Gigging soon!

[Franticsmurf]

49 minutes ago, asingardenof said:

Yeah, I think I need to look into doing this

A bit of paper or beer mat will do at a pinch but I'd rather have the matchsticks. 

[Merton]

2 hours ago, asingardenof said:

If you use something like a Shaller then make sure that the strap buttons are solidly attached. Mine have a tendency to work themselves loose but haven't yet (touch wood) come out. @Merton can attest to what happens when they do!

Ironically it wasn’t the Schallers which failed on me. I have just replaced all the Schaller locks with the Dunlop locks as I feel they are a superior solution. Last week I just didn’t pop the strap part into the button properly, and it fell out during the first song 😆

I think Dunlops are a better design (despite my ineptitude) and should have listened to @skelf 11 years ago when I got my first ACG; better late than never I have seen the light and learnt how to use them properly 🤣

Edited Tuesday at 15:09 by Merton

[BillyBass]

Don't look at each other and wince when you mess up a bit.  Chances are most or all of the audience weren't aware of your mistake and you just told them.

[Geek99]

11 minutes ago, BillyBass said:

Don't look at each other and wince when you mess up a bit.  Chances are most or all of the audience weren't aware of your mistake and you just told them.

This … if you lose your place reduce volume until you find it again 

 

[Jack]

Take spares of anything you need to get through a gig. For me that's bass, 1/4" cable, xlr cable, tuner, di box. For you it might be a different list.

 

Mark your stuff somehow. I put a blue cable tie around everything I own. It doesn't stop someone walking away with it, but it means I can categorically say "that's mine, give it back".

 

Do a technical rehearsal before hand. What's a technical rehearsal? A practice gig. Rent a large space like a village hall or a social club, take all your gear and play a whole fake gig. Fake setup, facing a fake audience, fake soundcheck, play a fake set as if there was an audience. A normal rehearsal is for solving problems like "what key should we play this song in?" or "how long should we make the middle 8 break?". A technical rehearsal is for solving problems like "I have used my gear rather than the stuff in the rehearsal studio, I have just realised I don't have the right cable to plug x into y" or "if I stand here, where I thought was sensible, it turns out I can't see Z, I need to remember to stand closer". And most commonly: "we thought we had enough songs for 45 minutes, turns out they only last for 30".  

Edited yesterday at 09:12 by Jack

[Al Nico]

Welcome and embrace the many boisterous allures from audience members struck by your sudden celebrity status.

As always, preparation is the key. Put a security lock on your phone, don't take your wallet, just keys, cash and condoms, cigs and lighter if needed.

[SimonK]

...if their are ladies in the band have a discussion about what to wear (or at least what colour shirt!)... I know it's a stereotype but I've never had that discussion forced on me by male band members!

[Al Krow]

On 13/07/2025 at 15:30, Maude said:

Allow plenty of time to set up so you can chill for a bit before you start, or help out a bandmate who's having issues. Nothing worse than rushing to set up and then having to launch straight into your set without being happy.

Nerves are good but don't let them get the better of you, it's supposed to be fun. If you find it particularly difficult then take on the role of a character, then it's your character up there doing it, not you. 

Play the rock star (to a degree), look confident, have a bit of swagger. Move more than you think you should, movement needs to be exaggerated to be noticed on stage, (a video of you will prove this). 

If you mess up, keep going. People really don't notice as long as things keep flowing. 

Try to relax and make a conscious effort to keep to rehearsed tempos. Once the adrenaline kicks in your 45-50 minutes of material will end up as 30-35 minutes. 

Keep any messing about between songs to a minimum. If the singer is good working a crowd then fair play but band members looking at each other, constantly asking "are you ready?" looks bad. Agree that you will launch into the next song unless someone says they have a problem. 

Above all, enjoy it. Energy flows both ways. If you (the band) look like you're having fun then so will the audience. If the audience look like they're having fun then that will feed your confidence and make you perform better. The energy continues its circular flow. 

 

 

Fabulous advice!

[grapefruitmoon]

Some great advice in this thread! I'll add mine - have a tactical pee before each set. 

[itu]

As said many times before: alcohol earliest after the gig. You are there for them. Give the best out of you, not the worst. 

 

Do not change anything that may change itself a day before the gig like strings. You can change a battery a week or two before. Then you can be sure that it works flawlessly. A new battery may be bad, seen this a couple of times. 

 

A quality cable is a must. A spare one is needed by a g-word player - sooner or later. 

 

And as said earlier: have fun. Everybody sees your feeling, and feels it in your music. If you go and see professionals, they can create a good sounding feeling no matter what. Do not care about tiny failures, they feel big only at the stage. Go forward, and do it boldly! 

 

P. S. Buy a quickly adjustable metronome to your drummer, and let him write tempos to the set list. You will love your drummer from that on. For example Tama RW30 can be quickly set. It is an investment, not a cost to you, believe me. 

[King Tut]

Have fun, smile lots and look like you’re enjoying yourself. Try to make eye contact with the audience. Take spares. Act professionally. Remember that your job is to entertain the audience. If you’re singing, set up your mic carefully so it’s in the right position when you start and if there’s no stage have one of the three legs of the mic stand  pointing directly towards you so you’re less likely to have your teeth knocked out if a punter bashes into it. Are you all using wireless? Have you all used your wireless systems together to make sure the channels don’t clash? Use ear protection. Tinnitus isn’t fun. Good luck and let us know how you get on.

[itu]

1 hour ago, King Tut said:

Use ear protection. Tinnitus isn’t fun. 

This is something I do not like: do you really have to play so loud that you need ear protection? How about the rest of the people in the gig? Should you provide ear plugs to them, too? 

 

To play hard is different from playing loud. If you need to play loud, try to understand why. Maybe a change in the setup on stage or placement of amps can help to tame high volume. Like the g-word player stands beside the amp, which is on the ground and the player cannot hear the direct sound = trebly +100 dB. A BIG MISTAKE. 

 

Suggest this: 

https://www.thomann.co.uk/thomann_amp_stand.htm 

[Lozz196]

The worst thing for doing in your ears imo are cymbals, so if on a cramped stage there’s nowhere to get away from them. And the worst cymbal of all for me is the ride, I try to keep well clear.

[King Tut]

1 hour ago, itu said:

This is something I do not like: do you really have to play so loud that you need ear protection? How about the rest of the people in the gig? Should you provide ear plugs to them, too? 

 

To play hard is different from playing loud. If you need to play loud, try to understand why. Maybe a change in the setup on stage or placement of amps can help to tame high volume. Like the g-word player stands beside the amp, which is on the ground and the player cannot hear the direct sound = trebly +100 dB. A BIG MISTAKE. 

 

Suggest this: 

https://www.thomann.co.uk/thomann_amp_stand.htm 

I’m convinced it was the drummers cymbals that caused my tinnitus

[ezbass]

2 hours ago, Lozz196 said:

The worst thing for doing in your ears imo are cymbals, so if on a cramped stage there’s nowhere to get away from them. And the worst cymbal of all for me is the ride, I try to keep well clear.

 

28 minutes ago, King Tut said:

I’m convinced it was the drummers cymbals that caused my tinnitus

I can remember when I first noticed my tinnitus and it was directly attributable to the cymbal that I stood close to.