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...Embarrising Moments At a Gig?

#41
Last month, When I had a cold I was playing at church and had a stuffed up nose. About 1/2 way through the 2nd song my nose started to run (I have a beard/mustache so it would have blended in) but instead of running into my 'stache it sealed so as I breathed I had a snot bubble going in and out of my nose:eek:. I asked my wife and she said she didn't notice but I felt like an idiot!
 
#44
I think that one of the funnier things I've done.....I played in a Praise and Worship band at a spiritual church in the far southeast, and I had been up a very long time with my cousin the previous night. I was tired out of my wits, and I could barely stand up. When I got there, I stumbled out of the car, holding my bass (they had their own sound system). When I got in, I set up, and we proceeded to play. I didn't realize I was yawning (not your ordinary yawn...more like an "Oh my word, he can open his mouth that far?" yawn) and was about to collapse. So, finally, the Lead Guitar player offers to take my bass and let me sit down. I did as I was told, and eventually recovered enough energy to play the gig the way through.
 
#45
This is a pretty old thread but I just felt like sharing and this was one the search results.

Last night it was my band's first gig (first round of a contest) and we were breaking down after our set. I was done packing up my stuff so I gave our drummer a hand by taking his hi-hat stand to his car. Meanwhile the next band's drummer was setting up his kit. I get to my band mate's car and wanted to hand him the stand when he gave a funny look and said it wasn't his. Turns out it was the next drummer's, which meant I had to go back in there to put it back where I found it, while clumsily apologizing to the other band's drummer. The stand's legs were unfolded when I had taken it but I'd folded it up and I couldn't get it unfolded again, which made it even more awkward. He looked a bit intimidating (it was a hardcore band) but he didn't seem to mind a bit so I didn't feel too bad. Still pretty embarrassing...

I realize this story is a lot longer than it could've been.
 
#46
Some years back I played in a gospel group that had a Sat evening gig about 5 miles from my house. Normally I would meet the group and travel to the gig with them but, since this one was in my neck of the woods, I was going straight there. Had my gear in the car and had a little time to kill, so I figured I would give my hair a quick trim with the clippers. I wanted to look good as we had never played this church before. After I used the comb attatchment to do one side, I noticed a few hairs sticking up. I popped the attatchment off and took care of them. My mind was racing ahead, thinking about details of the gig....

I went back to trimming the other side of my head. Without first putting the comb attatchment back on. I realized this as I felt the cold steel of the clipper blades making intimate contact with the skin next to my ear as I came up from my sideburn line toward my temple. I jerked the clippers away from my head and gasped at a 2-1/2" bald spot which exposed some very pale skin. What to do?? Do the other side the same way, as if I meant to do it? I couldn't. It was ugly enough on one side. I didn't have time to get fancy so I put the attatchment back on and did the rest as I normally would.

I have to say that the folks at that church were nice to me. Nobody asked about it (and I didn't volunteer anything either). They probably figured I was just one more of those wierd musicians, shirt and tie nothwithstanding.
 
#47
LennyPenny said:
...I gave our drummer a hand by taking his hi-hat stand to his car. Meanwhile the next band's drummer was setting up his kit. I get to my band mate's car and wanted to hand him the stand when he gave a funny look and said it wasn't his. Turns out it was the next drummer's... the other band's drummer... He looked a bit intimidating (it was a hardcore band) but he didn't seem to mind...
Click to expand...
He was probably just glad it wasn't stolen or left at home!
 
#49
I cannot count how many times I have had my channel muted at church, then when we do the last song after the sermon I have no sound. Our church is at a ymca, in the tennis court, so our setup isn't permanent, but still... The first time this happened is when we were in the basketball court, the day after I had resoldered my cable. So here I was, freaking out and swapping cables between songs, to find that I still had no sound. Didn't realize I was muted until after service was over. Then again, playing the bass is quite forgiving, since our guitarist has a quite boomy guitar, so I just faked my way through. One of our elders works the mixer, and it sounds decent when he's paying attention. Oh well, what can ya do...
 
#52
Rugmaster said:
Shat myself onstage.. just kidding. But a couple of times had my cable pulled out of my bass and have to reach down and plug it back in.. I loop the cable through the strap now to avoid this
Click to expand...

That was one of the first things I learned when I started playing. Funny thing is, our guitarist taught me that, and its always been him stepping on the cables. I don't get it, though. I'm never near enough to accidently step on his cable (And give his loop a yank... That sounds so wrong...), but he's always stepping on mine. Glad I learned that trick then, I guess.
 
#55
At my band's last gig, I was very excited to debut a new, high energy song, and I wanted to open with it. The other guys were skeptical about whether we really had it down, but I talked them into it. I introduced the band and we launched into it, and had such a bad train wreck that the whole thing fell apart immediately. I walked up to the mic and said "thank you very much", and thankfully, the audience played along and cheered. Then I said "that was the short version; now, for our second song, we're going to play the long version". Thankfully, we played it OK the second time.
 
#56
One of my first few gigs was at an outdoor festival in Ft Worth called Mayfest. They have several temporary stages set up on flatbed trailers all over a large park. One year we were booked on two different stages a couple of hours apart. But the second set was on one that I hadn't realized was notably smaller than the previous one we'd played on.

I realized how much smaller it was when I stepped backward off of it and totally buttplanted in front of two or three hundred people who wouldn't have noticed me at all if I hadn't done that, but now every single one of them saw me.
 
#57
About 10 years ago in high school I was playing in the big band. Apart from gigs at festivals and stuff, we'd play at school functions, including everyday stuff like whole-school assemblies, which were held in a big, echoey gym/hall. Anyway, we were quiet while some announcements were made. My bass was on, turned up, etc. I was having gut troubles at the time, and my stomach was growling and rumbling. I took my hands away from my bass, no longer muting the strings. My stomach rumbled, vibrated the bass, vibrated the strings, and it all came out the amp - LOUD! And it wasn't just string vibrations, it was just like an amplified stomach growl!

More recently I drank too much before a gig after a long day of traveling. In the third set, I actually fell asleep for a microsecond or two while playing some boring three chord song. Didn't skip a beat! Not sure if that was embarrassing, legendary, or just lame!
 
#59
We were set up ready to play our latest release for a telethon. Royal Children's Hospital Good Friday Appeal on TV.
As we were waiting to get cut into the telecast I was chatting to the drummer by his hi-hat while the singer was doing a few last second hair adjustments.
Suddenly we hear that our song is playing through the foldback and its about 4 bars into the tune.
We look at each other and then down to the stage manager who is frantically waving his arms above his head and pointing in all directions.
Instantly we twig that they started the track and broadcast while we were in another state of readiness (unreadiness)
10 seconds of live to air with the music playing and the band standing around doing nothing. Probably the best example of out-of-sync lip syncing ever.
The host commented "Wow! Those guys make playing music look so easy"
National TV to an audience of hundreds of thousands.
Luckily this happened before Youtube was invented.
I have it on VHS somewhere but it will never be aired by me.
slawie
 

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