First Gig ever with my LUKE this weekend!!!!

[Joe Demo]

Not only is this my first gig ever with my Luke, it is also my first gig ever in general. I'm feeling a little nervous of course, not about the Luke, but about ME!!!!HAHA!!!

How was anyones else's first gig experiences????? I know it gonna be fun, but I'll be glad when it over too. Any hints for stage fright? HAHAHA!!!!

 

[fogman]

I've never gigged (as of yet) but have a blast!!!!
Just enjoy the hell out of the experience!!!
Good luck!!!

 

[mb99zz]

Have fun Joe! I haven't played live in front of an audience since I was in college. The handful of times my band played out is right up there with the birth of my kids on my list of "Best Moments". I'm sure you'll do fine.

 

[Multiversal]

My first gig was an amazing experience!

Make sure you move around and interact with the crowd.. don't be too stiff, which is every first timer's mistake!

I'll share some stories from my first gig when I'm not heading out the door..

 

[beej]

Just have fun. Maybe a drink to relax, but don't drink much Look for the hot chick in the crowd and repeatedly check her out

 

[Jodizzle]

^^ Beej, you're killing me.

JD - I'm sure you'll be soo excited that you won't be able to sleep after the gig. Come back and let us know how it goes!!!!

 

[fsmith]

And if his girlfriend happens to read it she'll be beating knots on his head...

 

[paranoid70]

Not only is this my first gig ever with my Luke, it is also my first gig ever in general. I'm feeling a little nervous of course, not about the Luke, but about ME!!!!HAHA!!!

How was anyones else's first gig experiences????? I know it gonna be fun, but I'll be glad when it over too. Any hints for stage fright? HAHAHA!!!!

I just had my first (well first in over 20 years) gig just last month. My second was three days ago. I was nervous for the first one, but surprisingly, I wasn't nervous at all this weekend.

Here are some tips, and they are pretty much the same for public speaking as well.

Be prepared - Know your songs! This might be a "well duh" pointer, but the better you know what you are doing, the more confident you will be. The more confident you are, the less likely you are to make mistakes. The less mistakes you make, the more confortable you will get.

Look at the audience. If you don't want to look at people's faces, look just over their heads. They won't notice the difference.

If you make a mistake, don't sweat it, just keep playing. Most likely the folks in the audience won't notice... especially if they have been drinking. If you stop... they will notice.

Most importantly, have fun. Nothing is more boring that listening to a presentation or a band or whatever when the guy presenting it is not at least somewhat enthusiastic about it.


Lastly, take pics and post them. I don't know if no pics no gig is the rule, but it should be. Have fun and good luck bro!

 

[gerry d]

Jeez..... my first gig was in 1982.... crap I'm old now..... and I used a Vox 24 standard guitar and a HH micro amp.... and an mxr distortion.... and I was so full of it until showtime..... then I totally forgot everything as the drummer counted in the first song...... talk about a learning experience...... it's one thing to think you are a great player in your bedroom and quite another actually performing in front of an audience.... what I will say is that you might have a tendency to rush a bit.... you should relax and listen to the drummer and bass player... you might find the tempo a bit slow... or you think it is... I teach and most young players are like this.. but with a little more experience they usually find the groove... another thing I've found is that some people hold their breath a lot.... this also plays havoc with your tempo.... on every gig you do you will learn a lot... also don't play very loud until you find your feet and learn about stage volume.... I could go on and on about this....

 

[kbaim]

Also, even though you'll probbaly feel anxiety up there, realize that it mostly lasts the first song or two and then sort of evaporates.

Also, take a leak before your set.

 

[ivanmihaljevic]

Have a good one!!!
Stage fright, hmm... The best thing you can do about it is to not think about it. There's no way to get rid of the stage fright if you're thinking how to get rid of it all the time. It goes away with experience!

 

[fogman]

Just have fun. Maybe a drink to relax, but don't drink much Look for the hot chick in the crowd and repeatedly check her out

lessons from the master!

 

[Multiversal]

I don't know about everybody else, but I like to perform without shoes! I can't stand wearing shoes while playing unless it's very cold and I have to, but try playing barefoot or with only socks on! It's so comfortable!

Be tight with your band.. if you or one of your members train wreck the song, you should be prepared to take it another route. Brush up on your improvisational skills for sure! Also, sometimes in the heat of the moment you might feel like you're not ready for the song to end.. so just jam it out! That's what I do, at least. This is probably not the best advice, but it always worked for me!

 

[Multiversal]

Also, if a girl takes off her shirt and tries to get you to drink from her rum and coke in the middle of a song, don't do it!

 

[Adwex]

I'll never forget my first time as long as I live. It was January in NY, and it had recently snowed and the roads were a sheet of ice. On the way to the bar, I was so friggin' nervous I actually hoped I would skid off the road and get into an accident....I'd rather wreck my car than play in front of people!!!

I got there safely, unfortunately, so there's no excuse, no gettin' out of it. At this point, there is nothing anyone can say or do that will stop the stage fright. Everything/everyone else is practically blocked out, you can't think of anything else, but it's something you just hafta live through. Consider it an unavoidable task that you MUST do, you have no choice, time to man-up.

First song went ok, 2nd song (Bastille Day), the drummer screwed up an important cue, and for about 10 seconds, we were all off the beat. That was the longest 10 seconds of my life, it was a nightmare that I couldn't wake up from, and it felt like an eternity before we all got back together. Oh well, it happens I guess.

After we were done, you can't imagine the relief. We survived, and nobody really cared about the screw up except us.

By the 4th time, I couldn't wait to get up there. So, the first one is tough, and there's not much you or anyone else can do to make it easy. The only cure for stage fright is getting up on stage. I guarantee it'll be fun, eventually.

 

[guertzi]

Excellent preconditions!!!!!

Not only is this my first gig ever with my Luke, it is also my first gig ever in general. I'm feeling a little nervous of course, not about the Luke, but about ME!!!!HAHA!!!

How was anyones else's first gig experiences????? I know it gonna be fun, but I'll be glad when it over too. Any hints for stage fright? HAHAHA!!!!

What a great guitar to have for your first gig ever!
The Luke is one of the best stage guitars I have EVER come across!
Very comfortable, lightweight, great tuning stability, gorgeous looking and dead silent.
I had a Fender Jazzmaster when I had my first gig back in 1979 and it was humming all over the place !!!

My tip of the day for you: make sure that your equipment is working (and by that I don't mean just the amp and your guitar), Check your cables, batteries, effects, power supplies etc. if everything is working, Don't forget spare batteries and strings, as well as some picks where you can grab them easily. No use keeping them in a bag in the dressing room back stage!

If possible, leave your guitar on stage so it can acclimatize to the room conditions.
Approx. 20 minutes before showtime get your Luke and tune up again. That should get you through your first song safely. After the first three songs or so, check your tuning again if possible. Stage fright will also be gone by then...

Most important thing is to enjoy what you do and have fun!!! The audience will notice that and what you usually get is positive feedback!

Somehow I envy you a little! There will never be another first time like this and you will remember it for the rest of your life so ENJOY EVERY MINUTE OF IT !!!

Oh, and one more thing: best time for drinks is after the show, together with the ladies from the audience


All the best to you and please keep us updated how it went!

 

[Tim O'Sullivan]

My first gig is as below.

We were called Stud, and I was about 14 years old. I played on the stage in my school hall and we knew about 4 songs I suppose! A version of the Shadows Apache, a song called Tim's Creation, and some other ones that I cant really remember!

Thats me on the right by the way!

 

[leftyguitarblue]

The key is too have fun. Have a drink or 2 (if you're old enough) and just try to feed off the energy of the crowd. Try to get them into that. From my experience, people love when you put the mic in front of them to let them sing a few words. I have been in cover bands for years and people are there to drink and have fun and you should try to provide that. No one cares if you are playing a solo exactly the same or if your chords are a little off, they are there to have fun.

 

[brasco68]

The Luke will get you through this....you couldn't have a better axe!

One thing though....make sure you yell in the mic "HELLO CLEVELAND!" It doesn't matter if you're in Cleveland or not...just say it anyway....and have fun!!

 

[Multiversal]

..and if someone yells "FREEBIRD!" ... give them a free bird. <^> <---