Songfight Live PDX: Wiccans and Chickens Aug 14 & 15 2015

[Rabid Garfunkel]

w00t!!

[Niveous]

I think it may be time to start looking at time logistics. I think we have about 18 performances on the bill now to fit within 7.5 hours and that's not accounting for time for the live fight, so more like 6.5 hours.

[ken]

That seems perfect. If you give each act 20 minutes, you can have 3 an hour. 18/3=6 hours!

[Niveous]

That seems perfect. If you give each act 20 minutes, you can have 3 an hour. 18/3=6 hours!

So far...unless any other bands confirm.

Hey, do the start and end times at the venues include set-up and strike?

[glennny]

There will be no Thank Glennny for the Frisbee, Frisbee can't make it work after all.
So I will only be doing the BSS set. (and happy to sit in with anyone who needs Ebow, Mandolin, bass or GUitar, or back up dancer)

[anti-m]

Hello Kids!

So excited so many can make it!

Niveous is correct -- this schedule is looking a bit nuts at this point. Here is a tentative crack at allocating slots.

I need you former SF Live folks to weigh in and let me know if this looks remotely doable. I'm essentially allocating 1/2 hour for set up (which is not much) and 15 minutes per set with 5 minutes transition time in between. Live fight I've allocated a 1/2 hour.

I count 18 slots and 20 performers currently. Can someone smarter than me figure out a way to make this work? Should I make the sets even shorter than 15 minutes? I'm willing to cut my slot if that's what needs to happen to get us to fit!

Also -- Those of you who have "overlapping" bands -- I wonder if there is a way to consolidate your sets so that they take up a smaller footprint?

NIVEOUS! If you are game for the challenge, I'd love to delegate the slot-scheduling to you. You are a great Songfight curator, and I trust your judgement when it comes to blending and contrasting sets. You are also likely much more acquainted with everyone's material than I am. Let me know if that's something you'd be willing to do.

Friday
6:30 -- 6:45
6:50 -- 7:05
7:10 -- 7:25
7:30 -- 7:45
7:50 -- 8:05
8:10 -- 8:25
8:30 -- 8:45
8:50 -- 9:05
9:10 -- 9:25
9:30 -- 9:45
9:50 -- 10:05
10:10 -- 10:25


Saturday
9:30 -- 9:45
9:50 -- 10:05
10:10 -- 10:25
10:30 -- 10:45
10:50 -- 11:05
11:10 -- 11:25
Live Fight -- 11:30-12:00


Word. Again, I'm delighted that we have such a good turnout! Now to make it all work!

[Manhattan Glutton]

You might want to alternate acoustic/non-acoustic sets, and section off the stage so that VERY MINOR AND RESPECTFUL setup can be doable with minimal toe-stepping.

For what it's worth, I'll be acoustic (possibly drums on some tracks, but nothing more) and I'd really appreciate a Saturday slot since I have friends and family who want to attend.

Are the venues times 100% unbendable? Is there any negotiation room to go past 10:30 on Friday or earlier on Saturday?

[Niveous]

NIVEOUS! If you are game for the challenge, I'd love to delegate the slot-scheduling to you. You are a great Songfight curator, and I trust your judgement when it comes to blending and contrasting sets. You are also likely much more acquainted with everyone's material than I am. Let me know if that's something you'd be willing to do.

Wacky organizational stuff is my life. (It really is. I used to have to arrange 60+ lawyers between a group of judges, keeping in mine leave days, vacations, time to review cases, and all sorts of other stuff...) I'll see what I can do. ***opens up Excel***

[Niveous]

Also -- Those of you who have "overlapping" bands -- I wonder if there is a way to consolidate your sets so that they take up a smaller footprint?

I think this is a great idea. Anything to help that set time number grow is great.

There's a Lunkhead set, a Merisan set, a Ken's SDBNS set and a BSS set. Can we kinda meld those together? Start off with some Lunkhead solo songs then add Erin for Merisan songs then add Ken (they can even do a Tiny Robots song or two) and then add Glennny for BSS. Do all the set up before Sam and just add people as the time goes along.

The ADD set already blends into the Charm Offensive set, all you need do is add Leah. JBB and ADD were great together in Austin. Perhaps we can get a bit of overlap there if we put their sets back to back.

If my set is back to back with Naked Philosophy (who is playing guitar is my set), that cuts down on setup too.

I feel like a lot of this number crunch could be made easier if we just found out if we can set up before the show's start time at both venues then figure out a smart stage setup than can be versatile.

Can people tell me what kind of personnel lineup they are planning to have for their sets? For example- I hope to have a full band setup for my set, kind of like I had in Austin. So- Vocalist, Bassist, Guitarist. I'd take a drummer and a keyboardist if I can get it.

[Rabid Garfunkel]

p++: between one & four bodies onstage, standard lineup of guit-drums-bass-guit (depending on, well, everything).

<EDIT> Thinking the backline that we the musicians provide is going to be 2 guit amps, 1 bass amp, drum kit, keyboard (& discrete amp? can use 2nd guit amp also?). Assorted vocal mikes, if the venue is lacking.

Are there any oddball wierdie instruments that need special handling/extra channels on the board?

[Niveous]

I found these videos from a few days ago. Is this indicative of the Culmination stage set-up?
https://www.facebook.com/events/900841733290692/

[Rabid Garfunkel]

Dunno... anti-m?

[anti-m]

I found these videos from a few days ago. Is this indicative of the Culmination stage set-up?
https://www.facebook.com/events/900841733290692/

Kinda hard to see in the cellphone vids, but yes, that looks about right. There is also a "back bar" somewhere near there.

The timelines MIGHT be adjustable re: setup times, but I'd ideally like to shoot for streamlining and then be pleasantly surprised if we somehow end up with a surfeit of time. (In my show-planning experience, that NEVER happens.)

And THANKS NIV! I thought you might be up for that job! I certainly knew you'd be good at it.

I suppose I might as well spill some beans while I'm here... My eggo be preggo, which means, (God willing and the creek don't rise) that when y'all come down, I'll have a mini-me in mah belly. I will try not to look too hangdog while I watch you quaffing delicious beeeeeeers.

(Still early don't know gender yet -- due date is January 22. I'm one million years old so many things could go wrong, but we're cautiously optimistic!)

This does also mean that I may be delegating mo' stuff, so, help is appreciated!

[Rabid Garfunkel]

Hey wow, congrats!

[Niveous]

Congrats!!

[Caravan Ray]

Can people tell me what kind of personnel lineup they are planning to have for their sets? .

I hadn't put much thought into this yet - but I think I will just play solo (or possibly draft Fluffy to come and bang a few drums for me) That will speed things up a bit.

Though - I guess my set doesn't have to be entirely contiguous. If one of the bands playing (P++? BSS? KSDBNS?) would like to play "Natalie Portman" with me - I could jump up and insert one of my songs at the beginning or end of their set?

[anti-m]

So, my thinking was that we'd set everything up for Standard Bandage and leave it thus for the duration of both shows. (And thanks again, Rabid Garfunkel, for providing gear!)

[Lunkhead]

Congrats anti-m! Also thanks for working on these logistics. I will check with the various other Berkeley-ites about conservation of set time. I'm willing to either skip a Lunkhead set outright or just cut it to 2-3 songs and have it run straight into another one of the sets for our group.

[Jefff]

Niveous, I would be happy with just 5 minutes tacked on the beginning of my Add set for a couple songs with Leah, rather than a whole separate set.

[fluffy]

Yay, mini-M en route!

Could we do something like having more than one set going at a time? It worked in Ariadne auf Naxos, right?

More seriously, it seems like a good way to go is to have all the acoustic folks together and then have all the rock folks together with as little gear change between the rock sets as possible. Doing performance and simultaneous makeup/teardown seems problematic for a bunch of reasons.

I'm also willing to keep my lineup the more standard guitar+bass+drums thing and eschew cello and whatever other weirdness for the sake of keeping changeover simple. (Which might mean having Spud on bass instead of JB on cello. Or whatever. I'd certainly be fine with not having to worry about how to get my cello down to Portland after all.)

[irwin]

Kasper would like to do an electric guitar and piano set in a kid-friendly time slot, if possible.

[Niveous]

Kasper would like to do an electric guitar and piano set in a kid-friendly time slot, if possible.

Good thing you spoke up. I didn't have Kasper listed as confirmed.

Spud on bass

Is Spud coming? Should I plan for an # set?