keep cool...
Don't ask for more guitar in the monitors
There are plenty of exceptions to this rule if we're talking about acoustic guitar or direct feeds, but not a full stack in a club. A friend was running sound at a big local club. The band was a full-shred death metal local band with pretentions of getting a contract. They hadn't played out much but wanted to sound cool and professional at what might've been their first big break. Lots of props, lots of amps. As I recall there were at least two or three guitarist with at least full Marshall stacks each, maybe two stacks for the lead. This alone was almost a match for the output of the entire house PA.
Being a nice guy, my friend agreed to mic the guitar amps, not because he thought it would be needed but because the band really thought it was necessary. After all, he could just leave the faders down on those channels… or not plug in the cables at the board… They get onstage as the second or third act of the night so there's no sound check except a few "Check, check" by the lead vocalist. The volume they need is clearly going to be a full "10" from the monitors. As they start up their set with all sorts of feedback issues to contend with, not only does the vocalist need more in the monitors, but the guitarists start saying they can't hear their guitars. "More guitar in the monitors," was the call over and over again.
Call me narrow minded, but if you're standing in front of a hot full stack on "11" in a club and you can't hear it, there's something seriously wrong with you, not the PA. There's was so much coming out of the stage that front of house was almost completely off. There's no way to rescue the sound at that point. Remember, it's the audience that matters. Trust the sound guy or take your own.
Don't touch other people's equipment without asking
Most musicians have spent more time touching the instrument they play than wearing underwear. It's a day in, day out commitment. Grabbing someone's guitar without asking is a violation of personal space. If you don't like that reasoning, here's some GOOD reasons: A guy picks up the electric guitar just dropped on the stage only to find out it was dropped because there's AC going through it. Or how about you make a tweak on the board when the engineer's not watching to make something "sound better", when feedback ensues the engineer can't find the source immediately. Just don't do it. It's rude.
Listen to the sound man
If you're lucky, he's got at least a vague clue how to get a decent sound in the venue. Chances are he's on your side, the better you sound, the better he sounds. Until you piss him off, then all bets are off. He's likely to have some suggestions that will help get the best sound to the audience. Frequently this may include turning down an instrument. Guitarists often won't believe in turning down, thinking their sound will be compromised. But most small and medium venues weren't designed with acoustics in mind. The frequencies that travel well are the low mids and below; the louder you get, the muddier the sound away from the speakers. By paying attention to the sound man, you might be able to avoid the "wall of mud" syndrome. Maybe the stage responds sympathetically if the bass amp is in a certain spot. Maybe the kick drum slaps against the rear wall if pointed in the wrong direction. There's lots of things you can't possibly know if you're onstage. The sound man may be your best friend. Maybe your only friend.
Don't choke the mic unless you really want that sound.
Wrapping your hand around the windshield of the mic is generally a bad thing. Many amateurs do it because they think it looks cool. I've heard some say they do it to hear themselves better. If choking up helps you sound better, you need to get a better monitoring system. What's really happening is mostly bad. You're defeating most of the feedback rejection properties of the microphone, making it hard or impossible for the soundman to maintain the volume - usually he'll have to turn down to avoid ringing or feedback if you're running at more than half volume.
Don't ask the audience if they think the sound is too loud
"Can you hear me there in the back?" Dumb question. Of course we can't hear you, that's why we're standing as far away as possible. Usually this sort of problem pops up from the prima-donna in a band. Or the vocalist… Yes, you should be concerned with your sound, but deal with it professionally. Asking the audience if the lead guitar is too loud just makes you sound whining and petulant. Deal with onstage ego (volume) problems before the gig. Deal with audio problems during the gig by talking with someone who has their hand on a fader. Send a friend into the audience to check the sound if you're worried. The sound guy is doing his best to make you sound good until you piss him off. Turning the audience against him won't do you much good.
Don't gripe on stage
You're in the middle of the gig from hell. The guitarist is playing with five strings. The drummer just launched another stick at your head -DUCK!-. And you can't hear anything but boomy mud. But the audience will probably never know unless you say something to make it obvious. I ran a survey for a series of performances once. On the way out, I'd ask a bunch of performers not in my act how my show went. The band agreed on the quality of each performance, the reviewers generally agreed on the quality of each performance. But there was little agreement between the band and the reviewers. One show that I thought was absolutely smokin' was the poorest received by the audience. The only real difference between semi-pro and professional is that you can't tell when a pro screws up. Keep that stage face on.
Don't turn to stare at the drummer when he screws up, chances are only 2% of the audience noticed
People are sheep. Sheep don't know much about music, but they'll react as a group if you give them a reason. No one has heard the song as many times as you have, they're not going to catch even glaring mistakes if you don't give them a clue.
Know who the house manager is and follow his instructions
Sure it's "your band". Maybe you even brought in "your crowd". But if you can't keep the house manager happy, you don't get to come back. Sometimes this is the owner of a club. Sometimes it's the landlord. If you're lucky it might be the booking agent for the venue. Find out ahead of time who's got the voice of god. Frequently they'll be so happy you came to talk to them, you can get away with murder. If you can do the subservient act well, you may even get to do more than you want. Free beer, tips, a bonus are all at your fingertips IF you keep checking in with the Official Guy.
This is particularly important if you know the Official Guy is often a problem. By pretending to care what he says before and during the show, you may make him think, maybe for the first time in his life, that someone is on his side. Even if you're not going to do exactly what he wants, a little lip service goes a long ways.
Changing the EQ on the bass in almost like turning it down… pointing the guitar amp away from the audience is almost like turning it down… reaching for a knob and pretending to move it is… you get the idea…
One place I played had a problematic person-whose-orifice-must-be-kissed. By keeping in contact with this person throughout the gig, we kept him happy even though we hated his guts and couldn't agree with anything he said. It turned out he owned the club AND another place we wanted to get booked in.
If someone compliments you, say "Thanks". Don't say, "You should hear us when we're playing well" or "Are you kidding? We were crap!" Right or wrong, you've got to accept a compliment. It takes extra effort for someone to say something nice to the band, whether it's deserved or not. Be being polite and appreciative you'll fool them into thinking you're twice as good. Thanking someone isn't being immodest, you're simply acknowledging what they said. You don't need to agree with them to thank them. And if someone asks for an autograph, don't freak out. Just do it and be happy someone might think it's valuable. My natural reaction to being asked for an autograph is, "Get real!" This is absolutely the wrong answer. Luckily it's not an issue very often for me…
source:GUITARGLEN / http://guitarglen.bravehost.com/