Playing To Large Festival Crowds, Any Advice?

[skankdelvar]

Just lock into the drummer, zone out and do that Dusty Hill side-to-side swaying thing you do so well

[blue]

[quote name='chris_b' timestamp='1494542535' post='3296941']
It's just another gig. Do what you do and make sure your monitors are right.

Have a great time.
[/quote]

Sound for support acts has always been a concern of mine.

Maybe it's me or maybe headliners are far superior than support bands. Just seems like headliner sound is impeccable. Support acts not so much.

Blue

Edited May 12, 2017 by blue

[bazzbass]

wear only unserwear and imagine the crowd looking at you, or something like that

best of luck

[Yank]

Congrats, Blue. Just like in a club, pick out some smiling faces in the crowd and play to them. Remember, they WANT you to be good, they're on your side.

[FinnDave]

Great slot to play, Blue, your band is obviously hitting the right notes.

I've never played to a vast audience, up to a few hundred only, but for me, I find it more intimidating to play to a really small audience, where you can see each of them and how they react. A large audience is seen as just a mass of faces, not individuals.

And if you can't make the gig for any reason, I reckon most of us on here are standing by for the call to take your place!!

[acidbass]

Perform to the person at the back of the audience is the advice I was once given. Remember you are an entertainer, and enjoy yourself.

[Trueno]

I've always thought I've been quite cool and relaxed pre-performance, but I can always tell from the dry mouth that this is not really the case. On the occasions I've played to crowds of 1,000+ I've always been a bit more nervous.
It's like a roller coaster... you're nervous when you get on, you're ok once it's started... and as soon as it's finished you want to do it again.
Congrats... and enjoy yourself... it's much better than playing to an audience of six people.

Edited May 12, 2017 by Trueno

[Ghost_Bass]

From experience i can say that it's easier to play in a large stage for a big audience than in a small pub where the punters are right in front of you looking you in the eyes. When you're up there on stage you can't even see the audience most times with the lights. I've played on a new years eve for around 30.000 people and i only had the reality check on a few occasions between songs where they turned on the floods for the audience and i could see tiny heads as far as i could reach, once the lights went out i was alone in the stage with my mates again.

Blue, my advice is to try not to think about the audience, enjoy yourself and have a good time. Enjoy the big roomy stage where you can crank your gear up to eleven and feel the bass rumbling up your trousers. Focus on the music and your band mates as they'll be far from you and comunication will be more dificult. Make sure you have a good enough monitoring as the guitar amp will sound tiny up there and masked by your bass amp, don't forget to ask for kick drum in your monitor it's very important. There are far more things to worry about up on the stage, the audience should be the least of your concern.

Have fun!

[stingrayPete1977]

Cool, enjoy it

[redbandit599]

Do you remember all those 'rock star' moves that Young Blue practiced with a tennis racket/baseball bat in front of the mirror, many years ago??

Well, drag a few out and do Young Blue proud

[Adrenochrome]

Just enjoy the ride, it's exactly the same skills as a smaller gig, you're just on a bigger stage. The only time I've played to a four-figure audience my band let me sing the encore (it was the one song I sang lead on). Unforgettable

[Conan]

[quote name='lowregisterhead' timestamp='1494543391' post='3296948']
That's great, Blue. In my experience, the bigger the gig, the easier it is - the small gigs where you can see the whites of their eyes make me more nervous, frankly. You deserve to be there. Relax and enjoy it. You'll be epic!
[/quote]

Exactly what I was going to say! It's been a while since I played to an audience of any size, but I prefer that to playing in front of so few people that you see them as individuals. Then you feel you have to make individual eye contact with each of them so none feel left out... horrible!

It would be even better at night as you often can't see faces at all then!

Good luck though

[chris_b]

[quote name='blue' timestamp='1494555307' post='3296970']
Sound for support acts has always been a concern of mine.

Maybe it's me or maybe headliners are far superior than support bands. Just seems like headliner sound is impeccable. Support acts not so much.

Blue
[/quote]

Maybe headliners have more confidence than the supports rather than being [i]superior[/i]. If US FOH guys are the same as over here the support bands will not be given the same sound as the headline band, but I'd still insist on the stage sound being as good as you can get it.

I did a festival last year, first for awhile, and fortunately the sound was pretty good. Fortunately. . . as I was depping and wasn't too familiar with the material. My main problem was the amount of room, a roaming guitarist and lack of eye contact with the drummer but, on hearing back some of the show, in spite of knowing where my short comings were, it was still seamless from an audience point of view.

[Dad3353]

In several decades of FOH sound experience here in France, I can't recall any single occasion where the FOH, or the monitoring, was 'less good' for the support acts. It's true that, if a band has their own engi, they will usually be able to make a better job than the house engi hearing a band in 'real time' for the first time, with things like cueing in delay on the vocals etc (the same is true of the lighter, a job I held down for yonks for a ska-rock-punk band...). The material is the same, the engi is the same; I've not experienced any neglect of support bands, even when some (thankfully rare...) come across as 'divas'. Is it all that different in the UK..?

[Cato]

Congratulations.

Step 1. learn Frampton's set.

Step 2. lock Frampton's bass player in a cupboard just before he's due to go on

Step 3. Wait for the panicked 'Is there a bass player in the house?' call to go out.

Step 4. step straight into the big leagues.

Best of luck.

Edited May 12, 2017 by Cato

[FinnDave]

[quote name='Cato' timestamp='1494600535' post='3297283']
Congratulations.

Step 1. learn Frampton's set.

Step 2. lock Frampton's bass player in a cupboard just before he's due to go on

Step 3. Wait for the panicked 'Is there a bass player in the house?' call to go out.

Step 4. step straight into the big leagues.

Best of luck.
[/quote]

You forgot step 6: Don't get caught with the cupboard key in your pocket!

[FinnDave]

[quote name='Dad3353' timestamp='1494595554' post='3297238']
In several decades of FOH sound experience here in France, I can't recall any single occasion where the FOH, or the monitoring, was 'less good' for the support acts. It's true that, if a band has their own engi, they will usually be able to make a better job than the house engi hearing a band in 'real time' for the first time, with things like cueing in delay on the vocals etc (the same is true of the lighter, a job I held down for yonks for a ska-rock-punk band...). The material is the same, the engi is the same; I've not experienced any neglect of support bands, even when some (thankfully rare...) come across as 'divas'. Is it all that different in the UK..?
[/quote]

I saw Walter Trout a couple of days ago, his support bad was his sons's band, and the FoH sound was not good, bass drum overpowering everything and the bass was just a mushy rumble. It didn't bode well for the great man's set, but even though he used the same bassist (and same bass, amp, etc. as his own man had fallen ill, or possibly had been locked in a cupboard!) and the sound was much clearer. I was close to the desk and when I looked round, there was a different guy mixing. I spoke with the second guy and he attributed it to the difference in stage sound, but I think he was being a little too modest, he was obviously far better at his job than the guy who had mixed the first band.

[blue]

[quote name='Yank' timestamp='1494580191' post='3297064']
Congrats, Blue. Just like in a club, pick out some smiling faces in the crowd and play to them. Remember, they WANT you to be good, they're on your side.
[/quote]

I will do just that.


Interesting, I know there are some local bands that probably think we don't deserve the spot and would come in hopes of seeing us fail.😣

Blue

[blue]

[quote name='FinnDave' timestamp='1494606734' post='3297349']


I saw Walter Trout a couple of days ago, his support bad was his sons's band, and the FoH sound was not good, bass drum overpowering everything and the bass was just a mushy rumble. It didn't bode well for the great man's set, but even though he used the same bassist (and same bass, amp, etc. as his own man had fallen ill, or possibly had been locked in a cupboard!) and the sound was much clearer. I was close to the desk and when I looked round, there was a different guy mixing. I spoke with the second guy and he attributed it to the difference in stage sound, but I think he was being a little too modest, he was obviously far better at his job than the guy who had mixed the first band.
[/quote]

It's all union guys running sound, it seems like they don't like talking to outsiders. Our sound guy will be there, but in prior years he can't seem to make any headway regarding the mix. I just hope they don't stick us with dry vocal signals.

BTW, I saw the set list. We're actually covering a Walter Trout tune.

Blue

Edited May 12, 2017 by blue

[peteb]

A Walter Trout track – that’s cool…!

Don’t expect too many favours from the sound crew, but if you’re friendly and give them a couple of reasonable requests you might get lucky and get a stand-up guy who do his best for you…

[blue]

[quote name='peteb' timestamp='1494620778' post='3297461']
A Walter Trout track – that’s cool…!

Don’t expect too many favours from the sound crew, but if you’re friendly and give them a couple of reasonable requests you might get lucky and get a stand-up guy who do his best for you…
[/quote]

Thanks Pete,

Sound will be a big topic of discussion at rehearsals prior to the show.

We have been burned by awful sound at Summerfest in previous years. We have to find a way to getting better sound from these union guys. Our sound guy will be there but I'm not sure his input is welcome,😞

Blue

Edited May 12, 2017 by blue

[peteb]

[quote name='blue' timestamp='1494624897' post='3297504']
Thanks Pete,

Sound will be a big topic of discussion at rehearsals prior to the show.

We have been burned by awful sound at Summerfest in previous years. We have to find a way to getting better sound from these union guys. Our sound guy will be there but I'm not sure his input is welcome,

Blue
[/quote]
TBH / IME etc - it probably won't be! Hopefully you will get a soundman who has been in bands himself and will respond to any 'reasonable' requests that you make. It will help if you appear to understand how it all works - again 'reasonable' is the keyword!

Don't get too hung up on it - a good performance will win over most crowds even if the sound is a bit crap...

[blue]

[quote name='peteb' timestamp='1494627199' post='3297523']

TBH / IME etc - it probably won't be! Hopefully you will get a soundman who has been in bands himself and will respond to any 'reasonable' requests that you make. It will help if you appear to understand how it all works - again 'reasonable' is the keyword!

Don't get too hung up on it - a good performance will win over most crowds even if the sound is a bit crap...
[/quote]

Good advice Pete.

I have to stay positive.

Blue

[Burns-bass]

What always got me was the skill of managing the space on the stage. You're all so far away from one another it can be intimidating.

Did a festival gig with Steve Hackett once and he took his own carpet for the stage, said it made him feel comfortable. You could try and find something that made you feel the same way. For me it was always trying to dress impeccably and know that I had everything down in the set. Then try and act cool I guess.

I can't pretend it wasn't nerve wracking, but it was an awful lot of fun playing to tens of thousands of largely uninterested people.

I once heard Lenny Kravitz describe how he played to an audience of over 1.5 million. That must have been quite staggering.

[Lozz196]

Yep, making full use of the stage space for performing is also a good point. Not everyone has to do it, but unless you`re like Oasis, making a point of no stage performance at all, make some effort. People like to watch bands as well as hear them, give them something to watch. On bigger stages I make the effort as we`re a 3 piece where the guitarist is the singer. I`d prefer to be the stand still bassist looking moody (fits both my personality and rubbish body) but on a bigger stage there needs to be some movement and I`m the only one who can do it.