Great Private party\ Private gig stories

[Jimmy4string]

Well, mine is a pretty tame telling but I am hoping some of you ol road warriors can deliver later in the the thread.

I got a rich friend that hired us for his Bday party in the middle of August a couple years back. Load in was pretty easy, living room was a bit of a echoey tile affair but we dailed it on alright. I always have something that impedes my singing perfection at this gig, right before we went on I had the strange craving to try a coke. Coated my throat with sugary syrup that took a whole set of warbly stretchs into highs to commence. Oh well you live and learn. Two of my guys showed up in hawaian shirts?!
Pretty good all around time -most people wanted to go the pool outside instead of having to deal with a loud rock band inside. We did get paid and I had a great time after drinking and partying in the pool with hot girls until all hours.

 

[WI Short Scaler]

No offense, but the pool does look like an attractive option.

Looks like a fun gig, nice to see the electronic kit, those are the best for mixing sound and keeping stage volume down if you don't have in ears. After leaving a loud band with a full kit about 2 years ago and playing exclusively with a cajon I'm not sure I could go back to acoustic drums.

Keep on keeping on!

 

[btmpancake]

Good job JimmyM representing!..The pool pic really put it over the top, better than any food pic. These are the best gigs IMO.

 

[two fingers]

I played a bachelorette party once. Weird affair. There were all kinds of guys and girls there, just not the groom.

During a set break I was offered …. uh..... physical attention. It was the bride.

I politely declined and went back to work.

I played a 50th birthday party for a guy. During the set break I was offered.... uh.... physical attention. It was the guy's 35 year old wife.

I politely declined and went back to work.

I played a back yard wedding reception in a swanky neighborhood on a riverbank. I hurricane had come through the area the night before. The yard was a total mess when we got there. The tent had blown down and been reset just before we arrived. The yard was muddy mush. There was a loooooong walk between the end of the driveway (the only solid ground around) and the stage. No way could we pull the truck into the back yard. It would have been up to the axles in mud instantly. We asked the event coordinator what he wanted us to do. He got all snooty and said "Shut up and start loading in!" We tried to explain that we would end up tewaring the yard up with load in. He got even more angry. So we did. As you can imagine, the yard got worse and worse with every trip across it. (This was during the days of racks of power amps, racks of PA effects, huge lighting systems and huge passive speakers.... a big box truck full.) He came out of the house and raised hell. We remained calm for about ten minutes of tongue lashing. He even threatened not to pay (We had an iron clad contract.) After these ten minutes, one of the band owners blew a gasket. He started lashing back. The even planner cowered into the kitchen and sent an assistant out to beg us to play. We did. Then the (fill-in) drummer got caught with a bridesmaid naked behind the bushes. Then breakers started tripping everywhere. (I was the band electrician.... oy.) Then a catering truck nearly fell over in the mud. Our gear was a muddy mess. We had to get together the next morning (before another gig) and unload the truck and clean everything and let it dry in the sun. What a mess.

We did a wedding at a swanky country club. Our green room was the gym locker room. We got down there to find a group of old men playing cards.... naked. They didn't get dressed. They didn't even wave at us. They just kept playing cards.

I'll have to chime in with more as I remember them later. I bet I've played 1,000 private parties and weddings.

 

[2saddleslab]

Played many but just a couple years ago did a house Xmas gig. Eventually the owner got drunk & screamed at his [9yo] kid for messing w/ the iPad controlling the break music. Then the wife, also getting inebriated, started screaming at the husband. That pretty much ended the gig. As our BL went to get paid and tell the owners Merry Christmas, he found the wife sitting on the stairs in the garage, crying, with chocolate cake smeared from nose to chin, ear to ear. Tis the Season.

 

[4SG]

Buddy of mine turned 60 a couple of years ago. He rented out a massive hall and we put on a 60's costume party for about 250 guests. Everyone got in on the act. We surprised the birthday boy by opening with a Beatles medley featuring his 3 kids singing lead...

...followed by another guest spot by his wife...

...then a few more wives chimed in (including mine, in pearls), accompanied by a violinist.

The whole crowd was in 60's regalia and danced all night. Great catering and an open top shelf bar added to the good time.

 

[arbiterusa]

I will never do any more of these although the pay is always good...but frankly, having to deal with the inevitable weirdness and/or drama that comes with these kinds of gigs will require more money than anyone is willing to pay.

 

[interp]

Years ago we played a private party on the patio at a rural home about 20 miles from town. Everyone was dancing on the patio, having a good time, when this uninvited guest who was clearly under the effects of some hallucinogen invades the dance floor and starts harassing everyone. A couple of other guests quickly ejected him from the property and the party continued.

About 15 minutes later the same guy reappears, this time waving a hunting rifle and shouting incoherently. Chaos ensues. Some guests start chasing the guy, who runs into a nearby bathroom adjoining the patio and locks himself in. Guests start banging on the door demanding that he come out (!).

We (the band) didn't think any of this would end well so we immediately packed up and headed back to town. As our drummer was pulling out, some other guy at the party (not the LSD guy) threw himself on the hood of his moving car. He managed to shake him off and get out of there.

We never did find out how it all ended.

 

[Flamingo21]

During a set break I was offered …. uh..... physical attention. It was the bride.

I politely declined and went back to work

During the set break I was offered.... uh.... physical attention. It was the guy's 35 year old wife.

I politely declined and went back to work.

Now who said bassists get no action?

 

[Bodeanly]

I will never do any more of these although the pay is always good...but frankly, having to deal with the inevitable weirdness and/or drama that comes with these kinds of gigs will require more money than anyone is willing to pay.

Strange. I got into music for the inevitable weirdness and/or drama.

 

[gidbass]

...

We did a wedding at a swanky country club. Our green room was the gym locker room. We got down there to find a group of old men playing cards.... naked. They didn't get dressed. They didn't even wave at us. They just kept playing cards.

...

You win...

 

[Dincrest]

During my days in a punk band, most of the shows we played were basement shows. Local punk scenes had something of an "underground railroad" of houses where folks would host shows in their basements. Those were always the best, because they were all-ages we'd always have massive crowds. Yeah, some of the basements we played were filthy and grimy to the point where I'm surprised I didn't get a bad disease, but seeing kids thrashing in wall-to-wall moshpits while we played was always validating.

And though the alt-metal band I played in afterwards didn't really play any house/basement show style gigs, the band's credo was "tour the world and play your house party!" Our drummer in that band played an electronic kit, so we'd often say we could do a rocking live show at your party and be no louder than a stereo.

Although not a house party, the band knew people in upstate New York who had a big ol' piece of land and would host a yearly camping festival on it. That was always a fun time.

 

[HeavyJazz]

Had a gig at a Richmond Country Club full of gov't types and wealthy influencers. In between sets we were hustled to the upper floor so we wouldn't poison their event with our peasantry. They wouldn't even let us eat the food, just a few sodas. One uppity old lady stopped me in the hallway and said there was a plumbing issue in the ladies room. "Okay..."

Talk about living in a bubble.

After the gig I was told there would be no pay. This was for some sort of benefit and the BL was in on it. Frankly I think she got paid and hosed everyone else. A waste of an evening for me.

 

[two fingers]

Aaaand the ones you didn't decline?

I never was much of a one night stand kinda guy. I won't lie and say it never ever happened. But it was rare. Not for lack if offers.... But I was realistic enough to figure out that I'm not amazing enough to make a good girl suddenly a bad girl. So anyone offering to hook up with me no questions asked had done that before I came along.... and likely frequently.

I did meet my wife at a show. And I was after her a lot harder than she was after me. Her reaction the first time I asked her out was.... and I quote.....

"Um. Don't get me wrong. You're pretty to look at and everything. But musicians? Yuck."

12 years and two kids later...


Back on topic... and yet related to the derail. I forgot to mention a wedding we played at a ridiculously swanky venue. The mother of the bride and her sister wanted to take me back to their room at the same time. The bride was 19. I'm guessing these two were around 40. The father of the bride (still married to the mother of the bride) was all for it. He even told me the sister was "more adventurous" than the wife. A trumpet player in another band is an old friend of mine and was a guest at the wedding. That kind of thing was right up his alley. I hooked him up with them. He sent me a thank you card and a nice bottle of aged sipping whiskey in the mail.

People are weird.

 

[Huw Phillips]

I am a chef and worked a party with my wife who is also a chef in Monaco, for her boss he had a huge penthouse apartment on a high floor with a massive roof terrace, the first incident was when I came up to the terrace during the set up, the boss had his hand up his girlfriends mothers skirt, I smiled and carried on, the best was the last, the band had been a pain for not just this party but the 3 or 4 previously as well, demanding food, drinks etc they wanted to be served on hand and foot, so very late 3-4 in the morning the band suddenly are asking everyone they have been rude to to help move there stuff as the sprinkler system for the roof terrace has turned on and all there gear is getting wet, we said we were busy and carried on with our work in the kitchen.
That was payback

 

[BooDoggie]

I once did a private party at some doctors mansion. We had to carry all of our gear down a winding landscaped walkway to an area in front of the pool house which was actually a guest house complete with three bedrooms two bathrooms, a full kitchen and lavish furnishings. We played until around midnight when the local law enforcement officers politely asked that we discontinue.

It was a great party by the pool with an open bar and all the food we could eat. We were paid well, fed well and had a great time. There were even a few missteps from some of the party goers that lead to a few folks ending up in the pool fully clothed with drink in hand. I will say that we all ended up a bit too drunk to load out and drive home, so the owner of the house told us we were welcome to store our gear and ourselves in the pool house for the night.

In the morning we all got up eventually and fixed ourselves breakfast and coffee before going out to get started loading out. I had parked my new truck and trailer on the side of the street in front of the house and went out to back it into the now empty driveway. That's when all of the fun came crashing to an end. The neighbor across the street had backed out of his driveway right into the side of my new truck. But all was not lost... The neighbor was good enough to leave a note with an apology and his contact and insurance information under my windshield wiper. And he actually drove up as I was looking at the damage and apologized again...

So... All and all I would say it was a great party!!!

 

[TreySonagras]

Many years ago we played a wedding reception at a huge, super-swanky mansion. One of those gigs where you actually get to mingle with the guests and are treated pretty nicely. We were on a break and I went to the restroom nearest where we were playing. Our trumpet player came out laughing and a green fog was floating in the room. He had VIOLATED the place to the point the wallpaper was starting to peel and most of the flowers in there had died. Absolutely the most vile odor I had ever witnessed. I hurried to do my Number One and got out as fast as I could. When I opened the door, there stood the bride and her mother waiting to go in after me. The mom scowled at me all night after that....

 

[azureblue]

Way back when, the band I was playing with got a party gig in Golden Meadow, LA. Need I say it was a bunch of Cajuns? The party was thrown by a family who owned a seagoing tug company, on a barge that had been converted to ten bedrooms, a kitchen and a large open area. All inside of course. So the gig is 8:00 to midnight and the pay is great. We show up to set up at 7:00. We get all set up, do a sound check and have a few minutes to sit before start time. It the room the family had set up two 50 gallon barrels Cajun cookers - one with crawfish / shrimp, the other with seafood gumbo, and a barrel of oysters in the shell next the that. They come over and ask us if we're hungry, and we said sure but we gotta start in 5 minutes. Oh, never mind that, come on and eat and have some beer. So we ate and got started 30 minutes late. We started out full power - all the music people like to dance to and it was a blast - everybody dancing. We decided to make up for the lost time by taking only two short breaks, so we played for about an hour an a half then stopped. Dad comes over, and I mean this guy is really from down the bayou, half his words are Cajun French, and he asks us if we're hungry and thirsty? So, sure! More jambalaya, more gumbo, more oysters, more beer. We told him we needed to get right back up, but he said don' you worry 'bout 'dat, jus' eat. So we did and 45 minutes later, we're back up again and killing it. Cajuns getting crazy. We're having a good time, too and midnight comes rolling around. We announce this is our last song, it's been great, etc. and Dad comes up and say hold on now - can you play some more? Well, since were getting fed so we said sure, we'll play another 30 for free. He pulls out this roll of bills and peels of 2 100s. Oh, nice! So we play 30 and he comes back and says, please, another 30? and hands the singer $300. Oh heck yes! We hit it hard for 40 minutes and ended the show. We started to break down and Dad comes back and says you guys need to eat before you go. Urp. I'm still stuffed from the last break. So we ate. Way too much. We get the gear packed and the sons came over with their friends, and hauled everything out to the trailer and helped us pack it. Yeah, I'll play for those guys any time. I don't have to say the food was top shelf. Anytime you get gumbo cooked by a guy whose last name ends in euax, you can bet it will be good.

 

[hrodbert696]

Can't think of any great stories, but I will say that I've always enjoyed private party gigs. They take away the one thing that's the big stressor on the bar gig circuit, which is draw. You know you don't have to worry about bringing a crowd, and you're not going to play to an empty room. Never had any huge drama at one and never had any offers of "physical attention." Fine by me, I think @two fingers ' point is valid - unless you're People's Sexiest Man Alive, anyone making that offer to you has made it to many before you and will probably give you more to live with afterwards than a story.

 

[darkwasthenight]

A few years back my drummer played in a jazz quartet of some local renown and got a couple of dates working private parties for a high level CEO guy who was a notorious berk but also paid well. One Thursday morning he gets a call from the berk's secretary: "I know its last minute but can you do a show tonight? Triple usual rate plus transport and expenses. All backline provided." Obviously they're all jazz musicians so jump at the chance for triple rate on a Thursday. "Fantastic, the car will be round in two hours. Bring your passports."

Two hours later a private car pulls up outside their rehearsal space and they pile their cases into the back. The driver whips them to the local airport, straight through the gates and over the tarmac to a waiting private hire. Two hours later they touch down in the south of France and then it's another private car from the tarmac to the waterfront where a launch is waiting to take them out to the berk's yacht. Nobody asks for a passport at any point.

They play two hours of super hot jazz to a mostly disinterested crowd and then the berk walks them round like he's showing off his pet dog who just learned a particularly new trick. "Have you met my dear friend Mariah Carey? I MUST introduce you!" and other such witterings. Lots of celebs, clearly none of who know the owner of this particular yacht and have just turned up for a pay check; my drummer is nervously sweating into a rented tux and trying to find somewhere for an inconspicuous smoke.

After the berk finally gets bored of the dogshow they're allowed to leave and the process repeats in reverse - launch, car, plane, car, etc. He's standing back in kitchen wondering what the hell just happened before his wife is even awake on Friday morning; the money clears next day with a substantial tip on top.

Two (more local) gigs later the berk decides he doesn't like jazz and starts hiring a string quartet instead. My drummer goes back to playing clubland and is all the happier for never having to wear a tux again.