Rules of a Small Venue Gig
By T. Perry Bowers
There’s something very special about playing a gig at a small venue. The intimacy, the closeness of your audience: it’s all very different to playing at an arena. So are the rules. Following correct protocol and etiquette will ensure your band is remembered as good business and increase the likelihood you’ll be asked back.
Communication
Always communicate with your booking agent if you’re doing anything other than what has been laid out for you. Usually, you’ll get some sort of instructions from the agent. What time is load-in, what time is sound check, when do you get your drink tickets, etc. If your band intends to do anything outside of standard protocol, communicate it to the booking agent straight away. Then be on time. I don’t know how many times I’ve been at a sound check waiting for a band to show up – sometimes, they don’t even show at all. Or they waltz in at the end of the time allocated to sound check and act like the sound guy owes it to them to perform a check now! It’s simple manners – one phone call or even a text will let everyone involved keep moving without any stress.
Do you stay and watch the other bands?
This is a tricky one. There are a lot of different scenarios. If you’re the headline act and you’re drawing enough people to fill the club, it makes no difference to anyone whether you hang out and watch the other bands or not. Even the other bands don’t care because they feel honored just to play in front of your fans. The venue doesn’t care because your band is already selling lots of alcohol for them – and that’s what’s it all about for them.
But, if your band is only bringing ten people to the show, damn straight you better hang out and support the other acts – and you better pay for a few adult beverages out of your own pocket as well. When the other bands are playing, you’re a fan, not a performer. Fill that role and fill it well. Make sure the bar till is growing. The bottom line for the venue is alcohol sales.
Every once in a while, a member of your band might need to get to work early or even have another gig on the same night. Everyone understands if you skip out once in a while, but don’t be that guy who always runs in at the last minute and bails right after the set. It gets old and people notice.
It’s different if you’re a jobber though – then it’s perfectly fine to just show up for your set. The band isn’t paying you to hang out all night. Your job is to rock the set. It’s the band’s job to make sure the venue is full. If they have a weak turnout, it’s on them. If you’re good enough to be paid to fill a slot for a band, you have earned the right to slip in and out.
Sound check protocol
When it’s your time for a sound check, be ready. Get your gear on stage and set up quickly. If you can, set up as much of your gear off stage as possible, so once you’re on stage, you’re fast. The sound man will most likely be setting up microphones and direct boxes while you’re hooking up your gear. Make room for him and be polite, no matter what mood he’s in. Remember, he controls the suck knob. Once you’re all set, let the sound man know. Then, hang tight and listen. Don’t noodle. Just wait patiently and give him what he wants.
Drums. Give him even quarter notes on each drum as he asks for it. No flams. No paradiddles. Nothing fancy. He’s trying to set gates, compressors, eqs, etc. He needs boring, even notes. When he asks for the whole kit, play something simple – again with quarter notes around the toms. Then, when he says good stop and listen.
Guitars. Check distortion and clean. Back and forth. Nothing fancy. Stop and listen. This actually goes for all instruments. Give the sound guy any volume changes that you might have. Try to even out your tones so they are all the same volume and always stop and listen. When he asks for a song, play just enough of a song to notice what you need in the stage monitors (i.e. verse chorus) then stop and ask for adjustments and play it again. If you’ve been efficient and polite up to this point you can ask for anything else you need now. There is no shame in being assertive at this point. You want to get your stage mix right. No sound man can fix everything, but it’s ok to ask. When you reach the limits of the venue’s sound system, get used to it – be flexible! Just rock.
Get off the stage
When you’re done with your sound check or your set get off the stage immediately. Unless you’re the last band, then you can play it a little by ear. (Remember though – the bar does want to close up and all the people that work there want to go home). Don’t chat with your friends on stage after your set – remove your gear quickly and set it somewhere in the club to pack it up. Don’t break everything down and put it in cases on stage! Depending on the venue, there should be plenty of room somewhere to set all of your stuff aside so the next band can set up. Once everything is off, maybe you can have a beer with your friends before tearing down the rest of the way.
Promote alcohol
The main reason you’re in a small club is to sell alcohol. You can talk about it on stage. If there are any specials, let people know or ask your fans to buy the band some drinks. Don’t be obnoxious, but move some product if you can. Let’s face it, the drunker your fans are, the better you sound anyway!
Be polite to the staff
People talk. The staff in the club you’re playing can help you or hurt you. You decide. If you’re a douche to the staff, everyone in town will know it pretty soon. So unless your band is already drawing ridiculous amounts of people to each show, you can’t afford to be known as rude. Even then, why would you want that reputation? Nobody wants to hire a dickhead band that doesn’t draw. If you’re not a huge drawing band but you’re cool and you do your best to make a great night, that will be remembered.
Don’t promote other venues on stage
This is a controversial one. A lot of bands do talk about their upcoming shows at other venues on stage. But no bar owner wants to hear the name of another bar in their bar. Instead I recommend you print up a hand bill that has all of your future gigs on it and lay them on the tables. That way, the bar owner and staff never have to hear the name of that “low down son of a bitch’s bar” from the stage and you can still promote your other gigs. You don’t know the politics behind the club scene so it’s better to stay out of it. Imagine if someone came up on the stage during your set and talked about their own band. That wouldn’t be cool, would it?
Bonus Rule: You can bring your own sound man
I highly recommend finding a good sound man for your band – someone who likes your music and is willing to show up to your gigs and help. It will do wonders for your consistency and peace of mind. However, in the local, small venue world, there is a protocol. So you need to let the house engineer know that you have your own sound guy. Ask him what the protocol is. Sometimes, you need to be a little pushy. House engineers can be touchy about their systems. Sometimes, they don’t want to let anyone near it. Just be open and communicative about this. Do the best you can to assure the house guy that everything is going to be ok and that your guy is not a hack who is going to blow the system.
Bottom line:
- Be polite.
- Be efficient.
- Promote alcohol.
- Rock hard.
