Pretty nervous about my first gig

[allan_evett]

19 hours ago, Docbop said:

Story time....

Guitar legend Robben Ford had a new member in his band doing his first gig with Robben.   They come off the stage after their set and the guy is really stressed.  Robben asked the guy what wrong, the guys said I made a few mistakes.   Robben starts laughing and tells they guy.... If you're not making mistakes it means your not having fun, we do this to have fun, don't worry about it. 

 

So many good suggestions here! Left me with little more to offer in terms of advice.  And the above story further elevates my respect for Robben Ford. 

 

My first gig on keys was at age 17, in front of at least 700 people. It was at an indoor gathering, a conference that was utilizing a large church sanctuary. I was on a Mason and Hamlin grand, in the backing band for a regional folk singer. His regular pianist couldn't be there, so I was called in as the sub.  The singer had heard me play previously - mostly classical material, along with a few improv pieces I'd attempted of 1970's pop songs. His songs - mostly covers - were simple, but the 'music' on the stand was made up of chords scribbled on school notebook paper - which I'd never played from, on stage.  I did voice a few of the chord changes strangely, and hit a fluff note or three, but playing live with an act? Nothing had ever felt quite like that. I was hooked in, forever.

 

Have fun on the gig, Jose!

[CyberGene]

I remember the first few times I gigged. What really made me nervous was the fact I was not hearing myself at all. I just didn't know what I was playing but what is more, people assured me I was heard too loud 😀 So, not only I was not hearing what I played (and I don't have perfect pitch) but I was also sure that all the bad notes were loud and clear for the audience...

 

With that in mind, I'd make sure I can hear myself clear enough: through good monitors, in-ears, etc. If this becomes a regular thing for you, I'd also invest in a good in-ear system for the whole band where each member can create their own mix. Personally this will take a lot of stress out of me and make me just a tad less nervous.

[Jose EB5AGV]

On 7/20/2022 at 3:25 PM, AnotherScott said:

Yes. If this is a new band, this is also something you can hopefully make the other members aware of. Other players need to know not to look at you when you make a mistake. Not every player/singer realizes this, especially if they haven't been doing it long themselves. (And similarly, don't glare at someone else when THEY make a mistake. 🙂 )

 

Yup. And as an extension of that, often the great player doesn't make fewer mistakes than the good player, s/he just knows how to recover. What you play next can easily turn a mistake into a PeeWee Hermanesque "I meant to do that" moment. Though admittedly, that, itself, is a skill that comes over time. I'm also reminded of that old line, "Once is a mistake, twice is jazz."

 

 

You reminded me of another point... It can be beneficial, if you're not already doing this as a matter of course, to set up some rehearsals exactly as you would be set up at a gig. Rehearsal spaces are often set up so that people are playing somewhat in a circle, so everyone can make eye contact with everyone else. On a stage, you won't be set up that way, and you might not have realized how much you may be depending on seeing what someone else is doing or being able to check in with them visually, and suddenly you won't be able to do that on stage, which could be disconcerting if you hadn't ever rehearsed that way!

 

 

In terms of minimizing mistakes (as opposed to selecting the most "inspired" performances or whatever), that was especially true in earlier days, before live concerts were often recorded on multi-track platforms rivaling what could be found in studios, and so fixing mistakes after-the-fact was not as feasible then. But I remember reading that one of CSNY's big arguments (of which there were apparently an inexhaustible quantity) was over assembling 4 Way Street, where some members wanted to do post-production fixups to make each track as flawless as possible, while other members wanted it to be a raw document of the performance, clams and all.

 

Anyway, another thing I'd suggest, if you're nervous at a gig for whatever reason, is to embrace simplicity. If there's a tricky bit, it is probably better to play a simplified version and nail it, than to try to do the better, more difficult thing, and screw it up.

 

Thank you all!. I quote this message, but really the advice given in the full thread has been wonderful. I am about to leave home to meet the other band members and go to the gig location. I have noted and already applied lots of advice.

 

Many, many thanks to you all! 🙏🏻

 

I will report back after the gig.

 

Best wishes,

 

Jose

[analogika]

On 7/20/2022 at 12:55 AM, b3plyr said:

- Remember this: MIles Davis said “there is no such thing as a bad note”. If that is good enough for him, it should be for you.

 

There's another old saying, which goes, "The problem with saying, 'If it was good enough for Jon Bonham, it's good enough for me' is that it was Jon Fucking Bonham." 

Miles' attitude that there are no bad notes had to do with his uncanny ability to run with whatever happened and turn it into music at the drop of a hat. 

That said, I run with the attitude that "nobody knows for sure what you intended" — if it works for the audience, it works, regardless of whether it lived up to your own expectations. 

Also, I find that trying to keep myself busy until it's time to play eliminates stage fright. 

[Moonglow]

I do square/box breathing before I take the stage at just about every gig. It's a simple, evidence-based technique that helps moderate anxiety by lowering blood pressure and activating the parasympathetic nervous system. The Navy Seals (badass military personnel here in the states) use it before going on a stressful mission. Good luck and kick ass!

 

 

[AnalogGuy1]

I hear you.  I never played an instrument before I turned 40.  Then I began lessons, and did not make the progress that I envisioned I would...I was learning too slowly, had trouble memorizing, my dynamics were uneven, my finger motion jerky, and I kept making mistakes randomly, so focused practice on a few sections wasn't possible.  1.5 years after beginning I began practicing with a guitarist.  6 months later s we added another guitarist and a drummer and (after having the first guitarist become a bassist) after 2 years I played my first gig.  I was so nervous that at the end of the gig there were puddles of sweat on every key that I touched.  I was the worst player of the group, but that was OK - they once were new too, so they chose songs that let me support them, with a few simple keyboard solos (e.g. "Just What I Needed" by The Cars") so I could safely shine. It took 10 gigs before I stopped feeling crazy nervous before the beginning of each gig.  By the 20th gig, I started to really look forward to them.  And by a hundred I had a good feeling of what I could and couldn't do; knowing both those boundaries helps.

 

It sounds like you are doing fine.  You have accepted that you'll make mistakes, you understand that in your band context that you can duck out as needed, and that you can be present when you want, and that you'll slowly improve with more experience.  My suggestions:

 

1. Get a good recording of the band's performance from the audience's perspective.  I bet that, when you listen to it, you'll find that you (as an individual) sounded a whole lot better than you thought you sounded, and that you look like you "belong" with the rest of more experienced musicians a whole lot more than you think you did when you're up on stage.  After a dozen or so times of reviewing your performance, you'll accept that you sound and look as good as you actually do, and then you can start really having fun up there! 

 

2. Keep a record of the date, place, setlist, and a couple of performance notes for each gig starting with your first. You'll appreciate that in many different ways in the future.

 

3.  Some pregame jitters are normal.  After 100 playouts, I still get them.  It's part of what makes the experience thrilling, knowing that a trainwreck is always possible.  I was lucky enough to experience a trainwreck around gig #10, and I thought it was my fault...until the most experienced member of the group apologized, our drummer, said it was his (and on reviewing the recording, it was.)  If a guy with a literal Ph.D. in music theory & performance (albeit on a different instrument) can space out and screwup, that gave me permission that it was OK for me not to be perfect too.  That came in just in time for me to royally screw up a bare solo around gig #20 (the ending of ELO's Lucky Man) and realize that very few people in drunk audience noticed or cared.  It's OK if you do.  At some point, everyone will.

 

(FWIW, although I did not find pre-gig alcohol helped me personally, one of our guitarists definitely did, so that seems to be a personal thing. I found schlepping my heavy rig around during setup was enough of a workout to burn off some of that adrenaline.)

 

Good luck and post back to let us know how it goes!

[Bill H.]

4 hours ago, EB5AGV said:

 

I will report back after the gig.

 

Best wishes,

 

Jose

Please do! We're all invested in this now

[CyberGene]

So, how did it go? 😉

[Jose EB5AGV]

Hi all,

 

Well, I am back from my first gig 🤩, after enjoying a dinner with lots of friends who were there. If I could rate it from 0 to 10, from my personal experience, I would say it has been a solid 9. I have read some of your last comments after the gig, but one has turned to he very real: due to some misguide by the organizers, we had carried our gear quite a long distance, in really torrid weather. So I was so tired that had zero anxiety at the gig, really 😅!. That has helped. Then, on the sound tests, the bassist has told that the keyboard was too loud so the audio guy, after talking with me, has lowered my channel. And that is the reason for the 9 instead of the perfect 10. In lots of the songs, the keyboard was too low, so the guitar and drums completely buried me (I know from videos recorded by friends and from their comments). But I was not aware until the end of the gig, so, for me, it has been a good and liberating experience, as I have made plenty of mistakes but have continued playing and, except for a couple times I have got lost for some chords, I have kept the music flow nicely.

So, for next one (just in two days... and then nothing in months) I will be more careful about audio levels and hope to keep the positive attitude.

 

Another up point has been that all the careful preparations I have done (Montage presets, ForScore music sheets and song list, self-made pedal support assembly, getting a professional keyboard support, and such) have paid for, which encourages me to keep on working on improvements.

 

One first point to improve is the monitoring. Definitely, my monitor was barely enough and I need a larger one to compete with the bass, guitar and drums, as they obscured my audio.

 

Again many thanks for your help and advice, it has been what has saved the day and what now will propel next gigs 🙏🏻

 

Jose

3 minutes ago, CyberGene said:

So, how did it go? 😉

Just perfect timing!

[TommyRude]

SO SO SORRY I'm late with the advice!  OK - for your 2nd gig - 3 things

1. Get inebriated.  Booze, weed, harder stuff even better.
2. Play really really loud.
3. If a groupie approaches you, take full advantage.  Extra points if you do it in front of the band and the audience.

This will be your last gig.  But you will be a legend.

[analogika]

Also, bathroom breaks are for losers. A well-placed beer glass saves time and has style. 

[CyberGene]

1 hour ago, analogika said:

Also, bathroom breaks are for losers. A well-placed beer glass saves time and has style. 

Wasn't that a real thing? Somehow Mike Patton of Faith No More comes to my mind but I might be wrong...

[Jose EB5AGV]

Please, don't derail this thread too much 🙏. It has been a blessing for me, and perhaps may be also for some other player in same situation in the future.

 

Thanks!

 

Jose

[analogika]

3 hours ago, CyberGene said:

Wasn't that a real thing? Somehow Mike Patton of Faith No More comes to my mind but I might be wrong...

My direct predecessor in a band I used to play in did this a couple times. 

[Stokely]

It kind of sounds like your monitoring was being used as the front of house (FOH) sound.   I've done many gigs like that, and it has its advantages--being simple-- but one disadvantage is that if you are balancing for the audience AND the other band  members AND yourself, it's really hard to make everyone happy.

It's more complex, but I prefer monitoring that is entirely independent from the FOH sound, and furthermore, I want my monitor mix to not affect someone else's monitor mix.   With wedges there will be some stage spill but not all that much (except for bass and other low frequencies).  For in-ears, none at all.  Of course, then you can have the opposite problem: I've had sets where I'm loud and proud in my mix and I come off stage and a friend will say "I couldn't hear keys".    Live sound is tough!   If the band does have a sound engineer out front, that problem I just described isn't a problem...but when you run sound yourself this can happen.

Anyway, great to hear this first gig went so well overall!   

One thing it took me years to learn, and would have come in handy for you:  get a cart if you don't have one.   Also, bring a tarp or two and bungie cords in your car, and if weather looks threatening (or even really hot) you can cover your gear.  A towel or two is also a good thing to bring, and one essential item that is at every gig I do:  a small carpet drying fan!  Mine is by Lasko in rock'n'roll black (tm).   Seriously this fan will save you, make sure to get one that tilts (learned that lesson).   Most recently, I've added a 3x5 outdoor rug to my rig, since some stages/surfaces can be not the greatest for pedals.  Gives me a bit of cushion for standing and looks cool being a red patterned oriental rug

[Jose EB5AGV]

40 minutes ago, Stokely said:

It kind of sounds like your monitoring was being used as the front of house (FOH) sound.   I've done many gigs like that, and it has its advantages--being simple-- but one disadvantage is that if you are balancing for the audience AND the other band  members AND yourself, it's really hard to make everyone happy.

It's more complex, but I prefer monitoring that is entirely independent from the FOH sound, and furthermore, I want my monitor mix to not affect someone else's monitor mix.   With wedges there will be some stage spill but not all that much (except for bass and other low frequencies).  For in-ears, none at all.  Of course, then you can have the opposite problem: I've had sets where I'm loud and proud in my mix and I come off stage and a friend will say "I couldn't hear keys".    Live sound is tough!   If the band does have a sound engineer out front, that problem I just described isn't a problem...but when you run sound yourself this can happen.

Anyway, great to hear this first gig went so well overall!   

One thing it took me years to learn, and would have come in handy for you:  get a cart if you don't have one.   Also, bring a tarp or two and bungie cords in your car, and if weather looks threatening (or even really hot) you can cover your gear.  A towel or two is also a good thing to bring, and one essential item that is at every gig I do:  a small carpet drying fan!  Mine is by Lasko in rock'n'roll black (tm).   Seriously this fan will save you, make sure to get one that tilts (learned that lesson).   Most recently, I've added a 3x5 outdoor rug to my rig, since some stages/surfaces can be not the greatest for pedals.  Gives me a bit of cushion for standing and looks cool being a red patterned oriental rug

 

Thanks for the hints!

 

To clarify it, I used an small Behringer B205D monitor connected directly to the RIGHT output of my Montage (a hint I read also on this forum so pianos have more mid and high) and, from it, using the THRU OUTPUT, it went to the mixer. So I don't know if you refer to that as being the FOH monitoring. Please, clarify it so I can understand your point.

 

I learnt the cart thing, as carrying the Montage 6 on its padded bag and a couple other heavy bags same time was not a great thing. I have an small cart which can take the Montage bag on its smallest side and will try to use it on next gig (tomorrow! 😲)

 

This second gig is on a 10k run Start / Finish line area, We will be playing while people runs... Not from us, I hope 🤣

 

I have been reviewing today some videos of yesterday gig. And, 80% of the time I can't heard myself clearly, just a hint of my sound. Oh well... I need to do something about that. I don't want to be omnipresent but at least that, if I stop playing, someone will notice 😬

 

All in all, for me the yesterday experience was still great. I was not aware of that problem so it did not influence my playing at all.

 

Best,

 

Jose

[TommyRude]

Hey Jose, off topic from the 1st gig, I checked out your home page, a LOT of detail!  You should hook up with Theo Verelst, he dives deep into electronics and signal processing.

[MathOfInsects]

How did the gig go?

[Jose EB5AGV]

12 minutes ago, MathOfInsects said:

How did the gig go?

 

I explained it yesterday, on this same thread, at this post:

 

My first gig experience

 

Summing up, it was great 🤩!

 

Jose

[Docbop]

18 minutes ago, EB5AGV said:

 

I explained it yesterday, on this same thread, at this post:

 

My first gig experience

 

Summing up, it was great 🤩!

 

Jose

You said friends told you, you were buried in the mix.    

 

1.  friends tend to always say you were buried in the mix.   

2.  Ask multiple people about the sound and ask them where they were sitting/standing.   That is really important if a large room and especially outdoors the sound is different based on their position relative to the PA cabs. 

3. If possible talk to someone who actually knows live sound that you trust.   That will get you a better idea if you were actually buried. If you were buried was it a level problem or your sound you weren't cutting through.     Learning to EQ your gear for every situation or venue is as much a part of gigging as learning to play. 

4.  Most important no matter what goes wrong on the gig it's the drummers fault, even if it isn't.   They are used to getting blamed for everything so they'll probably think they did it and go back to hitting on any female within 20 feet. 

[Konnector]

Get a good monitor(s) with lotsa power for your onstage monitoring just in case. (Unless of course you go with in-ears.) You want to be able to compete with the drums, bass and guitar(s).  Also, some sound guys seem to think that keyboards should never be as loud as everyone else.

 

I used to pack two large 15" two-way monitors with horns and a 500W power amp for my synths and stack them up right beside me. I can remember the odd gig where I had it cracked up to 10 and pretty much couldn't hear myself the whole gig because the onstage volume from the other guys was a wall of thunder. All I heard was my keys echoing off the walls of the hall from the PA. Fortunately, very few gigs were ever like that, but it's good to have the option to crank it up to "guitar" level if there's no other option left to hear yourself. 

 

That's also a good reason to have all your parts memorized and nailed down beforehand. 

[HammondDave]

1 hour ago, Konnector said:

Get a good monitor(s) with lotsa power for your onstage monitoring just in case. (Unless of course you go with in-ears.) You want to be able to compete with the drums, bass and guitar(s).  Also, some sound guys seem to think that keyboards should never be as loud as everyone else.

 

I used to pack two large 15" two-way monitors with horns and a 500W power amp for my synths and stack them up right beside me. I can remember the odd gig where I had it cracked up to 10 and pretty much couldn't hear myself the whole gig because the onstage volume from the other guys was a wall of thunder. All I heard was my keys echoing off the walls of the hall from the PA. Fortunately, very few gigs were ever like that, but it's good to have the option to crank it up to "guitar" level if there's no other option left to hear yourself. 

 

That's also a good reason to have all your parts memorized and nailed down beforehand. 

Better yet… avoid loud bands.  

[analogika]

8 hours ago, Konnector said:

All I heard was my keys echoing off the walls of the hall from the PA. Fortunately, very few gigs were ever like that, but it's good to have the option to crank it up to "guitar" level if there's no other option left to hear yourself. 

 

The solution you propose rains total hell on the sound engineer and the audience, and makes live sound all but unmanageable. 

The actual solution to this issue is in-ear monitoring. 

 

I played a gig a few weeks ago where on-stage monitoring went from "okay" during soundcheck to utter mayhem at 115 dB within the first twenty minutes of the actual show. 

I walked off stage afterwards, plucked out my in-ears, and thought, "well, that was loud". The other band members had ringing ears for days afterwards. 

[Al Coda]

16 minutes ago, analogika said:

where on-stage monitoring went from "okay" during soundcheck to utter mayhem at 115 dB within the first twenty minutes of the actual show. 

I walked off stage afterwards, plucked out my in-ears, and thought, "well, that was loud". The other band members had ringing ears for days afterwards.

 

Reading this I only think of times where in-ear monitoring didn´t exist at all and ringing ears after show were more or less normal.

Horrible monitor mixes coming from a single mono 15/2 wedge in addition,- a nitemare.

But one day in the 90s,- dbAudio had a very compact "point source" type speaker,- IIRC 2x 4 or 5" w/ rotatable horn in the middle.

The PA company provided and I checked that out,- 2 cabs, tilted and mounted on low poles facing me, not the audience,- the monitor mix and the keys coming from same speakers and in stereo.

That was it for me in almost every location for many years and at an acceptable level.

But today, in-ear is better,- as long as YOU make you own mix.

 

☺️

 

A.C.

 

[CyberGene]

The topic of in-ear personal mixes vs the audience-mix and complaints about your instrument buried by the sound engineer is a never ending one but purely statistically I've noticed that every musician always thinks that their instrument is "lost" in the mix while in reality it isn't 😀 It's often a question of ego. This might come as another controversial statement by my but I think live performances are overrated. With some rare exceptions (and outside classical music and jazz), live performances are mediocre, even when from the best musicians in the world. I know we can give numerous examples of great live concerts we've been at (as audience), I can myself quote a few of them, but I can also admit to myself I've been mostly influenced by the emotions, by the context, by the mood I am, the expectations, etc.

[Al Coda]

4 minutes ago, CyberGene said:

every musician always thinks that their instrument is "lost" in the mix while in reality it isn't

 

Which mix ?

 

Your personal monitor mix needs to be different from the mix for the audience ALWAYS !

These tiny "personal monitor mixer" devices are a great help.

Even the cheap Behringer P16-M is good enough,- but the band needs the system.

 

☺️

 

A.C.

[CyberGene]

4 minutes ago, Al Coda said:

Which mix

The audience mix. I mean, even when we record ourselves in the studio, musicians tend to think they are not loud enough while they actually are 😀

[Jose EB5AGV]

In my case it was corroborated by several recordings made from different spots, some in the perfect listening area in front of the main speakers, centered. So it is not my ego, just a fact 🙃

 

All in all, in a couple songs I got the volume up a bit (I had told the sound person I would) and that was better. I did it only in songs where the synth sound was its beginning or had some extra importance. So, well, I guess for a first attempt it was not too bad. But this afternoon I wil try to find a more balanced mix.

 

Jose