today was the longest 14.67 hours of my life. it was a 1 band show. 1 band. they had two tour busses, one with a trailer of gear (like 8 guitar cabs, 4 bass cabs, drums, guitars... the usual) and one trailer that was practically empty with just merch in it. just a trailer of stuff really! they got there at 11:30, you can't make noise at Toad's Place until 5:00. it doesn't take 5.5 hours to set up a trailer of gear. we were done by 1:30 ish... SLOW as hell... and then we had to sit there, because they "neeeeded 2 loaders on all day"
did i mention i was the lighting engineer and the stage manager today... and a loader too apparently because i was one of the 4 counted for loading.
and then they sound checked for 3 hours. 3 hours. only 7 minutes of those three hours were with the band. if i hear "check one, two, neei, neeih, pa, pu, click, click" again, i might shoot someone. and then for the show, it was actually so loud that i didn't want to even try to listen.
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i wrote them a letter...
To whom it may concern,
I just wanted to briefly comment on one of the artists on your roster. Last night I went to see Down play in Richmond, VA at Toad's Place. Actually, let me preface with the fact that I work with artists for a living. I am not the average concert goer. I have been in production for 10 years and on the road for almost as many. I know a good show when I see one. Last night I did not see or hear a good show.
First things first, I know that venue and have gigged there. From what I experienced, load in was noon and you have 5 hours to set up. Sound check starts at 5 due to noise restrictions. Doors were to be opened at 7:30pm. I can't imagine anything that would have caused the doors to be held an extra hour, but they were. With 5 hours to load in and over 2 to sound check, I would assume that any professional touring organization could pull it off. Secondly, that video. 58 minutes of some of the worst looking and sounding footage from the 70's that I have ever seen. I took my restroom break about halfway in and heard nothing but complaints from the others in the restroom. It was horrid. It was also another testament to how slow things must have been moving at load in. With only one band to set up and check, why did it take that long?
Finally the show started. I won't blame the FOH for the way the band sounded because as the saying goes "you can't make chicken soup from chicken... (well, you know)". The band was very sloppy. Even as a fan of the music I still had trouble picking out parts of the songs. The light show. The lighting was what drove me over the edge. Blinders should be used sparingly. Last night I watched the show with my hands over my eyes because of how painful it was to look directly at the stage. The crowd was repeatedly blinded throughout each song. At this point I was just upset. I left the venue after only 30 minutes of the performance. I have never walked out of a show, not even a movie. I was completely disappointed in all levels of professionalism.
While it makes me sad that a band that I have listened to for roughly 13 years, comprised of members of bands that I have listened to for even longer, was such a disappointment, it makes me even more upset seeing how fans aren't getting what they paid for... and then being asked to pay $65 for a hooded sweatshirt.
Regretfully,
--
B. Hargrave
wow.....
chhhheck wooooone, tttttwo, ssssssixxxxxx sssssixxxx....
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