Bebel Gilberto - Disgusted fan!!

[Ravenguy]

I went to see Bebel Gilberto on 8/13/04. I was very upset with the 930 Club and Bebel Gilberto for the following reasons:
 
 1. The doors opened at 9pm and Bebel did not begin playing until approxmately 11:20pm!  There was no opening band, so people just stood there for over 2 hours waiting for her. Nobody from the 930 club made any announcement to update the crowd where or when Bebel would begin playing! The would have been helpful since most of the crowd was yelling "refund, refund, refund"
 
 2. When Bebel finally arrived on stage she made some type of BS statement about being late.  She said that she did not know her band had arrived.  She was on one side and the band was on the other side!!  Most people booed her or were non responsive to her music for the first 15 minutes of her show.  
 
 3. I am even more angry that even after Bebel started so late, she only performed for a little over 1 hour!!!!!  I heard so many negative comments about her lack of respect for her fans who came to see her!  
 
 I think everyone who paid $25 should be compensated by the 930 Club and Bebel Gilberto!  Does the 930 Club this situaation is acceptable?  I think a 50% refund is ok since she did perform!

[Systolic]

Agreed. Last night was bullshit.

[Bags]

It's bullshit, but the Club has nothing to do with it.  She kept you waiting, she didn't handle it well, she performed a short set.  All of that is out of the Club's control or area of responsiblity.  If there are refunds to be had, look to Bebel's people.  There was not one thing the Club could have done for you or the crowd to better the situation.
 
 Don't buy anymore of her albums.

[Ravenguy]

Bagalicious Tangster you make a great point.  I agree that Bebel's late arrival or short set was not the fault of the 930 Club.  I just think the staff of the 930 Club could have made some type of effort to let the crowd know what was going on.

[DiGangi]

bagalicious is 100 percent right, the club did all it could to keep that show going. If it is a complaint one wishes to display, one can become a brand new forum member on Ms. Gilberto's website forum as well. or it can be considered the way of rock and roll. would we all have survived woodstock, or the concert for Bangladesh with such a modicum of patience?

[Seth Hurwitz]

perhaps nobody made an announcement because it kept looking like she was just about to go on - I don't know, I'll look into it, I'm kind of curious myself
 
 but, if they knew, what kind of announcement would you expect to be made?
 
 "attention people - Bebel is not going on until after 11, so please stand around being upset about this now"
 
 "we've got a lot of time to kill here so, please, go have a drink at someone else's bar in protest"
 
 the bottom line is that it's called live music for a reason - it's unpredictable
 
 but I don't believe there was any wrongdoing

[Driveway]

I don't understand how she could be unaware of where her band is.  Doesn't she ever communicate with them when they are off stage?  Or is she a friggin Diva with a bunch of studio musicians and they never interact?  Is it too much work for her to talk to the other balcony?  Shessh...  I wonder if she shows up on time to collect her paycheck for the evening...

[Jaguär]

Regardless of whether or not the band was there, she was supposed to be there by said time so you'd think she'd make sure that she was there and deal with the consequences by either going on solo and/or firing whomever was not up to snuff. After all, it is her name solely on the bill. Bottom line, this all reflects poorly on her regardless of who was at fault unless she was cool enough to save a bad situation if that be the case. Sounds to me like she was the one who fucked up and is blaming others for her incompetence. All speculation of course, as I don't know the facts.
 
 Also, the 9:30 Club runs an extremely professional business. Odds are that they were fuming and running around doing everything in their power to get the show onstage on time. As professionals, they do this behind the scenes so that it doesn't become a part of the customers' problem. That wouldn't make for a fun time for the audience and it reflects poorly on the musicians. Believe me, they cover up a lot of shit that goes on behind the scenes that never makes it to the crowd or this board. Like it or not, that is part of running a professional establishment.
 
 Would you prefer them to slap a wig on ThatGuy and make him go onstage and sing her songs to hold you over?

[no teddy]

Originally posted by Jaguär:
  Would you prefer them to slap a wig on ThatGuy and make him go onstage and sing her songs to hold you over?

Yes.  I, for one,  would prefer that.

[Jaguär]

LOLOLOL
 
 Yeah, I'd love to see that too, with or without Bebel.

[lionforce5]

we were there...and were considering calling the 9:30 club from inside the club to find out what was going on, but they started playing right around then.
 
 My opinion on what happened is very simple: Bebel was deciding whether or not to go on.  I say this because I believe she was sick.  I'm taking this from three things:
 
 1) took her two hours to get on stage...plus the somewhat short show (Though not really shorter than other bands...even without an opening act...it was about 75 mins including the encore.  We got to the metro station at around 1:00 a.m.), plus the fact that she left stage numerous times amidst her set.
 
 2) She was drinking tea for most of the evening.  Even before she mentioned it, I could see the bag string hanging from the cup.
 
 3) She was losing her voice during a few of the songs.  I distinctively saw her mouth open but no words come out a couple of times, and her voice was cracking on some of the higher notes.
 
 
 It's still no excuse for the lateness of the show.  Overall, I think she genuinely enjoys what she does though.  It's been a while (not since Bjork on the Post tour) since I've seen a performer that energetic during a set.  I would like an explanation, but it's not like she just no showed.

[Driveway]

if drinks weren't so damn expensive at the club, she might not have left unscratched. haha.  has there ever been an indicent of people throwing stuff at bands at 930?  (Other than Evan Dando throwing ice cubes at Matchbox 20... which was hilarious)

[Bags]

I'm not excusing it, 'cuz I think Bebel probably had some problems, but hasn't anyone else noticed that she wasn't even scheduled to go on until 10:00 p.m.?
 
 In the FAQ, and hence, I'm sure on the website day of the show: "At this juncture it looks like tickets will be available at the door. Bebel will be on stage at 10:00 PM. We don't know the camera policy yet."
 
 So she went on about 75 minutes late...that's not really unheard of.  Her short set -- that's all on her.

[lionforce5]

And as far as the "Short Set" thing, I own both of her albums, which total up to about 90 mins. combined, give or take.  From what I heard, she played 8 of 11 songs from Tanto Tempo and about 7 of 12 from the new album.  Most of the songs that she didn't play were under three minutes each.  Overall I feel it was a decent set.  She maybe could've done a song or two more, but while it was short I don't think the songs lend themselves to much more than that.

[roger nicholas]

I was extremely disappointed in the whole affair.  We were planning to be out of there by 11:30 because we had to work the next morning.  I blame Bebel.  She should have asked the 9:30 management to inform the crowd as to what was going on.  (I still don't know why the show was so late.) I would have left much sooner.   Waiting til 11:10 to leave, I wound up sweaty and pissed.