Ever got physically threatened during a gig?

MotorMind · #1 03-18-2003, 06:43 AM

My band had a gig in a weenie cafe in the center of Rotterdam. There wasn't a stage of any kind and our stuff took up almost 1/3 of available space. As we started to get grooving, suddenly a man burst in, cussing and yelling. He unplugged the guitarist's instrument and threatened to beat us up. He even almost hit a man who was dancing on what little space there was. I was ready to jump the guy if he really would have started a fight.

It appeared that the cafe had no clearance whatsoever to play loud music. The man was from an appartment nearby and clearly under the influence of some funky drugs. After that incident, we decided to pack our stuff and go. Luckily we still got paid

Does anyone else have this kind of experience? I thought it was pretty eerie, yet also funny somehow.

neptoon · #2 03-18-2003, 11:55 AM

i've been threatened physically by a few lovely ladies a time or two...

Thulsa · #3 03-18-2003, 12:09 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by neptoon
i've been threatened physically by a few lovely ladies a time or two...

Remember, NO means NO!

neptoon · #4 03-18-2003, 12:10 PM

yeah, tell them that

NJL · #5 03-18-2003, 12:15 PM

yeah, many times, that's why i carry a gun with me

Funkster · #6 03-18-2003, 02:39 PM

Yep maybe about ten times in 27 years of playin! It's not a good thing if I'm straight and there drunk, I have tried to walk away from them all but a few times I just couldn't and it ended up beeing ugly, For them not me...

Woodchuck · #7 03-18-2003, 03:17 PM

I had a drunk uncle threaten me at a wedding gig once. It was funnier than it was dangerous.

Donne Demarest · #8 03-18-2003, 04:39 PM

"Play 'Free Bird' or we'll kick your ass."

Moe84 · #9 03-18-2003, 11:02 PM

Yes a few times but only twice did it ever come to blows or close anyways..Actually we had a singer come up to sing from another band and little did we know that the sound man didnt like the guy. Soooo he cominced to turning him on and off and we thought the equipment was f**kin up.But the singer thought our singer was doin it???

So he Charged the stage on the next song and tried kickin our singers ass.Needless to say we kicked his ass out the door.. And the other story... Drunk took over, We were tearing down and a guy that worked the bar got all mouthy and tried to throw a hand dolly thru our sound mans windsheid.. I had to open up a can of "Whoop Ass" on that one lol. But really we have had no problems, Your usual mouthing cause ya dont play the song they want to hear at the time ya know.....

P.S. Believe it or not the singer that started **** now sings in my band LMAO

See Things have a way of workin theirselves out lol... ALCOHOL Causes Most Of The Problems!!!!!!

Petebass · #10 03-18-2003, 11:47 PM

New years eve - We had a drunk bloke come onto the stage once and begin to do that stupid dance they with total disregard for our equipment. So I grabbed him by the colar thd threw him off the stage, but I deliberately threw him towards a security guard who I knew would catch him. The stage was about 5' high and I didn't want to hurt him. I just wanted him away from my gear.

Anyway he stood right in front of me for 2 hours, calling out, "you suck, you're dead" non stop. I tried to ignor him but it got rediculous, so I asked the security guy to remove him from the club.

He left without a struggle but guess what happened at the end of the night in the car park. That's right, he was waiting for me. By then he was so drunk his swings were slower than my grandma, but he wouldn't let up. I dodged his punches for a few minutes before security turned up. They had him on the ground, face down in a full nelson, with 4 big blokes on him - and he somehow managed to get up.

The police arrived. At one point, they had 4 security guys and 5 police trying to pin him to the ground but he kept overpowering them and getting to his feet.

One of the younger cops decided enough was enough and pulled a gun on him. No shots fired, situation now under control.......

That's the only incident in 15 years of playing. I look meaner than I am and I know how to use that to my advantage to avoid this sort of thing.

Moe84 · #11 03-18-2003, 11:58 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Petebass
I look meaner than I am and I know how to use that to my advantage to avoid this sort of thing.

Hey Pete That works

I can fight dont get me wrong and I have had my share of whippin ass and gettin ass whipped lol, but I try to use antimadation as long as I can. I am getting to old to beat every idiot up that comes along.
"Rock On Dude"

Arrrrrgh · #12 03-19-2003, 12:39 AM

One time, I was in a band called RELAPSE... and we were playing at a bar out in the country. We played a few sets, and everyone hated us. They were booing and not clapping at all. I had played there many times before playing the same stuff, but they hating me this time. I was playing 3-piece with a punk looking guitar player this time, and even though the music was much better, the audience judged on appearance and not quality.

Well anyway, during one break the guitar player and myself were approached by two disgruntled patrons. One guy told me "You're going to want to play some good music, if you know whats good for you" the other guy told the guitar player "Do you know whats its like to be buried deep?" Meanwhile, the owner of the joint comes up and takes my song list and starts calling off songs that we should play....

It was an interesting night, and we ended up getting paid, but it was a struggle. We closed with Swwet Home, and that seemed to satisfy the rednecks

Phat Ham · #13 03-19-2003, 12:57 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by Arrrrrgh
We closed with Swwet Home, and that seemed to satisfy the rednecks

Rule of thumb: When rednecks are present, play some skynyrd.

Corbis · #14 03-19-2003, 01:14 AM

Well not me but I was helping my bass teacher set up for a bar gig and I got to watch him the rest of the night. Anyway this REALLY drunk guy kept poking and grabbing the legs the band members. The "stage" was just a foot of the ground so all he had to do was reach over. The place was set up funny since the stage was in the middle of the room so the drunk went around the back and starting rubbing the drummers back in mid song. The band finally got tired and ask to have someone escort him out.

I thought it was funny that the bouncer as soon as he got there starting heckling me about being a minor in a bar and how I needed to move to the restraunt but it took him 2 hours to even notice a man that keeping poking the band members. Oh well

Peter McFerrin · #15 03-19-2003, 01:21 AM

Thankfully, I've only ever played for disinterested undergraduates and Mormons. No threats to my person at those gigs...

I was once threatened when I was working at Wal-Mart, however.

PhatBasstard · #16 03-19-2003, 02:28 AM

I don't get physicaly threatened too often because I'm fairly intimidating looking (only 5'10" but I'm naturally muscular and got even more so from heavy weightlifting).

I did have one guy (years ago, I was about 20 or 21) pull a gun on me after the gig. He thought I was with his girl the night before (it was actually my pig guitar player). Before I even had a chance to say/do anything the bartendress (who apparently knew the guy) started yelling at him that it wasn't me. He turned to talk to her and security was on him. Turns out he had done this before and they knew how to handle him.

I had a guitar player (different one) who used to cut his strings, on his Strat, with the sharp little ends sticking up. One night, mid-song, some guy who was giving him the evil eye came running at him from the dance floor. Without missing a note my guitar player hits the guy on his right cheek with the headstock of his guitar. The guy recoils and I see blood starting to form on his face. He had 6 little holes punched in his cheek from those sharp little guitar strings. Once he realized it he started to charge again and security nabbed him. My guitarist (I don't think this was his first experience with this...) just looked at me and grinned.

Coolest thing I ever saw.

Garry Goodman · #17 03-19-2003, 03:10 AM

my rock trio was playing for a record store opening(about 1972) I borrowed a friends ampeg SVT. We were set up outside,and I see the drummer's cymbal stand fall over,the a pa speaker hit the ground.Some old guy with a little pen knife was standing there,very upset.He was red in the face and yelled "I'm gonna cut your heart out" I knew we need practice,but man... I asked "what's the problem ? " "You're too loud'' he yelled and I told him it was 7pm on a Saturday in a shopping center.He told me the bass was shaking all the glasses off his kitchen shelf,a half of a block away.I guess the cement carried the bass down the street.The record shop owner told us to keep playing and called the police on this guy. I won't tell you the time my guitar player was attacked by a guy,drunk,with a pool cue....

NJL · #18 03-19-2003, 09:35 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by PhatBasstard
I don't get physicaly threatened too often because I'm fairly intimidating looking (only 5'10" but I'm naturally muscular and got even more so from heavy weightlifting).

I did have one guy (years ago, I was about 20 or 21) pull a gun on me after the gig. He thought I was with his girl the night before (it was actually my pig guitar player). Before I even had a chance to say/do anything the bartendress (who apparently knew the guy) started yelling at him that it wasn't me. He turned to talk to her and security was on him. Turns out he had done this before and they knew how to handle him.

I had a guitar player (different one) who used to cut his strings, on his Strat, with the sharp little ends sticking up. One night, mid-song, some guy who was giving him the evil eye came running at him from the dance floor. Without missing a note my guitar player hits the guy on his right cheek with the headstock of his guitar. The guy recoils and I see blood starting to form on his face. He had 6 little holes punched in his cheek from those sharp little guitar strings. Once he realized it he started to charge again and security nabbed him. My guitarist (I don't think this was his first experience with this...) just looked at me and grinned.
Coolest thing I ever saw.

that was soooo classic!!!!

bentem · #19 03-20-2003, 08:30 PM

Yeah, those little poking-out-guitar-string-when-you-dont-cut-them-enough after re-stringing are b___s. I hit myself in the tounge after cutting a particularly short one, when it popped up.

Eric Cameron · #20 03-23-2003, 12:43 AM

I haven't been threatened at a gig (mostly cause I havevn't gigged in almost a year

) but I have been at work. One time I was covering the drum department (where I have no knowledge) when this rather large person walks in, obviously in a bad mood. He had been sold a drum kit the previous day, and a wing nut was missing from the kit. I politley told him that was okay, this kind of thing happens, here, let me get you one. No charge. I hand it to him. His response? "This better fit or I'm gonna come back and whip your @$$."

My response?

"Better bring a big whip, sir."

Let all the air right outta his sails.

We also had a guy punch our door person. Seems he tought he was being singled out to have his receipt checked. (This happens with EVERY transaction at EVERY Guitar Center) So he decked our door guy in the mouth. Fortunatley, our General Manager was right there. He took the guys bag away from him, returned everything, gave him his money, and told him to "get the **** out of my store, and never come back." Sometimes Roberto can be a real nice guy.

Rock on
Eric