If you’ve played a bunch of gigs before then anything here will probably be old news (and feel free to add suggestions in the comments!), but if you’re new to playing live then here are a few hints and tips (in no particular order of importance) to make your performance go a little more smoothly. In fact, this is a list of mistakes I’ve made over the years which I’m trying not to repeat!
1. Your last practice before the gig will most likely suck. Chances are it won’t be just you that sucks, the rest of your band probably will too. Don’t take this as a portent of doom, it’s actually seen as a good omen for a decent gig on the night. I suppose the reasoning is that if you get all your silly mistakes out of the way at practice you’ll be more focused on them not reappearing when you have an audience.
2. Warm up! If there was an order of importance then this would surely be top of the list. You should already have a warm up routine before practice and your pre gig warm up should be a variation of that. I tend to do mine on the afternoon of the gig, then if I can I’ll find a quiet spot 30 mins or so before stage time to run through a few exercises. Regardless of the complexity of your music warm up is essential, then when the monitoring packs in and you can’t hear yourself at least you can trust your fingers to do the business.
3. There is a difference between confidence and volume. Just because you know your songs well doesn’t mean you have to play them louder. Overconfidence will allow mistakes to creep in and make your ears ignore them. Better to be accurate and sure of the notes rather than loud and sloppy. Deal with this at last practice because we’ve all been to see bands with the ‘loud guitar player who screwed up that killer solo and didn’t get his bends at the right pitch’. Nobody aspires to be that guy
4. You are in a band. ‘I already know this!’ I hear you cry. I know you do. What I mean is there are several of you and a band dynamic requires a good blend of all parts. Your songs are bigger than the solos and each instrument has an important role in delivering the performance. If you’re in a normal band then chances are everyone will be watching and listening to the vocalist which means that your job as the guitar player is as an accompanist – that means BE TASTEFUL!, and LET THE AUDIENCE HEAR THE SINGING! If you’re in an instrumental band these things are less of a problem because a) you’re entitled to show off on whatever instrument you’re playing and b) there probably won’t be anyone in the audience anyway (speaks from a position of experience)
5. Don’t get drunk. A skinful of booze does not make you Steve Vai. It might make you think you’re Steve Vai but in fact what the listeners hear is very amateurish fumbling, you know, kind of like an audio version of your first date. One beer, maybe two is enough to tame the nerves or the effects of all the energy drinks you’re likely to have drunk during the day. No more. You’ve been told.
6. Soundcheck is not an excuse to screw up. You should have got all the mistakes out of the way at the dreadful last practice so soundcheck is to do the following:
To check the sound – Obvious I know, but make sure you can hear yourself and the others. If there is monitoring make sure it works. Get someone you trust to listen to how it sounds front of house, it’s totally different from what you hear on stage. If your sound is good then everybody wins.
To check your performance – Play hard like it was the gig itself. You’re not just there to play the notes, you have to entertain the nice people who’ve given up their cash to come and watch so use the soundcheck to get used to being on stage.
To build confidence – If this is your first gig and you’re lucky enough to get a soundcheck, this is where you can get rid of some of the nerves. Not all of them, nervousness keeps you sharp and focused, but enough to stop you from soiling yourself during the first song.
7. Have fun but be respectful. You’re in a position where you might be getting paid to play your guitar in front of people, it doesn’t get a lot better than that. When you get off stage and people tell you how awesome you were (they will, they’ll be drunk and friendly) just remember that you’re not quite the best guitarist in the world yet regardless of how well you played, and take their compliments with a little dignity. It’s nice to be complimented but people generally prefer a little grace rather than an ego overdose
8. Don’t tell anyone you got stuff wrong. There’s one exception to this and that is if there are guitarists in the crowd. They’ll notice but they probably won’t mock as it’s likely to have happened to them before, and you can discuss your indiscretions till dawn, but I don’t know anyone who’s played a gig and made no mistakes. Everybody else won’t notice your mistakes, even if they’re enormous to you, as they’ll be too busy singing along. If you come off stage and go on about how you messed up you’ll only achieve two things – you’ll dispel the rock god myth that you’ve worked so hard to create, and you’ll also be rather boring.
9. Get back on the horse. If it was a great gig don’t rest on your laurels. Do another, get practising, write more stuff, get in the studio. You’re only as good as your last gig and in a week everyone will have forgotten about it anyway. If it was a bad gig forget about it. It’s done, you can’t change it. Do another, get practising, write more stuff, get in the studio. Prove people wrong.
10. Be wise with your money. When you get your post gig cash it’s tempting to dash to the bar for a well earned drink. Stop and think. Money you earn as a band could be spent as a band – rehearsal time, recording time, new gear for the guy in the band who has a crap job and can’t afford the swanky stuff you’ve got, or for you if you’re that guy (yeah I’m talking about me), better PA, t-shirts, CD’s, all sorts of merch. You’ll only go further if you work together.
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