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Post by coolsongz on Jul 19, 2009 7:55:56 GMT -8
I just did a gig in front of a sock display at a clothing store. Funny thing is, the place was packed, the gig paid well, and I sold a bunch of cds. Go figure. I also had to set up on a 3x4 door landing once. I'd like to hear some of the places some of you all have played that were a little different. I KNOW some of you guys have got some stories..
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Post by jlev on Jul 19, 2009 8:48:38 GMT -8
Funny, when I saw the thread title, first thing that came to mind was playing on a landing over looking a living room at a house party. Ever played on the barge behind Crawdad's?
Or last year at the Crawdad Festival(no connection to Crawdad's) we played the last set of the festival on this stage in the midway stuck between the generators and a row of 20 outhouses. We had to drag our gear across a ditch. The sound men told us we were the first band to show up for that stage, they had been sitting around for 3 days!!
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Post by wormdrive66 on Jul 19, 2009 9:32:20 GMT -8
I once played a show on the steps of the Capitol back in the 80's. We started playing and 5 bus's full of foreign tourists showed up, as they walked past us to go into the Capitol they all covered their ears
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kenb
Accomplished Member
Posts: 73
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Post by kenb on Jul 21, 2009 10:16:54 GMT -8
I played an acoustic duo set at a Home Developer's Grand opening. We played in one of the model homes on the second floor landing looking over the living room. People had to look straight up to see us. And it was one of the best paying gigs I have ever had.
BTW, that home builder recently filed BK. Maybe I shouldn't have charged so much
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Post by mothermayhemband on Jul 21, 2009 11:59:48 GMT -8
this string right here is why I love this spot more then Craigslist. Funny, respectful, entertaining.... I did a x-mas show for a comercial developer that had just purchased a building and was in the process of completly tearing out the inside. partially ripped out drywall, exposed electrical, temp construction lights, exposed insulation with a bunch of x-mass trees and decorations on tables with fancy table cloths. There was even a Santa for the kids.
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Post by Richard on Jul 21, 2009 12:11:18 GMT -8
Years ago my band won a battle of the bands in Crescent City, and we got to open for Mindy McCready, and do a teen dance.
For the teen dance, they had us in one of the huge fair buildings where they usually have exhibits. The promoter for the whole event forgot to promote the teen dance, and there wasnt anyone there at all. We ended up just jamming at full volume, and I mean FULL VOLUME. The sound bouncing around in that building was just crazy. The guitar players ended up moving their amps about 20-30 feet off the stage and they turned it up as loud as they possibly could. The look of joy on their faces while they were playing power chords is something I will never forget. The drummer and I were hanging in the back with earplugs just watching them have fun.
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Post by nickyn99 on Jul 21, 2009 13:56:13 GMT -8
Years ago my band won a battle of the bands in Crescent City, and we got to open for Mindy McCready, and do a teen dance. For the teen dance, they had us in one of the huge fair buildings where they usually have exhibits. The promoter for the whole event forgot to promote the teen dance, and there wasnt anyone there at all. We ended up just jamming at full volume, and I mean FULL VOLUME. The sound bouncing around in that building was just crazy. The guitar players ended up moving their amps about 20-30 feet off the stage and they turned it up as loud as they possibly could. The look of joy on their faces while they were playing power chords is something I will never forget. The drummer and I were hanging in the back with earplugs just watching them have fun. SWEET -That would be a good time!!!
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Post by jlev on Jul 21, 2009 14:04:36 GMT -8
I once ran sound at a narc convention, for a guy from The Strawberry Alarm Clock.
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Post by nickyn99 on Jul 21, 2009 14:30:21 GMT -8
I did a few acoustic gigs at the harness races at Cal Expo a few years back. We were set up right next to the track on a very small stage. The guy that booked us also worked for the track doing something (had a office and thought he was the shit). Anyhow he would actually conduct us as to when we started and stopped a song. We played in between each race. Fun times!!
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Post by jbrown on Jul 22, 2009 6:38:49 GMT -8
I played a gig in Lipetsk, Russia in an old rundown auditorium. This place had hosted all of the old communist leaders in the past, Krushev, Breshnev, Gorbachev......very surreal.
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Post by Richard on Jul 23, 2009 7:00:03 GMT -8
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- I have now one-upped my previous strangest spot to play.
Yesterday from 4:30 to 6:30, I played at the Target in Roseville with my 3-piece power-trio band. We were right next to the exit door. So EVERYONE that came in and out of Target for 2 hours had no choice but to listen to our music.
When we started, I looked down at the song list and realized that every single song in my list had one line ( or the whole song )that would offend someone. I saw every age and nationality of person walk in front of me while we were playing. It was the strangest gig ever. In the middle of that Stones song Miss You, there is a line about Puerto Rican girls. Right when I was about to sing that part, I made eye contact with what appeared to be a beautiful Puerto Rican girl .... So I choked on the words, and had the guitar player solo again. That happened in so many songs. I would get deep into the song, and realize what I was about to sing, and would just stop singing, or insert some PC words. I even had to call a friend to bring me some sunglasses.... The direct eye contact was just too much to bear. When a lady in a pants suit dragging 3 screaming kids out of Target gives you the evil eye, its much easier to take behind the veil of sunglasses.
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Post by bigdaddy on Jul 23, 2009 9:19:44 GMT -8
wow, there have been so many weird ones...i played for the grand opening of book/record store in Houston, the store was in an old church, and then was a funeral home across the street, we played in the parking lot facing the funeral home, watching a hearse getting loaded for the graveyard...another one was when some guy hired to play for his house-wrecking party in Austin. The old downtown apartment building these guys lived in was getting bulldozed, and they were evicted, so they had a house wrecking party, we were playing while guys took sledgehammers to the walls, ceiling, pieces of the walls were falling down around us, it was packed w/ people in a fenzy tearing the place apart..really weird..
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kenb
Accomplished Member
Posts: 73
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Post by kenb on Jul 23, 2009 10:01:11 GMT -8
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- I have now one-upped my previous strangest spot to play. Yesterday from 4:30 to 6:30, I played at the Target in Roseville with my 3-piece power-trio band. We were right next to the exit door. So EVERYONE that came in and out of Target for 2 hours had no choice but to listen to our music. When we started, I looked down at the song list and realized that every single song in my list had one line ( or the whole song )that would offend someone. I saw every age and nationality of person walk in front of me while we were playing. It was the strangest gig ever. In the middle of that Stones song Miss You, there is a line about Puerto Rican girls. Right when I was about to sing that part, I made eye contact with what appeared to be a beautiful Puerto Rican girl .... So I choked on the words, and had the guitar player solo again. That happened in so many songs. I would get deep into the song, and realize what I was about to sing, and would just stop singing, or insert some PC words. I even had to call a friend to bring me some sunglasses.... The direct eye contact was just too much to bear. When a lady in a pants suit dragging 3 screaming kids out of Target gives you the evil eye, its much easier to take behind the veil of sunglasses. That is funny! Target will never be the same
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Post by jlev on Jul 23, 2009 10:04:09 GMT -8
I did the race track gig too. Weird too cause I was looking at the program and spotted a horse called "Talk to Lisa" looked up and saw my old used to be, Lisa.
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Post by wormdrive66 on Jul 24, 2009 9:04:50 GMT -8
I once played at a club called The Ice House back east. It was a real Ice House/ Freezer that was converted into a club. It was really weird to walk through a giant freezer door to get in.
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