When the Band Can't Come....

Subject: When the Band Can't Come....
From: wysiwyg
Date: 23 Feb 03 - 07:31 AM

This was not a case of a billed no-show-- the band and I agreed the weather conditions (forecast at deciding time) were too dire for them to make a long trip to our remote location. But when the weather proved adequate, meaning People Will Be Coming, whaddaya DO?

You pick up the phone and grab the modem, and you organize a showcase!

Hardi and I specialize in gospel-- no sense having much more of that since the concert followed the church service. So we prepped the fiddle tunes we like to play at home for fun, and taking just the really READY ones this made up about half a set of those. Interspersed among these we presented four other performers, two local and two with an hour or more's drive. (Thank God they saw the opportunity and responded to it, or I'd have been deader than roadkill.) Each person did two long pieces. Three of these folks have performance experience but want to do more, so for them it was a chance to let a potential audience hear them. One is a new player who showed that adults can learn new tricks (he did just one song). We passed the hat for everyone's driving expenses.

We had set up a new, complicated sound system for the expected band, so we'd had a chance to play with that new toy and we also used it for some of the showcase. (Some preferred to be unplugged, in our dream-acoustics old stone building).

Result-- two future concerts planned, new audience well in development, the church is making its way toward being a new "venue," and a bunch of gratified and much-appreciated performers.

Other ideas? What would YOU have done?

~Susan

Subject: RE: When the Band Can't Come....
From: Leadfingers
Date: 23 Feb 03 - 08:01 AM

It seems that I must keep saying 'We are luckier here in UK than some areas'The 'No Show ' thing can happen any where but usually here it
involves a folk club,where we have a number of possible fill in artists ready to hand,and if its a known artist or band from outside the patch usually vivitors from other nearby clubs.This means turning it into a 'Come all Ye'means the M C has a harder job sorting out who is NOT going to perform.Its a bugger when you cant sing in your local club because of all the visitors!!!
Glad your evening came out positive from your No Show situation.

Subject: RE: When the Band Can't Come....
From: wysiwyg
Date: 23 Feb 03 - 10:44 AM

I want to repeat, it was not that the band was anything but reliable-- we both thought it was going to be a total cancellation, which in our climate/terrain does happen-- announcments on the TV and so forth when everyone closes up for weather reasons.

~Susan

Subject: RE: When the Band Can't Come....
From: Ebbie
Date: 23 Feb 03 - 04:27 PM

Congratulations on an emergency well handled! Sounds win-win to me, including for the band originally scheduled. Grudges against No-Shows no matter what the reasons can be long held. This way you got your party, the fill-in people got exposure, the band that couldn't come got no bad publicity, everyone got experience, and everyone will be that much more ready for the next emergency... Well done.

Subject: RE: When the Band Can't Come....
From: wysiwyg
Date: 23 Feb 03 - 06:21 PM

Looks like another outcome will be the establishment of something we saw done rather well in a neighboring state, in a town just a tad too far for us to go to very often-- I suppese the UK folks would recongnize it as a session, but it was held in a restaurant, not a pub, though there was a beer bar in the background. People arrived early, instruments in tow, for a nice meal with one another or friends/family. Then about 7:30 the tables got pushed back a bit for a session in the corner. More people arrived just to listen and for a few hours there was no such thing as time. A basket was passed for a worthy cause and the core group of the players had it as a fun rehearsal of material they gig with. This will take the session that has sort of taken over our monthly songcircle back out of the songcircle. There is a cooperative restaurant a few miles down the road which has welcomed Hardi and I sitting and playing just for fun and a change of scenery, and I think they will let us run a bit of an open mic there too.

~Susan

Subject: RE: When the Band Can't Come....
From: Leadfingers
Date: 23 Feb 03 - 06:30 PM

Sounds to me like you have the makings of a good scene there. From this sideof the pond all I can do is wish you luck,and keep the music alive.

Subject: RE: When the Band Can't Come....
From: wysiwyg
Date: 23 Feb 03 - 06:34 PM

Thanks LF! Can you help with advice if the session has snags?

~S~