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First ever gig tonight

P

Pastafarian

Mar 4, 2009
26
0
#1
Playing my first gig ever tonight (not counting a 2 minute performance on the drums I did over 10 years ago as a kid). Band is only a few months old, and have played bass for exactly as long as that. We sound OK, but I'm mildly terrified. Playing a set of covers for our work ball, which I appreciate isn't the most challenging way to start.

Any tips for playing your first gig? Things to look out for etc?

Do share any horror stories too; there's an outside chance I'll see the funny side of them...
 
#3
Take good time to set up your gear, soundcheck, make sure everything is working. Bring extra batteries, strings ect. Test your volume levels against eachother, if you haven't got a soundman to take care of that. Nothing worse at a small gig, than unbalanced sound levels. If you have the possiblity to warm up a bit, play a song or 2 before you go on stage.
I once had an effects pedal that ran out of battery in the middle of a song.. It was a brand new battery, just put it in.. guess it was faulty.. Didnt feel very cool up there when it happened =) I went out the next day and bought a pedalpower..

Anyways, have fun and good luck on the gig. Im sure you guys will do just fine. =)
 
#4
First tip: Have fun :D

Actually, lol thats the only real tip I'd give. Afterall, if you have fun it'll come through in the music.

Oh and be wary of speeding up. I still do this sometimes (I just get excited lol). And bring a back up of everything - it sucks being the person who has to borrow something...especially when its in the middle of your set.

Good luck :)
 
#6
Cheers all! We're pretty much covered in terms of back-up for when things go wrong. Just a case of playing, and playing rather well (hopefully).

Think it'll be a lot of fun - will be a very friendly crowd, who all know us and don't yet know we're playing. Some good fun songs for them in the set. And some nice bass songs for me to get stuck in to (esp. Sweet Child o' Mine - not the most challenging part, but with only one guitarist, loads of room for me to play around with).
 
#8
Be relaxed. The typical listener isn't the best judge of music so looking like you are having fun is the most important thing.

Remember, there is a BIG performance aspect when gigging. To the typical listener, how you carry yourself and how you look onstage is HUGE. If you look like you are relaxed, having fun, and in control, then the audience will be in to what you are doing...EVEN IF your music is stinking for the day.

First and foremost, worry about your VISUAl performance and how you look onstage.

AUDIO performance is essential too...but again, the typical listener is not the best judge in music. Nailing down the visual performance is much easier and works wonders.

Speaking of, who is your audience and what style of music are you playing?
 
#11
Pastafarian said:
...but I'm mildly terrified...
Click to expand...

That's not "terror". It is excitement and anticipation. It is the fire that drives a great performance. It is the knowledge that, for a few glorious moments, YOU will be bigger than life.

There are two types of people who get on stage (you see it all the time on early rounds of Idol): those who crumble under that feeling and those who thrive on it and become bigger with it. Guess which one wins?

Grab that tiger. Bend it to your will. Use that power to your advantage. Learn to love the heat!
 
#13
Stuka said:
Take good time to set up your gear, soundcheck, make sure everything is working. Bring extra batteries, strings ect. Test your volume levels against eachother, if you haven't got a soundman to take care of that. Nothing worse at a small gig, than unbalanced sound levels. If you have the possiblity to warm up a bit, play a song or 2 before you go on stage.
I once had an effects pedal that ran out of battery in the middle of a song.. It was a brand new battery, just put it in.. guess it was faulty.. Didnt feel very cool up there when it happened =) I went out the next day and bought a pedalpower..

Anyways, have fun and good luck on the gig. Im sure you guys will do just fine. =)
Click to expand...

+1 couldnt have said it better

always have extra of everything!
 
#15
Don't worry about making a mistake or 2 or 3 or 4 etc...

If there are musicians in the audience they will know you guys are starting out and will most likely be very supportive.

For the non-musicians that may have something negative to say... Keep in mind that you are the one that's on stage trying, and giving your all to something you love...

Hope that helps you stay loose.
 
#16
Try not to worry about missing a note or two. It can happen to the best of us (or in my case, the worst). Remember, Bruce Springsteen once forgot the words to the song "Born In The USA" while touring to support the album.... you guessed it, "Born In The USA". If he can laugh it off, well, us non professionals can too.
 
#17
chunkylover73 said:
Good luck and may you be touched by His noodly appendage.

RAmen.
Click to expand...

+1000, fellow follower of the FSM. :D

I had 24 hours to prepare for my first gig, which was a stand-in for my daughter's band. I already knew the songs, all I had to do was memorize 6 bass parts. The show was in a basement with 2 other bands and a handful of spectators, so I wasn't particularly stressed. It was fun, and my one chance to play on stage with her as it turned out.

Enjoy the anticipation, and focus on staying with the band rhythmically. The crowd will be able to tell if you're having fun and they'll respond.
 
#18
Cheers again everyone. It went brilliantly - so much fun playing live! Gutted it's all over - been 5 weeks of blood, sweat and tears, during which we expanded our fledgling band's repetoire of songs from 3 to 16 (13 of which made it in last night). Really strange it's now all finished.

Highlights:
- everyone's surprise as we were getting ready to play - everyone knew us personally, but almost no one knew we were playing that night
- Brown-Eyed Girl - got everyone dancing (few songs later the place was packed). Lovely bass track too - it's the guitar riff that gets everyone worked up, but the song is nothing without the bass
- not screwing up my solo during Rock Around The Clock! (everyone got a solo in between verses)
- Sweet Child O' Mine as the last number of the encore. Epic.
- Everyone's reaction afterwards, both for the whole band and personally - proper thrill to know everyone enjoyed what we had just done. And being asked to maybe do a couple of weddings.

Self-indulgence over.

Thanks again!
 

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