Rule #1: be a professional and be cool. We play gigs because we love music and love playing live. So, be prepared and be capable of rolling with any changes that will occur. We've played so many venues where the staff (owners, bartenders, sound operators, bouncers) have said something like "... we had [insert name of band] the other night and they were SUCH A BUNCH OF #$&^% to deal with...". Your reputation will precede you. When in doubt, refer to Wheaton's Law: don't be a d*ck.
1. What's your band's process for set up?
Load in the gear and move everything into place onstage. Before we do anything with final setup / wiring up the amps, we move all of the empty cases from the stage; this makes it a lot easier for everyone to move around. Wire up everything, do a quick functionality test, and then get the heck out of the way. The sound crew will need to place mic stands / mics, and run cables, so make space for them. If you're willing (and knowledgeable), offer to help run cables or place mics.
At some point along this process, you should have encountered the house PA engineer (if they have one). Hand them a printed copy of your stage plot and input list. You have one, of course, right? See attached for simple example. Send this to the club in advance too. They'll probably lose it, which is why you brought along a printed copy. Also also: give the sound engineer a set list, even if you're doing all originals. Annotate that set list with anything that might help them, such as "sax solo" or "I switch to my acoustic guitar on this one".
2. How long before showtime do you get there?
As a general rule, the timing looks like this:
3 hours before showtime: arrive, load in, set up, make sure things are working, start with line checks from all inputs, then do full band soundcheck
2 hours before showtime: soundcheck is over and it's time for food! Leave yourself enough time to eat before a gig, either bringing something along, or making a quick run to somewhere nearby. If the venue has food, that's great too. They'll likely appreciate the business.
30 minutes before showtime: all band members and crew check in at the Green Room. Even if you don't have a formal "Green Room", decide where you'll all report in, perhaps at a table or something. Leave yourself this cushion of time so that you can relax, warm up, change clothes, and most importantly, relieve any anxiety about "where the heck is that one guy in the band!?".
3. How do you run soundchecks? Full song, then adjust and replay it again? Just part of a song and then stop to adjust and play another part?
Our sound checks are usually 20 minutes, but we might run to 30 if we're focusing on something.
Once all the line checks are completed, we start with something that is a fun energetic song. We just do the first verse and chorus, then immediately stop. Anyone wanting an adjustment asks for what they need, and then we re-run that same song, doing just the first verse and chorus. Usually by that point we have a decent stage mix going and can proceed.
We pick songs that represent the breadth of our set list. So each lead vocalist gets one, and we run anything with complex sections. If there are any new songs, or songs where we seem to have rough spots, we might run them.
4. What do you do to warm up pre-show. I always feel self-conscious noodling pre-show? Any of you throw on some headphones and warm up so no one else can hear?
Two answer for this question...
Once my rig is up and running, I grab a guitar and find somewhere out of the way to warm up. I don't need my amp or effects for this, so I just run scales or parts of songs to get prepared for soundcheck. Getting off the stage is helpful for everyone who is still setting up, and most people find noodling annoying, so avoid doing that unless you are fixing a patch or something. If you need to hear yourself when warming up, bring along headphones.
In the 30 minutes pre-show, I once again find somewhere quiet and do some warming up on a few songs. Just enough to feel comfortable and in the zone. For the last ten minutes before we hit the stage, the band is together in the Green Room. Any last-minute bathroom breaks should be taken care of by this point. That last ten minutes is just for the musicians, and no one else is allowed in the Green Room unless there is some kind of emergency. Those minutes aren't structured as any sort of Zen exercise... they're usually filled with goofy humor and talking about whatever weird TV shows we're watching. It's just because we want a few minutes to get focused on the moment.
5. For those w/ powered speakers to FOH, do you use the speaker's built in DSP for bass, mid, treble or leave it flat? Do you aim for a particular volume (at a particular distance)? When do you decide it's better to adjust the speaker's volume vs adjusting at the mixer?
I just send a flat signal to FOH. Stage volume is important, and we try to keep our volume level under control. The objective is that you can have a normal-volume conversation with a bandmate onstage without yelling. It's tempting (and fun!) to play loud, but we all know it's ultimately a losing proposition; it's bad for our ears, and it makes the FOH engineer's job harder if the stage volume is super loud. My FRFR usually sits behind me onstage, and once we've set our stage volume during soundcheck, I almost never change it during a show. I have a preset for each song, and they are all volume-leveled across all their scenes, and across all presets. So if I need a solo boost, it's already set in that scene. It takes some repeated runs at practice to finalize those settings. I don't even have a volume pedal onstage. My MIDI control board does have the ability to invoke the AxeFX "boost/cut and save" functions, but it's on a sub-page and I rarely invoke it. I put in the work ahead of the gig to free myself during gigs, so that I can just focus on playing (and making a futile attempt to look cool, which is also a losing proposition).
At this point, most audio engineers have encountered modeling systems for guitar, so they have some idea of what to do with that signal. I just tell them I'm sending them one or two XLR feeds, and that I've already added effects / ambience / equalization to my own taste, but they are the house engineer, and they should make any necessary adjustments at the board to build a good mix. I always ask them after the show if they had to make any changes (especially EQ) at the board; sometimes those are necessary to overcome peculiarities in a specific room, but it could also be that my tone sometimes is muddy or harsh in the context of the entire mix. Ask for feedback from the mixing engineer.
6. How long of an intermission do you take?
15-20 minutes max. If we're doing a three-plus hour show, we will always take one. It gives the musicians a bio-break, and gives the venue a revenue boost because people usually instinctively head for the bar during a set break. Pro tip: if the band is going to want drinks during the break, pre-order them and pre-pay for them from the bartender, and give them a heads-up on when you will want them. If they can bring them to your Green Room, all the better, but even of they just have them waiting for you at the bar, you won't spend your break in line waiting for a beer.
For a show that's less than three hours, we might take a break if it makes sense. People do tend to leave during breaks at bar gigs, so that's a consideration. I usually ask the manager or bartender whether it's better for them if take a break; in many cases, they have a bar rush at that point and it's a good thing for the venue. The other thing to find out is when they will do last call; that way you can announce it from the stage so people can get in their drink orders. Keep the venue happy and they'll have you back. Have your poop in a group. Show up ready. Be easy to work with. Be appreciative of the staff. Start on time and rock hard. Don't leave a mess behind. At all times, obey Wheaton's Law. Also also also: make sure to remember that young version of yourself, who dreamed of being onstage playing in a band, and give yourself a pat on the back for being that kid's hero.
