Does anyone actually like “Pub gigs”?

[Bob Womack]

Ah, the roar of the grease paint and the smell of the crowd...

Bob

[Goodallboy]

Originally Posted by rct

No.



Substitute "...the noise, the ever nauseating ringtones, the hipsters and hot soccer moms hopped up on foamy milkshakes disguised as coffee drinks, the crying babies, the constant talking, the smells!" and you got yer average coffee shop or "open mic".



Fortunately for you, you don't have to go those places to try to actually listen, and nobody is going to force you to go out and do it.



Your friend is in the wrong business and you are wisely avoiding that mistake yourself.

Stay home, play your guitars, enjoy them. Let others do the heavy lifting of being out in the bars. We'll probably all be happier for it.

rct

I like the comparison to an open mic or playing in a restaurant or coffee shop.

Bars, or “pubs”, are for bands and they command that space quite well. It’s their thing and I’m glad they enjoy it. I was there at one time, but that time is past. It was great fun.

As a singer-songwriter the only venue I’ll play is a dedicated listening room. Thankfully there are a couple in my area and while long overdue, they are supported very well.

I applaud all musicians that play wherever and whenever they can.

[rct]

Originally Posted by Goodallboy

I like the comparison to an open mic or playing in a restaurant or coffee shop.

Bars, or “pubs”, are for bands and they command that space quite well. It’s their thing and I’m glad they enjoy it. I was there at one time, but that time is past. It was great fun.

As a singer-songwriter the only venue I’ll play is a dedicated listening room. Thankfully there are a couple in my area and while long overdue, they are supported very well.

I applaud all musicians that play wherever and whenever they can.

Yes, this last sentence. Yes, this. It's called "support", not questioning the relative sanity of others that are doing something you can't or don't want to do, while disguising it as "just sayin mmmkay".

Go out and do it, or don't, but above all, support people doing whatever it is they do in front of whoever it is they do it in front of.

rct

[rokdog49]

Originally Posted by jim1960

Nope. I don't like any gig where I'm basically relegated to background music, so that rules out bars, restaurants, coffee houses, etc. Early on I knew I didn't like that kind of gig. These days, I'll only do shows for an audience that's there to hear the music ...my music.

That would pretty much eliminate playing gigs for us, but I do understand.
We have one steady gig where people come to hear music. Some even come to hear us.

[Twitch]

I play in a duo, we gig on average (amongst others) 3 pub gigs per month. I don't kid myself - I'll never be talented enough, or smart enough, or rich enough whatever to play beyond pub gigs and that's ok. But seriously, to have nurtured my small talent into the confidence and ability to perform live in ANY venue, pub or otherwise is simply astonishing to me.

Most people are friendly, I always have something to look forward to, and I actually get paid to play my guitar and sing for a few hours most weekends - and that just blows me away. I am very grateful and yes, for me pub life is good.

[Mr. Jelly]

At bar gigs to be a success you need to be the life of the party in a way. Either that or it's a job. Allot of jobs pay better.

[lodi_55]

Originally Posted by rct

Yes, this last sentence. Yes, this. It's called "support", not questioning the relative sanity of others that are doing something you can't or don't want to do, while disguising it as "just sayin mmmkay".

Go out and do it, or don't, but above all, support people doing whatever it is they do in front of whoever it is they do it in front of.

rct

While I don't agree with the generalizations here (bars, coffee shops, open mics) that supposedly lay the foundation, I don't think anyone is questions anyone's sanity. We all have our preferences and it's cool to discuss.

Some musicians needs all eyes on them and can't deal with bars, microbreweries, coffee shops, open mics, etc where they are not the focus of attention. Personally, I love gigging at a microbrewery or wine bar where I'm essentially background music. I'm totally comfortable with that and have a great time doing it. I have friends that won't do anything but house concerts and that's their preference (although their gigs and few and far between)

As gigging musicians, I feel we all support each other even if we strong preferences around what we will or will not do related to our own gigs.

[Casey86]

Ahhh the ambience of pubs. Sports on the tv, drunks, some nice people and some stupid people, smokers.

I too have played thousands of gigs over 47 years, always in a band on bass. Perhaps having band mates make the worst places better. I love playing music, even if it's to idiots. Started gigging at 16, now 63 and do 75 to 125 gigs a year mostly jazz to mostly sober people.

I noticed early on in my music career that the old musicians were either drunks or tea totalers. Not much has changed. It is really hard at a pub to not take free drinks. A tough life for a musician.