Clubs & Bars

Lighting people get asked to do EVERYTHING. In my experiences I've been asked to do clubs and bars because DJ's like to have live affects, and they like to talk with designers so that their shows are awesome. I've never agreed to do it because it makes me utterly nervous. Plus I'm a full time student. Aint nobody got time for that.

Has anyone ever done a gig at a club or bar?
How was your experience?
What did you learn?
How well did you get paid?
Would you do it again?

Thanks guys.
 
Did between 1500 and 2k club jobs in the 70's and 80's. That work requires a lot of flexibility. Needless to say that was early on in the theatrical rock era, so a big issue was always making sure we could get the needed power. (carting in a 30k dimmer rack and the manager is pointing to a 20 amp outlet.) Pay wasn't bad for the time, but I was contracted by the management company, not the club or the band.
 
Lets just say this applies to technicians also:

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Welcome to the forum Dallas. Certainly there is much to be learned by doing the small gigs. Such experience will prove invaluable in your future. Good luck! Keep safe.
 
Done very very few of these gigs. Why? When asked generally they wanted me to do it for free (or very cheap), and supply all the gear. "no thanks"
But if they are willing to pay enough to justify going out the door, when you dont have another gig to do than "hey its a gig", its experience and a chance to make other contacts and make an impression.
 
Done quite a few. If you find the right club owners, they can be very profitable. Get someone stuck and needing something on short notice, get them to do lighting/video/audio with a full crew, and it can make your month easily (I have had a couple almost make my year).

If they don't want to pony up the money, or want a show that doesn't fit you can tell in about 5 minutes. Tell them no thanks and move on.

I would rather do installations though. We once installed the same club 4 times in one year (the owners kept going under, gear sold at auction, new owner moves in, wants basically the same setup, lather, rinse, repeat).

Mike
 
If the dj or outside promoter is hiring you the venue usually is kind of jerky about letting outsiders in. They feel insulted that their place isn't everything it could be. For some reason, the places that primarily have live bands don't seem to have this issue as often.

But regardless of who is paying you GET THE MONEY IN GUARANTEED FUNDS, UP FRONT. And sign a contract.
 
I used to do a lot of club work back in the day. The one thing I would recommend is to be very very savvy on the business end. It is sad to say but a lot of the time I was dealing with promoters and owners who were high on cocaine and X. Just be careful and vigilant with who you deal with. As far as the install world I would ask to at least have 1/2 or 1/4 of my fee payed up front and the rest once completed. I did this because they may blow said money on drugs before I could have gotten paid, also I got paid under the table 95% of the time so it can be hard to threaten legal action. Again it sucks to say that is how it can be, in that world you take a lot of chances unless your doing work through a big production house like 4Wall or Christie Lights.. As an LD I would ask for a flat fee for an event. Now this all depends on the area of the country your in, obviously a club in Miami, Atlanta or Las Vegas will throw around major money as opposed to a club in a smaller city.

It is a really weird business, I did it a lot in my early 20's, haven't done it since then.
 

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