[boggle3]

You are playing an acoustic gig on your own, just you, your guitar and your pa system. You sit down in front of the mic ready to play a 28 song setlist. How do u start, would you go straight into it, say hello, say some funny line.......so go on, how do you start your gigs.

[dadfad]

It's hard to say for sure because every situation and setting is different. You might get into a conversation-exchange before you even have a chance to pick up your guitar after sitting down, maybe a request or something coming from the audience or whatever, but typically I like to start of with a few words, light-joking getting people "on my side" as quicky as possible but still getting right into the music. Maybe...

(While riffing and warming up, checking tuning, etc)...Welcome to Steve's Place tonight. Over the years Steve has had some of the best names in acoustic blues playing here... (still riffing...)...

...However he couldn't get one of them tonight and so he called me...."

(Go into tune....)


(Myself I like to give a slight "bluesicology lesson" as I play. So I might say) "That was "_____ Blues," originally recorded by Blind Lemon Jefferson in 1929. Just goes to show how much things can change in seventy years..."

"I'm going to do something a little more modern next. This was recorded by the late great Robert Johnson in 1937. ____________ Blues.." (and into tune....)....

(Riff'ing again...)..."Now this next tune was written by Hambone Willie Newburn. Ol' Hambone found himself on the wrong side of the paddy-wagon doors one night after a raid on a gambling-joint and got himself thirty-days on the county-farm. When they handed him his striped-suit and hammer, he proceeded to tell the county-farm guards he was a musician and didn't play that chain-gang sh!t.... Bad move, Willie... Here's the only tune Willie ever lived to record... "Rollin' and Tumblin' Blues"... (and into the tune....)

Etc, etc, etc....






Maybe something like that. I don't really know until I sit down. You'll get used to doing it. You'll develop a feel for immediately on-the-spot playing it as it should be played. It takes a little practice, but not that much. Just try not to be nervous, keep a light edge on it with slight joking (slight... you aren't doing a stand-up routine). Use slightly self-disparaging remarks occassionally, which keeps the audience on your side as more of "just a guy doin' what he does" instead of some pompous jerk who thinks of himself as some "artiste" or something. Doesn't hurt to have a few friend out there either. Clapping becomes infectous! Anyway, good luck.

[MakoMako]

What little "live-gigging" I happen to due is tended to be limited to playing a small show for friends every now and then. The cover-songs I actually know are quite limited, so I mostly play the stuff I wrote or just make it up on the spot. The biggest thing that they seem to enjoy is when I start talking about odd things in between songs. I just pick some random topics to talk about while I think what to play next, considering I play on a whim.

Not the best, but it works sometimes.

[greatness7410]

At the end, smash everything on the stage.

Just kidding.

[Anglophone]

28 songs? That's almost as many fingers as I have! That sounds like a very long and winding set.

[boggle3]

28 songs? That's almost as many fingers as I have! That sounds like a very long and winding set.

yeah but is that a bad thing?and exactly how many fingers do u have?

[Anglophone]

yeah but is that a bad thing?and exactly how many fingers do u have?

Oh, if only you knew....

And no, a long set is not a bad thing. I saw John Hammond Jr. play a solo acoustic set that lasted about two hours and it was great.

[ibanez6]

I'd like to play you a few Tommy Emmanuel tunes now..............I'd like to..... but I can't, so let me see if I can fumble my way through a couple of easier tunes for yawl.

[rayvon87]

Lol, yeah, you'd be brave to try some Tommy...unless you just do his version of the covers he's done like 'Windy and Warm' or 'Trambone'. Even '(Man with the) Green Thumb' isn't too hard and sounds impressive.

I haven't gigged, nor am I anywhere near ready for gigging, but I think it has to depend on the crowd. With a pub crowd, a few small remarks may be possible, but only if you know people are listening. Otherwise just play. An Open-Mic sorta crowd would probably appreciate a few jokes or stories, stuff like that, just something to fill in the gaps.

When you know people are definitely listening to what you say as much as what you play, then I think you can get a bit more talkative, just not too much.

This post has been edited by rayvon87: 13 April 2006 - 08:49 PM

[Stratatat]

Hello, my name is Johnny Cash. Just kidding, I just watched "Walk The Line" and thats how he started alot of his shows.
When I played with a couple other guys at the bar scene we would open with a three stooges line in harmony. Each of us singing a hello and then all together on the last one. Hello, Hello, Hello.....Hello.I'm sure you've probably heard it before if you've ever watched the stooges.
Or you could hide under a big box like Neil Young did while a bunch of glowey eyed little people dressed in black robes set the stage. Then when everything was ready they just lifted the box and he started playing.
And then theres Marty McFly in "Back to the Future" when he says this is an oldy but goody,well its an oldy where I come from. Then rip into Johnny B Goode.
I doubt if I'm being much help here but I would suggest starting out with something funny.

[halfmoonbay]

A lot of it depends on the audience and the overall gig situation. There will be some audiences who are more receptive to jokes/chat/story-telling than others and you've just got to play it by ear. Sometimes you'll get an audience that just wants to listen to music or, as happens, have music going on in the background whilst they get pished and talk with their mates. Certain scenes have different kinds of ettiquete too, round my way if you were at a proper folk gig then you wouldn't expect the audience to be talking amongst themselves or getting up and going to the bar during songs whilst at a blues or indie-strummer type thing you perhaps wouldn't have the audiences' attention guaranteed. If you're at an open mic night where there's quite a few folk waiting to take their turn then it may not be the done thing to spend too much time talking in between songs.
The more audiences you play in front of and the more different types of gigs you do then the more experience you get and the easier it becomes to judge what the best approach is going to be and whether or not you can get away with telling that joke about xxxx....... etc.

[halfmoonbay]

"Hi, I'm Gavin. This is Decoration Day."

Good man. Keep spreading the word to the masses.

[okiejohn]

I like some of he stuff Robert Earl Keen and Todd Snider do when it's a small acoustic gathering, those funny stories about some of the songs make things seem more intimate, but if the crowd is large, and the sound isn't just right the stories may not be heard clearly, which would tend to cause you to lose the crowd.

What do I know?????????

[ninjato]

Good evening everybody, we're FLASHBACK. Bringing you that good ole nostalgia!!!

.....right into our first tune.




What you SAY is not as important as what you PLAY.

This post has been edited by ninjato: 26 April 2006 - 08:59 AM

[imadique]

I've only done a couple, but I reckon you just go with it once you're up there, say what you want, if people aren't listening shut up and play something. Pretty much what everyone's said already, no point in me replying really.....


I usually just make jokes and give a little description of the song , like:

"I'm noticing a lot of immoral things going on in the crowd tonight (pause to stare briefly at someone drawing from a bong), so I thought we could just stop for a moment to give thanks to the lord"

then play Psalm#666.