Load-in lists, for bands
Pedals, leads, the spare nine-volt, gaffer, the merch float. The list you check at 2am in a loading dock with one hand full of cable.
Gear lists are always read in the dark
Usually while holding something. Saying it is easier than typing in a loading dock, and ticking a big box with a thumb is easier than both.
The whole band on one list
Share it live and everyone sees what is already in the van. The drummer ticks the hardware bag, you tick the pedalboard, nobody drives back for the stands. One list on every phone, rather than four screenshots in a group chat.
Pack-down is the same list, backwards
Untick as it goes back in the case, and whatever is still ticked at the end is sitting on the stage floor. That is the one that saves a cable.
Keep the one that works
The list stays until it is cleared, so a good load-in list survives to the next gig. No date on it, no reminder about it, and nothing asking why there has not been a show in five weeks.
Questions people ask
- Can the whole band see one list?
- Yes. Make it live, then let each phone scan the code with “QR this list”. Everyone is on the same list and every tick shows on the other phones.
- Do the others need accounts or the app installed?
- Neither. It opens in the browser they already have, with nothing to sign up for.
- Does it work in a venue with no reception?
- The list opens and ticks off offline. Adding items by voice needs a connection, so it is worth talking the list in before you get to the venue.
- Can I keep a standard gear list?
- Yes, and reuse it. Lists sit there until cleared, so the load-in list from the last gig is the one waiting at the next.