Jim Wilson Posted July 28, 2018 Share Posted July 28, 2018 I know that just about every one of you has a good Gig From Hell story that will give the rest of us a chuckle. How about sharing them? My own was a house concert in Colorado where the hostess decided (without telling us) that she would not collect the money as we had agreed. Instead she would just put out a small bowl and tell people to kick in. Then we noticed that a lot of the people arriving had musical instruments with them...turns out the hostess had put out the word that, if you brought an instrument to play in the jam afterwards, you could get in free. Finally, she had everyone get in a big circle out in the back yard and introduce themselves. I told my partner, if she starts singing Kumbaya, I'm outa here. Needless to say, we didn't make any money and have never approached this woman to do another concert. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave F Posted July 29, 2018 Share Posted July 29, 2018 I played the bars back in the early '70's. Not too many funny stories but a lot of violent ones. Main reason I quit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jinder Posted July 29, 2018 Share Posted July 29, 2018 Many years ago i played a gig in a Dorset pub on a swelteringly hot day. The sole member of the audience was a very mangy stray Irish Wolfhound, which wandered in, stayed for two songs then vomited on my shoes and casually strolled out...not my finest hour. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rbpicker Posted July 29, 2018 Share Posted July 29, 2018 Good for you Jinder for sticking with it. That would have reduced a lesser man to a puddle on the floor, and made him give up the business. Rb Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
QuestionMark Posted July 29, 2018 Share Posted July 29, 2018 Many years ago i played a gig in a Dorset pub on a swelteringly hot day. The sole member of the audience was a very mangy stray Irish Wolfhound, which wandered in, stayed for two songs then vomited on my shoes and casually strolled out...not my finest hour. A dog throwing up on your shoes during a gig likely outdoes my gig of having a juggler next to me. You may hold the record for the worst gig experience in my book. QM aka Jazzman Jeff Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
62burst Posted July 29, 2018 Share Posted July 29, 2018 If only Parlourman were still checking in, he would most likely ask "Well, how ugly were your shoes?" I think the two of you are tied in lead position for the best/worst gig stories, though OP Jim's interpretive dance woman might be a contender. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kidblast Posted July 30, 2018 Share Posted July 30, 2018 There's many bad nights I can recall where things just for one reason or another went to he11.. (equipment issues, some one showing up sick but the show must go on.. etc) But this one took the cake. One Friday night back in the late 80's I was in a band playing at a bar we'd never worked before, a drunk heckler decided to make things miserable for us. He wanted to hear BLUES, but unfortunately we played classic rock. Apparently he was not a fan. When the beer bottles started getting tossed on the stage toward the end of our second set, we decided we'd had enough his BS and packed it in. The owner was pissed, but we told him we're not putting up with his clientele. If he can't control them, we're done. He told us to suck it up.. Wrong answer. The ordeal ended when this moron tried to pick a fight with one of my co-workers who showed up to hear the band. As we were loading out, I was chatting with him as he was leaving. This jackass comes over and starts mouthing of to us. Kevin, (my co-worker) just asked the guy to move along, "leave it alone man, haven't you caused enough trouble" Kevin was a 5th degree black belt instructor. He did everything he could to avoid trouble, but from there it escalated fast, and was over pretty quick. I've never heard any one get smacked like that. Just like in the movies!! "WHACK!" -- Woa!! Man down!! I'm sure his nose was shattered. Needless to say, we were not keen on getting any more gigs at that particular bar. The owner ridiculed us for making trouble. yea,, it was all us.. fer sure. lata A-hole. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MissouriPicker Posted July 31, 2018 Share Posted July 31, 2018 Don't know if this qualifies as hell, but it was a tough gig. About fifteen years ago...think it was 2003-2004. Three of us were scheduled to play together for a 5-hour set at the Missouri Town Folk Festival. Continuous music. While others play you can take a 10 minute break every hour. Anyway, the other two guys didn't show-up and I had to play the entire time. Just a couple of pee breaks on a cold October day....... Still, I've played the festival every year since then. Now I do a 3-hour set and there are two of us every year. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
QuestionMark Posted July 31, 2018 Share Posted July 31, 2018 There's many bad nights I can recall where things just for one reason or another went to he11.. (equipment issues, some one showing up sick but the show must go on.. etc) But this one took the cake. One Friday night back in the late 80's I was in a band playing at a bar we'd never worked before, a drunk heckler decided to make things miserable for us. He wanted to hear BLUES, but unfortunately we played classic rock. Apparently he was not a fan. When the beer bottles started getting tossed on the stage toward the end of our second set, we decided we'd had enough his BS and packed it in. The owner was pissed, but we told him we're not putting up with his clientele. If he can't control them, we're done. He told us to suck it up.. Wrong answer. The ordeal ended when this moron tried to pick a fight with one of my co-workers who showed up to hear the band. As we were loading out, I was chatting with him as he was leaving. This jackass comes over and starts mouthing of to us. Kevin, (my co-worker) just asked the guy to move along, "leave it alone man, haven't you caused enough trouble" Kevin was a 5th degree black belt instructor. He did everything he could to avoid trouble, but from there it escalated fast, and was over pretty quick. I've never heard any one get smacked like that. Just like in the movies!! "WHACK!" -- Woa!! Man down!! I'm sure his nose was shattered. Needless to say, we were not keen on getting any more gigs at that particular bar. The owner ridiculed us for making trouble. yea,, it was all us.. fer sure. lata A-hole. Your bottles flying and black belt whacks gig story makes my juggler next to me gig and juggler balls flying around story seem tame. QM aka Jazzman Jeff Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kidblast Posted July 31, 2018 Share Posted July 31, 2018 Your bottles flying and black belt whacks gig story makes my juggler next to me gig and juggler balls flying around story seem tame. QM aka Jazzman Jeff I'd rather deal with the juggler.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dhanners623 Posted July 31, 2018 Share Posted July 31, 2018 Jamey Johnson appears to be setting the standard for how to deal with unruly audience members: https://www.savingcountrymusic.com/jamey-johnson-takes-belt-off-whips-unruly-concertgoers-off-stage/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PrairieSchooner Posted July 31, 2018 Share Posted July 31, 2018 My partner and I were playing a bar with a pretty rough clientele; we were on stage tuning up a bit and a couple guys in the crowd were pretty loud. My partner finally turned around and yelled, "Shut the f--- up; we're trying to tune here!" I thought, "OK, that does it. We're dead." The guy looks at us for a few seconds, then said, "Sorry, man." and sat down. Whew. Then, there was the guy who threw his girlfriend through the plate glass front door, but that's another story... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Murph Posted August 1, 2018 Share Posted August 1, 2018 These all sound normal to me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave F Posted August 1, 2018 Share Posted August 1, 2018 I’ve played in some rough places. One night a rowdy was going to attack our drummer. The bartender got in it with him, pulled a shotgun and warned him to stop. He didn’t and got his leg blowed off. We heard later that the guy returned the next year and killed the bartender. Another time, a bouncer took one of the rowdy’s outside and literally beat him to death. Besides these two, anytime a pool table was around, there were always fights. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim Wilson Posted August 1, 2018 Author Share Posted August 1, 2018 Dave F, I just hate that. Anytime you walk in a venue and see a pool table, you'd just as well go right back out to the truck and get your brass knucks. You're gonna need 'em. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kidblast Posted August 1, 2018 Share Posted August 1, 2018 Ahh Good times, Gooooooooooooood times... -- these days, I just stay home and watch CSI and Blue Bloods,, not all that exciting, but way less drama... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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