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...Embarrising Moments At a Gig?
- Thread starter RadioMasterDude
- Start date
I've torn my pants, fallen off the stage, started songs in the wrong key, disconnected my bass from the amp, spilled drinks on myself and almost pooped my pants on stage. I stopped the show and ran to the bathroom.
I've had so many, where to start?
I've forgotten the words, probably hundreds of times. Started on the wrong note, real loud, hundreds of times. Played the wrong pattern under the lead. Forgot to bring important items to the gig, left important items at the club, dropped my bass, clobbered people with the peghead, discovered my zipper was down onstage, tripped over wires, peed my pants,
said stupid/embarrassing stuff on the mic, mis-stepped getting off stage & sprained my knee, the list goes on. Should I start on stupid stuff I did/said while drunk? 
It's a wonder I still get hired!
Here's a couple of things I DIDN'T do:
Never puked or passed out onstage, never arrived at the gig without my bass, never got arrested in the parking lot on a break, never got a DUI although I deserved one a time or three.
Overall, I'd have to say I've been lucky.
Edit: looks like Lesfunk has had some similar experiences, ha ha! I too have stopped the show to sprint for the bathroom!
I've forgotten the words, probably hundreds of times. Started on the wrong note, real loud, hundreds of times. Played the wrong pattern under the lead. Forgot to bring important items to the gig, left important items at the club, dropped my bass, clobbered people with the peghead, discovered my zipper was down onstage, tripped over wires, peed my pants,
said stupid/embarrassing stuff on the mic, mis-stepped getting off stage & sprained my knee, the list goes on. Should I start on stupid stuff I did/said while drunk? It's a wonder I still get hired!
Here's a couple of things I DIDN'T do:
Never puked or passed out onstage, never arrived at the gig without my bass, never got arrested in the parking lot on a break, never got a DUI although I deserved one a time or three.
Overall, I'd have to say I've been lucky.
Edit: looks like Lesfunk has had some similar experiences, ha ha! I too have stopped the show to sprint for the bathroom!
We had a gig where I played one song short of an entire set with my fly open. Across from the bandstand is a table with three cute girls who keep giving me the eye. They would come up and dance for a bit then sit down and have a drink, looking and smiling at me the whole time. Of course as the set went on I started feeling pretty proud thinking all I have to do is finish the set, walk to the table with three girls and talk for a bit then reel one in like dynamite fishing in a barrel. The embarrassing part was having the one I thought was the most attractive politely inform me of my mistake between songs. With my ego deflated I thanked her, spun round and fixed things, finished the set and disappeared in the opposite corner of the bar. Too bad I'm not smooth enough to recover from that one, she was beautiful. 
Our drummer forgot his throne one night so he commandeered a chair from the bar. The funny bit is the drummer was short and all the chairs were tall so he is sitting on top of his kit like one of those cartoon caricatures with the big head.
Our drummer forgot his throne one night so he commandeered a chair from the bar. The funny bit is the drummer was short and all the chairs were tall so he is sitting on top of his kit like one of those cartoon caricatures with the big head.
I played at a block party with my band a while ago, and we had to set up really fast due to getting lost on the way to the gig. Our drummer had just gotten a new low tom that mounted to his ride cymbal stand and he was really excited to use it on the gig for the first time. It was fine when we were soundchecking, but about two minutes into the first song (I think it was "Amie" by Pure Prairie League) his mounting hardware snapped totally in half and his brand new tom went crashing to the pavement. Our two guitarists are the type who feel they have to re-tune after every single song, so while they were tuning I had to ask the audience if anyone had some duct tape we could borrow. Somebody had some, so our drummer played the rest of the three-hour gig with his low tom taped to his cymbal stand!
Moral of the story: Bring duct tape to every single gig, cause you never know when you'll need it!
Moral of the story: Bring duct tape to every single gig, cause you never know when you'll need it!
my first 'gig' was a drum n bass duet at a school music evening. Had only been playing bass for about 6 months and i was so excited about it. We played amidst many clarists, pianists, violinists etc so we were really there to put some life into the night. No one knew what we were gonna be like cos the organiser never had the chance to audition us in, he just hoped we didn't suck. When we were called up, my strap had somehow got tangled and that took about 5min to undo just to add to my nerves.
We gt up there and started playing (I don't think I looked at the audience at all during the song) and after about 30sec the drums stop, apart from a lonely snare keeping time. I fully turn around to look at the drummer and his hi-hat slipped forward due to very smooth floors. I was like nooo and started playing really badly (i thought) and i just wanted it to be over. But at the end, everyone stood up (yeah!) and cheered us hardout, whistling and all I was in partial surprise and relief. That night we really rocked it out man.
We gt up there and started playing (I don't think I looked at the audience at all during the song) and after about 30sec the drums stop, apart from a lonely snare keeping time. I fully turn around to look at the drummer and his hi-hat slipped forward due to very smooth floors. I was like nooo and started playing really badly (i thought) and i just wanted it to be over. But at the end, everyone stood up (yeah!) and cheered us hardout, whistling and all
I was in partial surprise and relief. That night we really rocked it out man.
I have a stutter.
My frontman used to make me do all the talking between songs.
I'm sure you can figure out the rest.
My frontman used to make me do all the talking between songs.
I'm sure you can figure out the rest.
- Dec 21, 2007
- 15,222
- 45,018
- Disclosures
- Lark in the Morning Instructional Videos; Audix Microphones
Used to play in a reggae band with a very dynamic frontman.
He would dance and sing and work the crowd, turn around and face the band, turn back to the crowd, etc.
At that time, not only couldn't I sing and play bass at the same time, I could barely TALk and play bass at the same time.
Singer is strutting his stuff, turns to face the band, and I see that his fly is open.
I try to say "your fly is open" but all I can manage is "your... fly..."
He (being African-American) says "hey, thanks man", turns back around to shake his groove thang at the audience.
Turns back to the band, and I try again... "your... fly..."
Again "thanks man", more shakin' at the audience.
The third time I managed "your... fly... is... OPEN..."
Priceless
He would dance and sing and work the crowd, turn around and face the band, turn back to the crowd, etc.
At that time, not only couldn't I sing and play bass at the same time, I could barely TALk and play bass at the same time.
Singer is strutting his stuff, turns to face the band, and I see that his fly is open.
I try to say "your fly is open" but all I can manage is "your... fly..."
He (being African-American) says "hey, thanks man", turns back around to shake his groove thang at the audience.
Turns back to the band, and I try again... "your... fly..."
Again "thanks man", more shakin' at the audience.
The third time I managed "your... fly... is... OPEN..."
Priceless
Oh man, that's sadistically hilarious.
My second gig with a new band, we were playing a full 3 hour show. My current GF was coming to see us/me play for the first time. We weren't together at the time, just "talking" but I knew she was coming. She showed up a little into the first song, and it all went downhill. I managed to completely screw up the next 3 songs until I could relax.
She says she didn't notice.My first gig with another band, a pool party at the guitarist's house, I managed to get a bit tipsy and completely forgot the chorus of a song. Just kinda stood there lost.
Amusing: I was making a trip to the bathroom and these kids who were no more than 10, asked me why I had to go to the bathroom so much. I started to say "I've been drinking", but stopped and said "you'll figure it out when you get older."
playing new years eve.
my guitard asks to tune, so i tun off my amp and pull out my send cable, hand it to him and tell him to make sure it goes back into the send jack.
on my amp(well soon to be old amp) send, return, and line out are all a row.... so he plugs it into the line out...i was unaware until i turn on my amp, hit the second channel on my sansamp, i get this NASTY feedback.
so i start trouble shooting.
wireless reciever into head, send jack, oh wait its plugged into the LINE OUT!!!
we had a great talk after the show....
my guitard asks to tune, so i tun off my amp and pull out my send cable, hand it to him and tell him to make sure it goes back into the send jack.
on my amp(well soon to be old amp) send, return, and line out are all a row.... so he plugs it into the line out...i was unaware until i turn on my amp, hit the second channel on my sansamp, i get this NASTY feedback.
so i start trouble shooting.
wireless reciever into head, send jack, oh wait its plugged into the LINE OUT!!!
we had a great talk after the show....
We had a gig where I played one song short of an entire set with my fly open. Across from the bandstand is a table with three cute girls who keep giving me the eye. They would come up and dance for a bit then sit down and have a drink, looking and smiling at me the whole time. Of course as the set went on I started feeling pretty proud thinking all I have to do is finish the set, walk to the table with three girls and talk for a bit then reel one in like dynamite fishing in a barrel. The embarrassing part was having the one I thought was the most attractive politely inform me of my mistake between songs. With my ego deflated I thanked her, spun round and fixed things, finished the set and disappeared in the opposite corner of the bar. Too bad I'm not smooth enough to recover from that one, she was beautiful.
Our drummer forgot his throne one night so he commandeered a chair from the bar. The funny bit is the drummer was short and all the chairs were tall so he is sitting on top of his kit like one of those cartoon caricatures with the big head.
Damn, that was a wasted opportunity. All you had to do was open with a mildly self-deprecating remark, thank her for doing you a huge favor, and then just take it from there. Be prepared next time, or better still, do it on purpose once in a while when you see some hotties you're interested in. I'll bet you'll strike gold far quicker than you think.
I played a dance marathon in college where the power kept going out in our last set. Our drummer, who was absolutely amazing, seamlessly turned each outage into a drum solo that mixed up lots of different styles that kept it interesting and also kept people dancing. When the power would come back on he'd give us a perfect cue that made it clear where in that song to pick up from and we'd take it from there. It was pretty irritating but we managed to survive and were happy to finish.
The maintenance staff finally brought some extension cords and helped the bands spread the load on the circuits in the student center after we were done so none of the other bands had the problems we had. I thought it was a disaster but afterward we got a lot complements from students about how impressed they were that we held it together through all the problems we had. I'd have to say all the credit goes to the quick thinking - and the talent level - of our drummer
We had been practicing for a little while now and we accepted a show like 3 towns over. We get there and being our first show we were nervous. The guitar player did not have his cab and had to use a small practice amp but, since it was indoor and very small it worked OK... We had a couple of friends help us get our crap out of the trailer and on the stage. My bro in-law decided to set up my rig for me. We sound checked and it was good but I unplugged it so my 9volt would not die out. As we are getting on stage he plugs it up. We take the stage and I turn on and we start the first song. I am playing awesome and then no sound. Im like ***.... I start panicking and check the rig. Nothing... Look down and he did not loop it around the strap just plugged it in. So I had to bend over pick it up and plug it. VERY EMBARASSING but I did learn my lesson.
I was just finishing up my vocal part of the verse in one of our songs, just before a breakdown kicks in. There's a pause, and when the music kicks back in, I swing my head forward to headbang and....
BAM!
I bang my mouth into my microphone and almost knock the boom stand over. Busted my lip, but it wasn't too bad at all. After I did it, I look up at the crowd, laughing, looking to see if anyone noticed.
No one saw a thing. Besided my girlfriend, standing right in front of the stage, lauging hysterically. Ha.
BAM!
I bang my mouth into my microphone and almost knock the boom stand over. Busted my lip, but it wasn't too bad at all. After I did it, I look up at the crowd, laughing, looking to see if anyone noticed.
No one saw a thing. Besided my girlfriend, standing right in front of the stage, lauging hysterically. Ha.
In our school, the sound/auditorium manager/(newly)appointed head of security guy(who is a giant gorilla) keep mics around stage to evesdrop on us. Now he was being a pain as usual during a choir practise. My friend gets pissed and starts to swear at him and talk about hammering him and stuff into one of the mics. Smart work. Well a few months later he had to organise a concert and the gorilla wasnt exactly co-operative <_<
Oh and during one of the run throughs for a song our organiser didnt tell him about the amps that needed plugging in. So for the run through we played, with my fairly large bass amp and the guitarists tiny guitar amp(like 1/3rd the size of my amp) on two opposite sides of a large stage plus a badly tuned drum-set. Now we start and no drums, the drummer is trying to fix the snare which is broken. So finally we start and after 1 bar the gorilla shouts "stop stop, what the hell are you doing, the guitarist and bassist are fighting to play louder than the other, the drummer is dreaming and the singer is useless". I really hate that guy <_<
Also on the day of the gig during the first song I realise that my bass isnt working, owing to the bad line-out cables from the bass provided by teh school. Imagine having to play in time with the guitarist and pretend that the root note he plays in the chord is actually yours
My sis shows the vid to all her friends, who watch it five tiems over and laugh <_<
Funny thing, everyone said i played well
Oh and during one of the run throughs for a song our organiser didnt tell him about the amps that needed plugging in. So for the run through we played, with my fairly large bass amp and the guitarists tiny guitar amp(like 1/3rd the size of my amp) on two opposite sides of a large stage plus a badly tuned drum-set. Now we start and no drums, the drummer is trying to fix the snare which is broken. So finally we start and after 1 bar the gorilla shouts "stop stop, what the hell are you doing, the guitarist and bassist are fighting to play louder than the other, the drummer is dreaming and the singer is useless". I really hate that guy <_<
Also on the day of the gig during the first song I realise that my bass isnt working, owing to the bad line-out cables from the bass provided by teh school. Imagine having to play in time with the guitarist and pretend that the root note he plays in the chord is actually yours
My sis shows the vid to all her friends, who watch it five tiems over and laugh <_<
Funny thing, everyone said i played well
Big concert on the biggest stage of our university. Annual singer's competition, so it was PACKED, with people sitting on the stairs and all; that should have been more than 2000 in total.
I was playing in the "official" band, the one sponsored by the universtity, we are about to perform while the judges retired to vote for the winner. All set up, big stage lights, and I open our show with a moody bass line from a well known Brazilian song.
On the wrong note.
Not too bad, tough, since I managed to get the rest of the song going; but I was determined not to get myself caught up with embarassment, so I gave a big show: stage jumps, crowd cheering, even went down to the pit to dance with the girls while playing salsa. So the comments were like "Wow, man, you screwed up badly with the first song, but the rest was excellent!"
I was playing in the "official" band, the one sponsored by the universtity, we are about to perform while the judges retired to vote for the winner. All set up, big stage lights, and I open our show with a moody bass line from a well known Brazilian song.
On the wrong note.
Not too bad, tough, since I managed to get the rest of the song going; but I was determined not to get myself caught up with embarassment, so I gave a big show: stage jumps, crowd cheering, even went down to the pit to dance with the girls while playing salsa. So the comments were like "Wow, man, you screwed up badly with the first song, but the rest was excellent!"
I played in a band a long time ago and the lead singer would get drunk and fall over on stage all the time. Thats all i have
