Waiting to go on.

[chris_b]

[quote name='Trueno' timestamp='1471770360' post='3115637']
I got nervous on my very very first gigs. . . . . started thinking about my shopping list for the next day.
[/quote]

I couldn't eat for 2 days before my first gig.

I regularly think about the shopping, that girl dancing at the front, getting the MOT etc etc when I'm playing.

[Hobbayne]

The only times I get anxious pre-gig is when there are very few people in the crowd. Playing to an empty pub really brings me down.

[roceci]

Never get nervous before I go on but recently introduced a number into the set that I sing lead on (Let's Dance) & felt the nerves the night we debuted it. Actually enjoyed the feeling, really got the excitement levels up.

Did our sound on my own for the first time last night at a wedding. Had unenjoyable nerves all day & right thru the set. Have to get to grips with that now :s

[Geek99]

I have "gone on" twice now (OM nights only) and each time it's been a song or two we decided on that night and literally threw together in the corridor

I'm feeling fairly chilled these days

[luckydog]

[quote name='chris_b' timestamp='1471770738' post='3115647']I regularly think about........that girl dancing at the front.........[/quote]

Yup, that usually does it for me. And the train has left the rails.........where were we again?

LD

[bassjim]

Worst part about this whole gigging thing for me is the hanging around. I try to get to gigs as late as I can get away with. 9pm start = 8 pm at the earliest for me where ever possible.. If its one of them have to be there sooner like a wedding then its hell. Loads of time to start over thinking the tunes in the set that you went in your head " yep know that one.....err...hang on..what keys it in?"

Answer is as advised above; to practice the material so you cant get it wrong is exactly the right thing to do. (providing you care enough).Plenty of distractions going on from arrival at the venue to start of the gig to help put your mind in the wrong state. Its ok to be nervous and worry about making honest mistakes but only if you can honestly say you did your homework and are not relying on the cosmic flow of the universe to guide you through the set.Man.

I usually start to worry about the others to be honest..."is he going to do that embarrassing thing he always does, will she forget when to come in/shut up, will he get the tempo wrong, will that starship enterprise console of a keyboard rack crash....again........mid set, please god don't play the teddy bears f***ing picnic for the thousandth time in between numbers you muppet no one is impressed at all its like a form of musical tourette's, are you seriously wearing that?..." the list goes on...

[Trueno]

[quote name='bassjim' timestamp='1471879422' post='3116633']
I usually start to worry about the others to be honest..."is he going to do that embarrassing thing he always does, will she forget when to come in/shut up, will he get the tempo wrong, will that starship enterprise console of a keyboard rack crash....again........mid set, please god don't play the teddy bears f***ing picnic for the thousandth time in between numbers you muppet no one is impressed at all its like a form of musical tourette's, are you seriously wearing that?..." the list goes on...
[/quote]

Good point. I have my own list, but I'll spare you that.

[JTUK]

You've done the work...you play with good people, why should anything go wrong.
If you play gigs where you never played numbers with that group of musicians before and nobody can tell where the joins are, what is there to be worried about if you've had rehearsals

[ubit]

I don't really get it anymore. I know we can play. I know I can sing. I think I get more nervous that our guitarist will drop a few Les Dason notes in , rather than I muck up.

[Delberthot]

I must be one of the lucky ones. We just have a good laugh, try to blag free tea and get friendly with whoever is in charge of the venue.

I'm at the stage of my musical career where I am having a complete ball

I must admit, and i think it's the adrenalin, that I have to sit down until it's time to play, otherwise I wander up and down the room constantly

[paul_5]

Keep hydrated and do some gentle stretches, maybe even a banana or 2.

I know - calm down, right!

[Geek99]

I'm really calm about it now - maybe I'm strange

Probably helps that my playing bass along badly turns two weedy acoustics into a full band sound and the crowd go nuts just because it's a bit of variety

Edited August 22, 2016 by Geek99

[kusee pee]

I never get nervous nowadays but used to a bit in the early days. The nerves went as we practised more and gained confidence that we knew we could always put on a good show. Preparation is an important key for confidence.

[Dave Vader]

Nerves have never bothered me, I suspect my monumentally large and unjustifiable ego may be at work there.

[CamdenRob]

[quote name='Dave Vader' timestamp='1471952387' post='3117176']
Nerves have never bothered me, I suspect my monumentally large and unjustifiable ego may be at work there.

[/quote]

Naah I have a similar ego and I always get nervous...

[Dave Vader]

[quote name='CamdenRob' timestamp='1471957928' post='3117242']
Naah I have a similar ego and I always get nervous...
[/quote]

Have you got ego envy now then Rob?

[discreet]

[quote name='White Cloud' timestamp='1471721253' post='3115363']
[i]Norepinephrine, Adrenaline and Cortisol [/i]are released into your nervous system to make you reactionary.
[/quote]

I'm reactionary anyway. I avoid booze and drugs these days - especially as everything seems to end up on YouTube now. As said above, positive visualisation is a good trick if you can get into it. Better done in a flotation tank, but for some reason quite a few venues don't have them.