I ALWAYS takw a new board out the same night I get it. It forces me to "buddy up" to it. It's scarey, but the learning curve is cut in half, by the immediacy of the moment.
I set up 8 core drum styles and 3 or 4 chord sounds. Make sure I know where teh manual bass button is, and I'm ready to go!

The "EZ 8" ( a Roland term from long ago ) includes:
1) 4/4 simple rock beat
2) 3/4 waltz
3) 12/8 ballad
4) 4/4 swing
5) 4/4 shuffle
6) 4/4 disco
7) 4/4 latin
8) 2/4 polka/country beat

With these 8 beats I can cover almost any tune I have to play all night long. Naturally, I prefer a little more variety, but this is the core repertoire.

Good to keep tucked away for an emergency !