Being late for gigs...

I might step on a few toes here but it really has to be said:

This Saturday again there were a few people that arrived at the gig after 11.30, the time requested to be there, and some even arrived there just a couple of minutes before or even after the gig had started. Same thing happened with the second set. As everyone noticed, this always leads to a lot of stress, last minute changes of instrumentation, me getting cranky etc. We're supposed to have fun instead (and that includes me)!

Erin and I have been working on a "samba school handbook" to help new members in particular, and I thought I include a paragraph here:

On 'gig day', you will be asked to be there some time before the event starts, typically at least 30 minutes. It is important that you are there at that time, as there are typically last minute things to discuss, instruments to hand out and tune, set up, etc. Arriving just a few minutes before the actual gig, or even after the gig has started, is absolutely unacceptable, as this means we may have to re-arrange instruments, delay the performance, or even cancel the gig. In short, if you are late, you are really letting everyone else down, and it adds a lot of stress, which of course then gets in the way of having fun, the whole purpose of the gig. So please don't be late.

I guess the key thing is you're letting the whole group down, not just me. So please make an effort to be on time. Think ahead: double check what time you need to be there, do you need parking, where are you going to park, how long will that take, if you carry an instrument how will you do it, will it be busy, etc. And if you're unexpectedly running late, please SMS me, so at least I know if you're going to be there (SMS is better than voicemail as I can read that quickly).

Saturday was not an exception, and unfortunately it tends to be the same people being late. In the past this has lead to us missing a great opportunity for a TV performance on Channel 9, amongst others...

Thank you to all of you who were there on time, or even early enough to help with the instruments. I couldn't do this without you!

I hope for your understanding and cooperation.
Thanks
Remko