Well I finally bit the bullet and "booked" my first gig !!! (it's non-paying, but I still am taking it very seriously). I was going to wait to start gigging until after I retire, 15-20 yrs from now, due to having a day job and a family.

However, after talking to Allen White and hearing how he wants to start performing some open mic's, coffee houses, well I figured life is short, besides some important people in my life have been asking to hear me play and you never know how much longer they may be around. So thank you Allen for getting me out of the practice room. Consider yourself an inspiring person.

This is a solo gig at a family reunion, outside, on the banks of the Mississippi river this summer. I will be using a BOSE tower PAS system for PA and guitar amp. I have not decided which guitar to use, although right now the D1A is the front runner.

I am looking for recommendations from this august body of guitar pickers and singers on the following: What has worked for you, what did not go over so well. To be more specific...

My current list consists of 70% singing + playing songs and about 30 % straight up instrumental songs.

1. What song do you start your gig with ? why did you choose that type of song ? was it your strongest song ?

2. How do you disperse the more up-tempo songs with the mellower arrangements ?

3. If you cover say 2-3 songs by the same artist, do you recommend playing them in sequence or do you mix them up within the set ?

4. If one does a few all-instrumental songs, where would you place these within the set list ? all at once ? or mix them up within the set ? Right now I have about 5 instrumentals planned.

5. How many songs total do you normally do ? Right now I am downselecting from a list of 20-25, and concentrating getting 15 or so down cold. When I get those songs on "auto-pilot", I will add to the list. I am thinking about an hour of playing and talking with a break in between would be just right.


6. How many songs do you play before taking a break ? assuming the fingers have not turned to hamburger, in other words, at what point should you give the audience a break ?


Would appreciate any advice/personal experience/lessons learned etc.,

Thanks in advance:
Randy Bauer

1. We start our gigs with mellow, slower tempo songs. Sometimes the bar/restaurant/brew pubs still have a dinner crowd so we start slow. Not a bad idea to start with a song everyone knows (if you do covers). Ocasionally, we start with Here Comes the Sun, a real crowd-pleaser, though up-tempo.
2. Generally, we do three sets of 16-17 songs and we'll build to the louder, more up-tempo songs as the set progresses. We may end the set with something mellow or a slow blues after mentioning that it is the last song of the set.
3. I would separate songs by the same artist IMHO.
4. I'd start or end a set with the instrumentals, but, on the other hand, since you are the only singer(?), you may want to give your voice a break mid-set.
5/6. We play for about an hour with 15 minute breaks. Typically, we have some patrons paying close attention and some chatting and thinking of us as "music in the background". Most of these two groups wouldn't care if we never took a break. But hey, we find it hard to properly consume the required amount of free alcohol unless we take breaks! Regarding auto-pilot, I have always kept lyric sheets on my monitor illuminated by a small LED light. This allows me to play a song I learned yesterday without fear of embarassment.

The Dread is the logical choice but don't limit yourself to one. I take two or three guitars to every gig. You just have to think ahead so the switch is quick. I play a '34 National Style O on a half-dozen songs. I have to plan sets so the open tuning songs are in D or G so I'm not tuning mid-set. With all the preparation I do, there really is nothing like the time we are finally playing for people and getting positive feedback. Things will go well with your gig and then you are hooked, my friend. Have fun!

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Randy Carone,

Congratulations on your gig. Whether it's your first or 100th, paying or not, you should take it seriously but have fun though. Here are my $.02 comments.

1. I always start with a mid-tempo song, popular or not so popular. I don't like starting with a slower one. It would not be my "strongest" song(s). I spread those out through the sets.
2. I religously make a set list ahead of time and mix up the tempos. The only things that forces me to group songs together might be something like a Drop-D tuning or playing another guitar (like a nylon string). That way, I don't do too much tuning or guitar changes.
3. I usually spread the songs of an artist except for Beatles tunes since I have a bunch of them. Last Sunday, I decided to make every other song a Beatle song. That actually worked great.
4. I have more instrumentals than vocals and I insert those in the middle but spread out.
5. How many songs? It depends on how long you're playing. For a two hour gig, I prepare at least 30 and then have a few backups. Sometimes I take a 5 minute break at the top of the hour and sometimes not. If I'm feeling great, I keep going (that's why I have extra songs). I also need them because I don't talk much. Also, when I take a break, I play a few songs on my iPod (through my amp or the P.A.) so there is no weird "silent" period while I'm on break.

To me, the anticipationand preparation for a gig is almost as fun as the playing itself (call me weird). I also adjust my set list(s) based on who the audience might be. Nice if you have that luxury, if not then just play everything you've got and the audience will love them anyway.

The key is enjoy. Don't be shy and like Chet always said: "Play it like you mean it!"". Don't forget to smile!

Ace
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Kuger
congrats to you, for my self there is nothing better than playing for people
& I hope this will be your experiance I front a 4 piece Bluegrass band & it
has been said I have no shame in front of a crowd , but hey they seem to like it, there are many guys on this forum that know all the tech side of performing, set list etc. so I will add what I know best make it very apparent that you are having the time of your life that is infectious & you will win them over everytime if you succeed at having fun
where in Ohio are you, we are in N.E.Ohio Stark cty.
good luck Fred

Congratulations on your first gig! As usual, great advises from everyone!

I performed once in public so I probably can’t give you a lot of advices, but I guess I can share my “first gig” experience with you.

I actually planned my first performance in my wedding last year (am I brave or not!) but I was too drunk and it was totally forgotten during the night . But a couple weeks after our honeymoon, we invited all our friends who helped out in our wedding to our new home for a party, and I perform approx. 12 songs to them during the party while we are waiting for the food to be served. (Probably all that I can play fluently) I think it is a good idea to only play the songs you are very familiar with, never try new stuff during your first gig!

I was a bit shy and nervous at first but I managed to play though the songs without making lots of mistakes. I played a couple Beatles tunes (Yesterday and Here, there and everywhere) to start with because they are more familiar with the melodies and probably easier for them to recognize what I am playing. I then play some fingerstyle tunes and ended with a few acoustic Blues tunes, which they have no clue what it is all about but find it interesting still.

The good thing is, you'll receive a lot of support from family and friends during the show, my friends actually start filming me play with their mobile so that he can show it to their gf/bf. What an encouragement!

First of all, thank you everyone for taking time to offer your great advice. I appreciate it. This will help me lay out the set list.

My goal is to have fun. I think the audience will too !!.

Fasthand - I live in SW Ohio - Cincinnati, but do on occasion travel through Stark County on the way to Mich.

Kuger
I think you will do well, hey I got my D-1A down your way from Dennis Vance @ The Mandolin Store in Washington Court House, Ohio great guy, becoming quite the well stocked Collings
dealer best in our area IMO, Hey we will be down in St.Marys W.Va. June 9th for an outdor show ( Bluegrass 409 , we have a few rough videos on youtube )
Well anyhow good luck to you, you will have to let us know how your gig goes
Fred

Fasthand - yes I have been to The Mandolin Store a few times. He moved to a new location north of town, which is really nice, and yes he has started to stock quite a few Collings. I remember one particular OM-2H cutaway that was really sweet sounding. I left before my VISA card started to twitch.

Enjoyed your band's videos on You Tube, the D1A really looks great and cuts through real nice.

Regards

Kuger
thank you for the kind comments
I new, Dennis had moved I need to get down to
see him again , but when I mention it my wife starts to twitch , he has a Collings mandolin
( natural F ) that would look good on our mandolin player , & yes my D-1A does cut through well, the boys threaten to stuff a towel in the sound hole
well have a good day friend
Fred

Rule One: know your audience. Rule Two: know enough songs that you can adjust to rule one. Don't try to force Joni Mitchell on a blue collar beer crowd. Won't fly. A family gathering, assuming it includes children, means, to me, mostly uptempo, positive material. Masters of War is not a good choice, though it's a great song. Don't be afraid to include singalong songs; we recently reinserted This Land is Your Land after not playing it publically for maybe 25 years, and the crowds go crazy for it. Rule three: they want to like you. Relax, and let 'em.

Sonoman - great advice, the idea of a sing-along is a good one. I might go one step further and invite a member of the audience join me at the mic, perhaps on Ring of Fire by Johnny Cash.

I know the audience quite well. uncles, aunts, cousins, siblings etc., The advice on not imposing songs that may not fit with the audience did not occur to me. I will go over the current list and see what might not fit. So far I think there is a wide variety with Nickel Creek, Jim Groce, Pink Floyd, Eagles, Beatles, Jackson Browne, Gordon Lightfoot, Ray Charles to name some.

Randy Carone - The idea of a 2nd guitar is a good one. The gig is 800 miles away so the P/A, guitar are part of the family's luggage. It will be tough to bring a another guitar due to luggage capacity, but I would sleep better knowing I brought a spare guitar. Plus I can definitely see how having the 2nd guitar in a separate tuning. Today, I noticed that coming out of DADGAD, I had to readjust the tuning more than once going back to standard.

Eiko - I like the idea of an Ipod playing during breaks.

Keep the advice coming, this is really helpful. And thanks again.

Another item a great singer at work mentioned to me was to video tape myself during rehearsal; pay attention to diction when singing the words. She is an outstanding opera style/soprano singer.

I plan to start rehearsing outside on the back deck with the actual setup about a month before the gig just to get used to the playing environment. The neighbors might start complaining, but I doubt it. It beats listening to barking dogs all day.

Sorry for the lack of brevity, I am getting pretty stoked about the whole thing.

Later,

There is a rush you get from playing for an audience you never get playing alone. You get energy back, and enthusiasm, and, when it goes well, it's about as much fun as you can have with your clothes on, as the old saying goes.