This topic is all about playing live on stage, doing gigs, traveling and everything that goes with it. Please let me know of your experiences, and if you need some advices regarding about anything that concerns live shows.

well always when i get on the stage i get nervouss, due to that i have such high standards, if i play one note incorrectly then i will disgrace myself and just wanna pick down the guitar and leave the stage.

It´s so annoying when you´ve practice something in a whole week and when it come´s do business you fail and make it sound like crap.

Got any tips?

My tip is don't worry! I make mistakes all the time on stage, sometimes they are big and sometimes they are small. You don't have to play everything perfectly, just play from your hearth and it would sound like you. The audience doesn't know when you make a mistake, except if it's a big one, like missing a chord by a halfdegree (i do that all the time), but even then nobody seems to care that much (except for my bassplayer ) .

So the point is everybody makes mistakes, and there is no thing like a perfect playing. You play what you play, if you make mistakes, that that is you. Off course it goes without saying that you have to practice a lot before you go on stage, but try not to practice a lot the day you go on stage or even the day before. SLow down a little, take a break, and on the stage you will shine.

ok thanx

No problem, glad to help in any way!

Mistakes are good on stage because a good musician will make it seem like nothing went wrong. We always mess up but we are so good at covering it up. Like if vocalist forgets words we will cut down the music to nothing and say to everybody come up help us to sing this next chorus etc. Always works well and makes you seem more professional. I get the opposite of nervousness on stage. I feel really giddy and happy and forget notes because I get lost in the experience.

Spot on! While playing live, experience is what counts. If the whole band has experience on stage than he can make a negative thing into a positive. For example if one don't have the sound, the others can make a steady groove. It is not cool for a drummer for example to do some crazy drumwork if something technically goes wrong. Instead it is much better to keep a steady groove while the other bandmates fix the problem and the signer is entertaining the audience.

kk, but something i've recognized is that my hand is constantly shaking when i'm on stage, so it's quite hard for me speedpicking and doing that sort of techniques, my fingers also gets paralyzed once in awhile especially when im doing something really fast - and this is so frustrated - you have practice 20 hours on a technique so you can flaunt it - but when you´re at stage you just make it into a piece of sh*t.

Although i guess it experience there too, right?

Well it is, but you kinda learn to live with that shaking really. After a while the shaking is the best part (sort of) believe me. If I don't sense any shaking at all, I think that a gig is not too good. I've done medium number of gigs for now ~50 gigs, and still feel the shake. Everybody feel a little nervous before gig, it is just a matter how you deal with it that's all.

My best advice to give you is to NOT practice 2 days before the gig and always know that playing live and at home is two entirely different matters. Don't have the same expectations about your playing home and on stage.

That nervous feeling keeps me much more focused on what I'm doing..It seems during shows that time for me slows down (or I think faster), so I can concentrate on what I'm playing..Also I got aware of this during pauses between songs , on stage they seemed very very long and when I got home and listened to recordings they were very small.. Its a weird feeling I have a completely opposite opinion about practicing before gig..I like to practice the day before and even on the same day the stuff I am going to play on that gig..That way not only I go through the songs once more , but I get the secure feeling that I did my best to prepare for the show..And how I perform on stage than goes to another level , depending on my concentration and focus mainly...Some other factors too..
For me the key of playing precisely lies in ability to focus as much as you can on stage..As soon as I loose the focus, pay attention to some other things around me or something - I make mistakes..

I think people take some things a little to seriously. I have played about 40 live shows, and at first I was horrified. During my 6th show, I hit a wrong note during the solo. After the show I asked some people. First of all, they had never heard the song and they had little to musical experience, so I was worried for nothing, they did not even notice. I was still determined to not miss that note(or any other) during the solo, so I practiced... A LOT. To remove anxiety one must be comfortable with the material. So hit the keys alt + F4 and get back to practicing!

I think so too. People in the audience are familiar with the quality of the music in many different ways. Every individual perceives the show differently. There are of course some main things that a band should do, give a good and balanced performance, and make a good atmosphere on gigs. Band in whole is watched by the audience, and especially the singer, so there must be a balance in audible music quality on stage. But not always is this the case, actually quite often audience want even notice bass line in the song because it tends to hear voices and guitars more often. Also singer's voice is first in line, and if the singer is bad, not one, not 5 guitars can cover it, because audience listens to the singer MOST of the time. Also bass is helpless there because it is barely audible, so it can cover the lines in some degree, but not as near as guitar, and certainly not cover the singer's poor singing. I've played and seen a lot of gigs where people make mistakes and I don't think it is irrelevant but I do feel that many times the audience is not something that you can impress just by playing good and precise, but you need to play it from your soul and they will understand it, and even then it is not the rule. Sometimes maybe they just don't like the songs. Tough job music business

Individual bend members have to give out their best on the stage and leave the rest on audience to feel or not its energy...Of course its not the key for members to sit on chairs in order to play precise, but they should play their songs and present them in the best light they can.Bass guitar has the same job as drums - to keep the groove and they say you should not "hear" bass line rather "feel" one and when you see people bobbing heads and dancing you know its a good one and generally bass gets real loud on live shows due to PA systems (subs down, highs up) so its hell too when it starts making mistakes.Generally there are no bigger mistakes depending on instruments , they all should be in harmony together to produce that music..Singers and guitars are forward a little but that all depend on type of band..Of course I don't know a good band that has some "bad" members..I found out that audience may not even notice individual mistakes of band members and point their fingers , but they will definitely judge a whole bend on them..When someone makes a mistake they surly get the feeling that something is out of tune..Later on they will comment on that..Of course they are not listening for technique perfection or difficulty of songs rather just good balance - they want to hear songs as they know/remember them..They don't want to hear singer mixing up lyrics and similar things on other instruments..Of course I agree that everyone should play from heart..
What impresses audience...Good energy (showmanship,attitude) from stage + very good songs + a lot of unknown factors surly..But you never know what "audience" you are going to get

This may sound crazy but if you are old enough it is always good to have 1 pint before going on stage as it tends to stop the shaking and calms the nerves a little. Don't have more than 1 though as it is very unprofessional if you are drunk. But just get up there and lose yourself in the experience. Talk over the mic to the crowd and just have a laugh with them. They are there to see you and you should try and change that nervousness into excitement on stage of playing the songs.

Let the audience to be the judge! THat's the final comment!