Hey Rich- There's prob a few diff ways the sound guy could address/correct your situation. But if you want to control your tone/volume yourself I would recommend an "attenuator". Search e-bay and you'll find 100's. There are "real" atten that hook up in front of your amps speaker and work real well but can get pricey. A cheap ($25) alternative are the ones that work thru your effects loop. You can ring up whatever tone/dirt you want on your amp and then control the overall output with the atten without altering the tone. Running ur 50w amp at "1" is like driving a car in first gear.... it's begging for room to run.

They also smooth out the volume contour. I have tube amps that can't hit that sweet spot between "not quite loud enough" and "too loud"... the vol control is just too touchy. $25 solved both problems (for me). Highly recommended.