https://youtu.be/x7n2yllUCxk?si=M056f3FMqS4m5Gdd
The band starts at 13.25
HALF THE WORLD AWAY – OASIS
Lets start with me, since this song is not very hard with easy lyrical flow and chord changes I didn’t really struggle or feel any nerves it was nice. My chord changes where on time whilst picking out different little arpeggiated parts instead of just strumming it I feel this adds some difference and separated me and Jacob making us sound better. Im not too happy that there was only two microphones but oh well what can you do, I still sang even though you cant hear me I think my vocals where fine on this song it matches my voice type decently and I cant say I struggled with remembering any of the words which is great makes us look better. The only thing I will say is at the end with the repetitive “I dont feel downs” It sounds like we are singing them at different times and that is not intended so that could be cleaner and Maia does the vocal decline a bar early so we sound a little bit messy, this could be avoided with a little more practice and being familiar with the song. Alex on drums actually did really well from what I can hear on the video he sounds focused and the drums really fit the part he played very well. The only section I can find with an obvious slip up was the end of the second chorus and he hits the snare a few extra times before moving on to the ride other than that he did great. For this song I feel Dennis didn’t practice this song much at all, he didn’t really bother too much in the rehearsals so this result was expected. What he could do better is practice most chances you get and make sure you are as committed to the project as every one else in your band or it will result in a poor performance as a whole. Luckily this song didn’t go to bad the voices sound pretty good and the guitar, drums and bass sound pretty tight. Jacobs vocals are really impressive he did really good and whilst singing he also kept the guitar playing up to standard too, cant fault him really. Liams bass playing sounds strong and consistent every thing you would want from a bass player. For improvement I would suggest looking up and around a little more and just bobbing his head or making it look like he wants to be there.
What Went Well?
Overall I think it was a pretty good gig with few mistakes, we played consistently well, the voices sounded confident and it sounds strong. I also like the ending I thought we did a good job with calming it down and giving the song some dynamics so its not all the same all the way through. My guitar playing was nice and consistent from the start. Jacobs voice sounds like its made for any oasis song when he sings on them.
What Went Wrong?
Dennis plays a little out of time for sections which made us look a little bit worse than we are and that caused the drummer to make mistakes as well this impacted the overall performance. I was supposed to have a microphone to sing into but because of the mistakes in people with equipment I could not do what was planned which isn’t great. The song feels a little rushed when I watch it back over.
What Can I Do To Improve?
Firstly I should do checks just before we leave for the gig to make sure all the equipment is there. For Dennis I think he should practice his instrument and the individual songs more often, I think if he did he wouldn’t struggle with timing like he does. For Alex I would say he would benefit from learning how to play quieter overall not just for this gig I feel if he learnt a few songs with a style he wouldn’t typically go for then he would get used to and have some experience with playing calmer, quieter songs. For Jacob I would suggest maybe smiling other than that I cant really think for him he did pretty well. For Maia I would suggest a little more confidence and learning a few other oasis songs to get a feel for how the voices sound. Liam just made a few slip ups so I would say practice it some more, I think that last one should apply to all of us.
Mind Over Matter – Young the Giant
The first thing that stands out to me about this performance is my vocals, now I know I am not a singer but still I do feel like I could and have done a lot better on the song in the past. There was certain parts of this performance were my voice was really off due to nerves I think. I need to make sure I am keeping control of my nerves before a gig and especially in a exposing acoustic gig where the vocals are the loudest thing in the gig. I also think in result of some parts of the singing being bad I feel that it put me off my guitar playing which is a little humbling but a big lesson learnt I know now that if I let the nerves get the better of my performance then I will be thrown off so I will be mentally prepared for the performances to come. I think for Alex on drums he could of done better by adding little symbols or a signifier that we are going into the next part of the song because without it it makes the drums sound super repetitive and makes the song feel like it going on for ever because there is little to no dynamics unlike how we practiced. However Alex did a good job on the 3rd verse where the guitars cut out the bass and drums are all that is playing and in order for that to sound nice and smooth the drums have to be spot on and I would say he did a great job at keeping that together. The drums sound consistent and fit well with the bass and that was a make or break section and it turned out nice. From what I can hear Liam on bass did a pretty good job. the song sounds tight and his bass is on point for 70% of the song so great. The only thing I can so for the bass is when it gets to the third verse and the guitar cuts he could be a little more confident I think if he was all those notes would have rang out fine but in all fairness he did really well with this song so a little more confidence and he is winning. Dennis on the keyboard actually did a lot better than he did in the rehearsals. He sounded on time and held the notes for the right amount of time before changing the chord. I think for improvement Dennis should try adding some embellishments with the chords so he isn’t just playing repetitive simple stuff, it would take practice but doesn’t every thing take practice? overall Dennis did well with this song. Jacob did a good job with the guitar. He supported the singers with playing a quiet melody in parts that needed it and the chords rang out when mine didn’t, just unlucky the microphone didn’t pick up that much guitar. Maia messed up one of the first lyrics which I think nocked her confidence a little. Its unlucky but throughout the song she definitely was strong on the other verses and chorus especially when I was not. I think both me and Maia lacked confidence on this song resulting us to be quieter and more withheld, Maia did the belt perfectly near the end it just would of sounded a little better if we had stuck with the dynamics we practiced but it is what it is we could of done better but now we know we need to practice more exposing acoustic songs more and we need to practice our confidence on stage.
What Went Well?
There was some strong moments in the pre-chorus where all vocals and instruments worked together and sounded great. The bass was consistent through most of the song and the guitar playing only had a few mistakes from me. Maia hit perfect notes for the belting part in the end of the song which was great. Overall okay gig.
What Went Wrong?
My vocals need a lot of work and practice as they impacted the performance quality as a whole, the best way I can practice this is to keep singing and going over the songs that need work constantly, this I plan to do. Both me and Maia could of sounded a lot better and a lot more confident. Jacobs guitar is pretty quiet and Alex could of included a lot more use of the symbols and shown the dynamics we rehearsed.
What Can I Do To Improve?
Both me and Maia should practice this song and other songs like it to get our voices used to singing songs we are not too comfortable singing. Alex should practice playing a song quieter for some parts lauder for others and also dynamics and feel changes. I need to make sure I am mentally prepared as in not too nervous and keep my confidence.
Garden Cafe Performance
https://youtu.be/tFtxiy9duQs?si=4x2SE0Kt5S9xT56P
https://youtu.be/3bKLhWXJ3Pg?si=s4kVHlozzsGsmXEu
Half The World Away-Oasis
Starts 19.38 + next video
I have a microphone now so I can be heard. The song went okay but there are a lot of things I could do better with my singing I just need to keep practicing I will get it, I think it just feels uncomfortable to sing in performances. I am going to get over this by writing my own lyrics for my songs and singing them in performances then my confidence should go up as the vocals will definitely be in my range. My guitar playing is fine in this video nothing amazing nothing terrible I kept a nice consistent strumming pattern and played the right chords at the right time thats good enough for a cafe gig. For Maia again she sounds like she needs more confidence in the intro but I do understand that these are songs sung by men so it could be tricky maybe next time she should try pitching it up to something she is comfortable with as we may get a better result. Jacobs guitar playing seems as good as the other gig cant really complain about that one thing I will say is his vocals can hardly be heard with the microphone he has got which is not great. Dennis and Liam seem to also be doing well and Liam looks like he wants to be there which is improvement. I think the same applies as the last performance for these two. Alex did a better job in this performance with his drums sounding more fitting to the song and he hits every beat no more no less I still think he could make better use of his symbols but other than that every one did alright.
What Went Well?
The whole band did a good job keeping the instruments supporting the vocals throughout the song. There was moments when the vocals really clicked like it was supposed to when Jacob could be heard.
What Went Wrong?
Me, Maia and Jacob all it different vocal part that would act as layers when we sing together I was on the lower side Maia was higher and Jacob was supposed the be the main strongest voice but because of the microphones not sounding great it forced us to figure out a new way mid-song so I ended up trying to take the parts Jacob would sing and it was all just a bit messy.
What Can I Do To Improve?
I need to be trying to push for a sound check and we actually stick with the stuff we sound checked because we ended up switching guitars and mic’s and the whole thing lacked order. We need to find a way so people who need to soundcheck and need these things to work get done to make sure every thing is working. Again keep on top of the nerves, because I had to quickly take Jacobs vocal part it made me a little nervous and unconfident which messed with the quality of my voice. I need to be chill.
A Hard Days Night-The Beatles.
I don’t think any of us were ready for the intro for this song as when the first chord was played everyones counting skills including mine just disappeared we completely messed up one of the most iconic intro’s going and this straight away impacted the overall performance. The exact same problem occurred in this song as Jacobs mic was hardly getting any sound out I switched from a bass voice to the middle and it didn’t go as bad as the first time I tried this. My voice sounded good in some spots but then things got messy again when Eric was trying to fix Jacobs mic resulting in him being heard so then I quickly dropped back down to a lower voice making us look very unprofessional. Alex sounded pretty good on the drums with only a few moments when we was rushing a little but thats okay the drums is one of the only things that went right for this song. Dennis and Liam again being consistent on bass and keys, I am happy Dennis is starting to put the work in a bit more now the past 2 gigs he has played, looked and sounded like he knows what planet he is on this is good improvement for the band and his own music career. Maia really was not comfortable with some of the notes in the vocals claiming they were out of her reach and in all honesty we all struggled with the middle 8 section of this song as you can tell on the video. If Jacob wanted to sing this bit he had to lower his voice from the strongest middle to a low like mine and it definitely ruined the quality but oh well this all can be fixed after some practice with singing in threes and finding the right way to sing together so it sounds great.
What Went Well?
I impressed myself with the higher vocals on this song as it was not prepared or practiced and it didn’t sound half bad. The instruments sounded good as a band not a lot went wrong. After the terrible intro the recovery was pretty good, nobody panicked or tired to start again we just got on with it. this is good. Jacobs solo was not loud enough but for some funny reason I decided to improvised in a jokey way which was funny and diverted the audiences attention away from the error to laugh.
What Went Wrong?
The vocal problem again with the difference in mic volumes which made us change our vocal jobs and impacted the performance. T he intro was very weak as we all missed the count and started at different times, this really made us look like we didn’t know what we were doing. Jacobs guitar was too quiet for the solo which is not good the sound should have been up to match or even push past mine.
What Could I Do To Improve?
I think practicing singing with 3 or more people could be very beneficial for us as it would help us learn a good volume control and we would get used to holding notes in harmonies or even just octaves just for a better understanding and experience in how they work and using them. I have started and plan to keep using harmonies in my own songs trying different vocals stacks and trying to make different chords using voices and I will slowly get better. As a band we should be confident with our counting so if there is a song with gaps like this one then we don’t lose it as soon as we need to come back in, this is an easy fix though as all it would take is to make sure every one is up to speed on counting beats in a bar and how to count bars after that it should be fine.