It sure is nice not having to work to get gigs. The guys I'm playing with are very talented and we all get along great, something that can be difficult to accomplish with a local band. It's going so well that when it finally breaks up I probably won't pursue anything else. I'll be 50 in a month or so, I'm getting close to being done.
Tim, shear fatigue forced me to bag night time 4 hour club gigs years ago, and I'm 46. Even when I was in my 30's, during the 1st two sets I would wonder why I was even getting paid for having this much fun. By 11:00 PM and the 3rd set I remembered! By 1:00 AM and equipment breakdown/packup I was swearing I would never do a 4 hr. club gig for anything less than twice whatever I got paid that night, we've all gone through the same thing.
My solution is what my band and I now do, which is to pretty much exlusively play "Town Common" style and/or festival gigs. Every town, in the Boston area anyways, has a town concert series when they hire bands to play their town common from 4-6 PM on a thursday evening or Sunday afternoon, usually at least 8 shows per year in each town.
It took a few years to get known in these annual venues, but at this stage we are doing 10-12 gigs a year, from Spring through Fall. Only two hours long, very appreciative family oriented audiences of all ages who are not falling off their bar stools, and we still get in bed at a decent hour! Our four piece band gets the going rate around here, from $4-$500 per gig.
I highly recommend it to all of you! My wife is fine with it, she knows that all the loose women are still at the bars (ha,ha!), and gigging out with my friends occasionally is my version of a game of golf recreation-wise, only cheaper- go for it, Tim!
These easy two hour town gigs have been my answer in my forty's to eternal youth- I'll see you at the "Classic Rock Cover Band Convention" in 2028 - Rock on!
