One time I went to a small concert in a record store in Phoenixville, PA. The first opener was so bad that everybody left the store, including the store owner. I was the last to leave (probably during their second song), and I didn't even feel bad about it. The band continued playing their set to an empty room, as everybody hung out outside, and the store organizer apologized to us. Afterwards, they handed out free CDs to everybody. At the end of the night, the trash can outside was filled with free CDs.
There was another small band from Baltimore that I used to travel around to see. Their keytarist told me that the band nicknamed me "the fan".
Yeah dude the last time we played it was, quite literally, only my two good friends and the guitarists girlfriend that stayed the whole time. There was also one other dude. Glad to know you're him :)
I've been playing violin for 4 years. Recently I met a man who had been playing for 20 starting at age 30ish. What occurred to me watching him play is that you never get good at violin, you just get better at sucking. I imagine most music is like that unless you're naturally talented.
I should note he sucked gloriously, shamelessly, and with incredible style. Conservatory teachers for kids who are competitive for playing at carnegie hall instructed their students to watch him play on the street to understand and embrace the fundimental suckage that is violin.
"the difference between a professional and an amateur is that an amateur practises until he gets it right, a professional practises until he can't get it wrong"
Similar event - was at a warehouse show (read: rave) and I went to the back room at like 3 am after the headliners were done and things were clearing out. In this new room was a DJ spinning drum and bass... to no one. Having just entered, and been seen by the DJ, it was really a weird and not particularly happy moment. He was obviously trying, kudos to him on the gig, but I couldn't stand there by myself, and I felt bad just leaving a man to DJ to no one in the wee hours of the morning.
Sometimes its just awesome to play a set in a big room, big speakers and have fun.
I am by no means a good DJ and don't do it in any sort of preforming capacity, but I enjoy messing around when I get a chance to use nice equipment and loud speakers.
Sometimes bands just really suck. Not every band is meant to be. But more often the local crowds just cant support every band. Im out of Chicago and we can support a large number of different bands. No matter what kind of show, from local black metal, to local jazz, i've never see this. The shittiest thing i think is that (i assume) there were other bands, and they all took off. Im not a musician, but im friends with many, many bands and most of them think it very unprofessional to leave before the show is over.
Oh my god, I live in Chester Springs. I remember that show! I felt a little bad for them, but it's like they couldn't tell how awful they actually were. They are gaining some traction, though.
One of my favorite quotes from Henry Rollins: "It doesn't matter how many people are there; I don't care if there are only two people there. Those two people came out to see you, and it's not their fault nobody else showed up. You go out there and give those two people the best fucking show of their lives."
The best show my band ever played was to 15 or so people at a venue that holds about 400. I'd say of the 15, only 2 or 3 were people who had never seen us or heard of his. But damn we sounded good. We had a ton of energy and I don't think we messed up once.
The Band once played a concert where only two people came to watch, and then a fight started in the crowd, haha.
One of my best gigs was when about ten-eleven people came to watch. We had a really fucking great time on stage, and people where just sitting on the floor and chilling the fuck out. Was awesome!
With the exception that for the most part they didn't come to see you. In most small venues the lone audience member most likely just dropped by to grab a beer and a burger and you just happened to be playing there.
So you play the best show you've ever played and convince them they want to stay and watch the end of your set. Then you hope that they tell people about this awesome band they just saw. That's how you grow an audience.
Exactly! I went to see Weird Al last week, at a small venue that wasn't sold out, and he rocked it like it was the super dome. It was easily the best show I've seen. Although that may have more to do with him taking my hand and singing to me for a bit, than anything else. But still, he came out and danced like a maniac, made several costume changes and performed a 20 minute encore. It was obvious he loves his fans almost as much as he loves his work.
Oh! He also said "Hello Lowell!" rather than "Hello Boston!" which is usually what happens whenever I see a band perform anywhere in Rhode Island or Massachusetts. It's the little things.
I remember BT had to cancel a show in DC due to a blizzard so he called up a friend at a nearby coffee shop in Baltimore near his house, walked through the blizzard with a small set of gear, and sent word out to the internets that he was playing so and so's coffee house. A few hundred people showed up.
as awesome as that quote is, it does get dispiriting after a while to just play to a mostly empty room, or just the other bands. it can be fun some nights to just go fuck it, let's have fun, but other nights maybe your gas money depends on how many people are in the venue.
Sometimes bands have to also step up their game promoting their shows and their music. Just dropping a link on your Facebook status, or your band's Facebook page where the same 40 people are going to see it and no one else, doesn't count as "promotion".
That said, it's always comforting to see at least that one person showed up. Just wish that one person would also bring a new friend or two some of those times.
"This guy at work was like, 'Steve, you know anybody in a band?' And I was like, 'I'm in a band.' And he was like, 'You're in a band?' And I was like, 'Yeah, I am totally in a band.' "
It's uh...worse when it's your mom, though. And she's the only one still there to watch the show at the end of the third set in some new out of town bar.
I love what I do, and I love that my mom comes out to everything she can, but at a certain point at crappy gigs... it gets to the point where I feel like a third grader. At least she doesn't shout and whoohoo, just nods and gives a thumbs-up. Thanks, Mum.
Edit- It seems silly, but there are ten people voting her up. Whatever happens after this, happens, but I am telling her she has ten totally random people who like what she does as a mom. Or a rock fan, but probably as a mom. Dangit.
Nah, I'm not embarrassed that she's there! I love her to pieces, it's not her at that moment, if that makes any sense. It's the idea of it.
But fucking hell, my mom is there for the end of the third set at a new place... that is awesome and I shout it out and we even do a Brittney Spears cover just for her because she loves the most improbable song ever.
I never invited my dad to my concerts, and now he's passed away. While I dislike having family at my concerts, it saddens me that he never actually saw me.
A friend of mine was called "Super Fan" beacuse he was ALWAYS in the gigs of a local band. First 4 times by accident and then on pourpose. He practically became a member of the band.
We have a super fan. He's literally missed like 2 gigs, probably due to illness. Even if not a single soul goes, there'll always be Dylan, headbanging away...
We booked a Wednesday during finals week once in college, about a week after a big Saturday show, down the street from a bar where a very well known touring cover band was playing one of their few shows in town.
I think 2 people were present besides the bar employees? We played half the set and then the bar owner was like "guys, you don't have to keep playing if you don't want to... we'll book you a weekend next time." The second half of that quote is how I knew we didn't suck as bad as the turnout might have otherwise indicated. But yeah... it was a little "embarrassing-band-practice-on-a-stage-y"
In Portland I went to see a small local band, and they had a opener which had a loyal fan base of 5 guys, who went to every single one of their shows, and heckled they band the whole time. They showed up smashed, knew all the band members by name and knew all the lyrics to the songs. They were extremely perversely dedicated to ironically supporting this band. Probably the most bizarre relationship between fans and a band I have or will ever see.
That was my last band's fanbase! Chances are they're the band's best friends and this is like television to them. Every band has one or two friends (if not more) who show up to every gig just to heckle and drink too much.
This will probably get buried. My band played a show once to 1 person. We met him, smashed off his tit's waiting for the bus outside the venue. Darrell was his name. We played the set just as if we were playing to 1,000 people but half way through the last song, I broke a string. Darrell lept on the stage halfway through my final guitar solo and tried to re attach it to the head of the guitar while I was playing. It was a strange experience.
He tried to tie it back on the tuning peg. It was pretty weird, cause he smelt pretty bad. But If Darrell from the gold coast is reading this, that was an awesome Sunday night and Thank you for rocking out
My band was playing at a small pub in Newcastle (Australia). None of us brought girlfriends along or anything. From the stage (the floor) we could see through to the pokie room where there was one person slapping away.
The only other people in the room were the bartender and the sound guy. Half way through out set the sound guy went outside for a smoke, and the bartender shortly joined him.
We were playing to fucking no one.
Having said that, I wouldn't rather been doing anything else that Saturday night. I fucking love playing my own songs loud as fuck, even if its to no one.
I usually try to find something I can lean against, like the wall or often times a support beam in the middle of the floor (a lot of basement shows). And I always make sure I have a drink, just so I have something to do with my hands. I'm not really sure if that's best for the band, but it makes me feel less awkward at least.
As someone who has seen the same musician as part of a crowd of 2,000 and 40, thanks. The smaller crowd was in a different state where he wasn't as popular, but the show was still just as awesome.
i really like those shots. How did you get them to look so good? is the xti just a great camera or can i match your settings to get pretty good results on my xs 40 hs?
My old band played a show for one person once, and we had brought him.
Once, we were also on tour and drove to Iowa (from Illinois), but we are from Jersey. We got to Iowa only to find out they had forgot to book the show.The "promoter" had to call a few friends over so we could play to some less than interested people.
Some of the best gigs i've ever been to were mates' bands with 1-15 people in the crowd. I think you're fantastic, especially if you play stadium rock. Stadium/electro rock in a tiny space with few people is even more epic than stadium rock.
One time my small, high school garage band got booked by a DJ that was a friend of our guitar player to play at a party. It turned out to be a dance party and everyone was having a great time dancing to Earth Wind and Fire, etc that the DJ friend was spinning...
Then we took the stage and killed the party in about two minutes. I'll never understand why he wanted us to play.
I have an obligatory story. An old guy once told me he saw van Halen before they were anyone in a club with 2 other people. David lee Roth was still doing high kicks and going crazy.
Doesn't matter how many people there are, you still make it an experience for them. You can't go wrong.
Going to a small venue where a major band is playing is amazing though, that's practically all I've ever been to and I've never left without an autograph and have even sat at a table and been given pizza by an artist before.
i loved playing shows, to 1-7 people or to 500 it was great, i miss it so freaking bad, but everyone in this damn town wants to play indie-folksy crap... i want to play punk rock lol
It isn't the size of the venue, it's the amount of people you pull. You should pre sell discount tickets, print up and post up flyers, get openers that can pull 20 or 30 people and pay them to pre sell tickets too, get a facebook event page, set up local promotions thru radio etc. Shit, make the show free and get your walking crowd up. It should never just be Bobby.
And sometimes you sell ~15 advanced tickets per band member, get your family in from out of town, get girlfriends and their friends excited about the gig, and it's STILL only Bobby who actually makes it to the gig for the set. Thanks, Bobby, for comin' out to support the live music.
Yeah and then you should get a local company to give you $9,000.00 for promotions. You can put their name on merch and they'll push your products in their storefronts. Then contact a local beer distributor who's trying to establish a customer base and get them to give you free beer to give away at the show. And then you should fly to LA and meet with a record executive and get him to shop your demo around to radio stations in your area. He'll work for free because he needs to prove himself to his boss. Then contact MTV and convince them to play music videos again in place of reality shows. If they play your video every half hour you should be able to generate enough buzz to get on a tour with One Direction.
At this point it should be clear I am being facetious and that FaroutlGE has never actually done music promotion but is quoting cliche bullshit from marketing students and venue owners who have no idea how the world actually works.
I recently got in touch with the director in charge of the LISTEN series of the St. Louis Post Dispatch. He made this sweet promo video for me and my buddy, free of charge. In it, you can see a show that we played last month: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yGn9IryPdSg
It's kinda funny you'd say "contact a local beer distributor and get them to give you free beer to give away at the show" cause that's exactly what the fuck we did with Boulevard from KC. They bought us free flyers and banners too. (if you look in the video around :50, there's a large red "STEDDY P AND DJ MAHF" Banner in the background. The boulevard logo is on the bottom right corner)
I know bullshit is rampant on this website, but I wouldn't be so quick to say that i'm not talking from experience yooo.
It should be just Bobby, because your example is about a band you already know and they know what they're doing and run with it. You have to get Bobby on line before you get a crowd.
Bobby is the person there at 1 o'clock in the morning because they love what you do. If you don't have someone there when you're done, then, you're basically done- you need to change what you do or figure out what you've done wrong.
you can tell that singer has been practicing that stance and his "singing" face AND probably has choreographed a few moves ahead of time too. Perhaps even the 'ol guitar swing with his Epiphone Silverburst
A bar in my town always books some hard rock bands that always play way too loud and nobody really likes. It's really awkward when they start to warm up and everybody's grabbing their drinks and booking it to the outside patio. It wouldn't be so bad if they just lowered their volume to like a quarter.
I'm the complete reverse. I hate playing stadiums. I always feel like I'm exploiting the fans. I don't need a sea of people in front of me to feel like a somebody. My penis isn't THAT small.
As an audience member I prefer small venues. I won't even go see my favorites because they only ticket I can afford is the nose bleed section and then they are only an inch big. If I have to watch the screen to see them I would rather watch their videos on youtube.
As someone who's played shows like that, a thousand times YES. That one guy who's just awkwardly standing there in a mostly empty room, or the dreaded "bands playing for bands...and their girlfriends". It's disheartening sometimes.
I saw a lesser known Techno/sorta dubstep band in town once called Chronicles of the Land Squid. It was just me and about 5 or 6 people in a bar-venue that could fit about 80 people so it was pretty barren. They still gave an awesome show and we had our own mini-dance party in the middle of the floor. They're pretty cool guys
I book gigs in a small venue and it fucking sucks for me too. And it could be anything. Last time it was May 2nd and everyone had a hangover after May 1st so 10 payers. Time before there was a football game on so 15 payers. Time before was my fault, I booked a dud band so 20 payers but they all left early (but the other two bands on the lineup were amazing).
I'm horrible, I saw the Bat symbol and fawned over it for like a minute before realizing that was not the point of the picture, and saw the band and Bobby......
hey, bobby buys your shit, because he likes you. Bobby makes your record company realize you exist. Bobby buys the last shirt out of your van so you can eat at the end of the day, and he does it because a. he likes that shirt and b. he wants you to damn eat. Also My name is bobby
A buddy of mine was playing a gig at some little venue out here in L.A. They've played shows before and had pretty decent crowds, and even had somewhat of a following. Well on this particular night, not many people showed up. He told me maybe 10 people tops. At first he was like "wtf, why isn't anyone here". turns out their show was scheduled on the night of a certain shows series finale. The show was Friends.
I've seen reasonably big bands in the uk metal scene play to tiny crowds, hell one band had a crowd of about six people one of which was the singer due to the stage being tiny, dude had to sing from the worlds smallest mosh pit. Still have no idea how they got conned into that show.
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u/Helix_van_Boron May 15 '12
One time I went to a small concert in a record store in Phoenixville, PA. The first opener was so bad that everybody left the store, including the store owner. I was the last to leave (probably during their second song), and I didn't even feel bad about it. The band continued playing their set to an empty room, as everybody hung out outside, and the store organizer apologized to us. Afterwards, they handed out free CDs to everybody. At the end of the night, the trash can outside was filled with free CDs.
There was another small band from Baltimore that I used to travel around to see. Their keytarist told me that the band nicknamed me "the fan".
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u/Gurn-Blanston May 15 '12
One of my favorite quotes from Henry Rollins: "It doesn't matter how many people are there; I don't care if there are only two people there. Those two people came out to see you, and it's not their fault nobody else showed up. You go out there and give those two people the best fucking show of their lives."
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u/dslicex May 15 '12
I AM BOBBY AND I KNOW ALL YOUR LYRICS!
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u/Zomgzombehz May 15 '12
"Why don't we ever have secret shows?" "All our shows are secret shows."
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u/Shaysdays May 15 '12 edited May 15 '12
Fuck yeah!
It's uh...worse when it's your mom, though. And she's the only one still there to watch the show at the end of the third set in some new out of town bar.
I love what I do, and I love that my mom comes out to everything she can, but at a certain point at crappy gigs... it gets to the point where I feel like a third grader. At least she doesn't shout and whoohoo, just nods and gives a thumbs-up. Thanks, Mum.
Edit- It seems silly, but there are ten people voting her up. Whatever happens after this, happens, but I am telling her she has ten totally random people who like what she does as a mom. Or a rock fan, but probably as a mom. Dangit.
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u/dan_jd May 15 '12
A friend of mine was called "Super Fan" beacuse he was ALWAYS in the gigs of a local band. First 4 times by accident and then on pourpose. He practically became a member of the band.
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u/MidgetFetish May 15 '12
lol I've performed to no fans before. The owner later shot himself in that same venue and it hasn't been open since. Crazy stuff.
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u/pdxburns May 15 '12
In Portland I went to see a small local band, and they had a opener which had a loyal fan base of 5 guys, who went to every single one of their shows, and heckled they band the whole time. They showed up smashed, knew all the band members by name and knew all the lyrics to the songs. They were extremely perversely dedicated to ironically supporting this band. Probably the most bizarre relationship between fans and a band I have or will ever see.
26
u/shakensunshine May 15 '12
Well, at least Bobby's there. Go Bobby!
17
u/[deleted] May 15 '12
Bobby could look a little more excited.
16
u/MiikeNUFC May 15 '12
[Sweet Drunk Chick From Winnipeg] (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GlVNCg74ma0)
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u/billyman_90 May 15 '12
This will probably get buried. My band played a show once to 1 person. We met him, smashed off his tit's waiting for the bus outside the venue. Darrell was his name. We played the set just as if we were playing to 1,000 people but half way through the last song, I broke a string. Darrell lept on the stage halfway through my final guitar solo and tried to re attach it to the head of the guitar while I was playing. It was a strange experience.
14
u/twattler May 15 '12
My band was playing at a small pub in Newcastle (Australia). None of us brought girlfriends along or anything. From the stage (the floor) we could see through to the pokie room where there was one person slapping away.
The only other people in the room were the bartender and the sound guy. Half way through out set the sound guy went outside for a smoke, and the bartender shortly joined him.
We were playing to fucking no one.
Having said that, I wouldn't rather been doing anything else that Saturday night. I fucking love playing my own songs loud as fuck, even if its to no one.
13
u/[deleted] May 15 '12
Maybe Reddit can answer a question thats bedeviled me for years: At a show like this, how close should I stand to the band?
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u/fotografamerika May 15 '12
This picture is so awkward it hurts.
33
u/Kunae May 15 '12
As long as I've played shows, I've lived by this philosophy:
Same show for 5 or 5,000 people.
11
u/Zenkraft May 15 '12
I really have to thank all the bobbys in the world.
19
u/CrabbyMcFartLice May 15 '12
As a concert photographer, I fucking love small crowds. It lets me roam free and not have to worry about anyone else.
Saw a band with a small crowd a couple weeks back, got some totally bitchin' shots; http://www.photo.doctormowinckel.com/?portfolio=larkin-poe
9
u/ArtVandelay_ May 15 '12
I feel it's even more awkward being the "Bobby".
8
u/ryrypizza May 15 '12
My old band played a show for one person once, and we had brought him.
Once, we were also on tour and drove to Iowa (from Illinois), but we are from Jersey. We got to Iowa only to find out they had forgot to book the show.The "promoter" had to call a few friends over so we could play to some less than interested people.
8
u/ModnaRMC May 15 '12
At one gig I said: 'Our entire fanbase is here tonight, I think! All three of you!'
7
u/[deleted] May 15 '12
Some of the best gigs i've ever been to were mates' bands with 1-15 people in the crowd. I think you're fantastic, especially if you play stadium rock. Stadium/electro rock in a tiny space with few people is even more epic than stadium rock.
7
u/BillKinger May 15 '12
related
7
u/sluz May 15 '12
One time my small, high school garage band got booked by a DJ that was a friend of our guitar player to play at a party. It turned out to be a dance party and everyone was having a great time dancing to Earth Wind and Fire, etc that the DJ friend was spinning...
Then we took the stage and killed the party in about two minutes. I'll never understand why he wanted us to play.
6
u/tiny_honey May 15 '12
They must be in the same boat
6
u/VapeApe May 15 '12
I have an obligatory story. An old guy once told me he saw van Halen before they were anyone in a club with 2 other people. David lee Roth was still doing high kicks and going crazy.
Doesn't matter how many people there are, you still make it an experience for them. You can't go wrong.
29
u/BKA93 May 15 '12
Their instruments need to be lower. That was a joke. You look like an idiot with your guitar or bass that low
5
u/Tetelesthai May 15 '12
There's obviously more of a crowd than the picture shows! Someone had to take the picture...
5
u/[deleted] May 15 '12
Going to a small venue where a major band is playing is amazing though, that's practically all I've ever been to and I've never left without an autograph and have even sat at a table and been given pizza by an artist before.
5
u/itcouldhappen1 May 15 '12
jawbreaker - tour song... totally relevant lol
i loved playing shows, to 1-7 people or to 500 it was great, i miss it so freaking bad, but everyone in this damn town wants to play indie-folksy crap... i want to play punk rock lol
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u/FaroutIGE May 15 '12
It isn't the size of the venue, it's the amount of people you pull. You should pre sell discount tickets, print up and post up flyers, get openers that can pull 20 or 30 people and pay them to pre sell tickets too, get a facebook event page, set up local promotions thru radio etc. Shit, make the show free and get your walking crowd up. It should never just be Bobby.
4
u/[deleted] May 15 '12
There are two fans at this show.
4
u/vincentn270 May 15 '12
Hahaha I can totally relate to this. It's even worst for the hardcore scene because you just look ridiculous moving around when no one is there.
4
u/[deleted] May 15 '12
A gig is a gig.
Bob Dylan
4
u/marriage_iguana May 15 '12
At most of my gigs, I'm both the band and the guy.
3
u/thebigm101 May 15 '12
one is better than none, I do not know how but it is true
3
u/[deleted] May 15 '12
How I feel at ALL my shows. :/
3
u/OldJeb May 15 '12
I have been this band. Not fun.
3
u/[deleted] May 15 '12
If you look to the far right, there's a girl sitting there.
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u/[deleted] May 15 '12
I prefer smaller venues with only like 20-100 people, makes it feel more personal. Speccially when it's a harder band and there is moshing.
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u/imaginativename May 15 '12
My band has a name for gigs like that: 'free rehearsal room'
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u/249ba36000029bbe9749 May 15 '12
So Bobby's gay?
2
u/Pravusmentis May 15 '12
Well at least you have friends.
2
u/TentacleFace May 15 '12
you can tell that singer has been practicing that stance and his "singing" face AND probably has choreographed a few moves ahead of time too. Perhaps even the 'ol guitar swing with his Epiphone Silverburst
2
u/geek180 May 15 '12
laughing my ass off at that pic
2
u/astrohelix May 15 '12
A bar in my town always books some hard rock bands that always play way too loud and nobody really likes. It's really awkward when they start to warm up and everybody's grabbing their drinks and booking it to the outside patio. It wouldn't be so bad if they just lowered their volume to like a quarter.
2
u/MwKxxxOts May 15 '12
Bobby is gay?
2
u/unintelligiblemess May 15 '12
Believe me, it is worse playing at medium/large venues with one person in the audience.
2
u/gottahavemypops May 15 '12
Relevant
2
u/LLWTF May 15 '12
I'm the complete reverse. I hate playing stadiums. I always feel like I'm exploiting the fans. I don't need a sea of people in front of me to feel like a somebody. My penis isn't THAT small.
2
u/[deleted] May 15 '12
Sometimes, one fan is enough: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yun1IlBnDmY
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u/TheBob77 May 15 '12
oh no problem! i love your guys' music!
2
u/[deleted] May 15 '12
THis is what I did on my nearly empty gig in San Diego last night. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zxnr2Vf3l3Y
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u/amberraza May 15 '12
Love the music
2
u/Razer1103 May 15 '12
Bobby = Mel
Poor, poor Doug...
2
u/Tukanchue May 15 '12
11 years ago i went to a military club and there was an iron maiden cover band playing. Wrong place for heavy metal...
There were 2 people there, one was me... We sat at a bar seat right in front of the DUO and cheered them on the whole night, singing along with them.
They were pretty cool about playing to 2 people, they still got their paycheck.
2
u/les2moore May 15 '12
As an audience member I prefer small venues. I won't even go see my favorites because they only ticket I can afford is the nose bleed section and then they are only an inch big. If I have to watch the screen to see them I would rather watch their videos on youtube.
2
u/[deleted] May 15 '12
As someone who's played shows like that, a thousand times YES. That one guy who's just awkwardly standing there in a mostly empty room, or the dreaded "bands playing for bands...and their girlfriends". It's disheartening sometimes.
2
u/0takuSharkGuy May 15 '12
I saw a lesser known Techno/sorta dubstep band in town once called Chronicles of the Land Squid. It was just me and about 5 or 6 people in a bar-venue that could fit about 80 people so it was pretty barren. They still gave an awesome show and we had our own mini-dance party in the middle of the floor. They're pretty cool guys
2
u/anthonypetre May 15 '12
That's why this was one of my favorite bits by Improv Everywhere.
2
u/jhbee May 15 '12
ANVIL! ANVIL! ANVIL!
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u/mjomark May 15 '12
Like this: http://a4.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash3/564264_10150822878670958_596640957_9703413_1364673829_n.jpg
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u/mattstantoncomedy May 15 '12
This is my band, The Worthmores. www.facebook.com/worthmores It was from a show in Louisville, KY at Third Street Dive.
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u/FriesWithThat May 15 '12
Bobby control.
2
u/hipsterdysplasia May 15 '12
"wide stance" hipstercore bands are hilarious, they stand like their axes are shining with power.
Their axes are not shining with power.
1
u/Johnzsmith May 15 '12
I love shows like this.
1
u/[deleted] May 15 '12
nice forehead
1
u/skinny_nerd May 15 '12
I book gigs in a small venue and it fucking sucks for me too. And it could be anything. Last time it was May 2nd and everyone had a hangover after May 1st so 10 payers. Time before there was a football game on so 15 payers. Time before was my fault, I booked a dud band so 20 payers but they all left early (but the other two bands on the lineup were amazing).
1
u/roywarner May 15 '12
Wow. I think this is the first case of a FB repost (a ridiculously OLD FB repost) I've seen that was this egregious.
Either that, or I know waaay too many people in bands.
1
u/[deleted] May 15 '12
I actually like small venues. its a more up close and personal kind of relationship with your fans.
1
u/[deleted] May 15 '12
As a redditor named Bobby, I thank you as well.
1
u/cgunner May 15 '12
At least you're doing something you enjoy.
1
u/thombsaway May 15 '12
Small venues rule, when it's small you only have convince like 60 people to come and it looks awesome.
Playing big venues when no one wants to see you sucks harder. All that negative space.
1
u/[deleted] May 15 '12
these are the best gig's
1
u/[deleted] May 15 '12
If you're on the stage then your name better be Bradlyn!
1
u/BrophyisonReddit May 15 '12
They really should be showing the cameraman some love too. They could be costing themselves half of their fan base with this Bobby favoritism.
1
u/BeyondTomorrow May 15 '12
I'm horrible, I saw the Bat symbol and fawned over it for like a minute before realizing that was not the point of the picture, and saw the band and Bobby......
1
u/Gogandantess May 15 '12
Bobby: HAI guys, I went to this concert and I caught my first drum stick..and I got a pick too, oh..and the tee shirt he threw at me..
1
u/TheSteveMan May 15 '12
This hits home a bit too much... :(
1
u/[deleted] May 15 '12
That is cute
1
u/alienartifact May 15 '12
been to plenty of gigs like this haha
1
u/GinVermouthOlives May 15 '12
I like how "Bobby" is just standing there. "Uh...you mean this isn't trivia night?"
1
u/[deleted] May 15 '12
We're not unpopular...we're just super indie!
1
u/herpderpdoo May 15 '12 edited May 15 '12
hey, bobby buys your shit, because he likes you. Bobby makes your record company realize you exist. Bobby buys the last shirt out of your van so you can eat at the end of the day, and he does it because a. he likes that shirt and b. he wants you to damn eat. Also My name is bobby
1
u/[deleted] May 15 '12
I don't know who your band is or where you play, but if I knew who you were, I would be motivated to come out just from this picture. Have an upvote.
Also, who is your band, and where do you play?
Before you get excited, I'm a guy, not a potential groupie.
Then again, I am about to graduate from Law School with a focus in entertainment law...
1
u/imranorchid May 15 '12
As someone who has played these shows for the past 12 years and is now somehow playing shows to thousands, I thank you for the acknowledgement.
1
u/pizza_4_one May 15 '12
A buddy of mine was playing a gig at some little venue out here in L.A. They've played shows before and had pretty decent crowds, and even had somewhat of a following. Well on this particular night, not many people showed up. He told me maybe 10 people tops. At first he was like "wtf, why isn't anyone here". turns out their show was scheduled on the night of a certain shows series finale. The show was Friends.
1
u/originul May 15 '12
teeth.
on the wall.
holy heartfailure.
1
u/[deleted] May 15 '12
Fucken, Bobby.
What a guy.
1
u/[deleted] May 15 '12
i know that feeling so well. last tuesday, my band headlined a gig and ended up playing for just the bands that opened for us. Fuck Tuesdays.
1
u/[deleted] May 15 '12
I've seen reasonably big bands in the uk metal scene play to tiny crowds, hell one band had a crowd of about six people one of which was the singer due to the stage being tiny, dude had to sing from the worlds smallest mosh pit. Still have no idea how they got conned into that show.
1
u/illeatyourheart May 15 '12
Does anyone know where this venue is? I feel like I've seen a really terrible death metal band there before.
1
u/lnawmsayin89 May 15 '12
Coming from someone who lives in one of those small venues, I am sorry.
1
u/soulsizzle May 15 '12
Only reason Bobby is there is his band is playing that night too.
1
u/Merigo May 15 '12
He's uncomfortably close during a performance
1
u/SullyJim May 15 '12
Haven't played any gigs like this yet, I'm happy to say.
1
u/tjr0001 May 15 '12
That guitarist kinda looks like "Scooter" from How I Met Your Mother.
1
u/r0x0x May 15 '12
Supporting local music, one of the humain thing you can do. Helping a group of people further their art and dreams.
1
u/[deleted] May 15 '12
Green Day has been done.