# So my first show is this weekend



## Cynic (May 1, 2012)

Don't know if there is already a thread for this, but I was just wondering if you guys have any tips for being on "stage?"


----------



## VBCheeseGrater (May 1, 2012)

awesome man. My main tip would just be to soak it all in and enjoy as much as possible. Don't sweat the small stuff, because the crowd won't care. Your energy and music are the important things. When someone screws up keep playing and act like it never happened. 

If you drink, don't get drunk. Oh yeah, and record the gig! Good Luck, you'll have a blast i'm sure!


----------



## Jake (May 1, 2012)

vbshredder said:


> awesome man. My main tip would just be to soak it all in and enjoy as much as possible. Don't sweat the small stuff, because the crowd won't care. Your energy and music are the important things. When someone screws up keep playing and act like it never happened.
> 
> If you drink, don't get drunk. Oh yeah, and record the gig! Good Luck, you'll have a blast i'm sure!


All of this 

also dont trade performance to try and look cool, I saw two guitarists completely throw off a set by one of them trying to throw his guitar upside down and spin in a circle at the same time, and the other one trying to be a ballerina without a wireless. If you can pull off guitar spins then its fucking awesome however if you cant (I sure cant and dont want to risk breaking my gear to do it) its just not worth it.


----------



## ozzman619 (May 1, 2012)

smoke meth, lots and lots of meth


----------



## Leuchty (May 1, 2012)

Know your gear and tape down loose cables.

Tune.

Look at the crowd every now and then.

Enjoy yourself and make sur you let the crowd know you're enjoying yourself.

Tune.


----------



## CTID (May 1, 2012)

The number one thing I can think of:


Do not stop playing. Never ever ever ever stop playing. I don't care if every string on your guitar suffers catastrophic failure and snap all at the same time, you keep on playing, damnit.

And if you guys lose your place, as bad as it sounds to try to get back together, don't stop and start your song over again. It just looks bad to the crowd.

Be polite to the other bands (if any) but don't kiss ass. If you kiss ass, people will know what you're doing, but don't be an asshole or nobody's going to want to play a show with you ever again.

Also, practice setting up and tearing down so that you can do it quickly and get set up quickly and play, and when you're done, get out of the next band's way so they can set up.


----------



## Cynic (May 2, 2012)

Thanks for the tips so far, guys!

@ vbshredder: Haha, I'm not going to drink. And yes, I'm fairly certain it will be recorded.

@ 717ctsjz: Yeah, I get what you mean. I'm just now getting semi-comfortable playing while moving around. I would rather sound good than look goofy and sound bad.

@ ozzman619: I'd rather the cocaine. All the cocaine.

@ CYBERSYN: Taping down lose cables. Gotcha!

@ CTID: Never even thought of practicing setting up/tearing down. Thanks!


----------



## Tones (May 2, 2012)

Just pretend you're in the garage you play in. Try to blank the crowd out, but at the same time, pretend you're playing at an arena. Ya dig? Move around, look good, practice, never stop playing no matter how hard someone messes up.


----------



## JStraitiff (May 2, 2012)

I would say have some fun.


----------



## Ghost40 (May 3, 2012)

Don't stop playing if you hit a wrong note or miss one. Just keep going. Also, if someone else hits something wrong, don't look at them and make weird faces. Just keep on truckin. This draws attention to the mistake. 

Acknowledge the audience. You don't have to stare them down... but making eye contact off and on works. 

Most important, relax and have fun!! I'm not huge energy or anything, but I like to move about, to and fro...


----------



## sage (May 3, 2012)

Bring an extra guitar. If you don't have one, arrange to borrow one from a friend. Extra guitars are mandatory.

And have fun. See if you can get a friend to videotape it for you. You only get to play your first show once.


----------



## poisonelvis (May 3, 2012)

#1-DON'T OVER THINK IT!!!,just like a practice,but with more people,and make sure yer' rig is ready to go,back up fiddle,ect,and have fun,and don't just stand there,i point out people i know(thats just me bringing my crowd into it).


----------



## Moostifur (May 3, 2012)

sage said:


> Bring an extra guitar. If you don't have one, arrange to borrow one from a friend. Extra guitars are mandatory.
> 
> And have fun. See if you can get a friend to videotape it for you. You only get to play your first show once.


 
This is super crucial. Years ago the other guitarist in my band made the mistake of only bringing one guitar. Broke a string 2 songs in... needless to say the set stopped there. SUCKED.

Oh also, don't let people rush your sound check. Bad sound/ levels will make an amazing band sound mediocre at best.


----------



## All_¥our_Bass (May 3, 2012)

CTID said:


> Do not stop playing. Never ever ever ever stop playing. I don't care if every string on your guitar suffers catastrophic failure and snap all at the same time, you keep on playing, damnit.


Except between songs


----------



## CTID (May 3, 2012)

nope


----------



## Cynic (May 7, 2012)

No videos up yet, but here's a couple of pictures:











(Me in the white shirt doing a stomp or some shit)


----------



## Windwaker (May 7, 2012)

It looks like rock-age was achieved. How did you feel about it? Learned anything?


----------



## Cynic (May 7, 2012)

^ Practice, practice, practice. Bring a longer cable.


----------



## patrickWLV (May 7, 2012)

watch youtube videos of your favorite guitarists and learn killer stage presence from the pros


----------



## CTID (May 8, 2012)

At least it looks like your vocalist didn't just awkwardly stand there as most vocalists tend to to on their first shows.

Then again idk if it was his first show or not.


----------



## VBCheeseGrater (May 8, 2012)

Cool man, nice looking set up for your first gig. mine was at at country bar as a metal act. We about got booed out of the establishment, but switched to blues jams just in time  Good times.


----------



## Cynic (May 12, 2012)

Okay, the videos are up!


----------



## L1ght (May 13, 2012)

That crowd blows.


----------



## DoomJazz (May 13, 2012)

I've learned that making shows more personal, interaction with the crowd, both on and off stage, is a huge part of making your band successful. I don't mean be that guy that gets all up in someones face because they are the front row arm crosser, but I like to try and be funny during my sets and make an ass of myself. Sometimes I'll get off stage and walk up to a friend or someone I don't even know and while I'm screaming something totally brutal, I'll make it look like I'm having a regular conversation with them. It's even better when you find someone that's not even paying attention, and have the spot light put on them by putting the mic in their face for an extended period of time when they have absolutely no idea what's going on. 

Also, if you do breakdowns, shake your ass, not your face, and make people laugh. "That guy has a great butt!" attracts more people than "They all headbanged...".


----------



## avenger (May 15, 2012)

L1ghtChaos said:


> That crowd blows.


One ninja to rule them all...


----------



## Solodini (May 21, 2012)

Try interacting with each other more, as well. People will take positive energy from people who look like they enjoy playing music together and you'll find it easier to seem like you're having fun if you're messing about with your friends. Just the simple things like facing each other and rocking out work well, if not choreographing something silly like Geddy and Alex's pickup selector/big nose wobble.

I'd say that, by way of physical performance, small movements are as effective as, if not more than, big movement. Especially on a small stage like that. Your singer looks a bit awkward at times when he's pacing fast and runs out of space before his 3rd step. Standing still and just doing one or two small things can be quite visually striking (similarly to one small area of inlay on an otherwise blank fingerboard), especially if it looks like it's leading up to something. Combine it with the whole eye contact thing. 

Your singer could stand still, hold eye contact with one audience member and pass the the mic back and forth from hand to hand or slowly wind the cable around his arm/hand. Alternatively, he could not look at the crowd at all: he could block people out with his body language (again with small, refined motions which imply a close area of personal space as though a crazy person who you don't want to come too close to in case they lunge at you) or focus his attention to something in the room. If he does it with increasing intensity, the crowd will notice in spite of (if not because of) the fact that he is focussing on one person and wonder what he's doing or what's going to happen. That could turn into an explosion of energy, his pacing, bouncing around; it could become just him standing still and belting his lungs out as a release of that energy.

Playing with tension can be as important in your performance as in your music. In a way, it's like when a girl you like is teasing you, working you up and just as you think she might do something, she walks away. She makes you work for it and when you do it pays off. I'm not suggesting you offer sexual favours to your audience but make them know you recognise their presence. Benji from Skindred will stop the song Nobody (it's completely choreographed) and tell the crowd off for not bouncing enough. He'll swear at them, tells them it's not good enough, patronises them a bit then restarts the song and everyone's 20ft in the air. That sort of trick works in moderation, provided you're not playing to the same crowd every week but you can also inform them of the lyrics to an easy section of the song, have a call and response section or something. Go through that section once and then the second time it comes around, drop out the guitars so it's just drums (maybe bass) and vocals so they really hear the effect they're having on your sound. Thank them, tell them they're amazing and you want to see them along next time you play.

Also, remember to warm up your body, as well as just your hands/voice. Limber up, get the blood flowing, do some squat jumps, do some press ups. Get the energy going before you hit the stage so when you start playing the energy is there and you can jump start the crowd. Without going all Dr Phil, maybe get together just before you get onstage and say briefly what you want/expect of the performance. This can be jokey things like a bonsai marijuana panda and 15 dutch acrobats or how you hope the crowd will react, how you will facilitate that reaction, adjectives like br00tz, bouncy, bombastic, ballcrushinglyawesome. Whatever. It gets the band communicating which will be an important part of a good performance as a whole band, not just a group of individuals.


----------



## VBCheeseGrater (May 21, 2012)

^^^ Got it...blow jobs across the board!! Sounds like a plan 

just kidding, nice post.


----------



## Solodini (May 21, 2012)

Everyone knows that giving good head is how you score a record deal and become famous!


----------



## Cynic (May 21, 2012)

Solodini said:


> Try interacting with each other more, as well. People will take positive energy from people who look like they enjoy playing music together and you'll find it easier to seem like you're having fun if you're messing about with your friends. Just the simple things like facing each other and rocking out work well, if not choreographing something silly like Geddy and Alex's pickup selector/big nose wobble.
> 
> I'd say that, by way of physical performance, small movements are as effective as, if not more than, big movement. Especially on a small stage like that. Your singer looks a bit awkward at times when he's pacing fast and runs out of space before his 3rd step. Standing still and just doing one or two small things can be quite visually striking (similarly to one small area of inlay on an otherwise blank fingerboard), especially if it looks like it's leading up to something. Combine it with the whole eye contact thing.
> 
> ...



Thank you, man! Lovely advice!


----------



## Solodini (May 21, 2012)

Happy to help.


----------



## iRaiseTheDead (May 21, 2012)

Not bad not bad


----------



## davisjom (May 21, 2012)

My band, Under A Broken King, and I have played with 3 national bands (Chelsea Grin, Lions Lions, and Lionheart) And many other small shows.
All i have to say is:
-have a good time
-tune after every other song
-make eye contact with the crowd
-dont be afraid to walk around the stage
-dont do anything wild or crazy if you dont think you can play the music right while moving
-be nice to the other bands
-tape loose cables
-use longer instrument cables if you dont have wireless
-go DI if you can
-dont sweat the small stuff
-be confident, but not cocky
yup, thats my advice


----------

