Tips for playing live

..so your band landed a gig and you're primed for fame and fortune. In the very unlikely event that you're a guitarist in a gigging band with less onstage experience than me and you're reading this blog, here's some advice (inspired by this month's issue of Total Guitar) based on my trials and tribulations in a rock band:

• Unless you're the guitar player for a whiny singer/songwriter act where it's ok to sit on a bar stool, start to practice the guitar standing up. If this is a blinding flash of the obvious - good. Otherwise, don't think that your reach and handpositioning is the same sitting down as standing up.
• About ten seconds after you land the gig, you should decide on the set list (including order) and devote every band practice to playing those songs in that exact order. That way you'll see right away if certain songs don't fit in succession, and you can change things around, device segues, etc. Also, it'll be more familiar if and when the nerves kick in.
• Start practicing in a "stage" conformation, i.e. with the drum riser in the back, lead singer in the middle up front etc. Decide which side of the stage you're comfortable with, and arrange the band accordingly.
• Know the main parts of the songs well enough that you can move around while playing. Not necessarily doing a full-on Van Damme helicopter kick or anything, but at least have the possibility of motion.
• Bring a spare guitar! If you break a string mid-set, you shouldn't have to halt the gig in order to change strings. Very few bands have that kind of routine where they can still entertain in the face of technical difficulties like this. If you can't afford a second guitar, borrow one. Odds are you're not Knut Reiersrud and thus not able to changing a string while holding a rhytmand making jokes, so don't.
• Two words: Noise Gate. If you think you can uphold a great distorted tone at high volume settings without it, you're in for a surprise.
• If you don't normally play with your amp at gig volume, don't think you get the same instrument response when you crank the amp, unless you plan to run your rig directly through the console.
• Ally yourself with the sound guy at the venue - figuring out how much you need to adjust settings to correct for the acoustics of the venue + crowd takes experience.
• In the event that some of you screw up mid-song, don't start looking at each other. Odds are noone else noticed, and you should just carry on. Don't pull a Manowar and start the song over because you didn't fret the second arpeggio of the first verse wrong.
• Know Thy Technical Limitations when it comes to soloing. If you plan on doing a solo that you can barely pull off under the best of circumstances on the third try, don't even think of doing that live. Two options: practice until you can do it, or simplify your bit.
• No drum solos! Dragonforce don't do drum solos, and unless you claim your drummer has technical qualities Dave Macintosh doesn't possess, stay away from the five-minute trial of boredom that is drum solos.
• So you want to do an unaccompanied guitar spot? Unless you've got a) godlike technique and b) you're essentially playing an embellished melody. Surprisingly few people care about diminished sweep-and-tap arpeggios. However; playing one instrumental song can work, provided you don't go on for 20 minutes.
• Don't go on stage drunk. Even if you've read that the guys in AC/DC never play sober, or that Dime used to down five Black Tooth Grins before going onstage. If you're drunk, the performance might sound better to you, but probably not o anyone else.
• For the love of everything that's sacred, play in tune.
• Two minutes before you're going on stage is not the right time to figure out that you get nervous in front of crowds....
• Warm up your fingers properly prior to rocking out.
• Make good and damned sure the financial arrangements are taken care of and agreed to before the show.
• Have fun