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my first REAL gig! advice please!
 

offline Zeus from San Francisco (United States) on 2003-07-01 20:20 [#00764435]
Points: 14042 Status: Lurker



Ok, so Ive scored my first REAL GIG (ie, just me on stage,
doing my own music)

my friend is going to do live visuals to my music too!

Its august 5th, and will be at a bar in boston.

Now, I need 1 hour of material... which I dont think I have
right now (i have hundreds of hours of music... but not my
newer stuff... as time goes by, I get more critical of my
work... so I am less inclinded to want to play it live...)

So... Im wondering:

1. should I do ambient, or glitch?
2. how should i perform it? ive never really performed
electronic music alone before... and I wouldnt know how...
because my tracks are so produced... and if i am playing
them live... I have to figure out how to make all the
different tracks run together.... how do i open the seperate
tracks without having pauses in sound?

bah!!! need your help!

what do you think?

my friend says i should just play mp3s of my stuff... but
thats kinda cheap...


 

offline child810 from boston (United States) on 2003-07-01 20:25 [#00764438]
Points: 2103 Status: Lurker



Hey - where are you playing? I'll check it out. I say mix
up the ambient /glitch, actually where are you playing, that
could make a big difference.

As for seperating tracks I'd lower the volume a little or
come up with segues(sp?) inbetween.

GOOD LUCK


 

offline virginpusher from County Clare on 2003-07-01 20:26 [#00764439]
Points: 27325 Status: Lurker



1. Do both ambient and glitch. It will keep peoples minds
interested. Too much ambient will be to chill. Too much
Glitch will be repetitive. A nice blend like an ebb and flow
would probably be your best bet imo.

2. I can't really answer this myself.


 

offline Clic on 2003-07-01 20:27 [#00764441]
Points: 5232 Status: Regular



Just playing mp3s is kind of lame.

I've never played out alone, but I've played with bands and
it's best to relax while you're up there.

Is there anyway you can play stuff over top of your tracks?
Like with your midi controller (I assume you use one) or
something? Just to kind of give it a more "performance"
feel.


 

offline Smyrma from Beloit, WI (United States) on 2003-07-01 20:38 [#00764445]
Points: 2478 Status: Lurker



I really have no idea how all this works, but you don't
have to make your entire set flow together. I
understand that most electronic artists do, but what's wrong
with having distinct songs?


 

offline spoonz from Edmonton, AB (Canada) on 2003-07-01 20:40 [#00764448]
Points: 3219 Status: Regular



i have no idea about the actual songs you'll play live and
all that, but to get rid of the problem of gaps between
songs, you could have a media player waiting to play clips
of other stuff you won't be playing. you could just hit
'play' on that, while you set up your next actual live
track?

did i make sense there?


 

offline corticalstim from Canada on 2003-07-01 20:45 [#00764457]
Points: 3885 Status: Regular



this is kind of a help to me too - im doing a set for this
record release party im involved in on new years in chicago
- and i dont have any equipment at all :S

i need to get a laptop - but dont know what to use :(((


 

offline VampireAngel from San Juan (Cuntland) (Puerto Rico) on 2003-07-01 20:46 [#00764460]
Points: 1746 Status: Lurker | Show recordbag



Zeus I think you should play both like as the virginpusher
said that will open both sides of your music,you should
expose those 2 sides of yourself I still think your music is
great Zeus..I know also that will be a little difficult to
perform it live but it doesn't matter,because you must do
something a bit different than the original stuff,u
understand man...Maybe experiment with the Ableton live I've
heard is a nice software for performing electronic
music,what u think Zeus?


 

offline exillon from San Francisco (United States) on 2003-07-01 20:51 [#00764465]
Points: 122 Status: Lurker



expect no one to show up, expect to make a mistake, expect
someone to spill something on your shit, expect the sound
guy to be a complete moron (if there even is a sound guy)
expect people to come in and immediately turn around and
leave, expect to get paid nothing, expect to hear your
tracks really fucking loud! (hopefully) and expect that it's
all up to you to make it a good time for yourself.


 

offline virginpusher from County Clare on 2003-07-01 20:52 [#00764468]
Points: 27325 Status: Lurker | Followup to Smyrma: #00764445



I like what you said here. Why not have seperate songs? You
aren't striving to be an everyday "dj" here. I am guessing
that you would like to be an artist, and as an artist you
have seperate songs and/or compositions (depending on what
you are going for).

I am thinking that either having them flow together or
keeping them seperate has benefits to them. It would be
interesting hearing like 30mins of blended uninterrupted
music, but by no means is there a foreseeable problem with
seperate tracks. IMO


 

offline Oddioblender from Fort Worth, TX (United States) on 2003-07-01 20:57 [#00764474]
Points: 9601 Status: Lurker



i can't give any advice. I haven't had a live show in 2
years, and at each of the three live shows I had, the amount
of people there were below the double digits.

Haha...I'm so pathetic.


 

offline Ophecks from Nova Scotia (Canada) on 2003-07-01 20:58 [#00764479]
Points: 19190 Status: Moderator | Show recordbag



Whip it out at some point in the show, maybe during some big
crescendo. Be a Lizard King and give them something to
remember you by.


 

offline rarndaraki from from from from (United States) on 2003-07-01 21:38 [#00764512]
Points: 1833 Status: Regular



I play solo shows quite a bit and I if you have good
visuales you won't have a thing to worry about. other then
the audience getting kinda bored, but hell, who cares. i
just sit there and nod my head, always try a few new things
to. make sure your patch/program/whatever you use live, has
a good improvisational feel to it, so you can take your
music were you want it to go. have fun


 

offline rarndaraki from from from from (United States) on 2003-07-01 21:39 [#00764513]
Points: 1833 Status: Regular



oh shit i didn't read the part about sound files, what do
you use?


 

offline mimi on 2003-07-01 23:26 [#00764590]
Points: 5721 Status: Regular



i like smyrma's idea of separate songs -- seems like such a
simple thing that would be pretty cool. also, grab a
keyboard or something and actually PLAY live instead of
clicking around on a screen.


 

offline teapot from Paddington (Australia) on 2003-07-02 00:13 [#00764615]
Points: 5739 Status: Regular



i play distinct songs, with quirky noises and ambience to
bridge them together, i hate silence... but yeah, i just
play my songs, and remix them live as i go... its cool and
adds that element of improvisation.

i highly recommend ableton live 2 i use it live, i also have
3 FL4's running as well for the improv stuff... you need to
prep all that tho, have a file you can load into each one
which automatically loads your favorite vsts and presets...


 

offline rockenjohnny from champagne socialism (Australia) on 2003-07-02 03:22 [#00764723]
Points: 7983 Status: Lurker



rockenjohno says

dont be afraid to fsk it up!

people Dig that :D



 

offline KEYFUMBLER from DUBLIN (Ireland) on 2003-07-02 03:57 [#00764730]
Points: 5696 Status: Lurker



i been to a shit-load of laptop gigs in this neck of the
woods and i've seen and enjoyed everything from distinct
tracks bridged by live Gameboy music to full on
art-installations with dueds in fancy dress.

You know what the secret is? Looking like you know what your
doing and people generally sense if the artist is enjoying
it and thats the biggest plus i think........

you Yanks always come across as being sometimes
ultra-confident so its nice to hear of someone with the
genuine shakes!... you'll be fine, mate. Think of all those
storys you hear about your fave artists first steps....be
yourself and ..eh hem.. believe!....


 

offline roygbivcore from Joyrex.com, of course! on 2003-07-02 06:53 [#00764871]
Points: 22557 Status: Lurker



you could use abelton maybe


 

offline kluizenaar from Netherlands Antilles on 2003-07-02 07:04 [#00764882]
Points: 506 Status: Regular



just do your own thing and try to enjoy yourself! you can
never please everybody ,so worrying about what the crowd
thinks has ta goooooo,.......

Dunno what kind of bar you're giggin' in,.but hopefully they
have a big ass soundsystem,.just to hear your music blasting
full volume is what I do it for.

I'll be travelling to Italy tomorow for a performance in
Rome....will be sweet.
Good luck with yours


 

offline avart from nomo' on 2003-07-02 08:13 [#00764956]
Points: 1764 Status: Lurker



"you could use abelton maybe"

mm, but abelton live is really poorly optimized för Mac OS,
it takes a lot of a PowerBook G4?s processing power...


 

offline roygbivcore from Joyrex.com, of course! on 2003-07-02 08:25 [#00764965]
Points: 22557 Status: Lurker



i don't know anything about anything i'm sorry i tried


 

offline pomme de terre from obscure body in the SK System on 2003-07-02 08:26 [#00764967]
Points: 11941 Status: Moderator | Show recordbag



i use 2 pcs and a mixer to cut back and fourth between
trks.

course when i play live i do a whole new set specifically
designed to be manipulated and mixed in a live environment.

back in the day i would play tracks out of my software on my
pc and inbetween trks i'd fade into some ambient bits and
sound-collages chocked full of effects and weirdness.. this
may be an option for you. have fun man. playing live is
awesome.. but heed exillons advice. it could get hairy. one
time i played live.. maybe my 3rd time and EVERYTHING that
could have went wrond did go wrong. its was really
embarassing and nerve-wracking.. so about 15 minutes into my
set i just shut off all the music/gear and shouted out to
the equally embarassed croud, "forget everything youve heard
so far" i started a whole new set of on the fly craziness
pieced together from beats of tracks and unfinished things
and weird loops i drummed up inm real time.. played
absolutely nothing i had intended to. the show turned out
real good and the people loved it.. heheh.

so prepare yourself for some suckyness but don't worry.. it
should be fun no matter what. and a milestone for that
matter. congrats on your gig and GOOD LUCK!

:D


 

offline giginger from Milky Beans (United Kingdom) on 2003-07-02 09:00 [#00765008]
Points: 26326 Status: Lurker | Show recordbag



I think it's fair to say that a majority of the people there
won't have heard one bit of your music at all. So get them
interested by doing a cover of a well known song a couple of
songs into your set. It's only fair to give them something
they'll know. They may choose to stay on the strength of
that! Do Play that Funky Music. It'd go down a treat. I'm
serious here.


 

offline Ceri JC from Jefferson City (United States) on 2003-07-02 09:03 [#00765013]
Points: 23533 Status: Moderator | Followup to giginger: #00765008 | Show recordbag



Or do a set on live, mainly with your own samples/loops, but
chuck in the odd well known break/sample to give people
something to latch onto...


 

offline giginger from Milky Beans (United Kingdom) on 2003-07-02 09:09 [#00765022]
Points: 26326 Status: Lurker | Followup to Ceri JC: #00765013 | Show recordbag



The Amen Brother one ;)


 

offline theo himself from +- on 2003-07-02 09:12 [#00765027]
Points: 3348 Status: Regular



don't play it live.. just pretend to



 

offline Ceri JC from Jefferson City (United States) on 2003-07-02 09:20 [#00765046]
Points: 23533 Status: Moderator | Followup to giginger: #00765022 | Show recordbag



Judging by the thread on watmm recently that's not
"recognisable" to most people '_'


 

offline giginger from Milky Beans (United Kingdom) on 2003-07-02 09:22 [#00765049]
Points: 26326 Status: Lurker | Followup to Ceri JC: #00765046 | Show recordbag



:O I'm fucking shocked.


 

offline pomme de terre from obscure body in the SK System on 2003-07-02 09:22 [#00765051]
Points: 11941 Status: Moderator | Followup to Ceri JC: #00765046 | Show recordbag



har!

link?


 

offline Ceri JC from Jefferson City (United States) on 2003-07-02 09:30 [#00765059]
Points: 23533 Status: Moderator | Show recordbag



Happy to oblige.


 

offline giginger from Milky Beans (United Kingdom) on 2003-07-02 09:35 [#00765062]
Points: 26326 Status: Lurker | Followup to Ceri JC: #00765059 | Show recordbag



Fucking hell that thread sucks. What a bunch of dicks! The
bloke asked a good enough question and got flamed for it.
FUCKERS!


 

offline Zeus from San Francisco (United States) on 2003-07-02 09:40 [#00765065]
Points: 14042 Status: Lurker



I think ill do a mostly glitch set, cause I dont want people
to get bored... ill throw some ambient in the middle
somewhere... but I think its best to have beats for the
people...

So, I gotta month to get an hours worth together... gonna
finish a bunch of unfinished tracks ive started. and spruce
up my older tracks....

Havnt really done much glitch lately... but this is good
incentive to finish my old songs!


 

offline Zeus from San Francisco (United States) on 2003-07-02 09:42 [#00765066]
Points: 14042 Status: Lurker



i was thinking about using traktor... but its been crapping
out on me alot lately... and now I cant even open it! :-S

Live would make sense... but I really dont like the lay out
of it... so I dont know...

Ill have to think about this more

oh yeah, and there will be like 2 other people playing...
dont know what order though. My friend will play a set, but
for my set, he is going to do live video manipulation, cause
hes real into that too... so that should give my performance
more of a boost...


 

offline JivverDicker from my house on 2003-07-02 09:57 [#00765072]
Points: 12102 Status: Regular



Zeus, keep it simple... just amke sure you've got control
oner the focal point of the track, then you can react and
'move the crowd'


 

offline JivverDicker from my house on 2003-07-02 09:58 [#00765073]
Points: 12102 Status: Regular



amke!!!!! Make


 

offline JivverDicker from my house on 2003-07-02 10:16 [#00765084]
Points: 12102 Status: Regular | Followup to JivverDicker: #00765073



oner!!!! Over

my finkers are acting all sillee!


 

offline evolume from seattle (United States) on 2003-07-02 10:16 [#00765085]
Points: 10965 Status: Regular



keep some amount of energy, at least early in your set. you
want to get people's attention early. after you have their
focus, then hit them with a few slower ones. Then you start
to lose 'em add a little more energy.

respond to your audience's needs.

also interact with your audience. don't act all cold and
distant. but don't act like a scared geek either like Moby.


 

offline evolume from seattle (United States) on 2003-07-02 10:17 [#00765087]
Points: 10965 Status: Regular



and give away stickers or some shit. people fucking love
stickers and they are cheap as shit.


 

offline Zeus from San Francisco (United States) on 2003-07-02 10:17 [#00765088]
Points: 14042 Status: Lurker



how much for stickers?



 

offline JivverDicker from my house on 2003-07-02 10:19 [#00765090]
Points: 12102 Status: Regular | Followup to Zeus: #00765088



12p


 

offline Zeus from San Francisco (United States) on 2003-07-02 10:20 [#00765091]
Points: 14042 Status: Lurker



pounds?


 

offline Zeus from San Francisco (United States) on 2003-07-02 10:21 [#00765094]
Points: 14042 Status: Lurker



i guess I should get my act in gear, and start making some
nice CDRs... with labels and inserts etc... to sell for
cheap at the show...


 

offline JivverDicker from my house on 2003-07-02 10:22 [#00765098]
Points: 12102 Status: Regular | Followup to Zeus: #00765091



Give your local print shop a ring and ask if you could
e-mail them a design or bring it in on CD, it'll be quite
reasonable the cost..


 

offline avart from nomo' on 2003-07-02 10:23 [#00765099]
Points: 1764 Status: Lurker



"i don't know anything about anything i'm sorry i tried"

That wasn?t what I meant - I was just trying to tell zeus
about what I have heard many mac users complain about
regarding labelton live...


 

offline Zeus from San Francisco (United States) on 2003-07-02 10:23 [#00765101]
Points: 14042 Status: Lurker | Followup to avart: #00765099



no its ok, roygbiv is just dumb and doesnt know anything.

;)


 

offline DJ Xammax from not America on 2003-07-02 10:28 [#00765108]
Points: 11512 Status: Lurker



My advice: Don't screw up, it'll haunt you forever.


 

offline Zeus from San Francisco (United States) on 2003-07-02 10:29 [#00765112]
Points: 14042 Status: Lurker



thanks...

another question...

will it sound like shit? I mean, ive mastered on my home
stereo... so will putting it into nice big speakers, be all
muddy and shit?

playing on other sound systems is always scary....


 

offline JivverDicker from my house on 2003-07-02 10:34 [#00765121]
Points: 12102 Status: Regular | Followup to Zeus: #00765112



depends on whether you've eq'd the low end accurately, for
the kicks to punch they should sit mainle between 100 and
150 khz, below that your bass frequencies will shake your
trousers..also when you use cut up things it's hard to tell
if you've got the tail end of some bass thing under there
unless you hear it with a sub unit or you look at it on your
computer.


 

offline Monoid from one source all things depend on 2003-07-02 10:47 [#00765130]
Points: 11010 Status: Lurker



Take a cd with you, containing a DJ set by a well known
trance DJj. So, if everything fails, you can just play this
cd, and keep the people entertained.


 


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