Any table hopper knows that in the beginning the hardest thing is the FIRST table … the moment you walk out of the shadows into the light at a gig … that’s your warm up table where others see you … so the nerves are banging, hands are shaking etc .. After a 100 or so gigs that all goes away and you just start and stop when you feel like .. But in the beginning its there.
So in the begin how do you deal with this … Everyone is different and have a different personality .. but one thing that helped me in the early years was a walk of the restaurant and greeting … I would slowly walk around the restaurant and make eye contact as much as possible. “Good Evening, Hello” any eye contact is good, it breaks the ice, also you can judge who will be the first table … there will almost always be a table of upbeat friendly people. you greet them, they greet you and you can even say something on the lines of …. Hi Im (name) im the table magician here this evening, ill be starting soon and ill be right over to show you some magic …
Job done .. you have broken the ice .. once you hit that first table and you loosen up, your set for the night …