Advice for a dude about to do his first concert....

R

Red Dog Studios

Member
hey guys, i know this may sound stupid, but after all we are all here to help each other out in a time of need..lol. but I was just wantin to ask some of yall cats that's been out on the road a time or too for some tips and advice about playin on stage, talkin to the crowd, what to say and what not to say, how to put on a good show, stuff like that. This isn't the first time i've played on stage, but this is the first time in a while and the first time with this band (which im the front man in now) that i've put together and been workin with for over 6 months. Sorry if this is slightly off topic but i've done searched everywhere and i figured i could get really good advice by just askin some of you guys. Thanks for anyhelp.
 
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generally, I would say you are performing for the sake of entertainment.... duh?

and..

if you don't look like you are having one of the best times of your life, neither will your audience.

and...

I wouldn't fake it either

oh.. I would perform technically like nobody's bizzness...


so...


I'd go kick some ____!!!

good luck!
 
say your band name!! I hate it when we show up for a show somewhere and I see a band i like in another state that I might want to look up online and they never say the band name. It's not like we have alot of time to chat after the show with loading up and moving to the next city, also, enunciate. something else thats bad, is the "Whats up (insert venue here)! We... ARE .. *growel growel groel*!!!" yea thats great... what did you just say? lol, make sure people can understand you. and say it 3 or 4times during the set, think of the general public as gold fish, bad memory. say it when you first get on stage, the middle of your set when people actually start paying attention to you, before you r last song, and right before you walk off stage.

Another thing, NO DEAD AIR!!!! dont stand there drinking water while everyone in the crowd is looking at you waiting for something to happen. Play the song, if you stop, say, "hey we're *band name*!" need more time? "check us out online at www.@@@@@.com you can also check out our myspace, at myspace.com/@@@@@" You shouldnt need more time than that.


Play your best song last, thats what people will remember you by. Make your first song your 2nd best, (get their attention) Im not saying play shitty songs, thats a given, lol but thats generally what we do, and have the order of your songs make sense. make the tempo/feel like a wave if you have to, adn go out with a bang, big flashy ending, you may think its cheesey, but people remember it. stay energetic through the whole set and have fun damnit! :) thats what its all about. there is nothing like the feeling of getting on this stage:
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and looking at these people:
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keep at and it will happen. i didnt think that but it did happen, and it is the best feeling you will ever experience :)

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PS that was from our set @ lockobazooka 2005.
All the pics above were from that show before and during our set.

-C$
 
if all else fails, whip out a giant 9 ft duct tape penis and twirl it around while your bassist lays down the porn lines
 
Cyanide-Depende said:
it is the best feeling you will ever experience :)
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Even better than sex??!?! lol, nah all joking aside, i really got alot out of your post thanks alot man. And like, it's almost like i feel that our task of getting the crowd into it is a little bit harder, because we are not your tipical "cover-budwiser drinkin-playin at the bar under the coin lawndry forever" type of band ya know? and not that theres nothing wrong with that, (i've been there :D ) but our music is more like Snow Patrol, Death Cab for Cutie and alot of indie band type stuff. And i mean some people do give us respect for doing something diffurent and alot of people have said that we have a sound of our own, and while that may be true, it could also just be because we are the first band they've seen around here that wasn't tryin to be another blink 182 or green day or somethin ya know?. But like i said, our music isn't really nothing to head bang too, but at the same time i like my songs to tell a story and like keep you interested and stuff like that and i pore my heart into these songs, (not that everyother singer song writer out there doesnt do that, but still) but anyways keep the advice comin man, i could set around for a long time and listen to advice about this kinda stuff. Thanks alot

And if u wanna here our type of sound listen to us at "Your Lips are Blue" is just a studio cut sample demo type thing, so the version that comes out on the album will be diffurent and i wasn't real happy with the vocals, but like i said, i was just gettin my ideas copyed down. And "Song for Jane" is a acoustic demo of the song, and "Psycho" is a cut off of our cd.

thanks alot
 
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IMO, the following is important:

- Look at your audience, not your shoes or your guitar (if you look at your frets too much, practice in front of a mirror, it helps). Engage them, smile. Exaggerate your movements if you like.

- Don't spend too much time tuning on stage. It's boring to watch (and hear, if you don't tune muted!). The drummer should keep utter silence between songs. ;-)

- Don't stop playing if someone makes a massive mistake. Always continue as if nothing happened.

- If you or someone else make a mistake, don't grimace or :eek: at the guilty party. Everyone makes mistakes, it's not important.

- Introduce the band members at some point in a song, while playing.

- Start off with a catchy song in order to attract attention. Now that you have it, continue with some hit songs :)

- As said above, SAY YOUR BAND NAME. At the start, and especially at the end. Include your web address!

Edit: - DON'T DRINK before playing. One beer to relax the nerves is okay, but don't get drunk. You'll sound bad, even if you think you sound good. ;-)


That's all I could think of right now. Happy playing!
 
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yeah, we've got our first couple o' shows coming up in about a month/six weeks. we're really looking forward to it. our plan is to make people laugh or smile, even though our music doesn't really reflect it... we'll probably tell everyone if they go and buy our EP, we'll give them ice cream, at the end of the set get every member of the band say goodnight to everyone else "Good night Andrew!" "Good night, Kris!" "Good Night Rosie!" "Good Night, Kris!" "Good Night Michael!" "Good Night Kris!" "Good Night, Caroline!" "Good Night, Kris!" ... "Good Night Andrew!" "Good Night Rosie!" "Good Night, Kris!" "Good Night, Rosie!" .... we're not too sure about that yet. it could go on for quite a while :P but maybe that's what'd make it quite cute, in a way :D

do competitions and stuff too. and give away prizes. just stuff like "who ever clicks their fingers in the best gets This piece of official band merchandise...!" if you do it at the right point, and the rest of your set has been good, you'll find a couple of people in the audience go nuts to get it, just for the hell of it. another good one is finding out if theres anyone in the audience with a birthday, and if there isn't find the person with the closest birthday, and give them a prize.

all little stuff to get people think "they were that band who did [whatever] on stage... yeah!"

Andy
 
yeah i had thought about doing that. But i kinda wanna keep it serious, because like that's how our music is, but have fun and open up at the same time ya know what i'm sayin? and if something unexpected happends, turn it into a joke and get a lauf that way. Like one time i was playin on stage with another band, and i was singing this song, and well the big stage phone on the side starts ringing when it's just me playin an acoustic song, and without missing a beat i just work the words into the song and sing "will some on please....An--sur---that---pho---oooone. lol so that type of stuff. but yeah thanks for all the advice guys, keep it comin if u have anymore.
 
Name of the band, frequently.

Name of the song before each song.

Play your asses off and let the music do the talking.
 
What you say on stage should fit with your personality and the type of mood that you are trying to create with your music. Since you are not a Budweiser drinkin' cover band, you probably would not say "This one's for all those lovely ladies out there tonight." or "Is everybody ready to Party?" On the other hand, it's in your best interest to say something, rather than nothing. At least identify your band. Maybe give a little information about your original material.

As a creative indie band, you might be more comfortable saying "This next song is called...and I wrote it about..." or "We are Fact Not Fiction and no, we don't play any Nickelback songs."
 
My best advice is to remember that the audience thinks you are playing the song for *them*, and it's important to let them believe that at all times. The *real* audience is a 1" piece of gold spluttered mylar. It's important that *you* remember that at all times. So take care of the mic. Be in the right place at all times relative to the mic, and keep the vocals even. Keep your eyes on the audience. Move from person to person and make eye contact. While you do this, be thinking about *the mic, the mic, the mic* Never lose concentration. When some hot babe winks at you and shakes her impressive boobs, think about *the song, the chords, *the mic*. Good luck-Richie
 
lol yeah i like what u said schulteboy. About how we dont play nickelback songs lol. It's funny cause our other guitar/bass player hates them,and all there songs do sound the same to me. But anyways yeah we hardly play cover songs, but we do have a few that we play while on stage at times. But yall are givin me some good ideas here, so what i have so far is this, yall tell me what you think....

Open up with the first song.

"Alright...yall are lookin nice out there, were a band called Fact Not Fiction and were glad to be here playing for yall tonight at Ryan Ray's party. This next song we are gunna do is a song u have prolly heard on our myspace page and it's called 'your lips are blue'

and basicly do stuff like that for the rest of the set

ENDING: (while playing music - "we have Daniel Carey on bass, Mick White on the drums and i'm Zeke Sayer on gutiar and we are fact not fiction, thanks and good nite." -Music cuts out-


how does something like that sound?
 
Be entertaining!!! Thats why you are there. Let your music be your main feature, but don't just stand there and play, put on a show. Never tell long jokes or stories, quick "little one liners" between songs are fine but avoid long monologs. Find out the name of the bartender(s) and occasionally remind the audience to make them work their butts off (management will like you if you increase their sales.) Don't panic if someone breaks a string or the drummer looses a stick or steps on a cable and unplugs something, just fix it as quickly as possible and keep going. Have fun, inspire your audience to have fun too. A trick I have used is to spot the saddest person in the crowd and make them smile, this works for the ugliest too. Make the ugliest girl in the house feel like queen of the universe. Thank your audience for comming out to see you and always let them know..."If you like us, tell others. If you don't, tell us."
 
Red Dog Studios said:
lol yeah i like what u said schulteboy. About how we dont play nickelback songs lol. It's funny cause our other guitar/bass player hates them,and all there songs do sound the same to me. But anyways yeah we hardly play cover songs, but we do have a few that we play while on stage at times. But yall are givin me some good ideas here, so what i have so far is this, yall tell me what you think....

Open up with the first song.

"Alright...yall are lookin nice out there, were a band called Fact Not Fiction and were glad to be here playing for yall tonight at Ryan Ray's party. This next song we are gunna do is a song u have prolly heard on our myspace page and it's called 'your lips are blue'

and basicly do stuff like that for the rest of the set

ENDING: (while playing music - "we have Daniel Carey on bass, Mick White on the drums and i'm Zeke Sayer on gutiar and we are fact not fiction, thanks and good nite." -Music cuts out-


how does something like that sound?
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Personally, I hate when bands do the little extended vamp to introduce the band members. I have never once, even with really sweet bands, retained the names of the band members. I think reinforcing the band name is better. If some young chick thinks the bass player is cute, she'll go to your myspace site and figure out who he is and how to stalk him there.

What makes it worse is the music wanking interspersed. "On Bass, Will Doe Dong!" Slap, pop, slide, buh buh bumpy bump! "On Guitar, Slippery Mick Schlong!" Deedle-y deedly-y, deedly wahhh wahhh wahhh.... "And on Drums, Stumpy Pete!" rat-a-tat tat, splash splash, doodle a doodle rum ta ta tum! "And I am Carl Hungus! OOOOOOHHHHHH YEEEEEEAAAHHH!!!!! OOOOWWWWW!!!!!"

Don't do that. And don't try to be funny. Or too serious. Just be nice and grateful, and if you do need to talk tween songs, talk loud. It'll seem way too loud in the stage monitors, but, trust me, the crowd probably won't hear you well unless you are right up on the mic, and speaking loud and clear.

Finally, I wouldn't script your banter. Just talk from your heart, or whatever organ is driving your thoughts at the moment.
 
Yeah i get what your saying. But you gotta understand i have 2 diffurent kinds of people, and one is tellin me to introduce the players, and the other one is not, so yeah it's just like you said, what ever your feeling at the moment just go with it ya know? That's prolly what i was gunna do all along, but i'd kinda like to have somekind of blue print as to what i'm gunna say, but nothing word for word ya know lol
 
Here is a possible solution to your introduction delima. Rather than introducing the entire band at once, introduce them individualy, after that incredable slice of shread guitar..."Mr. (insert name here)" after a mind altering bass part..."On bass (another name goes here)" after the drum solo that knocked the paint off the walls... get the idea? This way you don't have the boring introduction thing but you still have the opportunity to spotlight each individual member of the band.
 
Just be yourself, I wouldn't script it too much as it will probably look like you've thought about it and it won't be very natural. Name of the band and name of the songs is important I agree, personally I don't really care about what the band members are called but that's up to you.

I'm pretty lucky because the fella I play with has great stage presence and he can do a bit of banter with the audience and all of that stuff. I sit quietly and make the occasional "straight man" comment. I tried being a bit more 'chatty' on stage but I just ended up talking shit and making an idiot of myself, it's just not me. I'd rather see a band who are pretty quiet in between songs than someone just trying to fill the gaps by talking bollocks. On the other hand some people can be pretty entertaining when they are talking bollocks.

So yeah, just be yourself.
 
It's been a few years sence I performed seriously but...

If allowed... (west coast bands have a problem with this for some reason) ... if you're not playing on stage then you're _all_ stilling at the merch table. You need atleast CD's and stickers. But the merch table is where you make the militant fans. Some places don't allow this out west....

Be nice to the merch girl - give free CD

Be nice to the door girl

never ever hang out back stage / in the band room

arrive atleast an hour early, setup, then talk.

I like to practice the set... my old band would practice 20hours a week and all the songs were in the order we would play them... we'd run though the set twice and then we'd work on other stuff.

If something breaks forcing you to pause the show then have bad jokes ready.

in case something break have a spare of everything.... I have 4 snare drums...

Often playing last is bad because the audience leaves.

Once you start playing shows keep playing... the first show always sucks compaired to all your others. There are a lot of things you learn by performing that you can't learn in practice.

after my old band was around for a while we started a gag where we would open for ourselves... we all switched instruments to something we didn't know how to play and would play a song by Chevelle or something and then break up. We called it the "We Suck Band"... I think I suggested doing it after DC Talk had all their side projects open for them... in anycase it made our own music sound better...
 
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