concert

N

Nick_Black

Mirthmaker
sorry, I don't know where to put this thread. but I think this section is the most suited... anyway.

a friend of mine is having a wild Idea of setting a wold record for longest concert (15 day's non stop) but, as far as i remeber, he's never set up a gig b4, yet alone a big ass one like this, he's planning to get some big stars to play (like billy talent) and a shit load of Indie/unsigned bands.

anyway, other than "give up" what kind of things would you sugest he do to prepare for such a thing. so far I was thinking.

how many watt's/decibles will you need to cover the area
(he already knows where he wants to)
how much pwr will you need, and where will you get it from.
what kind of stage?
where will you keep the bands? behind the stage?
where are you gonna keep the sound guy?
who is going to be the sound guy?
lighting?
advertising?
sponsers? who?

those are a few things I was planning to ask him, you guy's have any sugestions for him to think of or do?

thxs

(don't get your hopes up. his mouth is usually bigger than his actions.)
 
Dude, your friend has absolutely, positively, no idea what the fuck he's talking about. Seriously. It's like some 14 year old kid saying he's gonna run a country. Or 20. Nobody's gonna want to come out to this. At all. Here are some reasons why this won't possibly work (and believe me, this list is a small fraction of the reasons this won't work):

- No bands will want to play for a guy who's never set up a show
- Nobody will come out to a show without any bands
- Shows with more than 4-5 bands usually suck unless there's something else to do, so he'd have to get venders & other shit for people to do, which won't happen without said bands
- Real bands require real money to play. Like, in the thousands at very least.
- Renting out a huge park or something for 15 days will cost a shitload of money
- Fests don't sell as much as they used to, 'cause nowadays everyone's got the internet. Sounds stupid, but look at CD sales lately... kids can listen to whatever band they want, whenever they want
- The sound equipment that would be required would have to run for 15 days straight. Good luck.
- Whatever stage you rent will also cost an arm & a leg to rent
- Nobody will want to sponsor the event, 'cause there aren't any bands onboard
- He'd have to deal with a shitload of labels and their associated fees
- Nobody wants to listen to music for 15 days straight. Jesus christ, 12 hours seems like an eternity!

In closing, he's more than welcome to try, 'cause there's literally no way in the history of time that this can possibly ever work ever. Period.
 
When I was in college, a friend ran the organization that put together on-campus concerts. He asked me to take a survey, and on that piece of paper were the bands available and the price to hire them for one gig. The bands were from all different genres, but were acts like Green Day, Outkast, and I think Fastball. You get the general idea - successful acts, but not arena acts (no AC/DC, Aerosmith, etc.). Cheapest band was a crummy punk act for 12k. Most expensive was 60k. Think maybe a three hour set for that band. That is eight bands per day, fifteen days. Cheapest you are going to get under that estimate is 1.44 million dollars.

[EDIT:] ...and that is just to pay the bands. That doesn't count the site, the sound system, the stage, the security, the rest of the general grunt hirees, and the permit.
 
Let me guess. He had a dream about walking around in the desert with a half naked indian and Jim Morrison told him to put on a concert.
 
Trust me, this isn't gonna happen. Parks generally require you to have at least a million dollars of insurance, and there are 100x more things that will be harder and more expensive to obtain than the insurance.
 
Outlaws said:
Are there even 4-5 bands any more that can play their instruments for over 30 minutes at a time? :D :D :D :D
Click to expand...


How did you know I haven't touched my bass for 3 weeks? :eek: I'll bet that I cam jam for 3-5 minutes, right now, nonstop. May have to take a 1 minute beer break, though. :o :D
 
Yeaaaah probably not going to happen, unless you make it small, which would be quite the oxymoron when it comes to 15-day long festivals.

We rent the social hall in Kunkle, Pennsylvania for entire weekend when we want to put on a show, so that we have a day to set up and practice, and then we play one or two nights, and tear down Sundays.

Its I think 75 bucks a day... but, its about a 200 person capacity, and the stage would barely foit an act with a drummer. Not that I am telling you to use this place, I'm just sayin, you can probably find a small place in the middle of nowhere that you could rent for that long, at only maybe 1-2k cost.

You would then have to find shitty local bands that will play for free or next to free, and then find the audience. I think out of anything, that will be the hardest part. At least if you don't try and set up a full-on festival with huge name acts, etc.

Hell, my brother keeps renting that social hall to play at, and people don't show up - yet he persists. And all at the cost of my hauling every piece of gear I own 3 hours south to PA whenever he gets the playin-out fever... but that's a rant for another thread.
 
steve.h: your absolutly right that he has no clue ... but I'm a bit mad mysylf.. and want to help him :D (plus, that means, another show my band can play at. and if my band gets it's name in the record book... I wouldn't mind :D:D )
and you have some good points. but I would like to comment on some of them:

No bands will want to play for a guy who's never set up a show:
*correction: no BIG band will wanna play*

Renting out a huge park or something for 15 days will cost a shitload of money
*we have a place*

Nobody wants to listen to music for 15 days straight. Jesus christ, 12 hours seems like an eternity!
*meh. let them leave, well just find other to take thier place, I don't care so long the bands keep playing*

all the other points are good. and I will take them into concideration





BrentDomann: hehe he'll have fun hearing those figures :p

ocnor: wouldn't be suprised (Amazing movie :D:D)

Outlaws: as priviosly stated, we have a place.

Outlaws: yes, my own band often play's for 2 hrs or so non stop (but we got to take like a 4hr break after wards..)

cusebassman: yeah I was thinking about doing it small.. keep our eye on the objective, to set a record. lol, and your brother sounds like me :D but I stoped after I lost a fair amount of money :o

thanks guy's for the responses
 
Outlaws said:
Are there even 4-5 bands any more that can play their instruments for over 30 minutes at a time? :D :D :D :D
Click to expand...

So it's not just me who thinks that? Today's bands actually are totally limp piss-eyed twats? :)
 
I think it'll work, my Mom can make the costumes and Jimmy's Dad can build the stage, anybody make some koolaid and brownies?
 
Nick_Black said:
No bands will want to play for a guy who's never set up a show:
*correction: no BIG band will wanna play*
Click to expand...
dude, if you're talkin' like a modest 12-hours a day, with each band getting a 30 min. set + 15 min. tear-down, that's still 16 bands a day, or 240 bands total. You will never, ever, ever find that many bands of any size that would play that long/much.

Nick_Black said:
Renting out a huge park or something for 15 days will cost a shitload of money
*we have a place*
Click to expand...
A place that's made for 2 weeks of loud crappy music, potentially hundreds of people (good luck w/ that), and will work in rain or shine? No, you don't. You will get so many complaints and need so many permits for that many people to come down...

Nick_Black said:
Nobody wants to listen to music for 15 days straight. Jesus christ, 12 hours seems like an eternity!
*meh. let them leave, well just find other to take thier place, I don't care so long the bands keep playing*
Click to expand...
Why the hell would 240 bands come down to play for free for nobody? That wouldn't ever happen ever. Think about this man, it's not physically possible. Not in a fun "fuck you man, it'll work with enough hope/love/god's help" way, no. Moreso in a "humans can't travel 100,000 times the speed of light" way. It won't ever happen ever. EVER!

Nick_Black said:
...my own band often play's for 2 hrs or so non stop (but we got to take like a 4hr break after wards..)
Click to expand...
And I'm sure the audience appreciates having to listen to you for 2 hours... no offense, but I wouldn't want to listen to almost *any* band for that long, let alone some high-school local band!



I want to stress that I'm only saying this 'cause I'd hate to see you waste any of your precious life on this ridiculous endeavor. Try some more realistic goals, like getting 100 kids to come to a 2-hour show. Shit that's hard enough man!
 
Big Kenny said:
I think it'll work, my Mom can make the costumes and Jimmy's Dad can build the stage, anybody make some koolaid and brownies?
Click to expand...

Judging by the "amazing" (read: zero) chance this has to succeed, I'd say they've had enough special brownies :p
 
steve.h: again, good points. but I'm an optimest, I alway's seem to find 2 many bands that wanna play.. hmm 240 bands, a fair number, but guelph is litterly crawling with no-name bands that will just seep into any opertunity they can get thier hands on.

but I WILL have a serios talk with the kid.. youv'e made it more cleer to me that this is going to be even more impossible than I had first Imagined. but where's the fun if you never screw up? if it does come down as a total catastrophy.. it'll make a nice story to tell my non existace grand kids..

(p.s. "You will get so many complaints and need so many permits for that many people to come down..." we'll hire the hells angles to run the complaints department ;) )

Hmmm.. those brownies DID taste kinda funny...

Thxs alot, that'll give our little brains something to brew on for the next while...

Cheers!

Nick_Black
 
concert ?

hey nick .... maby you guys should try a one day thing w/ some of your local bands ?? just to get a feel of what it might take to put on a show ..... that should give you a perspective on what you are in for .... then if you can pull off a one day show .... then try a 2 day show .... you know work your selfs up to it .... by the time you get to planning a realy big show you might actualy have a reputation to help spread the word ......... :D
 
Nick_Black said:
steve.h: again, good points. but I'm an optimest, I alway's seem to find 2 many bands that wanna play.. hmm 240 bands, a fair number, but guelph is litterly crawling with no-name bands that will just seep into any opertunity they can get thier hands on.

but I WILL have a serios talk with the kid.. youv'e made it more cleer to me that this is going to be even more impossible than I had first Imagined. but where's the fun if you never screw up? if it does come down as a total catastrophy.. it'll make a nice story to tell my non existace grand kids..

(p.s. "You will get so many complaints and need so many permits for that many people to come down..." we'll hire the hells angles to run the complaints department ;) )

Hmmm.. those brownies DID taste kinda funny...

Thxs alot, that'll give our little brains something to brew on for the next while...

Cheers!

Nick_Black
Click to expand...

Nick,

Thank you for taking my advice the way I had intended: stern, but honest :) On a side-note, DEFINITELY put on some shows! Do a 1-day BBQ fest or something! I'm totally 100% supportive of that kind of stuff :) I just wanted to make sure you knew the magnitude of what you were suggesting!
 
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