How I Survive 30°C Gigs: The Tropical Stage Survival Guide for Musicians | A Day in the Life
A little while ago, I made an Instagram post that got a few laughs from some fellow musicians here in Saigon. It was a skit about "dealing with the heat while performing", and while I keep it light-hearted, my protocol is no joke.
I'm no stranger to sweating while performing, but Saigon has me working three times as hard. With humidity never going below 80% and temperatures rarely lowering below 27 °C, I sweat through a t-shirt by sound-check. This is not an exaggeration.
Now you might be thinking: "Why is he talking about this like it's important?". Well, I truly believe that excessive sweating and hydration can destroy your vocal and general performance in more ways than one:
- You feel more tired and lose control over your vocal cords because of reduced oxygen flow.
- When you're severely dehydrated, your vocal cords lose their protective mucous layer, forcing the laryngeal muscles to rub harder and fatigue faster.
- Your vocal range physically decreases.
- You can't perform confidently if you don't feel confident. And having a sweat ring that goes below your belly button will not help in that department.
As you can see, these are big consequences if left unchecked, so here is how I actually deal with this problem in gigs.
Inevitable | The Three Shirt Policy
The question isn't if I'll sweat, but when... And usually, that's pretty early in the gig, sometimes, especially if I've driven my 125cc Vespa to a gig loaded with a guitar, bag full of gear and sometimes even an amp, I'm already sweating, before soundcheck. Enter T-shirt number 1: Setup and soundcheck.
Shirt number 2 is the actual performance shirt. These are carefully selected shirts that hide the sweat tremendously well, and make me feel confident on stage. Once I've finished setting up and sound-checking, I slip into the bathroom, change shirt, do my hair and get ready for the show. This might seem a little extra, but I am extra, sue me.
For some performances, I have a little fan that clips on to my belt, and blows air up my back which helps a lot for controlling the look and the temperature.
T-shirt Number 3 is for after the performance, post-show I call it, once everything has been packed up and is ready to go, I go to the bathroom again and change into my last remaining shirt. Everything gets packed in a plastic, water-proof bag and taken out quietly to be packed into the rest of the gear bag.
The No Booze Policy
This one is controversial to say the least, but another way I've limited, or attempted to slow down my sweating is by not drinking alcohol... I know, I know, a musician that doesn't drink during performances? What a square! But this has more to do with the heat and sweat than any moral reason.
Alcohol is actually disastrous for vocalists, we're used to the image of those 80s singers like Axl Rose chugging down some Jimmy Bean mid-performance, but look where his voice ended up.
The Fan and Unlimited Water Policy
On my technical rider, you'll find a very specific section about unlimited, and frequently filled water, and a fan, especially for outdoor performances. This is no longer negotiable. After six months of playing hard in this city, I started making this a hard-rule, even going as far as to threaten to cancel a gig unless a fan was placed for me. A story for another day.
Building it Into the Setlist
Setlist creation is a careful art, knowing when to raise the energy, lower it and have the audience lean into a more intimate moment is a superpower. But the true power of setlists comes when you're able to schedule in things like water breaks and banter moments. When you take notes, and figure out when the best times to take a quick moment are, it looks like you've been doing this forever. And that's what we want!
The Man in Black
Oh yes, my friends, an audience member once told me that I look like Mephisto cosplaying as Johnny Cash, and while that is the aesthetic I go for... Wanting to hide the sweat is 40% of that decision as well.
I had this shirt made at NAM SILK and it has given me so much confidence on stage, I cannot recommend them enough. On a side-note, they made my Charro/Mariachi pants as well! I doubt they get that request often.
Conclusion
If you play even slightly energetic music, it's inevitable that you'll sweat. Especially if you perform in a tropical country like I do. When that happens, it's best to deal with it using proper systems than winging it and stressing over its effects, like dehydration and poor self-image on stage.
How do you handle brutal stage heat or long gig sets in the summer? What's your non-negotiable rule? Let me know in the comments below!
