How hot is too hot to play?

[Bobby Hearn]

I’m with Dick. If it’s too hot to fish, it’s too hot to play outside!

[Bob Carlucci]

If summertime "outdoor gigs" were all cancelled across the board,everywhere,for all steel players, you'd hear a lot more whining and complaining than whet we see here on this thread...For musicians that are fortunate enough to have the talent to play for a fee sometimes the shows are out of doors.. and sometimes its hot.. sometimes real hot.. sometimes it rains,, sometimes it storms severely..sometime its dry, other times disgustingly humid.. Other times its cold, other times freezing cold. Its called weather, and it changes.. If the show is outside, you play in it, or you don't. Lots of complaining on this thread from guys that are doing paying gigs... I guess thats just human nature... I did it too... for decades. Toughed it out, and at the end, relieved that it was over, I stuck my hand out and got paid.. That being said, I think perhaps when thee outdoor venues get booked, and they are outside, mid summer, it should be noted that a shaded stage, or at least a band set up space in tree shade would be provided...That sort of discussion needs to take place beforehand, not after the venue and date is set, and then it gets unseasonably hot for a few weeks...I dunno, I guess being in the northeast all my life and never having to play in 105 degree heat maybe I should not comment, but I have played in the sun in 95 degree and above heat more than once, not to mention storms, cold, and everything in between.Its part of what working musicians deal with.. Either that or don't play I guess.. Never liked the outdoor gigs all that much, but did them and got paid.. Complained at times, like everyone on this thread to be honest. It happens every year to all working musicians.. Then one day, you no longer are willing or able to do it asis the case with many of us here, and you wonder what all the griping is about from those that are still doing. it. bob

[Roger Rettig]

A fair point, Bob.

That 15-week Summer Season gig in ND formed the bedrock of my year's income from around 2003 to 2017. During a late-August show in my first year, it was so brutally cold that I left the stage; I was exonerated on 'medical grounds', but it taught me what the boundaries were. If I took the gig, weather extremes were a part of the package. I chose to take the gig until, in 2017, I told myself I'd earned a rest from it.

Now? It's been dreadfully hot here in FL of late. All I can say is that I'm very glad I don't have to go out and play in it. I recently saw a pic of my friend Frank Parish' rig all set up and ready to go - actually on Ft Myers Beach!

Good for him, I thought, but rather him than me. Give me an air-conditioned theatre any day - preferably a nice long run of a show so my gear stays set up.

[Fred Treece]

90% of my gigs in the last 15 years have been outdoors. This isn’t about cancelling all of them. Talk about nose in spite of face!

100° is too friggin hot. 40° is too friggin cold. Direct sun and rain on your head and on your equipment is just stupid. Those are the gigs that should be cancelled, and the venues that need to get a clue.

[Dave Hopping]

Not heat -- it was outdoors after sunset. The organization had us set up in a horse shed 6 inches deep in hay laced with a good deal of horse-pucky. I had a couple of carpeted plywood pieces in my pickup bed, put them down on the hay, and had just enough space for my steel and 6 string rigs.

The point of all that is that people who hire bands to play outdoors often have no clue about our environmental needs, and we do need to have the bandleader/booking agent make sure those get addressed as part of the booking agreement.

That's why Van Halen had the "brown M&Ms" clause -- so the venue dots their I's, crosses their T's, and minds their P's and Q's.

[Michael Sawyer]

Well i made it thru our lake gig fine- originally forecasted 97 degrees,heat index 107.
The weatherman missed it-90 and breezy.
It actually felt better than an inside venue we played last weekend( broken AC).

[Earnest Bovine]

I had so much fun yesterday playing Save The Bones For Henry Jones 'Cause Henry Don't Eat No Meat in the Glendale sun that I'm going back at noon today to do it again.

[Dick Wood]

Hey Bob Carlucci, I need your phone number so I can refer some gigs to ya cuz it's forecast to be 106 with a heat index of around 115 the rest of the week and I know you'd do fine.

[Per Berner]

I don't even leave my house above 80 °F... 55-70 is my comfort zone, preferrably with some clouds in the sky.

[Mike Bacciarini]

This is too hot…..

[Marc Muller]

Yes, climate change is accelorating. But us steelers should be fine for a while....

2,500° F.
The melting point of steel is 2,500° F. Since steel is more rigid than lead, aluminum, and red metals, the temperature required to melt it is much higher. Steel's high melting temperature is why it is commonly used within structural applications.

[Bob Carlucci]

Hey Bob Carlucci, I need your phone number so I can refer some gigs to ya cuz it's forecast to be 106 with a heat index of around 115 the rest of the week and I know you'd do fine.

I'd have done it before I retired, but if it was booked for mid summer, I would be certain to make sure it was on a covered stage.. All that sort of stuff needs to be worked out well before hand.. Need to play a mid summer, mid day gig in mid August in Texas???.. Fine, get the logistics worked out in March when the gig was booked. Don't show up to a stage in the blazing sun, where its 106 degrees, and then refuse to play because its too hot.. Everyone knows where they will be playing.. They live there, or close by, and should know the weather can change... Thats the point I was trying to make. What if 500 paying customers show up in the heat, and want the show to go on as planned??.. Not sure they would be happy with this as an excuse- "The band won't be playing as scheduled, they said its too hot".. Logistics and potential weather scenarios need to be worked out well beforehand. Not on the day of the performance. Works the same way for thevenue and the performers. Communication. bob

[Fred Treece]

My weather app gives me a forecast that projects out a week. It’s usually pretty accurate. Nobody has to cancel day of show. I would never do that. I cut my head open on an opened minivan hatchback during load-in at a gig last year. Put some ice on it to stop the bleeding, put my hat on, did the show, went to the ER afterward and got stapled up by a doctor who was not happy with my excuse for not going in sooner.

Anyway, back to heat….Two weeks before the gig in Hell that I was booked for recently, the bandleader cancelled me. As it turned out, on the day in question it was 98° at load-in, just as forecast. Since it was within my threshold, I would have informed the bandleader 7 days ahead of time that I would do it. Guess she didn’t need me that bad
Fine with me, and I hope the gig went well for the group.

Communication indeed. Either you have the skills or you don’t.

[Asa Brosius]

108° soundcheck yesterday in Horseshoe Bay TX. A little cooler by showtime. Hid out in the cool greenroom all day.
As mentioned, it should be an aspect of the contract.

[Matthew Walton]

Summer of 2021 I played at Six Flags 2-3 days a week, June through August, 0.7 mile walk each way hauling gear.

It's been said here before, but the absolute number one priority is HYDRATE. And not just plain water. Keep your electrolytes up. Body Armor, coconut water, Pedialyte, etc. (Haven't heard about V8 for that, I'll have to check it out!)

I have a 1/2 gallon vacuum-insulated growler. I put a 16 oz bottle of Body Armor or coconut water in there, some ice, and fill it up the rest of the way with water. I'd drink two of those between showing up at 12:00 and driving away at 5:30.

The other big thing I think is show up early enough to take your time setting up. If you can work at a leisurely pace, sure you might be in the heat longer, but you won't be wearing yourself out before playing.