So last night, my band played our first headlining show at a pretty sweet venue in Provo, Utah called The Velour.

We were super psyched about the show and did a fair amount of promotion, including handing out about 1000 fliers, inviting a bunch of people on Facebook and Myspace, etc. So the night of the show comes, the doors open at 8, and here we go...

The first band didn't start playing until 8:50. Why? I don't know. When the doors open at 8, you start playing around 8:30, or at least that's what I'm used to. So almost an hour after the first ticket buyers walk in, the music finally starts. The first band played for about 45 minutes, no joke, and took about 10 minutes to get their stuff off the stage. However, they did bring a lot of people, so I was willing to be understanding.

The second band started playing around 9:45. Luckily they only had 5 or 6 songs to play, and were off the stage pretty quickly. They, too, brought a fair amount of people.

10:15 rolls around and it's finally our turn to play. We load our stuff on stage super fast, do a quick sound check, and start playing by about 10:20. I look out into the crowd, and what do I see? A severe lack of a crowd. There are about 20 people still in front of the stage (all people who came just to see us), but the other 30 or so patrons brought my the other two bands are gone, including the other 2 bands. Now, it was late, so I can understand people leaving, but us starting late was entirely out of control. :/

So, first song is over, and wouldn't you know it, our guitarist broke his G string (he broke his D string in practice the day before as well). So his uncle heads out to his car to grab his Telecaster, but in the meantime we kept playing. Didn't sound nearly as great as it should have. Time for the 3rd song, which is a soft, acoustic-esque song. Our guitarist plugs in the Telecaster and starts playing. The tone is horrible! Super bassy/muddy; pretty much the exact opposite of what the guitar is supposed to sound like on that song, and my guitarist did nothing to fix it. :atoz:

The 4th song comes around (and it's at this point that I realize this post is super long...) and my guitarist grabs his guitar; his uncle quickly restrung it. We nail the 4th song, as well as the 5th song, but lo and behold, my guitarist breaks another string! (it was the B that time). By this point, it's pushing 10:45, so we cut our 6th and 7th song, play our 8th song, and cut our 9th. Show over.

So in recap:
1. Promoted the hell out of the show and got 20 people to come. Not bad, not great.
2. Invited two bands to play with us. One started late and played too long, both ditched out after they were done and took all their friends with them.
3. Guitarist doesn't know how not to break strings, or how to properly adjust tone on a new guitar. Oh, and did I mention all the downtime on stage due to him tuning? We (myself, drummer, singer) made up a 3 minute jazz jam on the spot between our 3rd and 4th song because he was moving so slow.
4. Cut three songs, one of which would've redeemed our entire mediocre performance, if we pulled it off.
5. Didn't get a chance to try to sell our demo. No one wants to spend $3 on a CD after standing in the same venue for almost 3 hours.

My 2 cents here...

The 'recap' things you listed are things that should have been worked out beforehand. If this is your first headlining gig, then chances are you've had opening gigs before.

1. You probably promoted only about 1/10 what you should have. If you 'promoted the hell' out of it and only got 20 people to show, you are pretty ineffectual promotors. Sounds like you need a street team or to read some books on self-promotion and marketing.

2. Since you booked the show and invited the bands, then you are responsible for when they start and finish. Openers will take advantage of you by delaying when they start. They aren't stupid. They want to play to their friends and sometimes their friends aren't at the bar when they're supposed to go on. They'll delay as long as possible. Next time, tell the openers that you don't care when they start, but they finish their set at X:XX or you pull the plug. Same goes for the second band. If they take too long to get their stuff set up, it only eats into their time. YOU start when YOU tell them you're going to start. Simple. Also, don't blame the bands for taking their friends with them. That's the breaks. Get more of your fans to the show so you aren't depending on their fans.

3. Guitarist needs to take his guitar to a shop and have his saddles filed down. Or get better strings. Or not be such a spaz. However, broken strings happen (same with busted drum heads and broken bass strings). Experienced bands know this and have plans in place. Learn a few tunes that are guitar-free with you singing so you can cover the time. Or have a jam or two ready.

4. You had to cut songs because you didn't manage the other band's time on stage.

5. You should have given your demo away for free. "Sorry you had to wait so long, please accept this gift." The 20 people there would probably be rocking your demo today.

Sorry about the bad breaks.

Yea, kind of a Murphy's Law incident last night.

Honestly, my biggest complaint about last night was that after breaking 3 strings in 24 hours, my guitarist still refuses to play different strings or even play thicker strings. Apparently 9s are the thickest he'll play. :/

However, I was spot on last night. :) I actually played better than all of my other shows, had a great tone, looked good on stage (my stage presence is still being developed), and got plenty of compliments.

Live and learn, right?

9's don't really matter...he didn't break the .09 string (high E).

Depending on where the string was broken, there's probably a small burr on the saddle of the bridge or at the nut. Strings normally don't just break right in the middle.

Tell your guitarist he can still play 9's, like the rest of the girls. Or buy him a set of 12's, repackage them in a 9's package, and enjoy a trouble-free set.

Tell your guitarist he can still play 9's, like the rest of the girls. Or buy him a set of 12's, repackage them in a 9's package, and enjoy a trouble-free set.

I like that idea.

I don't know where the 2nd and 3rd strings broke, but when he broke his D string in practice, it was right above his pickups. Possible faulty pack? He bought the strings a week ago.

Guitar player should have put new strings on his guitar before the show and also have a spare guitar onstage. I have 2 basses onstage always.

Guitar player should have put new strings on his guitar before the show and also have a spare guitar onstage. I have 2 basses onstage always.
+1

Breaking guitar strings is a given, if you play enough gigs. It's going to happen, so you need to be prepared. Likewise, you should have backups for all the other consumable items like batteries, cables, drum sticks, etc.

Sorry to hear the show didn't go too well. Most of the shows at velour seem to start up late. That's lame that the other bands took off and didn't stick around to watch your set. I'm from Utah too and my bands playing at muse music in a few weeks. We're headlining and I'm hoping a good amount of people will show up.

In Nashville, I've discovered that 2nd or 3rd (if there are 4 bands) is the primo spot. Our first gig, we played 2nd of 4 and had the biggest crowd of the night even though no one knew who we were. I stayed for the "headliners" and they had about 10 people there. Being in the middle, you get the people who came to see the 1st band that hang around a bit more plus the people that are coming to see the band after you that get there on time, but of course shows always run late.