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Going in for my first gig later this week.

#42
Killing Floor said:
Aside from knowing your material and trusting the sound person is not your enemy.

Relax. It’s just music. It’s like sewing pants. You got this.

It’s totally ok to be a little nervous. Rock it. If you get the shakes just stare at the exit sign, it’s usually in back behind the people so they think you’re looking forward. If you mess up, don’t panic. Everyone messes up once in a while. Pat Metheny has entire albums of tens of thousands of random notes and he’s done ok for himself. Point is nobody knows if you shank one note so don’t derail the song. Other point is I don’t care for Metheny. Just focus on the timing because that’s what people notice. And be prompt between songs. It’s ok to tell the audience that the next song is about a boy and a girl. Just don’t pause too long. Dead air is lame.

Go get it. You got this. I hope you rock the house.
Click to expand...
As they say, if you make a mistake, repeat it so it looks intentional. Play in time even if you play the wrong notes, in time trumps wrong notes, and remember next to every wrong note is a right note.
 
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#43
Lots of good advice here, especially from @Das Jugghead . The only thing I will add is if you play finger style, make sure (the night before) that your nails are trimmed to just the way you like them. (I swear, my nails grow twice as fast right before a performance, and even one nail dangerously close to “clicking” is a horrible distraction.)

Have a good time. Remember why we call it “playing”.
 
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#44
Once you're satisfied . . .

You've practiced and/or rehearsed to where you feel you have the tunes down cold, and . . .

You're bass is solid and good to go, and you have extra cables, batteries, strings (maybe a backup bass as well), and your amp and cabinet and/or DI is good to go, and . . .

You were there early for soundcheck/setup, which went well, and . .

You're there early for the gig, dressed and feeling good, then . . .

Get out there and play it like you own it. It's fine to be nervous, but DON'T seem anything but cool as the other side of the pillow. Confidence is contagious, so you step up to the stage, play your part, and keep your head and ears on a swivel so you know right where you are and where everybody's going.

For those of us whose first rodeo was a long time ago, you simply prepare, perform, and have fun. It's a gas, gas, gas !

And remember:. EVERY bassist you admire or have listened to many times has done just you are about to. And forget stage fright, I've never had it. All those people out there are there to hear some great music and enjoy themselves. Roll with it.
 
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#45
Smaller venues are worse. People are up close and can see / hear everything you do. As a bass player you will be the focus of their attention so wear clean clothes and take your monthly shower early if need be. When you make a mistake, look at some other guy in the band and make an awful face so that it looks like he did it. Drink often to ease your nerves.
 
#46
Remember the idiot check. Before you leave your house, make sure you have everything, including cables. Nothing worse than getting to a gig and realizing you forgot one essential thing. Pack stuff the same way every time.

Before you leave from the gig, make sure you have everything. Nothing worse than getting home and realizing you left your amp head back at the gig.
 
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#47
mysterial said:
(insert thread title here)

The gig is in quite a large venue, and for a first gig, it's a little overwhelming.

Any words of advice? Rookie mistakes? Etiquette?
Click to expand...

Words of advice:
  • Pack your bags the night before and double check to make sure you have everything you need. Bass. Strap. Patch cables. Amp/cab. Speaker Cables. Tuner. And whatever other "bare minimum essentials" you think you need to get through your set.
  • Pack a dedicated go-bag with a multi-tool, screw driver, snippers, extra strings, extension cord, an extra patch cable that you know isn’t broken, nail clipper, spare t-shirt, and a protein bar or something else to eat that won't upset your stomach. These items now live in this bag until they are needed. Bonus points: pepto bismol and advil.
  • Confirm with the venue/promoter what, if anything, you as a band may need to bring. Sounds like it's a serious venue, so hopefully nothing other than your own guitars and amps.
    • Confirm if backline (amps/drums) is being provided. If so, please consider using it and resist the urge to insist on setting up your own amps. Backline is often provided (a) to save the band effort and make your job easier, but also primarily (b) to reduce hassle and streamline changeovers between bands. The production team is probably counting on you using whatever they have provided to help make the night run smoothly and seamlessly.
    • If backline is being provided, confirm what, if anything, is not included. eg. Typically drummers will bring their own snare and cymbals (breakables).
  • Show up on time. If soundcheck is at 7:00, you should be on stage, fully setup and roughly dialed in, ready and waiting for your queue to make noise at 6:59.
  • Be crystal clear with the sound techs what you need for your stage setup (talking bare minimum... number of vocal mics, etc). Don't be shy or make concessions because you think it's too much work for them. Tell them what you need and they should do their job to make that happen, or tell you why they can't.
    • That being said, you should also be flexible, and if you can't get what you want, trust that the sound person will do everything they can to make you sound good in the mix regardless of circumstances.
    • Do not, under any circumstances, be a jerk to the sound person.
  • If you make a mistake on stage, don't sweat it. Try not to make a face or act embarrassed (it's hard sometimes). Just smile, figure out what you did wrong and move on with the song and try not to make the same mistake when that part of the song comes around again.
  • Write your setlist down on a separate piece of paper for each band member. I don't care how many times you've played through the same set. Write. It. Down.
  • Hydrate, and bathroom break immediately before you're scheduled to start.
  • Tune before you start. And for the love of god tune silently.
  • Breathe.
  • Act like you're having fun. :p
Rookie Mistakes:
  • Showing up without a critical piece of gear.
  • Showing up late.
  • Arguing with the sound person over minor details (like what brand of microphone they give you, or type of DI or other gear choices, etc.) They know the PA and the room better than you do. Trust them to do their jobs, and do whatever you can to make it as straight forward as possible for them. Help them help you.
  • Noodling during sound check. DO NOT MAKE NOISE while the sound person is working on other instruments. If you must noodle, mute your amp.
  • Being sheepish about your monitor mix. If you can't hear what you need out of your monitor, tell the sound person.
  • Being out of tune, and/or tuning by ear at full volume on stage with the PA engaged.
  • Noodling at full volume between songs.
  • Dead air on stage between songs... Keep the set list moving as smoothly as possible. If you need a break between songs to tune, signal to the band that you're tuning so they don't start the next song before you're ready. Someone should thank the crowd, tell a story or a joke to fill the time.
  • If things really do go south, resist the urge to trainwreck the song and start over. If you can, turn your volume down until you figure out where you're at and come back in when you're ready. However, if the band absolutely must stop and start over, do it gracefully... don't get upset or point fingers, do laugh or make a joke, apologize, and start again.
Etiquette:
  • Be on time.
  • Be professional and courteous to everyone involved in the production for the evening.
  • Don’t play past your allotted time.
  • Get everything off the stage ASAP after you’re done playing. Don't disappear to sign autographs until all your poopie is cleaned up and out of the way.
  • Don't sneak beers into the venue. If you must, drink them outside in the parking lot and dispose of the empties discretely. :p
 
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#48
buldog5151bass said:
Remember the idiot check. Before you leave your house, make sure you have everything, including cables. Nothing worse than getting to a gig and realizing you forgot one essential thing. Pack stuff the same way every time.

Before you leave from the gig, make sure you have everything. Nothing worse than getting home and realizing you left your amp head back at the gig.
Click to expand...
I was half way to a gig a few weeks ago when I realized I forgot my guitar strap. Had to turn around and go home to get it. Luckily I still got there before the drummer showed up. :p
 
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#49
Play the gig and learn from the experience. One of my first gigs was on a small stage on the floor of an arena that seats approx 17,000. No monitors for the band, house PA system, 4 pc band with Piano, drums, bass, ac guitar & 2 vocals.

We well rehearsed our set and just followed our game plan and it went great. We followed that two days later in another city in a theater of approx 2,000 seats. Same set up, house PA, but on a curtained stage. Went great.

My takeaway from that was to make sure we had monitoring for upcoming gigs.
We stayed out on the road for two years.
 
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#53
Tons of great advice here.
My $0.02 (albeit echoing others here and there):

be as prepared as you can be
be early, be nice, be polite, be respectful, be thankful, be confident.
once you're up there, own the room. folks are there to have a good time / see a show. you are a part of making that happen. and when you/band and crowd connect...it's pure magic.
watch, observe, learn, meet new folks.
it's not about the mistake made, it's about the recovery.
let the music move you and enjoy the moment. 'cuz the set is over in a heartbeat!!

tear down quickly, clean up, get out of the way. say thanks to folks. it's a small world.
plan for the next one.

<note>--- I too am super curious to know more about this gig----big/small? part of a rehearsed band / fill in? jam session?

And afterwards....pics or it never happened!!
 
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#55
Killing Floor said:
Pat Metheny has entire albums of tens of thousands of random notes and he’s done ok for himself.
Click to expand...

:roflmao:


Opie... its all been pretty much covered in here... bring some backups, make nicey-nice with the sound guy, and don't sweat the clams cuz we all make them (my last one was in 2010). :D

Most importantly... relax and enjoy it... you will always remember your first gig, and you definitely want to remember it as a good time. :thumbsup:
 
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#57
Not sure if this has been mentioned...Eat something before you play. You don't need to eat a full steak dinner but maybe a light snack with lots of protein and some carbs. You don't want your blood sugar tanking halfway through the gig. Being excited/nervous (and playing) actually burns quite a few calories.

Also stay hydrated with water. You don't need to drink quarts of water but a few good slugs before you go on stage and then keep the water bottle near you on stage to sip on it if necessary. You don't want to drink so much water that you have to pee halfway through a set, that will really distract you...LOL. I've been there. It was all I could think about during a set...getting to the little boy's room.

You'll do fine...have fun.

Oh, one other thing...get there early if you can. One thing I hate is a rushed set up. If I get there late and have 10 minutes to set up and tune up, I feel like I'm behind the eight ball the rest of the gig. I always tried to get there thirty to forty five minutes early.
 
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#58
Even though I gigged as a guitarist for many years, playing lead...... I can still remember my first gig on bass. I was super nervous, because it's a foundational role in the band. I could smoke & drink during songs while playing lead -- but, not while laying down fundamental basslines. So, it's very valid to keep things simple & not overplay/overthink/overanalyze. While you keep it simple, remember to smile & enjoy the ride!!!!

Know material. Be on time. Be in tune. Be prepared to roll with any changes. Be professional. HAVE A GOOD TIME!!!!! ENJOY THE RIDE!!!!! SMILE!!!! HAVE FUN!!!

I've got over 20 years of stage experience, and I still get a lil excited/jittery before a show. Don't eat too much, don't drink too much, and go to the bathroom before you get on stage.
 
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