Im hyped and nervous at the same time. We were just talking about gigs in august, then at practice today, our singer was like, I got us a gig on the 31 with my other band if u guys are interested. Talk about good timing. Is there any advice u guys can give me?
Enjoy the benefits of a premium membership!
Upgrade Account
-
TalkBass has been independent since 1998. Add your voice.
Create a free account to reply to discussions, view embedded media, and browse with fewer display ads.
Join free Log in
Want zero display ads or expanded classifieds tools? Compare plans.
Our first gig is July 31
- Thread starter Ergodynamite
- Start date
Congrats on the gig! I just had my first gig a bit more than a week ago, and it's a great experience.
My advice from my first gig:
1.) Advertise the heck out of it with your friends. It's great having a fanbase there to see you!
2.) Survive the initial adrenaline rush. I was hyped up on the first song and got a bit fast a couple times. After I settled down, I felt like I was really nailing it though. You just have to make it past that first song.
3.) Don't sweat the mistakes. I made a bunch of mistakes, and every time I cringed just a little bit. But talking to people after the gig, no one else noticed! Because you know the music so well, you'll hear every mistake, but the crowd probably won't even notice.
4.) Have fun! Rock out! Lay down the groove!
Best of luck.
Make sure you have everything you need in your gig bag just in case. Bring and extra bass as back up. and a DI if the amp you have been playing with forever with no problems decides to leave you high and drive at the gig happens all the time lol Have a great time and stay loose.
Also dont look around or make a funny face when you do make a mistake odds are they didnt even hear it until you announced it.
Just think of it as a Live practice and have a great time.Oh and dont forget to key in on the drummer with everything else going on you can drift sometimes.
Just think of it as a Live practice and have a great time.Oh and dont forget to key in on the drummer with everything else going on you can drift sometimes.
Don't suck 
Seriously though. Make sure beforehand that your amp works, bass works, cables are solid and not sketchy, etc. If you play an active bass carry and extra 9volt...it would suck to have the battery die and not be able to fix it!
Take a tuner with you.
Advertise (make a Facebook event and invite EVERYONE in your friends list and tell your bandmates to do the same)
Have a blast! Make sure your band knows exactly what they're playing, have a setlist planned, and at your last rehearsal before the gig, run the setlist and pretend like it's the show. If you run into a problem, address it, fix it, run the song again.
Seriously though. Make sure beforehand that your amp works, bass works, cables are solid and not sketchy, etc. If you play an active bass carry and extra 9volt...it would suck to have the battery die and not be able to fix it!
Take a tuner with you.
Advertise (make a Facebook event and invite EVERYONE in your friends list and tell your bandmates to do the same)
Have a blast! Make sure your band knows exactly what they're playing, have a setlist planned, and at your last rehearsal before the gig, run the setlist and pretend like it's the show. If you run into a problem, address it, fix it, run the song again.
for some reason its always at a gig that the loyal rig decides to shut down... murphys law I guess
Thanks for the tips everybody. I have another question, we have 3 original songs and 2-3 covers. Is there any particular order we should do that set?
Depending on what sort of music you play, open with the song that best shows what you're playing. Unless you're playing soft rock, that usually means opening with a high energy song: something to get the crowd moving with you. Close with a similar number. The first impression is what makes your audience enjoy the show, and your last impression is what makes them want to see you again.
Speaking of energy, make sure you look like you're enjoying yourself. I've noticed this is a problem with people transitioning from the woodshed to gigs. Try not to shoegaze, and if you can make brief eye contact with the audience. If you're having fun, it encourages the audience to have fun.
If you make a mistake, ride it out. Only catastrophic failure, like the singer catching on fire, should warrant a total shutdown.
Speaking of energy, make sure you look like you're enjoying yourself. I've noticed this is a problem with people transitioning from the woodshed to gigs. Try not to shoegaze, and if you can make brief eye contact with the audience. If you're having fun, it encourages the audience to have fun.
If you make a mistake, ride it out. Only catastrophic failure, like the singer catching on fire, should warrant a total shutdown.
I would say to open with the cover you play best then end with a cover followed by an original as your last song.
My old bass teacher taught me this, and I've always remembered it: Each gig is worth at least ten practices. Have fun with it. If you mess up, play through and don't even think about it.
Pay extra attention to your drummer and remember the beat. Don't get so lost in the performance that you forget everyone else and worry about yourself. Keep your mind on the music. Good luck.
My old bass teacher taught me this, and I've always remembered it: Each gig is worth at least ten practices. Have fun with it. If you mess up, play through and don't even think about it.
Pay extra attention to your drummer and remember the beat. Don't get so lost in the performance that you forget everyone else and worry about yourself. Keep your mind on the music. Good luck.
Killer. Yea, we're a black/death metal band and two of our o.g's are fast paced and the other is kinda doomish. As far as the covers go, we're doing Lord Gore "Gastric gore-met" and Slayer "black magic". I gotta make sure I let my mates see this thread too.
Here are three things I wish I had been told before my first time:
(1) Consciously play the first song s-l-o-w-e-r than you usually play it. Even (especially) if it is an uptempo number. Faster than normal will happen whether you want to, or not. If you shoot for slow, it will counter-balance the nervous urge to play fast, and you have a decent shot at hitting the right spot.
(2) If you can vamp over the first chord (or progression) before launching into the song, do so. Just have everyone vamp until each has made eye contact with the singer, and then go into the song. It's nice to have a way to settle in before you have to start thinking about where you are in the form of the song. (And most of the time, as the bass player, you have to think about the form, because the guitars may not.)
(3) Open your eyes and look around. It will go by so fast that you may not remember the experience if you don't give yourself permission to enjoy the whole scene.
(1) Consciously play the first song s-l-o-w-e-r than you usually play it. Even (especially) if it is an uptempo number. Faster than normal will happen whether you want to, or not. If you shoot for slow, it will counter-balance the nervous urge to play fast, and you have a decent shot at hitting the right spot.
(2) If you can vamp over the first chord (or progression) before launching into the song, do so. Just have everyone vamp until each has made eye contact with the singer, and then go into the song. It's nice to have a way to settle in before you have to start thinking about where you are in the form of the song. (And most of the time, as the bass player, you have to think about the form, because the guitars may not.)
(3) Open your eyes and look around. It will go by so fast that you may not remember the experience if you don't give yourself permission to enjoy the whole scene.
Make sure to limit your drummer's caffeine intake. At least in my experience, each song goes up 10 BPM per cup of coffee ingested.
He once had 4 before a gig (he's not 21, gotta get off on something in the bar lol) and I had to turn around and bring him back to reality when he started one of our slower-ish tunes with some serious gusto.
Or at least make sure your drummer can HANDLE the caffeine intake before the gig.
He once had 4 before a gig (he's not 21, gotta get off on something in the bar lol) and I had to turn around and bring him back to reality when he started one of our slower-ish tunes with some serious gusto.
Or at least make sure your drummer can HANDLE the caffeine intake before the gig.
Well guys, our gig got cancelled :/ but I think its for the better cuz we ended up dropping a song from the set. We've been hard at work on new stuff and we are gonna make sure the booking is more solid next time.
When you write down the setlist, write down the key or the first note. You hate to start playing the pattern in D when you should be playing in E.
First tune is something slower and *easy*.
Have fun.
First tune is something slower and *easy*.
Have fun.
