playing the biggest show of my life in 3 weeks aprox. 6-7000ppl any advice?

Have fun. Stay loose. Don't obsess beforehand.

I can do the alcohol thing within reason or not do it at all. For a big show like that? I'd go no alcohol. When I do, I'm a shot of jack and a beer before I play guy - be it at festival, bar, club, casino. When I do a P&W (*No alcohol!) gig... green tea, no sugar. Or just water. No big deal either way.

The key is to have redundant backups to your gear and then just go have fun. I like the bigger shows like that because the sound guys are pro's, you have a real soundcheck, you normally have a green room backstage. It's just easier.

Overall - just have fun. We play guitar, we don't 'work' guitar. ;)
 
In case you plan to shart, wear dark trousers :mrgreen

shart.jpg
 
You know the old adage... "just visualize everyone is in there underwear"... hmmm-ya... that doesn't work... Wear some sunglasses and just don't look up for a couple/few songs. Things'll settle in after that. Then have some fun! :encouragement:
 
Use no more than 3 or 4 presets if possible. The less you have to think about "how" to get your sound the better.

And remember that unless you are the lead singer or soloing, not that high of a percentage of the audience will be focused on you. Relax, look around at the crowd, make eye contact with someone who is smiling and enjoy.
 
Have a backup guitar, backup rig (small pod can do it), backup cables (be shure to have your cables for guitar and amp) and also cables for the Foh (they always have, but better have your own quality cables). A snake also helps to patch things up between your rig and the Foh.
Have backup picks at hand. Change strings a couple days before the gig (new strings sound too bright and might mess with your faithful patches). Have a couple towels to clean the guitars/hands between songs. Have some water nearby, being parched while you play sucks.
Keep your presets to a minimum and given the chance, try them on the soundcheck.
Maybe 4, 5 presets tops! That way you can make shure you'll get a decent clean, a good crunch and two alternatives for leads (have different EQs, since one might cut through the mix in a live situation, and the other might get lost)
Look at the crowd! Bang your head to the rhythm, smile! And always enjoy and give an ocassional glimpse and smile at your bandmates (making shure they are having a good time as well).
 
Oh its always good to inventory what u take to the gig, that way when you finish you know what to take and what to leave. Like if you take 10 cables, remember 10 and not how many where you using at that time.
Oh and Mr Cantrell's advice! Always!
 
Ideally have a spare Axe-FX II. I currently have a pact with a friend where if he goes on tour he gets to borrow mine as a back up.

If you can't get a spare AF2, find something that can dep for it in a squeeze.

Good luck.

Edit: Have you submitted your technical rider yet?
 
My rider consists of Prawn Cocktail Crisps and Whittard's English Breakfast and Cravendale green top. I'm too rock and roll for you wanna be's ;)
 
These are just my opinions for when I was touring in the 90's

#1. You already got the gig, so obviously you got what they are looking for. Give them what they want, don't change by doing something else.
#2. Dial in your patches for yourself, and your band, for on stage, the FOH is going to remix it anyways especially on bigger systems.
#3. Have a backup rig of some kind and at least one backup guitar. I used 3 axe's in 3 tunings for instance and had a backup for each.
#4. Be open, take advice from the event "roadies" as they do it for a living, and know what they are talking about. Remember these are the guys that actually do all the work. we just perform, they make us shine.
#5. I'd recommend renting a wireless if it's a big stage and you like to move around, if you're more a stationary player, then a standard cable should do fine.
#6. finally, you are the opening act. Plug the headliner at least 2x and do what you can to work the crowd FOR THEM, this will earn you more respect with the organizer and event staff and get you re-booked. At the sametime, plug your own band's name frequently, so people remember you!

Good Luck and have fun!
 
any advice?
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99% of my Ax problems live, were fixed with either a REBOOT of the axe OR global eq. Remember breathe, smile, and enjoy. The audience cannot have a good time if you don't.
 
Severed said:
These are just my opinions for when I was touring in the 90's
#5. I'd recommend renting a wireless if it's a big stage and you like to move around, if you're more a stationary player, then a standard cable should do fine.
Good Luck and have fun!
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Im trying to get a wireless ! im sure it would be more fun for the crowd to watch then just me standing there
 
Here's what I do:

Don't eat a huge meal. Eat something healthy... I usually hit a salad bar a couple hours beforehand.

Take a crap.

Warm up.

For really big gigs where I am super nervous, I like to go out to my car about 15 minutes before we go in stage and just scream. Let's me work out the nerves and calms me way down.

Relax when you're on stage. You're prepared, you've practiced, you're ready to rock, so enjoy!
 
It's funny how you mention screaming, because I do the exact opposite. I find a quiet corner and listen to some cinematic film score or something to chill me out, like Moby.

I might try screaming next time. Maybe getting pumped before the show is the right idea.
 
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