SUBCULTURE AUGUST

(ellipses still intact!)

I was chuckling recently about a new promoter’s Facebook thread titled “What do I need to tell opening bands about show etiquette?”… Some of the answers were hilarious and pretty standard… For instance… Stick to a 30-minute set… I understand you’re excited to finally get a show but I’ve had opening bands jam out for an hour… Not only does that screw up set times, it makes the other bands, sound guy and promoter have an instant dislike for your band… Only your family and friends are enjoying your shit after the 40-minute point in the set… I loathe when I have to interject and say, “Get the fuck off the stage”…

Another gem was the dreaded gear changeover… I’ve had non-newbie bands that are guilty of this debacle… The crowd is wondering after 20 minutes if the show is over because it’s taking so long… How many times have you actually struck your gear… Maybe that needs to be practiced at one of your jam sessions…



How about cranking your amp to 11 and ripping off a bunch of riffs before the show even starts… What the hell is that?… That I think is one of my biggest pet peeves… Cool it with the covers unless you’re a tribute band… One tops!

Promoters also chimed in with bring some people out… Be eager and do the little things, like creating some handbills and getting some word of mouth going…  Some band guys mentioned things like sticking around at the show to support the other bands sharing the bill… All these seem like obvious doings, but I’ve witnessed the opposite often… Sometimes you can’t even get a band to invite people to the event you created or even share it on social media… That’s the shit that’s free… Even the handbills cost maybe tops out at the price of a cup of coffee at Starbucks or a burger at Rotten Ronnies…

Showing up at the show with all your gear and band members intact and on time, is also extremely helpful… You’re not fooling anyone when you’re trying to delay taking the stage at your slotted time until there are more people there!… If you did the work to make fans give a shit, they will be there for your opening slot… That work eventually translates into climbing the gig depth chart…

Here’s a tidbit on getting a show in the first place… Don’t phone the booking coordinator, who works nights, at 8 a.m…. Instant growling occurs… The only people allowed to call me at that time of day are my mother or an extreme emergency situation… I even had one Alberta band guy that stalked me on Facebook and sent me a tense note for posting a status update before I answered his message… WTF?!

There are varied reasons why sometimes an answerback message isn’t instant… Your gig request is void of any information including the band name… You’ve messaged me on a work weekend and it got buried… That seems to be easing up email-wise with the new anti-spam legislation… Maybe I have the prospective date earmarked by genre… or I’m waiting on confirmations on quite a few bands that are already penciled in… Some other promoter has a hold on that date… Or the big one – you’re not punk or metal! It’s only in rare cases I go off genre, that being when there are big shows in town, both punk and metal and it makes no sense to attempt to compete…

Happy gigging newbs!

-wendythirteen