Best compliment you got after a gig......

[Mantis Tobaggan]

Yeah but that night you said she disappeared ...

 

[OldBassman]

I regularly lead singing, using a 12-string acoustic, and people usually seem pleased. One very elderly Alzheimer's patient said, "You're not too bad on that guitar!" She waited about two seconds, and then said "Of course, you're not too good, either!" I have laughed every time I remembered it.

Ha Ha Ha !!! I love it...

 

[rtav]

"Hey - I went to Berklee for bass. Who have you studied under?"

I said, "No one, self taught."

 

[Felken]

She is cute, and she goes for bass players. Dude, jump on this one NOW, before she recovers from whatever rock hit her on the temple.

What do you think I'm doing?

And she's asian, plays baritone sax. Might be jackpot!

 

[Bunk McNulty]

10 years ago I got hired by a band where everybody but me had a big resume. The drummer had put in 4 years working with Bo Diddley. I did 4 or 5 gigs with them, nobody said anything to me, and it was beginning to bug me. Finally one night at rehearsal, I couldn't stand it any more, and said "Everybody OK with what I'm doing?" And the drummer looked over at me and said "Just keep doin' that boom-boom-boom." I was okay after that.

 

[mr13ump]

"Damn you got some fast fingers white boy"
- 50 something year old black man in guitarcenter

or,

"Your lines remind me of Paul McCartney"
- guy replacing me in one of my bands after he learned my parts

 

[RichardW]

Civilian division: nothing specific, but I love when someone compliments my band on our song selection. We play classic rock and blues, but spend a lot of time finding deeper tracks. I love it when someone come's up after a gig and says "I can't believe you guys played Empty Pages!"

Professional division: I attended a music camp weekend with Jack Casady, and he looked at me at one point and said "you know what you're doing."

 

[OldBassman]

Yeah but that night you said she disappeared ...

The next day I drove her home to Gainesville, dropped her off at work, a small bar in Alachua, and didn't see her again for 30 years.

 

[Bassman Spliff]

10 years ago I got hired by a band where everybody but me had a big resume. The drummer had put in 4 years working with Bo Diddley. I did 4 or 5 gigs with them, nobody said anything to me, and it was beginning to bug me. Finally one night at rehearsal, I couldn't stand it any more, and said "Everybody OK with what I'm doing?" And the drummer looked over at me and said "Just keep doin' that boom-boom-boom." I was okay after that.

Haha, this reminds me of a story the same harp player told us while he was here. I can't remember the players name, but a big name blues guitar player strolls into the venue and meets his backing band. He takes them to the green room for a "conference"; passes out a doobie to each one. As they finish, he turns to the piano player:
"Don't worry about playing any of them big jazz chords. All I want you to to do is play the sweet notes"
Then he turns to the bass player
"Don't worry about playing all up and down the neck, just hold the groove and play them sweet notes."
Finally he turns to the drummer and says:
"You don't have to worry about playing any of those big fills, just gimme the bip-diddy, bip diddy, bip diddy all night long.

[edited for spelling and grammar]

 

[RustyAxe]

A local blues/big band luminary told me once after a gig that I had good chops and feel, and should hook up with the jazz groups.

I used to play upright bass a lot more than I do now. At a gig a local bassist, who I respect highly, put his hand on my shoulder and said "you really have a nice touch". Anyone who plays upright knows that's a great compliment.

 

[pcake]

there are two that are tied, and both were from the audience rather than a single person. in chronological order:

i played electric guitar and sang in a 2-show benefit on catalina island. the first show was horrible as there were hostile comics, the guy in charge of the show was off fighting with his wife, the police were called because of a word in one of the songs and lots more. we did fine, the other band did fine, but it didn't feel fine. the second night, catalina island moved us to a smaller stage (there are two), and in the middle of the set i started a song i play fingerstyle that i wrote the music for and arranged the lyrics. i find it a haunting, beautiful song, and as i continued, people in the audience quieted. then some started standing and holding up lighters and candles, and by the end of the song, everyone was on their feet for me. wow, i felt like a star!

the other time, i was playing bass and doing some singing, but mostly the guitarist was the main singer. we were playing on the l.a. marathon route, and was doing a mix of covers and some originals. the people seemed to be enjoying the music and the day, dancing, talking to each other, looking around and having fun. i didn't choose most of the songs with that band, but we started off on one i did chose - i wanna to be your dog. that one i sang and we boosted the bass when we played it. all of a sudden, everyone was watching us and chanting "bass! bass! bass!" very loudly, pointing at me and moving to the tune.

 

[bucephylus]

Best compliment for me is when the dance floor is full.

 

[SteveHeissner]

An attractive woman offered to reward me orally between sets. I thanked her for her generosity and declined the offer explaining that I was married at the time.

 

[Starflyer59]

When one of the most respected sound guys in the church circles in the city tells me "You are not EQ'd at the FOH" Youre pretty much direct.

 

[LT131]

We opened for a pretty hot act at an outdoor thing many years ago. Did a really good set, had the crowd up and rockin. I noticed the front guy for the headliner backstage watching. We finished, cleaned our stuff off and were watching the show when the headliners road mgr came over and said, " Wow, I haven't seen him play like that in months! You guys really got him going!"

 

[Marc61]

I was in an Alternative Rock band in the early 90s. Songwriter really put together interesting stuff. At the time I was hooked on the Roxy Music album Avalon. When I was creating bass lines, I just listened to the disc in hopes it would inspire me. One night we played a show at Kenny's Castaways in NYC. someone came up to me after the show and said "You sound just like the bassist (They had a few, on that album it was mostly Alan Spenner) from Roxy Music" - Mission Accomplished

 

[lawjazz1]

"You sound like a studio musician. May I have a list of all your recordings?"

I'm in a cover band so there are no recordings :/

 

[JGbassman]

After playing a show with Denny Laine (Moody Blues, Wings)

He says "nice bass playing mate."

This coming from a man that played recorded with Sir Paul McCartney.

I don't think I will ever top that one.

 

[Medicine Man]

Another good one was last Dec we opened for a national act, and the guys from his band all danced through our set. Afterwords they told us "we usually drink in the trailer during the opening act."

 

[StraffordMike]

An attractive woman offered to reward me orally between sets. I thanked her for her generosity and declined the offer explaining that I was married at the time.

Sure you weren't playing guitar at the time?