How do you feel the day after a gig?

I was just wondering, how do you guys/girls feel the day after playing a gig? I personally am very, very energetic when I play. I put in literally every drop of energy I have into my performance. By the next day, I still have NO energy. I can hardly get up a flight of stairs. It's pretty much as if I have the flu. I think the hours also have something to do with it, (since I usually play until 2AM). I usually play one gig a weekend, but those times where I have two, my energy seems to come back a bit for the second show.

DrummerDave518 said:

I was just wondering, how do you guys/girls feel the day after playing a gig? I personally am very, very energetic when I play. I put in literally every drop of energy I have into my performance. By the next day, I still have NO energy. I can hardly get up a flight of stairs. It's pretty much as if I have the flu. I think the hours also have something to do with it, (since I usually play until 2AM). I usually play one gig a weekend, but those times where I have two, my energy seems to come back a bit for the second show.

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It depends on a number of things, not least of which is what the genre is. I can imagine if we're talking about a hard-hitting 3-hour rock or metal gig, the feeling will be different than a moderate-volume indie gig at a winery (have done both). Total time played, load-in/load-out situation, crowd reaction, my personal feelings about the performance, and time gig is over/time I get home have all played some role in how I feel after or the next morning.

Generally, I feel the best the morning after if I was happy with my performance and the band's, the teamwork was tight, and the crowd reaction was positive. Even if I am worn out physically, those things give me a boost. Some of the best "morning after" feelings I've ever had were:

- Last performance ever with an indie band in California prior to moving (3 hours of music followed by a great party)
- Pretty much every morning after performing "Rocky Horror" last year
- A few weeks ago after subbing with a blues band at a little winery up in the mountains (got everyone dancing, good music, good times, good fun)

Some not so good mornings;
- Lackluster gig with several gaffes, bandleader not happy, guitar player quit right after the set
- Reading a review about a benefit blues jam in the paper the next morning in which I participated (unfortunately)
- Decent set on a two-band bill at a winery, devolved into a wild salsa dancing party with tons of girls and drinks, had to leave and drive home instead (sigh)
- Being first or last on the bill for a battle of the bands competition (either nobody shows up yet, or everyone has left and you only get to do two and a half songs)
- Car breaks down on the way to/back from a gig, full of drums and equipment (or the load shifts and busts out the window in your hatchback... in January)

Water and bananas, and very little alcohol..Keep hydrated. Between playing and sweating and then drinking alcohol if you do, you lose a lot of water

I usually feel tired due to lack of sleep... most weeknights I am asleep by 10-10:30pm.
Gig nights I get home at 1:30-2:30am and then I can't sleep because I am all wound up after playing and unloading the car.

I notice after a long gig, my forearms and wrists can be a bit stiff the next day.

tough getting older.

The lack of sleep, or being thrown off a sleep schedule, will usually do that to me. That's even if I'm not doing anything physical during that time.

Like a boss.

I love gigging, way more than recording. I totally feed off the crowd and band energy, and that often carries over to the next day.

At 60 I'm pretty tired, usually have a hard time falling to sleep if it's a late gig. Great exercise though, muscles a bit sore sometimes.

I feel like a lounge lizard.

I feel fine. Sometimes I'm tired after the gig while loading out, but the next morning I have no residual effects. That is, unless I go out partying afterwards, then I'm just tired from lack of sleep. Usually by the end of a tour I'm wiped out, too...

Perfect! Ready for the next one. Since I quit drinking I always feel good.

I'm usually useless for the weekend after a show, but we only play 12-20 a year. We always book shows on Fridays (because I work early Sunday morning.)

I wake up at 4am for work on Fridays and usually don't get to sleep until 4am the following morning (show ends at 1am, breakdown takes an hour+, drive home, bring ALL of my bands' gear back into my basement, I bring ALL my drums down because the other guys are careless with gear and don't want them damaged, snack and shower.)

I usually feel like crap, due to the lack of sleep and the cigarette smoke in the bar. No hangover due to that I'll have 2 beers max (if that.)

It is all fun and I always look forward to it when we gig.

A gig with my main band is a 12 - 14 hour affair from leaving out to getting home. Setup & tear down are tedious with our show. Even though we have crew help, I'm still running around a lot as I'm the PA & lighting guy. I also insist on soundcheck before the audience are present, irrespective of the gig size. That usually means a reasonable eat & chill time prior to playing - I need that.

I'm fine when I get home, but usually have severe tiredness issues on the drive back (can be up to 2 hours away). Following day I'm screwed over. As I work so much, a gig is more of a tipping point than the cause of exhaustion itself. Yeah, getting older sucks

Usually hungover and craving a bowl of spicy soup.

When I play the next day is often slow to start.. we play friday or Saturday nights...... we usually jam our set to warm up at my place.. load all the gear.. drive to venue..... play.. watch another band or headline depending on the show.

so we get out of there 2 - 2:30 by the time we get paid... drive home. unload all the gear... then grab a bite to eat... usually going to bed at 4AM after playing deathmetal and lugging gear all night up and down stairs.

The lack of sleep, adrenalin, cardio and excitement just all add up...

It's all for love so i usually just sleep in.. or suck it up for a bit of being tired to do my favourite thing in the world.... drinking water instead of booze and being in decent shape cardio wise really help out

I was dead last weekend, simply from the jacked up sleep schedule.

Got home at 2:30, couldn't sleep until the 5AM sunrise. I woke up at my normal 7:30 but felt like I could use some more sleep. Woke up again at 3:30PM.

It was down hill after that. Obviously I was up until the wee hours again the next night and had to force my ass out of bed the next morning to get back in sync.

I won't make that mistake again. I'll just get up and deal with it.

I usually feel a little better than normal from 24 to 48 hours after a gig, mood-wise.

I try to arrange my life so I don't have to go walking around sleepless. Which translates into starting work...whenever I say so. Usually not till 10 or 11. Today I got there (hour drive away) at noon. Priceless lol.

I'm usually physically tired but feel great from the adrenalin rush that I just had and am looking forward to the next gig.

As soon as I wake up the day of a gig, I feel good because I know I'm going to play out with a good band. After I'm done playing I feel good. That feeling wears off after about 2 days. Playing out is the highlight of my life. I haven't been playing out a whole lot lately, only about once a week on average, so I really look forward to gig day.

The only thing i get (and i get it after every gig - big or small)

I get clammy hands the following day. Dont know why. Drinking a ton of water doesnt help.

Doesnt hurt or anything just wierd.

Anyone else get this?

I cant believe you guys are kickin' my ass!I haven't played a gig in over 15yrs(no band).I still play everyday and record all the time.I think the last time I set foot on a stage was about 15yrs ago,open mic night,10 people there and I puked before going on!lol!

When I used to play out regularly;
Wake up pissed off about 10am
Call all the knuckleheads in my band and make sure they were going to show up
Stress out until we met up at the rehearsal spot,then head to a club or bar usually no more than 30mins away.
Freakout in back of the club,or backstage

Hit the stage and everything went away!