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Things can get pretty blurry in the crazy world of live performance

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So you've diligently honed a set of all-killer, no-filler tunes in the practice room, and now it's time to take your chances in front of a throng of sweaty punters at the local live music emporium. Here is MusicRadar's definitive guide to the dos and don'ts of gig etiquette…

Sharing gear

Do communicate with the others bands on the bill before the evening of the gig to find out what backline will be shared on the night. It's common for a headline band to let support acts share drum shells and stands – but not breakables such as snare, cymbals etc – the bass rig and often guitar speaker cabs.

Don't assume that you will be able to share gear and turn up with minimal kit unless you have agreed in advance. It should be easy to get contact numbers or email addresses for the other acts on the bill from the promoter or the venue, and it's common courtesy to ask first.

Do bring as many spares as you can, but should something go down on the night and leave you stranded, be prepared to do a bit of grovelling and drink-buying if you need to ask to borrow someone else's gear at extremely short notice. The headline act didn't splash out thousands on their kit so that you could use it.

Soundcheck

Do turn up at the venue on time, and be tuned-up and ready to take to the stage when the sound engineer needs you.

Don't be obnoxious towards the sound engineer. He/she will be controlling the front-of-house levels during your set, so it's common sense to treat them courteously.

Do set your amplifiers to sensible volume levels on stage. Moderate levels allow the engineer to have more control over the overall front-of-house balance and mean that monitors don't need to be pushed to levels where they begin to feed back in order for singers to hear themselves.

Don't treat soundcheck as a free rehearsal and jam incessantly. One or two short songs should provide more than enough opportunity for the sound engineer to set up a decent mix. Guitarists: when the sound engineer is tweaking the bass drum sound, he/she doesn't want you to be playing blazing lead lines at the same time.

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