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Marsupialized wrote:If they set up on the floor instead of the stage, they are going to be good.

A lot of metalcore bands that play rec halls do that. Just so you know.

tmidgett wrote:Homemade gear of some kind

A bass with one pickup

Tape on the guitars

Fingerprints, sweatsalt, and/or blood on the guitars

Any kind of immobilizing device on the kick drum. The guy in the Supersuckers used to nail his kick to the floor with a twenty-penny nail. Not a big fan of their records, but I think they were great live.

Linechecking about like this: boom boom whack. Durnnn. Blang blang. Check one two and done. (This is inverse of linecheck for bad band, which is more like band practice.)

Lack of pickiness about vocal monitor

+1.

This post should be a how-to for young bands.

Skronk wrote:

Marsupialized wrote:If they set up on the floor instead of the stage, they are going to be good.

A lot of metalcore bands that play rec halls do that. Just so you know.

Well, as far as metalcore bands go I'm sure those are the good ones

Skronk wrote:

Marsupialized wrote:If they set up on the floor instead of the stage, they are going to be good.

A lot of metalcore bands that play rec halls do that. Just so you know.

i don't think being on the floor guarantees good material, or anything thoughtful or memorable about the songs, but it does pretty much guarantee a high-energy performance.

on that token, i think drummers who set up their drums really low tend to pound the hell out of them.

i just saw daniel francis doyle and he set up his drums really low with two fairly large amps and a guitar. someone asked who he was playing with and he said he was playing alone. that was a good sign that it'd be interesting, and indeed, he was really damn good.

Like others have said, if a band has relatively beaten up gear (peeling tolex on amps and cabs, finish wear on guitar bodies, gouges taken out of the headstocks of the guitars, etc) generally means they'll at least be good live, if not an awesome band.

Drummer breaks a stick on the first song.

Bands with small amps/cabs that sound huge.

Either really huge kick drums, or really small kick drums.

A drummer who gives a fuck.

Johnny C wrote:A drummer who gives a fuck.

awesome clip.

i think it's hard to tell from setup if a band will be great, but there are pretty definitive signs that they will play hard (which is what this thread has mostly consisted of) and also certain kinds of unusual setups that mean it should at least be novel.

Johnny C wrote:A drummer who gives a fuck.

But they break the dressing-alike rule!

I'm so confused! Someone tell me what I'm supposed to think of this!

Drummer's in black face; guitarist wearing sequined wings.

dontfeartheringo wrote:Someone's bleeding before the first note.


Bands I have been in that met this criteria:
Music Hates You

that name alone is a sure sign of awesomeness.