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Gig anxiety dreams

RichardW

RichardW

Feb 25, 2016
4,493
15,795
near Philly
#1
The band has a gig tonight at a new venue for us. Last night I had a long, involved dream about showing up at the venue and realizing I wasn't wearing any pants, buck naked from the waist down. Trying desperately to pull down my shirt to cover myself, no one seemed to notice. Then finding a pair of jeans, pulling them on and finding them three sizes too big so I have to hold them up with one hand while looking for my gear with the other. Deciding I had to walk home to get some proper clothes and, of course, getting lost wandering around an unfamiliar neighborhood and all the while freaking out because the gig is going to start soon and I'm not there.

Phew! Hope this does not come true. :laugh:

I think this might have been prompted by a bunch of band texts flying around last night as we were discussing last minute PA and sound needs.

Anyone else have gig anxiety dreams?
 
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#2
I had a dream where Walter Trout (actually a long time personal friend) called me saying his bass player was injured and they were leaving on a European tour in the morning. He said to pack my gear because he needed my bass. Panic set in. I'm just a weekend warrior hack. The thought of going on stage in front on 10,000 people and not knowing the songs made my legs turn to jelly. Fortunately I woke up before I suffered the indignity standing on stage frozen like a deer in headlights. :laugh:
 
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#5
dbase said:
No No No...tell the truth Grant...you love to groove to the music...I cant believe for one minute you would freeze on stage...that's your 2nd home. ;)
Click to expand...

Ha! That's partially right Bill. Yeah, I've been comfortable on stage since my first school play at 10 years old. It does feel like home. :)

I'd have no problem playing in front of 10,000 people if I know the material. :cool:

BUT... if I was on the arena stage with no idea what I was supposed to play, then it would be stiff-as-a-mannequin time for sure. :laugh:
 
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#7
my gig anxiety dreams are about equipment failure. i'm singing, playing or both and no one can hear me at all. the rest of the band is looking at me "hey, ***?", but neither my mic nor my amp will make a sound. i don't know why i have that dream - the worst gear-related thing that ever happened to me was i broke a guitar string, and that was in the early '90s. after that, i always brought a backup. but fear of gear issues stalks me in my sleep...

but at least i'm wearing pants :D
 
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#8
Back in the early 1980's, I used to work for Max Factor cosmetics in their "toxicology and advertising claims substantiation" lab (don't those two sound like they should go together?). I had to commute from Long Beach, California to Hollywood, near Hollywood and Vine. The drive was about 35 miles, but could take 1.5 hours, if I left early. My job title was "cosmetic chemist", but what I did was plan experiments to be sure that the claims "uncle Max" wanted to make had some sort of reality. I was supposed to dress in suit and tie and sometimes did so. Anyway, one morning I had a sport coat and tie on, got about half way there, and looked down and saw I had on no socks or shoes. Ay yi yi! That was an extra long commute that morning. I remember thinking briefly, "Maybe I can buy some shoes once I get there", but since I was planning to be there around 7, nothing would have been open.

Incidentally, the first experiment on which I worked did not prove out. I wrote up my report saying something like, "the statistical analysis indicates that there is no significant difference between the control and treatment groups". I submitted the report to my supervisor and he came to find me and said "we can't have something like this on file!!!!" I thought to myself, "OK, I see how this is going to work."
 
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#9
That kind of dream is just the sub-conscious expressing its fear of being unprepared. Happens to school kids often, especially if they haven't studied for the test, written that paper yet, etc. But if it does come true for you ... tough it out and play naked.
 
#13
dadglasser said:
Back in the early 1980's, I used to work for Max Factor cosmetics in their "toxicology and advertising claims substantiation" lab (don't those two sound like they should go together?). I had to commute from Long Beach, California to Hollywood, near Hollywood and Vine. The drive was about 35 miles, but could take 1.5 hours, if I left early. My job title was "cosmetic chemist", but what I did was plan experiments to be sure that the claims "uncle Max" wanted to make had some sort of reality. I was supposed to dress in suit and tie and sometimes did so. Anyway, one morning I had a sport coat and tie on, got about half way there, and looked down and saw I had on no socks or shoes. Ay yi yi! That was an extra long commute that morning. I remember thinking briefly, "Maybe I can buy some shoes once I get there", but since I was planning to be there around 7, nothing would have been open.

Incidentally, the first experiment on which I worked did not prove out. I wrote up my report saying something like, "the statistical analysis indicates that there is no significant difference between the control and treatment groups". I submitted the report to my supervisor and he came to find me and said "we can't have something like this on file!!!!" I thought to myself, "OK, I see how this is going to work."
Click to expand...

Cool story, but what in the world does this have to do with gig anxiety dreams?
 

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