Bill Board reported that a promoter was so fed up with Finley Quaye recent poor performance, that he chucked Finlay and his band off the stage 30 minutes into their show…
After noting that Quaye failed to show for soundcheck at 3pm
the promoter said
“I am so sorry, I have worked in the industry 28 years, And then at 9 o’clock they turn up. And I have a beautiful, beautiful crowd of people who I love, and then they come and f— my stage. You guys,” he said to the band, “go home.”
5 ways to screw up your gig
1. Don’t rehearse enough – or just enough
An under rehearsed band or act can be just fine, but is just fine what you are aiming for ?
Audiences are more sophisticated than you think – we are often also musicians, performers and we really appreciate a bit of stagecraft.
Incidentally we can spot lack of rehearsal a mile off.
On the good side, if you give us a great, we will tell other people.
re stagecraft – almost anything will do –
a great breakdown bit – where the whole band stops on a dime.
a good joke between songs,
a bit of costume or lack of it, red hot chilli peppers got a long way dressing in socks.
last week hotly tipped newcomer Raury wowed his audience and press with an elegant bit of old style crowd surfing in a small club –
please note your audience does have to like you, to catch you .
2. Turn up late for your soundcheck – or miss it all together
You want to have a good sound – the sound person wants to have a good sound
the audience deserves good sound. So this is a no brainer –
Be on time for your soundcheck.
and yes front people -this means you –
hair should not clash with soundcheck…
you do need to get your hair done – but either the day before or in the morning –
got a little personal there – but had to be said …
You may be able to get by without a soundcheck … but er .. “getting by” – shoot me now.
if you can’t be arsed – why should the audience ?
You never know who is in the audience and if you are the best you can possibly be,
every time you play it will get noticed.
Bonus tips
Find out the sound persons name and buy them a beer after the show if they got you great sound
Have good internal balance as a band- you should sound great in your rehearsals (see point 1 )
if you already sound good the sound person can make you sound great.
Get your setup time honed down to the absolute minimum – i.e. how much can you have plugged up ready to go
If your guitarist has a load of pedals – get them on a board so all you require is a lead out to the di
same if you are going out with laptops and extra gear – have your own leads and make it really simple for the sound person
also where you can supply a tech spec / stage plot
This also gets you into a headspace where you don’t waste time setting up at rehearsals
3. Don’t invite anyone to your gig
‘if you don’t invite them – they wont come’
- Get on your favourite social media outlets
- make flyers – give them out
- tell people and go to other peoples gigs
- be excited – make the event exciting
invite your mates – if it is a cool place to be – you would want them to be there right ??
A lot of band get a hard core group of followers who are mates
or are in other bands you support –
get something going, it is contagious
and yes everyone in the band should bring people
This is your gig – you need to be exciting your friends and fan base enough that they will come out and see you
if they aren’t – whats going wrong ?
are you playing too many gigs
or shitty venues
or do you ignore your mates so they feel like they are just there to fill the room …
4. Leave immediately after you play
i just interviewed london fair promoter Lorraine solomon from Success Express
and this was one of her main points where bands get it wrong.
You are there to make a good evening for everyone – to support the other bands
After you play get back out to the main room and have a beer .
I have had several managers tell me they were at a venue and caught a band
they didn’t know about – and were potentially interested in finding out more about.
but because the band buggered straight off out the building – the opportunity was lost.
If you get a chance to say thanks to the sound person or promoter etc … now is a great time to do that
Talk to some of the other people, you may meet a kick ass photographer or manager
you may just have a really cool conversation.
This is also where die hard fans are made, you can be selling merch or whatever but primarily this is a chance to talk to people
if someone says they love what you did – rather than trying to flog them a cd, find out who they are and what they do …
if they really want a cd they will buy one .
5. Dont enjoy yourself
if you look like you are having a bad night it can be a real downer for the whole room.
try not to harsh the audiences buzz!
Even if you have had the worst band fight 2 minutes before hitting the stage – try not to let it spill into your performance.
It is so great when you see a band or performer really having fun on stage –
Joy trumps all and is very engaging ….
hope you have a great gig –
if you have anything to add please leave a comment below