looks like im about ready to go! lol.
Anyone feel like driving to AZ for the 30th? XD

Yeah I was gonna mention, to add to my last comment... don't try to be funny if you're not. "Cracking jokes" is just an example, no one expects you to be funny so don't do it unless you know it can work. Just saying "hello I'm XYZ" and "this next song is called ABC" is good enough

If you need banter etiquette, the official thing to do is play one to three songs (depending on length,) introduce yourself ("Thank you kindly, good evening, my name is ____",) play most of your set, introduce the last song, ("I hope you had a good time, the last song is called ____",) and after the last song, introduce yourself again, explain if you've got stuff for sale, and thank the audience in farewell, and introduce the next act ("Thanks for having me, I'm ____, I'm selling T-shirts, have a great evening, next up is _____")

Thanks! lol
I'm sure I'll be back with a few more tedious questions before game time, if I know myself at all... hah.

Practice is where it's at!

Have a great show.

Right on, gang. Thanks again for all the advice. Sounds like a combination of some noise and chatter might be where it's at.
I'll try to have somebody tape this thing, maybe get a critique
Thanks again!

Get comfortable with the audience and talk before songs, but don't talk before EVERY song - that pattern wears thin. It's true that a second gameboy can help here, but if people are at least applauding, you should have enough time to select the new song while they're still clapping, say a quick song introduction while it's loading, and then hit start!

Practice changing songs so you can do it quickly and flawlessly.

I think the audience can connect with you a bit better if you talk to them. Even if you have the ability to play gapless, it might still be a good idea to crack a joke here and there.

I always enjoy stage chatter, like seriously, gapless sets are cool, but i like nothing better than some good stage talk.

Yeah, being comfortable on stage can really help if you have a mic.  Crack a few jokes, chat up the audience and just show the audience that you're having a lot of fun, too.

thats a pretty good idea.. maybe mp3 player with other ambient shits...

or tell some stage jokes.

here's another bit:
How about the "dead space" between songs when performing with a single gameboy? any thoughts there? I have a kaossilator i was planning on doing some ambient noise during the loading periods. Any better ideas?

Yeah i have an 8 channel mixer im going to be running everything through. I figured that would make it easier on the sound guy.
That's some great advice. Particularly about the line check. Thanks turtle!

The performance situation is about the same as above - try to be animated and engage the audience.

The technical situation is quite a bit different. You'll be dealing with an engineer and a stage setup prepared for the specific purpose of full guitar/guitar/bass/drums bands.

Try to make sure the show or at least the sound engineer knows what you'll be doing ahead of time and that there will be enough direct boxes for your gear to plug into the PA system. Probably nobody there will know what chiptunes are, so just say you need a "stereo direct in to the board" or however many channels you need - I'm assuming you're using a mixer?) Make sure your gear is reliable and act like you know what you're doing so the sound guy doesn't get nervous about the "weird shit you're trying to do".

Also, if you don't want to give away any surprises from your set, prepare an extra piece of "test music" that you can use as a line check/sound check. Whatever you do, don't sound/line check with the first tune you're going to play - at most "battle of the bands" type shows, the audience is hanging around in front of the stage while each band rushes onstage, does a very quick line check, and starts, so hearing something twice like that is a great way to bore people and make them step out for a smoke. The line check is a great chance to pique people's interest.

Sorry to re-animate a dead thread, but I figured I may as well piggy-back this one than make a new one.

Playing a Battle of the Bands on the 30th.
It'll be my first performance with the gameboy (and kaossilator/stylophone) but not my first performance in general.
It'll be a 30 minute set amidst hardcore bands, country bands, and the like.
Anyone have experience chipping at a venue that isn't expecting that at all? any advice? or just read the above? haha