Performance Report & Reflections

TC3 · 2025-08-26T16:57:35+00:00

This is long. I’m mostly writing it to process. Feel free not to read. 😃 My workplace started a semi-regular staff mixer / open mic night at a local bar a...

Simonb

Hi TC3

I haven't read all your post(s), but I get the gist of it, and it sounds to me like you know what you're doing, and what the issues are/were. So I wouldn't be concerned.

I've been doing gigs for 5 decades now, mainly at a very amateur level, but with occasional more serious gigs thrown in, notably playing at a Pro Jazz Festival in 2003 and playing in the support band for US Blues Guitarist Buddy Whittington in 2010. For those 2 I was very nervous, but proud with what I'd achieved.

I've encountered all the issues you describe many times, and they are just a fact of life for gigging musicians. You'll never know when you're going to face them, and just when you think it's all going brilliantly something will go wrong. As you rightly say it's not important. You're doing it for fun. The worst thing that can realistically happen if you/your band does a bad gig is that you won't get invited back.....

I took up drums after I retired in 2020, and the years of experience on Piano/Keys enabled me to start using them in a band within a year, because I understood what would be important for anyone I was playing with. I'm a very very basic drummer, but I can keep good time and for a lot of Pop/Rock stuff that's all that's needed!

A little bit of nerves is a good thing. I still get those, but I don't worry about a little bit of nerves. If I make a mistake (and I do) I move on. Generally nobody ever knows.

The main thing is, hopefully, that you're having fun. If you're not, that's when you should start worrying!

Cheers

TC3

Simonb Thanks, Simon, I appreciate it. Yes, our garage parties and such have generally been pretty fun. I've only had minor nerves on keys for those, and it didn't affect my playing much at all. We're playing another garage party in a couple of weeks, so I'm just focusing on looking forward to that, and I'm sure it will go well and be fun.

rsl12

Of course I'm jealous of anyone who gets to play with a group regularly! Since it sounds like the event is going to occur regularly at the same venue, you'll be able take precautions. When is your next event?

TC3

rsl12 I'm not sure when the next one of these staff open mics is, it's kinda on the fly. This week was our second one, the first was early July, so maybe another six weeks.

This time, we were doing some bluesy tunes - thus the keys. Next time, we'll probably do some rock tunes, so I'll probably be on bass, and even if it's keys instead/also, it'll be very simple parts, so I don't think I'll be nervous for that. But there will certainly be another time when I play more serious keys, so I definitely need to work it out. The strategies I posted above are the best bet, but I also hope that we could get there early and soundcheck better so I can actually hear my bandmates!

In the meantime, we have a garage party to play in a couple of weeks. We've done those before, and they don't make me particularly nervous, so I'm looking forward to it, and I hope it'll wash the bad taste out of my mouth from this week's performance ...

TC3

Me again. 🙂 This afternoon was the garage party that I mentioned in my last post. It went MUCH better than the open mic night a couple of weeks ago. We made plenty of mistakes but had a ton of fun, as did the audience. The whole thing was a really good experience.

On another note, this was the first time I played out with my Korg SV-2S(73). I LOVED playing it out. Significantly smaller and lighter than my RD-2000, and more than enough functionality for what I needed on this occasion. It played great, sounded great, looked great, and even got some interested comments and questions from a couple of the attendees. So I guess I can't be mad at @Simonb for posting those tempting pictures of it last year and making me buy one for myself! 😃

Simonb

Hi TC3

Sounds like you had a lot of fun.

I'm taking mine to a big band gig today. My first with this particular band. We're doing arrangements of Count Basie stuff, Beatles songs, Standards etc. Probably be a 14 piece band. Should also be a lot of fun.

Cheers

Simonb

Hi @TC3

This is the Bosville Valley Big Band.
You can make out my Korg. It was a fun gig!

Cheers

TC3

Simonb Fantastic! Now you just need to get that silly music stand out of the way so I can see you and your Korg better! 😃

Seeker

Simonb The hat definitely adds a touch of class.

HeartKeys

good reflections!

Simonb

Hi TC3

The silly music stand is sadly a necessity as for each tune we play I'm reading/interpreting 3 to 6 A4 pages of big band Piano arrangements. I have trouble memorising simple pop songs, so there's no chance with the majority of the material we play.

I used to play "The Thrill has Gone" with the other band I'm in. We haven't done it for a while. The blues is my natural home. Your regular guitarist has a great blues voice. As you said a proper garage gig! Love it.

Cheers

TC3

In case anyone is interested, here's me with my Korg:

I'm just backing here, nothing super exciting to see on the keys, but the Korg looks cool! The cellphone mic doesn't pick up the low frequencies in a way that do the EP sound I'm using justice, but hopefully it's fun anyway.

FYI, the guitarist isn't our regular. He's the host of the party who has just recently learned to play guitar, so we invited him to cut his teeth playing for an audience. Our guitarist Steve (who is just singing on this one) showed him the minor pentatonic scale and just told him to go for it!

P.S.: That's my wife playing those tasty blues drums!

ShiroKuro

TC3 Awesome! That was really great!

Re cell-hone recording, I noticed how clearly it picks up the vocals, almost at the expense of everything else. And notice there’s no clipping or anything like that. So with the cellphone, the end result is a perfectly serviceable recording, but for live music, things are flattened out. There must be some presets in cellphone recording apps that prioritize voice. I really noticed it with my most recent PT recital recording, I felt like the cellphone flattened out the dynamics across the piece (my thundering bass didn’t thunder) so now that receding issue has been on my radar. I guess it’s better than clipping but still…

/theaddrift

TC3

Simonb Ha, I hear you. I've played upright bass in various ensembles, including big bands, and there's no way I could memorize all that music.

rsl12

Great to see both @Simonb and @TC3 in their newfound musical habitats!

Simonb

Hi Seeker

I bought it for a birthday party gig a year or 2 ago. It's actually part of a Blues Brothers 'kit' I got from Amazon.
Hat, thin black tie, side burns etc. Only the hat survives!

Cheers

TC3

ShiroKuro Yeah, cellphones are definitely geared toward picking up voices. I need to look into some alternative apps, there are probably some that give you more mic settings. Of course, I have other gear I can use if I'm really concerned about high-quality recording, but in this case I was going for convenience ...

ShiroKuro

TC3 in this case I was going for convenience

Which is perfectly fine, by the way! Just to be clear, I won't criticize anyone for using a cellphone to record.

Seeker

TC3 cellphones are definitely geared toward picking up voices.

FWIW - I don't think it's the electronics, rather the microphone. I have a violinist friend who bought this device to use with her iPhone [https://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/iQ6--zoom-iq6-stereo-mic-for-ios-with-lightning], and the sound is as good, IMO, as sound from a dedicated flash recorder.

TC3

ShiroKuro Oh yeah, I gotcha. I was just admitting to being lazy this weekend. 😃

TC3

Seeker Definitely. I have a field recorder that I can hook up to my cell phone that results in decent sound, but it's just another fussy thing to fool with. I need something more like what you linked to, that would be much easier.

ShiroKuro

Seeker FWIW - I don't think it's the electronics, rather the microphone

This is interesting because I was really thinking it was related to (or caused by) some kind of software setting (in the phone/OS) that prioritizes voice over other sounds. But if adding an external mic makes such a difference, maybe it’s just the microphone that prioritizes voice.

Re that Zoom phone mic, I have looked at that before (I mean, online), and at this point, I don’t remember why but I decided not to buy it. Those models are all several years old at this point. I notice they all use lightning connectors, which is fine for me because my iPhone is old but eventually I’ll get a new phone and it will be a C-port. I wonder if Zoom has a newer model or if there are other brands that are good for piano recording….