Inverse proportion
When you're a kid, preparation for playing live is usually somewhat fussy - you have to get dressed up, and there's waiting, and nervousness, and WOW BANG YOU'RE IN FRONT OF PEOPLE PLAYING and then, if things go well, there's cake.
When you're first playing professionally, you take too long to set up your gear. Doesn't matter whether it's a single horn or a big electric rig - you take too long, get too fussy. It happens because you're unsure of your playing, and you're trying to make preparation work as a substitute for the in-the-moment facility needed to play.
After a while, you simplify, and set up really fast. Come in, put the horn on a stand, put the guitar on a stand, plug in the amp, make sure the mic works, and go get a drink and chill before playing, because you want to play, not set up. That works pretty well but lacks nuance.
In time, you get to a place where you take just a bit more time - put everything together, do a soundcheck that's actually a mini-set, and then chill until it's time to play, and play and have fun. That's black-belt level - just go in, set up, and not worry about your level of playing. Performance anxiety? Always there. But not at a crippling level.
In my experience, I'd rather see a band that's taken less time to set up than more time. It bodes well for the music - they want to play. I think there's a law, or guideline, or something, that states that the quality of a band is inverse to the amount of time they take to set up.
Which makes two-day rockshow setups kind of suspect ;-)
When you're first playing professionally, you take too long to set up your gear. Doesn't matter whether it's a single horn or a big electric rig - you take too long, get too fussy. It happens because you're unsure of your playing, and you're trying to make preparation work as a substitute for the in-the-moment facility needed to play.
After a while, you simplify, and set up really fast. Come in, put the horn on a stand, put the guitar on a stand, plug in the amp, make sure the mic works, and go get a drink and chill before playing, because you want to play, not set up. That works pretty well but lacks nuance.
In time, you get to a place where you take just a bit more time - put everything together, do a soundcheck that's actually a mini-set, and then chill until it's time to play, and play and have fun. That's black-belt level - just go in, set up, and not worry about your level of playing. Performance anxiety? Always there. But not at a crippling level.
In my experience, I'd rather see a band that's taken less time to set up than more time. It bodes well for the music - they want to play. I think there's a law, or guideline, or something, that states that the quality of a band is inverse to the amount of time they take to set up.
Which makes two-day rockshow setups kind of suspect ;-)