I played my first show last night!!

Channing

Member
I’ve been playing drums for a year and a half, and the band I’m in now, I’ve been playing with since May. Our set list was 10 songs- 7 original and 3 covers. They had played shows before with their previous drummer, but this was the first one since he moved away six months ago. I didn’t really know what to expect, or how I would feel. I kind of found this band by accident, I had posted on craigslist just looking for people to jam with and they invited me over and we played and my drumming was a really good fit for their music. We rehearsed right before and I freaked out at some point and forgot how to play drums. At the beginning of one of the cover songs there’s a lead in with just keeping time with my hi hat foot, then a pause, then this fill that goes into the main groove. I kept messing up the fill. I would take the pause then have no idea when to come back in. It was the weirdest feeling, I’ve played that song a hundred times and never messed that up before. We restarted the song like four times and I think the bassist was starting to freak out too, haha. So I got a beer and just took a couple breaths and then I remembered how to play it.

When we got to the venue and I set up my drums, we did a sound check and everything was great except my smallest rack tom was just way out of tune and I couldn’t figure out why. I had gotten my friend to tune my drums for me like a week ago to get ready and they sounded great yesterday morning. I don’t actually know how to tune drums because I’ve never really tried, but my friend who’s a drummer was there so I went and got him to tune it for me. Later when we were breaking everything down we realized that the reason it sounded like that is because it was upside down and I played the entire show on the reso head, so that’s fun.

When we went up to play, I was a little nervous but we just went right into it and started playing our first song. I messed up a little on one of the changes but no one seemed to really notice. Then we went straight into the second song, which also felt pretty good and I started to relax. The third song I actually felt like I was playing everything perfectly and even being sort of musical about it and getting the dynamics and stuff right. After that, I was the only one who remembered the set list. Every time we would end a song, either the lead guitarist or the bassist would just name a random song from our set because they had no idea what we were supposed to be playing, but luckily I remembered and I just kept calling out the songs every time to remind them.

I sort of went into this trance where I was just playing drums, it was amazing, I can’t even really describe it or how beautiful my drums looked under the stage lights, or how it felt to look out into the crowd and see all these faces, everyone was watching and listening attentively it seemed. Maybe 50-100 people showed up so it was a decent crowd. I wasn’t thinking about anything except what the next part was coming up, and which parts I should go kind of softer or louder, whether or not to choke the crashes, just generally really focused on the music and sometimes watching my band mates for little cues so we could all make sure we were together. At no point did I feel like the tempo was wrong or that we were all over the place, it all felt really tight and solid. It was great, I can’t wait to do it again.

After we got off stage I could tell my band mates were really happy with our performance, they all said it was their best show ever. We made $120 that we’re going to keep saving from every show so we can record an album eventually.
 
When we got to the venue and I set up my drums, we did a sound check and everything was great except my smallest rack tom was just way out of tune and I couldn’t figure out why. I had gotten my friend to tune my drums for me like a week ago to get ready and they sounded great yesterday morning. I don’t actually know how to tune drums because I’ve never really tried, but my friend who’s a drummer was there so I went and got him to tune it for me. Later when we were breaking everything down we realized that the reason it sounded like that is because it was upside down and I played the entire show on the reso head, so that’s fun.
Well, you won't do that again :)

It's great that you had a positive first gig experience - it's special - cherish it.

For future reference, tuning the drums 1 week before the gig really doesn't mean they'll still sound good at the gig. You need to learn the basics of tuning, at least so you can tweak your drums before you play, and / or according to the room you're playing in.
 
Hi Channing. Glad you had a good time and experience. It only gets better and easier. But you might have a couple of so-so gigs that you will learn from also. Hope you the best from here on out.
 
. . . I sort of went into this trance where I was just playing drums, it was amazing . . . .

Oh, I love that description! And that, Channing, is how it will feel every time you and the band are gelling and grooving . . . even after fifty years of pounding those drums, like me.

Congratulations, my friend. You've just received The Baptism. It's musical magic.

GeeDeeEmm
 
Sounds like you did a good job and he a fun gig. It gets easier, and things will be more automatic, in a good way, the more you play out.
Little mistakes happen to all of us live, and as long as you don't freak out, no one will notice unless they really know your songs.
What I like to do now playing live is to focus on one or two peopel in the crowd during a song, and just stare at them. Once they know your doing it, it's fun to see their reaction. Keep in mind I play metal so my arms and legs are going at all times, and to do it while not looking at your kit is fun. This all started in an old band where we'd do that in practice to each other while we played our songs.
 
That's awesome, and you will never forget your first show. The others come, go, and get lost in the blur, but the first will stay with you forever.

Write down the setlist. Everyone needs a copy, too much other stuff going on to try and remember it all.
 
Congratulations. That sounds like an above average first gig!
 
Good! Experience is the best teacher. In the future you will look back on this and laugh. Happy drumming.
 
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