Ever been afraid for your life at a gig?

[G19Tony]

Back in the early 1980`s I played four or five nights per week with a pro Showband based in Dublin, Ireland. We travelled the length and breath of Ireland regularly, usually returning to Dublin after our show on those small country roads in the wee hours of the morning. We sometimes played in Northern Ireland and the early 80`s was at the height of the `troubles`. One occasion we were double booked and the other band got to play even though we were there first! When we were leaving there was a line of thugs each side of us thumping and kicking us as we tried to get our gear and ourselves into the van! But that was an isolated incident and great days (or nights I should say) when I look back on it.

I just saw the Netflix documentary about the Miami Showband. What a sad deal.

 

[slapshot]

Ah Detroit, my home from home, I live 40 minutes north. Harpo's was the the biggest worry, getting robbed or shot in the parking lot. You should know Harpos my friend.

A friend was there to see someone, dontd remember who. He was walking to his car parked in the lot behind the bar near the stage door. Guy tried to rob hhim and shot him in the head. Late 80's or early 90's. Haven't been back since.
R.I.P. Steve.

 

[Gunga Din]

I just saw the Netflix documentary about the Miami Showband. What a sad deal.

Read the book by Steve Travers, the bassist who survived the massacre.

 

[gsking1]

at spring break in Daytona we were on a stage overlooking a pool. I knew we were going in the pool at some point, but scared someone might try to push us in with instruments on and plugged in. zap.

 

[gsking1]

I was at a place called the Jug chatting with Ms. Lou. Some huge blond haired guy didn’t like it and threatened me.
I was scared and fearing for my life
I was shaking like a leaf on a tree.
I said Gimme Three Steps toward the door. Please.

Now that’s a good idea for a song.

 

[davidt54]

Like a lot of you folks I've also seen my fair share of fights that were downright brutal. I remember at another bar when one guy got stabbed on the dance floor 3 feet in front of me! Talk about a fight erupting! The Stein House II in Pontiac, Michigan was probably the worst fight I've ever seen. Savage is putting it mildly. It's scary how ugly some people can get.

I'm not saying I've seen the worst of the worst, but I've seen my share.

I was just thinking "I remember sitting in my car with a 'lady' I had picked up after playing a gig at Steinhouse II on Opdyke with Stanley Mitchell when a fight broke out, someone got thrown onto my car on top of the radio antenna, breaking it (blood everywhere including on my windshield) and then someone began shooting a gun in the air. Good thing I already had turned off the equipment and stowed my bass in the car cuz' I was OUTA' THERE!!!" and then I read your post Mike JV. I wonder if we know each other . . .

 

[mexicant]

I played some fantastic gigs way back when I played full time. But we spent one week playing at a particular bar that I was ever so glad to leave. It was back in '79 in Detroit at a biker bar somewhere around 6 Mile and Gratiot. We played biker bars before and always got along with them. But the gang in this bar was bad news. You could feel it in the air.

On the 4th of 5 nights in between songs one of the bikers said something pretty derogatory to us and our singer immediately had a comeback. (Uh-oh.) I'll never forget this biker as he strutted up to the stage with a cue stick on his shoulder. Pointed it right in our singers face and said "one more word out of you and you're a m***** f****** ghost." Thank God that our singer kept his mouth shut.

On our last night there they shot some guy outside the bar. We never player there again.

I played in a motown tribute band in Detroit, the club was on Gratiot between 8 and 9 mile....rough area,but all went well!

 

[Pacman]

I was once mortared at a gig. Definitely the most intimidated I've ever been at a gig.

 

[Remguy]

"Tenonites are simply Corkerazis in training"

Um... (crickets chirp, somewhere in the distance - a dog barks) I hate to be a TOTAL DOOFUS, but I wish I understood what this refers to. It sounds interesting, but I Googled it and even they came back and said, "Say WHAT?!!" I know if you have to ask, you're not hip, but believe me, Son: I AM NOT HIP. Care to explain this to the nice old square man?

 

[Matthardy]

I was once mortared at a gig. Definitely the most intimidated I've ever been at a gig.

As in, you were on a mil base?

 

[Econoroller]

When I was in my early 20s I played 6 nights a week at a club in Hot Springs, AR that was run by old time mobsters. The real-deal "Carmine and Vito" kind of guys. But I didn't really know it at the time...the rest of the band was older and the guitar player was in tight with the Boss.
One night this big guy in a suit came on stage and said he was looking for "Dave". I said he's the guitar player. Mobster says, "I KNOW HE'S THE GUITAR PLAYER. WHERE IS HE?" I came back with "well, he's the guy holding the guitar"
The whole place went dead quiet and somebody just pulled me aside and got me out of there. I had no idea what was happening until I was out the door. I never got that gig again.

I met Carmine but he was givin a drum clinic and telling John Bonham stories, he he he Vito was a no-show.

 

[Gunga Din]

My wife and I played as a duo in a pub in Sydney frequented by Pacific Islanders. There where Maoris, Tongans and Samoans and they really know how to mix it up. They didn’t like each other and were always brawling. Snooker tables were overturned and cues became weapons. The balls became missiles too. I was amazed at the punishment they could take and stay on their feet.
Maybe they were just trying to avoid the paperwork

Bloody Hell, I've heard of pool balls in a sock but never used as missiles. That must have been something to see!

 

[Gunga Din]

Let's See from The Days of Playing Those Places Mama Warned Me About:



2) Played a place (the midnight to 6AM shift) with floor-to-ceiling chain link fence around three sides with a rear-only entrance steel door (' . . . .well, we used to have chicken-wire, but it don't hold up!). All you could see thru the dark were the beer clocks on the back bar. They'd fight and bounce off the fencing like pro wrestlers.

3) Played a place with a pit bull for a bouncer, '. . . .yeah, I only drag Billy Jack (!) in here for the big 'uns . . .'


But Wait, There's More. For another time . . . . .

That other time is maybe now? Please tell me more about the above. I must know what happened, esp what kind of place you were playing that hosted Midnight-06:00 shifts!!

 

[kesslari]

Played through my share of brawls, no shootings or stabbings, never feared for my life except when the fire eater who was onstage performing with us in the "not up to code, low ceiling" underground club blew a huge burst of flame directly at the fire-detector-sprinklers... Nothing happened, though, which was a bit twitchy in itself
Feared for my life plenty of times driving home from a gig when all the drunks are out. Narrowly missed several accidents.
Nothing compared to this stuff.

 

[dougjwray]

In 1978 or 1979, I played an outdoor show as part of an interracial (black and white) R&B/jazz group, in a town outside Boston. This was when racial tensions were intense in Boston, and neighborhoods were very, VERY segregated. Anyway, right after our set, we could start to hear murmurs of "Get the n---ers" and we had to rush the black guys into cars and speed out of there.
On a lighter note, I also played at a Hell's Angels bar where the bartender announced "Last call!", an Angel yelled "I want to hear more!" and the bartender immediately shut up.

 

[Justinvs]

Played a little hole in the wall bar once - a bar I'd been drinking at since I was a teenager - only to discover the college crowd that was attending weren't there to hear us play. A fairly major drug dealer from out of the area was using the dance as a cover. Several of his 'friends' were wearing shoulder rigs under their jackets, but there wasn't any trouble, probably because the local cops were in on the deal. A cop car kept driving back and forth all night in front of the place. I live in one of the most rural regions in the US, but we definitely have our share of drug trafficking.

 

[arbiterusa]

1988. Guitar player's cousin was a prison guard, cop, and alcoholic. Some guy starts heckling us. It happens, doesn't bother me any. Extraordinarily drunk guitarist cousin cop decides to pull a "make my day" on this poor SOB and yanks his piece and puts it right to the dudes head. Has his badge in the other hand screaming "go ahead, call the cops, I am one!"

Let me tell you, that is a great way to clear out a bar in under a minute, and also not get paid or invited back.

 

[Bassscreamer]

Early 1989 and only our 3rd gig in the "big" city (Portland, ME) as we grew up in Northern Maine. This bar was truly a dive with a strong music history but this type of room was new to us and it looked rougher than it actually was to our inexperienced, untrained eyes. We were getting ready to start our set when a drunk corners the singer and I in the men's room and starts talking to us. His speech was barely intelligible until we hear the words "you guys are cops, aren't you?" as he gets in our face. We did look a bit out of place as we were still strangers in a strange land. He was no bigger than either of us but we were still a bit green. I was still 20 and the singer was just 17. We looked at each other thinking "are we going to have to do this?", knowing that we could have shoved the drunk over... but then what? A real fight? Blood as his drunk head hit the floor after he loses his balance? After maybe 5 seconds, which felt more like 5 minutes, I pushed my way by him with "No, Man! We're with the next band!" as our young singer followed me out of the room.

We spotted him a couple of times during our set as he wandered aimlessly around the room. He was most likely tossed out by the bouncer.

We never felt like we would get hurt but it was a sobering moment for a couple of kids still cutting their teeth on a real music scene.

 

[Bob McAlister]

I grew up in Arizona and there was an native American guy at our high school who was a bass player in an all 'Indian' soul band. He asked me if our band would play for a teen dance on the reservation, cause the kids were getting tired of them being the only band. So, I asked the guys and they said sure. Once we got to thinking about it we were afraid of possible animosity towards us white guys, so we had a tough guy friend come with and there was a pistol under my seat. When we pulled up to the place there were about 20 large (seemed to me) Teenaged 'Indian guys' arms folded all leaning against their beater old Chevys staring at us like the oddities we were. I thought "oh sh*t were gonna die. So out of impulse I rolled down my window and shouted out "hey any of you guys want to help us unload our equipment?' They all started looking around at each other, shrugged their shoulders and came over to help. They were the nicest guys you would ever want to meet and the crowd was sooo appreciative! What a fun gig that turned out to be.

 

[retslock]

Bloody Hell, I've heard of pool balls in a sock but never used as missiles. That must have been something to see!

Yep. Scarey times. I have to say though that in all my 50 years playing live, I saw a lot of fights but the violence never found it’s way to the stage. I guess I’m very lucky but I sort of felt that I was on safe ground up on stage. If you attack the band then the party’s over isn’t it. Besides, at that particular gig the Islanders liked us ‘cos we played a lot of soul and r’n’b.