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Thunderbird Club

#16,881
Mike.C. said:
Hello all. I have my 2nd-ever show tonight at 10pm (75 min. opening set).

Just curious - what do you all do the day of a show? Nap? TV? Yard work?!?

Thx
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Usually, I'm at work. Being a day job type and all. Then I load everything up into the van and haul it to the venue. Unload, and either wait to set up and go on or just set up. It can be a PITA if there's a lot of waiting time. I don't drink alcohol before a show, but I might drink an energy drink. Rock Star, ego in a can! Go over the set list and review charts I don't remember completely. There's always something I don't remember, like a bridge to a song or something. Reviewing the chart before going on helps with that but doesn't always solve the brain cramp. There are too many songs stuffed into my head to keep them all reliably straight all the time.

I used to get nervous, but now it's just playing. It's still fun. If it ever isn't fun, I will stop doing it. That's probably somewhere in the distant future.
 
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#16,883
Day of a show it doesn't matter what I do, as long as it's nothing very unusual. Usually I'm either working that day, or home being husband/dad or similar... possibly meaning working at home somehow! So much work, so little time...

Getting to a gig is my way of "going to church"... it's where a good measure of my own quality time happens, and little can ruin it. I might listen to a part of a tune I want to refine, but generally there's no review of tunes before a show. What I got is what I got, I want to keep my head relaxed- no stress. Good if I'm well rested, which, lol, is tough sometimes. Anyway I get my head right to play, open/get a brew, plug in to the music, and I'm off.
 
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#16,885
Mike.C. said:
Hello all. I have my 2nd-ever show tonight at 10pm (75 min. opening set).

Just curious - what do you all do the day of a show? Nap? TV? Yard work?!?

Thx
Click to expand...
For me, there's always travel involved. My band is an hour south of where I live. Most shows I have about a half a day to consume. There's a couple ways I handle that: if I have no other plans, I watch Spinal Tap; that's a bit of a tradition to watch it in the week before the show, and sometimes the day of. If I've already watched it, I'll sometimes head down to Nashville early and check out some of the better music stores or get a bite of something good. Then its over to the practice space to pack up the gear and do the game of Tetris to get it all in the van. I get a little bit obsessive of preparation so all the stuff I bring to a gig (spare cords, batteries, tape, zip ties, tools, etc) has been packed for a day or two already. I warm up for about 30 minutes before the set.
 
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#16,886
So no Epi Blackbird... I was offering in trade a combo amp I'd put together with a nice little Trace Elliot head and an old EAW 410 cab re-figured into a 210. Before we moved on meeting up, I decided I didn't want to lose the Trace head- it sounds really nice and I've worn myself out losing stuff I like.

The guy was really cool about it, which I appreciated. But, no 'bird in the hand today...
 
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#16,887
I can't recall a time where I had stage fright before going on, even in front of the biggest crowd; for me that was 750. I get a bit of an adrenaline rush and can't wait to get into it. That's probably because I've been in front of people most of my life, beginning in elementary school band.

If you get stage fright, how do you deal with it?
 
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#16,888
Haji said:
I can't recall a time where I had stage fright before going on, even in front of the biggest crowd; for me that was 750. I get a bit of an adrenaline rush and can't wait to get into it. That's probably because I've been in front of people most of my life, beginning in elementary school band.

If you get stage fright, how do you deal with it?
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Don't really get it, tho yes there's a good kind of 'psyche' I get from it. I'm happy to be going on. A large crowd takes on sort of a collective, singular personality. They're all there for one purpose, expecting more or less the same thing, and you're there to give it up. It's a copacetic, agreeable, kind of high-level arrangement...
 
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#16,889
Last night I had a touch of anxiety setting up that quickly dissipated. Once we started I was cool as a cucumber until I hit my first wrong note. After that I was (of course) P.O.'d at myself. It continued... for the rest of the show I screwed up once every other song - nothing Earth-shattering. I was not the only one.

I think I'm still in the band. :confused:
 
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#16,890
A few months ago I played the worst show I've ever played. Just screwed up left and right. On top of that, it was a battle of the bands. I've never gotten so many compliments after a show as that. The comments from the judges revolved around the monstrous tone I had. Proof that the only people who listen to bass are other bass players and total nerds. They know it when it's not there, though.
 
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#16,891
wolfkeller said:
I don't get the "charts" thing. Someone explain. I've always memorized all my sets and still do. What is a chart and why would someone need it?
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Just a written out version of the chords, usually along with some timing information or the lyrics. I play in multiple bands and have to remember something like 300 songs. Sometimes there's overlap, but one band does it different from the other band. Plus, I just don't always remember things. I like having cheat sheets to glance at if I lose my place or have a moment of pure stupidity. If that doesn't happen to you, the you have my complete respect. I know it does happen to me, so I use the charts as a crutch to sneak past the inevitable DOH! moment.

Thing about mistakes on stage - you have to count them. First to 100 wins!
 
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#16,893
Count Bassie said:
Mistakes, and how you deal with them, is what brings forward the best of your playing. On a good night, no one has any idea you made any at all.
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The rest of the band knows, and laughing about the workarounds and weird things that happen is part of the fun of playing. The audience rarely knows unless it's a complete train wreck. Keep powering through and the audience often doesn't even realize the train jumped off the tracks and then back on.
 
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#16,894
Hmm.... Yeah I had my wireless crap out on me mid song last night, I always keep a cord on stage but that was a little awkward! My ass is kicked today, got up early to ride the Bainbridge Island ferry back to Seattle, unloaded the Subie and crashed for two hours.......Ugh post show :sleep:
 
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#16,895
The second show I played with my band, Bill the Guitarist started a song on the far stage right. The stage is pretty small, but after about a measure, the other three of us are looking over giving the German Shepherd head tilt look. He stopped, we laughed, he started over...with the correct song now. The first time we played Daisy Duke's in Nashville, one of our songs took on a surprise completely different ending. With the right bandmates, all that becomes fun, or at least comical later on. With the wrong ones....the aforementioned train wreck.
 
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#16,896
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#16,897
Gaolee said:
Just a written out version of the chords, usually along with some timing information or the lyrics. I play in multiple bands and have to remember something like 300 songs. Sometimes there's overlap, but one band does it different from the other band. Plus, I just don't always remember things. I like having cheat sheets to glance at if I lose my place or have a moment of pure stupidity. If that doesn't happen to you, the you have my complete respect. I know it does happen to me, so I use the charts as a crutch to sneak past the inevitable DOH! moment.

Thing about mistakes on stage - you have to count them. First to 100 wins!
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Ok,got it. I simply didn't know. never been in bands that needed to have that many songs, that's nuts, freaking jukebox.
 
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