finally i can contribute to this thread!
well... first gig last night... and the main reason i've been a bit quiet over the last few weeks. in a moment of sheer madness three weeks ago i agreed to stand in for a bass player who was on his stag do last night. which left me with 3 weeks and 33 songs to learn.
it was a 40th birthday party at the malthouse in rishworth - really great venue except for the slightly odd 'stage' which was behind wooden beams. the staff were amazing and all our food and tea was free.. hurrah!
we didn't get on til 10 as the meal went on for longer than expected, and i was still suspiciously lacking nerves, despite the whole flippin' affair being opened by me on bass (2nd half of 'the chain').
i screwed up at various points during the night, but mostly during the root-notey type songs (they all got a little muddled in my brain), and i'm pretty sure noone was too bothered by it, i busked it well enough to be passable. the songs where the bass was more complex were great, and the singer bigged me up massively as i was retuning for 'somebody told me' by the killers - and the guests went absolutely nuts, they were screaming and clapping, even the staff came in to watch! that was such a thrill!!
it was such an incredible gig, never mind it being my first. the dancefloor was full all night, as were the tables, which were being danced on, and at one point, they were actually hanging from the rafters (i was just praying no-one was seriously injured, although it would have livened the story up somewhat). we had to turn down at midnight because the locals complained that they could hear the bass (wooo! complaints on my first night!) too clearly.. but we snuck the volume back up for the encore.
so, as we finished and i put my bass down, this guy comes wandering up to me, and i got a little nervous as i suspected he was probably the obligatory musician-guest come to tell me how much i sucked, and he was indeed a drummer but in fact, he said some truly amazing things that i never expected to hear. he wasn't the only one, either, and i feared my ego would no longer fit in the car along with all the gear.
anyway - end of the night came and after the excitement died down we were given tea and cake (as if things couldn't get any better!) and the band all wrote nice things on my set list. got home about 2:45 just in time for my brain to implode after the busiest three weeks of my life, and i've woken up feeling elated, but a little like i've been beaten up.
it's ok, this bass playing lark.
x