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Feeling ill. And you have a gig!

tspallone

tspallone

Guest
Oct 13, 2011
341
171
Nanuet, NY
www.tomspallone.com
#1
Have you ever been under the weather and you have a gig and you'd really just like to stay in bed?

Tell your horror story!

I have two:

Just this past weekend; I dunno, just not feeling good. Chest tight, coughing, dizzy, antsy. Didn't WANT to do it but, not on my death bed so, packed up, drove 45 minutes with my cough drops and water. Showed up, set up, croaked my way through harmonies. Packed up, went home, Nyquil. OUT!

But, the doozie was a few years ago when, after a rather "enthusiastic" "roll in the hay", I had to have a catheter put in my "twig". YOUCH!!!! But, had a gig that weekend. What to do? I soldiered on and packed up and went. Did the gig with a catheter down my schvonce and a pee bag strapped to my thigh.

I'm a veteran and never received any medals but, if they were giving them out for these types of things, I think I deserve one. ;-)

Tell us YOUR story.
 
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#2
Well the second part of your post wins the "trooper award" from me..ouch! I only played one gig a few years back with a horrible cold, fever and chills. It was only and hour gig and I suffered thru. There was a gal there who recorded a few songs and put them on youtube. I look like I'm ready to fall over in the videos.
 
#3
I was playing in a 5 piece blues band (2 guitars, vocals/harp/, drums, me), and we were doing a live radio remote of two sets from one of our regular clubs. I had such a stuffed up head from a serious head cold; all I could hear were cymbals, and even then they still sounded like they were 100 yards away in a foam filled barrel.

I've played sick a couple of times, but that was the toughest one.
 
#4
Done it. Didn't enjoy it. Don't advise it.

But as long as I'm not hospitalized, physically unable (as in genuinely unable) to play, or so sick I risk infecting everybody else in the band...if I said I'll be there, I'll be there - and do my utmost deliver.

That's not being noble BTW. That's just me being stupid and pigheaded, and how I get when it comes to things like saying you'll do something when others are depending on you. It's not a good way to go through life. But that's been my modus operandi so far. So I figure I may as well finish up whatever time I've still got left following the same philosophy.
 
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#9
Took a fall down the stairs once, taken to hospital in ambulance and neck brace.
Played a couple days later on muscle relaxers and Vicodin.
Was not fun.
Had a massive ear infection once (thread about it somewhere) and both ears were clogged almost completely.
Was not fun.
But thanks to fellow TBers suggestions I got through it.
 
#10
tspallone said:
Have you ever been under the weather and you have a gig and you'd really just like to stay in bed?

Tell your horror story!

I have two:

Just this past weekend; I dunno, just not feeling good. Chest tight, coughing, dizzy, antsy. Didn't WANT to do it but, not on my death bed so, packed up, drove 45 minutes with my cough drops and water. Showed up, set up, croaked my way through harmonies. Packed up, went home, Nyquil. OUT!

But, the doozie was a few years ago when, after a rather "enthusiastic" "roll in the hay", I had to have a catheter put in my "twig". YOUCH!!!! But, had a gig that weekend. What to do? I soldiered on and packed up and went. Did the gig with a catheter down my schvonce and a pee bag strapped to my thigh.

I'm a veteran and never received any medals but, if they were giving them out for these types of things, I think I deserve one. ;-)

Tell us YOUR story.
Click to expand...

The doozie tops anything I've had to deal with on stage.

The worst was having the flu 2 days before a gig. Got well enough to gig, and I did, but was feverish throughout the show and nearly barfed a few times, had a bucket behind my amp just in case. I don't remember my actual performance but I was told I played well by my band mates.

And one from a former band mate: Back in the 90's, my guitarist had one of his knees go out during the first song of a set, something tore and he went down right when he was supposed to solo. At his request, we put him in a chair, gave him some advil and a glass of scotch, and he finished the set, then played the next night from a chair as well. He went in for surgery the following week.
 
#11
I've played through a couple of bad fevers, but that's about it. My main group isn't an easy one to sub out for, so if i call out they either have to cancel the gig or make an executive decision to do it with no bass. As a result i'd have to be in pretty bad shape to call out on a gig with them.
 
#13
Wife slammed the car door shut on my right hand. Index finger all mashed up, whole hand swollen, black n blue, fingernails fell off.
Came back from the hospital and went straight in and taught Aikido for 3 hr. Took a handful of pain killers and played a gig the next day too using ring finger and pinkie to hit the strings.
Just stubborn and stupid.
 
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#15
There was a gal graduating from a college music program with a degree in performance, and her final project was to put together an hour of theater and music for a pair of graded performances. She worked hard on it and had all sorts of cool music lined up, rhythm section plus horns. Lots of show tunes and some jazzy stuff. She had one of the music professors playing keys and acting as musical director, and had given him the task of picking the musicians for the combo, so he called me in to fill the bass chair. We did a couple rehearsals that were great fun - high energy, musicians and vocalists in sync, big sound. Just a good time.

I woke up the day of her first performance with perhaps the worst flu-hell-thing I've ever had. It actually scared me. I was so stiff I could barely roll over to barf, fever was 103+, and after struggling to actually get some fluids down, I couldn't keep them there. The performance was at 8PM and I woke up in this condition at 11AM. I figured if it wasn't remitting by mid afternoon, I'd have no choice but to call off. That happened at 4:30. I absolutely cannot stand to make a commitment I can't keep, but in this case, there was just no way it was going to happen. I couldn't have walked to my car, let alone set up and play for an hour.

I was not feeling much better the following day. The hurling had let up, but I was still feeling quite nauseous and was incredibly dizzy when I stood up. I was still stiff as a board and still running an up-and-down fever. I did, however, ask the musical director if he wanted me in this condition. I figured if I was a potential infection source, somebody other than me should probably make that call. And he said if I could make it at all, they'd really appreciate it. So I dragged myself in and did the second show, drawing plenty of comments about how I looked like death. I was shaky and had a hard time just sitting upright for that hour, but somehow, I played it through.

Bleh. Bad memory.
 
#17
Massive rupture of an ear drum, painful, blood running out of my ear. Scary not knowing if I'd loose hearing. Called a bass player friend of mine and tought him all the songs he didn't already know at my house using an acoustic bass. The gig went on without me but with my stand in instead. The band appreciated it, the venue wasn't let down and I got to fully recover without subjecting my ear to any unnecessary stress.
 
#18
This brings up a subject that I think is often overlooked. Shouldn't it be the your responsibility to have a sub in place if you're in a band. I can see it being a little different if you're a hired gun. Then maybe it should be left up to the bandleader.
 

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