After Gig ramp down

[Jimmy4string]

Bass masters! Have you ever got home from a gig at 3 AM and you are all ramped up from the gig and just cannot sleep?? I try and relax to some old soft rock like "what a fool believes" and a 6 pack. But man all that rock and roll and a adrenaline keeps a cat up at night! Some of you are home in bed by 10!
dang

 

[Jay Corwin]

I don't sleep after a gig either. I'm almost 40, and it's still the same feeling. I also won't practice to close to bedtime either. It just sets my brain on fire, and I can't sleep.

 

[richntiff]

well, if the cat is up, you probably are too....

 

[DWBass]

All the time. It takes me a good hour to wind down.

 

[Biggbass]

a hot shower, glass of Scotch, and an old movie usually does it for me.
takes me a couple of hours sometimes.

 

[GKon]

I'm almost 50, and have the same issue.

 

[BassCliff]

Hi,

Bass masters! Have you ever got home from a gig at 3 AM and you are all ramped up from the gig and just cannot sleep?? I try and relax to some old soft rock like "what a fool believes" and a 6 pack. But man all that rock and roll and a adrenaline keeps a cat up at night! Some of you are home in bed by 10!
dang

Sure, it used to be like that all the time. These days it depends on the gig. After playing our regular nightclub gig at The Ranch I'm ready to hit the hay as soon as I get home. Yesterday we played a double, a lunchtime corporate event and an evening park concert in front of three thousand. We played a total of three and a half hours, drove for almost seven hours, home at eleven, and couldn't fall asleep until after 1am.

I think it's good to be that excited about playing. It comes across in your performance.


Thank you for your indulgence,

BassCliff

 

[RustyAxe]

Yeah ... it's hard to slow down to idle when you've been "red lining" all night long. In warm weather I like to sit on the patio, listen to the crickets, and enjoy a few ounces of my favorite brown liquor and perhaps a toke. I never drink or smoke the day of, or during, a gig. Fortunately, none of the projects I play in do late night bar gigs anymore ... at least not very often. But even getting in at 11 pm, I still can't sleep until I unwind for a couple of hours.

 

[ThudThudThud]

I'm not gigging anymore (haitus?). When I was, I didn't drink when playing since (a) I have to drive, and (b) because I prefer to stay sober to play.
I'd always have a sandwich/snack when I got home, and then a nice Single Malt Scotch to settle me down. Since the family were usually in bed, I'd enjoy simple solitude in the quiet of the night for while.

 

[Bassman Spliff]

I definitely feel this. Most times I have a moderate drive after the gig; I like my own bed and 2 - 2.5 hours of driving is worth if I get to wake up in my bed with my girl. Sometimes even after the drive I need a couple hours to wind down. Usually some Adult Swim, a bowl of salad , and a bourbon will get me there. On the rare occasions when that doesn't work, nothing beats a walk while the world sleeps.

 

[McG]

Those "wind down" hours are a good time to work on a gig report

 

[ONYX]

A bit of light reading will usually do the trick:

 

[bass40hz]

I am 50. It is what it is. I will sleep when I'm dead.

 

[DavC]

sadly alcohol , which is pure sugar , makes things worse ... !! unless you actually pass out .. ?!

and alcohol , sodas , or any fruit drinks thru the night contain lots o sugar ...

boring as it is ... if you gotta get to sleep , and get up ( i played 6 nights a week and worked 5 days a week for a couple decades ) ... drink water ... maybe some sleepy time type of herbal tea when you get home ..!? chamomile type stuff ...

i read about meditating and breathing to help slow down your brain/body ...

but some nights , puking and passing worked fine .. ! except i was still drunk when i got to work the next AM !

 

[Kevan Campbell]

Usually I'm on the lookout for some late-night food on the way home from a show (almost always ends up a burger or Chinese food), then after loading my gear in I'll watch a bit of a movie, share my food with the cat and check Facebook. In bed about an hour after I get home.

 

[DirtDog]

Arrive home at 02:00. Wake the wife up for a quick poke. Asleep by 02:05!

 

[delta7fred]

Most of my gigs are about an hour from home. I listen to music on the return drive, nothing too loud or demanding and chill. The roads that were often snarled up with traffic on the drive there I have to myself and are a pleasure to drive home on.

Only once in about 50 years of gigging have I been close to falling asleep at the wheel, adrenalin is a wonderful thing!

When I get home I have a bowl of cereal and a mug of hot chocolate and off to bed. I am usually asleep in a few minutes.

 

[rtslinger]

rolling up on 59 still happens I get home 2-3 am clean up and then eat dinner. I sit on the couch with my pup (she waits up for me to come home) for maybe two hours before going to bed. sometimes I jump on TB, others I will upload videos from my phone to youtube

 

[Richland123]

I'm 60 and am always up for a few hours after getting home from a gig.

I had a gig yesterday for a motorcycle festival and when I got home, I was up for about a couple hours.

 

[TheLowDown33]

I never practice before playing if I need to be up at a certain time. I just get lost for too long. After a gig though, I crash. It's very physically and mentally exhaustive. It's hard to pack up, drive, unload, set up a stage, perform for 3+ hours, tear down, drive and unload again and not be tired! My buddies and I even use the term Post-Gig Syndrome to describe it.