Two of the gigs had an unusual component. We were essentially opening up for the main attraction - a DJ! On Friday night we played the Blues Theatre gig at Jazzbones in Tacoma. The gig is from 8-10:30 PM, and all band gear has to be cleared off of the stage in 30 minutes so that the DJ can get set up.
The Preachers at Jazzbones. Photo created by Lauri Miller.
A little over 50 people paid a cover to see the Preachers. By the time I took the last of my stuff out to my car, there was easily a hundred people in the club waiting for the DJ to start, and a line was forming outside the door. A waiter told me that it is not unusual for 300-400 people to attend the DJ show on Friday nights.
By the way, we had friends from Silverdale, Shoreline, and Ballard show up for this gig, but not one of our Tacoma peeps. Go figure!
On Saturday night we played at the H20 in Anacortes. This is the live music venue owned by the same folks that own the Rockfish Grill next door. The bands that used to play at the Rockfish now play at the H20, a larger venue dedicated to live music. Much to the relief of the diners at the Rockfish, I'm guessing.
This is another early gig (7:30-10:30 PM), and another DJ set up on the stage after we cleared off our equipment. The neighborhood was pretty quiet for a Saturday night and we only had about a third of the seats filled during our gig. There was no throng waiting to hear canned music when we left, so maybe everyone had had too much weekend by then?
In other news, we played a set at the Friends of the Holidays benefit at The Swiss in Tacoma on Sunday and had a blast! We were the only stone cold blues band to play the gig. We may have puzzled some of the attendees, but I thought that the Preachers played a great set.
We were proceeded by the young local hotshot guitarist Nolan Garrett. I guess some people think this kid is going to be the next Jonny Lang. Well, his band is certainly loud enough to qualify!
You can check out the Boneyard Preachers here. See you at the nightclub!
5 comments:
Really? A DJ? Twice? Really? Well for Thanksgiving eve we (Blues on Tap) got bumped off our weekly Wednesday gig (which we've been doing for the last 11 months) because the club wanted to do a show with FIVE DJ's. Reggae DJ's. One from Greece. We usually bring in 40 guests on a Wednesday. The DJ's brought in about 200. Go figure.
I hear you, Bruce!
I was at your show, Mike, and frankly I don't know why the club bothered with a live band. On the club's website, there was no mention of live music, just a dj show starting at 1030. Nor was there mention on the marquee. A sign of the times, I suspect. At least in disco days live and recorded music was kept separate. That was less of a humiliation.
They just pay the band a percentage of the door at that gig. If nobody shows up there is minimal risk for the club. They know that the DR will fill the joint, so why bother promoting the band?
DJ, I mean!
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