Harassing your audience

[busmandan]

While perusing the insult thread, I was reminded of an instance that was different enough to start another thread.

I had the occasion a couple of months ago to see Jimmie's Chicken Shack at the Hard Rock Cafe in Pittsburgh. As frequently happens on smaller shows, the venue had booked local openers. The first band was a typical bunch of high school kids wearing their Emo proudly - but totally unoriginal and mediocre musically.

To their credit, though, they went out into the audience after their set and pitched their $5 EP to everyone in the house. I totally appreciate their effort - more bands should do that. What I didn't appreciate was the annoying little twerp that wouldn't leave me alone after I told him I wasn't buying. He wanted to know why, so since he asked I told him the truth: that his band was unoriginal and lacked skills - sucked, in other words. This led to a long discussion - with the little sh!t daring me to hit him all the while - which totally ruined a great set by JCS.

If you've had a similar experience, please share.

-- Dan --

[scottbass]

I would never hit a high school kid - or anyone of any age, for that matter. But you should have invited him to step outside....(wait for it)...but don't follow him out!

[fenderhutz]

I read the thread title and thought something different.

Our singer used to spit on people and heckle the hecklers.

[Mojo-Man]

Good timing.

I played a gig Sat night.
Where the drummer kept harassing the audience.
At one point he told someone in audience to leave?
They bantered back and forth while we played.
Leader of the band did not know how to deal with this.
Drummer was a sub.
They talked on break.
A drummer got put off, about being talked too.
Needless to say, drummer will not be getting a call back.
They whole thing put a damper on gig.

P.S. to make thing worse. ( drummer was not that good a player)

[funkybass4ever]

I would tell him to pick a place and have a Bass-off like in Crossroads with Steve Vai and the Karate Kid but with you and the bass player from the emo band
whoever loses gets each others gear

[Vakmere]

Originally Posted by funkybass4ever

I would tell him to pick a place and have a Bass-off like in Crossroads with Steve Vai and the Karate Kid but with you and the bass player from the emo band
whoever loses gets each others gear

And/or girlfriend

[fenderx55]

Originally Posted by Vakmere

And/or girlfriend

That's assuming a lot of all involved.

[sarcastro83]

I thought this was a thread about G.G. Alin...

Either way, the aforementioned kid sounds like a bit of a weenis.

[Fetusyolk]

Originally Posted by Vakmere

And/or girlfriend

girlfriends don't have much resale value

[Joel S.]

Originally Posted by fenderhutz

I read the thread title and thought something different.

Our singer used to spit on people and heckle the hecklers.

Same.

Friends of mine in another band (rock cover) usually verbally assault the crowd. People enjoy it too... weird.

[BishopM05]

Originally Posted by fenderhutz

I read the thread title and thought something different.

Our singer used to spit on people and heckle the hecklers.

I thought it was about this topic too. I went to the Metallica concert here in Houston last week. Anyways, Down was one of the opening bands. Apparently it includes lead singer and bassist from Pantera. Singer was a complete buttface at times...music was good though. I guess this is his way of getting the crowd pumped? Perhaps he's used to Pantera fans kicking ass and taking a little abuse here and there. It didn't seem like the crowd got into it. Who knows...

[TheWolf]

Nobody does this better than Devin Townsend :> The master of onstage insults and banter, usually self-directed though

[Hyde]

The progressive metal band I used to be in frequently played shows at a venue a few towns over with really, really crappy hardcore bands who had fans that would basically throw things and yell uncreative insults implying our singer was homosexual at the first sign of any melody, dynamics, or any of that other stuff that makes music good. We quickly developed a tendency to wear Backstreet Boys shirts and Birkenstocks, talk with a lisp onstage, write songs that started with about five seconds of death metal growls over a breakdown before going into really, really melodic things with lots of sweeping, tapping, and clean vocals, and cover Oingo Boingo songs. I've got to say, getting an extremely negative reaction to your music from somebody whose taste you don't respect in the slightest is almost as much fun as getting a positive reaction from someone that you do.

[ColdSteelRain]

He isn't in a band, but deserves mention here: Christophe the Insultor (at www.insultor.com)

He describes himself:

I am Christophe the Insultor, Archbastard. I make my living insulting people for money.


I've seen his show a couple of times, and he's *really* good at it.

[GearHeadBassMan]

when I was fronting a metal band i got hit hard in the face (cut my face) with a backpack some emo kid was swinging around in the pit, scaring everyone away.

next time the backpack came swinging i caught it and threw it down, kid in tow (he was like 80 lbs) and said "stop that."

he stopped.

[Nuggets]

Originally Posted by GearHeadBassMan

when I was fronting a metal band i got hit hard in the face (cut my face) with a backpack some emo kid was swinging around in the pit, scaring everyone away.

next time the backpack came swinging i caught it and threw it down, kid in tow (he was like 80 lbs) and said "stop that."

he stopped.

HAHAHA that is so awesome!
me and my friends do similar stuff at metal shows whether we are playing or in the crowd. we see a hardcore dancer or someone scaring all the others off, we tell em off, or grab em, or just sandwich them, see if they do it again. repeat until they stop.

[AlembicPlayer]

Originally Posted by busmandan

This led to a long discussion - with the little sh!t daring me to hit him all the while - which totally ruined a great set by JCS.

maybe you should have quietly gone outside and pissed on his bicycle

[TheXym]

Originally Posted by Nuggets

HAHAHA that is so awesome!
me and my friends do similar stuff at metal shows whether we are playing or in the crowd. we see a hardcore dancer or someone scaring all the others off, we tell em off, or grab em, or just sandwich them, see if they do it again. repeat until they stop.

That's cool. I don't have a problem with people hardcore dancing in and of itself. I have a major problem when they're crashing into people who want no part of it or when they're ruining it for folks who just want to enjoy the show. I've had a few run-ins with hardcore dancers myself when their full body spasms caused them to come close to hitting my wife or spilling her drink and I'm on the floor watching the show.

I remember seeing a show when a hardcore dancer was thinking he was a human bowling ball and everyone else was pins - the singer sicced the bouncers on him pretty quickly. He said "it's great that you're so into the music, but you have NO ****ing right to ruin it for everyone else" He then gave drink tickets that he had to everyone that he'd seen lose drinks due to the idiot during the set break.

[alembicguy]

Originally Posted by AlembicPlayer

maybe you should have quietly gone outside and pissed on his bicycle

You beat me to it!

[Bochafish]

Originally Posted by BishopM05

I thought it was about this topic too. I went to the Metallica concert here in Houston last week. Anyways, Down was one of the opening bands. Apparently it includes lead singer and bassist from Pantera. Singer was a complete buttface at times...music was good though. I guess this is his way of getting the crowd pumped? Perhaps he's used to Pantera fans kicking ass and taking a little abuse here and there. It didn't seem like the crowd got into it. Who knows...

Probably because the singer (Phil) is a junky addict that has no grip on reality anymore. ( I used to love Pantera, and Down)
The song "5 Minutes Alone" by Pantera is about Phil getting sued by an audience member. The crime? Inciting crowd violence. The guy did something Phil didn't like ( I think spit on him), and Phil told the entire crowd to kick this guys butt, which they promptly did. Now that's harrasing the audience.