So you have your first gig? After all the practicing your band has done, you finally landed the dream- a chance to play in front of a crowd. This, next to being signed, is one of the greatest experiences and thrills to happen to a knew band. You can show the world how great you are. Like Murphy's Law says "what can go wrong, will go wrong." Every musician in the world can remember the first time they performed on staged, so make it a good experience not a frightful mess.
First, rehearse, rehearse, rehearse, rehearse! No matter how many times you have performed your songs in the garage, when you get on stage it will all sound different, and, if you don't know your part 110%, you will get it wrong. In the garage, you are in one small room and quite close to your fellow band mates. On stage, you can be separated a lot and you may not be able to hear the other guys or what they are playing. If you know your songs very well, you will be able play no matter what sound problems you have.
Secondly, be confident. If you rehearse your songs well, you will do fine. If you are nervous, it will show and you will mess up and no one will wan to hire you again. This is your time to shine. You don't want a bad reputation. Rehearse the songs in order so you know how each one will sound when you play them in the place and you can keep going if there is a problem. This will let you know how you will do in real life and if any problems might happen.
Make sure your guitars have new strings (but put them on at least two hours before you play and stretch them in), your drums have at least a new snare skin, check the condition of the kick drum skin too. You don't want to have an equipment problems while you are playing and getting everything ready and fresh ahead of time can help prevent any issues.
Singers should use a "cheat sheet" and write down the first word of each line to jog their memory in case they get nervous. However, if you are well rehearsed your should not need it! Playing in front of a crowd is a lot different than playing in front of no one and it is normal for people to get nervous.
Enjoy your self and get the whole thing recorded on audio and visual mediums so you can show it to your family and friends and to your grand kids when your old! Either way you won't forget it! No matter what happens it will be a great time and if you just relax, you will be more comfortable and have a better time.
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