issues with the AWOL guitard.My gigs both went real smooth this weekend.A couple of our best shows since I started playing with Hoosier Daddy. hoosierdaddybandrocks.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members burdizzos Posted July 6, 2009 Author Members Share Posted July 6, 2009 We play more than half of our gigs as a three piece and the guitarist is really just a hired gun rather than a full time member of the band. No else one cares when he doesn't show up because we make $33 more each when he doesn't play. I prefer to have him there because we can do more songs and the band sounds way better. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members gonzobassman Posted July 6, 2009 Members Share Posted July 6, 2009 Oh.Well thats cool.By comparison,last weekend I played with my other project,and by the time it was done I was ready to walk.My P.A. is starting to come along fairly well as this was an outdoor gig with about 200 or so and we covered it well.I just have a singer with what appears to be a terminal case of LSD!!! Lol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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