A Different Kind of Gig: Playing on a Boat in Boston

Sep 14

This weekend was a little different.

We had a gig on a boat in Boston — a beautiful sunny day, live music on the harbor and, by the time we started playing, the beginning of the sunset.

It sounds like the perfect setting for a gig — and in many ways, it was.

But before we got to enjoy any of that, there was one thing we had to deal with first:

The schedule.

Getting Everything Onboard

The contractor made it very clear that we needed to be there at least two hours early.

Once we arrived, it made perfect sense.

Playing on a boat means you're not simply parking next to a venue, unloading the equipment and walking onto a stage.

Everything has to be unloaded, brought down to the dock, carried onto the boat, set up, connected and ready to go within a very specific window of time.

And even though two hours might sound like plenty of time, once you start moving an entire band's equipment, that clock moves pretty quickly.

Knowing that the logistics would be different, I also made a decision with my drum setup:

Keep it small.

The Mini Kit

Instead of bringing my full drum kit, I went with a compact setup:

Kick, snare, hi-hat, one crash, pedal and my Alesis SamplePad Pro.

That was really all I needed.

For this particular gig, bringing less equipment meant less to carry onto the boat, a smaller footprint once we were set up and, just as importantly, less equipment to get back off the boat when the show was over.

The Alesis SamplePad Pro was especially useful because it gave me access to additional sounds without having to add more drums or hardware to the setup.

It allowed me to keep things compact without feeling limited musically.

Sometimes the right setup isn't the biggest setup.

It's the one that makes sense for the gig.

Check out the Alesis SamplePad Pro on Amazon →

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Perfect Weather for It

We also got really lucky with the weather.

It was a beautiful, sunny day in Boston, and by the time we started playing, the sun was beginning to set.

That added a completely different atmosphere to the show.

While the band was playing, the boat was moving through Boston Harbor with the city outside and the daylight slowly turning into sunset.

For us on stage, it was a great view. But I think it made the experience even better for the people onboard.

They weren't just watching a live band — they were getting the music, the harbor, the Boston skyline and the beginning of the sunset all at the same time.

It was one of those situations where the location became part of the show.

Once We Started Playing, Everything Clicked

Once the show started, everything went really smoothly.

The band played great, everything felt tight, and we were able to settle in and enjoy the gig.

A special shout-out also has to go to the sound.

The mix was really well balanced, which made a huge difference.

A boat isn't exactly the first environment you think of when you're talking about an ideal live music room, so getting everything sounding that good was impressive.

With the band playing well, the sound dialed in and the sunset happening outside, everything came together.

And Then Came the Other Deadline

Of course, there was still one more challenge waiting for us.

Getting everything back off the boat.

Once the show ended, we couldn't hang around for too long, slowly pack everything up and eventually start loading out.

The boat had another event scheduled for later that night.

That meant we had a specific amount of time to break everything down, get all the equipment off the boat and clear the space for the next event.

So the day basically became a race against two clocks:

Get everything in on time.
Play the gig.
Get everything back out on time.

The load-out was definitely hectic, but that's part of doing this professionally.

Sometimes the biggest challenge of a gig has very little to do with actually playing the songs.