For most beginning bands getting and playing as many gigs as possible is one of the main goals. Playing a good show can do wonders for your promotion, but a bad show won't bring you any new fans. This article shows you 9 mistakes you shouldn't make when you have a gig, improving your chances at a great show.


1. Playing too soon

Everyone has been to at least one show where you thought, “I wish the band had practiced a bit more”. Some bands are in such a hurry to get to playing live, they forget one of the most important things about playing live: having a good set.

You shouldn't play live if you don't have enough songs. A rule of thumb is to have at least 10 songs or between 30 and 45 minutes of music. Before performing you should know these 10 songs thoroughly: don't include songs you're not sure you can't play without errors just to make your set longer.


2. Not enough technical preparation

Besides the musical preparation, you should also be prepared for technically. Make sure you know what equipment the venue has available, and what you need to bring yourselves.

"Does anyone have a b-string left?"

Guitar strings break. If possible have a (tuned) spare guitar ready, but at least have some spare strings.


3. Too long pauses between songs

You don't want to your audience to fall asleep, so make sure your set is as continuous as possible. Nothing is as deadly for an excited audience as long pauses during a show, because all guitar players tune their guitars between every song, and the drummer needs to rearrange his drum kit. Keep the amount of tuning to a minimum. Try to perform your songs in blocks of 2, 3 songs at the time, for taking a short break to tune.

Switching between the standard tuning and drop D tuning after each song takes too much time: If you have a lot of songs in different tunings, try to either have one guitar ready for each tuning, or play songs in a different tuning directly after each other.


4. Tuning with sound audible

For the guitar players: If you have some spare cash, buy yourself a pedal tuner. That way your audience doesn't have to listen to the sounds of you tuning your guitar. A small investment for looking a lot more professional.


5. Talking too much / too little

People come to rock shows for music, not for speeches. Don't bore your audience with long-winded explanations about each songs or your complete band history. Keep those for your liner notes. On the other hand, just walking on stage, performing your songs back to back, without even acknowledging there's an audience isn't too smart either. After your gig the audience should at least know who you are, and where to find your website.

When talking between songs, try to pay attention to where you are and who your audience is. Try to avoid clichés. For example, I've seen too much bands trying to be cool by talking about smoking pot at concerts in Amsterdam: I live there, I know you can smoke legally here. I'm sure every city has its own cliché people get tired of hearing at every other show.


6. Acting like it's just another rehearsal


I've been to too many shows where band members show up in their regular boring everyday clothes, standing on the stage without moving more than necessary and ignoring the fact that there is an audience.

It isn't called a show for nothing! Give the people something watch, besides your music. Otherwise they could just put on your cd and stay home. Dress up a bit. Move around the stage, if you ain't sweating when you're done, you're doing it wrong!


7. Complaining during the show

The sound man won't be excited to fix your monitor sound, if you bitch loudly about your (lack of) sound. Try to catch his attention without letting the whole world know what the problem is.

This applies to other problems also. Disappointed in the low turnout? Don't complain to the people who DID show up.


8. Don't hide backstage

This one is aimed at starting bands playing local venues. Don't spend the entire night hiding backstage, especially during the shows of other bands who play the same evening. Support the other bands by watching their performance!


9. Being too drunk/stoned/high

Yeah, yeah, we know, you're a rockstar. Well, the best way to act like a real rockstar is by rocking as hard as possible, and giving the audience a great show. Living in Amsterdam I've seen a bit too much wannabe rockstars messing up their show by being stoned out of their minds. Of course, too many bands seem to play only for the free beers they get. Sure, drinking is fun, but try to do it after your show, not before.


The main point of this article? If you want to be treated like a professional musician? Act like one!