Played the VFW; Had a blast!
Last Friday, my band had a gig at one of the VFWs in Jackson, TN. They had unfortunately advertised us as a country band, but we play classic rock.
As the audience started rolling in, I noticed that they were in their mid-60s to late 70s, and they were there for some quiet country music. Our drummer set up and was beating around, and one of the older couples called me over: "That's too loud for us--we're old people and can't take it." I went and told the rest of the band, and we turned everything as low as we could. Then we started thinking about our set list--"99 Problems and a bitch ain't one," "Fight for Your Right to Party," etc. We knew we couldn't do those songs.
So we threw in a couple of numbers we'd never done before--a little Elvis and Johnny Cash, some quiet ballads. As the night progressed, we had older people on the left saying we were still too loud (our drummer was playing as quietly as possible, and we were turned down as low as possible) and people on the right, a bigger group, saying we weren't too loud. So we forged ahead the best we could do, and soon, the older group started having a good time too.
It turned out to be a great gig because we were flexible. The commander of the club told us that we were the best band he'd ever had there and told us that when we play there next month, he'll advertise us correctly and seems to think he'll have a biker club there then, that we'll be able to crank it up and play our regular set.
Re: Played the VFW; Had a blast!
Way to go! And you're playing there again next month, which is a WIN!
Re: Played the VFW; Had a blast!
Congrats, Willie!! Good to know that you could make the gig work despite of the public's limitations...
Sometimes it is inevitable to face these situations where you are up to play something and the people want something else. Most of the times it sucks, but glad it worked for you guys! :appl:
Re: Played the VFW; Had a blast!
👍🏻 "had a blast" is most important! Good!
Re: Played the VFW; Had a blast!
How was the bank? Any good?
Re: Played the VFW; Had a blast!
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Offshore Angler
How was the bank? Any good?
It was good, not great. Usually they give bands 65% of the gate, but they liked us so much and want us back, so we got 100%.
Re: Played the VFW; Had a blast!
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Jeffp
👍🏻 "had a blast" is most important! Good!
We've got more lucrative gigs lined up, but fun is number one.
