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Open mic meltdown

Zcruz

Zcruz

Guest
Apr 8, 2015
14
5
35
#1
So finally took my two piece band ( drums and bass) out to play an open mic for a soft release. our set was about 20 minutes and i don't think i've seen so many people mind blown about all the sounds you can coax out of a bass guitar. we ended up going last and spent 20 minutes trying to figure out why my pedalboard wasn't working ( realized i flipped my input and output out of nerves,) otherwise the night was a huge success and they had me lead the jams for the rest of the night.

Talkbass let's hear your open mic, first gig stories
 
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#2
ouch! but it worked well after you got it sorted out :)

years ago several of us formed a project to play a 3 day gig supporting a non-profit we liked. after a few weeks working on the originals and covers, we decided to do an open mic in pomona. when it was our turn, we started to play. the first song went without a hitch, and then i called the second song... and started playing one original and singing... a different one *LOL* i stopped, explained in a humorous way to the audience what had happened. they were very cool about it, chuckled where i hoped they'd chuckle and the rest of our time went without a hitch. in fact, we got tons of applause and some people wanted to know where they could see us live.

but it was the strangest feeling when a few bars in i realized what was happening. ordinarily with a mistake i just keep going, but i wasn't sure which song to continue with :D
 
#3
Congratulations! That is the one thing about a big pedalboard - if no sound comes out, you've got a whole long string of connections to check. Glad you sorted it out.

I actually just recently came across a vid I had posted to youtube of my first band playing their first open mic, this would have been about six or seven years ago. I was very proud at the time. Man, were we bad. I don't think I'll share it here.
 
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#4
I used to host an open mic at a large club in Florida, with the rhythm player from my regular band, a Monday night thing. My partner and I would open with 2 songs, then call up acts from a list we made. The place had a great stage, lights, PA, and friendly FOH guys. The first night we played and sang our butts off for 2 songs, and called up the first act. The showmanship, top notch vocals ,by my partner, and my backing vocals , with someone I was very used to working with were intimidating, and to make it worse, there were 2 big time national acts, not there to play, just to hang out socially. Every act after us was nervous, fumbling, and sweating, even though the guys in the 2 big acts clapped, and whistled for every band. We got it worked out, by the next week, to make it easier for people to take the stage. We would purposely fumble, sing out of harmony, sometimes stop mid song, and laugh telling each other "Wow, you really blew it, didn't you". It became a much more fun night for everyone, was packed every Monday, and those 2 big acts usually came, took tables in the back, and cheered on whoever was performing. Regulars were looking forward to how my partner and I were going to butcher popular covers, and how the light show would have nothing in common with what we played. It became one of the most fun gigs I've done.
 
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#5
I was the house bass player for an open mic jam for years. Basically, I provided a rig and/or a beater bass for others to play, or I played bass with whomever asked. It really kept me on my toes. For some reason, bass players avoided this jam. So, quite often a band would show up with every member except their bass player. There I was holding on by my fingernails playing a song that they had played together 100 times, and I just got a crash course on right before they walked on stage. Too many stories to tell.

But I got to see a lot of young kids do their first performances on a stage in front of people. I got to perform with them when they did it in many cases. Even when they were awful I really enjoyed being part of that experience for them and encouraging them to keep trying after we played together. It has been rewarding over the years to have people I didn't even recognize come up to me and thank me years later for pumping them up and/or jamming with them their first time out.

Congrats on putting yourself out there, OP! And here's to many MANY more stage appearances!
 
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#11
Im still working on my looping game. I like a lot of the insight I got here, the biggest reason I have effects is to add tosome of my tapping riffs and a bit of grit for the rougher tunes in the set. Went back totalk with the club owner, ended up talking about helping us out with gigs. Very excited to see how far I can push this duo to say the least.

But thank you guys for the insight and its awesome to hear that side of the coin!
 
#12
For every bass malfunction I had I could buy new gear. Our guitar player forgot how to play a part of an instrumental half way through(but then he went like 1,2,3,4 and we started all together exactly where we left off). I played through a tiny Warwick 30 watt amp that I couldnt shaging hear.

The crowd was ambivalent at best.
 
#15
I started off playing in my area at open mics solo. id do original solo pieces and id do covers with a loop pedal and such... people took notice and I was given an open mic to host for a long while and turned it into an open jam but I had a similar problem as what was stated above.. not many bass players would come out so for 3 hrs or so id be up there playing with several different people. learning songs on the fly and playing regular tunes blind folded eventually. but now im the go to / house bassist for just about each open mic I attend. they are a blast and I recommend to anyone looking to network in their area with other musicians to go to these and jam with the other musicians.
 

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