Help Us Make It Through The Night....
Played both Friday and Saturday nights this weekend. Really good show and crowd on Friday. Saturday started off slow but picked up once we started playing and we ended with a good crowd. So the house made some good money this weekend. Always like to see that we adding to the till.
Saturday night was a tough one for us. Come the third set, our drummer started missing his hits, and even botched the start and endings of a number or our songs. Not like him. But anyone can have a bad night. Come the fourth set, it was just painful to be up on stage. Our drummer was really off his game. He was adding fills and runs in the middle of verses instead of the end, he was playing the wrong beats/patterns for a number of songs and would have to change once he remember what song we were playing, and his tempo was just all over the place. He even totally lost it in a couple of songs and basically just dropped out on us until he found his way back into the song. He was really struggling, and that is not like him.
We made it though the last set, thanked the crowd, and had our soundguy hit the break music immediately - we were done. No encores.
At first, we just thought our drummer was getting tired. It was pretty hot in the venue this weekend and we were all feeling the fatigue under the stage lights. But I think what happened is that our drummer - not normally a drinker - had too much to drink Saturday night to cool off, and he ended up having a couple too many drinks. Myself and the other two guitarists are basically water drinkers, so we were killing the bottled water but the drummer was killing the long necks.
You can often judge the quality of your bandmembers by how they handle themselves under the pressure of things not going well on stage. Even though our drummer was playing a different song than us guitarists, we three guitarists locked into each other and carried the drummer though the night. Nobody said a word to the drummer about his performance challenges last night, which really says alot about the guys I am playing with. It's not like our drummer to be off like that, and anyone can have a bad night. Personally, I'm just glad it was not me.
Our soundguy knew what was going on up on the stage. During the after show breakdown, when the drummer was in another room, our soundguy said that it was a really good thing that us guitarists were tight because the drummer was all over the place. He felt our pain but he said we were able to hold it together and get through the night.
In reality, as bad as I know we played, unless you were a musician yourself, you probably didn't notice, know, or care, how hard we were working up there on stage trying to get through that last set. All I can say is that you just keep smiling and hope someone out there thinks it sounds good. And, in fact, we got a number of compliments on our music. It was not our best performance, but it was still OK. All the house cares about is that we kept people there drinking and running up the till. So, from that point of view, we were successful.
In the end, I once again felt really good about the group of guys I'm playing with. One of us had a really bad night but we did not let it affect our professionalism on stage, and we did not jump on our drummer at the end of the gig for his off night. Believe me, I have played with some other musicians who would have thrown a fit both on stage and off if that would have happened when they were on stage. Having said that, both of the guys I know that react that way are both without bands. Probably a lesson there.....
Saturday night was a tough one for us. Come the third set, our drummer started missing his hits, and even botched the start and endings of a number or our songs. Not like him. But anyone can have a bad night. Come the fourth set, it was just painful to be up on stage. Our drummer was really off his game. He was adding fills and runs in the middle of verses instead of the end, he was playing the wrong beats/patterns for a number of songs and would have to change once he remember what song we were playing, and his tempo was just all over the place. He even totally lost it in a couple of songs and basically just dropped out on us until he found his way back into the song. He was really struggling, and that is not like him.
We made it though the last set, thanked the crowd, and had our soundguy hit the break music immediately - we were done. No encores.
At first, we just thought our drummer was getting tired. It was pretty hot in the venue this weekend and we were all feeling the fatigue under the stage lights. But I think what happened is that our drummer - not normally a drinker - had too much to drink Saturday night to cool off, and he ended up having a couple too many drinks. Myself and the other two guitarists are basically water drinkers, so we were killing the bottled water but the drummer was killing the long necks.
You can often judge the quality of your bandmembers by how they handle themselves under the pressure of things not going well on stage. Even though our drummer was playing a different song than us guitarists, we three guitarists locked into each other and carried the drummer though the night. Nobody said a word to the drummer about his performance challenges last night, which really says alot about the guys I am playing with. It's not like our drummer to be off like that, and anyone can have a bad night. Personally, I'm just glad it was not me.
Our soundguy knew what was going on up on the stage. During the after show breakdown, when the drummer was in another room, our soundguy said that it was a really good thing that us guitarists were tight because the drummer was all over the place. He felt our pain but he said we were able to hold it together and get through the night.
In reality, as bad as I know we played, unless you were a musician yourself, you probably didn't notice, know, or care, how hard we were working up there on stage trying to get through that last set. All I can say is that you just keep smiling and hope someone out there thinks it sounds good. And, in fact, we got a number of compliments on our music. It was not our best performance, but it was still OK. All the house cares about is that we kept people there drinking and running up the till. So, from that point of view, we were successful.
In the end, I once again felt really good about the group of guys I'm playing with. One of us had a really bad night but we did not let it affect our professionalism on stage, and we did not jump on our drummer at the end of the gig for his off night. Believe me, I have played with some other musicians who would have thrown a fit both on stage and off if that would have happened when they were on stage. Having said that, both of the guys I know that react that way are both without bands. Probably a lesson there.....
Comments
one the other hand...
Now we didnt rehire a drummer we were using because of the same thing he was way off ...alot of the time. He was fine when in practise though... we come to find out it was because he was getting freekin stoned before the sets outside in the parking lot :? ...now am not going to tell anyone what to smoke or drink but before the show on purpose and not caring about your mistakes sent the guy packing after a couple of gigs...Knowing the diffrence between honestly sucking one night and relizing it or having a patteren of not giving a shite is truly key among my musical freinds as well.
Absolutely, which is why I'm not throwing stones. We have been with this drummer for about 1 year now, and this was the first time he had too much to drink and it affected his performance. I doubt it will happen again. I'm just glad the guys did not jump all over the drummer for his poor showing that night.
We had a former drummer that drinking was a pattern. It not only affected his performance on stage, but he started calling in on the way to the gig saying he did not \"feel well\" or his mother was sick, or etc.... Later we found out the excuses were lies. We had to let him go. Great guy, best drummer in the region, but totally unreliable and he just let the band down too many times.
I joined our manager at the bar after the show and said, \"so... are you going to fire me?\"
He said, \"you know, I really should...\"
Hasn't happened since.
Anyway, he's a much better former bandmate and friend than a current member. We all have our demons. Our drummer is not going to get fired for one bad night. He's a great guy and a solid drummer. He sounded like crap for a set and a half, but I think the band will survive just fine. But, like your experience, it was not just one song or a few bad notes. It was song after song, playing the wrong patterns, losing tempo, completely dropping out. I'll laugh about it someday, right now I'm still feeling sorry for the drummer. He knows he messed up.
We had a similar situation and that member was going through a separation. We said simply, do you smoke and get buzzed at your regular job? He said No followed by 5 other excuses. We had to be firm. Agencies, managers of clubs could care less about the band's personal problems. They expect the best out of these performances.
All experiences can differ, and the band mates and friends can experience problems like any other. How they handle their own lives when on their own time is one thing, but to the guys that pay for your services, they usually aren't interested in any excuses for weak performances, many mistakes etc. How well your group covered the mistakes, that's another thing. Sometimes its not so easy to cover up the rhythm section.
Yes, the drummer is kind of all alone out there. If he messes up, it's not covered as easily by the rest of us. Also, if his tempo is all over the place, it affects the rest of the band.
I think we did a good job covering for our drummer. We still got compliments from the crowd post gig. We know it was far from our best showing, but we did make it through the night. Also, over the years, I have learned it's just better not to apologize for mistakes, because nobody other than the band may be aware of the issue.
I got a call from our lead guitarist a couple days post gig. He plays in a number of different bands and also has a solo career. He called up our drummer and mentioned to him that his drinking that night affected his drumming and the rest of the band was really struggling the last couple sets because of his performance. Our lead guitarist said he was very considerate, and careful, how he chose his words to our drummer. He was not upset, but felt that the drummer needed to know what position he put the rest of the band in that night. His only suggestion was to dial it back a couple of beers/drinks until after the gig. Seems reasonable. And waiting a couple days post gig, when everyone was clear headed and sober, was probably a good thing.
Personally, I would have just let it pass. First time our drummer has had this problem in over a year playing with him. I don't see it as a pattern. But I'm OK with our guitarist calling him up a few days later and just saying, \"Man, we noticed you had a few too many during the gig and your drumming was throwing the band off those last two sets.\"
My main point was that the band held it together on stage and we did not jump all over the drummer. Like I said, I've been in other bands where a rough spot like that would have blown a few ego gaskets along the way. We managed to work through the gig, got paid, and have a follow up gig there next month.
At a recent gig I mentioned our bassist did not cover the additional harmony parts on songs. He said he thought he did, but others said no he did not.
Drummer played an outro 1 measure too long on one song. We all knew it.
I missed a ryth progression during a keyboard part. It was filled by the keyboard and I told the guys I actually forgot it so I turned my guitar volume down until the next part I remembered.
Things happen, and its how those fine tuned details are appreciated and recognized as well as critiqued that make for a very tight and well rehearsed band. Things above should have come second nature to us, but as we all know things happen. We are all human and make mistakes, forget parts etc. Pointing out those things to make corrections only helps performances become better. Something happens every gig. Work those things out to minimize what is noticeable.
We usually wait to cover that ground at our next practice session. When I make a mistake on something, I'll often write it down on a piece of paper between songs to remind myself later. Also, since I record the band, I have all the raw multitracks and can listen to everyone and note where we made mistakes. When it's someone else in the band making a mistake that we need to cover, I'll just suggest that we go over that tune for my benefit. If they mess up in practice, it's noticed by everyone there and we work it out. If not, then maybe they worked on it at home before practice and it's no longer an issue.
I agree that working out the rough spots in practice is important for the band. That's how you improve. But many, if not most, of our mistakes are not a pattern. Even my mistakes are mainly fumble fingers rather than not knowing the part. It's one thing to play it correctly at home, or at practice, and it might be another thing totally to play it at the end of the 4th set on the second night of a two nighter weekend.
Most of my live mistakes are due to fatigue. That's not a good excuse, but it is the truth. As much as I would love to play solid for two hours without a break, I find that I need those hourly breaks during the night or my performance starts to suffer. I see the same pattern in my bandmates. IMHO, it's better to take a short break, recharge those batteries, and come back strong than to wear yourself out and play poorly from not taking a break.
Exactly, songs rarely fall apart in the middle of a verse or chorus. Also, the more complicated the song, the more we find that we need to review those intros, endings, and breaks. If you nail them, the song comes off great and the band looks tight. If not, well....