Thumbs up from me on the banana thing. I eat 2 bananas one hour before I perform in public. It helps quiet my nerves big time. (unless it's placebo but who knows really).
I carry a bunch of bananas in my bag now and hand them out to fellow performers. We are a bunch a gorillas with banana breath.

Hey, sounds like you did a fine job! That cake looks amazing btw

Congrats, Ttigg!
Can't say much more than what Waltz said above me - you did a great job, and that cake looks fantastic!!

Ttigg, congratulations! You're brave to go last, that's actually very stressful I think. And I agree, that piano cake is fantastic! Next time, see if you can have it displayed onto of something black instead of the silver tin foil.

Re: nerves, I do the banana thing too, but I tend to do a few different things as well, so who knows which one actually works.

Here's another, told to me by another PWer, EHPianist. (And I suspect this one might actually be better than the banana).

Shaky hands, pounding heart and all those other joys are real, physical changes that can happen when we're nervous. (Surely some of these changes, if not all, are caused by adrenaline, which is released in the body). If you've ever played for more than one piece, or played once, then sat down and had a break, and then got up and played again, you may have noticed that your nerves were calmer the second time around. At least part of this is because we only have so much nervous energy in our bodies, and we use up some of it the first time through. Or, if you've ever played when you were very pleasantly tired and relaxed, and felt like you played better, I think that's the same thing, there's not as much energy there to begin with.

To get this effect when you're going to be performing, do some kind of exercise or a very brisk walk an hour or so before the recital. Get your heart rate up, get a little (or a lot) out of breath. Do this for at least 20 minutes, and you're using up some of the energy that would otherwise be devoted to making your heart pound and your hands shake.

I try to do this whenever I play in a recital, and actually a few weeks ago, when I was presenting at a conference, I ran back and forth between my conference room and the restroom just before the presentation (ok, I made sure I had enough time to catch my breath of course, and that no one saw me!) I think this really helps diminish the pure, physical manifestations of nerves. And for me, if my hands aren't shaking (so much) and my heart's not pounding, I can take care of the other aspects of nerves much, much better.

Try it and see if you notice any difference.

P.S. I didn't know about the black piano medal thing for live recitals (I only just added the ABF recital medals this time around) Where can I get some for my live recitals?

Nice suggestions, ShiroKuro!

TTigg, congratulations on your recital. I'm in the same boat, at my recital it was me and about 30 8-year olds. My girlfriend in the audience had a great time. I was back in the green room hanging with the kids. They had juice boxes, string cheese and apple slices for the kids. I was more in the mood for a gin and tonic.

Afterwards onstage when we were getting our trophies, I got high-fived by a couple of 10-year olds.