Play Better Shows: How to Raise Your Stage Game by 100% in 30 Days
Following these steps WILL improve your live shows.. Image by Phin Hall.
For emerging artists, live performances are a mixed bag of pleasure and pain.
Some view it as an anxiety-inducing roller coaster, necessary in order to share their creations with the world, others as rocket fuel—the real reason they’re in the trade.
The wide degree of seriousness with which artists prepare for their performances often leads to a big range in the impact of their sets. We’ve all seen bands that owned the stage with mediocre songs, and acts that had cringe-worthy moments of silence between bangin’ tunes.
The “packaging” of a performance is a huge part of the audience experience, and most up-and-comers are completely neglectful of this side of their game. They spend hours crafting melodies and hooks, locking up the kick drum with the bass lines, and picking out which of their distressed denims are going to make the stage—only to freeze up and look down when the lights hit, or wander around nervously between songs.
Here are some strategies you can incorporate into your routine to improve your confidence on stage, help connect you to your fans, and make the whole night go smoother. I’ve even put it into a basic timeline, so you’ll know what to worry about when.
Of course, some musicians will be resistant to this type of pre-planning, claiming they feel the process should be a natural flow that showcases the raw innards of their emotional being. I totally get that. But this isn’t about compromising artistic integrity—it’s about building a solid foundation for your set, to make hitting those people in the back of the room with your innards that much easier.
The Month of the Show
Get The Visual Elements Together
This is the time you should be thinking about that extra edge you’re going to bring to the night. For me, it’s the most enjoyable part of cultivating my live performances, as it involves the most creativity.
This is also the time to start recording video of yourself without the pressure of an approaching gig. Just like rough mixes of the songs, you should be getting used to your movements and picking your go-to modes of physical emphasis for the show. Don’t be shy, throw it all out there and see what really sticks and seems natural and engaging.
Like so many other things in this list, practicing this stuff is more about building confidence than achieving perfection. For instrumentalists, another good thing to do early on is learn the lyrics. Not only does it increase every band member’s engagement with the material, it creates the opportunity for a free level-up during powerful parts of the songs.
When the audience sees the keyboard player mouthing the words to the chorus alongside the singer, it subconsciously encourages them to get more involved as well. This is also the time to think about what your dress vibe is going to be like. It should either fit right in with your genre, or be completely unexpected.
If you’re not into clothing, think about props. Set pieces are always a plus, and weirder is often better. I saw a band once that played their entire set with a cardboard stand-up of the O.G. Dr. Spock on the right-hand side of the stage. They even had a mic set up in front of it. They never mentioned it, never interacted with it, but it caused everyone that even glanced that way to stop and check them out.
If you’re a small group that plays with backing tracks on a laptop, you can really use your imagination. What could you perform live instead with MIDI pads? Could you incorporate a video element using the same laptop and a small projector? There are tons of possibilities here.
Practice Your Patter
Nobody wants to practice this part. It feels stupid. I’ve been singer-shamed more than once for working it into a rehearsal. But the fact is that most artists are just not very good at speaking to an audience. They talk too fast, mumble unintelligibly, or just turn away from the room and face the band between songs, checking in with the drummer for the fourth time in 30 seconds to see if he’s ready to start.
You know how everyone’s preaching ‘engagement’ on social media these days? Well, it’s no less important in a live context. If you’re not sure what to say, go with the old favorites. Ask people how they’re doing. I know how tired and overused it is, but it still lights people up! Here are some other standards:
⁃ Thank the other bands and the venue.
⁃ If the sound guy doesn’t seem like he hates you, thank him too.
⁃ Announce the names of your songs whenever possible.
⁃ Tell a BRIEF story about the origin of one or two songs.
⁃ Say your band’s name 3 times during the set—beginning, middle, end. This should always be done in conjunction with another talking point.
⁃ Make fun of something a politician said or did recently (crowd-dependent).
⁃ Tell the audience about an uncanny talent that one of your bandmates has, and promise them that he or she will show them later on in the set.
Later on, you’re going to put these into your setlist alongside the tuning breaks, and practice them as you would one of your songs. It feels awkward the first few times, but it really pays off when you’re facing a crowd.
Break it Down
Unless you’re a duo, don’t ever cancel practice because one member of the band can’t make it—that’s just laziness. Actively look for opportunities to get together in different combinations of your group, so you can get a distinct feel for every angle of your sound.
Even if every member does make it to every rehearsal (good!) set aside time to practice while breaking down the arrangement into smaller parts, to make sure everything is gelling properly.
During 90% of the shows I played in my first few years gigging, I couldn’t hear at least one member of the band at all on stage. I had to be ready to link up with whoever I could to keep the song moving.
It’s also a good idea to be regularly practicing outside of your comfort zone. Turn the lights way down, put some YouTube videos on in the background, and play with other people around. These are all the type of distractions you will face consistently, so you need to start getting comfortable with them.
The Week of the Show
Map Out Your Set
Spontaneity is good! It can add life to a live show. You should always be looking for unscripted moments to share with your peeps. Those need solid ground to grow from, though.
To establish a good foundation that spontaneity can bloom out of, all of your sets should be laid out in detail. Plan breaks for tuning, as well as what the front-people are going to talk about during those breaks. This is where the stage patter practice really pays off. By now, you should have more to say than time to say it.
Don’t forget to plot out musical transitions between the songs as well. You should never, ever, EVER have more than 10 seconds of dead air after the start of your show.
Here are some tips for putting together a killer setlist:
⁃ The first and last parts of your set will be the most memorable. Make sure your opening is intentional. Do something unique that works into your style. For some bands, this means making a ton of orchestrated noise that gets everyone’s attention, with a click count-off cutting through and into the first song. For others, it’s just greeting the audience, and introducing the band as they launch into a powerful opener. Whatever it is, it’s got to be tight.
⁃ Always start with something solid and groovy as your first pick, and move to a faster number for the second song. It’s an amazing one-two punch that will buy the crowd’s attention for a good amount of the set.
⁃ Separate songs with similar tempos and keys. While the audience might not be able to identify it directly, their ears know when they’re hearing back-to-back numbers that are too homogenous, and their attention will wander.
⁃ Save anything new, long, or experimental for the middle.
⁃ Go out with a bang. If you’re closing the night, have an encore ready too.
Stick to the Script
Never make any formidable changes to the set within 3 rehearsals. I know how tempting it is to throw in that new bridge, because it’s sooo much better than the one you’ve been using for the last few months. Your brain, however, is set up to revert to default settings when the blood is racing through it, and you’re far more likely to lose a member of your group or confuse yourself in the moment.
Go with what you know. This stays in effect at the show, too. Don’t add on two songs that you weren’t going to play because your super-drunk superfan is egging you on from the front of the audience. There’s nothing worse than overplaying and lessening the impact of a great set.
Know your gear like the back of your hand.
Simplify Your Gear (Be a Gear Monk)
Dial back your setup.
While casual practices should be all about trying out new sounds, you should spend these last few rehearsals scaling back on your cymbals and pedals.
More gear = more cables = more potential shorts in your signal path.
If you only use it once during the set, it might be best left behind. A good test for this is to try going without it for a couple of run-throughs and see if anyone else in the band notices. If they don’t, you might keep that piece on the shelf for now.
Practice Setting Up and Tearing Down (Be a Gear Ninja)
Unless you’re a singer/songwriter with nothing but an acoustic guitar, or you’re playing out at least three nights a week, you need to actively practice this.
Drummers: Don’t play the drum spacing game while the rest of your group’s tripping over you to set up. Always start with seat adjustment. Use your body as a ruler, and have your measurements memorized—i.e, the hi-hat stand comes to this point on my forearm tattoo. If you’re bringing your own kit, keep it minimal (see above). Be a Matt Garstka now, a Terry Bozzio tomorrow.
Guitarists: Have all of your cables marked and mapped. Plastic tape, in the brightest colors available, is paramount here. Also, have a backup pedal flowchart worked out for any surprise funkiness that might crop up, such as one of the links in your chain misbehaving.
Keyboardists and DAW users: You need to be hyper-dialed in. There are so many cool road racks on the market for laptops now. Your gear should almost fold out like a pop-up book. Give the sound guy two outs and you’re golden.
Non-instrumentalist singers: Stay out of the way. Work the crowd, thank your fans for coming and get them charged up.
All of this adds up to a smoother transition into the performance, which increases your chances of reaching some of the lingering fans from the last act. It’s also a necessary confidence shot for when something goes wrong.
The Night of the Show
Prep Up
Have a day-of-show rehearsal. If you can’t all get together, meet with whoever can. If that’s not to be, run the parts by yourself. It’s tough to get warmed up when you’re on stage, and it usually takes at least a few songs to get settled in. You need to stay ahead of that curve however possible.
For this practice, run any sections that may be a little janky first, then play the whole set. You’re mainly focused on cues and transitions, so it’s not necessary to go all the way through every song if it’s sounding good. Take it easy on the vocals, and don’t practice for more than an hour, even if you don’t hit all of the songs or do full run-throughs. You want to jump-start your groove, not wear it out.
Hang Out
Show up for the band before you, and stay for the band after. Okay, okay, if they’re really a mess, maybe you can split after a few songs, but give them at least that. The most common complaint I hear from young artists, city in and city out, is the the lack of support for the local scene. Well, it starts with us. Think about other acts as your brothers and sisters—you gotta be there for them, like it or not.
Work It
When you hit the stage, don’t stress about any of this stuff. That’s why you practiced, so you can let go and have fun!
Give yourself three things to remember, such as-eye contact / move / lip sync-and use that as your mantra for the show. Write it on your setlist as a reminder.
Note about eye contact: You will always find someone at every show that just stares at you blankly with their arms crossed, challenging your enthusiasm. Don’t get involved. Keep scanning the room until you find someone who’s into what you’re doing, and vibe them out.
Behave
Professionalism and a good attitude will go a long way in every aspect of your music scene. I’ve gotten picked up for a tour over more technically-qualified candidates just by showing up on time and being friendly. Same goes for any group. Introduce yourself to the sound tech, the other bands, learn the names of the people working the venue, and give them all props during your set.
There are two things you should always put off until long after the show is over: Getting drunk and making jokes about other bands. While there can be entertainment value in each, they’re a huge turn-off to anyone who’s not on the same page. Limit the drinks and the commentary until you’re in a safe space.
I know this seems like a lot to think about when you’re an artist on the grind. There’s a bucket of other things that are just as important vying for your time and attention. The good news here is that if you weave these things into your schedule, it will become second nature after a while. In effect, the more you practice them, the less you’ll have to.
Good luck out there! Kill ’em softly. Or screaming and thrashing, if that’s your thing.
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