Great gigs gone bad

[paulkptillo]

A few months ago.

We had this corporate gig amazingly well paid and close to home, Gig was for a well know accounting firm.They decided to dress themselves like in the 80's...The booker asked us to play songs from the 80's to get into the ambiance....

We get to the place, and we look at the stage............ it was 4x6 ft.... try to put a 6 piece coverband on it. We needed a way bigger stage, manager made some calls, and we get this dude who arrived and was really pissed off. He was out for holidays and the manager asked him to come back..... he built a "solid" stage extension and we managed to squeeze in there.

When the guests arrived to the place we noticed that 90% percent of them were not even born in the 80's...Gig started and they looked us like if we were freaks for the whole 1h30 80's set....... we ajusted to pop and the party started.

Just when we thouhgt we had rescued the whole thing the boss of the accounting firm tries to get into the stage, to make his show, speech and whatever..... we finished the venue and he wanted more music....... booker explained him about the fees..... he did not wanted to pay and started to yell, other people joined him and started threating the band.

Security arrives to protect us, police arrives to the place they start fighting each other on the stage. Punches and kicks being thrown all over the place.... The guy got arrested while still threating us...

we packed up everything between broken glasses and bottles, the floor was sticky.... waiters could not believe what happened....

turns out this boss..... was 23.....

 

[Thummel]

We got booked for a Saturday night event that a local motorcycle club puts on every year to raise money for their pet charity. Nice venue--good sized bar with a nice dance floor and a stage just the right size for our three piece classic rock unit.
That afternoon I was setting up the PA when a guy introduced himself as Richard and asked if it was possible if he could sing a song with us later in the evening. I asked him if he could sing and he said he performed karaoke there regularly and most people thought he sang pretty good. Richard also informed me that he had a blind date tonight and if he got to sing "Born to be Wild" with a real band it could lead to extra credit with his date. I probably should add that Richard was significantly overweight.
Fast forward to the last set and we call our friend Richard up to sing a Steppenwolf tune for you.......
I lend Richard my mic and he is standing just off the front of the stage as we launch the tune and his singing is not bad at all. We get into the second verse, going well, room is packed with dancers and merrymakers when I hear the sound of the mic being dropped to the floor.... I look toward Richard just as he is falling backwards like a tree falling in the forrest, as his head hits the front of the stage (actually just before) I can see his eyes rolled back in his head and I can tell that..........
.....he is dead.
911 was called immediately and they were there in less than ten minutes. There were two nurses in the crowd that went to his aid and almost immediately were performing CPR on the dude. When the paramedics arrived they worked on him for over thirty minutes but could not revive him......what a party killer. Could have been a great segue for "Knockin' on Heavens Door" but as you might imagine the party was over.......

 

[Bass Master General]

We got booked for a Saturday night event that a local motorcycle club puts on every year to raise money for their pet charity. Nice venue--good sized bar with a nice dance floor and a stage just the right size for our three piece classic rock unit.
That afternoon I was setting up the PA when a guy introduced himself as Richard and asked if it was possible if he could sing a song with us later in the evening. I asked him if he could sing and he said he performed karaoke there regularly and most people thought he sang pretty good. Richard also informed me that he had a blind date tonight and if he got to sing "Born to be Wild" with a real band it could lead to extra credit with his date. I probably should add that Richard was significantly overweight.
Fast forward to the last set and we call our friend Richard up to sing a Steppenwolf tune for you.......
I lend Richard my mic and he is standing just off the front of the stage as we launch the tune and his singing is not bad at all. We get into the second verse, going well, room is packed with dancers and merrymakers when I hear the sound of the mic being dropped to the floor.... I look toward Richard just as he is falling backwards like a tree falling in the forrest, as his head hits the front of the stage (actually just before) I can see his eyes rolled back in his head and I can tell that..........
.....he is dead.
911 was called immediately and they were there in less than ten minutes. There were two nurses in the crowd that went to his aid and almost immediately were performing CPR on the dude. When the paramedics arrived they worked on him for over thirty minutes but could not revive him......what a party killer. Could have been a great segue for "Knockin' on Heavens Door" but as you might imagine the party was over.......

That's really disturbing but kind of epic too. Sorry you had to witness it but sounds like he went out doing something awesome and enjoyable.

 

[Bassammich]

Wow, that's really a bummer. I wouldn't know what I'd do if that happened at my gig.

 

[Joe Nerve]

We got booked for a Saturday night event that a local motorcycle club puts on every year to raise money for their pet charity. Nice venue--good sized bar with a nice dance floor and a stage just the right size for our three piece classic rock unit.
That afternoon I was setting up the PA when a guy introduced himself as Richard and asked if it was possible if he could sing a song with us later in the evening. I asked him if he could sing and he said he performed karaoke there regularly and most people thought he sang pretty good. Richard also informed me that he had a blind date tonight and if he got to sing "Born to be Wild" with a real band it could lead to extra credit with his date. I probably should add that Richard was significantly overweight.
Fast forward to the last set and we call our friend Richard up to sing a Steppenwolf tune for you.......
I lend Richard my mic and he is standing just off the front of the stage as we launch the tune and his singing is not bad at all. We get into the second verse, going well, room is packed with dancers and merrymakers when I hear the sound of the mic being dropped to the floor.... I look toward Richard just as he is falling backwards like a tree falling in the forrest, as his head hits the front of the stage (actually just before) I can see his eyes rolled back in his head and I can tell that..........
.....he is dead.
911 was called immediately and they were there in less than ten minutes. There were two nurses in the crowd that went to his aid and almost immediately were performing CPR on the dude. When the paramedics arrived they worked on him for over thirty minutes but could not revive him......what a party killer. Could have been a great segue for "Knockin' on Heavens Door" but as you might imagine the party was over.......

What an awesome ending for that guy!

 

[Aberdumbie]

What an incredible bummer. I read this whole thread like a suspense novel. Glad they did the right thing.... Was hoping at least the girls may have gotten tipsy and... Well, you know.... That was why nightclubs that catered to bikers were always my favorite gigs.

 

[pholli00]

Late in a gig a real cutie comes up to our singer/guitarist and try's to grind and dance on him during the song. She drops her beer glass which explodes on the floor all over his pedals. Luckly there was only about a quarter glass of beer but the glass and clean up was a mess. His pedals turned out ok.

Ah, the power of a real cutie.

 

[Aberdumbie]

We got booked for a Saturday night event that a local motorcycle club puts on every year to raise money for their pet charity. Nice venue--good sized bar with a nice dance floor and a stage just the right size for our three piece classic rock unit.
That afternoon I was setting up the PA when a guy introduced himself as Richard and asked if it was possible if he could sing a song with us later in the evening. I asked him if he could sing and he said he performed karaoke there regularly and most people thought he sang pretty good. Richard also informed me that he had a blind date tonight and if he got to sing "Born to be Wild" with a real band it could lead to extra credit with his date. I probably should add that Richard was significantly overweight.
Fast forward to the last set and we call our friend Richard up to sing a Steppenwolf tune for you.......
I lend Richard my mic and he is standing just off the front of the stage as we launch the tune and his singing is not bad at all. We get into the second verse, going well, room is packed with dancers and merrymakers when I hear the sound of the mic being dropped to the floor.... I look toward Richard just as he is falling backwards like a tree falling in the forrest, as his head hits the front of the stage (actually just before) I can see his eyes rolled back in his head and I can tell that..........
.....he is dead.
911 was called immediately and they were there in less than ten minutes. There were two nurses in the crowd that went to his aid and almost immediately were performing CPR on the dude. When the paramedics arrived they worked on him for over thirty minutes but could not revive him......what a party killer. Could have been a great segue for "Knockin' on Heavens Door" but as you might imagine the party was over.......

This wins the gig bummer of all time award.... Reminded me of a very well lubricated lady that came up and leaned on the PA.. Well, wobbled on the PA.... Trying to strike her most alluring drunken pose for the band when her lights went out and she fell face first into the front of the stage. It cost her two front teeth.... But at least she still had a heartbeat!

 

[Marial]

This was more expensive. It was about 1972 and we were playing the Williamsburg Inn in Williamsburg, VA. The stage is two tiers. The lead singer was playing congas at the time, so his D28 was on a stand right in front of his SG. A drunk falls on to the very low (about 12") first tier of the stage right into the face of the D28. He and the D28 then fall right into the SG and the neck of the SG hits the edge of the second tier. The drunk caves in the face of the D28 and the stage breaks the neck off the SG.
The drunk was a well to do lawyer who apologized profusely, asked what replacement cost would be and wrote a check on the spot. The check cleared.
We just had to rearrange the set list to avoid songs where the singer was playing a guitar.

Horrid luck followed by astoundingly good luck. Wow... still, what a horror show.

 

[Marial]

What an awesome ending for that guy!

Might have been better if he'd made it a little longer....

 

[Milo Spleen]

What an awesome ending for that guy!

And his blind date.

 

[Vince Klortho]

I have had more than one good gig go bad but none as heavy duty as some of these. One notable instance was a sound guy gig for me. We were working at a festival that was being held in a downtown parking lot. This day's show was a battle of teen-aged bands with the winner getting some cash and recording studio time. All of the bands were pretty good and we finally got to the last of six bands. They were an eight-piece ska band and they were playing really, really well. They were easily the best of the bunch. After about five songs it all went bad. One of their friends thought it would be amusing to jump on stage, dance a little, and jump off. Unfortunately, the singer of the band egged him on, encouraged him actually, so he did it again. This time he was bit crazier and he knocked over two rather expensive mics in the process. The stage manager was a very experienced guy who did that for a living and after the second instance he jumped on stage and made the throat-cutting gesture. Having worked with him before, I knew this meant to kill the sound and he stopped their set. He knew that the festival was on the hook for all damage and he didn't want any more. The band couldn't understand it and their parents were livid. He spent about a half-an-hour explaining things to them. It was all very unfortunate because they would likely have won the prize. FWIW, one mic died and the other had a dented ball screen.

 

[JMacBass65]

Thought I'd update this thread since I just got an update myself...

The singer had what came out to about $500 in damage. The guys who did it paid him, no questions asked.

This is an awesome ending to a crappy story, and it restores my faith in the human race . I was really happy to hear this tonight.

Awesome!

 

[Johnny Crab]

Sounds like they literally said "Here, hold my beer!" but didn't mention the "loss of containment".


We had a similar event ender but it was a drunk relative(female) who danced out of control right into our keyboard/guitarist's rig. First we did the "get the ladies on stage" songs....Greco VB model bass:

Then things got crazy and the bull-in-the-chinashop-girl showed up.
He went into shock as the mountain fell down but it all worked the next day when he tried it INCLUDING a laptop that flew 4 foot northwest and landed on the concrete slab. I took pics while he picked things up immediately after.

Got REAL lucky as I used the Greco that was on a stand right behind that avalanche for the end of the night.

 

[Thummel]

.......that is exactly what his brother said at the funeral, "he went out doing what he loved"!

 

[Bass Master General]

I have had more than one good gig go bad but none as heavy duty as some of these. One notable instance was a sound guy gig for me. We were working at a festival that was being held in a downtown parking lot. This day's show was a battle of teen-aged bands with the winner getting some cash and recording studio time. All of the bands were pretty good and we finally got to the last of six bands. They were an eight-piece ska band and they were playing really, really well. They were easily the best of the bunch. After about five songs it all went bad. One of their friends thought it would be amusing to jump on stage, dance a little, and jump off. Unfortunately, the singer of the band egged him on, encouraged him actually, so he did it again. This time he was bit crazier and he knocked over two rather expensive mics in the process. The stage manager was a very experienced guy who did that for a living and after the second instance he jumped on stage and made the throat-cutting gesture. Having worked with him before, I knew this meant to kill the sound and he stopped their set. He knew that the festival was on the hook for all damage and he didn't want any more. The band couldn't understand it and their parents were livid. He spent about a half-an-hour explaining things to them. It was all very unfortunate because they would likely have won the prize. FWIW, one mic died and the other had a dented ball screen.

What were "rather expensive mics" doing at a highschool battle of the bands in a parking lot? I'd break out the rusty ballscreen 58s for that one...

 

[EastCoastThump]

IThe guy who did the dumb beer thing did (not sure actually if it was one or both guys that paid), and he had no problem making it right. I really still do think that was pretty incredible on their part. Even if they have lots of money, $500 is $500 and they could have easily said, "Hey, sheit happens." They said they were willing to take care of any damage, and they did.

Have had more than a few evenings w/ drinks mixing w/ gear—one similar situation where a regular dropped a vodka tonic on the guitarist's pedalboard. He promised to come back the next week with his checkbook and pay for damages once the guitarist figured out the cost. Hearing the ballpark estimate, although he was surprised at how much a couple Wamplers could set you back, he not only came back the next week but paid up as promised.

Other nights with random drunks accidentally spilling libations from upper decks onto the stage, would-be stage dancers wiping out when trying to come onstage to dance, crowd fights in which drinks were thrown along with the punches. Also the garden-variety dodgy power, improper grounding, leaking roofs, sweating HVAC venting, and deluged ampitheater stages.

One singer I play with now had a gig in the 90s touring college campuses, and he claims his all-time worst gig in this vein was an Alabama frat house where the custom was to smash your beer bottle on the floor once you'd finished it. The low stage caught some of the tsunami, and the band had to load out over the dance floor—leaving them picking glass and beer out of their rat-fur PA cabs for weeks on the rest of that tour leg.

 

[el jeffe bass]

Years ago we were playing a birthday party for a very wealthy lawer/political type. Nice party, good champagne, nice hosts the works. After about an hour and a half of partying some of the guests were getting VERY compromised. One such guest dances very close to the "stage" and falls right on one of the saxophones. The sax player was one of the most laid back people ever but was suddenly filled with uncontrolled rage. When he saw his prized instrument laying there all crumpled and dented next to the drunk he did the only reasonable thing, yup he began kicking the living hell out of said drunk. We finished the gig and the host made good on his promise to fix the sax.

 

[Thummel]

What an awesome ending for that guy!

The day I die I want to have done a gig the night before.

 

[Ubersheist]

Fast forward to the last set and we call our friend Richard up to sing a Steppenwolf tune for you.......
I lend Richard my mic and he is standing just off the front of the stage as we launch the tune and his singing is not bad at all. We get into the second verse, going well, room is packed with dancers and merrymakers when I hear the sound of the mic being dropped to the floor.... I look toward Richard just as he is falling backwards like a tree falling in the forrest, as his head hits the front of the stage (actually just before) I can see his eyes rolled back in his head and I can tell that..........
.....he is dead.

Doesn't that song even have the line "never gonna die..."? Ironic, and sad for that poor guy. Sorry to hear about that.