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First ever gig, soon!

#61
Gear wise- keep it simple, just use the same set up you use for band rehearsal.

Otherwise - right now it's all about beating the heat...so hydrate before and during the gig, take a couple of potassium tablets an hour prior to stage time to prevent hand cramping, and wear light weight clothing.

Performance - have fun, move your body when you feel it, and don't count the wrong notes. Take a portable Zoom recorder or something similar and record the gig so your band can evaluate the performance afterward.
 
#63
micguy said:
26637158[/URL], member: 193323"]
Always do a "make sure" trip to the bathroom before you go on stage.
Click to expand...

This is good advice. You might think you can hold it for anywhere between 45 minutes to 2 hours and a likely you can. But when you are in stage and you need to go it quickly becomes the only thing you can think about because you know you can’t go. The psychology of it all then makes worse.
 
#65
Of course take the amp, Enjoy yourself make it fun for you and the crowd. DONT LOOK AT YOUR NECK ALL THE TIME! (like your trying to make sure every note was hit, you will most likely make a mistake or two but don't let them know that :) )
Make the crowd feel like they are a part of the show.
JUST HAVE FUN!
 
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#69
It's probably too late to do if you haven't been doing it already, but I'd second the advice to have the band rehearse exactly the way you'd perform. For example, if you usually practice all in a circle facing each other, do a rehearsal where you set up facing out to an imaginary audience. Do the set list straight through and practice the transitions between songs, not just the songs themselves.

The thing that was the biggest challenge for me when I started to get out to gig was the distractions - there's a lot of stuff going on in the bar that wasn't going on in the practice space, like a TV is on or a patron is looking at you funny or it's hard to see your fretboard in the dim lighting and hey, what's that smell? And then I realized there were lots of things that were unconscious cues I was relying on like a glance from the singer or eye contact with the guitarist and now the singer is interacting with the crowd and the guitarist is on the other side of the stage with the singer between us etc etc... so try to iron out as much of that as is under your control in advance.

Having said that - yeah, relax and have fun. Rehearsal is work time; the gig is play time. Drill the music in rehearsal so it's as tight as you can get it and then muscle memory will take over in the gig and carry you through. Once you're live, have fun and don't sweat it; even if you do make mistakes, they don't matter, because the magic of live performance is that as soon as a mistake happens, it's gone, disappeared into the past. All that matters is the NEXT note.

Break a leg tomorrow!
 
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#70
Very cool. Things I've learned to bring and do: spare power strip, known good instrument and amp cords w/spare of the same, bass and amp (both proven to function before departure), just-in-case set of strings, spare pre-amp batteries and meter-tested batteries in you bass (if active), pants, known settings on your equipment, fun, don't stop, keep going even if everything falls apart (you and the drummer make things happen with or without the rest of the band)...pants.
 
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#71
towelie-south-park.gif
 
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#72
You don't want to get there and find out that you forgot something important. Here's my personal checklist--I don't trust myself to not forget something. I don't always take everything on the list.
  1. Bass
  2. Amplifier
  3. Strap
  4. Cable
  5. Extra Cable
  6. Picks
  7. Tuner
  8. Ear Plugs
  9. Wireless X-Vive Units
  10. Dolly
  11. Spare Bass
  12. Music Stand
  13. Guitar Stands
  14. Foot Switch
  15. Pedal Board
  16. Music
  17. Pencil/Pen
  18. Note Paper
  19. Water bottle
  20. Dr.Pepper
  21. Advil
  22. Eye Drops
  23. Cough Drops
  24. Extension cord
  25. Chair or stool
  26. Hat
  27. Sunglasses
  28. Clip Fingernails
 
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#74
pbass74 said:
You don't want to get there and find out that you forgot something important. Here's my personal checklist--I don't trust myself to not forget something. I don't always take everything on the list.
  1. Bass
  2. Amplifier
  3. Strap
  4. Cable
  5. Extra Cable
  6. Picks
  7. Tuner
  8. Ear Plugs
  9. Wireless X-Vive Units
  10. Dolly
  11. Spare Bass
  12. Music Stand
  13. Guitar Stands
  14. Foot Switch
  15. Pedal Board
  16. Music
  17. Pencil/Pen
  18. Note Paper
  19. Water bottle
  20. Dr.Pepper
  21. Advil
  22. Eye Drops
  23. Cough Drops
  24. Extension cord
  25. Chair or stool
  26. Hat
  27. Sunglasses
  28. Clip Fingernails
Click to expand...
I don't have a checklist, but when I'm loading the car, I very methodically go through a mental act of plugging everything in... head plugs in to power strip, I have the power cord and strip and head. Head plugs in to cab, I have the cab and speaker cable. Bass plugs in to head, I have the bass and instrument cable. If I at least have those, I'm golden, anything else is cake.

On the other hand, my drummer forgot his cymbal bag at my last gig and was an hour from home.
 
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#75
I wanted to add, you mentioned this is a 30 minute set. Are you part of a group of bands playing that night? If so, see if you can chat with the other bass player(s) there. They might be cool with sharing one amp amongst the bands. Less work for all, providing the rig is decent and the engineer/tech/soundperson has less to deal with cables etc etc. Just another suggestion from a guy who has done tech for shows like this many times and also played in shows like this many times.
Have fun (I remember those first gigs, many, many years ago...so much fun and gets you hooked....still fun today)
 
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#77
Exciting! Don't give each other the hairy eyeball when someone makes a mistake. The crowd won't know there has been a mistake if you don't make it known (by you all looking at each other going "Who did that? YOU did that!), capice? If you don't look at each other then the mistake was never made. And if you don't record it, all that will remain are good memories (hopefully) and experience. I remember falling like a rock at one of my first gigs - A NYE gig at that - I was mortified but no one noticed.
 
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#78
I'm about to give way too much info, :) . If you want to make it the best possible gig you can have, adhere to it. If you want to have as much fun as you possibly can, maybe not, lol. Its just some things you might want to consider.

Has anyone yet mentioned bringing your amp?

:)

If you don't, you run the very real risk of not being able to hear yourself, and the near certain risk that your bass will sound nothing like you're hoping it will.

Outside of that, if you're worrying about screwing up and silly things of that nature...

1. Know that you WILL screw up, as will others, and its fine. There's no point in getting upset with yourself or you bandmates. Most won't notice the flubs.

2. If you want to make screw up minimal, its a good idea for your entire band to go through all 5 songs, on their own, playing to a click only - to be sure they know the songs inside out. The reasons for that are in 3 and 4...

3. Don't expect your band to sound anything like you're used to. It might if you're lucky, but chances are its going to sound like you're playing in an entirely different band with different instruments. You will NOT hear things the way you're used to hearing them, and there's a possibility that you might not hear the guitar or vocals at all.

4. If number 3 happens, you might be very surprised at how much your band depended on other cues (vocal, guitar or whatever). Knowing the songs inside out, upside down and backwards can be super helpful if you can't hear things well or another member flubs something you've unconsciously been using as a cue.

5. Look up. And do your best to smile, even if you're scared crapless. People like to watch people having fun. Looking at the audience is a good thing. If it makes you nervous, looking above their heads serves the same purpose.
Plan to show up an hour before you're supposed to. That goes for the entire band. Especially the drummer.

6. Be kind to everyone, even if they're jerks to you. Vent later among yourselves.

7. Do your best to interact with, look at, or at least acknowledge the other members of your band while playing.

8. If you or anyone in your band believes in God or any sort of higher universal power, or even a higher, unconscious inner self - turn the gig over to that power, and trust. As corny as this sounds, when I'm nervous I like to think of the audience and tell myself I'm there to bless - not impress.

9. Dress thoughtfully. This is a personal band choice... but I think it matters lots. When a band looks like a band that band becomes more memorable. If one person is dressed like an 80s hair band and another is wearing shorts, sandals and a T-shirt, that's obviously not going to fly too well. My go to is almost always all black as it seems to work well with anything and everyone.

10. And I'm sure there's super important stuff I left out. I'm equally sure someone else has or WILL cover it.​

Enjoy!!!!!

And make sure you come back here with a gig report and pictures.
 
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#80
Bring your amp if possible. Nothing can ruin a gig like playing and not hearing yourself.

The amp gives you control over at least what you hear.

It may be too late for this, but just like practicing standing up matters, so does practicing with your group where you aren’t all looking at each other.
 

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