CONTROL YOURSELF !!

[Rayman]

I have to admit, that live, I really struggle to stay calm and focused with my bass playing. Yes, I’m the singer/frontman, but, in rehearsals I’m calm and enjoy my playing a lot more than during a gig, where the adrenaline kicks in and frankly my technique goes to s***. 

How do the rest of you control your live playing?

 

 

[OliverBlackman]

Practice enough so you don’t have to think about playing the instrument. Live playing should be purely the interaction between the band and the audience 

[bassbiscuits]

16 minutes ago, Rayman said:

I have to admit, that live, I really struggle to stay calm and focused with my bass playing. Yes, I’m the singer/frontman, but, in rehearsals I’m calm and enjoy my playing a lot more than during a gig, where the adrenaline kicks in and frankly my technique goes to s***. 

How do the rest of you control your live playing?

 

 

Looks like it’s going pretty well in that pic

[bassbiscuits]

I just try to relax and enjoy it for what it is - entertainment and fun.

 

I get a lot of nervous energy before a gig but I try to channel it into giving it some welly once we go back onstage.

 

Being prepared in terms of knowing the material as band helps; it’s not fun to be distracted or worrying about someone making a mistake or not playing a bit the way you want it - so ironing those things out in the rehearsal room mean you can enjoy the moment more onstage. 
 

Physically trying to relax a bit can be hard - I can feel the tension in my shoulders and forearms and hands sometimes which then just impacts on my playing, so really focusing on unclenching those is good. I used to do a lot of jiu jitsu and still use many of the warm up stretches before a gig to loosen my neck, shoulders, wrists and hands.
 

And if things go wrong, don’t stress too much. It’s live music at the end of the day - every gig will have some wrong bits in it, whether it’s the sound onstage, the crowd, fluffed lines etc, not all of which you can control. But if you do your homework and be tight and confident as a band, those other variables will have less chance of derailing you.
 

You’re a frontman with a T-bird - that’s a pretty cool

situation yeah?  

[neepheid]

45 minutes ago, Rayman said:

How do the rest of you control your live playing?

 

I... don't?  I'm flattered that you think my live playing might even be slightly controlled.

 

Oh wait, you're talking about throwing shapes on stage.  I dabble.  It doesn't come naturally to me, so what little I do feels quite outlandish to me.  I think the most exuberant thing I do is sometimes indulge in a bit of machinegunning the audience - now that's 'Arry's influence on me.

 

Also I often do a bit during Highway to Hell - due to its lengthy portions with no bass, I get up to nonsense like pretending to sleep, or grabbing a chair, putting it in front of my amp and having a seat, or if the cable's long enough, going and joining some punters at their table.  It is evolving - at one of the venues we play, there's a darts area behind the band area - I think I'll put the bass down and throw some arrows while I wait for my services to be required.  Props might also be added, a copy of the Beano, perhaps, see if people get the reference...

Edited November 19, 2023 by neepheid

[ahpook]

29 minutes ago, bassbiscuits said:

Looks like it’s going pretty well in that pic

 

Exactly my thoughts !

 

Maybe don't try and tame too much of that energy

[Rayman]

It’s a case of striking a balance I suppose, between the music and the showmanship…. I still struggle with it after all these years.

[Lozz196]

41 minutes ago, OliverBlackman said:

Practice enough so you don’t have to think about playing the instrument. Live playing should be purely the interaction between the band and the audience 

Pretty much the same for me.

[MacDaddy]

I once proudly held my bass aloft, to be covered in the dust and detritus from the ceiling panel I had just put my headstock through.

[neepheid]

44 minutes ago, OliverBlackman said:

Practice enough so you don’t have to think about playing the instrument. Live playing should be purely the interaction between the band and the audience 

 

I don't think it's helpful to deal in absolutes.  It's not just random notes is it?  There's also interaction between band members - the nods, the winks, the "ha ha you made a mistake" knowing look, the "hey, we're doing the same thing at the same time" move.  Some thought surely must be going into actually playing the intended song, even if it is to a degree a background process.  I don't think that live playing should be purely anything, it's a mix of show and musicianship, neither have to be perfect, just enjoy what you're doing and that positivity will get across to the audience.

[nilorius]

A pint before could do the job fine.

[Jackroadkill]

You don't buy a Thunderbird to not hold it aloft like an offering to the gods, do you?!  There's no right or wrong, so just let it rip and have fun.  Or stand still and have fun.  I like the former, because let's face it, this:

 

 

..is cool.

[Supernaut]

When the active circuit dies mid gig and you're checking to see if it's 9v or 18v. 😁

[miles'tone]

[Baloney Balderdash]

I've never found adrenalin and playing properly mutually exclusive:

Edited November 19, 2023 by Baloney Balderdash

[ahpook]

4 minutes ago, Baloney Balderdash said:

I've never found adrenalin and playing properly mutually exclusive:

 

 

You need to up your dose

 

 

[RAY AGAINST THE MACHINE]

Always apprehensive when I used to gig .

2 Jack Daniels before going on , I just used to do rock poses like Rudy Sarto . 
Thankfully , I could pull it off as we weren't playing anything too challenging . I wouldn't do it on a fretless though ,unless I was in a les Dawson tribute band . 

[Jean-Luc Pickguard]

Prescription Drugs

[Baloney Balderdash]

40 minutes ago, ahpook said:

 

You need to up your dose

 

 

Thank you for the suggestion, but I did try that once and shot an additional 15mg of methamphetamine, but that had a negative effect on my ability to focus, and the drummer didn't appreciate me starting to bang his China cymbal wildly mid song with the headstock of my bass, so I decided to go back to normal dosage before a show. 

 

Edited November 19, 2023 by Baloney Balderdash

[ahpook]

1 hour ago, Baloney Balderdash said:

Thank you for the suggestion, but I did try that once and shot an additional 15mg of methamphetamine, but that had a negative effect on my ability to focus, and the drummer didn't appreciate me starting to bang his China cymbal wildly mid song with the headstock of my bass, so I decided to go back to normal dosage before a show. 

 

 

 

[asingardenof]

By being pretty crap and having to concentrate, which precludes most movement other than head nodding and foot tapping.

Edited November 19, 2023 by asingardenof
corrected amusing typo

[fretmeister]

I used to get really nervous but then I stopped caring what the audience thought. 
 

[tauzero]

8 hours ago, MacDaddy said:

I once proudly held my bass aloft, to be covered in the dust and detritus from the ceiling panel I had just put my headstock through.

 

I keep telling everyone that headstocks are inventions of Satan.

 

In the interest of remaining in control, I simply go to sleep.

[Bolo]

I either wear a longer t-shirt or tuck it into my trousers.

[Boodang]

I don't think this will help, but I found the biggest difference to my live playing occurred when I swapped over from bg to EUB. The reason, I believe, is because I was no longer having to give any thought to what I was doing on stage... routed to the spot, it's easier to concentrate on my playing.