First Time Playing Live... What Have I done!!?

[Ricky 4000]

9 minutes ago, Teebs said:

Video, or it didn't happen

Jog on boyo. 😃

[Bassalarky]

Best of luck, hope you enjoy it. Family and friends are often the most nerve-wracking crowd!

[Jo.gwillim]

Don't drink more than a pint in advance. I like my beer, but never ever more than a pint beforehand. Things I've played for years become totally unfamiliar after the first pint! 

[SpondonBassed]

Break a leg.

You'll be fine.  I have every confidence in you.

[sammybee]

Good luck & have a fantastic time. You'll be great!

 

[Richard R]

Best of luck!!

I still haven't played in public yet, though my target was to have played in church by this Easter.  Lack of practice time in my case, simple as that. And the fact that I had to train up a new sound engineer to take over from me so I can play bass 😉.  I have managed to practice a couple of times with the band, and it's totally different to playing on your own or just practicing with a tutor or guitarist - way more fun!!

Do let us know how it goes. 👍 

[davie]

Listen to what's going on around you as you're playing. Listen to what the drummer is playing, listen to what the guitarist is playing and remember you are all playing as a band, not as individuals playing the same song. It's a team game. If you make a mistake, who cares, you cant go back and change it, it's done, it's out there. I bet you hardly anyone noticed. But most importantly, have fun! none of the guys that post on here would keep on doing what they do if they didn't enjoy it!

[bazzbass]

provide LOTS of alcohol

because the more THEY drink, the better YOU sound.

truth

[Ashweb]

Thanks for all the comments and the support - much appreciated; and you were all right - it did go by in a flash and I went from terrified to hooked within the first track.

I got called up and was very nervous - the sound check took a little longer than we had hoped as they tried to set up the in house PA and by the time everything was ready, people had started to arrive, so me going up for a play through would have blown the gag.  So when I was called up I hadn't played at all so was cold, hadn't had the chance to iron out any wrinkles and I really should have discussed a few points before hand; to say I was nervous was an understatement - as I picked up my bass, I noticed my hands were visibly shaking and I tried to play Seven Nation Army riff to get everything moving and quick warm up and totally blanked (I can normally play that one in my sleep) - quick change for Hootchie Cootchie Man which worked then heard the singer and others asking if I was ready; which meant I had to be...

First up Blockbuster as it's quite easy and first crash course in playing live.  I'm waiting for the siren effect and drum to effectively count me in and the band jump straight in leaving me dead - jumped in on second bar and not too bad after that although the big drum solo went a bit wrong from my point of view (one of the things I should have discussed on how to handle) although the rest took it all in their stride.

Second track Ballroom Blitz and I started to enjoy myself more although totally missed the start again. Drummer started great and I was then waiting for the singer to come round the band 'Ready Lawrence? Ready Ted? Ready Ash?  Alright fellas, let's goooooo!' that sort of thing but again they jumped straight in.  Caught up by bar two again and did ok - I moved on to one bit as per the track I had played to but the band extended this bit and I'm pleased to say I just went back to the previous line and joined in.  Had to scramble a bit on on or two of the runs but did OK, then I got a bit too into the groove and timing of the main riff towards the end and totally missed the change in to the outro so just kept going with the ball-room-blitz riff I'd been playing until I could work out where and how to jump in; then realised the guitar player, Lawrence, was playing an absolutely incredible solo over the top of this and the drummer had locked in too.  I just thought to myself 'Ok, I'll be the rhythm then' and carried on until I heard the guitar join in my Ball-room-blitz riff which I took to mean we were about to finish. Looked up when I heard some shouting on stage and the singer was holding up one finger (polite way round) so I'm thinking 'Finish after this riff? ... Yes we did! PHEW!'

Final track 20th Century Boy - Nailed the start for once, absolutely loved playing along although I messed up some of my well rehearsed improvised fills 😉 but as many have said, I don't think anyone noticed. I even had time to look out and see my Son busting some moves on the dance floor during this one which was a nice moment.  The ending of this one is a bit odd on the track and again the band did a fantastic job of relaying how to do it the way they normally do it (very different to the track but really effective) and we all nailed the stop.

That was my 15 minutes over and all too soon too, but I will definitely be doing it again.  Not sure if anyone videoed it but if any turns up, I'll post it.

On 26/04/2019 at 07:09, Shambo said:

Once it's over you might notice that some women, who had once been indifferent to your presence, will look at you in an entirely unwholesome way.

 

On 26/04/2019 at 08:59, Woodinblack said:

Which may be a problem as he is playing for his family

 

When you're related to most of the women in the room - and married to one - that WOULD be a problem!

[thebigyin]

Well done mate.

[Richard R]

We'll done! 

[oldslapper]

1 hour ago, Ashweb said:

When you're related to most of the women in the room - and married to one - that WOULD be a problem!

Unless you’re from Somerset.

Anyway, well done and glad you’re hooked! 

Your son dancing is a great win...better than the usual embarrassment 😎 

[joncaulfield72]

Time to find a band :-)

[Stub Mandrel]

Sounds excellent.

I hope my return to the fray goes as well! At least I have the advantage of rehearsals 🙂

[Staggering on]

On 25/04/2019 at 21:45, Staggering on said:

Sounds like a fun night to me, you'll be fine once the music starts.Enjoy the moment, it might lead to great things!😊

A bit odd to quote myself, but since you were well prepared I was sure you would do a fine job and have fun! Live music is best...time to find a band or some friends to jam with.Congratulations!

BTW, the fact that  you found your way back to what the band members were doing shows that you've got good musical sense and a lot more ability than you may have thought, lots of players would have been totally lost and never recovered...well done!👏😊

 

[Stephen Houghton]

Sounds like you nailed it, it gets easier as you do more, I used to shake and sometimes throw up in the toilets before going on, once I got going I was fine. Now it doesn't bother me and my fear has gone, never give in to the fear otherwise it will only get worse.

[lozkerr]

What @Staggering on said. You've got what it takes. Very well done!

[Phil Starr]

6 hours ago, oldslapper said:

Unless you’re from Somerset.

 

Oy!!

[Teebs]

Nice one! 

Well done

[Ashweb]

Thanks for all the kind words - much appreciated.  I'm going to look into doing more things like this - maybe look up some local jams or open mic nights and even form a band and start to rehearse a few tracks - currently working in Bristol so should be a few around.  Thinking back, I couldn't have made this much harder for myself if I'd tried and definitely learnt some good lessons from it; in fact, I even enjoyed the chaos of organising the event which almost became a full time job in itself.

On 28/04/2019 at 19:30, Stub Mandrel said:

I hope my return to the fray goes as well! At least I have the advantage of rehearsals 🙂

I'm sure you'll nail it SM.  The reason I was on such a heavy repeat system of practice is advice I had from my tutor which was to not practice until you can get it right, but practice until you can't get it wrong.  Massive repetition of the three tracks fuelled by the fear of failure really payed dividends when nerves basically shut me down at the start as I was able to go into auto pilot and not stand there like an idiot, and again when things went a bit off script I was able to find a way back as I knew the tracks so well.

Having said that, I am enjoying the break from not playing those three tracks multiple times every night... 😎

[Stub Mandrel]

1 hour ago, Ashweb said:

I'm sure you'll nail it SM.  The reason I was on such a heavy repeat system of practice is advice I had from my tutor which was to not practice until you can get it right, but practice until you can't get it wrong.  Massive repetition of the three tracks fuelled by the fear of failure really payed dividends when nerves basically shut me down at the start as I was able to go into auto pilot and not stand there like an idiot, and again when things went a bit off script I was able to find a way back as I knew the tracks so well.

Yeah, I'm playing the same tracks every day, and every day they get better, but playing with the guys is different - not least because some songs have four or five variations and we are all practising different versions - I emailed round some YT links today to address this!

I've nailed one song with two riffs that I muddle up by having two little chants that give me the right rhythm.

Plus, I'm making sure I know the key so I can fumble something that fits until i can lock in again.

[Steve Browning]

It also sounds like you coped brilliantly when things didn't go to plan and all the more so if the very beginning caught you out. 

Really pleased you enjoyed it so much and congratulations again.

[dmccombe7]

Fantastic news. Well done and you managed to follow the band even tho you had never rehearsed the songs with them. Those 3 songs are in our 70's Glam Rock tribute set list and i just love them. 

I once did 20th Century Boy for an audition and like you i just went with the flow and the band loved it. 

Glad you enjoyed it and that's what counts most.

Now get out there and start a band.

Thanks for sharing.

Dave

[Ashweb]

On 28/04/2019 at 15:18, Ashweb said:

  Not sure if anyone videoed it but if any turns up, I'll post it.

So far, the only video that has turned up is courtesy of my Dad who is not the greatest cameraman it has to be said, but the sound is OK if not great.  I managed to wrestle the footage off him only this weekend and have stitched the clips he made together into one short 'montage'.  The clips show the very start of Blockbuster, the end of Blockbuster and the start of Ballroom Blitz with a final short snatch of the improvised ending to Ballroom Blitz.  FYI, the guy doing the Northern Soul routine on the dance floor is my Son bustin' his moves... 🙂  and I'm the really nervous looking fella on the right.  Enjoy the chaos...

 

 

[Mudpup]

Well done mate! All the good advice and positivity on this thread was great to watch. And that's a pretty big stage to break your duck on with nowhere to hide for you. Crammed little pubs full of strangers miles away are much easier on the nerves. 

When's the next one??? 😉