Playing Live

Brother A

Has anyone any hints/tips or advice relating to playing a live show?

Stuff like:
how to arrange it all
how to prepare for the gig
how to put on a good show/performance
what to do if something, or maybe everything, goes wrong
how to get the most out of a gig, in terms of publicity etc.

Janacopolis

This should be made "Sticky" Giblet, no??

OLP

i might be playing a gig on the 19th of may,

i've never giged,
never played for more than 4 people,
dont have a proper band sorted
and dont have any songs done

but me and the drummer are gonna do it in anyway, for the fun, we'll just do an onstage jam

Janacopolis

One thing I gotta say is dont let your drunken mates ON the stage. Happened to my younger brother's band a couple of times. Oh the embarrasment.

jcoote

take chances...makin a balls of a big sexy solo or a really trick stop\start part in a song is way better than a horribly simple song that nobody likes cos it just too borin

Brother A

One thing I have noticed is that when I'm rehearsing, I seem to be playing reasonably well no problem, but when I get on stage my competance level drops way down, and I might even forgot some bits, undoubtedly due to nervousness.

I reckon a good solution to this is really know your songs really well. Do other people find this also?

jcoote

i think its haalf knowin the song (well maybe 3/4 knowing the song... but i helps to know your setup well too.. i always used to **** up when i had 2 distorion pedals cos my mind was on which one to hit coming into the chorus rather than what chords to play...

JacoStanley

I would suggest warming up beforehand. You don't need to play scales(just run through what you'll be playing on stage), just enough to get your limbs moving and feeling cool. Look at the crowd and try to enjoy yourself. If you make mistakes, just go with it and don't let it spoil the rest of the gig. Good luck.

jcoote

yeah if u can look at the crowd and think in a few minutes they are gonna clap for me u just feel deadly..that always helps settle my nerves... i like the idea of playin a song for your sound check..gets your sound right and gets a bit of warmin up in as well

Pistol Pete

Try to know the stuff you're playing inside out so you can concentrate on enjoying yourself and getting into the music as much as possible rather than thinking "ahh I'm gonna make a balls of this bit". Aside from the quality of the music itself, I think that's the most important part of putting on a good live show - if your band IS confident and LOOKS confident people will be more receptive to your music and find it easier to get into, it's an infectious thing. It's a waste of everyone's time if you aren't interested in the music you're playing, but even if you are it can look that way if you're too nervous or worrying about a potential ****up. If you're playing your own stuff nobody will notice mistakes anyway, even if you're playing covers most people won't notice mistakes unless they're catastrophic.

Liquidmarble

Ya really gotta relax into it and take it as it comes, a gig is as good as you want it to be. at my first gig i was singin the first song, got halfway through the first verse and all the lyrics popped outta my head, i was blank, i trailed back in after a while and then it happened in the exact same place in the second verse. Granted, i only started learnin them that day but still, we managed to pull it back and it was a really good show.

Its all about relaxation and enjoyin yourself. if your on and your tense somethins definately gonna go wrong.

Keyzer

If you put the time in before the gig, you'll nail it...
Rehearse the songs and jam with the other members of the band, get real tight, do the songs over and over and over again.
I was in a band years ago (our songs were crap but we're as tight a nun) and we rehearsed the songs until we could play them with our backs to each other, not being able to see what the other person was doing....

jcoote

yeah that comes with time at one stage we i could play any note and we could just pay the songs from that point.. great feelin... well worth the effort

Brother A

At first I suppose you might just play gigs for free, but when should you start asking for money from promoters/club owners, & at what points should you increase the amount you ask for?

ktoal

If you and a band member have an aurgement before a gig, leave it off the stage. There is nothing worse than watching two band members fight on stage... Always look comfortable, smile even when things go wrong... Look professional by acting like one. Never look pissed off, trust me on this one. If the crowd picksup that you are not enjoying yourself, neither will they.

ktoal

Dance, Dance, Dance to your own music..... If you are standing still on stage, how do you expect the crowd to move. Give off all your energy.... Trust me, it works.

jcoote

true yeah its a preformance after all

Dr. Loon

Brother A wrote:

At first I suppose you might just play gigs for free, but when should you start asking for money from promoters/club owners, & at what points should you increase the amount you ask for?

You'll probably be gigging for quite some time before you start making any money at all. Unless you arrange your own gigs whereby you book and pay for the venue, and you take the money off the door. Other than that you're looking at free to play gigs, where a promoter type person/organisation books the venue, and you play. The promoter takes the money from the door, and occasionally you might get some of that... depends on the promoter.

Steer well clear away from any "pay to play" organisations. They're scum usually.

The more gigs you do the easier it will become, and the more enjoyabe it will become, but don't start playing until (like everyone's saying) you know your shít inside out. Otherwise it's just an unprofessional mess.

A good organisation to check out are gigsmartireland.

jptk

Make sure your equipment is up to scratch. Never play with dodgy leads or a dodgy input on your guitar. I remeber playin a gig years ago and my pickups were in a really bad way, and as soon as i turned the amp on the feedback was unbearable, im suprised nobodys head blew up!

Turd Ferguson

You have to remember that live is LIVE after all. Mistakes will happen to the best of performers its how you handle them that makes it. For example if you forget words on stage dont just stop and look all embarressed. Play on a bit without vocals till you remember them or else just freestyle stuff. If its your own songs nobody will notice and if its covers then you'll be just putting your own mark on things.

Anyway its just fun, I mean if you can laugh at your mistakes then so will the crowd and everyone will be happy......just look at Spinal Tap!!!