Topic: what to do if i get stopped at the door of a taper friendly show

[twatts (pants are so over-rated...)]

im a new taper with only 3 shows so far...but ive heard it happens frequently and id hate to drive hours only to be turned away because the venue and band managment arent on the same page

As everyone says, be nice about it...  but if you do get turned away, be careful...  DC isn't exactly the nicest place, so if you have to take your rig back to your care, make sure you hide it well...

Didn't someone get their car broken into in DC at 930 or something???  Lost their rig??? 

Terry

[su6oxone]

9:30 Club is in a bit of a ghettoish area, and if you park on the street for free I wouldn't leave anything valuable inside your car.  The Warner Theater on the other hand is in a nice area and should be pretty safe, although as a rule I never take gear to my car and leave it to go back inside since you're just asking to get your car broken into. 

But really the best thing to do is to just reach out to the management beforehand and if that doesn't work, to go early and try to talk to the band/crew around sound check.  This is what I always do at the House of Blues near my house (although I'm lucky and if I get denied I only have to walk one block to my place to drop off my gear). 

[F.O.Bean]

I have been told I can't bring my backpack in (Columbus, OH, Palace Theater)

I have had this happen at the Palace Theatre in Greensburg, PA. Thats why I quit using a "backpack" and use a Mountainsmith "lumber pack". That was a nightmare having to carry everything in w/ my bare hands

[junkyardt]

1. Taper friendly bands almost always post something on their site. Print it out and bring with.

would be a phenomenal development if this were true! we could just delete the 'taping policies' section of this forum because there would never be uncertainty over a band's policy again. unfortunately, that's absolutely wrong. not sure what experiences you could've had that would even lead you to contemplate saying such a thing. perhaps if all you tape is the big-name taper-friendly acts that have well-publicized policies (Phish, Panic, Mule, moe, etc.) and tape nothing openly in small clubs, i guess you could see it that way. but 98% of bands won't bother to post anything about taping one way or the other anywhere, even if they are completely fine with every form of taping. research is usually required.

2. KNOW the name of the tour manager in advance and make contact via e-mail or whatever in advance. With the advent of social networking and websites you can ALWAYS reach the band before hand. Have a cell # handy if he or she will give it.

wow, you must've had some phenomenal taping experiences if this is the norm for you! finding out the name of the tour manager for some random small band days in advance of the show sure would be a convenient thing, but seems unlikely in most cases as it's usually not a job that is publicized anywhere. you can ALWAYS reach the band beforehand? what's the address of the taping utopia you live in? i'd like to move there. in reality, most bands have about 137 logistical things to think about at any given time while out on tour more important than accommodating a taper. even if you send an inquiry with plenty of time before the show (days, weeks), often no one will respond and it will come down to dealing with it on the night of the show.

[F.O.Bean]

1. Taper friendly bands almost always post something on their site. Print it out and bring with.

would be a phenomenal development if this were true! we could just delete the 'taping policies' section of this forum because there would never be uncertainty over a band's policy again. unfortunately, that's absolutely wrong. not sure what experiences you could've had that would even lead you to contemplate saying such a thing. perhaps if all you tape is the big-name taper-friendly acts that have well-publicized policies (Phish, Panic, Mule, moe, etc.) and tape nothing openly in small clubs, i guess you could see it that way. but 98% of bands won't bother to post anything about taping one way or the other anywhere, even if they are completely fine with every form of taping. research is usually required.

2. KNOW the name of the tour manager in advance and make contact via e-mail or whatever in advance. With the advent of social networking and websites you can ALWAYS reach the band before hand. Have a cell # handy if he or she will give it.

wow, you must've had some phenomenal taping experiences if this is the norm for you! finding out the name of the tour manager for some random small band days in advance of the show sure would be a convenient thing, but seems unlikely in most cases as it's usually not a job that is publicized anywhere. you can ALWAYS reach the band beforehand? what's the address of the taping utopia you live in? i'd like to move there. in reality, most bands have about 137 logistical things to think about at any given time while out on tour more important than accommodating a taper. even if you send an inquiry with plenty of time before the show (days, weeks), often no one will respond and it will come down to dealing with it on the night of the show.

VERY TRUE

But I'm lucky, damn near EVERY BAND I record is super cool w/ me taping, ranging from small bar bands to Phish/moe/etc.....The small bar bands I record know me well, and get me in the door to tape their opening set, even if the headlining band ISNT cool w/ taping(like Pnuma Trio on 4/2/09). I taped the Jazzam opening set, and then they made me lower my stand for Pnuma, what they DIDN'T KNOW was that my 722 has a STEALTH MODE, and the screen goes BLANK when recording. So I ended up pulling a good Pnuma set too Came out good as hell[even tho I was taping at about 4-5' high! I just pointed my mics upwards like I was way FOB at Phish or something, and got away w/ it For some strange reason, the taper gods were w/ me, because the venue wasnt even half full and NOONE was in front of my mics at ANY TIME during the whole frickin show They were about 10' in front of my mics, allowing my MBHO Hypers to come thru in the clutch once again. Felt weird to 'stealth' a band w/ a stand up and in the open

[acidjack]

^^ I have about a 95% success rate in getting band/mgmt responses (whether positive or negative).  It's not that difficult for MOST bands.  Of course, I'm not emailing U2 and asking if I can tape them.  That would drop the success rate some.