Results 1 to 7 of 7

Thread: Played the VFW; Had a blast!

  1. #1
    Forum Member ch willie's Avatar
    Join Date
    May 2008
    Location
    Tennessee
    Posts
    8,163

    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.
    Last edited by ch willie; 08-23-2018 at 08:35 AM.
    If we'd known we were going to be the Beatles, we'd have tried harder.--George Harrison

  2. #2
    Forum Member OldStrummer's Avatar
    Join Date
    Sep 2016
    Location
    Northern Virginia, USA
    Posts
    3,928

    Re: Played the VFW; Had a blast!

    Way to go! And you're playing there again next month, which is a WIN!

  3. #3
    Forum Member S. Cane's Avatar
    Join Date
    Dec 2014
    Location
    Ever heard of José Carioca?
    Posts
    4,651

    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!

  4. #4
    Forum Member
    Join Date
    Apr 2017
    Posts
    160

    Re: Played the VFW; Had a blast!

    👍🏻 "had a blast" is most important! Good!

  5. #5
    Forum Member Offshore Angler's Avatar
    Join Date
    Sep 2003
    Location
    New York Finger Lakes Area
    Posts
    8,462

    Re: Played the VFW; Had a blast!

    How was the bank? Any good?
    "No harmonic knowledge, no sense of time, a ghastly tone, unskilled vibrato, and so on. Chuck is one of the worst guitar players I know" -Gravity Jim

  6. #6
    Forum Member ch willie's Avatar
    Join Date
    May 2008
    Location
    Tennessee
    Posts
    8,163

    Re: Played the VFW; Had a blast!

    Quote Originally Posted by Offshore Angler View Post
    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%.
    If we'd known we were going to be the Beatles, we'd have tried harder.--George Harrison

  7. #7
    Forum Member ch willie's Avatar
    Join Date
    May 2008
    Location
    Tennessee
    Posts
    8,163

    Re: Played the VFW; Had a blast!

    Quote Originally Posted by Jeffp View Post
    👍🏻 "had a blast" is most important! Good!
    We've got more lucrative gigs lined up, but fun is number one.
    If we'd known we were going to be the Beatles, we'd have tried harder.--George Harrison

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •