Bob - I do a lot of local and regional venues, private parties, weddings, county fairs, stuff like that.
Well...I did. Damn COVID...
Couple primary bands, and "for hire" for other events/bands. The drunk girlfriend will always run her mouth - best way to shut her up is to tell her "well if he knew the song and played it the right way, I wouldn't have to hide his mistakes!".
I actually had a sloppy-drunk girlfriend get in my face, redfaced and screaming, nose to nose, how much I sucked and this can't be that hard because all I do is tap on an iPad...so I handed it to her in front of the bar owner, and went to grab a soda. 3 seconds in, there was feedback screaming through the room, the band stopped playing (looking around, wondering WTF was happening), the owner snatched my iPad out of Yoko's hands...and I never heard a peep from her again. Fortunately I keep my limiters and compressors set to avoid damage, or she'd have owed me a couple of horns!
As for open carry...I honestly don't know who would notice it, during a show - the rooms are too packed, and since I went wireless I'm not "at the board" with my own space...I'm out in the crowd, walking the room while I mix from my iPad. Nobody can really see anyone from the shoulders down, since the rooms are so packed - and that's another reason I wouldn't open carry, there's no personal space, and no way to put room between my hip and "that guy". If they can't see it, they won't grab for it. If they bump something hard under my shirt..."oh that? that's my phone holster...sorry". My biggest visual concern is pre-show setup when the room isn't packed, and I'm working on stage to set the gear; or strike, after the show, when the room is emptied out and we're tearing down and loading up, usually in front of a couple hammered folks waiting for their taxis. Those are the only times when full-body is really visible.
Well...I did. Damn COVID...
Couple primary bands, and "for hire" for other events/bands. The drunk girlfriend will always run her mouth - best way to shut her up is to tell her "well if he knew the song and played it the right way, I wouldn't have to hide his mistakes!".
I actually had a sloppy-drunk girlfriend get in my face, redfaced and screaming, nose to nose, how much I sucked and this can't be that hard because all I do is tap on an iPad...so I handed it to her in front of the bar owner, and went to grab a soda. 3 seconds in, there was feedback screaming through the room, the band stopped playing (looking around, wondering WTF was happening), the owner snatched my iPad out of Yoko's hands...and I never heard a peep from her again. Fortunately I keep my limiters and compressors set to avoid damage, or she'd have owed me a couple of horns!
As for open carry...I honestly don't know who would notice it, during a show - the rooms are too packed, and since I went wireless I'm not "at the board" with my own space...I'm out in the crowd, walking the room while I mix from my iPad. Nobody can really see anyone from the shoulders down, since the rooms are so packed - and that's another reason I wouldn't open carry, there's no personal space, and no way to put room between my hip and "that guy". If they can't see it, they won't grab for it. If they bump something hard under my shirt..."oh that? that's my phone holster...sorry". My biggest visual concern is pre-show setup when the room isn't packed, and I'm working on stage to set the gear; or strike, after the show, when the room is emptied out and we're tearing down and loading up, usually in front of a couple hammered folks waiting for their taxis. Those are the only times when full-body is really visible.