Played my first gig

[rumpystumpy]

Hi everyone, just a celebratory post for my first gig. It was only on a street corner at a local festival with a kind of steam-punk dance troupe (we call Morris Dancing) but it’s a big deal for me as I’ve always struggled with nerves and have put a lot of work into it. The fiddle player/band leader pulled out sick and I had to take the melody on my own. Covered all my mistakes without breaking rhythm. Pretty stoked.
I’m not a regular poster here but it’s been a great resource in my development so Thanks All.

[maxr]

Well done! It should get easier from here on re. nerves, although I was surprised recently to find that an issue after the lockdown layoff.

[A-board]

I remember my first open mic session with a guitar playing friend. I was playing into a mic and heard people commenting that they couldn’t hear the mandolin. So I backed away from the mic a little more.

[Charlie Bernstein]

CONGRATULATIONS!

I'm an extreme wallflower — the high school senior who didn't ask anyone to the prom or show up to pose for his yearbook picture.

But somewhere in my thirties or forties I figured something out. A girlfriend had just broken up with me, and I was terribly embarassed about it. Didn't want to tell anyone.

Then, inevitably, I bumped into a friend who asked me how she was doing, and I had to confess that we weren't seeing each other anymore. My friend said, "Oh! That's too bad!" — and immediately went on to tell me about what was going on where he worked.

And I realized — beyond the bounds of ordinary civility, no one really cares much whether I screw up. It's not their problem — it's my problem! So now I go on stage and screw up to my heart's content, knowing that deep down in their hearts of hearts, no one listening will be devastated when I hock up a clam.

Thank God, they have their own problems!

[Pappyrich]

Congratulations. The first time is the hardest, and it gets easier as you extend yourself to play in front of people more often. I find that our fellow musicians can be far more critical than the general public, who really don't care that much, and probably can't spot most of the mistakes you think you make, anyway. Besides that, what's the worse that can happen?

[don in ar]

Congratulations on a stellar first time out. Now its time to learn the tricks, like ignore the crowd and have fun, hitting a sour note and looking at the other guys (pick one) and give them a funny look, so everyone thinks it was them.
Fake it til you make it!
All kidding aside, if you are having fun, you are doing it just right.

[rickbella]

Bravo! First of many gigs, I hope!

[Billy Packard]

These are all great comments! If you're like me, pretty soon you will be longing for the next appearance!

Billy

[Old Dog Dave]

I vividly remember the very first gig I played in front of an audience, though it was not on mandolin--I was a pretty good blues harp player at the time. It was late '66 or early '67 and I was stationed at an Army base in Germany. Three other guys and me formed a little band we called "Group Therapy", though we were simply a practice band--until one night when we went to a little club in downtown Nurnberg. On their first break, we called the band over and bought them some beers; then, we told them we were a band and wondered if they would let us sit in on their next break. They were very supportive and said yes ("ja", I think). From the moment they said yes, the butterflies hit my stomach big time; I was nervous to the point of almost being shaky. BUT--the moment we stepped on stage and I grabbed a mike to blow my harp through, the butterflies totally disappeared and I felt like I was exactly where I should be. That was over 50 years ago, but the experience has served me well. I recently retired from a career (not in music) where I did a lot of teaching and speaking. Only on occasion would I get the butterflies before I got up before an audience, but they always went away quickly after I was on stage. I have played a couple of gigs with a Rolling Stones cover band in Seattle where I did mandolin on "Wild Horses" and "Dear Doctor", and though my mandolin skills are nowhere like my blues harp and I am sure I made many mistakes, like others have said here, you deal with it. Play more, play often, and always enjoy!!

[Elb2000]

Congrats, enjoy the journey. On one of my first open mics (~5 years ago), I’m playing with a guitar player. I have my song printed on a sheet in front of me. I start playing and singing my first song and the experienced guy who just finished before us remembers he left his papers on the music stand. So he walks up grabs his papers and mine, turns around and walks away. My hands are on the mandolin, my voice is in the song. I stumble through; nerves are shot, but a funny memory looking back.

[RobP]

Congrats - I started gigging with a band early in my playing career - let me tell you I was way out on a limb a lot of the time! But, there is no faster way to learn than when you know you will be performing. I don't usually get nerves any more unless I am singing lead - it makes me feel so exposed. I prefer to stick to the harmony. And, I've gotten much better at faking solos if I get lost by following the chord progression - that is a very useful trick!

[JeffLearman]

Good for you!

From age 11 or so, up to say 20 I almost always played alone, or just with one friend. Terrible preparation for the first actual band I joined!

When I finally did start gigging regularly, the biggest lesson I had to keep working on was "Mean what you play, even when you didn't play what you meant!"

These days, I'm more comfortable on stage than I am playing for even just one person, if I have high regard for that person's musical discernment. Yet I still struggle with nerves. It's worse as I age since I have "essential tremor" where my hands shake, and it gets worse with stress/tension.

And the worst case is recording, even though I've been doing that since the late 70's. If there's anything worse than a mistake, it's hearing that same mistake over and over again. Also, in my mind, the way I play something is actually a strung-together memory of the best rendition of every phrase -- an impossible target. Sigh. I've decided to pretty much give up serious recording of playing string instruments and only record playing keyboards, where it's less of a problem (and I can fix mistakes using MIDI!)

Still, that old lesson is the big one, and I keep working on it.

[Nevin]

Bravo!

[CES]

Congrats! I count myself as someone who’s willingness to humiliate myself far exceeds my talent deficit 🤣 As with most things, the more you play the easier it gets. And, the better you get at working through mistakes, equipment failures, etc…