very first gig

[mgash]

new to playing and being in a band, I got a call around 6:00 for a gig that night. Our biggest worry was, we had about 1 set worth of material and had to play 3 hours. So we figured, what the hell, we'll figure something out. Well about half way throught the first set, we realized that we had a lot more material than we first thought, and when our singer got up on the bar to dance and sing, I knew the crowd was into us. At the end of the night everyone in the bar was chanting, one more song. It was an awsome feeling for my first ever paid gig. Then we realized we were out of material, and we were so estatic that we made it through, we wanted to stop playing. So, we picked our shortest song and re-did it. Fortuantly the crowd really responded to our Green Day covers, and She is a very short song. We played it and quicky unplugged everything. I am thinking not bad for a forty year old bass player

[Bassamatic]

What a great story - Congratulations! Having enough material is a big problem when you are starting out. When the crowd is hot you don't want to stop playing and lose the momentum, so you will burn through your set list.

I think that you really need to have around 50 songs to play a gig. You might not use them all, but you need alternates to choose depending on the gig and the crowd.

For example, we played a big Halloween party last nite and needed to know some special tunes, like Monster Mash, etc. HA HA!

Keep it up and have fun!

[Bassic83]

Not bad at all! 40 is kind of a late start, but hey, you're out and doing it! Welcome to the wide world of gigging! You'll *mostly* have a blast!

[Stumbo]

If you have some short songs, just play them through 2 or 3 times to extend the time and keep people on the dance floor.

Actually, you can do this with just about every song. I don't think anyone will be timing you and pointing out the you played it longer the the original version, especially if they are carrying on out on the dance floor.

Also, for a 3 or 4 hour gig, a lot of the people still there at the end of the gig may not have heard your first set, especially the opening numbers.

If you haven't already, you may want to check out the following TB threads for some great band and music advice:
If only I knew then what I know now... If I only knew then what I know now....
Best musical advice you ever got Best musical advice

Glad to hear you're out gigging. IME, just about the most fun you can have with your clothes on (other than driving fast cars). Keep a positive attitude, expect the unexpected and always communicate with your band mates. You'll be digging it for years to come. Oh, wear earplugs. Always.