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Gig Etiquette


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After playing a show last night in which we had to cut our set by two songs because the band before us went way over their slot by asking to play "just one more":swearing:. I thought I might ask other gigging musicians on the forum for their tips on good gig etiquette

Personally, I thought the above example was a bit shit but others might disagree (especially if you've heard us play:laughing:)

Any suggestions for positive gigging behaviour?

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Guest idol_wild
i am constantly amazed that bands don't time their set and play over their allotted time. it's just fucking shit and unprofessional.

I agree. And it's the same with soundchecks.

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Not keen on bands being standoffish either. I like to have at least a quick chat to the other bands on the bill.

Oh and there is a certain band that I was dismayed to see heckle and boo my former band throughout our set, when we were sharing the bill :down:

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i am constantly amazed that bands don't time their set and play over their allotted time. it's just fucking shit and unprofessional.

Spot on. And there is nothing worse than a band taking 42 years to fucking soundcheck, basically going through their entire set interspersed with chat about frequencies with the sound engineer. If yr tone sounds gash, turn around and change the settings on yr amp! Fuck sake!

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Bands should always (try to) stick around to catch the other bands. It pisses me off when bands decide to fuck off.

:up: Yeah - especially when all their mates fuck off too. To be fair though, sometimes its unavoidable - we did a gig with a band called Kids With Fireworks once and they left before we played but they were nice enough to explain that they needed to head off early for a good reason before they went and then they sent a nice email the next day as well.

I always aplaud other bands on the bill ...even if I think they're shite

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I think good gig etiquette is essentially a mix of basic manners and not being a dick.

One of my biggest gig gripes is people being precious about their equipment. That pisses me off no end. If another band on the bill asks to borrow our amp/instrument/whatever, I'd say yes every time. Especially if you're an amateur local band and they're an amateur local band. Why not?

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Playing over your allotted time is never good, but I find if your on after them it always goes down well with the promoter if you still finish on time. Shows your bands professionalism and will be more likely to get asked back if you get the night back on schedule.

As for borrowing gear, I tend to allow people to use my amp if it's been prearranged, but never ever let anyone borrow an instrument. If a band can't bring their own then what are they even doing playing a gig? And I wish folk would realize that if a bass is solely DI'd then there is no need to adjust anything on the amp - it won't affect your front of house sound!

I don't always listen to other bands on the same bill as there's often just too much to do - tuning guitars and warming up before going on, loading out after playing etc. If I catch the other bands it's a bonus, and I don't expect the other bands to stick around and listen to us either. If they do, again it's a bonus!!

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One of my biggest gig gripes is people being precious about their equipment. That pisses me off no end. If another band on the bill asks to borrow our amp/instrument/whatever, I'd say yes every time. Especially if you're an amateur local band and they're an amateur local band. Why not?

I think i have to disagree.

I have paid thousands of pounds on high quality gear. If some wee jakey hasn't got their own why should they get the pleasure of my gear?? Fair do's with Cabs, but not heads or instruments (unless theirs blows up during the set)

valve heads break very easily and should be used by people who know how to operate them. Ive seen it before where people break an amp and then don't bother to pay for the repair.

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I think good gig etiquette is essentially a mix of basic manners and not being a dick.

One of my biggest gig gripes is people being precious about their equipment. That pisses me off no end. If another band on the bill asks to borrow our amp/instrument/whatever, I'd say yes every time. Especially if you're an amateur local band and they're an amateur local band. Why not?

People break stuff.

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I think i have to disagree.

I have paid thousands of pounds on high quality gear. If some wee jakey hasn't got their own why should they get the pleasure of my gear?? Fair do's with Cabs, but not heads or instruments (unless theirs blows up during the set)

valve heads break very easily and should be used by people who know how to operate them. Ive seen it before where people break an amp and then don't bother to pay for the repair.

I'm with Maxi on this one.

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I think i have to disagree.

I have paid thousands of pounds on high quality gear. If some wee jakey hasn't got their own why should they get the pleasure of my gear?? Fair do's with Cabs, but not heads or instruments (unless theirs blows up during the set)

valve heads break very easily and should be used by people who know how to operate them. Ive seen it before where people break an amp and then don't bother to pay for the repair.

yeah ill back that up, no one gets to use my stuff unless there is a very very good reason for it. I didnt spend thousdands on my kit to watch someone else bash it about, and like someone said, if you dont have your own stuff what the hell are you doing in a band in the first place, fair enough if something breaks on the night but ive played gigs where people have turned up with nothing and expected to use the other bands stuff, no fucking chance mate!

As for running over your set time, it sucks, its very easy to figure out how long you have got to play and to time your set around that, but when you have a rent a crowd with you it becomes easy to fall into the " we're ace lets play an encoure" trap.

Soundchecks as well used to do my head in, with point and stayover we spent more time setting up equipment than we did sound checking, i just didnt see the point, if you know your songs you can play them no matter what you hear on stage. Bands who dick about moaning about moniters are usually the ones who either A: dont know their songs or B think they are the dogs bollocks that "deserve" to be up there fucking around, ive played with a few bands like that before.

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I think i have to disagree.

I have paid thousands of pounds on high quality gear. If some wee jakey hasn't got their own why should they get the pleasure of my gear?? Fair do's with Cabs, but not heads or instruments (unless theirs blows up during the set)

valve heads break very easily and should be used by people who know how to operate them. Ive seen it before where people break an amp and then don't bother to pay for the repair.

Yeah obviously people should always have their own gear. I was thinking more of exceptional circumstances, like their amp blowing. Provided they don't piss around with things too much, I wouldn't have any problem with lending an amp for the duration of the set.

That said, all my gear is shit. If it was good, maybe I'd think differently.

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My wanker ex-bandmate used to turn up and borrow tuners, leads, and on several times a guitar because he thought it would sound better than his own.

I felt thoroughly humiliated.

Fuckin' scaff.

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i just didnt see the point, if you know your songs you can play them no matter what you hear on stage. Bands who dick about moaning about moniters are usually the ones who either A: dont know their songs or B think they are the dogs bollocks that "deserve" to be up there fucking around, ive played with a few bands like that before.

Really, though? What about a situation where one person begins the song, but you can't hear what they're playing onstage? How would you know when to come in? There's also a bit of a mental aspect to getting a good onstage sound - it may sound fantastic FOH, but if it sounds like shit onstage you're probably not going to be as confident in your performance.

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i do remember a gig that i played in moshulu when our front man turned up ten minutes after we were suppose to be on stage with no equipment, borrowed the other guitarists spare guitar, complained it wasnt in tune when he got it then blamed his poor performance on the fact he didnt like the guitar, i always wished i was a front man so i could try and justify myself in that kinda situation.

Ive never played a gig except in the moorings where i havent had my own gear with me.

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i just didnt see the point, if you know your songs you can play them no matter what you hear on stage.

Your posts consistently anger me.

That statement is so wrong.

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Really, though? What about a situation where one person begins the song, but you can't hear what they're playing onstage? How would you know when to come in? There's also a bit of a mental aspect to getting a good onstage sound - it may sound fantastic FOH, but if it sounds like shit onstage you're probably not going to be as confident in your performance.

you will hear one person on their own no matter if it is coming though your moniters or not usually unless it is a huge gig and venue.

I was a bit harsh in the first post actually reading it back i just used to get really annoyed when bands tried out their new song in sound check so they could see if they remembered it properly, or bands who would insist on playing a full song two or three times, if you cant hear something in the first minute or so its not going to change over the next two without you telling the sound engineer to fix it. The mental thing is a fair point but again i feel that you have to accept that an on stage sound is usually nothing like the front of house so it doesnt really matter what it sounds like to you.

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