Forums > Help! > First time performance

Posted: 18th Jan 2007
Step 1) Get insurance

Step 2) Risk Assesment and site survey

Step 3) Get fire safety and fire safety equipment

Step 4) Get spin off can

Step 5) Spin well within your means and enjoy.

Step 6) Point out to club owners that this will be the first and only time you'll spin for free - and neither drinks, nor free entry to clubs count as payment (you need to pay off the insurance, safety equipment, fuel and such like remember)

Burner of Toast
Spinner of poi
Slacker of enormous magnitude

Posted: 18th Jan 2007
spin off can?

risk assessment is being sorted this evening and being sent to council and fire brigade etc

and dont worry as im only spinning because if the night takes off i get a regular paid gig

Posted: 18th Jan 2007
You got that in writing?
[/cynic]

A spin-off can is a baked bean can (or similar - depends how big your poi are) with a strong wire loop tied across the top.
You place your newly soaked poi head into the can hold the attach the chain to the wire loop and spin the ensemble as quick as you can - all the fuel which usually sprays everywhere (simaltaneously causing a fire hazard, annoying all those standing around you - "Is it raining?" - and turning your floor into an ice rink) gets caught in it and you can pour it back into the fuelling bucket

Burner of Toast
Spinner of poi
Slacker of enormous magnitude

Posted: 18th Jan 2007
wow the things i never knew!!! amazing and saves on fuel-ace!

talking of things i dont know-whats bom tish?

Posted: 18th Jan 2007
A very good way to end a drum solo...

Burner of Toast
Spinner of poi
Slacker of enormous magnitude

Posted: 18th Jan 2007
ha ha thats ace

so how long have u been spinning?

and i assume u play drums or do u just pretend like kids at school who want to be aeroplanes?

Posted: 18th Jan 2007
Toooooo long
But not as long as I've been drumming...

Burner of Toast
Spinner of poi
Slacker of enormous magnitude

Posted: 18th Jan 2007
hey things are already rolling with this thing now-any chance you can tell me ALL thats involved in th erisk assessment? im meeting the organiser tommorrow to go through one and i want to make sure everything is tip top

hey u ever heard gogol bordello??

and things are never too long unless it is string

Posted: 18th Jan 2007
I have done some daring things in my time with fire poi but lighting up inside is something I have not done...probably because I have never had the chance. I mightly aplaud you.
I do agree with the spin off can but I still think it would be good to go out back and make sure that all excess fuel is off the instruments.
Main reason being is that you just learned about the can thing and probably have not had enough time to play with it to find out the results of a burn after using the can method, possably leaving you with a error factor too unpredictable to take a chance on your big first job!

Beyond the Continuum.

Posted: 19th Jan 2007
thanks faceless

turns out i shall be doing it at the front of the club to draw the crowds imagine my joy lol

nerves are mounting

Posted: 19th Jan 2007
yeah just as durbs told you, the club gotta pay off your expenses.

spin off the extra fuel on the poi, dont be like brasilian spinners!

dont do any moves u dont know, remember that one (i got a scar on my elbow to remind me of that everytime =\)

ask the people to stay back, and have some to help you in case of emergency in the background.

do a test drive (without and with fire) on the poi b efore the party.

and just enjoy yourself, im sure those people wont bite and u might even get some more gigs after this

Love is Life

Posted: 19th Jan 2007
I find that if you can find some orange street cones then you can set the boundaries you feel comfortable setting ablaze in and then also the people helping with crowd control also know where you would like to keep things.

That is if you have access to a couple street cones. Though you don't have to use street cones to help your crowd control know your boundaries...coffee cans work too.

Just don't sweat it...know that you will put on your very best and safe performance...and you should do fine...like pinkadelic said, "fine enough to get a few more gigs.

Beyond the Continuum.

Posted: 20th Jan 2007
I've heard of a few people who said they'd been asked to spin out the front of a club,



I always thought it was a bit worrying, how do you keep all the idiots queueing/trying to queue hop whatever WELL out of the way?



And how likely is it the club could somehow wangle their way out of responsibility if something happened as it's not on their property but the street outside?



Just being a bit concerned and cynical, I wish you all the best



P.S the only fire performing insurers I know of are Country Mutual and Equity £160/year and £100/year respectively , they dont insure for shorter periods last I heard of any contact with them arround bonfire night.



You could perhaps try expo-sure.com they insure event organisers for things like firework displays, so there might be a possibility of one off event insurance.



Without insurance your utterly screwed if anything goes even slightly wrong.



Let us know how it goes, and what you do about cover, it could help a lot of others out too

Blinded by Hyperlights, please donate generously

Posted: 20th Jan 2007
Ya that is one thing that I have never been happy about...I have never had insurance for my fire performances. It is always good to have that sort of thing.

Beyond the Continuum.

Posted: 20th Jan 2007

"Ya that is one thing that I have never been happy about...I have never had insurance for my fire performances."
If you're not happy about it (which you shouldn't be!) go get some...

Burner of Toast
Spinner of poi
Slacker of enormous magnitude

Posted: 21st Jan 2007
you are right that I should get some....and it is not worth trying to give excuses that are rightly lame and not good ones

Beyond the Continuum.

Posted: 21st Jan 2007
Definitely take someone with you, to act as safety observer/dickhead repellant. And also to stay with your fuel while you spin. It is NOT cool to leave fuel lying around untended in a public place.



Go there a day in advance and 'walk through' the entire process without the crowds. Where will your fuel/spin off area be? where will your wet towel be? Where will your handbag be? You are in the UK so probably using smelly fuel. Where will you change afterwards?



Having a damp towel with you is not optional: Don't even consider lighting something up in public without a way of putting it out.

*Wet towels are for toys, fire blankets for people, fire extinguishers for things.



The towel is probably the only one you will ever use, but you should have all three with you if you spin in public, as well as a person willing/able to use them immediately if necessary.



You MUST spin off poi to rid the excess fuel if you are spinning in public. Here is a link to a spin off jar demo. I use heavy plastic bottles cut down, with a longish string 'handle' connected through holes punched in the sides. They do not come into contact with fire, so plastic is fine, easier to work with than metal/wire. There is a picture of these on the link above.



It is much more professional to use your damp towel to put your poi out when they are nearly burned down than to spin till they are both out (which can look really lame, specially when one goes out first). Your assistant can help you do this. If you have a spare set of poi and a competent assistant, they could have dipped and spun off your next set, so you can keep going straight away. Or at least have a breather and a drink of water rather than fussing about. There will be a LOT of adrenalin in your system so it is yet another reason to have someone there, to do little things for you so you can stay focused. Have drinking water with you.



Also, there are a lot of experienced public spinners in the Bristol area. Some on HoP include Garthy and Dream and Pink Perhaps contact them personally and offer to split the *eventual gig fee*. Or pay them outright from your own money to come to help you, as you will learn a lot from them. There is nothing like experience to smooth out these situations, and by your own admission, you don't have it (yet).



Also if this club owner regularly gets free work out of people on the promise of later gigs, they might know about it.

Cheers and good luck.

.....Can't juggle balls but I sure as hell can juggle details....

Posted: 21st Jan 2007
Hi guys thanks for all the advice your all ace.

You'll be pleased to know that during the risk assessment we have thought of all these things. I have a cordoned off area to work in and a security guard to watch my back and the spare fuel etc. Nothing will be left unattended. Also have sorted all the relevant safety kit

Im only really doing it because its a friend of a friend. Im not quite that ditsy or gullible! (i think). I dont think I want to be paid for my first attempt in public anyway. Im already nervous and dont want the added pressure of wasting someones money. If it goes well then we'l see

Again thanks everyone for being so helpful. I think I would have chickened out if it hadn't been for you guys and your great advice

Posted: 22nd Jan 2007
The comment newgabe made about having someone for fire control and basically an all around techie is one of the smartest and safest things. If you don't feel comfortable working with a stranger you should eventually train a friend to help you.

Well then I guess the only thing to do now is to wish you good luck!...so GOOD LUCK! You will do fine.

Beyond the Continuum.

Posted: 22nd Jan 2007
Sounds like you are doing well, Kazza.



If you don;t have an actual safety person, then take some time to show your security chap how to do the wet towel routine... it stays flat on the ground, you put the poi on one end, he folds it over smothering the flames, lifts it off slowly to check they are really out...

It's not obvious to everyone how to do that. Security chaps usually spend their time watching crowds for potential trouble, so being a safety for YOU is probably new to him.



And have a word you can shout to whoever is your safety (apart from HELP) which means he/she comes to you and puts them out if they wrap round your hands or something. Unlikely, but a few seconds can make a lot of difference to the severity of a burn.



Good luck! Enjoy!

PS don't be put off if some random in the crowd heckles or says rude stuff. It is not a reflection on you or how good you are.. happens to the best! Check out [Old link] if you haven;t already for some of the daft stuff!

.....Can't juggle balls but I sure as hell can juggle details....

Posted: 30th Jan 2007
Post back on here to say how everything went...I would like to know!

Beyond the Continuum.

Posted: 30th Jan 2007
its not stricktly to do with club spinning etc but there is some great advice that helped me out loads [Old link]
best of luck

Life's too short to worry about where you put your marshmallows

Posted: 31st Jan 2007
Nice thread Frog...I will be referencing some of the advice on there for while I am planning my own Half hour performance.

Beyond the Continuum.

Posted: 31st Jan 2007
your more than welcome and best of luck. as i said before i found the advice given to me more than a great help and using that advice i have been able to do many performances that wentr fantastic as far as i am conernd. sure i still get really shakey before but i think thats more my persoanlity than anything else.

Again best of luck and keep us updated on how it goes

Life's too short to worry about where you put your marshmallows

Posted: 5th Feb 2007
hey youl all be pleased to know it went well-it wqas pretty quite tho but the night is going to continue and he wants me to keep doingit so got to be good

(and i didnt burn maim or injure ANYONE!!!) wooooo

Posted: 5th Feb 2007
Well then, HUZZAH for you. I am sure that I speak for everyone in saying that we are proud of the achievement you have made!

Now the question is, it sounds like you performed and you were still at the place when you wrote this post...did you take a break just to come here and write on the post?!?!?

Like I said before...good job and keep it up!

Beyond the Continuum.

Posted: 8th Feb 2007
Well done Kazza! The first public performance is a big step!

But now this club wants you to continue doing it, DO NOT LET THEM UNDERCHARGE YOU! For a number of reasons: 1) you need to cover your costs of fuel, insurance, admin and of course expertise; 2) there are a lot of people who do this for a living, and by doing it for free or very cheaply, not only under-cuts, but also under-values the artform as a profession; 3) don't undervalue your own work, what you do is a very specialised form of entertainment that requires practice and dedication and awareness of dangers!

As Gabe said, get in touch with some of the Bristol spinners, they're lovely and they'll be able to help you - probably more than you realised you needed! from HoP, pink or sandy would probably be your best bet for people to contact. Plus, when it's not so cold there is a weekly fire-meet in Bristol that they can tell you about

All the best!

Lx

there's nothing quite as fulfilling as a tasty airwrap

if you're full of sh!t, at least you're fertile

"we are all flowers growing in God's garden... and that is why he spreads the sh!t around" - David Byrne

Posted: 20th Feb 2007
For the first time in a long time I got shakey when I went out in someone elses fire show , during the random performers part, and the stage had laquer on it and a thin film of dew ...it made it sort of slick and I got a bit nervous about falling on my duff.

Now that I think about it though I was a bit shakey before even realizing the stage was laquered. I think it was because I was infront of some people that were more than just audience, kinda like I felt like I was getting judged by other performers.

Not to say I minded the judgment, but I wanted to show off and I guess I got nervous about screwing up in front of people that knew alot about what all I was doing.

Beyond the Continuum.

Posted: 20th Feb 2007
Sorry! That last post was in reply to GothFrogette if it couldn't be understood.

Beyond the Continuum.

Posted: 19th Mar 2007
i have a performance coming up too... not fire - but it is a club performance.

I spin quite regulary in a club here, my boy is the manger so mostly i just practice and mess about with my glow poi. Said club is now opening a branch in Leeds and a DJ friend of mine has asked me if i would be so kind as to perform at the new club on the very first EBM night.

This means an actuall performance, in front of people, with an idea for a routine, or at the very least some nice sharp moves.

I need to learn some new stuff, and i need to practice and i need to stop panicking.....!


HELP!!