Playing Time New Years Eve international ?

[thingyy]

Playing 6 hour gig.
Normal gigs are 4 hours.{8-12}
I remember in the UK it was 2 hrs a band a gig, does that still apply?
Just wondering what other countries normal playing times are.

[themd21]

Hi Thingy

In Belfast most bands do a 2 hour show, disco before and after.
Me as a solo I do a 9 TO 1, 3 spots say 1 hour, 1:15, a bit of Auld Lang Sang around Midnight and then half an hour knees up to finish. Sound similar?

[kldavis]

I'm working south of Sydney (Australia) NYE though our usual gigs are 4 hours NYE is 5 hours 7.30-12.30 but hey we're getting paid nearly 4 times our usual fee - can't complain 'bout that

Cheers Kirk

[thingyy]

Yeh, ditto here with the pay, free accomodation and meals, playing the next night same venue. On Tuesday4&1/2 Hour drive home.

[Emerald Midi]

I'm in Ireland too, Co. Tipperary.

My New Year's gig, a solo act, just me, my keyboard and my midis, will be a little over two hours long but without a break. I'll start up at 10.30 pm and and finish off around 12.45. But it's a two hour round trip to the venue, an hour there, an hour home.

In Poland 12 hour gigs are part of the norm.

[levi2]

all varies where i am some ive done 3 spots some 4 last year i did 4 30 mins spots finish at 12.45 am year b4 done just 3 30 mins spots finished at midnight that was good lol because a lot of places once midnights in they wann go home to parties

[lucky1950]

Hi Thingy !
We start play at 8 till 4 , but in contract we have written a possibility to prolongate gigging time , then each hour is paid extra money .As Pat was written in Poland is normal to play 12 hour gig but only weddings party , during the carnival bands were play 8 - 9 hours with breaks of course .My band usually playing in system 25 minute music and 10 minutes break .
Lucky

[weegeo]

Hiya bit late i know but our gigging time in Larne is 9----1:00 it`s a great venue but the crowd are difficult to gig to because of the age differences but we knock them dead as usual may i wish u all a very Happy New Year and a verp prosperous 2007

[frankie]

Our gig time is similar to pat around 2h 30mins which is long enough .I would hate to be like lucky with those playing times. Cheers .

[shezza]

Hi there, I have only ever known 3x30mins. or 2x45mins.
Sometimes less if they want to get more Bingo in.
But I must admit that if they are a good crowd,I've been known to go on for nearly an hour on the last spot..........Happy New Year To All.

[guilty]

Our normal gigs range between 3 and 4 hours. Usually 3 x 40min sets over 3 hours and add a 1/2 hour set when 4 hours.

N.Y.E normally 4 to 5 hours but lots of extra cash so I can't complain.

The 3x30s or 2x45s sound good to me.....save the voice and all, but that doesn't happen over here.

Have a great New Year everyone. ;D

[Steptoe]

Regular gig here in Oz is 4 x 40 minute sets. New Year we're doing 5 sets (8 - 1am), but we also have a DJ working with us on the night which helps!

[gibbo]

Ditto for us, John, but when things are boppin' we tend to do longer sets and take shorter breaks.
Just as a point of interest; I once played a "gig" in Bremerhaven, Germany, that went for 72 hours... yep, 3 days non-stop. An Icelandic fishing fleet had landed after months at sea and the boys were VERY ready to party and fully paid-up from the season's catch. The band members slept in shifts whilst ring-ins played as substitutes, we were getting guys out of the audience to play with us. I spent half my breaks phoning every muso I knew in Germany and somehow we managed to outlast all the crazy Icelanders! This gig is legendary and still talked about whenever anyone mentions the Bremerhaven Rock Scene. It's also directly responsible for the gravel in my throat!!!

[moonie]

Geez Dave did you play that Semisonic song? Y'know "singing in my sleep"! Well last year's NYE was 10 sets...9 were 1 to 2.5 songs long and then one 30min set in the dark! Crazy gig...we played at the dogs and the races are only 20min apart so after they photo the winners etc not much time to play and as for the set in the dark...it was trackside and floodlight for the racing so we didn't bother taking any lights but some fool in the judges box hit the wrong switch and put the track in darkness (so no racing untill they could get the lights back up), back there this year but I'm just doing the PA for another band so my day will be 2pm-2am!

[gibbo]

Hey Luke,
According to witnesses and some of the photos taken at the time, the answer is "yes, I could well have been unconscious for part of it!". There are also pics of me dancing on tables, kissing strange girls, playing drums, guitar and sax, and for most of the 72 hours I seem to have at least one glass in my hand! My girlfriend at the time claims I actually slept for 20 minutes about 6 times through the whole thing. Then after it was all over I apparently slept for 22 hours straight, of course it was more like being in a coma than sleep! The punch-line is that in Germany there were no licensing hours, bars just stayed open as long as there were paying customers and we got paid by the set. Most weeks we did 6 - 8 sets a night, 6 nights a week, on that loooong weekend we settled on 60 as the most likely number of sets performed (all the guest musicians got paid in free drinks) and Herman, the bar owner, was VERY happy to pay up!
Loved the dog track story, those 1 song sets can be murder!