My Worst Gig Ever ...
Posted: Sun Jun 28, 2015 7:58 pm
Hello All ...
As suggested by Glenny, this is a new thread carried on from the previous "Poetry as Entertainment" theme started by David.
The worst gig Rod and I ever experienced was in a little town called Theebine, just south of where we live in Maryborough Queensland. One of the locals is professional country music singer Graeme Jensen - whose claim to fame is that he came second in the Tamworth Golden Guitar ... to Troy Cassar-Daley!
About three times a year, in between his travels, Graeme organises a community event at the Theebine Hall. He headlines it and invites other artists to join. It is all properly set up with sound system and so on. Dinner is cooked by volunteers and tables and chairs are set up in the hall - with a clear area between them and the stage to allow for items of entertainment for the kids, in between the adult acts. Can you see where I'm heading??
We were asked to perform some of our heritage-themed pieces, so we turned up in our 1860s costumes. By the time we got to perform, the kids were well fuelled up on softdrink and had already had several items staged in the "moshpit" for their benefit. The boys were chasing the girls with brown beetles and the girls were squealing obligingly. We didn't have a hope. Graeme made several valiant attempts to shush them, and asked the parents to take charge, but the parents, well fuelled on their own kind of "softdrink", simply didn't care.
The adults at the tables, unable to hear us, just talked louder, and louder, and louder. The kids squealed louder, and louder, and louder. We could have been reciting "the boy stood on the burning deck" for all our audience knew or cared. This went on for every act - not just us. Even Graeme, an excellent professional entertainer well used to priming and wooing his audiences, could not be heard. Some of the guest acts simply refused to go on.
It was an outstanding display of audience bad manners. It wasn't as if the kids were being neglected - they had plenty of chances to run and play between acts, and plenty of acts designed especially for them.
We learnt a lot - and no, we haven't been back to Theebine since!
A side issue - something else we learnt was not to rely on sound equipment designed for singing rather than speaking. We have since bought our own PA and audio system designed for the speaking voice - which delivers a clarity you never get with music-configured equipment.
Cheers
Shelley
As suggested by Glenny, this is a new thread carried on from the previous "Poetry as Entertainment" theme started by David.
The worst gig Rod and I ever experienced was in a little town called Theebine, just south of where we live in Maryborough Queensland. One of the locals is professional country music singer Graeme Jensen - whose claim to fame is that he came second in the Tamworth Golden Guitar ... to Troy Cassar-Daley!
About three times a year, in between his travels, Graeme organises a community event at the Theebine Hall. He headlines it and invites other artists to join. It is all properly set up with sound system and so on. Dinner is cooked by volunteers and tables and chairs are set up in the hall - with a clear area between them and the stage to allow for items of entertainment for the kids, in between the adult acts. Can you see where I'm heading??
We were asked to perform some of our heritage-themed pieces, so we turned up in our 1860s costumes. By the time we got to perform, the kids were well fuelled up on softdrink and had already had several items staged in the "moshpit" for their benefit. The boys were chasing the girls with brown beetles and the girls were squealing obligingly. We didn't have a hope. Graeme made several valiant attempts to shush them, and asked the parents to take charge, but the parents, well fuelled on their own kind of "softdrink", simply didn't care.
The adults at the tables, unable to hear us, just talked louder, and louder, and louder. The kids squealed louder, and louder, and louder. We could have been reciting "the boy stood on the burning deck" for all our audience knew or cared. This went on for every act - not just us. Even Graeme, an excellent professional entertainer well used to priming and wooing his audiences, could not be heard. Some of the guest acts simply refused to go on.
It was an outstanding display of audience bad manners. It wasn't as if the kids were being neglected - they had plenty of chances to run and play between acts, and plenty of acts designed especially for them.
We learnt a lot - and no, we haven't been back to Theebine since!
A side issue - something else we learnt was not to rely on sound equipment designed for singing rather than speaking. We have since bought our own PA and audio system designed for the speaking voice - which delivers a clarity you never get with music-configured equipment.
Cheers
Shelley