The gig-day checklist: from advance call to load-out

Confirm the advance two days out

Most gig-day disasters are actually advance failures: nobody confirmed the load-in time, or two guitarists both assumed there'd be a spare amp. The "advance" is the phone call or email where you nail down the details with whoever runs the room. Do it 48 hours out, not on the day.

Lock down these specifics:

• Set length and number of sets. "An hour" can mean one 60-minute set or two 45s with a break. Get the exact start and finish times.
• Load-in time and access. When can you get in, where do you park, is there a lift or a flight of stairs, and is there a curfew? Inner-city venues often have a hard noise cut-off.
• Backline. What's provided (drum kit, bass amp, PA, monitors) versus what you bring. Never assume a "house kit" includes cymbals or a snare.
• Tech spec and stage plot. How many channels, how many monitor mixes, where each player stands. Even a rough hand-drawn stage plot saves twenty minutes at soundcheck.
• Payment terms. Fee, who pays, when (cash on the night, or invoice with payment terms), and whether it's a flat fee, a door split, or a guarantee-plus-percentage. Pin down the GST treatment early; see the callout below.

Put every one of these into a single Calendar event labelled "Gig" so load-in, set times, fee and the venue contact live in one place your whole band can open on their phones. If you play as a group, the Bands shared calendar means everyone sees the same advance, not five different versions in a group chat.

What to pack (and the spares that save the night)

Build a standing pack list once and reuse it. The instruments and your own amp are obvious; it's the small consumables that end gigs early. A working spares kit:

• Strings: at least one full set per stringed instrument, plus a spare for the string you break most.
• Cables: two spare instrument leads and one spare speaker/XLR lead. Cables fail more than anything else.
• Batteries: for active pickups, wireless packs, tuner and in-ears. Carry the right sizes (9V, AA), not a hopeful handful.
• A spare compatible power lead. If an amplifier stops working, follow the manufacturer's instructions. Leave internal electrical work to a qualified technician.
• Adaptors: DI box, jack-to-XLR, and a multi-board power strip; you can never count on enough wall sockets.
• Gaffer tape: for taping down leads (a trip hazard and a duty-of-care issue), marking your spots, and a hundred other fixes. Gaffer, not duct tape; it peels off cleanly.
• Tools: tuner, capo, picks, drum key, a small torch, and a multi-tool.

In Crescender's Gear inventory you can tag the items that make up your live rig, and link that gear to the gig's calendar event. That doubles as a packing list and an insurance record: if a pedalboard walks out of a green room, you already have the make, model, serial and photos on file to give your insurer. Wishlist the spares you keep meaning to buy so the gaps are visible before, not after, you need them.

Load-in, line check, and soundcheck

These three are not the same thing, and confusing them is how bands burn their soundcheck window.

1. Load in and stage the gear Get everything out of the vehicle and onto or beside the stage before you start unpacking. Set the stage to your plot so you're not moving amps once cables are run. Tape down any lead that crosses a walkway.

2. Line check This is the engineer confirming every input works: each mic, DI and channel gets signal, one at a time. It's a plumbing test, not a mix. Be quiet and ready to play single notes on request.

3. Soundcheck Now you build the sound. Check the full band, then dial your monitor or in-ear mix: "more vocal, less kick in my wedge." Be specific and brief. The engineer is mixing the room, not just the stage.

4. Lock your stage volume Whatever your amp is at during soundcheck, leave it there. Creeping up during the show wrecks the front-of-house mix and starts the volume war.

If there's no engineer and no proper check (a corner-of-the-pub gig), do your own line check: plug in, confirm every channel, set a sensible level, and trust your ears from the floor between songs.

Timing the set

Run to time. Venues schedule around you, and overrunning into a curfew can cost the booker a fine and you the repeat booking.

• Know your songs' real durations, including the talking between them. Crescender's Setlists and the practice timing you've logged in Music give you honest run-times rather than optimistic guesses.
• Build the set to land about two minutes short of your slot. That buffer absorbs a broken string or a longer-than-planned chat.
• Mark one song "cut if short on time" and keep a tight two-minute encore ready but unpromised.
• Put the set finish time where you can see it. A small clock taped to a monitor beats squinting at a phone.

Merch, settlement, and getting paid on the night

Sort the money before you're tired and packing down.

• Merch. Have a float of small notes and coins, a card reader if you can, and a clear price list. Count stock before and after so you know what sold.
• Settlement. For a door split or percentage deal, ask to see the door count or bar tally and do the settlement with the booker before you leave. For a flat fee, confirm the agreed amount matches the advance.
• Get it in writing. If you're paid cash, note who paid, how much and when. If you invoice, issue it that night while it's fresh, with your ABN and a tax invoice if GST applies.

Record the payment in Crescender's Finances against the gig: log it as income, attach it to the Calendar event, and pick the right category. Snap any cash-purchase receipts (fuel, a replacement cable bought in a panic) with GearGrabber so the expense and any gear asset are captured before the receipt fades in your pocket. In a band, the income-splitting tools work out each member's share from the one settlement figure so nobody's chasing $40 a week later.

Safe load-out

You're tired, it's late, and this is when gear gets damaged or stolen.

• Never leave the vehicle's tailgate or a green room unattended with gear in it.
• Carry, don't drag, and use two people for anything heavy or awkward. Plan the lift before moving it.
• Coil leads properly (over-under) so they're ready next time, not a knotted ball.
• Do a final stage sweep with the torch: pedals, the drum key, that one lead behind the amp.
• Count your gear against the packing list in Gear before you drive off.

The one-page gig-day checklist

• [ ] Advance confirmed 48h out: set times, load-in, backline, stage plot, fee + GST
• [ ] Calendar event created with all details, shared to the band
• [ ] Spares kit packed: strings, cables, batteries, fuses, adaptors, gaffer, tools
• [ ] Gear for the gig linked to its calendar event; valuations current for insurance
• [ ] Loaded in and staged to the plot; walkway leads taped down
• [ ] Line check done, then soundcheck; stage volume locked
• [ ] Set timed to finish two minutes inside the slot; cut song and encore chosen
• [ ] Merch float ready; stock counted before and after
• [ ] Paid and settled on the night; income + GST logged to the event in Finances
• [ ] Receipts captured with GearGrabber
• [ ] Gear counted against the list; safe load-out done
• [ ] Quick post-gig note logged: what to fix before next time

Run this every time and the gig itself becomes the easy part.