Confidence Boost before Gig

pmbomb

Practice/resolve any issues that are bothering you.

That aside I think the only way to solve confidence issues is to go play. The issue is in you and that's the way to get it out.

Remember the audience is on your side, they're there for a good time not to nit-pick you and don't expect you to be perfect (if they do, they can drop 50 squids and go watch a pro band).

As @LuttiS says, lift your head and look at the audience, you'll see big smiles from people having a great time and who envy what you're doing. It's a buzz.

It's my experience in life that most things causing worry end up being much easier than the worry itself.

Wishing you great gigs. Kick it.

ESBlonde

As an addendum to what @pmbomb says, if you can't look people in the eye (and lots of us struggle with that). Pick objects on the far wall like a clock, poster, window latch etc. something just above head height and look at that/them. It gives the illusion that you are looking at people without looking at people.

EricTheWeary

LuttiS said:

Get a couple of good friends in the audience, for encouragement or just a friendly face to look at if you're worried about staring at your shoes/left hand. Just look at them, see them smile and it will usually make you smile too on stage..

In my last band out only regular audience member was our singer's wife so I spent a lot of time looking and smiling at her. I occasionally wondered if she thought this was a terrible attempt at hitting on her.    

Keiko

To improve confidence, it' s the 'public performance' aspect you need to practise, not your guitar playing. So play in front of friends and family as much as possible. Consider busking. Consider setting up a youtube channel of yourself playing. Just get out there and play in front of people as much as possible. Do it daily. The more you put yourself out there and outside your comfort zone, the more your confidence will grow.

Do NOT resort to alcohol as someone else has already mentioned. You are just masking the problem with a temporary fix, and your guitar playing will be crap.

Other stuff that helps boost confidence:

Aerobic outdoor exercise - daily

Meditation -daily

Healthy diet -daily

Your own mindset is perhaps the biggest part of it. As others have already said, don't pressure yourself into being perfect and not making any mistakes. Think positively, rather than negatively. 

Nikc

I have/do suffer with nerves & self doubt - I have been known to throw up before playing - so I get it. I practice practice and then rehearse - I also use some breathing exercises to calm myself and my mind. I have found being positive and speaking positive messages to myself to really help. The funny thing is people around me always assume I'm this self confident out going person/performer. I really am not my Mum was shocked when I 'came out' and told my wider family that I was out playing jam nights and open mics (I had been doing on the QT so no one came to see me). Good news - it gets better - I played an open mic and didn't feel any nerves recently - Feel the fear and do it anyway -- Good luck !

Blackjack

Thank you so much for all the great advice guys and for your support too! I have written all your great advice down and will keep referring to it as the gigs get closer.
Self doubt is a very close companion of mine. I have spent a lot of today questioning whether I should be doing the gigs.  I really want to do them, I just made the mistake of letting the insecurities sneak in under the radar. Been telling myself that I am not a good enough guitarist to play with people so much better than me, that I shouldn’t be playing publicly, that people will laugh at me. Then I get really upset because I SO want to do this and to get out there and play. I love it so much, I just wish I was more than an open chord strummer that cant even play a damn barre chord. 
Crumbs! I am sorry for pouring it all out to you all.  Blame it on the cider...

fastonebaz

I am a big extrovert shredder on  stage,  but tonight after my gig another band played and their rhythm guitarist was just staring at the floor and playing his clean chords.  He seemed really nervous (maybe coz he was in after me lol) but honestly he didn't need to be nervous.  He nailed his chords,  owned his tone and provided a vital part to the band and I wish he'd had the  confidence to look like he was enjoying himself as much as how important his sound was to the band mix. 

In summary,  don't compete to be the best ever,  compete to own your sound and show your enjoyment and let the audience know you're having a great time. It really helps them relax too.

AustrianJohn

Musicwolf said:

Practice, practice, practice.  The two best bits of advice that I got was that;

Amateurs practice until they get it right, professionals practice until they don't get it wrong.

This. When I started gigging I practiced songs unit I could play them. Then I got on stage and looked like a loon staring at chords or tab on my iPhone - even for songs or solos I could play with my eyes shut. Now I practice songs until I can play them in my sleep. I still have clues on my iPhone in case my mind goes blank, but most of the time I know what I'm doing, I feel confident, and I perform ok.

@Blackjack said "Neither of them are big things" Yes they are - they're the biggest gigs you've ever done. Practice, prepare ... and enjoy yourself.

pintspiller

Keep the patter to a minimum. It will get better the more gigs you do. Don't introduce every song. "Thank you very much" like Elvis after every song or two is all I did. No in-jokes. 

I used to laugh when I fucked up bits and tried to carry on. Don't apologise afterwards.

Dutch courage is usually a mistake. An odd swig during performance of beer or water is fine, but don't hold things up or spill it over the gear.

Try to look like you're enjoying it. If you don't feel you are at the time you will realise you were after. 

Bring a towel to wipe down your strings. It will give to the to breathe and relax as well as keep strings clean and fingerboard dry. Or use a floor tuner.

viz

My friend always said take underarm deodorant for afterwards - knowing you’ve got it there in your gig bag will make you feel much less worried while you’re playing

Blackjack

Well, after taking all of your great hints, tips and advice into account, done a ton of practise and got everything ready to go, the mini-Festival bbq that I was going to play at tomorrow has been cancelled due to the weather! Basically it’s forecast to piss down all afternoon so a bbq is not the best plan so the organisers have cancelled.  Oh well, it was a good practise for getting prepared but just a bit of an anti climax ! 
Thanks loads for all your great help though!