If the exposure would help then I would go for it IF I could get my hands on a
couple of 4-wheel dollies.
You said it was a block down the street....I know (from past experience) that I could
kill a 375 of JD and blow two doobs on the way there and not break a sweat. Do the gig
and look forward to trip back to the bus.
 
 

Actually, the guy said we'd have to find parking by getting there early, and then lug it 4-5 blocks.  He doesn't even know. The parking situation is public hourly lots.
 

I do know one thing....when we talked to folks about gigs when we got "I don't know"...we
were gone. "Call us when you get your **** together, bye".

Telling you man, this sounds like a clusterf$@* to me.  Maybe it's me?  Maybe I'm getting old?  It's not like I'm expecting a red carpet rolled out, but this just sounds a little ridiculous.  

You think anybody is going to know if we played there or not?

You've reminded me of a gig we took back sometime @'84
 
Our vocalist handled all of our bookings and contracts.
At a practice one night he asked, "do you guys want to play the Tingley Colosseum? ( that's in Albq.NM)
Sure! And then we went to working on tunes.
A few nights late he informed us that the contract was signed.
 
It was then that we found out it was a RODEO! National Finals for a week. Two nights, one before and one after the rodeo for contestants dance parties.
We all freaked.
 
We knew we could swing the dances but what the hell do you do during a rodeo. Especially in front of 25 to 30,000 people a night....being the lead guitarist they all looked at me for the answer.
Not wanting to be a dumbass I said, well look, I've been to rodeo's and they ride for 8 seconds so we play for seven and stop. They can hear the bell at 8.
Fine they said but what do play for 7 seconds?  Man I never though that all those hours I spent with a guitar while the boob tube was on would amount to anything but I knew a ton of jingles. Theme from Rawhide, Bonanza....you name it.
 
We got to the colosseum after playing the opening night dance and look out. We had to haul equipment up two flights, through stands and then up to a big stage at one end of the building. We were fortunate that the (TV) film crews, cowboys, sponsers and who knows who else -felt sorry for us and they all helped.
Then they put a crew together building big lockable cabinets for us to put all of our equipment in. (which was never touch-security had us covered).
 
The only thing better than the money (which was very good) was the fun. I'd do again in a heart beat.
 
So ya never know Spindle...finding a place to park and moving the equipment could wind up a great memory you never forget.....well maybe forget the "free" part :)
 
 
 
Oh....yeah we were a rock band but we could do country like who'd a thought it. :)

spacey
...finding a place to park and moving the equipment could wind up a great memory you never forget.....well maybe forget the "free" part :)

Well, at least you were getting paid for it.  I don't know.  Maybe it's my lack of imagination, but I just don't know how parking and lugging equipment 4-5 blocks could turn into any sort of memory other than - "let's NEVER do that again!!"

(As you can tell, I'm not very happy right now.)

Knowing when to fold 'em is a good thing.
 

spacey
Knowing when to fold 'em is a good thing.
 

Yes, I'm having ANOTHER "I'm disillusioned" sort of day.  It won't be the last, I'm sure.

I'm going to put it up to a band vote.  This has given me a migrane.

The barrel races gave me a migrane LOL....I'd forgotten about them. Just took one though.

Supply and demand. It's a question of value.
 
They've got bands coming out of their ears. What's one more or less to them? You're getting this attitude because their supply pipeline is full. Will there be huge crowd? Sure! In all of that noise, will you really be given the opportunity to stand out? One of the problems with a large festival gig is that you're competing with a lot of other bands for the attention of an audience that didn't come to see you. In their minds, you may be part of the background noise of the festival.
 
If you get a gig playing in a small club, the supply is limited. Sure, the crowd is smaller, but you don't have to fight to get their attention. They want to hear a good band and see a great show. The demand for a good band is high.
 
It's one thing for the venue to offer you the use of their gear. It's another thing to require it. I understand the reasons, given the nature of the event, limited time slots, and size of the crowd, but it could be a very negative thing. If their drums sound like garbage, if their amps are trash, or if their FOH engineer is not Karyn, all of your hard work might be for nothing.
 
I don't know. I'm sure some other musicians play these gigs, have a great time, and walk out with a few thousand new best friends. In my opinion, this doesn't usually happen because you end up being just another band on a very crowded stage. Unless you stand out (and I mean stand out in a very big way), you're likely to be forgotten moments after that last chord fades away.
 
I've been to a number of festivals myself, and I can only tell you the names of a few bands that I saw. Each time, I remembered them only because I already knew of them and went specifically to see them. The others were just part of the atmosphere. Maybe that's just me, though. If you want to do it and the cost (in time and money) is worth it to you, then go for it. Play your heart out and have a great time. If you feel torn, perhaps you should listen to that part of you that is reluctant. Whatever you decide, I wish you and your band the best.