String Showcase

I am beat. I am finally sitting after spending the last nine hours on my feet...literally on my feet.  This show completely broke me.  There were so many things that were just plain wrong about this show I don't know where to start. Yet despite all of my aches and pains the show (as usual) turned out wonderfully.  It's so frustrating that I can't be mad about this show (well maybe I am a little).  It was a great show, a resounding success, but now I'm going to have to write a long e-mail to my boss about why it can't happen like this again.  First, it only hurts the show when the engineer works nine hours with no break.  At some point I just wasn't hearing anymore, or thinking straight, or thinking at all really.  So while I understand the need to have an extended sound check, four hours is just too long for one person to try and make sense out of the madness, and nine hours is way too long to reasonably expect for me to do a good job.  Second, there is no way to fit thirteen bands into a 90 minute show. Attempting to do so and then inevitably failing just upsets everyone involved.  It always amazes me how little people understand the consequences of their actions. For instance no one ever thinks of the cost of their show running late.  It's like they assume that Berklee venues are free of the concerns of other performance spaces.  Just because you are not paying for the use of the space doesn't mean that it's free.  There is a limit to the amount of money we can spend on staffing shows, and going over that means losing it in other areas. New equipment, repairs, new positions all things I'd rather not sacrifice simply because a concert leader can't get their shit together.  And forget about the money, what about just common courtesy?  I think people assume that we only exist in our professional capacity.  Don't I deserve to get home at a reasonable hour? To enjoy an hour or two with my family before going to bed? It may seem a bit melodramatic but that is what I lose when a concert runs late.  My babysitter had to leave before I got home.  Thankfully my cousin was there to take over, but what if she hadn't been?  I know I can't expect people to take these things into account when they put on their show.  But they should at least try and put themselves in my shoes.  How would you like it if you were hoping to be home by 11 and then was forced to work for an extra hour. Or it's five o'clock, you're grabbing your coat and suddenly your asshole boss drops more work in your lap before you can leave.  It sucks right? And yet it happens to me and my coworkers over and over again.  That is the worst part.  I'm positive I've written another blog entry saying the exact same thing.  It never changes.  So while I enjoyed a lot of yesterday's concert (Eric Robertson And The Boston Boys rocked my world!) I can't in good conscience say that they deserve another concert next year, which is just sad.