Seeking advice for outdoor gig

[JustABluesGuy]

Being on the west coast of Florida a tent at least is a must. A towel is also a must as well. +1 on what everyone else said, keep things off the ground, have cover, invest in a really good fan, one or two spare shirts, and to keep things as light as possible (if not running in ears) put two speakers on sticks behind the band and as it will be low volume, feedback shouldn't be much of an issue.

Good luck!

Thanks for the feedback!

 

[pippoman]

Be extremely careful with skeeter repellent like OFF, etc., if you play anything with a nitro finish.

It will damage nitro.

+1000
Been there. I fixed it fine, but what a headache!

 

[uriah1]

Find rubber mats for mike stands and stomps. Cement gets you zapped ar times. Have fun

 

[JustABluesGuy]

Find rubber mats for mike stands and stomps. Cement gets you zapped ar times. Have fun

Great! Now I have a fear of death to go along with my fear of a crappy performance.

I think my mic and amp stand all have rubber feet, so hopefully that’s one hard lesson we won’t learn. I just wish my buddy was little more serious.

The more he says “Don’t worry about it, the more worried I get. I don’t know why since I’m just the lead player and backing vocalist. He’s the front man, so I will just hide behind him if they start throwing stuff!

 

[RCinMempho]

@JustABluesGuy - Did you have your gig yet? You didn't get electrocuted I hope!

 

[CVS54]

How many watts is the Artist? I was going to use an amp in a box into my Mini, but I think I’m going to bring an electric amp also. Maybe I could then split his signal, running his acoustic through both amps?


If I had one I would definitely use it.

The Loudbox Artist is rated at 120 watts. It is Solid State - in terms of loudness I would equate it to a 15-20 watt all tube amp

 

[TeleTex82]

Don't know if this has been mentioned but if your guitar has a nitro coat be careful when applying bug spray and/or sunblock.

 

[SRHmusic]

@JustABluesGuy How did it work out?

I never look at car crashes because you can't unsee things. Why the hell did I click on that link? Both hysterical and excruciating at the same time.

I'm pretty sure it's a fake, like the 'shred' videos from a few years back. Very similar type of overdub, and the timing of things is out of sync. Really awful to listen to.

 

[Flaneur]

Loads of great shared experience, in this thread. I just wanted to add.....you should leave those pretty 'tweed' covered cables at home. Red dirt, cement, granite dust.....you'll be cleaning those things forever afterwards. Even on proper stages, at festivals, the amount of stuff that accumulates under your feet can be amazing- especially in the wet. Find some way to keep your expensive pedals away from the mess, too. Even a small sheet of plastic or a garbage bag, is better than nothing.

 

[Kansas]

Hi all, I was asked recently if a buddy of mine and I would be willing to play an outdoor “meet and greet” gig for our neighborhood homeowner’s association in early June. The event will run from 4 till 6 and they are serving chili dogs and sodas, and there is going to be a raffle as well.



We’ve been putting together a duo act with my buddy on acoustic and lead vocals, and myself on electric and backing vocals. We both have Fishman Loudbox Minis (60 watts) that we use for guitar and vocals. At the moment I’m planning to use my California Sound Amp in box run into my Fishman just to have less to bring, and to keep things simple, but I could, (and might) bring an electric amp to allow for more volume and a bit better guitar tone.



It’s not going to be a huge event (they’re expecting 50 people max) so we won’t need stadium filling volume, but it WILL be outside.



The organizer did say that they were going to have a raffle, but didn’t mention a PA and I get the impression it’s a fairly low budget affair.



She has offered us a tarp covering to protect against the southern Texas June sun, as well as any possible rain.



Any tips for a successful show would be appreciated, since neither of us have done any outdoor shows. It’s a neighborhood pool party, so we’ll be careful to keep things PG-13.



Any tips, ideas, warnings, or even stories about your past outdoor gigs are welcome. Also any suggestions for easy to learn and play but popular songs would be great as well. We’re old guys, but wouldn’t mind trying to play a few things that younger folks might enjoy, as long as they aren’t too difficult. We aren’t pros. We have both performed for others in past, but just a couple of private parties for friends. We usually just headline my family room, and we are doing this on a volunteer basis.



Share your outdoor gig tips, issues, successes, failures or just funny gig stories. I don’t even care if they are helpful tips, though than would be nice. I always get something useful from people posts, even if it’s just what NOT to do, so please share!



Thanks in advance.

Don’t get bug spray on your guitars. Play normal volume you guys are used to. If people want to listen they will gather, and if they’d rather talk about lawn care they will stay back. Have fun.

 

[ravindave_3600]

Loads of great shared experience, in this thread.... Find some way to keep your expensive pedals away from the mess, too. Even a small sheet of plastic or a garbage bag, is better than nothing.

Yep. I bought a $20 5×7 carpet and a $3 welcome mat at Ollie's. Everything fits on them and goes home clean.

 

[RCinMempho]

Loads of great shared experience, in this thread. I just wanted to add.....you should leave those pretty 'tweed' covered cables at home. Red dirt, cement, granite dust.....you'll be cleaning those things forever afterwards. Even on proper stages, at festivals, the amount of stuff that accumulates under your feet can be amazing- especially in the wet. Find some way to keep your expensive pedals away from the mess, too. Even a small sheet of plastic or a garbage bag, is better than nothing.

This made me laugh. I have a cat that will chew any kind of rubber or plastic cable. She won't chew the "tweed" cables.

All my at home cables are tweed, and my gigging cables are regular. That nice beer smell on the tweed cables is not my thing.

 

[JustABluesGuy]

@JustABluesGuy - Did you have your gig yet? You didn't get electrocuted I hope!

We had the gig and no one died. We might have just gotten lucky though. I have a power strip that has some basic diagnostic “lights” and the light for “Power Fault” came on. I’m not sure but I think that means that the outlet isn’t correctly grounded.

Fortunately all went well, we sounded decent and got invited back in the fall. My cousin even showed up and sat in on a couple of songs. That definitely helped us with our short setlist.

I don’t know if it was the excitement, but my buddy’s recent work on playing dynamics went out the window and he was “pedal to the metal” the whole time. No one in the audience seemed to notice though, so...

 

[JustABluesGuy]

I just wanted to thank everyone who offered us advice on the outdoor show. We had it this past Saturday and it went off without any major problems. The weather cooperated and the crowd was appreciative, and we got an invite back again in the fall.

I wasn’t very impressed with our performance, knowing we “could” have done a lot better. The rhythm player (and lead singer) failed to use ANY dynamics. We have been working on it, but when he gets excited he’s going to keep the pedal to the metal.

All in all though, it went well, and a good time was had by all. Thanks so much for all the excellent advice and encouragement folks!