Lack of punters

[shezza]

Hi All,
Just wondering what the audience situation is like for the rest of you muso's.I have noticed a dramatic decline of punters over the last 6 months.I know that it will never get back to how it was in the 70s/80s but it's getting that bad I don't know how they can afford to pay the acts.In fact many clubs around here have canceled all acts on Friday and Sunday and just have them on a Saturday.Is there,anyone out there that can remember the Noon & Nights, where you used to be booked to play at lunch time and
again at the same venue at night time.And all the welfares had an act in the the concert room and one in the lounge. Those were the days

[pmalcolm]

Ah yes, I remember it well!

[blonaybear]

It’s the same here ! I play in Switzerland, France, Germany and Austria and the number of venues offering live music has certainly declined in the last few years. Now it’s DJ’s and karaoke. There was a good Country scene but this has been killed off by the line dance clubs who, it seems, can only dance to an original recording and not a live band !

It seems that the publics perception musical entertainment has changed. Who would have thought that major festivals would feature someone on the main stage playing a CD (DJ set) and being given the same status as a real band or, that people would pay to see artists miming their hits and, apparently, find this acceptable ?

[rogerb]

I'm afraid it's as bad here in Cyprus - a distinct lack of tourists and those that are coming seem to want to be "entertained" (and I use the word very loosely) by karaoke. Oh for the good old days!

[guilty]

Here in Melbourne our numbers don't seem to changed too much over the last decade. Karaoke is popular as are nightclubs but the live music scene is still flourishing. It will never be like the 80's again and here in Victoria we had poker machines introduced in the early 90's which stole a lot of our live venues. We currently do 4 to 5 nights a week and yes, Wednesday & Thursday night crowds are smaller but the other nights are pumping.
"Morning Melodies" are popular at the moment. A one hour show including morning tea and some good old time tunes (I've never actually attended one) but these are at gaming venues trying to attract the elderly and their pension money. Texas Hold'em Poker is also the rage at many pubs along with trivia nights and the number of "Tribute" bands is growing by the day.

[ironbaden]

Indeed its True...... Video has Killed the Radio Star. Back in the day a live Band was considered special...now a day's there is no mystique ...no aweness... does this make anysense? ;D

[gibbo]

Yes, the good old days seem well behind us.
Still, you've gotta stay optimistic... "I'm sure there's a pony in here somewhere!" as the old gag goes. Regardless of the size of the crowd (or lack thereof) I always try my best to create an atmosphere of fun and enjoyment for whoever is there, maybe they'll bring their friends next time! I've taken on rooms with 15 punters and built 'em up to full-houses in my time, it's always a matter of persistence and staying true to the spirit of music. I seem to recall Pete Townsend declaring Rock was dead ages ago, yet here we are, still rockin' along!
Keep the faith, brothers and sisters!
(part 2 of this sermon will be coming to a dance-hall near you in the near future, lol) :-)

[shezza]

gibbo, you're absolutely right when you say we should still do our best regardless of the amount of punters. A good example of this was just this weekend,I had a gig at a working mens club in chesterfield and the audience has gone down to an all time low, 13 to be exact, and on a good night 20
hearing that there wouldn't be many in I thought of asking if the club would rather me not play saving the club the fee and me some really hard work,and then I thought I wouldn't bother using
the various stands that I have for my equipment and use the tables instead. I did neither and set up and played as though there were a crowd of a 100. After the first set I was sitting in the dressing room when a knock came at the door and it appears that one of the thirteen that was in was an agent offering me some work. So doing my best regardless payed off.

[lennon]

So true, aint' nostalga a wonderful thing. Here in Bristol (the foundation stone of the national in-bred society) some time ago, you could go out ANY night of the week and see good acts, solo's, bands, they were all out there. One pub used to have live music Sunday's, Monday's, Wednesday's and Thursday's. Friday night you could literally walk around a square mile and lose count of how many acts were performing. Sadly tho', these places are now either "luxury appartments", office blocks or old peoples retirement homes. (Not that I have anything against old people,as some of us that read these pages may be closer to that age than we would readily own up to, myself included). Sometimes I can't help but think, wouldn't it be brilliant if it went full circle, and these places started to make a comeback. Then you get the problem of all the young ****heads who just want to go out and get absolutely bladdered, not caring whether theres anything going on at all. Ah ! halcyon day's. (woman, get my ovaltine ready, I'm off to my pit) !!!!
Lennon.

[weegeo]

As the old song goes `Those were the days` we could also ask the question `Were have all the people gone ` It`s the same all over i think nowdays people prefer to drink or party at home i had a gig on Friday nite 9:30 start thru to 12:45 from the start right up to 11:35 we were singing to 3 customers and 4 bar staff as soon as the other bars closed the place was swamped with people i judge it and take my break at 11:15 coming back at 11:45 leaving us an hour to finish and of course when we finish it`s the usual shouts of more but i don`t oblige they should all have been in from the start lol lol