The Watering Hole

Making Music
2 posts
We played a place in Georgia called the Oasis Bar and Grill. It is one of those bars in a hotel (Ramada). We got there and it was surprisingly nice. Decent sized, nice place, eye candy bar tenders and waitresses. They had TV screens all over the place with a view of the stage and dance floor.

I was afraid the place would be dead. But they had 3 guys with flashlights and security shirts, so I figured they would not bother with that if only 20 or 30 people were showing up.

The DJ tells us that the place packs out and that we will have a great night. So, we play set 1. Minimal response. A few screams here or there, but no real interaction like we usually get. After set 1, some chick send the drummer and me some shots, so at least one bitch there liked us.

Between sets they are playing booty music. The bitches hit the floor and the bass keeps pumping and the place livens up. We play set 2, crickets again. Now we are taking it personal.

during set three some ho yells "play some dance music!!". Our new drummer starts panicing asking us what dance tunes we know and wanting to completely on the spot change our format. They are playing all this dance music, and slow stuff like "Heard it Through the Grapevine".  Not one rock song all night. As a rule, when the music the DJ plays is of a completely different forma than what the band plays, it is a recipe for a bad night.

People responded a bit better to the Drop C set, but still nothing like the enthusiasm we are accustomed to.

So, end of the night. I count the tip jar, $100 in tips. Not bad for a crowd that seemed really indifferent to us. Then, as we are tearing down, people kept approaching us to tell us we rocked or kicked ass or whatever. I felt like saying "couldn't tell by your lame reaction all night".

The DJ also books the bands. He said Saturday is typically a booty music night. So I wonder why the hell they booked us on Saturday to begin with? He then asked about our booking for next year and such.

So lame crowd response but a really good take from the tip jar and our $500 fee, so I guess it was a good night, right?
Is that in Kingsland? If so, we used to play that place!

Back when we were there it was called The Clubhouse...

My old band had a much more "whore" set (we played a bunch of dance music) and we still got the same kind of reaction as you guys most times - the booty music would fill the floor between sets, but people would listen and tip and usually have really nice shit to say (except for the occasional bitch who wanted to hear the cha cha slide for the 1000th time). There are some CRAZY women who hang out there...very direct about what they want, if you know what I mean...it's definitely a place where married (or otherwise "taken") guys can get in a lot of trouble, at least in our experience (we didn't partake, of course).

It's a nice place to play, so long as you don't get shot in the parking lot or they don't find your body in the club - http://www.jacksonville.com/tu-online/stories/022708/geo_251444313.shtml

A guy was actually shot in the parking lot the week before our last gigs there in 2004 - needless to say, almost no one showed up to the club that weekend.  :o

Sorry to hear that the crowd really hasn't changed (hence the guys in security shirts with flashlights).
Tripper