Enjoy the benefits of a premium membership!
Upgrade Account
-
TalkBass has been independent since 1998. Add your voice.
Create a free account to reply to discussions, view embedded media, and browse with fewer display ads.
Join free Log in
Want zero display ads or expanded classifieds tools? Compare plans.
Band's first gig this weekend. We're not ready.
- Thread starter Felix1776
- Start date
One last bit from me. When you're onstage, this is a trick that's worked for me. Spot yourself someone really attractive out in the audience who is smiling and obviously one of those "it's all about that bass - no treble!" types. Play to her.
I don't know why that works so well for me. But it always seems to help. Maybe it will for you too.
(With thanks to the old jazz sax player who taught me that trick the night I was having major jitters just before going on.)
I don't know why that works so well for me. But it always seems to help. Maybe it will for you too.
(With thanks to the old jazz sax player who taught me that trick the night I was having major jitters just before going on.)
Biggest thing for a SHOW is to make sure everyone is on the same page. I like to put the set list on big poster boards and have several copies on the floor (out of sight of the crowd). I even put the keys for the songs etc. The crowd will judge your band by how you look just as much as how you sound. If you look like you are having fun, they will intern have fun watching you and most won't even notice mistakes but, if you all look scared the crowd will pick right up on this.
+1. If you're gonna be wrong, be wrong together and call it "making it your own!"
Regarding having enough material, have the BL pay attention to the crowd. If they're grooving to a particular song, there's no harm in bringing it around again. Good luck and enjoy!!
Allot of bands make beginnings and outros to difficult. Keep them simple, you can always add to them later when the band tightens up.
Fake it and have fun. If you look like you're enjoying it, your audience should too. Laugh off mistakes and beat each other up after. Best luck.
Practice!!!
Also, make a playlist of the songs you are gigging with, and listen to them nonstop. In your car, at work, at home, while peeing. Put on some headphones and LISTEN! Repeatedly. Almost to the point of being annoyed.
You'll get to a point where you subconsciously know the songs better than you actually think you know them.
Also, make a playlist of the songs you are gigging with, and listen to them nonstop. In your car, at work, at home, while peeing. Put on some headphones and LISTEN! Repeatedly. Almost to the point of being annoyed.
You'll get to a point where you subconsciously know the songs better than you actually think you know them.
True!
I was in a band that had a couple hundred songs on our list. 95% of them used one of three or four endings. If you are moving quickly from one song to another, no one will notice. If there is a lot of time between songs, no one will notice either.
- Jun 6, 2012
- 4,837
- 6,859
- Disclosures
- I don't wait 30 minutes after eating, to go swimming.
Influence the set list so your first few songs are confidence-builders. They are the ones that please the audience but are also ones you feel really comfortable with, as a group. This will get the gig(s) off on the right foot, and energize the rest of your set.
Also, record the last practice's beginnings and endings, and then distribute them to the group so they can listen to them on their own.
Simplify them, where possible. In jazz, we have two or three standard types of beginnings and endings we use, and have hand signals for them. Also, watch on stage for people who need help, and give it to them. I walk over to struggling people and talk to them if they have a hard time. Once, I was in that boat, and walked over to a guitarist for help and he ignored me. Totally un-teamwork like. And don't be afraid to be explicit about song structure issues before you start a song, even if it seems redundant. You never know who might need it. Also, say the name of each song before you play it. A few times, people have skipped a line on the set list and started playing the wrong song -- usually this happens when the band is struggling with other issues, like lack of confidence, insufficient rehearsal, or equipment problems. If someone missed a line on the set list, and plays the wrong song, and that happens early in the set list, it can be a real confidence killer - in fact, anywhere in the set list, it can be a confidence killer.
Make sure one person is the leader of structure, so everyone knows who to watch for structure cues...
Good luck. Ultimately, you have to stand up there and abandon yourself to the results of the rehearsing you did. And the proof will be in the audience reaction and whether you get asked back....let us know how it goes!
Also, record the last practice's beginnings and endings, and then distribute them to the group so they can listen to them on their own.
Simplify them, where possible. In jazz, we have two or three standard types of beginnings and endings we use, and have hand signals for them. Also, watch on stage for people who need help, and give it to them. I walk over to struggling people and talk to them if they have a hard time. Once, I was in that boat, and walked over to a guitarist for help and he ignored me. Totally un-teamwork like. And don't be afraid to be explicit about song structure issues before you start a song, even if it seems redundant. You never know who might need it. Also, say the name of each song before you play it. A few times, people have skipped a line on the set list and started playing the wrong song -- usually this happens when the band is struggling with other issues, like lack of confidence, insufficient rehearsal, or equipment problems. If someone missed a line on the set list, and plays the wrong song, and that happens early in the set list, it can be a real confidence killer - in fact, anywhere in the set list, it can be a confidence killer.
Make sure one person is the leader of structure, so everyone knows who to watch for structure cues...
Good luck. Ultimately, you have to stand up there and abandon yourself to the results of the rehearsing you did. And the proof will be in the audience reaction and whether you get asked back....let us know how it goes!
In a similar situation for the 4th of July. Headlining a city function, 3 sets. Big stage, PA support. We have been rehearsing 2-3 hours a week for several weeks. Lots of new songs for me and the guitar player. Yes, we will make mistakes but the people are there to have a good time and so are we. Great advice on having everything ready so there is no stress before you start. Backup cords, etc. Have fun.
buldog5151bass
Kibble, milkbones, and P Basses. And redheads.
OP - we expect a full gig report, hopefully saying it went well, and you were concerned over nothing. Special emphasis on your 15 minute bass solo to fill the time out.
I was in one band that had a mix of first timers and seasoned pros. Every song started with 4 clicks of the drum sticks, and every song had the same "stronger than dirt" ending with the drummer making sure every part of his kit was in use. While it got old FAST, it also "worked". Later once the somgs were perfected, we worked on song to song transitions and alternate ways (and members) to start the songs.
One thing which was important is "what happens if you get lost". Discuss that now bc you can NOT stop mid-somg even if everyone is playing in a different key, the guitarist's amp starts smoking, the keyboardist is playing a different song bc he didnt get the updated set list, and the singer is trying to sing the verse lyrics over the chorus. (I've met a few singers that do GREAT when singing along to the album, but remove the vocal track and they lose all their cues and don't know where they are in the song!)
So, in case someone goes to the bridge at the wrong spot, or forgets the first round you do two verses before the chorus, etc - make sure you have a fallback. Someone in the band that EVERYONE will follow. If that person messes up, the whole band follows and noone in the audience knows you skipped the 3rd verse and did two bridges.
The worst though is if you stop the song people are dancing to and start making excuses for your lack of preparation.
(worst case backup plan, if everything gone belly up, make sure the drummer DOES NOT STOP. If the drums just keep going without pause, the song keeps going - even if you have an impromptu drum solo in the middle of a verse for a few bars. You reset to the start of the chorus and keep going.)
One thing which was important is "what happens if you get lost". Discuss that now bc you can NOT stop mid-somg even if everyone is playing in a different key, the guitarist's amp starts smoking, the keyboardist is playing a different song bc he didnt get the updated set list, and the singer is trying to sing the verse lyrics over the chorus. (I've met a few singers that do GREAT when singing along to the album, but remove the vocal track and they lose all their cues and don't know where they are in the song!)
So, in case someone goes to the bridge at the wrong spot, or forgets the first round you do two verses before the chorus, etc - make sure you have a fallback. Someone in the band that EVERYONE will follow. If that person messes up, the whole band follows and noone in the audience knows you skipped the 3rd verse and did two bridges.
The worst though is if you stop the song people are dancing to and start making excuses for your lack of preparation.
(worst case backup plan, if everything gone belly up, make sure the drummer DOES NOT STOP. If the drums just keep going without pause, the song keeps going - even if you have an impromptu drum solo in the middle of a verse for a few bars. You reset to the start of the chorus and keep going.)
Lots of good suggestions already. My main suggestion would be to take a hard look at the set list and see if there are any particularly difficult / probelmatic songs, and drop them. Don't spend your limited practice time trying to work out a difficult tune. Fill in the set list with some butt-simple tunes: Mustang Sally, Pride and Joy, Folsom Prison Blues, etc.
with so little time left concentrate on low hanging fruit. Leave the difficult tunes for another set of gigs. Make a simple rule for endings... we use "If in doubt 4 and out... it means go to the main riff and play it 4 times to end. You also have to decide if there is a trainwreck, always follow the singer and lyrics. Even if he messes up.....
