First gig

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First gig

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julianev

Posts: 78
Joined: Apr. 13 2015

First gig

Last night I did my first ever flamenco gig - it was extreme fear levels in the run-up to the event, but an amazing buzz on the night and into today for having got the first one in the bag! Some things I wish I knew a week ago:

1. Your ability to wing it musically is reset to zero when you start learning flamenco.

2. Compared to other styles of music e.g. playing in a band, there is nowhere to hide. That means you need the musical equivalent of emergency slip roads at the high risk/most challenging points to manage the situation non-catastrophically if it starts going wrong.

3. As long as you don't break compas, you've got a good chance of being able to steer back on track and getting away with it in terms of the audience noticing.

4. Correct dosage with alcohol is critical :-). We did a sober rehearsal Thursday which was a sausage-fingered nightmare: the pending apprehension pretty much killed my ability to play. A few drinks on the big night, and the fluidity mostly returned (thank God!)

5. Now the first one is in the bag, nothing will be that scary again!

Anyone got anything else to add to that list for those new to playing out?

REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Jan. 31 2016 22:45:49

Andy Culpepper

Posts: 3023
Joined: Mar. 30 2009
From: NY, USA

RE: First gig (in reply to julianev)

Congratulations! Were you playing solo or accompanying?
The nice thing about solo is that it's not that big of a deal if you lose compás/tempo a little bit, and the nice thing about accompanying is it's less intricate and easier to get warmed up.
I will completely agree about correct dosage of alcohol. For me it's about 1 drink an hour. Any less and I'm nervous/stiff, any more and I just start forgetting stuff

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Andy Culpepper, luthier
http://www.andyculpepper.com

REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Jan. 31 2016 23:36:40

Leñador

Posts: 5237
Joined: Jun. 8 2012
From: Los Angeles

RE: First gig (in reply to julianev)

Good stuff!
My expierience in flamenco was very similar.
I prefer accompaniment, I get my 40 seconds or so of spotlight and can mostly just hang back and jam. Though I've only done 8-10 shows and basically always just student dancers so take it for what its worth.
I've talked about this before, right alcohol dosage is key. For me 2-3 strong beers, then I'm in the zone. After a few shows I got over confident and drank too much and it was a disaster lol.

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REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Jan. 31 2016 23:49:40

Sr. Martins

Posts: 3077
Joined: Apr. 4 2011

RE: First gig (in reply to Leñador)

quote:

After a few shows I got over confident and drank too much and it was a disaster lol.

You got Kerry Kinged

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"Ya no me conoce el sol, porque yo duermo de dia"

REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Feb. 1 2016 2:39:57

estebanana

Posts: 9351
Joined: Oct. 16 2009

RE: First gig (in reply to julianev)

It's funny how all the the ideas in a rehearsal cease to be cerebral or practice and then doing them in front of people makes them real.
Congrats many more to you.

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REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Feb. 1 2016 6:01:19

julianev

Posts: 78
Joined: Apr. 13 2015

RE: First gig (in reply to Andy Culpepper)

Thanks a lot Andy! We did the gig as a duo: guitar plus guitar or cahon. We're also sometimes joined by my 14yr old nephew, but he's recently had exams and my sister put a hold on him coming to rehearsals. I'm taking him to see Vincent Amigo in a couple of weeks to make up for it :-)

REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Feb. 1 2016 9:00:16

julianev

Posts: 78
Joined: Apr. 13 2015

RE: First gig (in reply to estebanana)

Thanks a lot guys. Yes the alcohol dosage is an interesting one. I previously played blues and jazz, and I used to think that if I could play something in an advanced state of inebriation then that showed I had fully internalised it and it was in the 'flow zone' rather than still requiring conscious mental toil. I love that aspect of the flamenco spirit, i.e. of the party in full swing in the backroom of a bar in the early hours of the morning and everyone going for it. However the technical demands seem so much greater that I'm not sure how realistically achievable that level of playing might ever be!

REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Feb. 1 2016 9:47:13

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REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Feb. 5 2016 4:58:14

mt1007

Posts: 162
Joined: Jan. 19 2011

RE: First gig (in reply to julianev)

Good job on your first gig. Now that you got that out of the way, the rest will be somewhat the same hahahaha.

I like having a couple of drinks before hitting the stage, but I'm trying to not drink before doing a show. Not because I don't like to drink but just to be able to prove to myself that I don’t need that liquid courage.

Some shows will be great some not so great, I’ve done shows where I’ve practiced and done a lot of prep work and things don’t come out the way I planned, others where I haven’t practiced in a week or two and my colegas all congratulate and tell me how I’m playing so much better, go figure… Either way suerte!

REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Feb. 5 2016 15:58:49

Mark2

Posts: 1871
Joined: Jul. 12 2004
From: San Francisco

RE: First gig (in reply to julianev)

Congrats on your first gig playing flamenco.

1. you are correct IMO and same for 2.
When you play in a cuadro, or play in a "flamenco group" it's more like playing in a group doing jazz or whatever.
3. flamencos are focused on compas, and losing it will ruin a performance, but non aficionado audiences might be more likely to notice flubbed notes than adding two or three extra beats in bulerias.
4. Personal choice, but for me none is usually the right amount. For me what has worked the best was the knowledge that I had a command of what I planned on doing. Uncertainty of my ability to execute, along with better players in the audience, is what caused the most stress for me.
5. Not necessarily. Repetition does lead to comfort, but there is always the chance that you will take a gig that puts you way outside your comfort zone, and that could easily be more challenging than your first gig. My first solo gig was a huge mental challenge, but when I look back at almost forty years of doing gigs, that one doesn't come close to the scariest.
For me anyway.

I can add that having your gear sorted is very important for newbies to gigging. Having strings broken in and stretched, but not old, is huge.
Any mics, cables, amps you need to deal with should be tested before and ready to go. Having extra strings, cables, extension cords, etc, could save you from panic when something goes wrong.
Also consider if the chair you are going to have made available is suitable. You could show up to a gig and they only have a tall stool, which might be fine if you are used to playing while sitting in one, but it could also be a huge pain if you are not.

quote:

ORIGINAL: julianev

Last night I did my first ever flamenco gig - it was extreme fear levels in the run-up to the event, but an amazing buzz on the night and into today for having got the first one in the bag! Some things I wish I knew a week ago:

1. Your ability to wing it musically is reset to zero when you start learning flamenco.

2. Compared to other styles of music e.g. playing in a band, there is nowhere to hide. That means you need the musical equivalent of emergency slip roads at the high risk/most challenging points to manage the situation non-catastrophically if it starts going wrong.

3. As long as you don't break compas, you've got a good chance of being able to steer back on track and getting away with it in terms of the audience noticing.

4. Correct dosage with alcohol is critical :-). We did a sober rehearsal Thursday which was a sausage-fingered nightmare: the pending apprehension pretty much killed my ability to play. A few drinks on the big night, and the fluidity mostly returned (thank God!)

5. Now the first one is in the bag, nothing will be that scary again!

Anyone got anything else to add to that list for those new to playing out?

REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Feb. 5 2016 17:35:38

julianev

Posts: 78
Joined: Apr. 13 2015

RE: First gig (in reply to Mark2)

Thanks Mark.

quote:

Personal choice, but for me none is usually the right amount.

Do you try any other techniques to disperse the apprehension (breathing techniques or similar)? For me it seems almost like a physiological constraint - once the adrenaline kicks in, I lose my dexterity...

quote:

Uncertainty of my ability to execute, along with better players in the audience, is what caused the most stress for me.

Funnily enough we had a quick review of how the gig went and where we most need to focus on improving at the start of our rehearsal this week. The guy I play with said he wished he tried more some challenging falsetas as it wasn't nearly as bad he expected - nowhere near as scary as playing in front of Juan Martin and a room full of fantastic players at the start of one of his residential courses in Ronda.

quote:

Not necessarily. Repetition does lead to comfort, but there is always the chance that you will take a gig that puts you way outside your comfort zone

Point taken! However I now know that at least in some circumstances I have the ability to execute, whereas up until Saturday that was a very large questionmark

quote:

I can add that having your gear sorted is very important for newbies to gigging.

Thanks, you nailed a number of unexpected issues we had during set up! I was running a Bartlett mic into Trace Acoustic amp and had soundcheck problems with wobbly mic clip, seat position to avoid feedback, and overdoing the reverb initially (I ended up almost dry). Also it never occured to me that finding something to sit on without arm rests is not something to take for granted.

REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Feb. 5 2016 20:08:42

Mark2

Posts: 1871
Joined: Jul. 12 2004
From: San Francisco

RE: First gig (in reply to julianev)

Oh Yeah,
I've tried different things -drink, smoke, both, neither. But I've never meditated or tried breathing stuff. Performance anxiety is an issue for many, even some top players. Having the gear together, getting to the venue early, getting warmed up, having a good sound check, those things help. I think the biggest things though are simply experience performing and confidence in your preparation. If you do, for example, 50 club dates in a year, it's unlikely walking into a club is going to make you nervous. But take a year off, or walk into a theatre, and it could bring back all those challenges.

quote:

ORIGINAL: julianev

Thanks Mark.

quote:

Personal choice, but for me none is usually the right amount.

Do you try any other techniques to disperse the apprehension (breathing techniques or similar)? For me it seems almost like a physiological constraint - once the adrenaline kicks in, I lose my dexterity...

quote:

Uncertainty of my ability to execute, along with better players in the audience, is what caused the most stress for me.

Funnily enough we had a quick review of how the gig went and where we most need to focus on improving at the start of our rehearsal this week. The guy I play with said he wished he tried more some challenging falsetas as it wasn't nearly as bad he expected - nowhere near as scary as playing in front of Juan Martin and a room full of fantastic players at the start of one of his residential courses in Ronda.

quote:

Not necessarily. Repetition does lead to comfort, but there is always the chance that you will take a gig that puts you way outside your comfort zone

Point taken! However I now know that at least in some circumstances I have the ability to execute, whereas up until Saturday that was a very large questionmark

quote:

I can add that having your gear sorted is very important for newbies to gigging.

Thanks, you nailed a number of unexpected issues we had during set up! I was running a Bartlett mic into Trace Acoustic amp and had soundcheck problems with wobbly mic clip, seat position to avoid feedback, and overdoing the reverb initially (I ended up almost dry). Also it never occured to me that finding something to sit on without arm rests is not something to take for granted.