When you contract for a new gig at a venue you've never been in before, checking out or "advancing" the venue well before the gig is a good idea–and doing it a few weeks before is a very good idea. By knowing ahead of time what you are facing in terms of logistics, your truck/trailer pack can be optimized so you are not bringing in the "kitchen sink" to cover the unknowns.
Come Prepared After you have directions to get to the venue, and most importantly, check that the venue is open for inspection, there are certain little items to carry or stuff into your pocket before walking in. The most important things are a paper and pen to record your notes [If you keep a legal pad in one of those neato black nylon portfolio thingies they give away at trade shows, it makes you look très cool –Ed.]. I keep a Day-Timer zip-up folder that contains paper, pen and all my essential contact information. Add a couple of your business cards and the act's stage plot to bring a touch of professionalism to your meet and greet with the room's management. Other handy items are a small flashlight and an electrician's cricket. Many times, the stage area is poorly lit or completely dark during off-hours, so a flashlight helps identify the essentials. And having the cricket is a nice non-contact tester to see if there are hot power receptacles and bullswitches located near the stage.
Chat 'Em Up
When entering the venue, find an employee who looks like they're in charge and warmly let them know who you are, what production company/act you represent and what your objective is for being there. Then go about your wandering/notating business. Many times, you will find that the venue staffers will summon the manager or provide on-the-spot answers to your questions as you wander around the stage, dance floor and FOH position. Do not just walk in and anonymously start taking notes; or you could be mistaken for a health inspector, tax assessor or some other official who may get a less-than-friendly greeting.
If you can, arrive in the afternoon on a weekday so that no other production or band gear is likely to be onstage. This timing also is more convenient for managers or staffers, who can answer your questions without being pressed for time. After your venue inspection, be friendly and ask questions both technical and non-technical. Knowing the venue's usual crowd in size, age and preferred musical genres is just as important as the room's size and acoustics. These demographics are very helpful to the act for tweaking their set list. Knowing things like set start/stop times and when the place fills up are important in executing the show.
Things of Note
First priority is the size and height of the stage, work light switches and materials covering the stage area. Sketching a floor plan, with dimensions and material notations, is essential. Because most of us know our own height or have a good idea of how big four- by eight-foot sheets of plywood are, you can make pretty good judgments in stage size, dance area, size and distance to the FOH position. But carrying a tape measure never hurts.
On your sketch, make sure to note the load-in door location and any stairs/steps to be dealt with at load-in. Also, the preferred production vehicle parking and unloading locations should be part of the dialog with management. Ask about normal load-in times and preferred entrance doors for musicians and production. Some venues will not allow load-in at dinner hours, or worse yet, until after the dinner crowd rush. I have personally been requested to do an 8:00 p.m. load-in for a 9:00 p.m. show, and that is no fun. Oh, and any obstacles to getting consoles and racks into the FOH position are worthy of notation.
Besides noting materials for room acoustics (clap your hands to check decay times and warmth), give the venue a quick chair count. By knowing the seated capacity of the room, you have a logistical cue as to as how popular the place is and a feel for the kind of money the venue will receive if the act packs the house. It is something to consider if you get paid $500 when the venue has 200 seats with a $5 cover charge.
In checking out the stage area, look for the quality of the electrical service. The difference between some wall receptacles and a 100-amp, 240VAC disconnect switch is crucial. If in doubt, ask the manager or staff how many circuits cover the stage receptacles. And noting light bar hangs and hooks for the overhead routing of cabling to FOH is important as well.
After checking all aspects of the room, come back to the venue personnel for a wrap-up.
Band Engineers
If you are a band engineer going into a club install, you have the additional task of inspecting the production gear and noting what is and what is not provided for your show. This may prompt you to prepare a rack with your own outboard effects or other essential signal processing needed to pull off the show. Make sure you leave a stage plot and get the house tech's phone number to introduce yourself, as well as to set expectations.
Rig Squatters
Something else that is becoming increasingly prevalent is the act paying for the install production crew and gear rental. These rig "squatters" arrange with the venue management to leave their gear in the venue, but will remove or relocate it if an act insists on bringing in its own. Generally, a middle-ground arrangement exists, where the band engineer operates the install gear, but the act pays for the install gear rental instead of hauling in their own production. These rig squatters exist because many acts have poor or non-existent production support, and are willing to pay for the convenience.
So it is important to find these rig squatter situations in advance, so that on the eve of the gig, the act is not hit up for unexpected gear rental and technician fees. For example, an act may get an $800 contract for a show; but in fine print, the rig squatter will demand $200 for the gear rent and another $100 for the rig technician off the $800 gross pay if you do not contact the rig's owner and inform them that you are providing production. If the rig is worthy, it may be worth the $200 to not hump gear for that gig. But be sure to notify the rig owner to leave the tech home to save the fee. Also, with these squatters, you may have to "qualify" with the rig owner before they will let you run the gear without a hired tech.
