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Do you guys die a little when this happens?

#21
I screwed up my first 5-7 shows I ever played pretty terribly. Still got compliments. One guy said "You guys were great! What instrument did you play?" He liked Weezer's new stuff, so no surprise there.

I find that usually when the bass is really tight, the whole band gets compliments, everyone thinks the drumming was the difference, and the people who really notice are in the band (on my side of the stage) and the soundguy. Our last three shows have gotten really good compliments from the soundguys, so I figure that's a good thing since they're seeing a million bands.
 
#22
I used to be a freelance TV camera operator for sports, entertainment and corporate shows. I got hired for an all-day rock-fest at a local venue. We had a crew of about 7 guys to man 6 cameras. The extra guy would be the relief guy; we all rotated throughout the day, just to re-hydrate, use the facilities, etc.

I took a turn doing handheld camera on the stage for a while. One of the bands was the BeeGees (OK, so I'm dating myself...). I was moving around, getting some killer shots, being recorded for posterity in the truck, and also going up on the big screen behind the band. While moving on the bass player - of course - I accidentally caught his instrument cable with my foot and pulled it out of the head. :eek: He quickly noticed he had lost his sound, looked at his cable, and then looked at me. We both shrugged, he walked calmly over, plugged it back in, and continued with the tune.

Needless to say, a number of roadies became quite excited and hovered a bit, and then decided that at least for the rest of their set, I should be relegated to a specific area on the wing.

After I was relieved, I figured that I had had enough of handheld for the day, and sat behind hard cams for the rest of the event.

It was a great festival! :p
 
#23
Around 1995 or so, the band I was in played at a party, at the house of a college friend of our singer. There was a punch bowl that had more Everclear then punch in it, and the singer drank a few healthy portions of it. Now, the singer was a big guy, was a linebacker and college, pretty imposing. Even still, the punch went to his head right quick. So, we’re playing our set, he’s girating all around like the drunk fool that his is, and steps on my Korg effects pedalboard, one of those all-in-one deals (the A4? Maybe someone might remember). His big foot managed to find the Mute switch, and of course I didn’t see it because I’m banging my head like a madman. I don’t hear myself, and went through the whole checklist of what might have gone wrong (amp, bass, cable, cabinet ARGH!) before noticing that my pedalboard was in Mute. Facepalm moment for sure.

As far as getting compliments, there are gigs that I play terribly and get loads of compliments. Other gigs I have a fantastic night and no one notices, or doesn’t bring it up. It’s weird but oh well.
 
#26
Okay. Let me get this straight. A girl (doesn't matter if you know her or not) comes up to you at a show and tells me how much she liked the song you played on. She didn't go to the guitard or the singer, she came up to YOU to say it.

Then, you tell her she couldn't really hear you so the song was good without you.


I'M DECLARING THIS A BASS PLAYER FOUL OF THE MOST FLAGRANT KIND!

Dude, when she tells you how good the song was, you say "Thanks. I worked on that bass part for days. Made my fingers bleed. Can I buy you a drink?" or try "I love you! Come back to my place now!"

I know it sucks when crap like this happens. However, never tell a fan or anyone that you were Ashlee Simpson-ing it! And if its a chick? Marry her!
 
#28
Meddle said:
At a gig a few weeks back our singer, in mid Ian Curtis epilepsy dance, manages to snag the cable running from my pedals and into a DI box, which was placed before the amp onstage. No bass coming from FOH and no bass coming from the amp either. I had to mime the bass line for the rest of that song until the singer went and fixed it for me (he is a total luddite, but he figured this one out somehow).

After the show a girl comes up (I already know her, I don't attract random girls!) and comments on how much she liked the song. She especially liked the 'punky' bit and she said I was really getting into it.

Ok so I go off on a long description of the problem...

"Well technically you didn't hear me because the sound engineer placed a DI box before the amp I was using onstage and my singer... (generic borderline autistic description of sound setup at that gig).

'Oh', she says, 'I didn't notice'. She pulls her friends over to explain. 'No, none of us noticed'.

Apparently this was some form of compliment?!?!

So anybody had people tell them about their amazing bass playing at shows where batteries have died, pedals have died, cables have died or singers have trampled your gear into near unusability?
Click to expand...

One time I was hanging out at a gig for a friend's band, and I was chatting with the bass player pre-gig. He hasn't been playing bass all that long, and is kind of self-conscious about his ability, and was telling me about how he has stage fright sometimes and so forth.

So, I told him the cure for it. When he's on stage, and he starts to get nervous, he needs to just start playing everything up a half step. Do that for a couple of bars, and then when he realizes that nobody in the band or the crowd has any idea that he's playing horribly out of key, he will never worry about his playing again for the rest of the gig.

The funny thing is, after their set he told me he tried it and it worked.

P.S., I've actually done that before myself, not to cure stage fright, but at rehearsals when the sound is god awful and nobody can hear anything. After we play a whole song, and the singer says "nice, that sounded great", I explain to them that I was playing the entire song out of key. It sometimes gets the point across.
 
#29
Our current band got back together after 11-12 years.
We were playing an event with many other groups.
In our haste to set up play as many songs as we could in 50 mins.---
we forgot to TUNE UP TOGETHER!!!!!!(guitar and bass) I was in complete shock....I play fretless...the song was in E...I was playing in between E and Eb. Nobody noticed! It took us 3 songs to get on track.:crying::hmm:
 
#31
StereoPlayer said:
Our current band got back together after 11-12 years.
We were playing an event with many other groups.
In our haste to set up play as many songs as we could in 50 mins.---
we forgot to TUNE UP TOGETHER!!!!!!(guitar and bass) I was in complete shock....I play fretless...the song was in E...I was playing in between E and Eb. Nobody noticed! It took us 3 songs to get on track.:crying::hmm:
Click to expand...

This is why god gave us electronic tuners. "Tuning up together" is strictly '70s, and annoys the heck out of audiences.
 
#34
I play a song that the bass drops out for the first half of the guitar solo then comes in for the second half. During the first half I "pretend" to have a malfunction going so far as to hit and kick my rig only to have my amp "come back on" just in time for the second half. Part of the show??? Of course. I've never heard anyone comment on my "malfunction".

Does that count???
 
#35
as I got close to 40 I simultaneously got sick of playing in bands with singers, and started playing more jazz/experimental instrumental music.

without a singer---- a jazz, or jazz/rock trio or quartet (what I've done since) each instrument can actually be heard, and definitely missed if it drops out. Very satisfying !

on stage mistakes since then ? not having a flashlight on a dark stage, forgetting to keep an eye on the "blend" knob on distortion pedal, little things like that.

sometimes I miss the crazy rock stuff though !
 
#37
jmercer91 said:
why didn't you fix the cable yourself?
Click to expand...

Thats what I was wondering...if you're not making any sound anyway?..


[slightly off topic]

I had a girl ask me if she could play my "guitar" (between sets), cuz she "knew how to play guitar"
I said: "thats not a guitar..its a bass"
she said: "whats the difference?..so can I play it?"
:scowl:




Yes.Bass is a tricky thing ...for the "common folk".

They cant tell when its there, but they sure as $h!t can tell when it aint.


carry on.
 
#38
TRichardsbass said:
Wait, I just read your OP again. SHE CALLED HER FRIENDS OVER AND TOLD THEM YOUR EXPLANATION. DUDE, ONE OF THOSE CHICKS WAS INTO YOU UNTIL THAT POINT!

This is a big penalty. More then 15 yards and an automatic first down.

Ugh.
Click to expand...



+15


Meddle said:
And I figured it would look shoddy in the middle of a song with the other guys rocking out for me to go over and start fumbling with equipment. It sort of gives the game away that something is up.
Click to expand...


I don't know, I was thinkin maybe.... the friggin BASS droppin out might lead some people to think suttins up?:eyebrow:


Besides, If they cant tell anyway, bend down and fix cables with right hand, while Fretting the notes (they cant hear) with your left.
That way it will look like you're "still playing". :bassist:


Okay, I've spent waaay too much time on this thread today guys/gals I really gotta start doin some work here.
 

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