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G'day, welcome to the Live Audio Workshop!
This week's column looks at life from Venue-management's point of view,
concentrating on the smaller end of town. The 'pub and club' circuit has
long been the lifeblood of the live music scene, acting as a stepping
stone to the big time venues, stadiums and outdoor mega-gigs.
As we saw last week, there is always the friendly rivalry between 'players
and production', but when it comes to venue management they are not our
rivals! They are in a position of power. Pub and Venue- managers (V-M)
are hard-core business people who are only concerned with bums-on-seats
and beer sales at the bar. No amount of street cred and artistic concerns
will impress them if they do not make a buck, and if putting on live music
is not profitable, they'll switch the emphasis of the room to another
use! (Bloody poker machines!!!)
One of the scariest aspects about setting up / playing in a new venue
is that not only are we blissfully unaware of the general lay-out, acoustic
properties and facilities of the room, but also of the management's rules
and regulations. In particular we need to know management 'rules &
regs' BEFORE ARRIVING AT THE GIG. This helps the show run smoothly, keeps
the V-M on side and increases the chance of return bookings.
Most venues 'rules and regs' concern time.
The first time factor involved is the Load in / Load out times as a lot
of pub's music rooms are locked when not in use. As a result they need
to have a staff member come and unlock the area. Management will get quite
pissed off if the production crew arrive during peak times and they have
to get a much needed staff member to stop what they are doing - serving
customers and making $$$ - to come and unlock the venue.
The load out time is often determined by whether or not the room doubles
as a pseudo-nightclub after the band finishes playing. The last thing
the venue wants is crew pushing big black boxes through the dance floor
running the risk of injury to the general public - with the ever present
threat of law suites. So don't automatically expect that you can start
bumping-out immediately after the band walks off stage.
Pub's and club's facilities are used for many other things than just live
music. They usually provide meals and often act as conference facilities,
as well as their more general function as a watering hole! Because of
this there are usually severe restrictions on the beginning and end times
for soundcheck. Consider the seasoned drinker in the public bar. The last
thing they want to hear is the ongoing 'thump, thump, thump' of the kick
drum or our trademark 'Testing, Test, Test One-Two!!' Don't be at all
surprised if the publican cuts the power to the PA if soundcheck is running
over time. (I've seen it happen!) If running late, it's far better to
just do a line check to verify that all sounds are getting to the mixing
desk, with a very rough soundcheck. This will keep them happy and as the
old saying goes...'the first song is the real soundcheck!'
Finally, we need to know what time the band is supposed to start, how
many sets to play and how long each set must be.
If we find out these venue restrictions and keep within them, we stand
a good chance of making a good impression on the people who make the decisions
about booking bands. If your crew has a reputation for being late, a bad
attitude or just generally a pain in the arse; management may take it
personally and not want to book you again. No matter how good you or the
band are!
Next week we'll look at other info about venues that we need to know before
the gig. Until then...have a good one!!
Willy T.
Email - willyt-downunderdesk@roadogz.com
PS. HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!
This extracted form book :
"LIVE AUDIO WORKSHOP - A Hands on Guide to Rigging and Operating
PA Systems."
(1998 Giraffe Media. ISBN 0 646 36408 1.
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