Not a bass story but a drum story
Played as a drummer in some metal bands late 90’s early 00’s
Practiced and practiced the intro of sepultura’s war for territory until I (and the rest of the band ) were sick of it
So on the next gig we would open with this one… guess what happened, it went so horribly wrong we had to stop and start over again , twice… my fault 
Rest of the set went surprisingly well that evening, after that screw up I got in some F#&k it mode and played one of my better sets
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Hey there,
… being late, you must’ve rushed all the time. 
If you write out chord sheets or anything like that, try to include bar lines:
____|C ______| Am _______| F _________| C ___|
I am sailing, I am sailing, home again cross the sea
Note that the bars are not the same length because you won’t sing all the time. Also, this most certainly isn’t 100% correct, but you can play the song if you know the tune.
Regarding “really” learning a song, I find that it helps to have the song structure in your head:
Verse
Verse
Chorus
Solo
Verse
Chorus
Chorus
See this: https://improvesongwriting.com/parts-of-a-song/
Cheers
Antonio
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Playing the wrong notes is jazz.
Playing the wrong rhythm is lead guitar.
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Oh boy - yeah I believe we all feel you on that one.
I’ve been in two different bands where I was late. One was high school jazz band and the other was a shittpunk band with my friends:
One band waited around for me and then when I got there made sure to know that I should feel extra bad for making them wait and thus the audience wait. I thought about quitting music.
Then the other band I was in, I was close to 40 mins late and then parking took me an extra 10. I rush in. panicked. sweaty. terrified I might actually be crucified. Then I hear an uproarious applause… FOR ME. The band leader had informed the audience that we would be starting on time, and just to imagine part. So they clapped to fill in. The vibe just kept riding exactly as it should. So when I arrived it was just an upturn in the joy in the room. Since now the audience can stop clapping and they can hear me. I cry looking back on it. I was an a-hole and missed the beauty of it all back then, so I still felt scared in the moment.
Anyway – try to find that second band and late, early, on time, distracted, missing an input cable, broken finger, dead pickup, overplaying, saying weird stuff while performing, anything – it is all forgiven if you have the crowd that appreciates that making art something that used to live in your brain but is now out in the public for the world to experience, it’s okay to mess up. This world is effing crazy. We love you. We forgive you. Let’s rock. The weirder and more intentional you get the better.
If you look for the negative experiences they will always be there: a band member standing in is “one of those political types. great”, missed cues, not feeling the pulse as inherently, nobody listening to you, everyone grimacing at you, it never ends.
But if you look at the positives they are infinitely more present than negatives: trees help us stay alive, learned lessons for the future, play a game of how quick can you shake it off and act like not only were you on time, but ARE IN TIME, you own the place, this type of stuff is silly, but it helps you appreciate the small things, and slow down, and thereby chilling out and vibing out.
Rock on Matty! You crushed it!
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Love ya guy! Great story(s). You mention gear issues and missing stuff. I think I’m probably the opposite. The A hole who brings his whole living room and then only uses his bass and a cable 
I guess at least folks will have a place to sit.
I had an unscheduled practice with just my guitarist today and I got a TON of positive feedback. Turns out playing 1 song a night and only 1 song a night does me a lot better than trying to play all of them in a row each night.
Other than focused repetition I approached the session just as I would playing at home. Other than not dancing around as much I was at home and comfortable. Made a HUGE difference.
Groove is in the heart but bass hands are in your head. 
I also learned something new today. Looking at your hands is great as a beginner BUT. When making a big move DON’T LOOK AT WHERE YOU ARE. Look at where you are ending up. I was trying to move my eyes and hands from fret 7 to 3 and lagging. Focusing just on where you are going takes all the eye movement out of it. Killer insight.
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You got it man! You’re unstoppable. Next stop… THE MOON! That’s a very “Rick Rubin” thing to not look at the hands. Adds a sense of consequence and bravery to the playing which leads to confidence and deeply pocketed rhythm. I believe I heard that “Blood Sugar Sex Magik” wasn’t “take seven” of the recording, but under Rick Rubin’s production it became “the FIRST take in the dark” and that’s the recording we hear today all over. 7th take but in the dark. That’s what it took to get the song to sound like true RHCP goodness. Just amazing stuff.
(I am currently reading his book and it illuminates my life and my art about every other sentence)
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^^^^ this. Once you get this, moving around the fretboard becomes so much easier!
Take a deep breath and put it down to experience. For me i try to keep as many things as constant as possible. Even a small change on the night can have a big effect on how you perform. When my confidence takes a dip i always revert to the bass & setup that I know and trust. Try to stay focussed on putting out a solid performance andthe band will thank you every time. 
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Check out this book that I’m currently listening to. It’s helped to change my whole perspective on practicing bass guitar - Effortless Mastery by Kenny Werner
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