Make every gig at your venue AWESOME
The experience from the moment someone walks in the door is what they will remember. If someone arrives and the staff are friendly, the energy is good, and things run on time – your punters will have a great end-to-end experience
Understand that no performer can make a room dance if they are a “cold” crowd. There is a reason every major band in the world tours with opening bands. The reason is that it takes time to warm a crowd up – and if you want them at their most energetic, you NEED to set the mood BEFORE they take to the stage. Most bar gigs don’t have the luxury of an opening band, but what the do have is background music, drink specials, lighting and permanent staff. Let’s imagine two scenarios
Scenario A:
A punter walks in at 6pm. They order some food, they have a beer. At 8pm a band starts playing loudly, the room is well lit, the music is loud. They buy a drink and stand around with a beer in their hand awkwardly nodding along to the music. Maybe in the interval they buy a shot of tequila. In the second half, a few confident people have a dance.
Scenario B:
A punter walks in at 6pm, the waitress takes their order and reminds them that there is an awesome live band at 8pm, and a 2-for-1 special on shots at 7pm. The punter has their food and at 7pm the waitress reminds them again of the drinks special – they split some shots with their friend. At 7.30, the lights are dimmed and some viby music is put on, the same punter is now standing with their beer, but not just awkwardly nodding, their feet are moving a little bit as they are a bit less sober, and the lights are down - they are less self-conscious. At 8pm, the band starts and within 3 songs the room is dancing. The band announces their break, the punter heads to the bar and splits another round of shots with their friend. They order another beer, the bartender asks if they’d like something to snack on, like a hotdog or packet of crisps – which the punter gladly agrees to. Within 5 minutes he has a beer in one hand, a hotdog in the other and the vibey background music is still playing. The band come back on to a “HOT” crowd, and again there is more dancing. The band keeps pushing the drinks specials and the bar is busy as ever.
The band finishes performing and a pre-selected playlist comes through the venue’s PA system. Our punters have not yet left the dancefloor and will do so to continue to top up their drinks
One of these punters had a night which they will remember and tell their friends about, the other punter just had a quiet drink at the pub.
