First Gig

[richtea]

Only one small thing I can think of that has'nt been covered. If there is a sound guy don't be afraid to tell him its your first gig, that way he wont assume that you know any thing and if he has time you might get some good advice and a bit of extra help, not all sound guys are ****s. Have fun and I hope that this is the first of many.

 

[Etchbass]

+1 for getting a solid number 2 in before the show.

 

[drummer5359]

This is really important...


Help the drummer carry his gear!

 

[PatQ]

If there's another band playing after you're done: Get off stage quickly and don't leave any of your stuff there. And don't drink more than one beer - or you'll be the only one who thinks you played great

 

[Antoanto]

Pack the place with your friends and tell them to make a lot of noise

 

[dougjwray]

Have fun, but always keep in mind that you'd be working more steadily and making more money as a DJ.

 

[rtslinger]

Simple have a great time and if you flub don't make a face and never stop playing I recently saw a band screwed up the beginning of a song and stop and started it over again that was the worst I have seen to date! Enjoy!

 

[schmig]

Stuff I learned through getting screamed at:

- Make sure volume knob has somewhere left to go after you start. Other musicians will get louder, you don't want to have to go to your amp.. I usually open it up to about 75% at start of a gig.

- Silence bass before removing it at e.g. half-time.

- Make sure you're not going to trip over or yank your cables.

- Keep inter-song noodling to a minimum.

- Watch the person calling the shots carefully, also the drummer..in my experience songs tend to change form on the fly live...watch for stops!

- Breathe

Enjoy!

 

[whitefuneral]

Depends what kind of music, but try and get the crowd going, jumping, even moshing if you can

 

[autodidact]

If possible talk to the other bands, if there are any, after your set. If they dig you they might hook you up with more shows. Networking is the name of the game.

 

[steveksux]

take a camera and post in the "chicks at shows" thread.

Take White Castles and Taco Bell and post in the latest "Farting during a show" thread...

Keep playing no matter what, it's only a train wreck if you actually stop...

Have fun. Don't worry about a mistake you made, it'll screw up your focus which makes you more likely to make more mistakes. getting down on yourself only spoils your mood, which spoils the groove.

If you're not movin, you're not groovin..

Most important, point your amp at your ears. Never stand in front of someone else's amp, its like Ghostbusters, don't cross the beams. You'll turn up to hear yourself, they'll turn up to hear themselves... volume wars always occur when gtr is in front of bass amp and vice versa. Regarding volume, don't worry about being loud enough, worry about being too loud. Keep your volume down to where you can hear the other guys. Easy to get lost if all you can hear is yourself.. This can be a big issue when you're used to playing in small quarters and find the gig is a large open space.

Randy

 

[TheDude007]

Not to derail this thread, but as a band is there anything you shouldn't say during your first show? What I'm getting at is this, is it ok to say, "Hey this is our first show, we'd love some feedback after the show, etc?" We just booked our first gig as well. This project has been in development for quite some time. This isn't my first show ever, but it's the first show where I'll be out front and first time playing a very first gig with a band.

 

[templar0707]

Thank you.

Awesome