I wish my husband had caught a photo of Tempest's best set, with 30-40 people at their feet, happy, singing along and dancing like fairy folk! The younger ones had been brought up on their music, as they've been at it for 21 years! Naturally, the guys had to minimize the jumping around, and the band leader stepped most gingerly off stage, between amp stack and my mic/T1 stand. to dance with the crowd. Quite a feat...

Okay, last one, I promise. As you can see, the guys put their monitors off the front of the stage, which we appreciated.

They marveled at the L1 systems, which showed up very well, natch! They were impressed with sound quality, volume, and the clarity of sound at a distance.

No surprise.

Hi Mary,

Thank you for the pictures. It looks like you and the Banshees had a wonderful time, a supportive environment, some interesting twists to navigate and a couple of super venues.

I've been following the saga throughout. (Cheering in the background but content not to clutter the flow). You've been at this for awhile. You know what you are doing. It looked like you had it all handled.

Thank you for sharing this experience with us. I wish you could know how much I appreciate that you do.

quote:

As you can see, the guys put their monitors off the front of the stage, which we appreciated.

Thank goodness.
That is one crowded stage. Glad it worked out well. I love outdoor gig's, the L1 handles it so well.
Before my L1, I had a pair of those JBL's on a stick. I could never go back there now.

Thanks ST and Joel!

Yes, it turned out okay, but I would not call it wonderful. I feel it was too much work and quite an energy drain for both bands.

I love handling our own sound in a variety of situations, but feel that sizable festivals with pre-concerts should provide basic items for the bands: stage space, sound support, shade and water.

It was blazing hot, hitting 100 by our final sets, and we had to go ask for water, which we should not have had to... same fundamental issue. It looks shady, but one beam of that valley sun really fries musician and instrument. In the final picture, we are hotter than you'd think (in the negative sense) and nearing blisters on our hands.

I really wish the organizers had found the funding for a bigger stage, canopy, and festival level sound. Here, a couple hours away in our humble, somewhat smaller city, which has its own annual Scottish Games, a huge stage in a huge tent, sound support and big buckets filled with ice and bottled water are the norm. Bands can play without sticking to their instruments, and festival goers can take respite. It's a nice feeling.

It's a matter of getting sponsors, which is another story.

Anyway, got through it, did enjoy hanging out with our peers and the kind folk who braved the heat to come see us. And sold CDs...always a plus!

Mary

By contrast, here's from our sound check this year at our Games. We share this monster stage with the Wicked Tinkers, who jump around even more than Tempest, wielding a didgeridoo and various large drums as they do. Gotta give bands what they need to really put on the best show, eh?

(And now I'm going to write our local organizers a note and tell them just how wonderful they are...).

Hi Mary, and thanks for all the great pictures, and entertaining report.
When did you guys go all Model II?
Did you sell off your Classics?

Hi Pete!
It was last October that we plunked down our band plastic for the upgrade. (One payment left on the mighty Bose interest-free plan! Yay!) I'd been using the T1 with my classic before that, so we had a leg up.

We sold our Classics on Ebay pretty easily, along with extra gig bags, R1s. So it defrayed a chunk of it, anyway.

Love 'em. And the T1s are just little porta-gems.

Mary

Bonjour Mesdames!

Your crowds really seem to get into the shows! Loved the photos.

I did notice however that the T1s looked a bit exposed; did you ever consider using velcro ties to attach the cables to the microphone stand? This way if someone's foot pulls a cable or the microphone stand bracket should break, the T1 won't fall further than the length of the cables above the tie.

Cheers,

Hi JFd,
Once a sound tech tripped and sent my T1 and mic stand crashing off the stage and onto the floor below. A few dings, but no damage! Pretty cool, huh?

That's sure a thought. I feel the T1 sits pretty securely on the bracket, though the bracket clip takes a lot of weight, and the T1 leans a tad. I feel that tying the chords to the stand might add to the stress on the clip.

I'm hoping that some bright young fellow is designing mic stand bracket clip 2.0 as we speak!

Bonjour again Mary,

Re. putting extra strain on the bracket by tying the cables: it would actually be the reverse. Tying the cables on the stand would relieve the weight of aforementioned cables from pulling down on the T1 and the bracket that holds it up. The cables would go straight out of the back of the T1 with no downward or sideways pull on the T1.

I read somewhere on this forum of one person that leaves his cables tied permanently to the mic stand. He just unplugs the T1 and the instruments and transports the cables attached to the stand.

Have fun!

Oh, right... A couple of my cables have velcro fasteners. I'll give it a try, with enough play to lighten the load. This very Friday.

I think I'll keep stowing my cables, though!

For anyone interested, there's an active discussion on the mic stand bracket here. It's the most current of several threads on proper usage, and the inevitable wear and tear.

I'm hoping the conversation will contribute to a next generation bracket clip design.

quote:

I really wish the organizers had found the funding for a bigger stage, canopy, and festival level sound. Here, a couple hours away in our humble, somewhat smaller city, which has its own annual Scottish Games, a huge stage in a huge tent, sound support and big buckets filled with ice and bottled water are the norm. Bands can play without sticking to their instruments, and festival goers can take respite. It's a nice feeling.

Did you express your concerns (and experience with your local festival) to the organizers of the event? Saturday's event stage looked pretty typical to me, when provided by an organization not vested in the aspects of musical entertainment for their event. I'm guessing there must have been other activities at this event which took place and music was simply "one" of the venues for the event. Either way, some kinds words to the organizers might be helpful for them in planning next year's event. I've taken this approach in the past with event organizers having minimal experience with knowing what performing artists/bands require (or would simply like to have), with success.

Of course, as with life in general, you must weigh the benefits for yourself and Banshee in the Kitchen, to really decide how involved you want to be in promoting live music.

Thank your husband (for the pics) and you for the gig report! I always feel like I gain information and knowledge when I can see and read what other performers have done to be successful. All the best....John

Hi John,

Actually, yes, in various ways, at the booking stage and on. You meet all kinds of folks in this business, and in this case I know they meant the very best and just feel that everything costs too much. The man in charge was an older gentleman who has been putting this event on for many years, so at the end I just shook his hand and thanked him for having us.

Some gigs are just way more work than others!

To me, this was very small for a main stage--especially when you are requiring both bands to provide their own sound--and more like with second and third stages I've seen. The other stage at this event was about the same size, and un-shaded. Our colleagues playing there finally gave up, unplugged and walked out on the grass to play, where at least it was cooler.

Oh well, in these economic times we couldn't be too choosy. We did appreciate the invitation, despite the down sides. CD sales not bad.

But the second the closing ceremonies were done, you should have seen how fast people were tearing down!

Mary,

Let me add to the chorus of thanks for the photos and gig report. I feel like I've been there -- and in some ways, I have

The indoor stage does indeed look like an ideal setting for the L1 approach. Outdoors, the L1s perform well too, of course. But that tiny stage they stuck you on -- sheesh! Jill's idea of putting up the tables behind you made it work. Luckily, there were tables to be had.

My groups also perform a lot in the Central Valley (near Sacramento), so I know what you mean about the summer heat. I never go out without a big hat and many bottles of water. I always get a little nervous when I see the sun pounding down on the base of an L1, but so far neither my Classics nor M2s have overheated.

Thanks for giving your gift of music!

--Rick

Yes indeedy, Rick! The Valley heat MUST be respected. We did power down our L1s between sets as a precaution.

Glad to know the gig report is welcome. I know I like to see and learn about other people's experience as well. Great forum.

Mary

Thanks for the excellent gig report Mary !


Ted

You are so welcome.
Mary