Coolest random thing from one of your gigs?

kesslari · #1 10-31-2008, 02:53 PM

So other than girls (or guys, depending on your gender or preference), what are some of the cool random things that have happened at your gigs?

Things like great musicians sitting in, famous or cool people in the audience, great venue, finding $100 under the food you ordered, or whatever....

For me, it was doing a large gig through the same board that mixed the very first Grateful Dead show that I saw as a teen.

I was playing in a world music fusion band that was pretty good. We got an opening gig at a 3000 seat venue, which was awesome for us. Geoff Cook, former soundman for the Dead (and a very interesting guy with incredible ears) had taken a liking to us and did sound for us.

For this gig he said he wanted to bring something special, so he asked us to come out to his place and help him load out.
He brings out this massive 24 channel board, wood construction, modular tube channel inputs - freakin' monstrous (this was in the late '90's, and Mackie and similar small footprint boards had already arrived on the scene). We're helping him load this beast, and he says proudly "This board mixed the Blues For Allah tour". I said "The show at the Tower theater in Philly?" He says yeah...

That show was my first ever Dead show from when I was in High School, and I became a fairly major Deadhead for quite a time after that.

So I got to play through the board that mixed my first Dead show. That wuz cool...

Bassenstien · #2 10-31-2008, 02:59 PM

Mine was when we got to play a show with a side project from a very well respected underground metal frontman, and he was shooting a documentary on underground metal and shot our set. Don't know if it will get used or not but here is hopin. We actually got to headline that show!

voodoobassist · #3 10-31-2008, 03:09 PM

Was playing a local club one Saturday night, last set, look on the dance floor and see this envelope being kicked around the dance floor by oblivious dancers. It would scoot from one side to the other, no one really noticing this large stuffed envelope in thier "Play that funky music" dance frenzy.

I kept watching, finally, it gets kicked right in front of me, I reach down, pick it up, and deposit it on my amp. We finally finish our set, I put my bass away, check the envelope, there's around $1,100 in it!!!

There were two deposit slips from a couple of the local strip bars in there as well, but being a broke musician, I didn't pursue trying to return the money to a strip club owner. I still have some twinges of guilt over that, but knowing those clubs, and the guys that owned them, "Vinny from Boston" types, I never felt too bad over it all.

BWB · #4 10-31-2008, 03:10 PM

Having John Mellencamp's lead guitarist see me play at a bar in Asheville, NC, introducing himself, saying he liked my bass lines, bought the whole band a round of drinks. 1990. I was 21 at the time, and was pretty blown away by that.

smitcat · #5 10-31-2008, 03:53 PM

about a year and a half ago, the cover band I play in was playing at a club for the first time. Not exactly the most happening spot, but it was our first time there. A guy came up and started requesting songs by ozzy, stp, etc... We don't normally play some of the songs but luckily our guitar player new some of the riffs, and I just followed along. For each song we started playing, he stared throwing down $20's. We just figured that he was messing around. After about $100 he stopped, and walked away. We let the money sit there for a while, and then realized that he wasn't coming back. So, we kept it! Best tip we ever got!

Willy2911 · #6 10-31-2008, 04:20 PM

Actually it was my first Gig. I asked my friend if we could open for his band. He said well I don't know if there will be enough time, I was like ok whatever. He called me later and said that he had talked with all the other guys and they said Yes. It turned out to be a battle of the bands - I had no Idea - now I understood the time thing. These other bands were the 5 most awsome metal bands in SLC (Salt Lake City) where I grew up.
My band was opening for Some of my Mentors. I was so nervous, But this one Guy, his name is Willy also - he is the front man of the Baddest Band I have ever had the pleasure to meet. - anyway he came up to me and introduced himself, I was like holy crap, he knew I was nervous - when it was time to go on, Willy introduced us and his drummer sat in for our drummer who got stage fright. After the show, We all took a group pic. and partied our A$$E$ off.
I felt like A God for like a month. LOL
To this day I Love that man like a brother- And we are close friends.

Jehos · #7 10-31-2008, 04:52 PM

Probably the coolest thing so far is that my band put on our own show at a theater in Dallas. Apparently Sammy Hagar was the last act to play there earlier in the week or the weekend before. We all helped drink the couple cases of beer he left in the dressing room fridge, and the Pedialyte he left got our drummer in shape for the show (he showed up for load-in with a nasty hangover).

metallicafan18 · #8 10-31-2008, 05:20 PM

I played at a cheap small bar when I was 14, and we were getting a $200 pay for a 4 hour show. So during our last set, some drunk guy came up, grabbed our tip jar and started going around asking for tips for the band. I thought he was going to take our money. He gave the tip jar back at the end of the night. We got $300 in tips!! More than the bar payed us to play. It was great. So we got $500 to play a 4 hour bar gig, and only being 14 years old at the time. Can't beat that.

emblymouse · #9 10-31-2008, 05:41 PM

Chicago, 1978-Mothers: I'm onstage and look out in the audience...is that... Paul McCartney?!!! That is Paul McFrikinCartney at the bar!!!!!

Turns out it was the guy who played Paul in the show 'Beatlemania' out for a post gig beer.

I about peed myself before that set was over though.

brachal · #10 10-31-2008, 08:41 PM

We were playing a club with a small stage, less than 20' across. High-energy show. Our drummer goes a little crazy, leaps out from behind the kit and kicks the tip bucket into the audience. No tips tonight! Then he runs back to his drums. Our guitarist turns around to see what's going on and gets smacked in the face with a flying drum throne. It bounces off of his face and hits me in the head ... picked up the 7 - 10 split. Fortunately I got hit with the padded end. Loading out, I drop my Hartke on the middle finger of my left hand and split the end open. Blood everywhere. So I wrap the finger up in some bar napkins. I have to drive my guitarist clean across town so he can get home ... me with my bloody bird-finger and him holding his head the whole time. I say something like, "Man, this finger hurts." He looks up and says, "I think I'm concussed." We both laughed a little. Went to the ER the next day and got 5 stitches in my fingertip. For some reason neither of us ever got mad at our drummer, and, for some crazy reason, that's still one of my favorite gigs.

jazzbo58 · #11 10-31-2008, 10:43 PM

I played a gig on the same stage that the Saturday before Jimmy Page sat in with Mason Ruffner. We couldn't believe we were standing on the same stage as one of our hero's.

Cheers,
Jim

**Stumbo** · #12 11-01-2008, 01:38 AM

We played a hole in the wall club and Big Joe Turner (bluesman) and his sax player came up on stage and jammed with us.

NorCal Dog · #13 11-02-2008, 07:44 AM

was playing Fourth St Tavern in San Rafael a couple of years back & Lars Ulrich strolls in, ( as Metallica's studio is just a couple of blocks away ) he hangs out awhile, has a drink & buys the band a round.

then cruises back out pumpin' the devil horns

cool guy

KsToaDangr · #14 11-02-2008, 10:30 AM

A couple of years ago, MxPx was playing a show about an hour from here, and I was hanging out backstage before the show talking with the band. I mentioned that the first song I ever learned on bass was one of theirs, and Mike handed me a bass and asked me to play it. When I did, he said "cool man, but can you do it in front of an audience?" During the middle of their set, he called me off of the floor to go up on stage and play it with the band.

Steve · #15 11-02-2008, 10:46 AM

I used to have a house gig at a fairly notorious NE Florida bar.

I looked up once and Jimmy Buffett was sitting at a table. Aparently, he had been fired from the club before he got famous and liked to come in every blue moon to gloat. He's a good guy.

When The World Golf Village first opened, I looked up from stage and standing by the door wearing a ball cap was Vince Gill. We tried to get him up to sit in, he wouldn't. The band leader calls a Vince song and plays it right in front of him. At the break we walk over and say hi, the band leader askes Vince what he thought of our version of his song to which he replies jokingly (I think): "Don't ever play that song again". Too funny.

Artimus Pyle used to come sit in fairly regularly when he lived in town. Jeezuz he's loud.

Leon Wilkerson used to stop by a couple times a year when he was alive. A really musical and melodic player.

We had a really excellent Ringo Starr impersonator come in one night and dupe us all. That actually made national news.

Rick Auricchio · #16 11-02-2008, 11:30 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kesslari

Geoff Cook, former soundman for the Dead (and a very interesting guy with incredible ears) had taken a liking to us and did sound for us.

Small world!

In 2001, I helped Geoff working sound for the Cambria Hoot Indian Summer Acoustic Music Festival. That was a one-time, three-day event here in Cambria.

In about 2004, I also worked with Geoff at a Cambria Hoot show in San Luis Obispo. If I recall, it was Eliza Gilkyson. We also mixed the Waybacks. Could have been the same show...I don't recall.

Last time I checked, Geoff and Vicki lived in Santa Barbara. He completely reworked an A&H GL2200, and he's got his own tube amps for PA tops, self-designed monitors and mains. The tweeter horns came from the Wall of Sound.

Cool coincidence.

kesslari · #17 11-02-2008, 11:32 AM

Quote:

Small world!

In 2001, I helped Geoff working sound for the Cambria Hoot Indian Summer Acoustic Music Festival. That was a one-time, three-day event here in Cambria.

That IS cool. He's an amazing sound engineer. He hears things differently, I think, than most anyone else I've worked with. Glad you had chance to work with him, hope you can do so again.

need4mospd · #18 11-06-2008, 09:52 PM

Played at the Balinese Room(google it for some cool stories) which is(was) on a 600 foot long pier over the ocean in Galveston. Talk about a fun load in... Hurricane Ike recently did some remodeling on it, as in, you can still kinda make out the pier it was sitting on.

Bass Pleasures · #19 11-08-2008, 04:05 AM

My band played a bonfire night gig at our local rugby stadium in the week.

A local radio station was doing a roadshow-type deal before and after the fireworks and we had a nice stage set up on the pitch.

We went on as people were coming in to the place.
Unfortunately it was a bit wet so people didn't stand in front of us, they watched from the stand in order to keep dry.
Still, we got a good reaction.

Anyway, the radio guys were impressed and asked us if we fancied going on again immediately after the fireworks.
By this time the rain had cleared so everybody stood on the pitch to watch the fireworks; as soon as they had ended we started playing and the audience simply turned around to see us.

It was pretty good fun, people of all ages digging us, we finished with "Mr Brightside", some teenage lads turning up and having a bit of a mosh.

Just as we finished, two young "ladies" ran forward and chucked a pair of panties at us!
That was pretty cool, being elevated to Tom Jones status.

I picked them up and threw them at the drummer, he held them on the end of one of his sticks as he pulled a face, as if they stunk, then threw them to the front of the stage.
I placed them on my microphone and took the snap that you can see below.

Exhibit A, your honour:

Lizooki · #20 11-08-2008, 07:00 AM

A guy I worked with many years ago thought he was the bass player of the world.
He would travel occasionally with a keyboard player friend to Chicago and bounce from one open mic night to another until funds ran out.
In small dive while they were on stage on an open stage night....an old dude slipped in the back door, up on stage and started wailing along......he turned to see Buddy Guy behind him!

Matt