Dep gig.... Advice required

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rsvmarkrsvmark Frets: 1373
Right so a mate of mine asked me to go and dep with his covers band. Yea, cool, no worries.

Set list? Check, no worries. Pretty much all new to me but no major dramas.

Can I go to a couple of rehearsals? No probs.

First one this evening and so far so good. A little polishing to do but no dramas.

Conversation turns to the gig and it turns out its for an audience of 4000 if the weather is good. I am now officially bricking it. We set up about 20 mins before start, no sound check other than strum a couple of chords and no clue about back line etc.

So can I ask for advice on rocking up, setting up, playing a festival, with unknown pa and sound engineer please. It's my biggest gig and I am used to a somewhat smaller approach!
An official Foo liked guitarist since 2024
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Comments

  • robinbowesrobinbowes Frets: 3021
    If you can play the songs OK, then that's half the battle.

    Regarding the PA/Engineer - you have to assume that they know what they're doing and that you'll be able to hear yourself and the rest of the band OK.

    To put your mind at rest, find out exactly what the situation is, ie. backline, etc.

    Sounds damned cool to me :)

    R.
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  • ESBlondeESBlonde Frets: 3576
    If it' a big stage I suggest putting all your drums backline etc. Close together so it feels more like you are used to. Try to contact engineer and tell him your setup and perhaps intended set list. Just have vocals in the wedge mix to start. 
    Treat it like a normal gig and it will be fine. 
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  • LestratcasterLestratcaster Frets: 1079
    Be on time and in tune. And don’t be a prick. That’s what I’ve always been told.
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  • Danny1969Danny1969 Frets: 10357

    You can never tell with these things till you get there. Could be huge PA and competent engineer but might be underpowered gear and everyone sharing one aux send. My advice is keep your setup simple ... make sure you can read your tuner in sunlight as a a lot of them aren't visable in sunlight. Make sure you take a small mains extension to power anything you might need up front like a pedal board. New stretched in strings, keys to songs stored in memory or written down. 

    I do a lot of festival stuff in the summer and prefer to use IEM's so I have a secret weapon on my board. I can control the level of my vocal and guitar and ambient level of things around me independently of the PA engineer. The design of this came about last summer when I did 4 festival gigs in one day all with bad monitoring 




    www.2020studios.co.uk 
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  • digitalscreamdigitalscream Frets: 26453
    The only thing you can affect is how you behave - so make sure that you communicate effectively with the sound engineer during your line check in order to be able to clearly hear yourself and any of the other instruments that you use for cues. If you don't have that, you're screwed (I discovered this for the first time at the O2 Academy in Birmingham, and it was properly embarrassing).

    Other than that, just treat it like you would a small pub gig, except that you have enough room to be sure you're not dodging the bassist's headstock half the time, and it's unlikely that the singer's going to step on your pedalboard.
    <space for hire>
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  • rsvmarkrsvmark Frets: 1373
    Thanks all. Having worried about it today, I am planning to take all my own rig: 2 guitars with fresh but played in strings, head and cab and full board. Spare leads, avoid wireless (why take the risk) and several extension cables. I have never used IEM so will politely ask for a mix of drums, keys and vocals in the monitor for cues/rhythm. Spare pics in pocket, spares next to stage. Finally I am writing out some performance notes for each song on 1 page max per song- keys, chords, cues, fx settings, etc and pop these on an iPad close to hand. I reckon I won't need to read the charts but maybe as an aide memoir and comfort blanket!

    reminder to self- don't forget to breathe!
    An official Foo liked guitarist since 2024
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  • CabicularCabicular Frets: 2214
    And try to enjoy it
    big crowds are much easier to deal with IME

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  • rsvmarkrsvmark Frets: 1373
    Cabicular said:
    And try to enjoy it
    big crowds are much easier to deal with IME

    Forgot that bit!
    An official Foo liked guitarist since 2024
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  • vizviz Frets: 10645
    edited May 2018
    Ask a friend to video it from the back

    Oh and if you can take some pics of the crowd from the stage!
    Roland said: Scales are primarily a tool for categorising knowledge, not a rule for what can or cannot be played.
    Supportact said: [my style is] probably more an accumulation of limitations and bad habits than a 'style'.
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  • rsvmarkrsvmark Frets: 1373
    Update: we are now headlining as they pulled out. Gulp! (Can't wait)
    An official Foo liked guitarist since 2024
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  • Make sure you can read the iPad in sunlight!
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  • ICBMICBM Frets: 71959
    edited June 2018
    rsvmark said:

    avoid wireless (why take the risk)
    No - use the wireless. Firstly, outdoor stages are often bigger than you expect and you can easily run out of cable length (pedalboard to amp especially, so use your longest cable for that not the guitar - but then it can cause trouble if you have to go back to adjust your amp, guess how I know this :) ), and secondly a wireless keeps you safe from dodgy power supplies, generators etc.

    "Take these three items, some WD-40, a vise grip, and a roll of duct tape. Any man worth his salt can fix almost any problem with this stuff alone." - Walt Kowalski

    "Just because I don't care, doesn't mean I don't understand." - Homer Simpson

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  • ash96ash96 Frets: 61
    I've always found with this kinda stuff, the engineers are usually pretty capable, and if you give them clear guidance of what you want in monitors (eg. I'm stage right guitar, I'd like other guitarist, bit of kick/snare, tiny bit of bass, lead vocal and my vocal) they'll usually get it in the right ball park for you to play. They'll usually have a monitor guy side stage so dont be afraid to pop over and ask him for more stuff.

    And like the other say, its much better playing to a ton of people than playing to 10 for sure.
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  • bob21bob21 Frets: 170
    ICBM said:
    rsvmark said:

    avoid wireless (why take the risk)
    No - use the wireless. Firstly, outdoor stages are often bigger than you expect and you can easily run out of cable length (pedalboard to amp especially, so use your longest cable for that not the guitar - but then it can cause trouble if you have to go back to adjust your amp, guess how I know this :) ), and secondly a wireless keeps you safe from dodgy power supplies, generators etc.
    Sorry - I have to disagree here. As a general rule - Unless you have advanced with production that you are bringing wireless, and requested frequencies - don't use it.
    There will be a plan for frequencies on site - and if there are multiple stages, this can be quite complex. It's not cricket to come along with a system and potentially interfere with other stuff on site.

    In this case, it probably won't be on your advance as you're a dep - and it sounds like it might be a smaller affair - take enough cable to do without, take the wireless and ask when you get there nice and early (be prepared for a no..!)..
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  • digitalscreamdigitalscream Frets: 26453
    bob21 said:
    ICBM said:
    rsvmark said:

    avoid wireless (why take the risk)
    No - use the wireless. Firstly, outdoor stages are often bigger than you expect and you can easily run out of cable length (pedalboard to amp especially, so use your longest cable for that not the guitar - but then it can cause trouble if you have to go back to adjust your amp, guess how I know this :) ), and secondly a wireless keeps you safe from dodgy power supplies, generators etc.
    Sorry - I have to disagree here. As a general rule - Unless you have advanced with production that you are bringing wireless, and requested frequencies - don't use it.
    There will be a plan for frequencies on site - and if there are multiple stages, this can be quite complex. It's not cricket to come along with a system and potentially interfere with other stuff on site.

    In this case, it probably won't be on your advance as you're a dep - and it sounds like it might be a smaller affair - take enough cable to do without, take the wireless and ask when you get there nice and early (be prepared for a no..!)..
    Pretty much irrelevant for modern 2.4GHz systems.
    <space for hire>
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  • valevale Frets: 1052
    big gigs are like trench warfare. a grim to-do, but made easier when you can't see the whites of their eyes.
    hofner hussie & hayman harpie. what she said...
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  • rsvmarkrsvmark Frets: 1373
    Thanks for all the advice all. I will take the wireless on safety grounds but have looooooong cable just in case. Final rehersal tomorrow night. Couple of easy ones added so am now looking forward to it. H9 programmed, performance notes loaded, guitars re strung so ready to go!
    An official Foo liked guitarist since 2024
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  • mr-macmr-mac Frets: 200
    Enjoy!!
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  • Phil_aka_PipPhil_aka_Pip Frets: 9794
    Are the band going to give the soundcrew a stage plan with a list of things the need micing or DIing? Can you talk to the soundcrew or even buy them a drink/give them a bottle of beer first?

    Could be a gas! Hope it works out for you :)
    "Working" software has only unobserved bugs. (Parroty Error: Pieces of Nine! Pieces of Nine!)
    Seriously: If you value it, take/fetch it yourself
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  • not_the_djnot_the_dj Frets: 7306
    We played a summer festival on Saturday, multi band line-up with a stage (aka lorry trailer) with resident sound engineer.

    30mins change over between bands, so we were there ready when the band before us went on. So we pre-built the drum kit and got ready. At change over time the guitarist in the last band lugged his amps off stage and I got mine up there....only to discover that the sound engineer just wanted to use a DI box of some sort straight from the guitars or pedal board, so not mic'ing up the amps. That meant every amp brought along were literally just stage dressing. Lucky I use my pedal board for various sounds, and the feed I was getting through my monitors sounded fine, although when I turned off my OD pedal (a Thorpy Gunshot) the clean sound was pretty flat, as usually that's my amp running clean.

    Still I don't think the punters enjoying a day in the sun were that bothered, and it was great fun.

    Only issues we had were a last minute change over of set as the band on before us played a couple of tracks we'd planned to....but then I think we did that with the band on after us as well!
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