Wrong Band, Wrong Place.

Barry Gaskell · From: Cheshire, UK

What a sinking feeling when you're sat on stage while the compare is introducing you and you know you and the rest of the lads just shouldn't be there.
An audience who are expecting a chart type band, the secretary of the club has already apologised for bringing you in error on the wrong night and an audience who are looking at you and wondering how on earth these old dudes are going to give them what they are expecting. If it wasn't for the blind panic, It would have been almost amusing to see the faces of the audience as we kicked off with 'Deep in the heart of Texas' and went straight into Amarillo by morning and then 'You gotta dance with who brung you'. An hour of torture followed with the occasional clap that sounded like a cow pat hitting the ground, and as we staggered back into the dressing room the silence said it all.
The second set we determined to fight them and did some blues, 60's and rock and roll, but to no avail.
The compare even came in and said 'good try lads, if you want to get your gear of stage as quickly as possible, the DJ said it's ok with him and We'll black the stage out !!. We did exactly that to the sounds of Robbie Williams, Madonna and the Village People. Needles to say the dance floor was full.
We got paid, but left very quickly with our tails between our legs.
Woe, woe and thrice woe.
Barry

Mat Rhodes · From: Lexington, KY, USA

I feel for you. I just did a bar gig a few weeks back on a night where it was nothing but 20-30-somethings. We should have known better than to play Hawaiian music for that kind of crowd, but you don't learn your lessons unless you try. One of them actually told the owner they would have preferred the juke box. Ouch!

Incidentally, today we're playing at the same bar but it's more a 40-something crowd on Sundays. Hopefully we won't have to learn another painful lesson!

Tony Prior · From: Charlotte NC

Years back our Country Band got booked by an agent at a FULL BLOWN ROCK CLUB...

Together Again does not work when they are lookin'
for Def Leopard or Angus Young...

Even the occasional Rolling Stones and Blues tunes that we all knew couldn't create any balance..

So, Together Again it was !

It's what we do, and we all do it at one time or another...

no big deal..

tp

Jon Light · From: Saugerties, NY

At least the management copped to the responsibility.
Your situation was a reverse Blues Brothers.
We're the Good Old Boys!
Smile

Eric West · From: Portland, Oregon, USA, R.I.P.

Well Like Henry Hill said:

"The way I figure, everybody's got to take a beating sometime.."

Smile

EJL

Billy Wilson · From: El Cerrito, California, USA

Had a gig up in Canada in a huge club where we traded sets with the top 40 playing DJ. 30 minuets on 30 minuets off, 5 sets. DJ has more JBL's than you can count. We've got out funky little PA. DJ=300 people on the dance floor. We=20 people on the dance floor. How many Canadian beers can you drink in 30 minuets?

Dave Mudgett · From: Central Pennsylvania and Gallatin, Tennessee

Yeah, I think lots of us have been in this position. I think it's often the booking agent's lack of clear communication ability.

One time, my old-school rockabilly band was booked into a dump by a booking agent. Club management told him they wanted "classic rock and roll" band, the agent thought of us, and booked it without too much thought or, obviously, much discussion with the club manager. We rolled in 2-3 hours before the show with our rockabilly-sized PA and gear, and the owner got into my face about "Where the %^$# is the truck full of power amp racks, speaker towers, and light show equipment? We were expecting you hours ago." We knew we were in for a fun-filled evening. Wink

When we started playing, people started coming up and asking why we weren't playing Nazareth, Judas Priest, and Van Halen - this was quite a few years ago and this stuff was hardly considered "classic rock and roll" at the time. After a couple of songs, the management came out and ran a room-divider curtain in front of us, and everyone filed into the other half and cranked up "Hell's Bells" as loud as possible on the jukebox-on-steroids they had.

We just stopped playing, got into the manager's face, demanded immediate payment, got paid, and split to find much more interesting stuff to do in a local hang.

btw - the club went out of business shortly after that. It seems they had trouble finding bands that would put on large-production rock stage shows with their own production company for $500. I can't imagine why. Rolling Eyes

John Jeffries · From: New Brunswick, Canada

Our group "Classic Country" was booked to play at an outdoor "Country Fair" type of venue a few weeks ago. We arrived, started setting up, and noticed that the crowd was mostly kids....someone passed us a "program" of the day's activities, and there we were - for 2 hours right before the fireworks at dusk - they had billed us on the program as "Classic Rock"!! It's a good thing that most of the crowd hung around for the fireworks!! Oh yea, and they also had no lights of any type on or around the outdoor stage. We had to bully or way through the crowd with our vehicles & use the headlights to tear down the gear! It was still a fun show, we played to those who were enjoying our old country music. It was almost worth it just to see the looks of dismay and horror on those kids faces, when they saw a bunch of old farts in cowboy duds setting up steel guitar, banjo, etc. on stage...what a hoot!! All in all, everyone seemed to have a good time, we got paid, had a few laughs and left with some fun memories. (didn't sell many CD's though)!

Les Anderson · From: The Great White North

Most bars, clubs or venues that I have played at the guys had an idea what type of music was expected before we were officially booked.

The only thing that I could call a stinker was at an Italian wedding gig in Brampton Ontario in the mid sixties where our band was sort of expected to do mostly European type music. No one told us that tangos, cha chas and so on was an automatic expectation for Italian weddings. Regardless we entertained them with our music and no one complained to any extent.

The home made wine was also free flowing! Winking

Tim Whitlock · From: Colorado, USA

Oddly enought, that's the same reception my band got when we played at a so called "country" bar. We played some old Hank Williams, Bob Wills, Buck Owens, etc and the crowd couldn't wait until we took a break so they could rush the jukebox and play that Toby Keith rap song over and over and over...

On the other hand, at the Skylark Lounge (old rock n roll, rockabilly, etc) the youngish tatooed crowd loves to hear old Hank, Cash, Webb Pierce et al.

Ron Sodos · From: San Antonio, Texas USA

What is a compare? Never heard the term used that way.

Dave Mudgett · From: Central Pennsylvania and Gallatin, Tennessee

Yeah, Tim - that's the way it is here also. I always have a smile on my face when I see the rockabilly cats at a gig, 'cause I know they're not gonna mind some real old-school country. Add Johnny Horton, Hank Snow, Joe Maphis, Buck Owens, Lefty, and Hag to the list. Plus, I'm always happy to oblige with some Elvis, Carl, Jerry Lee, Buddy, Ronnie Dawson, Sleepy LaBeef, and other rockabilly greats - it all fits, to me.

Dave Van Allen · From: Doylestown, PA , US , Earth

spelling issue:

com·pere (kmpâr) Chiefly British
n.
The master of ceremonies, as of a television entertainment program or a variety show.
v. com·pered, com·per·ing, com·peres
v.tr.
To serve as master of ceremonies for.
v.intr.
To serve as the master of ceremonies.

Barry Gaskell · From: Cheshire, UK

Thanks Dave,
couldn't have put it better myself.
In most English social clubs, the 'compare', is usually some guy from the committee who has either been voted to the job, or thinks he has a particular bent for 'show business' and introduces the acts, usually having made all the club announcements first, while the act is stood behind him like, lemons, waiting to start. A few weeks ago whilst waiting in such a situation, the 'compare' decided to do his birthday list there and then. He decided we should play happy birthday, three times, for various people out front,and then introduced us !.If it wasn't so funny it'd be depressing. I think our system of general social clubs in the UK (not withstanding the dedicated country venues) is unique. Raffles, bingo, spot the tune, even backing the damn compare doing his favourite songs for which he is so well known, or not !!.Then there is the raffle and woe betide any act that wins the raffle. Blue murder ensues. You are allowed to buy a ticket to boost the funds but do not dare to win, the locals will then ignore you all night. sharing the stage with an organ, Christmas tree, bingo machine and the DJ who thinks he has a talent second to none. I'm sure a book could be written about the disasters and triumphs that have happened.
Ah well, all in a days work.
Barry

Barry Gaskell · From: Cheshire, UK

Dave
I stand corrected again, it should be spelt 'compere'.
Barry

Clyde Mattocks · From: Kinston, North Carolina, USA

Required viewing:
The Blues Brothers movie where the band is booked into a real country honky tonk.

This is Spinal Tap where a British metal band is booked into an NCO club.

Ken Byng · From: Southampton, England

Come on Barry and do the right thing by letting us UK players know where this club is so that we can all give it wide berth.

James Cann · From: Phoenix, AZ

In the club and casual scene of the 70s and early 80s we had a great time: good bandstand, owner, and patron relationships, audiences who had no qualifying criteria for either listening or dancing, allowing and enjoying both, pickup and sub work help to help keep us busy, and a musical life that was nothing like this!

Who needs it! Life's far too short--both now and back then--for putting up with such ridiculous horror stories and, as I hear too many times, being paid almost on par with what we made almost forty years ago!

Good luck to all involved, and I hope it's worth it!

Jerry Overstreet · From: Louisville Ky

Hey Barry, I guess that sort of thing happens to most bands sooner or later.

A few years ago, a band I had just started playing with had a booking [at one of the VFW's or lodges, I forget which] 1½ hrs. or so down the 1-65 grapevine from Louisville. I got there early as usual before any of the other band members. Imagine my surprise to see some of the early arrivals dressed in saddle shoes, white sox and loafers, poodle skirts....the whole 9 yards.

The kicker is that we were basically a modern country band with a girl singer doing mostly radio country with some standard Haggard, Jones etc. thrown in.

It was uncomfortable at best. Seems the proprietors had decided to have a 50's nite without regard to what band they had hired for the night.

When our leader arrived, he confronted them re: same and explained in short order that noone had been advised of or had prepared for any 50's, 60's rock and that they shoulda rebooked.

As it turned out, as all of us are very versatile, open minded musicians and had had some exposure to the style of music, we did what we could within our knowledge for the sake of the unawares clientele and it wasn't too bad. I think the alcohol helped! Yeah, the band and the audience!

I just felt bad for the participants in the dance contests, etc., 'cause I'm quite sure they were expecting some bona fide rockabilly music.

Larry Strawn · From: Golden Valley, Arizona, R.I.P.

Barry,

As said before it happens to everyone sooner or later.

About 5 or 6 years ago I went with a top 40 country band for a 2 week gig in Paige, Az. at the Windy Mesa club.
When we walked through the doors to set up all the drunk "patrons" started asking if we done any Ac Dc, Areosmith, Doors, etc. I told the band leader I thought we may have a problem.

The agent told us 60% top 40 country, and 40% classic Rock & Roll, I guess the term "classic" is only relative to a persons age!
I know the above mentioned groups were not classic to me!

We toughed out one week of a two week gig then by mutual agreement between us and the club manager we came back to Kingman! Very Happy

Larry
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Corky Anderson · From: Alberta, Canada

This happened to me back in 1981 when I was working with a country band in Kamloops BC. We got hired to play a high school grad dance and we were assured by the person hiring us that it would be just fine. Well, we almost got lynched!! The kids at the dance were expecting a rock band, and they got more hostile as the night went on and the booze kicked in. We tried to tell them it was not our fault, and that we actually agreed they should have had a rock band for their night. They did'nt listen to us, and we left that night in a hurry with one kid bouncing a beer bottle off of the side of my van!!

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b0b · From: Cloverdale, CA, USA

Booze at a high school dance? Oh my! Whoa!

Klaus Caprani · From: Copenhagen, Denmark

I tried that once with a hardcore funk-band I was playing bass with way back when.
The agent apparantly didn't communicate too well with the manager of the youth-club we were playing that night.

She actually asked for a break before the planned intermission to have a discussion with us in the backstage room (I saw it coming, as I fended off the third or fourth youngster wanting us to play something of a stupid, danish pop-band whose name I've actually forgotten by now.)

Ofcourse the manager (a middle aged "lady") had the right to be disgruntled, but as she started to diss the quality of our music (which was mostly original) with the viewpoint that "If her young people wasn't able to, or felt like dancing to our music, it had to be because the music sucked".
That ofcourse had me out of my chair telling her, that I actually was able to dance, and good, to any of our tunes, and if her audience wasn't they had to be below average intelligent. That shut her up Winking

We saved the night partly by doing some lighter disco-stuff by ear. Got paid and never looked back Smile

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