Finally, my first gig this Saturday!

[Damonjames]

Hey guys n gals, just got back from our last rehearsal before our (and mine) first gig on Saturday!
I am absolutely buzzing, at the age of 35, and after 2 years of starting over again with playing, I am finally goin to play my first proper gig.
Any advice before I go out? I think I'm all set, a couple of songs that are not quite where I would like them to be, but pretty much all good.

If anyone is interested, we are smells like Seattle and playing Moses Gate in Bolton, doing a Seattle grunge tribute along with Love Buzz Nirvana tribute. Should be a huge night!!!

[bigash]

Don't worry about any mistakes you make, the audience probably won't notice.
Enjoy it, and at the end of the night you'll be kicking yourself for having not been
giging for the last 15 years.
Good luck.

[jgmh315]

Good luck, hope all goes well.

[Phil Adams]

Brilliant, well done. Savour the moment, you only play your first gig once.

[Salt on your Bass?]

Yeah just enjoy and don't worry about the mistakes as above. Try and lay off the booze before hand and get smashed after (if that's your thing!).

Best of luck, let us know how it goes!

[gary mac]

Good man. Wish you luck with it.

[SpaceChick]

Here are my top tips:

Don't drink until after you've played
Expect the first few songs to be played faster through nerves
If you have an active bass take an extra battery!
Have spare leads, at some point you will need them (usually for guitarists )

And most importantly...... HAVE FUN and report back afterwards!!

[OldG]

Enjoy yourself and don't be nervous - keep playing, even if you mess up (very important)... wear light clothing (it'll get warm) and breathe......

[Happy Jack]

[quote name='SpaceChick' timestamp='1393489296' post='2380791']
Here are my top tips:

Don't drink until after you've played
Expect the first few songs to be played faster through nerves
If you have an active bass take an extra battery!
Have spare leads, at some point you will need them (usually for guitarists )

And most importantly...... HAVE FUN and report back afterwards!!
[/quote]

+1

Above all, keep it simple.

In [i][b]every [/b][/i]respect.

Take the bare minimum kit that you will need (plus spares to be left in the boot of the car as appropriate).

Use exactly the rig that you rehearse with, play exactly the way you play at rehearsals, etc. etc.

Just don't introduce any new complications or distractions and you'll be fine.

[Telebass]

To repeat, HAVE FUN!

[merlin]

go have some fun,it will be awesome

[bonnp]

i have just turned 50 and are trying to form a band, still have ambitions lol, so post what it was like at the gig and any tips as well. hard trying to think of a name for the band, if u have a cool/great name i think you can get away with being less than great? looking at characters fro Roald dahl books but the names have all being taken, plus biblical quotes , but the best ones taken again...digressing a bit but good luck

[madshadows]

Well done, just have fun and enjoy it and play a blinder

John

[ratman]

Don't try and cram arrangements etc into your head before the gig. You know the songs well enough by now, you'll be fine. Try and stay calm before you go on. And enjoy the pants off the whole experience

And try to smile, look like you're having a good time!

Edited February 27, 2014 by ratman

[Thurbs]

Well done mate. Did my first gig at 32 and was a blast. As others have said, mistakes will go un-noticed and remeber to enjoy it!

[KevB]

Have a good one, it will absolutely fly by. Just lock in with your drummer and try not to overplay, it's a common reaction to a few nerves. One thing that did strike me though - your band are doing a 'Seattle' set and the support is doing all Nirvana songs isn't there a likely clash in set lists? Or do you guys just avoid the obvious Nirvana songs that will be in the tribute's set?

[Japhet]

Write the keys to the songs on the setlist. Mind can go blank and this can be a handy little nudge. Oh.........and welcome aboard!

[seashell]

Sounds like it will be a fun night for all involved.
Good luck, I hope you really enjoy it

(I'm not experienced enough to give any tips. Other than try to look as though you know what you're doing even if you think you don't. If it's a grunge night, a plaid shirt might help )

[steve-bbb]

take an electric cattle prod

in case you need it for the drummer

[seashell]

[quote name='Japhet' timestamp='1393494248' post='2380867']
Write the keys to the songs on the setlist. Mind can go blank and this can be a handy little nudge. Oh.........and welcome aboard!
[/quote]

Ooh yes, this is a good tip.
I find that it's not so much the key to the song I need, just the note that my part starts on. Once I've played that first note I'm away.
So I try to associate the first note with something about the song and keep that in my head.

It was quite easy with these:
'Bohemian Like You' - starts on B for Bohemian
'Gigantic' - starts on G for 'Gigantic'

Had more difficulty with Car by Gary Numan - starts on D, so I had to think of D for Daimler.
Likewise Hey Joe - couldn't think of a way to remember that it starts on C. Until our guitarist suggested 'Hey Joe - you chump!'
I never forget that now

Edited February 27, 2014 by seashell

[andydye]

Enjoy dude!

Try not to drink too much beforehand cos your bass ain't gettin' drunk with you and you'll suck! I have no more than 1 beforehand as that loosens my stage moves a tad but doesn't feck my fingers

[Damonjames]

[quote name='KevB' timestamp='1393493217' post='2380855']
Have a good one, it will absolutely fly by. Just lock in with your drummer and try not to overplay, it's a common reaction to a few nerves. One thing that did strike me though - your band are doing a 'Seattle' set and the support is doing all Nirvana songs isn't there a likely clash in set lists? Or do you guys just avoid the obvious Nirvana songs that will be in the tribute's set?
[/quote]

Technically it is us that are the support! But we have not included any nirvana songs in out set, we should only be on an hour so we have enough material to fill it.

And +1 to the flannel shirt!!!

[jazzyvee]

Remember stage fright is not guaranteed. I remember my first gig in about 1976 and everyone was telling me about stage fright and how i will freeze up on stage and forget stuff. It was at a small festival and i got on stage and felt cheated because I didn't get any stage fright at all. I loved every minute of it.
I hope you have a great buzz from your first stage experience. It's kept me going for decades.
Nowadays I do always feel some level of anxiousness just before we start playing and if I know the band I'm playing with are under rehearsed , my focus can drift because of uncertainty about all of us hitting changes.

Let us know what the experience was like for you.
Jazzyvee

[Japhet]

If you hit any bum notes, tell 'em you play a lot of jazz.

[Roger2611]

You are allowed to look up from the fretboard during the gig.....after all you have practiced long and hard enough to know what you are doing

Good luck and enjoy it......recording it can be fun as well, we recorded our first gig...came off stage and talked about how great we were, listened to the recoding the following day and realised we could only get better!