So if there was a Caithness County Gig

[Gogglebox]

So if there was a Caithness COUNTY Gig, after all the talk of the gigs in wick and THURSO and suggecting we collaborate and do a county gig
Where would you have it (dont want to do what the County Show do and alternate) and what home grown bands would you want to play - - cant pick your own - -and what headline act - - what realistic one would be obtainable to drag their ass up here Who would you go for

Remember you have to appeal to the Masses not just your own favourite type of music

Go on The Big Gig model of 9 bands and a headline act
SO
Location ?
Local Bands (9)
Headline Act?

Remember I may be sussing the crack out for future events so think seriously !! - - -maybe ,just maybe

[Moonboots]

It all depends on where about to have the gig. Personally i think it has to be a town and one which has a big area to deal with it also alot of people would not want to take their car with them if they are wanting to have a good drink and enjoy themselves. If it was out of town then buses would have to be put on for it at either a cheap rate or free.

When it comes to 9 bands then there are more than 9 local bands in the county.

Headline Act would have to be some sort of band from maybe further down the road abit like someone in Glasgow or Edinburgh. They dont have to be a big band or group. Even though the bigger the better would attact more people.

So what does everyone else think!!!!!

A few have looked but not posted anything.

[elastic band]

why don't you want to alternate -wouldn't this be the fairest solution ?

a different charity could be nominated for each year and perhaps you could grade the day into different music categories -thus ensuring a little something for all.

if the crowd are well supervised and any signs of trouble dealt with immediately perhaps by local police etc and by controlling the amount of booze digested people of all ages should be able to enjoy a fun day / evening.

what about trying different music genres -eg rock, punk, melodic rock, heavy metal, rock n' roll, blues, etc etc

why limit the bands especiaally if each did say 30 mins each -also try to encourage stalls, involve round table, rotary, local groups and make this a truly celebrate caithness concert / festival

personally i would love to see WHITE NOIZE included as these young guys are a definite talent for the future

hope these ideas help

martin

[impatient]

Good ideas above.

A county gig would be great, but unless it was in the middle it wouldn't really be a county gig would it? Otherwise you've got to have a capital chosen and that would just cause arguments.

If the Wick one goes ahead again, I'm sure they'll give it a name, and the Thurso one is already called the Big Gig.

If it was me I would have a dance tent at the other end of the field, camping over the river and keep it going all weekend. You'd have to have a big headline band, and seeing Estrella this year, they're as good as any I've seen, but a chart topper would pull the punters.

If it was done in the next few months, you could contact record companies for up and coming bands to fill the slots, and cross your fingers one of them makes it by next year and still bothers to turn up.

I heard talk about staging the bands in slots according to style as elastic band said, but if you follow any other festival example, on the main stage there are a variety of different acts playing different kinds of music and that's what hooks the majority - the audience react differently to different that's a good thing and will keep them there, the other stages usually cater to specifics, like dance. Publishing a timed list of bands in advance might solve that for anyone who wants to listen to just a couple of things, but basically you want people to sit there all day, or all weekend.

So I would go for more than nine, keep it in Wick as the location is so ideal for a weekend festival - or even next to the caravan park in Thurso - and make sure a headline act was brought to the county, give it a name and don't worry where it is.

Your question who would come up? Any band would given the right amount of money and a bit of notice, just find out who their booking agent is and do it. Once you've hooked one, it's then easier and cheaper to get the next.

[TazHowlinGael]

It would maybe be ok if it was propally thought out and put together you no what i mean a proper proffesional set up none of this thrown together noncence like that Big Gig carry on at the Dammies!.

Taz.

[TazHowlinGael]

We'll headline if you want? The Howlin Gaels.

Taz.

[clash67]

In my view the big gig was a half assed attempt that we should be ashamed of , don't get me wrong the musicians were ok (emphasis on OK)and chobbersjunior was the best man to do the sound but absolutely no..and I mean NO effort was made to make the punters feel like they were really valued. There was no effort to supply a proper ( open faced )beer tent facing the bands to give shelter to punters and a closer more encapsilated audience thus creating a more comfortable and organised atmosphrere, the beer was over priced, there was no convincing stage lighting ( which can make a concert feel far warmer and more relaxed..a better atmosphere all together) the whole thing looked thrown together by a bunch off old cheils that haven't got the first clue as to how to put on a succesfull GIG. Having played at many,many, MANY outdoor gigs myself over the past 25 or so years I can truly say that the Big Gig was a big flop in comparison.(hold on ,rant nearly over..)
If anyone reads this that had anything to do with the organizing of the gig then don't be offended instead next time try to put a bit of thought into it, I would be willing to give advice or help in some way free of charge rather than the Town embarress itself again in such a way. (rant has almost finished hold on!)
it was almost as bad as the fun day which again was thrown together, I felt really sorry for the poor wee girls that was doing the highland dancing...in a wide open field, full of various and multiple noises trying to dance in time and with feeling TO A PORTABLE STEREO!!! All the audience could see was little girls dancing but no one could hear what they were dancing to..not even the little girls! how could the dance teacher (or organisers) not have made sure of at least having a good sound system for the poor wee lassies (who I may add worked very hard and were very good considering), after all it is a major part of the performance, the burnt burgers on offer at £2 a pop did't even have onions and were as dry as coal and so many other details of the funday were simply that they left to chance including the long line of young kiddies including my young daughter that were disapointed when they were turned away from the cue for the donkey ride because the guy had another booking that he had to go to, when I asked why he hadn't been asked to stay for the whole day he said that he had been asked but the organisers left it to the last minute and so he had already been booked elsewhere! WHY was there no pre planning in this whole half baked shurade..once again we have let ourselves down. When are we going to start competing with the rest of the country.(phew ...rant over) ok now let the you no what hit the fan, what do ya all think?

[Jeid]

As I told you in the pub one day... it was a last minute thing that was thrown together.

It's easy to sit and criticise, but going on the budget they had, I thought they did alright.

Indeed it could be improved.

Why not set it up yourself?

[Moonboots]

what do ya all think?

I think your an idiot....lol

Personally I think the gig was pretty good.
Yes we all know that things can only improve the next time.

As the gig was free then what can you expect...

If you wanted big tents for the crowd then this costs money and where would the money come from.... Sponsorships maybe.

Its all a big learning curve and can only get better...

Its just my opinion tho....

[Bobinovich]

Yes it was all absolutely thrown together on a shoestring. At the Town Improvements EGM early last year it was found that there was inadequate funding so a massive fundraising drive was undertaken by the committee. Without this concerted effort the whole Gala week would not have happened and it's a miracle things went as well as they did.

It's only be getting help from people with the appropriate knowledge, and also people offering to help on the day, that these events went ahead. Yes they were not what was hoped for, but taking the meagre budget and time available, and with the small number of people willing to be involved, and the fact that it was the first time these events had been tried IMHO I think the results were not actually that bad.

As an aside for those of you with longer memories you will remember the Edge of the World gigs on the Viewfirth Green/Scrabster field. They started in much the same way (i.e. everything was begged & borrowed) and ended up with good funding and bigger acts. However where is the Edge of the World now? They were very successful while it was held as a free event, but as soon as they got the bigger acts and started charging hefty entry fees, the local apathy set in and, before long, they called it a day.

Anyway, you will be glad to know that, at the Town Improvements AGM held last Monday evening, there was significantly more in the coffers for future events, many more people wanting to join the committee (as well as additional volunteers for events), plus there is much more time to plan things. On top of that the lessons learned from this years' events will go a long way to ensuring that any similar events held next year will be much better thought out, and that ideas from forums such as this will give the necessary feedback to make sure they are more sucessful.

Anyone wanting/willing to be involved next year then please contact TTIA through their website at www.thurso.org

[clash67]

As I told you in the pub one day... it was a last minute thing that was thrown together.

It's easy to sit and criticise, but going on the budget they had, I thought they did alright.

Indeed it could be improved.

Why not set it up yourself?

Why don't the organisers ask someone to give them some pointers for next year? I don't mean to criticise but just think, people are up here on holiday they turn out because there is advertising about the gig all over but don't stay because it isn't a very comfortable atmosphere, so well done with the advertising (please note , positve comment No.1) but that holiday makers have gone back home with a memory of Caithness live music not being so good and through no fault of the musicians, and as I said chobbersjuinor done an excellent job so that was a good choice of P.A supply and engineer ( positive comment No.2) but getting the most out of any gig means trying to get the atmosphere right especially if the audience is standing in a dimly lite field on a dreach night, surely warm coulorful lighting would have made a big difference to the audience and to the musicians who like it or not feed of the energy of the audience and so the better the audiences feel etc. etc
All the great musicians I have had the honour of knowing and/or have jammed with from Caithness who have played in the past or are still out there punting their stuff have gone to serve this county well, and has made Caithness well known for its wealth of talent but I feel that event organisers up here don't think these things through enough, the questions that should be looked at is, will the audiences feel that they had a good enough experience as to, firstly come back next time and secondly recommend the event to friends? and also is there a suitable compare, is the lighting right is the audience well catered for. I know the budget that was used was limited but surely there if there wasn't enough money couldn't they have waited till next year so they could not only raise more money towards the event but also booked a more established headlining act like the Hayseed Dixies for example seeing as how they have been apearing on the highland circuit as have many big names in music if you take a leaf outa orkney's book.

[clash67]

I think your an idiot....lol

Personally I think the gig was pretty good.
Yes we all know that things can only improve the next time.

As the gig was free then what can you expect...

If you wanted big tents for the crowd then this costs money and where would the money come from.... Sponsorships maybe.

Its all a big learning curve and can only get better...

Its just my opinion tho....

I think I'm an idiot too..lol but I'm just trying to make a (helpful hopefuly)point. most of the things that were overlooked would have cost very little to nothing to put right, we start as we mean to go on, open with a blast show em we mean business etc.
As for the Edge of The World , I played at a few and as I recall it was the local musicians that played for free that helped get that on it's feet but once there was enough money to start paying the local musicians they instead started paying huge fees to artists from down south and the local artists eventualy abandondend them, they were at the opposite end of the spectrum , they tried to be "too hot too soon" .

[Jeid]

You as well as any musician should know that the crowd is only as good as the band makes them. If the band involves the crowd, then the crowd will give something back.

If you'd stuck around instead of wandering off home because you thought it was rubbish, you would've seen that some of the bands got some very positive responses from the crowds.

I don't see how you can sit there and criticise it so openly when you left so early. You're saying all the bands were "ok" but you didn't see them all?

Admittedly, a band playing country music or some old favourites would've gone down a storm.

I don't see how a lighting rig would've gone down during daytime? It'd be a bit pointless I think.

[Bobinovich]

Normally the committee would have been working since the AGM (October) to get things organised but these events were not decided on until somewhere around March/April which doesn't leave long to organise everything. On top of The Big Gig, there were also many other gala-related things to arrange, and with few bodies to help it was not an easy task.

Members of the Caithness music fraternity were bought in at a relatively early stage and they gave invaluable advice on things like staging and PA and, from previous experiences such as The Edge of the World festivals, were also able to offer information on portaloo's and security and the like.

IMHO lighting is all well and good in the later hours of the day but is less effective early on unless you have a lot of reddies to throw at it. To my knowledge no offer of lighting was made until it was way too late to take advantage of it.

As for the dreich weather there was little control available over that

I know that plans are already well afoot for a much bigger and better 'Big Gig' next year. I wish the organisers all the best with it as am no longer involved in the same way I was this year.

Again, I reiterate, if you want to help or get involved then contact TTIA ASAP so they know who is available and what skills/services/equipment they can offer/hire (at reasonable prices)

[K dragon]

i thought it was good, but the atmosphere was dreadful for the fans. we had no shelter no beer tent (most folks went to co op across the road) the acts were very good, all local acts. some acts fualtered a bit though particularly white noize, started off good, but they ran well out of wind towards the end. and they were not the best choice to open. it seems just because they were the youngest and newest on the scene they should get tossed on first. but back to the point...it was good, but there were no facilities or attractions for the fans. but it was good to see a gig of that "theme" finally take place. and....in theory....it should get better with every try.

not being funny here but i thought a lot of lighting and performance effort went mainly to estrella. they got better lighting than any other band.

also i noticed that a bloke crawled on to the stage drunk at one point, yeah it was all well and in good fun as he was drunk, he even put an arm, around pablo.....but arent security railings supposed to stop that? and if the band wish to interact or touch the crowd shouldnt it be there choice? i mean what if the guy was aggressively drunk an wanted to thump pablo one (we have all been there one time or another lol just kiddin)

overall good idea that fell ever so slightly flat. but a very small step in the right direction.

[Jeid]

White Noize were on second

[clash67]

You as well as any musician should know that the crowd is only as good as the band makes them. If the band involves the crowd, then the crowd will give something back.

If you'd stuck around instead of wandering off home because you thought it was rubbish, you would've seen that some of the bands got some very positive responses from the crowds.

I don't see how you can sit there and criticise it so openly when you left so early. You're saying all the bands were "ok" but you didn't see them all?

Admittedly, a band playing country music or some old favourites would've gone down a storm.

I don't see how a lighting rig would've gone down during daytime? It'd be a bit pointless I think.

My point was that the one feeds of the other (band/audience)and that for a musician to be at their best they mustn't have to play to audiences that feel uncomfortable ( and I didn't say it was rubbish so calm down) and as for having lighting then if the audience in the day time certainly didn't need lighting but what about those who stuck around until nightime or who only turned up after dark? anyway I was only trying to raise the bar as far as the way (some) events get thrown together and the perception that leaves out tourists with.

[zebedy]

The Howlin' Gaels to HEADLINE
Rawkin Down that LONLY ROAD!!... WOOOO With an Evil Child ... Ach lets do it ONE MORE TIME.. Watch out for them BROKEN THINGS... OMg argh My HEADS ON FIRE.... yeah i got the album!... hee hee

[Jeid]

Bummin'...

[moncur]

Bummin'...

Took the word right out of my mouth!