We had the pleasure of opening for your band in San Antonio last month and I hope we hit all those points, haha. It was a great show and thank you for the opportunity 🤙🏼
Discovering your video came just in time for our first gig as opening act in three days. Your comments are like digging in gold! Thank you, thank you!!
Tip No.2 made me simplify my bass rig over the last years. I have gone for a small and lightweight bass amp and went from a pedalboard with stompboxes to a floorboard-modeler. Besides the fact I don't have to tapdance anymore to switch stuff during the set, my stuff is so much easier and quicker to move around.
Me too. I have a 3 way instrument cable snake, so basically it's one cable with 3 instrument jacks on either side. I have a multi-effects unit, which keeps it simple. I still use a real tube amp, but with just having to deal with 3 cables total (instrument snake, speaker cable, and a short instrument cable to my wah, it takes me less than 5 minutes to get my rig, off the stage.
Further to "get off the stage", I've seen bands who really don't have any system for efficient setup and tear-down. Like they will take pedals out of an egg crate and set them up (and tear down) right on the stage. Set yourself up for success. If I ever own a venue, I'm going to have a bulldozer clear the stage 5 minutes after scheduled end of set, whether your DS-1 is still there or not.
Spot on...I actually embarrassed myself a few weeks ago. We were the main opener for Everclear and right before they went on stage I found myself just kinda standing backstage waiting for them to get on....I noticed the security guards staring at me and then uncomfortably kicking me out because I was making Art nervous....once Art realized he had kicked out a member of one of the opening bands he was nice about it and apologized but I feel like I shouldn't have been there in the first place...you live you learn. Keep up the great videos Fluff!
Good tips! I'd also add to not play too long. Less is more for opening bands. Short and sweet sets are best as an opener. Also, no excuses about gear not working, computers not working, etc... The crowd does not care. Get up there quickly, play well quickly, and get off.
Very well said! As an opening band we all followed the rules & instantly checked any ego we had at the door. Other than a few friends at the show, nobodies really there to see you & they aren't there to hear you talk. Play your 5-7 songs & get off the stage ASAP. As a headlining band it's always great to see the opening bands stick around to watch your set.
Great tips. It’s also a good idea to always show love over the mic and thank the headliner and the sound crew, lighting crew as well as the venue and crowd for the opportunity that you’ve been given to be an opener and direct support band. 🤘😎🤘
The "get out of the way" one really speaks to me. I've seen on a few occasions, bands or band members monopolizing the only, and tiny, green room of a venue. They even bring in their friends to hangout....
@@justchill1617 room where the bands can prepare (make up, warm up, etc), or also cooldown after the performance. For small shows/venues, it's usually a tiny room that barely fit 3 persons.
PREACH!!!!!! Also about to pull the trigger on your youtube course. LOVE your stuff dude - thank you. I was a Talent Buyer for 30 years - and this is so on point -
The most important thing to have as an opener is good rhythm. Even if nobody’s ever heard your songs, a good groove will automatically engage the audience.
@@justchill1617 Yeah these are some great tips, I just thought I’d add another. I’ve seen a lot of live shows and the best openers have always been the bands with the best rhythm section.
That's for bands in general. Not just for opening bands. I think Fluff's video is talking about things specifically for an opening band, which as far as stage performance goes, there really is only one. Do not go over your set time. Other than that, everything else as far as playing and performing, goes for all bands on the show.
@@travisspaulding2222 Agreed, that and just be a decent human being and you should get pretty far. I haven’t played a live show in years, I’m sure time constraints are even stricter now. Live shows have always been chaotic for me, this video would’ve saved me a lot of anxiety in 2016.
A set-up and tear-down plan is always a great idea to get on and off the stage as quickly as possible. Showing up on time, prepared, and sober is what got me gigs even though some better players auditioned. A great musician is utterly worthless if they won't rehearse, can't show up, or won't participate. My drum tech had an emergency kit with sticks, a few heads, beaters, springs, lugs, guitar cables, tubes, strings, batteries, tools, medical supplies, etc. She rescued so many headlining bands when we'd open that a few tried to steal her away. With all of this respectful, common sense activity, the one fun thing I do when opening for another band is I'll buy one of their shirts and wear it, or throw a sticker on the bass drum res head.
My band got luck enough to open for Geoff Tate. We all got there early as it was a nearly 4 hour drive for us. We helped Geoffs crew unload their trailer. They proceeded to take the entire 5 hours after that doing setup and left no time for the 5 other bands playing to set up anything. Which does happen. But the downside for us was that the headliner used every avaliable outlet. Leaving nothing for the opening bands. I'd had this happen once before and I always pack a shit ton of extention cord. We ran ours and the other bands gear into the kitchen. The road crew were very rude to us even though we helped with their setup and everything. We only got paid $40 for the show. Which is fine. We just wanted the experience. But I didn't think yelling at us the whole time was nessisary. will say the after our set Geoff was very nice. I ended up emailing his manager to let her know how the rest of his team acted. We had opened for lots of national acts and never had a horrible situation like that. So I think that there needs to be some consideration both ways. As an opener I never expect much. That scenario was just ridiculous. There was a lot more too it. But this is getting lengthy.
Dude that sucks. My band has opened for a few national acts and I can't really remember a bad experience. Skid Row's crew was awesome. Max Cavalerro's crew was amazing and very humble but I think the best was when we opened for Dave Lombardo's band Philm. Not only was the crew great but the band, including Dave, were very supportive and made a point to watch our entire set. One instance, years ago, we opened for Smile Empty Soul when they had their big hit and were relevant, they left us with 24 inches of stage across the front of the stage. Like I had to stand next to my amp because if I stood in front of it I would have fallen off the stage. LOL
Brother I cannot count the times stuff like that happens. You are 100% correct... it should go both ways. Sadly, it doesn't always. I feel you on this.
@@bobmartino8073 we opened for Nonpoint, Smile Empty Soul, Trapt, and a few others. All great experiences. I guess I just expected better from someone who's been doing this longer than I've been alive.
@@ffcwoods for the most part I've had a great time opening for national acts. That was one cade where it could have gone so much better and they were the cause of all the craziness and confusion for the night
THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU!!! These tips will help A LOT during our first set of shows! I've been binge watching all your stuff to grasp everything important about being an up and coming opening act! Again... THANK YOU
I always appreciate these tips. There haven't been many opportunities to open for anyone where I'm from, but this kind of advice will always keep me more or less prepared.
I think a good number 6 is simply be kind and be polite. Learn names, make eye contact, thank people who help you. Thank the tour or production manager. Thank people from the venue. Live music is one area where nice guys don’t finish last.
For the life of me I have never understood why is eye contact so important in social situations, personally I find it really hard to hear/pay attention to what other people say if I am focusing on eye contact, and most of the time I'd rather process the information correctly lmao
My band recently got the direct opening slot before a much bigger band. Another tipp I would give is sort of a given, but stay on time for your show. We were given a 40 minute slot and I pushed on my bandmates to only plan a 37 minute show, which turned out to work in our favor, since we once had a small technical difficulty, which was resolved fast enough to finish the set in 39:55 mins, causing no delay whatsoever for the main act.
This is exactly why my band usually times our set at practice before a show. When a promotor says 30 minutes they mean 30 minutes unless otherwise specified. Although it does suck on the rare occasion that a promoter plays favorites and lets one of the non headlining band go over their set time, and leave very little time for the other bands
@@OddoRocket another important reason to time your set, if you know how long it is, you get to call out a douchebag sound guy that tried to tell you you're running over.
Tip #2 was the first thing I thought of after reading the title of the video. It drives me insane watching bands taking their sweet time after a set and breaking down the drums and pedalboards. Get it off the stage before breaking down! And one thing I would add is to play for the amount of time you’re scheduled for. If you’re scheduled to play 30 minutes, don’t play for 45 or even 35 minutes. Play for 30 minutes!
When I played in bands in the early and mid 90s I used to hate when bands took forever to set up and tear down. We used label and mark everything so set up and tear down took minutes and we could all help each other. So many bands would mill around on stage as if they never saw any of their gear before that moment. Pro-tip: The audience is there to see you play, not to watch you take 15 minutes to adjust a hi-hat or to watch you figure out how to wire your pedalboard.
Id say one tip that wasnt mentioned although im not sure if its more aimed at local bands: "DO NOT LEAVE AFTER YOUR OWN SET BECAUSE YOU'RE TIRED OR ITS A LONG DRIVE HOME OR YOU HAVE WORK EARLY!" For me this is easily my no1, ive seen it at almost every gig ive been to
I mean that depends. If we have a gig to do the following night, if we need to get on the road, then we have to get on the road. That's the music business. While it's always fun to stick around and enjoy the show, it's not always the best plan.
Especially for local shows. Every gig I’ve ever played saw a band leave after their set. Which was usually followed by their fans, or at least the people they brought, leave the venue as well. I always stay to be a good sport, but by the time the headliner gets on, or even if my band is playing last, the venue looks pretty sparse and all the energy is gone.
Hi Fluff, regarding tip 2, how much time should I take to clear the stage? When I play I ALWAYS do my best to take my stuff off the stage asap, I mute the pedalboard and start to unplug the guitar cable as soon as I play the last note, and I slam my pedalboard in the case with all the cables still attached without wrapping them, but even doing so it takes at least 4-5 minutes to unplug all the cables, wireless system, remove the guitars and completely clear the stage. Do you have any tip on how to speed up the process?
Here’s a question I’ve always not known the answer to and quite frankly I hate even thinking about but, how do you make sure when you are loading and unloading your gear, how do you make sure none of your stuff gets stolen? I don’t think I could ever do a live gig because I have a Gibson Les Paul Custom and if I had to, it would be GLUED to me the entire time. Just wondering how you make sure nothing of yours gets stolen
One thing that really kills me is watching a drummer with their kit still on the stage removing cymbals from the stands. If I had a dollar every time I've seen that, I wouldn't be bitching about gas prices. The stay out of the way advice is good, but still goes both ways. We opened for a band, and we played our set, and was starting to tear down, and it literally takes us less than 5 minutes to get all of our shit off the stage. I have streamlined my rig to make it take very little time to break down. I have an instrument snake, so it's basically one cable with 3 jacks on either side. Our drummer's kit is on a rack, so him and the singer carry it off the stage, and they come back to grab the snare, kick drum, and hi hat. Well, when we played our set, the headlining band's crew immediately got in our way of tearing our shit down. I was trying to unplug my amp, and get the speaker cable disconnected, and one of the crew guys was trying to climb behind my amp to mess with their shit. I just straight up told him that it'll only take us 5 minutes to get out of the way, but it would be a lot easier for both of us if they could give us the 5 minutes.
Hey man, you do a great job w/ your vids. An idea for a new vid (that will selfishly help us!) Our band is progressing but now we need to learn how to put on a show, not just play songs. So my vid idea is to show some examples of how to come up of cool intros and transitions. For instance I’ve seen just a drummer and bassist playing something funky before going into the actual song. Also examples of transitioning between songs without a hard stop/cold start. Any consideration is much appreciated!
extending some of these tips... your band rehearsal should include practicing setup and breakdown! guitarists should be able to breakdown their rig in under a minute then help the drummer. plan ahead of time what the singer should do to contribute after the set.
Another tip, if you're the opening local band and you're soundchecking... Don't endlessly noodle on your guitar. I was in a band that was direct local support for a touring package that came through and there was one band that were playing before us so they soundchecked while the headlining band had their VIP meet and greet/signing going on in the upper level of the venue. This one guitarist wouldn't silence his guitar after soundcheck was done and the headlining bands tour manager literally yelled at him to keep it down.
We always do a run though before a show if we have to do a scaled down bare bones set. 30 minutes isn't a lot, so we usually pick 5 songs that fits well with the headliner's audience, and leave a couple minutes for stage banter/ guitar changes. That way, we have plenty of time to play all of the songs we want to play.
In Portugal the "be on time" side of things is such BS. There was never, ever, a time I showed up at the agreed upon time that I was not too early. I mean, it happened more than once that I would arrive right on time only to find the venue closed or the stage completely empty because the stage crew have not started assembling everything. As much as I try to fight it, this is so common that I instinctively start being "late" because I know everyone will be late.
It’s been a long time since I roadied. One of the bands I helped played live with a full Hammond B3 and Leslie, we alway set it up closest to the side we loaded out on so it was the first thing off the stage. Also if Girlfriends/Wives/Boyfriends/Husbands/Friend do not know how to or aren’t willing to help load off stage or out to the van/trailer they need to stay out of the way preferably not even backstage. The always help other bands out goes a long way too.
Tip 4 - I feel like you could offload everything at that primo spot and have 1 member dive the vehicle down the street, rather than walking everything up the street.
I remember once having to grab a pedal board the headlining band almost forgot on the stage.. at the end of the night, they were heading home and i stop the singer just in time.
This can be summed up in "know your place". Make everyone's life easier, not more difficult. Pretty much good advice for anyone working for or with anyone else.
No.7: YOU ARE NOT the Stones or Bon Jovi! NO Star-attitude guys! The headlining band is what it's all about. NOT YOU. Be polite, know your place and everybody loves you for beeing not a**holes.
Golden Rule: If the tour package contains one or multiple bands with sober guys, do not drink at the venue or in the dressing room. The last thing anybody who is maintaining their sobriety wants to deal with is a bunch of drunk folks. Be respectful
I see your point about the parking tip, when it's a "bigger show". But when you, as the opener, are bringing more people than headliners, and quite frankly are better than the headliner, it's first come first served. I'll take whatever spot I can find. If I don't take it, since it's in the city and street parking, somebody else is gonna snag it that's not even part of the show. It's not like these bars have a sign out front that says "dedicated headliner show parking only".
Hehe yeah pretty much after any performance I look a sweaty mess but I still drag my shit off the stage and out the way as immediately as possible..... then spend like 40 mins backstage packing it neatly and freshening up. I know those short changeovers can be tight especially on stacked festivals so whatever allows the most setup time is always appreciated. Even when it's my band's turn I've got certain things already pre-setup to require the least amount of moves to have me ready to go with as much time to spare for a line check. I hate it so much when you get that "2 mins guys" watch tap from the stage crew and I'm still plugging things in trying to figure out why I've got no sound coming from my amp. One simple thing that helped me out there was getting different colour cables for FX Send and FX Return. Can't tell you how many times I'd plug 2 black ones in and then plug them the wrong way around at the other end. 😆
I see a bunch of people saying "don't play too long." They are going to tell you how much time you have. Plan out your set so it fits in that time slot.
tip #7 the sound check is not the time to dial in your IEM rig for the first time! That should be dialed in, and ready to roll on and off stage like an amp. played a show recently where one of the other openers used the entirety of every bands soundcheck to work out the kinks in their IEM rig. and then left it all on stage after they played.
Its your job as an opening band to try and hype up the headliner to the crowd during your set. it sucks that you gotta try to keep them pumped for the rest of your set while talking up the headliner, but it's your job.
I totally agree with Fluff here: Get the flock off the stage. I went to see Green Day and the opening band was awful. Then at the end of their set, they toppled over the drum set, and hung their guitars off of the mic stands while watching them fall over as they triumphally walked off. They didn't come back out to clean up their mess until about 5 minutes after their set, and then it took them almost 30 minutes to tear down. You could visibly see the Green Day stagehands getting pissed off with these guys. If I'm an opening act, I'm going to bring minimal everything. You don't need 14 guitars and your wall of Marshalls. Get on, do your thing, get off.
Drummers: DO NOT set up or break down your kit on stage. Have legs extended, boom stands 'boomed', toms mounted, etc prior to putting your kit on stage. The rest of the band: backline amps appropriate to your slot in the line up and strike your gear IMMEDIATELY after your set. See your stage manager or sound person if you have any questions.
Interesting video, but there's a few points I do disagree with. 1. Being early is fine, odds are if you're that early the venue might not even be open. Being late is absolutely unforgiveable. 2. Agree to a point, but do not touch my gear unless I specifically say you can. On the flip side to this, the next band trying to get their stuff on stage set up a minute after your set has ended is just as ridiculous. 3. Yeah, agree there. 4. Might just be my experience, but the spots in front of the vast majority of venues I've played has been drop-off and then find parking. I did once see Soil/PoM get a double decker tour bus down a one way alley and the parking situation was an absolute riot. I think it's kinda different in the UK though from what I've seen of venues in the US. 5. Lol no, the support acts aren't your roadies. 6. YESSS I wish so many more people would do this!
With tip 5 odds are the main act has crew and if you try and help you are going to get in the way and slow the that train down. That road crew is paid to handle that gear and no sense opening yourself/band to liability should something happen.
Tip number 7: Don’t have a tantrum on stage in soundcheck in front of the headliner and venue staff I have a story for you, Our ex singer in our last opening gig a few months back had a tantrum in soundcheck…he yelled and swore at us, his bandmates, in soundcheck and threw the mic on the floor because our iem rack power wasn’t plugged in properly and blamed us for being ‘lazy dicks’. No one came to the front after nor moshed and the floor was empty… He then decided to leave the band and we are glad because if he stayed, no one wanted to play with us
Rule 7 Be nice. To everyone, their road crew is not your road crew. Be nice even a kind word or saying thanks goes a long way to any of their crew Rule 8 Do not expect to even talk to the other band. Don't try. Basically don't be the star struck pain. Some bands I have opened for I never even seen or talked to. They got off tour bus, played went back on bus. Others come out talk to you get to know you chat gear have a drink or two all depends on band. It's nice when they do and you realize they are just like you, but don't expect them to.
Two stories: Band was playing before my band. When they were done they decided to sell Merch on stage, ended up having to cut our set short because of it. Another time, a band before us, broke a string, spent 20 minutes of dead air restringing it, finished their whole set, we had to cut 3 songs from ours because of it. Don't be that type of band.
Oh my god I had some locals open up for us In Detroit. Pooring beer on the stage for the “homies” taking their time and hanging out with their friends. It also sucks for us because the slower the locals get off stage, the more songs we have to cut out from our set. Be respectful.
One of the things I constantly hear missing from advice like this is be entertaining! Seriously people this is an entertainment business. So you can play a million notes perfectly in time with technique that boggles the mind? Cool. Guess what Dragged Under does in live sets? Entertains the crowd! Interaction. Activity. And effort. It is not just pick up an instrument and go. They put in that little bit of extra effort to really entertain and engage. and guess what people do? At least from what I've seen go back. Do something as an opener that makes me go "wow I want more of that band what can I do to get that" instead of "Well they were good but who's up next". You are not only setting the tone for the evening's main attraction, but trying to make an impact with your own set. So make a damn impact and be memorable instead of being another part of the background. Then one day you can be the headlining act instead of the opener
Great video. There is nothing worse than an opening band taking their sweet ass time getting their gear off the stage when they are done. Like you are literally standing there holding your guitar case in hand looking at the opening band's guitar player, who still has his guitar hanging from his shoulder talking to someone who just watched him play and wants to tell him how great his set was. This dude gives no fucks about the headlining band or their schedule. GRRRRRRRRRRRRR!
also don’t play too long. a lot of opening bands want to play every song they got. Any time you go over takes away from the other bands and especially the headliner. Always leave them wanting more never make them want to yank you off the stage!
Id like to add as well 1: work on transitions between songs. Cutting down wait time between songs is great. Not every song needs to be applauded nor does every song need a story infront of it. 2: create moments in your songs that are special to the live performance. Something outside of the recorded song added into the live performance is a great way to get people to come back and see you. Give them a reason to go see you. If they want to hear the songs played like the record, theyd listen to the record. 3: DO NOT be an asshole or a bitch to the sound engineer. Theyre the ones that can make you sound great or absolute shit. Just how a cook can do whatever he wants to your food. Same goes for guitarists. Dont keep making your amp louder. Youre not special, the people arent there to see you specifically, theyre there to see the BAND. Everyone needs to make everyone sound good. Everyone isnt there to make YOU sound good. Unless thats the point of the group of course
I watched this while making a sandwich, it took me 5:54 minuets to make it I think this time needs to get better. Conclusion: try harder to make faster sandwiches.
Well *now* you upload this right after we ended our opening tour
Thanks Obama.
We had the pleasure of opening for your band in San Antonio last month and I hope we hit all those points, haha.
It was a great show and thank you for the opportunity 🤙🏼
Discovering your video came just in time for our first gig as opening act in three days. Your comments are like digging in gold! Thank you, thank you!!
Park at the 7-11 a mile down the road, got it!
Tip No.2 made me simplify my bass rig over the last years. I have gone for a small and lightweight bass amp and went from a pedalboard with stompboxes to a floorboard-modeler. Besides the fact I don't have to tapdance anymore to switch stuff during the set, my stuff is so much easier and quicker to move around.
Me too. I have a 3 way instrument cable snake, so basically it's one cable with 3 instrument jacks on either side. I have a multi-effects unit, which keeps it simple. I still use a real tube amp, but with just having to deal with 3 cables total (instrument snake, speaker cable, and a short instrument cable to my wah, it takes me less than 5 minutes to get my rig, off the stage.
Further to "get off the stage", I've seen bands who really don't have any system for efficient setup and tear-down. Like they will take pedals out of an egg crate and set them up (and tear down) right on the stage. Set yourself up for success. If I ever own a venue, I'm going to have a bulldozer clear the stage 5 minutes after scheduled end of set, whether your DS-1 is still there or not.
Spot on...I actually embarrassed myself a few weeks ago. We were the main opener for Everclear and right before they went on stage I found myself just kinda standing backstage waiting for them to get on....I noticed the security guards staring at me and then uncomfortably kicking me out because I was making Art nervous....once Art realized he had kicked out a member of one of the opening bands he was nice about it and apologized but I feel like I shouldn't have been there in the first place...you live you learn. Keep up the great videos Fluff!
Good tips! I'd also add to not play too long. Less is more for opening bands. Short and sweet sets are best as an opener. Also, no excuses about gear not working, computers not working, etc... The crowd does not care. Get up there quickly, play well quickly, and get off.
I can tell you all these tips are absolutely awesome be open for some National Tour bands and everything you said that was right spot on
Always a rule in any band I'm in. Set up in less than 7, year down in less than 5. It earns respect for sure. Great tips!
Very well said! As an opening band we all followed the rules & instantly checked any ego we had at the door. Other than a few friends at the show, nobodies really there to see you & they aren't there to hear you talk. Play your 5-7 songs & get off the stage ASAP. As a headlining band it's always great to see the opening bands stick around to watch your set.
Great tips. It’s also a good idea to always show love over the mic and thank the headliner and the sound crew, lighting crew as well as the venue and crowd for the opportunity that you’ve been given to be an opener and direct support band. 🤘😎🤘
"Assume makes an ass of u and me" probably the best advice I was ever given
The "get out of the way" one really speaks to me. I've seen on a few occasions, bands or band members monopolizing the only, and tiny, green room of a venue. They even bring in their friends to hangout....
If the “friends,” aren’t helping to move gear they got to get the hell out of the way.
What is a green room?
@@justchill1617 room where the bands can prepare (make up, warm up, etc), or also cooldown after the performance. For small shows/venues, it's usually a tiny room that barely fit 3 persons.
PREACH!!!!!!
Also about to pull the trigger on your youtube course. LOVE your stuff dude - thank you.
I was a Talent Buyer for 30 years - and this is so on point -
Do it. You won't be disappointed 🤘
The most important thing to have as an opener is good rhythm. Even if nobody’s ever heard your songs, a good groove will automatically engage the audience.
Yeah I thought this video will take about stage performance but instead it talks about the proper etiquettes which is good also
@@justchill1617 Yeah these are some great tips, I just thought I’d add another. I’ve seen a lot of live shows and the best openers have always been the bands with the best rhythm section.
@@TylerJohnstonGuitar I saw the opener for the Underoath headline show in Pittsburgh and they were rhythmically incredible.
That's for bands in general. Not just for opening bands. I think Fluff's video is talking about things specifically for an opening band, which as far as stage performance goes, there really is only one. Do not go over your set time. Other than that, everything else as far as playing and performing, goes for all bands on the show.
@@travisspaulding2222 Agreed, that and just be a decent human being and you should get pretty far. I haven’t played a live show in years, I’m sure time constraints are even stricter now. Live shows have always been chaotic for me, this video would’ve saved me a lot of anxiety in 2016.
A set-up and tear-down plan is always a great idea to get on and off the stage as quickly as possible.
Showing up on time, prepared, and sober is what got me gigs even though some better players auditioned. A great musician is utterly worthless if they won't rehearse, can't show up, or won't participate.
My drum tech had an emergency kit with sticks, a few heads, beaters, springs, lugs, guitar cables, tubes, strings, batteries, tools, medical supplies, etc. She rescued so many headlining bands when we'd open that a few tried to steal her away.
With all of this respectful, common sense activity, the one fun thing I do when opening for another band is I'll buy one of their shirts and wear it, or throw a sticker on the bass drum res head.
In this video, Fluff talks thinly veiled shit on the recent support acts from his tour lol. Seriously, this is great info that everyone should hear.
Indirect mansplaining uwritten rules that are pretty obvious, I guess their supportbands overstayed their welcome 😂
My band got luck enough to open for Geoff Tate. We all got there early as it was a nearly 4 hour drive for us. We helped Geoffs crew unload their trailer. They proceeded to take the entire 5 hours after that doing setup and left no time for the 5 other bands playing to set up anything. Which does happen. But the downside for us was that the headliner used every avaliable outlet. Leaving nothing for the opening bands. I'd had this happen once before and I always pack a shit ton of extention cord. We ran ours and the other bands gear into the kitchen. The road crew were very rude to us even though we helped with their setup and everything. We only got paid $40 for the show. Which is fine. We just wanted the experience. But I didn't think yelling at us the whole time was nessisary. will say the after our set Geoff was very nice. I ended up emailing his manager to let her know how the rest of his team acted. We had opened for lots of national acts and never had a horrible situation like that. So I think that there needs to be some consideration both ways. As an opener I never expect much. That scenario was just ridiculous. There was a lot more too it. But this is getting lengthy.
Dude that sucks. My band has opened for a few national acts and I can't really remember a bad experience. Skid Row's crew was awesome. Max Cavalerro's crew was
amazing and very humble but I think the best was when we opened for Dave Lombardo's band Philm. Not only was the crew great but the band, including Dave, were
very supportive and made a point to watch our entire set. One instance, years ago, we opened for Smile Empty Soul when they had their big hit and were relevant, they
left us with 24 inches of stage across the front of the stage. Like I had to stand next to my amp because if I stood in front of it I would have fallen off the stage. LOL
Brother I cannot count the times stuff like that happens. You are 100% correct... it should go both ways. Sadly, it doesn't always. I feel you on this.
@@bobmartino8073 we opened for Nonpoint, Smile Empty Soul, Trapt, and a few others. All great experiences. I guess I just expected better from someone who's been doing this longer than I've been alive.
@@ffcwoods for the most part I've had a great time opening for national acts. That was one cade where it could have gone so much better and they were the cause of all the craziness and confusion for the night
Sounds like you had an interesting tour. Hope there's lots of stories coming! Thx man.
THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU!!! These tips will help A LOT during our first set of shows! I've been binge watching all your stuff to grasp everything important about being an up and coming opening act! Again... THANK YOU
this advice is great, my band just started performing live and this advice is great
I’ve played big and small shows since 1993 and I still LOVE opening up!
I always appreciate these tips. There haven't been many opportunities to open for anyone where I'm from, but this kind of advice will always keep me more or less prepared.
I think a good number 6 is simply be kind and be polite. Learn names, make eye contact, thank people who help you. Thank the tour or production manager. Thank people from the venue. Live music is one area where nice guys don’t finish last.
This is facts!
For the life of me I have never understood why is eye contact so important in social situations, personally I find it really hard to hear/pay attention to what other people say if I am focusing on eye contact, and most of the time I'd rather process the information correctly lmao
Cool, Fluff got a new studio. Look's good. 👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻
Definitely watching this to make sure I’m already doing everything I’m supposed to be doing lol
My band recently got the direct opening slot before a much bigger band. Another tipp I would give is sort of a given, but stay on time for your show. We were given a 40 minute slot and I pushed on my bandmates to only plan a 37 minute show, which turned out to work in our favor, since we once had a small technical difficulty, which was resolved fast enough to finish the set in 39:55 mins, causing no delay whatsoever for the main act.
This is exactly why my band usually times our set at practice before a show. When a promotor says 30 minutes they mean 30 minutes unless otherwise specified. Although it does suck on the rare occasion that a promoter plays favorites and lets one of the non headlining band go over their set time, and leave very little time for the other bands
@@OddoRocket another important reason to time your set, if you know how long it is, you get to call out a douchebag sound guy that tried to tell you you're running over.
Tip #2 was the first thing I thought of after reading the title of the video. It drives me insane watching bands taking their sweet time after a set and breaking down the drums and pedalboards. Get it off the stage before breaking down!
And one thing I would add is to play for the amount of time you’re scheduled for. If you’re scheduled to play 30 minutes, don’t play for 45 or even 35 minutes. Play for 30 minutes!
"The good parking isn't for you" 🤣🔥
Best known as rule no.1 - check your attitude at the door. Really, though, it's excellent advice for any band
"Simp for the headliner"
When I played in bands in the early and mid 90s I used to hate when bands took forever to set up and tear down. We used label and mark everything so set up and tear down took minutes and we could all help each other. So many bands would mill around on stage as if they never saw any of their gear before that moment.
Pro-tip: The audience is there to see you play, not to watch you take 15 minutes to adjust a hi-hat or to watch you figure out how to wire your pedalboard.
all good stuff fluff. thanks. when in doubt.....serve and help someone.... with gear, set up, tear down, whatever.
Id say one tip that wasnt mentioned although im not sure if its more aimed at local bands: "DO NOT LEAVE AFTER YOUR OWN SET BECAUSE YOU'RE TIRED OR ITS A LONG DRIVE HOME OR YOU HAVE WORK EARLY!" For me this is easily my no1, ive seen it at almost every gig ive been to
I agree, that is the best show of respect to headlining bands
I mean that depends. If we have a gig to do the following night, if we need to get on the road, then we have to get on the road. That's the music business. While it's always fun to stick around and enjoy the show, it's not always the best plan.
Especially for local shows. Every gig I’ve ever played saw a band leave after their set. Which was usually followed by their fans, or at least the people they brought, leave the venue as well. I always stay to be a good sport, but by the time the headliner gets on, or even if my band is playing last, the venue looks pretty sparse and all the energy is gone.
Hi Fluff, regarding tip 2, how much time should I take to clear the stage? When I play I ALWAYS do my best to take my stuff off the stage asap, I mute the pedalboard and start to unplug the guitar cable as soon as I play the last note, and I slam my pedalboard in the case with all the cables still attached without wrapping them, but even doing so it takes at least 4-5 minutes to unplug all the cables, wireless system, remove the guitars and completely clear the stage. Do you have any tip on how to speed up the process?
Here’s a question I’ve always not known the answer to and quite frankly I hate even thinking about but, how do you make sure when you are loading and unloading your gear, how do you make sure none of your stuff gets stolen? I don’t think I could ever do a live gig because I have a Gibson Les Paul Custom and if I had to, it would be GLUED to me the entire time. Just wondering how you make sure nothing of yours gets stolen
One thing that really kills me is watching a drummer with their kit still on the stage removing cymbals from the stands. If I had a dollar every time I've seen that, I wouldn't be bitching about gas prices. The stay out of the way advice is good, but still goes both ways. We opened for a band, and we played our set, and was starting to tear down, and it literally takes us less than 5 minutes to get all of our shit off the stage. I have streamlined my rig to make it take very little time to break down. I have an instrument snake, so it's basically one cable with 3 jacks on either side. Our drummer's kit is on a rack, so him and the singer carry it off the stage, and they come back to grab the snare, kick drum, and hi hat. Well, when we played our set, the headlining band's crew immediately got in our way of tearing our shit down. I was trying to unplug my amp, and get the speaker cable disconnected, and one of the crew guys was trying to climb behind my amp to mess with their shit. I just straight up told him that it'll only take us 5 minutes to get out of the way, but it would be a lot easier for both of us if they could give us the 5 minutes.
Very helpful info thanks Fluff
Hey man, you do a great job w/ your vids. An idea for a new vid (that will selfishly help us!) Our band is progressing but now we need to learn how to put on a show, not just play songs. So my vid idea is to show some examples of how to come up of cool intros and transitions. For instance I’ve seen just a drummer and bassist playing something funky before going into the actual song. Also examples of transitioning between songs without a hard stop/cold start.
Any consideration is much appreciated!
extending some of these tips... your band rehearsal should include practicing setup and breakdown! guitarists should be able to breakdown their rig in under a minute then help the drummer. plan ahead of time what the singer should do to contribute after the set.
Tip No. 7: Don’t name-drop your band in Fluff’s comment section.
HOLY SHIT TIP 2 !!!!!!!! GOD DAMN IVE BEEN SCREAMING THAT FOR YEARS
My boy rocking maximum comb over. Getting old sucks... I feel that.
2 and 4 are why I went to a digital rig easy in and out and I don't dread lugging it around
FACTS 1000%!!!!!
Another tip, if you're the opening local band and you're soundchecking... Don't endlessly noodle on your guitar. I was in a band that was direct local support for a touring package that came through and there was one band that were playing before us so they soundchecked while the headlining band had their VIP meet and greet/signing going on in the upper level of the venue. This one guitarist wouldn't silence his guitar after soundcheck was done and the headlining bands tour manager literally yelled at him to keep it down.
Solid advice!
Don’t play to long. Know exactly how long your set is. If it’s supposed to be a 30 minute set play for 29 minutes. Not 45.
True. Some bands don't realize that the next act's gear doesn't magically appear set up on stage after the last note of their set.
We always do a run though before a show if we have to do a scaled down bare bones set. 30 minutes isn't a lot, so we usually pick 5 songs that fits well with the headliner's audience, and leave a couple minutes for stage banter/ guitar changes. That way, we have plenty of time to play all of the songs we want to play.
In Portugal the "be on time" side of things is such BS. There was never, ever, a time I showed up at the agreed upon time that I was not too early. I mean, it happened more than once that I would arrive right on time only to find the venue closed or the stage completely empty because the stage crew have not started assembling everything.
As much as I try to fight it, this is so common that I instinctively start being "late" because I know everyone will be late.
It’s been a long time since I roadied. One of the bands I helped played live with a full Hammond B3 and Leslie, we alway set it up closest to the side we loaded out on so it was the first thing off the stage. Also if Girlfriends/Wives/Boyfriends/Husbands/Friend do not know how to or aren’t willing to help load off stage or out to the van/trailer they need to stay out of the way preferably not even backstage. The always help other bands out goes a long way too.
Tip 2 is GOLDEN ADVICE - people hate waiting around for the next act.
Tip 4 - I feel like you could offload everything at that primo spot and have 1 member dive the vehicle down the street, rather than walking everything up the street.
Spot on Fluff. X
I remember once having to grab a pedal board the headlining band almost forgot on the stage.. at the end of the night, they were heading home and i stop the singer just in time.
This can be summed up in "know your place". Make everyone's life easier, not more difficult. Pretty much good advice for anyone working for or with anyone else.
No.7: YOU ARE NOT the Stones or Bon Jovi! NO Star-attitude guys! The headlining band is what it's all about. NOT YOU. Be polite, know your place and everybody loves you for beeing not a**holes.
Hope we uphold to all these standards! My band Waking Tera will be opening for the FATN tour in High Point, excited to meet you bro!
Golden Rule: If the tour package contains one or multiple bands with sober guys, do not drink at the venue or in the dressing room. The last thing anybody who is maintaining their sobriety wants to deal with is a bunch of drunk folks. Be respectful
I see your point about the parking tip, when it's a "bigger show". But when you, as the opener, are bringing more people than headliners, and quite frankly are better than the headliner, it's first come first served. I'll take whatever spot I can find. If I don't take it, since it's in the city and street parking, somebody else is gonna snag it that's not even part of the show. It's not like these bars have a sign out front that says "dedicated headliner show parking only".
I mean. Yes, on tour bars absolutely have reserved parking for the headliners haha
Hehe yeah pretty much after any performance I look a sweaty mess but I still drag my shit off the stage and out the way as immediately as possible..... then spend like 40 mins backstage packing it neatly and freshening up.
I know those short changeovers can be tight especially on stacked festivals so whatever allows the most setup time is always appreciated.
Even when it's my band's turn I've got certain things already pre-setup to require the least amount of moves to have me ready to go with as much time to spare for a line check. I hate it so much when you get that "2 mins guys" watch tap from the stage crew and I'm still plugging things in trying to figure out why I've got no sound coming from my amp. One simple thing that helped me out there was getting different colour cables for FX Send and FX Return. Can't tell you how many times I'd plug 2 black ones in and then plug them the wrong way around at the other end. 😆
Yes get on and off stage ASAP. But also never unplug ANYTHING that isn’t your own gear.
I see a bunch of people saying "don't play too long." They are going to tell you how much time you have. Plan out your set so it fits in that time slot.
Fluff's Top 6 Peeves of Supporting Acts ;) .. I kid I kid ... Spot on sir \m/
tip #7 the sound check is not the time to dial in your IEM rig for the first time! That should be dialed in, and ready to roll on and off stage like an amp. played a show recently where one of the other openers used the entirety of every bands soundcheck to work out the kinks in their IEM rig. and then left it all on stage after they played.
In fact you're saying: be nice, helpful and do, what you are told to do ;)
Its your job as an opening band to try and hype up the headliner to the crowd during your set. it sucks that you gotta try to keep them pumped for the rest of your set while talking up the headliner, but it's your job.
I totally agree with Fluff here: Get the flock off the stage. I went to see Green Day and the opening band was awful. Then at the end of their set, they toppled over the drum set, and hung their guitars off of the mic stands while watching them fall over as they triumphally walked off. They didn't come back out to clean up their mess until about 5 minutes after their set, and then it took them almost 30 minutes to tear down. You could visibly see the Green Day stagehands getting pissed off with these guys. If I'm an opening act, I'm going to bring minimal everything. You don't need 14 guitars and your wall of Marshalls. Get on, do your thing, get off.
Drummers: DO NOT set up or break down your kit on stage. Have legs extended, boom stands 'boomed', toms mounted, etc prior to putting your kit on stage. The rest of the band: backline amps appropriate to your slot in the line up and strike your gear IMMEDIATELY after your set. See your stage manager or sound person if you have any questions.
Interesting video, but there's a few points I do disagree with.
1. Being early is fine, odds are if you're that early the venue might not even be open. Being late is absolutely unforgiveable.
2. Agree to a point, but do not touch my gear unless I specifically say you can. On the flip side to this, the next band trying to get their stuff on stage set up a minute after your set has ended is just as ridiculous.
3. Yeah, agree there.
4. Might just be my experience, but the spots in front of the vast majority of venues I've played has been drop-off and then find parking. I did once see Soil/PoM get a double decker tour bus down a one way alley and the parking situation was an absolute riot. I think it's kinda different in the UK though from what I've seen of venues in the US.
5. Lol no, the support acts aren't your roadies.
6. YESSS I wish so many more people would do this!
I agree with your take on no. 5, also sometimes when you try to help they will blame you if one of their stuff got broken or lost.
With tip 5 odds are the main act has crew and if you try and help you are going to get in the way and slow the that train down. That road crew is paid to handle that gear and no sense opening yourself/band to liability should something happen.
Tip number 7: Don’t have a tantrum on stage in soundcheck in front of the headliner and venue staff
I have a story for you, Our ex singer in our last opening gig a few months back had a tantrum in soundcheck…he yelled and swore at us, his bandmates, in soundcheck and threw the mic on the floor because our iem rack power wasn’t plugged in properly and blamed us for being ‘lazy dicks’. No one came to the front after nor moshed and the floor was empty… He then decided to leave the band and we are glad because if he stayed, no one wanted to play with us
Thanks Dad!
Or…..unload your gear from the good parking spot, then, immediately go park where you’re supposed to 🤔
Rule 7 Be nice. To everyone, their road crew is not your road crew. Be nice even a kind word or saying thanks goes a long way to any of their crew
Rule 8 Do not expect to even talk to the other band. Don't try. Basically don't be the star struck pain. Some bands I have opened for I never even seen or talked to. They got off tour bus, played went back on bus. Others come out talk to you get to know you chat gear have a drink or two all depends on band. It's nice when they do and you realize they are just like you, but don't expect them to.
Two stories:
Band was playing before my band. When they were done they decided to sell Merch on stage, ended up having to cut our set short because of it.
Another time, a band before us, broke a string, spent 20 minutes of dead air restringing it, finished their whole set, we had to cut 3 songs from ours because of it.
Don't be that type of band.
And: STAY OUT OF THE HEADLINERS GREENROOM! (and for the love of god don't help yourself to their beer!)
Oh my god I had some locals open up for us In Detroit. Pooring beer on the stage for the “homies” taking their time and hanging out with their friends. It also sucks for us because the slower the locals get off stage, the more songs we have to cut out from our set. Be respectful.
On point 2, I have my rig designed to be setup/torn down in 3 minutes.
As it turns out, oddly enough… being a good opener has nothing to do with how/what you play. Who woulda thought.
So true
One of the things I constantly hear missing from advice like this is be entertaining! Seriously people this is an entertainment business. So you can play a million notes perfectly in time with technique that boggles the mind? Cool. Guess what Dragged Under does in live sets? Entertains the crowd! Interaction. Activity. And effort. It is not just pick up an instrument and go. They put in that little bit of extra effort to really entertain and engage. and guess what people do? At least from what I've seen go back. Do something as an opener that makes me go "wow I want more of that band what can I do to get that" instead of "Well they were good but who's up next". You are not only setting the tone for the evening's main attraction, but trying to make an impact with your own set. So make a damn impact and be memorable instead of being another part of the background. Then one day you can be the headlining act instead of the opener
Is that a squirrel in the tree out your window
Great video. There is nothing worse than an opening band taking their sweet ass time getting their gear off the stage when they are done. Like you are literally standing there
holding your guitar case in hand looking at the opening band's guitar player, who still has his guitar hanging from his shoulder talking to someone who just watched him play
and wants to tell him how great his set was. This dude gives no fucks about the headlining band or their schedule. GRRRRRRRRRRRRR!
TL;DR version: Be decent, and be courteous.
maybe ask before grabbing any piece of gear with the intention of helping!
Tip the sound guy, tip the bartender, tip the door guy. Those people probably make less money than you do, especially if it's a small venue.
Tip 7: Come prepared. Sound check isn't the time to try a new tone or adjust song arrangements.
5:02 - *Assistant TO the Tour Manager
HI Fluff!
also don’t play too long. a lot of opening bands want to play every song they got. Any time you go over takes away from the other bands and especially the headliner. Always leave them wanting more never make them want to yank you off the stage!
Id like to add as well
1: work on transitions between songs. Cutting down wait time between songs is great. Not every song needs to be applauded nor does every song need a story infront of it.
2: create moments in your songs that are special to the live performance. Something outside of the recorded song added into the live performance is a great way to get people to come back and see you. Give them a reason to go see you. If they want to hear the songs played like the record, theyd listen to the record.
3: DO NOT be an asshole or a bitch to the sound engineer. Theyre the ones that can make you sound great or absolute shit. Just how a cook can do whatever he wants to your food. Same goes for guitarists. Dont keep making your amp louder. Youre not special, the people arent there to see you specifically, theyre there to see the BAND. Everyone needs to make everyone sound good. Everyone isnt there to make YOU sound good. Unless thats the point of the group of course
I watched this while making a sandwich, it took me 5:54 minuets to make it I think this time needs to get better.
Conclusion: try harder to make faster sandwiches.
Boy, if you could have put this out decades ago you would have saved the sanity of so many musicians. Lot of these are so painful to deal with
Make sure to practice that new song on stage that you've never played before.
But my minivan always takes the good parking spots.
Be tuned up and ready, don't waste time. You don't have extra. Bring your back up instrument.
Have a COMPACT rig, a rig you literally roll in, play, and roll out. Your rig needs to be mobile.
Don't badmouth about the headliner... Even within the closest circle.
Feel like these should be a given LOL
Don’t cover the main act’s songs, even if normally do that when not opening for them, even if you are known for that song…
Oddly specific 🤔