We had our gig on Friday night at a lovely place called Club Clearview in the Deep Ellum section of Dallas. After numerous discussions, we finally got placed in the three slot, also known as main support. You see, the music scene in Dallas is insanely competitive. When you get booked to play a show in Deep Ellum (as well as other areas of town), you do so knowing that you'll likely be playing with 2, 3, maybe even 4 other bands on the same night. Your position is an indication of your status. I'll break it down for you. In a typical 4 band show, it goes like this:

• 1st Slot (Opener): You're either a young band, a new band, or a not very good band who happens to know the right people. This is where all bands start out. You usually go on stage around 9pm, when the bar is damn-near empty. You also need thick skin, because the people there are usually not there to see you, and they are often ambivalent about you being there. Don't expect people to chant your name or say "hoooo" when you say "heeeey". It's not a desirable slot, but you have to start somewhere. This position can gain importance depending on the headliner. If Def Leppard is your headliner, the 1 Slot is awesome. If it's some band you've never heard of, well, just be glad you don't have to pay the bar to play there. Your set usually lasts about 30 minutes, give or take. The worst gig we ever had took place when we were in the 1 Slot at an out-of-town club. When we finished playing, even the crickets said "Fuck you - get off the stage." There was dead silence in the place. You could've heard a pin drop, if the pin actually cared enough to move after our performance. It was utterly mortifying and embarrassing.
• 2nd Spot: You've been around for a few months, and you have modest fan support. Maybe you can consistently bring 15-25 people to the club when you play there. You're pretty good. This is also the slot given to bands from out of town, regardless of how good they are (unless they're signed, or national acts like Breaking Benjamin or Foo Fighters or whatever). This is the slot we had been given at Club Clearview for a while. 2nd Slot usually hits the stage around 10pm, and has a set that lasts about 35 minutes.
• 3rd Slot (Main Support): This is the honey slot. You come on directly before the headlining band. You have very good fan support (25-50 people), you have a damn good sound, and you put on a nice stage show. Main Support is almost always great, because (a) you get to rock your balls off in front of a friendly crowd, and (b) after you're done, you can drink beers, soak up praise, and watch the headliners play. Depending on the venue, Main Support may also pay more than Slots 1 and 2. Main Support goes on stage sometime around 11pm, and has a longer set than Slots 1 and 2, often 40 or 45 minutes.
• 4th Slot (Headliner): You're the star of the show. You're why people came out to the club in the first place. You are the shit. Your music is tight, your show is fantastic, and you probably bring more than 50 hard-drinkin' people to the club with you. If you're headlining, it means your name means something around town. It means people have heard of you, and you're making a real name for yourself on the scene. When you tell random people what band you're in, you have a 50/50 chance of them saying "Oh yeah, I've heard of you guys." Headliners play for an hour or more. Headliners almost always get paid the most money per show, and they're also more likely to possess a total rock star attitude, regardless of whether it's deserved. The band we were playing with Friday night has this problem. They're no one you've likely heard of unless you live here, but based on how they act, you'd think they were Nickelback or something. We're always very friendly, and we've tried several times to just talk to them, but they always give us the brush-off. Screw them.