Gigs

Q: Tonight I experienced the "Gig from Hell" and am STILL so upset about it that I will reserve my rant for the morning when I've had a chance to sleep on it a bit! As I told Husband #1, "This gig was real fodder for the NG" .... and I'm pondering "What is piping for anyway?" This felt like a Dog and Pony show tonight and I DON'T like the way that I'm feeling! Has anyone else had experiences like this??? More in the morning when I can write civilly about it!!!!!

A: Well, I'm not sure exactly where you might go with this, but one experience a person in our band had could qualify as something of a dog and pony show. Someone called and said they needed a piper for a birthday party, so we lined up someone for the gig. Apparently at some point during the performance (I think it ended up being for a childs birthday) someone told her something to the effect that they were so glad that she could make it because the clown had to cancel! Sad but true. Ever since then, when there is a questionable sounding gig thrown out at practice, I'll usually comment that they couldn't get the clown so they had to settle for a piper! That does sound like an awful time. Sometimes I wonder if women are tougher on women pipers? I have heard other women say negative things about women pipers as well. I don't understand that. I have heard about an incident that happened on St. Patrick's (excuse to drink and act like an ass) Day where I live. A pipe band was playing downtown and some drunks were shutting off drones and lifting kilts. Then a guy made the mistake of kissing one of the women pipers. The bass drummer punched him in the face. I believe the harassing stopped at that point. I am glad I wasn't there. I have no patience for that kind of thing. I don't think I would have been so calm about it. I would try and forget about the drinking session that you were playing at and think about things like weddings and funerals where a piper is most appreciated. I just played at a funeral a couple of weekends ago and you can just tell people were in need of a piper. When I arrived there was no emotion and no one really showing anything. At the end and when I played Amazing Grace that did it. Tears were running strong. People were listening and it was important to them. Don't let it get you down. Remember they were just a couple of drunk women. Maybe they were just jealous. Your next gig will be better.

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