What is one your "Best" playing moments

[Richland123]

One of the most touching moments I ever experienced in all my years of playing was back in 1974 or 1975. I was about 18 or 19 years old and we got booked to play a dance at a local physical rehabilitation center. The people there had many different types of physical handicaps that included some from birth, some from health issues, and some from accidents, etc.

The people loved the fact that we were there to play music for them and they were a very appreciative and responsive crowd of people of all ages. There was a young lady in a wheelchair really enjoying the music but unfortunately she could not dance and had to watch the others dancing. We started to play a slow song and a young guy went over to the girl, picked her up out of her wheelchair, and carried her onto the dancefloor. He held her in his arms and slow danced with her for the entire song and she was beaming and having a wonderful time. I am now 53 years old and that memory is still one of my most cherished moments in 40 years of playing.

[JimK]

...just turned 52 & still awaiting that "best" playing moment.

[MikeyFingers]

Originally Posted by Richland123

One of the most touching moments I ever experienced in all my years of playing was back in 1974 or 1975. I was about 18 or 19 years old and we got booked to play a dance at a local physical rehabilitation center. The people there had many different types of physical handicaps that included some from birth, some from health issues, and some from accidents, etc.

The people loved the fact that we were there to play music for them and they were a very appreciative and responsive crowd of people of all ages. There was a young lady in a wheelchair really enjoying the music but unfortunately she could not dance and had to watch the others dancing. We started to play a slow song and a young guy went over to the girl, picked her up out of her wheelchair, and carried her onto the dancefloor. He held her in his arms and slow danced with her for the entire song and she was beaming and having a wonderful time. I am now 53 years old and that memory is still one of my most cherished moments in 40 years of playing.

AAaaawwwww That's sweet!

I don't have anything that touching, mine is more selfish
My best moment playing music was when I got to play the Fillmore at Irving Plaza in NYC. I was in a pretty badass funk/ska band and we got to open for some rock band who got a gig there. Of the 4 bands playing that night, we had the best time slot, the biggest and most energetic crowd, it was just absolutely ridiculous. Playing on the same stage as so many countless legendary musicians gave me a chill, I was shaking the whole time, but we played beautifully. I got to feel like a rock star for half an hour, and thus far in my musical career it is by far the high point. I'll never forget that.

[Vanceman]

It was the first time playing with a good drummer. Up until then, the drummers mostly played by "feel", meaning they played whatever they "felt" like playing, usually too loud, too many fills, but within the context of the song.

So we're scheduled to play a Saturday night party for my sister-in-law, she rented a stage and invited her friends and work mates. Gonna be a big deal for her. Come the Thursday before, the drummer and one of the lead guitarist bail, leaving bass, rythym guitar, and lead guitar.

So I'm freaking out, and asking the rythym guitar, who btw, only joined up a couple of weeks before, if we could do some sort of un-plugged thing with just us three. He tell's me he's also a drummer, and would like to play drums that night. Turns out, he's really good, plays quietly, and listens even better. That was the best that band ever sounded, and we hit all the intros and endings, sounding like we've been together for years!

That was the night that changed everything for me about playing in a band.

[J. Crawford]

Richland, what a powerful story man!

[your idol]

mine happens whenever i am typically a bar patron sipping a drink watching a friends band and im asked to come up and play a song or sing..always tickles me when i get to go no no no..mmm well ok. i feel like a much bigger deal than what i am

[stonedmotus]

reunion show @ cbgb... dude brought his friends ashes (friend had ticket, died before the show) he dumps the ashes on the stage about 30 seconds before we started playing... begin playing, stage diving ensues, cloud of smoke from the ashes. pretty memorable.

[J. Crawford]

Originally Posted by stonedmotus

reunion show @ cbgb... dude brought his friends ashes (friend had ticket, died before the show) he dumps the ashes on the stage about 30 seconds before we started playing... begin playing, stage diving ensues, cloud of smoke from the ashes. pretty memorable.

Thats awesome, and wrong, at the same time.

[Jerry Ziarko]

I've been doing this a bunch of years, and one stands out like no other. It was in May 96. The band I was in for 15yrs was playing a shed show opening for Johnny Cash. This was the closer for a 7 day festival. The weather sucked the entire week, so much so there was a freak snowstorm on Mothers day the previous Sunday. But on that day, the Sun came out, and the breeze blew warm. We had played much bigger shows in the past, but this had a respectable crowd of about 3K. From our first note, I knew this was a magical day. As I stated we had been together writing songs and making music fr 15yrs, but this day was different. Never had the rush been this great for me. Never! The "chill" factor wouldn't stop. I made my way to the guitar player during a tune, and he just leaned over to me and said "I know". Nothing more needed to be said. We finished our 45 minutes, and as we left the stage, our manager came over and said guys stick around for a minute, Johnny wants to have a word with you. We had been sharing the stage with some of the industries heaviest of heavies for a while, so I looked at it as sure, why not. As we made our way to his bus, one of my band mates said, "Just think, all the rock you've grown up with started with people like Johnny, and Carl Perkins etc" To be honest, I had never given it a thought until that moment. I had been around many celebrities through all this, and came to realize they are just people no different than you or I, but when the bus door opened, and out walked this aged man dressed in black, a lump formed in my throat. I became speechless. No one in my life had ever had this kind of effect on me. He was so kind, and so appreciative of us, I truly was moved that day. I never "got" Johnny Cash. I watched his performance that day, and the light bulb finally went off. I know I will never have the feeling of that show/day again, but even though it was some 14 yrs ago, it is with me like it was yesterday.

[MEKer]

Long long ago, we were playing with Steppenwolf at Culver City Arena (CA) as the opener. We stole the show and the crowd did not want us off the stage. We we left after several encores the crowd actually got hostile and Steppenwolf was pissed when they were booed and the crowd yelled out for us to come back. That ended the tour for us but the "wolf" guys were bungers anyway so we did not cry-----but man-o-man we were ON that night! Best ever.

[Bassmickeyd]

Best Playing Moment is when it all comes together at the same time. The song, the timing and your playing is all calibrated to be at that moment just at that time. Playing that note exactly the way you're playing no longer, shorter, faster or slower. .... What that all comes together you don't feel a bone in your body not even your skin. You're lifted up twenty feet in the air with your feet still on the ground. .... It's magic. .... I played a tux gig on Monday night that it happened not for too long because I found the drummer wasn't letting go. He tried too hard to play what he thought should be there. When he switched to brushes it was better but sticks left him downbeat reliant. .... It bogged. .... But I managed a few very cool together moments. .....

[LAG]

In church.

Playing in my church band there have been numerous times we exited to back stage as a band, and where all saying wow!, that was so powerful. The dynamics and energy sometimes just flow so perfectly. I have had so many special musical moments there. Lot's of talent in the church I attend.

[bassybill]

In reply to the OP - I've had a similar experience once, playing in a big band at a residential school for profoundly deaf kids. They loved the music and were dancing like crazy. It was obvious that even though they may not have been able to hear stuff the same way we do, it was getting to them somehow. Presumably them being able to feel the low end stuff coming through helped in this respect.

Anyway, one of my own best playing moments was more self-centred, I'm afraid. But I'll tell the story here anyway, just to relive the memory for myself...

Back in the 80s I was in a 5-piece originals band (this was before I developed a genuine heartfelt love affair with money ). We were playing stuff along the lines of Toto, Journey, Foreigner and so on. But the problem was that the keyboard player was a bit sensitive, and the singer had an outrageous ego - sound familiar? That inevitably caused problems and one day the keys guy just quit, a week or so before what we thought was an important gig at the time.

So, I said I'd double on keys and bass. I managed to borrow a little Yamaha monosynth for playing some left-hand keyboard bass, and the band agreed to hire me a polysynth for a day or two before the gig and for the gig itself. At home, I spent most of the week sitting at the piano, working out where I would play keys, where I would switch to bass and so on. I practised and practised until I thought I was good to go. Most songs, I was planning on playing keys and LH bass for the intro, dropping out the keys and playing regular bass for the verse, and then switching back to keys and LH bass for the chorus to fill the sound out. I'd got the keys parts down pretty well - on the piano.

The day before the gig comes, and I go to the hire place to get the polysynth (these were expensive instruments at the time on our budget). I take it home and spent a few hours editing patches and moving them around in the memory so they were in the right order for our set. All good so far. That evening, the night before the gig, we had a rehearsal. Disaster! I was all over the place, for two reasons. The first was that I'd practised all this stuff on piano and trying to reproduce this on a non-touch sensitive, sprung instead of weighted keyboard threw me completely. The phrasing and feel was all over the place, not to mention the fact that I kept triggering wrong notes through sloppy fingering (easy to do this on electronic keys when you're used to piano). The second problem was that I'd practised playing both parts at a piano instead of standing up with a bass hung around my neck and trying to play on two separate (three octave and five octave) keyboards...

Anyway, I felt really bad about it. The rest of the band were also down as they thought the gig was going to be a nightmare and the vocalist in particular was a real **** about the whole thing. Luckily I wasn't working the next day, so I spent the whole day rehearsing on the actual instruments I was going to use under gig conditions, or as near as I could get to them anyway (i.e. stood up).

I'm sure you've worked out the ending to this epic story. We played a blinding gig, one of our best ever, and the whole band were really high about it. It felt great to turn round to the singer and say "Next time, just worry about your own job and trust me to do mine". He had no answer.

I learned some valuable lessons through that, on several levels. Sorry for the very long post.

[bass_snake]

Honestly, whenever I pick up my bass. Either just practicing or doing an audition. I enjoy every moment I play music.

Fred