Got my first proper gig this weekend - advice?

the_jaffa

After playing for the last few years at a couple of jam nights per week I have my first proper gig this Friday night. I'm joining the house band from one of the jam nights at a biggish outdoor gig for a junior football and sport festival thing.

I have taken my amp and pedals to the jam nights before but this will be the first time that I have been miced up, my first time doing a soundcheck and my first time in front of a crowd of proper punters.

Any advice or tips from anyone who has done this before? Anything in particular to consider?

Cheers

Danny1969

Whenever your not playing your guitar have the volume down .... mic'ed up through the PA even small amounts of noise are noticeable
Until it gets dark you might struggle to see your tuner outdoors ... a little sun shield made from cardboard will help if that's the case
Let the guitar acclimatise to the outside weather before tuning but don't leave it in the glaring sun 

Plan what riff your gonna play for soundcheck and make sure your dirty \ clean \ boost sounds aren't miles apart in volume

Playing outside sounds different as the drums don't bounce off the walls ... so be prepared for it to sound a little different to normal 

Have fun basically 

the_jaffa

Cheers Danny, some good stuff for me to think about there.

Anyone else have anything to add?

EricTheWeary

Always know where the toilets are. The ritual pre set wee. 

Bridgehouse

Check you have leads, strap, picks, power cables etc. at least twice before you leave the house!

DesVegas

Stand with your legs further apart than normal. This settles you down and makes you look like a rock star and avoid hollow bodies if you can, they tend to feedback like a bitch up there

Fuengi

The mere thought of playing in front of anybody literally gives me nightmares.

Best of luck old chap.

Macca_25387

Don't get drunk, relax and enjoy it. 

Modellista

Macca_25387 said:

Don't get drunk, relax and enjoy it. 

For me that's contradictory advice.  Facing a crowd without at least a modicum of dutch courage is anathema.  Too much and you get sloppy, but not enough and you're uptight.  What do Mitchell and Webb say?  Just less than two pints is perfect.  Get one inside you and have the other on stage.

Modellista

Maybe this is jumping the gun considering it's your first gig, but start as you mean to go on - remember *you're* the one up on stage, *you're* the "rock star", try and act like it.  Don't be afraid to show off - move around, come to the front for solos (don't fall off!), interact with the band and the crowd.  Smile.  Act cool, basically.  It's what the audience want to see and it's a virtuous circle.  The more you do it, the more they like it, the more you do it.

the_jaffa

Nice one, will definitely take these comments on board.

"Always know where the toilets are"

That's a great tip.

"avoid hollow bodies if you can, they tend to feedback like a bitch up there"

Hmm, I'll be playing a Gretsch Country Gent as my number 1. I'm pretty good at dealing with, and sometimes using, the feedback in the pubs that I've played in but will keep an ear open for more outside.

 I'll probably do the "one inside, one on the floor" beer thing as I know how it makes my playing sloppier if I have more.

Lestratcaster

Make sure you take two of everything, and you'll need more cables than you think. Picks, strings, etc etc.

If you have a pedal tuner then great, tune after every song. The muting function is great so your guitar isn't ringing out or feeding back/humming between songs.

Enjoy yourself, you're allowed to, look up and engage with the audience, smile tap your foot, anything.

Make sure as well the whole band is well rehearsed on the set list order (write in down) and the transitions between songs are smooth e.g no awkward silences. If there's nothing to say maybe prepare an instrumental piece the group can play.

If you use a lot of pedals its helpful to have them all connected up and ready to go. I've seen bands taking ages to set up cos they connect each one up with a patch cable and it takes forever. Mine has two cables, one from the footswitch to the amp, and one from my noisegate to the amp. I use a wireless so I don't need another one.

Good luck and rock out!

EricTheWeary

DesVegas said:

Stand with your legs further apart than normal. This settles you down and makes you look like a rock star and avoid hollow bodies if you can, they tend to feedback like a bitch up there

If you are doing vocals or BVs then moving your legs apart a bit definitely helps. 

Generally smile and move about a bit ( if you can) as if you look bored the audience will think it's boring. Lend focus - if someone else in the band is doing something of note ( such as a solo) look interested in it, again if you don't then you are sending out the wrong message.

99.99% of the time the audience wants to enjoy what you are doing so take it for granted that they are happy to see you there. 

I'm less certain about having a beer, I can't think of many other relatively complex things to do where relaxing yourself with alcohol is seen as a good thing. 'Right MrTheWeary before I start your vasectomy I'm going to have a glass of Chardonnay just to take the edge off...'

Slimbert

Don't get drunk before you go on. Always go to the toilet before you go on. Between songs, tune your guitar as often as possible. Have as much fun as you possibly can.

The nerves usually calm down or disappear completely a few seconds after your first chord so just kick back and enjoy it after that.

menamestom

Take a cable reel extension.  There might be one there.    Or there might be 2 plugs for the whole band.

Take a small towel to wipe yer sweaty head and guitar down.

Take a big stick, to beat the groupies off, if so desired.

And remember, it's about having fun.

sev112

Smile
look at the audience
smile
laugh
DONT lok don at your guitar
interact with the audience
Laugh
Smile
LOok at the audience
laugh
smile
enjoy it
visibly
even if you aren't


it adds no value whatsoever if you hit every note and riff but you are miserably looking down at your strings, effects , amp and bandmates

Ps most audiences can't work out  a bum note, missed nite or poorly timed solo , let alone work out it was you
so, back to the above. Smile, laugh and interact
if you play any music that's a bonus

good luck - it is the best thing

Placidcasual79

PANIC!!!!!!! 

Actually no - what @sev112 said

stickyfiddle

Don't get flustered when you fuck something up. Pretty much everyone fucks something up in pretty much every gig. If you keep going half your band won't even notice, never mind the crowd.

viz

As above, plus chewing gum, deodorant, sunglasses, a shiny 80s jacket from a charity shop, cool shoes, spare black t-shirt, and a friend to take awesome pictures and to video your solos. 

the_jaffa

This is all great stuff.

I'm hoping I might be able to sort some pics or video but we'll see. Getting excited now

the_jaffa

Well, it all went really well. Set ran smoothly, sound was great and we, and the crowd I think, really enjoyed it. All my kit performed perfectly apart from my old Fuzzface that had a bit of a crackle so I just pulled that out and I'll have a look in due course.

Thank you for the tips everyone; I put most of them into practice

Looking forward to the next one now