Show Night: From Doors to Settlement

A well-run show night is boring from the venue's side of the bar. Everything that could have been decided earlier was, the people on shift know what they are doing and when, and the only surprises are the ones the acts bring. This page is the run sheet for that kind of night — what is ready before doors, who does what, where the evening goes wrong, and the last half hour that decides whether anybody wants to do it again.

The Run Sheet

Print one page and put a copy at the bar and a copy on the console. Two columns: times and names. The times are load-in, each act's soundcheck slot, doors, each set time, each changeover, curfew, settlement. The names are who is on the door, who is behind the bar, who is on sound, and who is the floor — the one person not serving, mixing or counting who can solve a problem at nine o'clock. The night manager is on the sheet by name, because the awkward moments below all need someone whose job it is to decide.

Before Doors

Brief the staff in five minutes: the bill, the set times, the deal and whether there is a merch cut, the capacity, the guest list, the age policy and the curfew. Staff who know the acts' names sell the night at the bar; staff who do not say "there's a band". Check the door kit — float counted, clicker, stamps or wristbands, the list, the ID policy, a pen that works. Confirm the stage is set for the headliner's gear the way the soundcheck left it, the merch table is lit and in the room's traffic, the sidewalk sign is out, and the engineer has agreed the volume policy for the night. Then open the doors at the time on the sheet, whether or not the opener has finished fiddling with a snare — that was agreed in the tech spec weeks ago.

The Door

Count everyone, in and out, because the posted capacity is the number that closes a room and the door count is also the number the band is paid on. Comps and guests come off a list agreed in advance, by number; a surprise plus-eight at the door is a conversation for the night manager, not the door person. Cash stays in the box and the count stays on the sheet, both visible, and if a band member wants to stand nearby and watch, let them — Paying the Band explains why the honest rooms welcome it. Ask every third person how they heard about tonight and tally it; ten shows of answers is the room's promotion report.

Timing Is the Whole Job

Doors on time. Sets on time. Changeovers to the minute on the sheet, with the floor person at the stage edge giving the act a five-minute call and then a last-song signal, and an engineer who knows they have the authority to fade a set that is running into the curfew. The curfew is the venue's to enforce; it is written into the licence, the neighbours' tolerance and tomorrow's early shift, and a band that "just wants to do two more" is asking you to pay for them with all three. Say no warmly and once. The acts that stay on time get booked back; that is most of what the rebooking decision is made of.

The Sound, From Behind the Bar

Volume is the engineer's call within the house limit, and the house limit exists for two reasons that are both yours: the neighbours, covered in The Paperwork, and the people who stand in the room every night of the week — your staff and your regulars. How You Hear explains what repeated loud nights do to hearing and why; the practical version is that bar staff should have earplugs, the room should sell or give out plugs at the bar, and the engineer should know they can turn it down without the owner asking why. When something squeals, it is a monitor-and-microphone problem before it is anyone's fault, and Feedback is what your engineer already knows about fixing it — which is a reason to let them.

The Awkward Moments

They are predictable, so have a plan for each and a person who owns it. The over-served patron: the bar cuts them off and the floor person walks them out, early and kindly. The under-age kid at an over-age show: the door checks ID on the way in so the bar never has to. The noise complaint at a quarter to eleven: the night manager takes the call, the engineer drops the level, and the complaint goes in the log the paperwork page tells you to keep. The opener who has not arrived at their check time: they get a line check in what is left and the sheet does not move. The headliner who cancels at four in the afternoon: the night manager calls the other acts first, then the listing and the ticket page get updated within the hour, and the door tells people what is happening before they pay.

The Last Thirty Minutes

The show ends on the minute. Settlement happens straight after, on the same sheet as every other night — count, deductions, share, paid, signed — and the act is paid before the van is packed wherever the deal allows it. Thank each act by name, and the engineer, and the door, out loud. Walk the load-out so the back door is not propped open to the street for twenty minutes at midnight. Lock up on the checklist.

The next morning is still show night: post the photos tagged to the acts, announce next week, and write the one line in the book — act, door, bar, two words — because, as the booking guide says, that notebook is the room's real booking tool. Then the night is finished.

Worth Knowing on the Way Out

• One sheet, two columns — times and names, at the bar and on the console.
• Doors on time, sets on time, curfew enforced — timing is the whole job, and it is yours.
• Count everyone in and out — capacity is the law and the count is the band's pay.
• Volume is the engineer's call within your limit — the limit protects the neighbours and your staff's ears.
• Settle, thank, lock up, write the line — the night ends with a number and two words in the book.