Have you ever just blanked out on stage?

[QweziRider]

Have you ever blanked out on stage?

I do. Most every show. Fortunately, the fingers kept going and knew what to do. It's usually when my mind wanders and thinks of the absurdity of what we do for a living. Twanging strings of differing lengths, sending that vibration into a coil and magnet setup that produces a bunch of noises that seem to make people lose control of their faculties and start moving to those weird sounds. And we call it music! And then the brain thinks "Oh hell, what if the fingers refuse to move as commanded? What do I do then?"

And then it all comes back. Flashbacks from a youth mis-spent? Heck if I know.

 

[Being and Bass]

All the time, and not just while performing.

Yesterday in church I forgot the same 3 bars of Leonard Cohen's Hallelujah (for all four versus) while performing on flute. Our organist sure noticed. Same thing happens on bass, and usually not during the fastest passages, where I will blank a run or a few bars.

Suffice to say I have become much better at playing through the pain and trying to invent riffs on the spot. It works better on the bass than the flute!

 

[Deleted member 165050]

At a rehearsal the other week the rest of the band decided to try a new track while I was in the can and didn't bother telling me but just started into it when I got back... I was seriously worried that I'd had a TIA or something... if they're nice to me next rehearsal I might take the pins out of their voodoo dolls.

 

[rtslinger]

Yup this Sat in fact, I just got done watching a brawl between to women in front of us, then the singer called Tommy Petty Here comes my girl I started playing the Waiting, yeah wow not even close. I realized after the first two notes, but the damage was done

 

[Jp77]

It happens all the time. Forgetting the chord progression on a song you'v played 100 times or fingers won' move right. I stand just behind and to the side of our worship leader so it looks really weird when I get way up to the front of the stage to watch his hands and see what chord he's playing lol but.....the show must go on right?

 

[jnuts1]

I just can't think at gigs. I am purely an autopilot guy. if I start thinking about changes or keys I am going to think to myself "well what is the next change?" and surely miss it. I've only done this a handful of times over the years but I do know to avoid it because it happens every time I question myself

 

[-Stingray]

I think my worst "blank out" was when I was playing live in a club about 15 years ago. I would switch to keys when needed, and we were playing Jump by VH. Mid way though the song I blanked out on the bridge. I had previously played that song on at least a hundred gigs with that group. Good Lord......it was bad.

Band manager happened to record the moment for posterity. You can hear her laughing at me in the video.

 

[crossthestyx]

Fake it till you find it. If that's not going to happen before the end of the song, volume all the way down, and dazzle them with your stage presence. Only your friends will know..

 

[Xandrell]

I'll forget where the next note is and I'll automatically go to it. Freaky. That happens more than I would like. My sub conscious knows more than me. As time goes by, It'll probably just take over.

 

[gjohnson441496]

After I got my P bass back in 1977, I was practicing Noel Redding bass lines. A guitar player that lived up the street heard me and asked me to play bass for him for a gig at the University of Cincinnati. We practiced together... no problem. I practiced before the gig... no problem. We get to the gig, I climb on stage, looked out at the audience and all I could see was a sea of people and all my friends sitting up front... CHOKE!!!!! Jackie, the guitar player was older than I (I was 14 or 15 at the time and I think he was in his 20's), told me "turn around. play to your amp. Don't look at the audience." That helped a bit, but not much.

 

[Nephilymbass]

My band is trying to get some recordings of ourselves and work on our stage performance so we can have samples to send to bars. So we've been taking several charity church gigs, mostly populated by sweet old ladies at our church. I was cool with this because I knew we were working towards something bigger, and we definitely need the on stage practice. But right before we got on stage this last time, our drummer was like "I feel like we're just going to play to old ladies forever, who are going to patronizingly clap no matter what we do on stage."

I brushed it off, we played our first song, I saw old ladies in the audience clapping, and then I totally tilted based on his words, and I blanked out completely. I couldn't remember the chord progression for the next song at all, I couldn't use my ears to pick it back up, I couldn't remember anything. It was terrible. I played a few off key notes, then just stopped playing for the rest of the song while I got my mental poopie together. Have you ever blanked out on stage?

Went to an open mic night once where I did kind of do that. Was during an incubus song i was familiar with but I felt like everyone else was in the wrong key. Hasn’t happened with my band but I write a lot of My bands music so I know the bass and guitar parts front and back. I have seen our guitarist drop out for An entire verse if it’s a song we haven’t played in a long time. He plays it off decently and tries to get the crowd more Involved with the show

 

[interp]

If it hasn’t happened to you you haven’t been playing long enough.

 

[wideload]

Twice. One night (fifth gig in a six day run, plus day job), i guess I zoned out and came back playing a different song. Band never noticed, and I am a “drive the band” bassist. So I guess that was OK.
The other was on the key change of “Already Gone”, which I’d played and sung harmony on for years. I inverted the chord changes, and had to stop playing to get my bearings. BL was amazed. I had never botched anything like that in our 20 years together. Not so good...

 

[Oddly]

I think my worst "blank out" was when I was playing live in a club about 15 years ago. I would switch to keys when needed, and we were playing Jump by VH. Mid way though the song I blanked out on the bridge. I had previously played that song on at least a hundred gigs with that group. Good Lord......it was bad.

Band manager happened to record the moment for posterity. You can hear her laughing at me in the video.

We can't because you seem to have forgotten to include the video.
Sort it out.

 

[Deleted member 264575]

Yep.
"Of all the things I've lost I miss my mind the most." - Ozzy Osbourne.....or Mark Twain....I can't remember.

 

[glocke1]

It happens...Happened to the singer this past weekend. Forget what song it was but she an entire whole step down from where we should be. I've certainly spaced as well even on songs I know well.

somewhat related.
On another tune this past weekend, every single version I've heard it played is in "E". It started up, and I quickly realize the guitar player is playing it in "D". Im like no problem..there are only a few changes and I'll transpose. I either completely forgot what the changes were or the guitar player was playing some arrangement unknown to me. Funny thing is it threw other band members off as well..basically half the band was playing it in D the other half in E.

 

[foolforthecity]

At yesterday's gig we were into set three of four and had a fellow musician from another band jump up to blow some harp on an improvised SRV tune. Our lead singer/sole guitarist rolled up to verse one, opened his mouth, yelled out "Hey hey hey hey hey", then looked like he'd suddenly locked into suspended animation from the neck on up... standing starboard side and just behind our music buddy that had taken my normal spot for the tune, I'm watching my singer's bulging right eye looking out at the audience with his mouth still hanging open as we turned around into a straight-up 12-bar instrumental shuffle... I leaned in behind our buddy and said "start blowing, (deleted)", at which point he drove into a fabulous harmonica solo whilst my singer recollected himself, which took a few minutes. I'm convinced the audience had no clue what just transpired.

 

[WaynerBass]

I toured the midwest circuit between 2001 - 2012 and played over 600 showns. There were gigs where I was so tired from traveling that I did the 3rd & 4th set and can’t remember. Sometimes I would just zone out and be into the music so deep that my soul or something took over.. I had band mates and audience people tell me “what happened to you.. ? You played great but just stood there like a zombie” ... I dunno but it happens.

 

[foolforthecity]

It happens...Happened to the singer this past weekend. Forget what song it was but she an entire whole step down from where we should be. I've certainly spaced as well even on songs I know well.

somewhat related.
On another tune this past weekend, every single version I've heard it played is in "E". It started up, and I quickly realize the guitar player is playing it in "D". Im like no problem..there are only a few changes and I'll transpose. I either completely forgot what the changes were or the guitar player was playing some arrangement unknown to me. Funny thing is it threw other band members off as well..basically half the band was playing it in D the other half in E.

So the big question... did the audience notice? Did y'all keep it up like nothing was wrong and soldier through? I'm beginning to think half of our audiences can no longer hear and the other half aren't really listening... just wondering what your experience was

 

[Kijuer]

It happens, that's all. First times, it felt really bad, as if I screwed out the whole show. Now, it's more like "Ok, improvisation time, let's go!", which I absolutely love it because you learn how to deal with it and "nail it" in a different way without really losing control (or sounding like you haven't ;-) ).