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11 dos and don'ts for live bands
The ultimate gig survival guide
Chris Vinnicombe, Wed 27 May 2009, 12:57 pm UTC
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.
Page two: Showtime
User comments (9)
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For a setlist, if you guitarists are using a capo or de-tune for certain songs, keep those songs after the first three or four. This allows for a smooth opening and keeps the crowd and the owner happy.
I have too many memorys of the crowd looking at us, while our two guitarists, still couldnt tune to the correct pitch. those 30 seconds or more, feel like 5 minutes. -
These are all really good tips, all stuff which should be common sense but some many people ignore.
I'd add:
If someone is kind enough to loan you gear, for god's sake don't complain about it if it's not quiet what you wanted. I've had the expereince of lending my amp head to another guitarist and for him to stand on stage bitching about it not working and sounding "tinny" for a half hour.
After that we got on stage and played a blinder with the same amp.... -
"Any ideas as to what happens if I break a vital string, like a low E?"
Spare guitar, spare guitar, spare guitar :-) -
They should have mentioned stuff about strings breaking. I have one guitar with a Floyd Rose trem. Any ideas as to what happens if I break a vital string, like a low E? (I play metal, so lots of palm muted Es lol.)
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As a drummer (longest set up time?) - I find it handy to leave as many bits of hardware as I can pre-assembled in my case to speed up show time. Get a good quality gig box "HARDCASE" look to be proofed against nuclear attack - also wheeled if you want to avoid hernias....
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Advice I got once included, if you're going to have a drink before the gig don't drink more than a couple of pints before you go on, however late it is in the evening. It may give you a bit of courage but won't stop you playing well.
This is good info though. Cheers! -
very nice - top quality advice - the gig bible!!
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top advice,if anyone reads this...print it out! tis the unofficial gig etiquet guide(if that is how its spelt)
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Great advice Musicradar!!!
Those tips will come in handy when me and my band start gigging.
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