Be careful there! That was my attitude 2 months ago, and I, and only I, sucked. Didn't sleep the night before, didn't feel good, drank too much, had rig problems for the first time ever, and was distracted by inviting too many friends.
Tonight is our first gig since then, so I plan to keep my head straight at least for the first 2 sets. At least 10 of the fans I emailed are coming, so I guess I'll be busy again tonight.
It worked out fine. When I bring a bottle, its to share, not all for me. (Its a beer bar...you bring your own liquor.) You know the smallest bottle at the liquor store? That's the one I buy. I only had two shots, shared with some friends, and put it away. I'm old enough to know better than to get trashed. I also got a real good nap before going out. My sitter's mom (an old bandmate) fed me chicken fajita tacos, so I was fueled up and ready.
This was our neighborhood bar. Best, most faithful crowd ever, man. There are often distractions...its a biker bar, and a lot goes on. But these are our friends and neighbors, and we feel brave with them. They expect us to play on the edge for them, anyway. They've heard our "standards" a jillion times, and while they have their favorites, they enjoy it when we take risks. Really wonderful crowd.
The bit of "5 o'clock courage" did me good, actually. I know the singer's bored with the set...I am, too. So anyway, she called out a lot of songs we either don't know well, or don't know at all. Figured since we weren't practiced, and we were "at home", so to speak, we could afford to stretch ourselves. Lots of flying by the seat of our pants, having other musicians come up and play with us...it was a lot of fun.
I felt very relaxed and positive, and played a great gig. My teacher was there, as well as the bass and drums from a locally-well-known hard rock band, and other assorted bass brothers. (Out of any crowd in this venue, you can take a random four people and make a band, so many musicians hang there...LOL!)
Teacher said he could tell I was already applying what I'd learned, and knows he'll see great improvement when he comes back off the road. The other guys all asked me, "What did you do? What happened? What technique are you using to improve so much, so fast? I can tell you've been working!"
Didn't make much money, but boy-howdy, we had a blast!
I hope your rig problems didn't come up again. I hate it when that happens. Did the ten people show up and leave tips?
Cherie
