The first time we played live we had a pretty major fuck-up... we each had a set list, but each with a different revision of it - twice we ended up all starting a different song.
After that we made a rule. Make sure we're all looking at the same set list lol and unless it's absolutely impossible, do not stop playing while we attempt to recover (i.e. Helm's point about going back to a main riff). More importantly though, we try not to show that we've fucked up and especially not get pissed off and upset about it! As an audience member, I've seen some bands where members get furious with each other for minor fuck ups, and I felt embarassed for them because
they made it an issue. The irony is that it's usually fuck ups only
they notice. Imo fucking up sucks, but making a scene and dwelling on it is 100 times worse. If you just laugh it off and not take yourself too seriously it's not that bad, and you don't drag the audience into band drama.
We have a show coming up at the end of this month... and now we are known as "FAKE BLOOD".
my suggestion of "IMMIGRANTS TAKING YOUR JOBS AND WOMEN" for a band name was turned down 2 to 1 