Comments on: Wedding gigs suck

By: Mike

Mike — Thu, 16 Jun 2005 12:50:00 +0000

I can’t stop laughing thinking about “Nothing Else Matters” jamming during a reception…

By: Matthew Loel T. Hepworth

Matthew Loel T. Hepworth — Fri, 03 Jun 2005 11:43:00 +0000

White trash? Absolutely! But that sounds like a wedding I’d like to go to, or actually be in the crappy band! Please tell me the band was wearing suits or tuxes.

By: Vicious Summer

Vicious Summer — Tue, 31 May 2005 05:51:00 +0000

This totally reminds me of a wedding that I recently attended...The bride and groom were standing at the alter, holding hands and gazing into each others eyes. And then the music started..."Nothing Else Matters" by Metallica, blasting though the horribly bad PA system. Then they had by ex-boyfriends band ( Dama, a *very* hard rock band) play the reception...

White trash wedding, anyone?

By: Matthew Loel T. Hepworth

Matthew Loel T. Hepworth — Mon, 30 May 2005 23:58:00 +0000

The thing I remember most vividly about that gig was the chant of, “Theremin solo! Theremin solo!” exclaimed by some of the guests. That was cool!

By: NickBenn

NickBenn — Sun, 29 May 2005 22:20:00 +0000

Wedding gigs are indeed totally bizarre. One of my most disappointing gigs was a wedding gig Naked April played - actually one on which you helped out by playing drums, with Matt H. joining on theremin. Personally, I thought Naked April kinda sucked out, all night. You and Matt acquitted yourselves nicely (even if you hadn't, you had an excuse, having playing with Naked April for exactly one gig before), but the regular band members just weren't listening to each other. (Of course, close listening wouldn't have been easy to do: stage sound sucked, as it often does when you're on a temporary platform stuck in the middle of a garden, one foot away from all the guests.)

But wouldn't you know it: at the end, even after you and Matt packed up and split (lucky bastards), the guests (and the happy couple) were pleading for more. We actually turned into a cover band (shudder!) for 30 minutes.

It's the kind of gig where you want to grab people in the audience by the shoulders, shake them, and say: "Just what band were you listening to? It sure as hell can't have been US!"

On the other hand, I have really enjoyed playing the KR/NB duo gigs at weddings. For one thing, as long as no one listens to the lyrics, much of the music doesn't seem that out of place, when played by an acoustic duo; for another, the fact that we aren't really the focus of attention gives us a low-pressure opportunity to try out new music, or new arrangements, and get some kind of feedback - from the three or four people who are actually paying attention.

But all in all, I'd rather stab myself in the eye than have to play wedding gigs for a living.