A decent gig last night with some issues.
1. We set the speakers on the floor then were told to move them up onto the stage. “There’s signs backstage” – except that how many bands do you know who go backstage before they set up except to perhaps briefly glimpse where it is? I actually suggested to the venue that they should put a sign either side of the stage on stage so the guys rigging the speakers actually see them. We hadn’t seen a contract though, and having checked through my WhatsApp and emails there’s nothing anywhere about stage setup. Indeed this gig was a last minute move for us – we were supposed to be in Sunderland.
2. The sound desk, after being positioned, had to be moved because – and I’ll say it – a mardy “that’s our table type” moaned to the committee and they let her win. The same group did not then react to the band at all, nor did they dance, despite having prime seats near the dance floor. These type of people are actually killing clubs they often sit near the stage, don’t engage, and then complain about volume levels, too much smoke, or the lights being too bright/flashy. I bet if anyone else sits at “their table” they get the dead eye. The mixing position wasn’t ideal.
3. The gig gremlins hit us on this one. Dennis had problems with a guitar totally losing tuning on all strings, then the hazer for some reason kept going crazy. I don’t know why. I need to investigate. Perhaps we need a DMX terminator in it even though the manual says it has an automatic one built in.
4. And this one is our own issue – we had a lot of new songs and a fair reorganisation of the set. It threw me in a few places and my performance wasn’t the best – and the really poor monitor mix we had to suffer due to onstage speakers really didn’t help.
Sorry if I sound like I’m whining here, but if as an organisation you spend a lot of money to pay for something then surely you shouldn’t then put obstacles in the way to inhibit their performance?
I did wear the PVC suit to cheer myself up though! Fuck did I need it.
It’s actually really good working with some really professional people. I love all my bands and really enjoy working with all you guys. We did have a great time and thankfully we didn’t let the problems affect our performance.