First gig...ever...all advice welcome

[highwaynine]

Yep, ever. Pathetic, huh?

But it's a gig, hour-long set, and I think we can do it (no doubts about my amp anyway :wink: ). But it's short-notice - a month away, and we haven't been able to practice regularly for quite a while. So, first thing is a regular rehearsal schedule.

What else? :shock:

 

[lesterpaul]

as Bluto said..."my advice to you is to start drinking heavily"..
...no!..how about the ol' KISS principle..."keep it simple,____"(fill in the blank with applicable "s" term..)
break a leg!

 

[AustinK]

One month is plenty of time. I formed a band and then played a show in 2 weeks last year.

Just be sure to talk about who is playing what, when.

 

[mikey383]

If you have good members who take their instruments home to practice, it shouldn't be a big deal.

I joined a band, and played an hour and a half long show less than 2 months later. By that time, we had already wrote 3 new originals and picked up 3 new covers, plus refined the other songs. I'm also the only one who took stuff home to practice.

I think you can do it. It seems harder than it really is.

 

[Elpelotero]

Most important above all is HAVE FUN! Rock out like you mean it! Stage presence is EVERYTHING! If you screw up, or someone else does, keep playing and the crowd will NEVER notice. Did I mention HAVE FUN?!

My first show I was so worried about staying on time and getting all the transitions right that I didn't 100% enjoy myself. Make sure you are well practiced enough so that's not an issue. If you have to look at your fretboard, so be it. But try to practice for the next month without staring at your board 99% of the time. A month is A LONG TIME to practice for one show. sit down with your band, get a setlist together, then just hammer that setlist out practice after practice.

The day before/day of, make sure you have every cable, fuse, tube, and backup xyz you'll need. Keep it all organized in boxes. Have a checklist. Make sure you check out the place once before or talk to the sound engineer to know what they have and what you need to bring. Have an idea of the setup time, where you'll park, how to unload gear, soundchecks, etc.

It's best to get all this crap out of the way so when you get there you just show up, say what's up to the dude at the board, and relax. Then turn on when it's your turn. Be NICE to the sound guy. He most likely doesn't want to be there and doesn't care about getting "your ultimate sound" perfect for you. Just as long as you can hear everything onstage, that's all that matters. Don't be afraid to ask him to make adjustments though. Ask the crowd how everything sounds after the first song. Be sure to keep an eye on your gear...people do steal things.

Engage the crowd with chants, jokes, introductions, quick stories, etc. They're there to have a good time. Throw in a fun singalong cover the crowd can enjoy as a break. Create a facebook/myspace event and market the heck out of the gig. Venues invite you back if you bring people.

Don't expect for everything to be perfect. It never will be. But walk away knowing you did well.

Oh, and....don't get drunk!!

 

[user 7737]

rehearsal rehearsal rehearsal rehearsal rehearsal rehearsal rehearsal rehearsal rehearsal rehearsal drink drink drink drink drink drink rehearsal rehearsal rehearsal rehearsal then drink...

i could be more precise if i know what kind of style you're playing

 

[highwaynine]

Thanks for the encouragement and suggestions.

We're going to time ourselves next rehearsal, but is there an average number of songs you figure for an hour set?

Is it okay for an unknown band to only play one or two covers and a snippets from a couple others?

 

[MusicManJP6]

If the originals are good enough then I'd say only a few covers in an hour long set would be OK. Figure on having about 10 - 12 songs ready and if your singer is good he can talk to the crowd every other song or so and fill in a few more minutes. If you don't play for an hour exactly don't worry about it. Like someone else said - HAVE FUN! And bring backup tubes and cables and batteries (if applicable) and plenty of picks. You should be ready to rock for real after the first song jitters dissipate... Rock on!!!

 

[njsurf]

Most of the time you play a little faster at a show than if practice so keep that in consideration, especially your first show. Just try to start the songs a little slower than faster cause you can always speed them up, but its hard to slow the train down once its rolling.
Like everyone else said, have fun and no one will notice and screwups and long as you don't make if obvious.

Good luck

 

[phyrexia]

all these people are gonna freak out. play your guitar for an hour before the show to get warmed up, try to keep your confidence up, and you'll be fine. (it'll be over before you know it anyway)

 

[highwaynine]

Thanks, guys. This is all really helpful.

Is it realistic to think that practicing on our own, and then together once a week is enough time actually playing together?

 

[Elpelotero]

Thanks, guys. This is all really helpful.

Is it realistic to think that practicing on our own, and then together once a week is enough time actually playing together?

Not really...Typically people won't practice on their own. It's unrealistic to think everyone will dedicate themselves that much. A few days leading up to the show you should be practicing every day, including show day. Once a week is fine for right now, but you got to start making it 2-3 times a week in the coming weeks.

 

[JPM90th]

I'm in the same boat man. haha I don't really get nervous about much but I admit i'm a little anxious about this. Good luck and have fun man!

 

[highwaynine]

I'm in the same boat man. haha I don't really get nervous about much but I admit i'm a little anxious about this. Good luck and have fun man!

How's it going for you? Wed is kind of a clinch practice for us. Run it all through and decide whether we're okay or if we need to go into crisis mode. But I'm feeling fairly encouraged.

Boy am I glad it's easy to get a good tone out of my amp!! One more thing to think about would just about wreck me on stage. :shock:

 

[CerpinVolta]

Pretty much what everyone else said have fun!! Be crazy and wild..let loose. Try not to go up on stage and just stand around..unless your playin super technical music i guess lol..and be prepared for whatever might go wrong. Bring extra batteries cables strings you name it bring it!

 

[highwaynine]

Thanks for all the advice and encouragement. There's lots we need to learn, but #1, we had fun, and #2 we've learned how to move past mistakes, improvising when necessary to smooth things out.

Now, if I had just done a better job of balancing my channel levels...