Foreward Planning

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The university are doing a music festival - a week after half the students have gone home for the summer.

It seems the organisers forgot to arrange bands to play. This is normal. So today - two days before the gig - I got a slightly begging circular email asking if anyone was in a band and could play Friday.

Well, I was in a band a few months back - we formed to play fundraising gig which also had a performer related scarcity problem. But I've still got the backing tracks, and my musical better half (the talented one who sings and plays guitar) still has his chord notes...somewhere.

We've got seven songs - half an hour's worth of material to ruthlessly squeeze into a 45 minute slot. We just don't know which slot.

And no time to rehearse. Or indication so far whether there's any other bands playing.

Oh, and the singer/guitarist has a stinking cold - but wants to play anyway. I have a dental appointment on the same day, so hopefully I'll be able to feel my mouth again by the time I have to, erm, use it.

Oh, and they've arrange the gig for the afternoon when a lot of the punters can't come because they're working.

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UPDATE: Okay.

My musical better half has a really bad cold, so has dropped out. This leaves me with three songs I can do on my own - call it a twelve minute set.

And most of the bands either still haven't confirmed, or word of their confirmation hasn't filtered through to all the groups sharing/competing in the organisation. As I write, the 'festival' is due to start in six hours.

And I've been politely discouraged from performing on the, um, considerate grounds that I'm under-rehearsed so might make a mistake and get upset about it.

So I'm going to be a rat...and leave this particular sinking ship.

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UPDATE 2: One final (?) cockup.

I've played a gig where the orgainisers didn't know how many bands were playing. I've played one where they didn't decide on the running order till the night. I've played several where bands didn't turn up - including one where it was the headlining band.

Now there's been one where they didn't know what week they've booked the room. Because it's not this week - it's next week. Gah!

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UPDATE 3: Next week, my talented colleague...isn't in the country.

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