Jamming to a beat is huge in advancing faster and you know what you need to work on, so half the battle is done.
You impress me as a brave man, a lot of people do not have what it takes inside them the play in front of people as much as you have in your short time playing, let a lone when they know they are just learning the parts days before they hit the stage. Go forth and conquer young rock star. hehe.
Scatting is a music form in its self, far more than just singing and playing notes. It is pretty much improvising everything from the first beat to the last. So it may help you learn many things at one time.