Booking a band based on promo vid

fichillie

Hello,

We seem to be having difficulty getting the bands we want for our wedding. Our top 3, are booked out for our early 2017 date.

We're based in Cork, and most showcases seem to be happening up the country. So I'm wondering if anyone has booked bands without seeing them live, and how did it turn out?

fits

I wouldnt recommend it. We almost booked one based on online promos but then sent OH and friends to check them out and they werent so good at all.

the_syco

The vibe (good or bad) you get from a band is sometimes lost with a video.

andreac

I wouldn't either. I went to see 3 bands before we decided on them and the band we picked were nothing like their promo, they were way better. You really need to go and see them play before making a decision to be honest.

unclebill98

Been booked a few times from promos but we have live ones too. I always recommend going to see us live. Its really the only way to ensure you like the band, the people and feel comfortable leaving your nights entertainment in their hands.

I wouldn't get to bothered about not seeing your band in a "Wedding" setting, what they do at their shows would be close enough to what they do at weddings.

Milly33

Yeah id go see them too, there is quite the difference between videos and live, as they could be using auto tune anything to make them sounds better.

What kind of band are ye looking for.. Based in Cork too if I can be of any help

Milly33

Yeah id go see them too, there is quite the difference between videos and live, as they could be using auto tune anything to make them sounds better.

What kind of band are ye looking for.. Based in Cork too if I can be of any help

clint_silver

unclebill98 wrote: »

Been booked a few times from promos but we have live ones too. I always recommend going to see us live. Its really the only way to ensure you like the band, the people and feel comfortable leaving your nights entertainment in their hands.

I wouldn't get to bothered about not seeing your band in a "Wedding" setting, what they do at their shows would be close enough to what they do at weddings.

same here. Promo vids I think help put a face on the band and useful so you can be heard but I dont think Ive ever seen one live vid that did a really good band justice. And the other side of it is some bands dont live up to the vid.

View early, view often.

OP if you cant get to see a band post here for recommendations.

lazygal

Go see them live-just don't crash someone else's wedding to do it! Our band had a video but it was only ok. Once we saw them live we knew they were the right one for us.

Toots

I'd agree with what everyone is saying; go see them live. When you think about it, you're probably going to be shelling out a couple of grand on them, so you'd want to be 100% sure you'll be happy with what you're getting.

Faith

We didn't see ours live. The nearest showcase they did was Limerick, and we were in Cork, so it just didn't happen. We still booked them, but only because we listened to their CD, watched them on YouTube and read a million reviews all saying how great they were. It worked out perfectly for us, but if it's a band that hasn't been around for a long time and doesn't have a big following/plenty of reviews, then I wouldn't take the chance.

the_syco

unclebill98 wrote: »

I wouldn't get to bothered about not seeing your band in a "Wedding" setting, what they do at their shows would be close enough to what they do at weddings.

Mate picked their wedding band by seeing them at their "regular" Tuesday night at a club in Dublin, and very were happy with the band at the wedding.

Videos are really only to see if they do the "type" of music that you're looking for.

unclebill98

the_syco wrote: »

Mate picked their wedding band by seeing them at their "regular" Tuesday night at a club in Dublin, and very were happy with the band at the wedding.

Videos are really only to see if they do the "type" of music that you're looking for.

Very true, the videos out there range massively. I'd not like to be in the position of trying to pick a band based just on videos.

There are some wedding showcases/fairs that have multiple bands playing live for a short period of time. Few coming up next month but based in Dublin.

amdublin

If push came to shove and you couldn't see them I'd book them on basis of video and in conjuction with (recent) reviews - lots of them.

premiergal

Seeing this thread is making me nervous! We're about to book a wedding band based on a recommendation and videos. We are based abroad so really hard to get to see a band. Where are the best places to see reviews of bands? Apart from their website.

clint_silver

premiergal wrote: »

Seeing this thread is making me nervous! We're about to book a wedding band based on a recommendation and videos. We are based abroad so really hard to get to see a band. Where are the best places to see reviews of bands? Apart from their website.

You can get recommendations here.

Whats the name of the band? pm if you dont want to post here.

Miss Merry Berry

premiergal wrote: »

Seeing this thread is making me nervous! We're about to book a wedding band based on a recommendation and videos. We are based abroad so really hard to get to see a band. Where are the best places to see reviews of bands? Apart from their website.

We have booked our band from watching YouTube videos of their gigs, videos on their Facebook page and reviews on their Facebook. We know someone who is from where the band is from and he said they're really good too. We gave them a €100 deposit and hopefully we'll see them gig soon but if we turn up and they're ****e, we'll probably just cancel. It's very difficult to get the time to go around to where they're gigging and if we wait that long, they'll already be booked. Would rather lose my deposit really and take a chance as they're already booked for the Thursday and Saturday of our wedding.

premiergal

clint_silver wrote: »

You can get recommendations here.

Whats the name of the band? pm if you dont want to post here.

It's gorilla radio thanks any input would be great!

clint_silver

premiergal wrote: »

It's gorilla radio thanks any input would be great!

I havent seen them but do know of them and they're supposed to be really good. You'll have a good night if you book them.

unclebill98

premiergal wrote: »

It's gorilla radio thanks any input would be great!

The band are pretty amazing, you'll not go wrong with them at all.