[Dixielandjazz] One Hour Sets - 30 Minutes od Silence?

[Stephen Barbone]

List mates:

My two cents is to have continuous music in all venues where possible.
We do this at the "Turks Head Music Festival" in little old West
Chester, Pennsylvania every year. Two stages. One band plays while the
other sets up. Thus as soon as stage 1 is finished, stage 2 starts. That
way there is no audience sitting on their hands waiting for music. And
at a festival like Sacramento where most of the audience is not as
knowledgeable as DJMLers, they don't rush from venue to venue to hear
specific bands as much as we might. And if you have food/drink near the
venue, it is a snap to manage to get something to eat while still
listening.

This also allows for flexible set times. You can arrange anything from
45 minutes to whatever you like. In this regard, I rehearse with Tex
Wyndham about 30 times a year. Our first rehearsal set is always one
hour and 15 minutes, and always ends with a chop buster tune. If there
are bands out there that cannot play 90 minutes, you need more practice
time, and/or more gigs. (Unless of course you are all over 75 years old)
;-)

Barbone Street routinely plays three hour club date gigs as follows.
First set one hour., 15 minute break, second set 45 minutes, 15 minute
break, last set 45 minutes. One reason we do it that way is to end on
the hour, without convoluted time management. And we average 70 years
old.

When we were kids in New York City, we played 6 hours on Friday night, 5
hours on Saturday night and 4 hours on Sunday night using that formula.
What great chops we all had then. AFM local 802 scale for that 6 month
gig at the Melody Lounge in the 1950s, was a rousing $45 for sidemen.

Cheers,
Steve Barbone