Well its my bands first show next friday, at a after school concert on campus. Whats a good way to sooth our nerves? Im not too nervous, but anything helps, plus im not sure how the others guys are feeling.

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I dooubt weed would help,maybe for tonight but not before the show.I can't play for shit when I'm stoned .Arkanesoul88,wish you the best dude .

Weed kinda sucks for soothing my nerves. A little liquer will definatly take the edge off. just go up there and bang your fuckin head

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Amen brotha.

Take a shot of brandy before you go on, and halfway through your set.

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One or two drinks tops. If you smoke, very little of that too.

Definitely get in a good solid 20 minute or more sweaty work out that day a few hours before the concert. That will burn off your nervous energy and put you in a relaxed and confident mood.

The pro athletes swear by the beta blockers for anxiety.
My brother swears by some other shit that he uses in rifle competitions. I'll find out what it is if I can...

Other than that man, practice hard all week.

Yeah, do NOT drink too much, or even smoke any pot. Pot will throw your timing off like you wouldn't believe. And too much booze will make you sloppy as shit.

Like I said, just a shot or two before the show, and one halfway through the set.

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hmm was figuring a cigarette or two before, and then putting a little brandy in my drink bottle. its on school so gotta be sneaky, they wont know if i put a little brandy in a thermus type drink.

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i just dont make eye contact with the crowd while playing,whenever my eyes meet someone elses i get totally wierded out for some reason then begin to fuck up,i just kinda stare down. i usually get total anxiety , especially shows during the day and well lit venues. my advise is no weeds or drink unless your entirely confident in the set,anything harder is entirely out of the question for me,i dont like to dull the senses, its a rare breed of human to get wasted and still nail down a good show, i kinda like the usually pain in the ass load in,or at least a practice session before a show, just to warm up. cup of coffee, a walk around the block right befor showtime to clear the head and your good to go

oh yeah, i forgot to mention, the beer after a set is 100 times better than a beer before a set, i dont know why this is,psychological or something

i think thats because your relieved its over. I think ill just smoke a few cigs, those are good for the soothing.

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yeah the after part is always the best. you just gotta get sloshed

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Just warm up on your intrument beforehand. That's all you need.

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ROck out to some tunes before you hit, make sure you hands are working right, and between song just play some ZZ top or something to break the ice, the crowd loves that shit.

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just be sure to warm up a little bit backstage, drink a beer (not 10, not yet) and relax. be sure to know the songs inside out and you'll be just fine!

if all goes to hell then move around like a monkey on steroids, it looks cool!

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Drink coffee

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Ha, that's always a crowd pleaser. Play something everyone knows. ONe time during a sound check, this local starts doing an instrumemtal version of Master of Puppets, consisting of lead guitar and bass...

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last saturday my friends made me play In Flames' stand ablaze with them at a party. It was so nice of them to ask me AFTER i got drunk. I didnt want to but i had taken a girl im trying to ask out and she had never seen me play. She asked me to play and i did. I played everthing fine until the very last part when it repeats an earlier part. I messed up on it that time, but no one really cared. The girl was impressed either way . And now shes my wife, And im rich, and sexy. ...not really.


Edit: oh, right, the advice. Dont drink a lot, like two other people have already said. If your not a pot head, dont smoke! If you are, then what the hell right. DONT pay attention to the "crowd". Because if they are like the crowd i had, only about 10% are going to like the music, and the other 90% are just going to like the fact that its a band playing and they are watching it. None of them had even heard the song i played anyway, so that helped.

Sage advice right there. Primus used to break the ice with little bits of Metallica when they were pulling support slots on major tours. It's a tried and true technique. Most people won't give your music a chance unless you snap their attention with something familiar...