We had agreed to help a local autistic lad with a charity gig for the autistic society with two other bands.
One band pulled out no problem two bands longer sets.
Then I get a facebook message from the landlady of the pub on Tuesday because there is a noise/neighbour and the council want to send someone to measure the levels so can we set up and sound check at 6pm two hours before the 8pm start. OK but our drummer can't get there until 7pm.
In the event the man with the meter and the woman with him didn't turn up until 6.30. The sound cut out unit tripped at anything above a whisper even with no drummer.
The pub has a function room (no don't ask why we weren't in there anyway) with a different sound monitor unit so I said let's move in there before we run out of time.
So we set up in the function room set the levels and managed to satisfy the council people. Having set the levels one of clowns (acoustic engineers?) who were there to set the meters zeroed all the faders! thanks buddy.
On went the first band who promptly tripped the power.
They managed the rest of the set but tripped it right at the end.
Anyway at last we got to play without tripping the power cut out although the daft woman who came up mithering about the raffle managed to pull the mixing desk off the table aarrg! fortunately it didn't go right to the deck as it caught on the speaker tripod.
Actually we played really well and our new bass player certainly earned his stripes. We were glad we made them do the raffle last though as it was a complete fiasco (I hate raffles). A couple of the guys won prizes so I guess that softens the blow a bit.
We managed to load out and get the gear inside before the thunderstorm unleashed it's deluge.
Phew I think that is my longest post, well it was a long night.
Don't touch that dial.
Comments
I agree with you on raffles though. We played a working mans' club a few years ago and they did a meat raffle during a break between songs. Straight out of Phoenix Nights.
200,000 people in some huge place in Brazil
half way through the set.. Jagger and co wander off stage for the raffle
"Take these three items, some WD-40, a vise grip, and a roll of duct tape. Any man worth his salt can fix almost any problem with this stuff alone." - Walt Kowalski
"Only two things are infinite - the universe, and human stupidity. And I'm not sure about the universe." - Albert Einstein
This brings back memories of playing in a big social club for a big birthday party - the same clipboard yielding dervish going into meltdown saying we were too noisy when setting up as it was tripping the sound limiter. We tried to reason with her as we were only unloading our gear and it was her shouting that was setting it off.
By the time we were ready to soundcheck it was time for chess club - clipboard lady didn't have a problem with the racket they were making dragging chairs across the floor (also pushing the meter into the red!!!) By the time we actually got to soundcheck clipboard lady was just a picture of rage. One tap of the snare drum and the power tripped (I didn’t dare plugging anything in knowing there was little point) Over she tottered, bringing deputy clipboard people with her to shout at our drummer.
Team clipboard gathered round the drumkit – pointing and jabbering at it like it was an entity coughed up from the bowels of hell itself. Drummer waited until they were right in front of it before he let rip with a sonic blast that make them squeal. Chess club stragglers were loving this!!! In the meantime, the rest of us were installing the big extension lead to bypass the limiter cut-off socket which ‘accidently’ got damaged by being hit with my guitar cab. Team clipboard got quite excited at the health and safety implications of a broken socket and the numerous forms they would get to fill in.
Party went well in the end – I even saw team clipboard shaking their booty once or twice!
Turns out they won 1-0, the pub went fucking nuts about us (in a good way) and were got a residency every three weeks for the next 18 months for good money. That was me told.
We also played a pub where there was a riot after, it got knocked down and replaced with a a Premier Inn
massive changing room. Massive club. We peer thro curtain before we go on . Its Rammed. Seemed like thousands in there , all smoking park drives ( its a mining village) We go on stage. Curtain comes back. People are literally piling out like there a fire. We haven't even started up and theyd all gone into foyer to get a pie. We play to one man and dog ( actually a man and woman sat at front + Club MC. He gets up from pint after 3 songs to changes settings on gargantuan lighting rig. We are blinded and barbequed for 3 songs, he gets up again to change again, yada yada farcically funny
we finish, people pile back in, capacity crowd, for bingo . We are paid off
man sat at front asks to see singer
we tell singer not sign anything , thinknig said front row punter is a record company or an agent wanting to sign next big thing
singer comes back 5 mins later laughing
apparently man sat all way thro our set and asked to see singer ....... just to tell us we were crap ?!!!!!
we were crap, we were 15 -19 year olds playing damned and elvis costello and r’n’b ‘n’ punk songs . But thanks for encouragement pal ......
fancy waiting to tell us we were rubbish........
Never did another WMC.although elvis c’s ‘tramp the dirt down’ wouldve gone down a storm even now
Traumatised
its why we play
From out of nowhere, a pretty serious fight suddenly broke out amongst a number of people, and we find ourselves ducking (mid-guitar solo of Rebel Yell) to avoid a large table which had been launched clear through the air at the stage. Bizarrely, the people dancing carried on and didn't bat an eyelid.
It was at that point that the landlady approached us from the side of the stage and said we could finish early if we wanted with full pay (I've never been so relieved!).
We got rebooked but made our excuses and didn't go back!