Sick on your gig date? Having to cancel a live gig is never fun. If you’re a full time musician, it’s not always as easy as calling in sick to a day job. Cancellation means no pay and a lot of disappointed people (the audience / event organizers).
If you’re playing in a band with a few other musicians, it’s a bit easier to cope when you’re feeling under the weather. If you have a lot of weight to carry in the band, you can surrender some of your responsibility (vocals etc) to other members where possible.
Unless you’re in a seriously bad condition, there are a few tips that may help you out:
- Once you’re on stage it will be easier to ignore your symptoms. You may even find it being more pleasant than you had expected.
- Drink as much water as possible and eat plenty of fruit. It goes without saying that unhealthy foods should be avoided at all costs.
- If you’re doing vocals avoid dairy products, coffee and acidics.
- Try to get as much sleep as possible. If you’re feeling tired during the gig it’s only going to make things worse.
- Neti Pots, Vicks VapoRub, Vitamin C drops and Halls can work very well. Avoid medication that may make you feel drowsy.
- Take a hot shower prior to the gig. Hot steam can do wonders for clearing out your sinuses as much as possible.
- Ignore inner-critic. It’s only natural that you may not be able to perform the same way as you do when you’re not ill. Maintain the drive to want to perform well despite being ill.
- Don’t tell the audience that you’re ill because you think it might affect your performance. Avoid calling attention to something that people may not notice.
Do you have any personal remedies or stories from experiences that you may have had? Let us know in the comments below…
Nice summary of how to play sick. I especially agree with never letting the audience know that you are wounded.