Aw come on.... this really sounds more like a educational moment for him. Not everybody has the wisedom required. I'd simply ask him to not do that again and go into a little detail as to why. I assume he had good intentions and didn't realize. Now if he responds with an "attitude" or does it again. Then yeah, feel free to educate him with more vigor and emphasis.
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How would you react?
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Half of these replies explain why the world is the way it is now.
Maybe he should have apologized to the kid for not allowing him to unplug it during the set too.
Maybe he should have apologized to the kid for not allowing him to unplug it during the set too.
Jazzdogg
Less barking, more wagging!
Perhaps he was told by someone else to help the band because he was the lowest man in the pecking order; most venues don't give bands much consideration; it was his turn in the barrel.
One of the last gigs I played at one of our local wineries, the young man in charge of "helping" the band and direct them where to setup and all that jazz did something I would never dream of doing. Perhaps I'm overreacting or even over-thinking the whole situation but I would think it would be common sense. At the end of our gig, we would typically play music through our PA (we always supplied all of our own gear unless there was house sound) while we were breaking down. Well, about 3 minutes into tearing down our gear, I hear a pop and the music stopped. This young man straight pulled the extension cords out of the sockets. This was an outdoor gig with a small stage right next to the main building. No warning, no nothing, just pulled the plugs. A fair amount of our gear was still plugged in and on, of course the PA being one of them as we had just started to tear down. We had played dozens of gigs at this winery and never had anyone do anything like that, we always had the same routine there. There was no time frame for us to be cleared out or anything, we were the only band that day. I just find this completely unacceptable and nerve racking. My band mates at the time didn't really seem to be bothered by it but I was livid.
You are certainly entitled to be PO’d over the incident. That said, a calm discussion with this employee is certainly in order, possibly a conversation with the manager as well. Glad nothing fried as that would be a much more difficult situation.
Yes, because the problems of the world would be so lessened if we would all just react with violence to trivial matters.
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Not a big deal. I would have mentioned that it's not cool, and moved on. Probably would have left my memory by now. Save the angst for something that really matters. My 2¢.
FullumMusic
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To answer your title question, "how would you react?" I might have shouted a big "ohhhh!" or "whoooaaa!" when it happened out of surprise. And when i realized that it was helper-dude just pulling the cable i would have hid my rage and in a calm and friendly, but incredibly stern voice told him, "Hey, please don't ever unplug our gear without asking us again. That big pop you heard is really bad for the gear. Unplugging gear like that can legit ruin the gear. You're lucky nothing broke this time, but if something did break either you or the winery would be paying for it, and it's not cheap. So please just ask us next time. Or just hang out if we need your help we'll ask."One of the last gigs I played at one of our local wineries, the young man in charge of "helping" the band and direct them where to setup and all that jazz did something I would never dream of doing. Perhaps I'm overreacting or even over-thinking the whole situation but I would think it would be common sense. At the end of our gig, we would typically play music through our PA (we always supplied all of our own gear unless there was house sound) while we were breaking down. Well, about 3 minutes into tearing down our gear, I hear a pop and the music stopped. This young man straight pulled the extension cords out of the sockets. This was an outdoor gig with a small stage right next to the main building. No warning, no nothing, just pulled the plugs. A fair amount of our gear was still plugged in and on, of course the PA being one of them as we had just started to tear down. We had played dozens of gigs at this winery and never had anyone do anything like that, we always had the same routine there. There was no time frame for us to be cleared out or anything, we were the only band that day. I just find this completely unacceptable and nerve racking. My band mates at the time didn't really seem to be bothered by it but I was livid.
And since you said you didn't say anything when it happened, you could still say something thing next time you're there to the helper-dude. Or say something to the manager when you're booking the next gig as a general warning to whomever they assign as helper in the future. Like, "Hey, last time we were here the person assigned to help us just unplugged our gear without asking first. He probably thought he was helping but doing that could have seriously damaged a lot of the gear and i'd hate for that to happen, and then have the winery be on the hook for the thousands of dollars of damage your employee caused. Luckily it didn't break anything last time. But it's really important that anyone assigned to help the band knows not to touch our gear without asking us first. I didn't say anything when it happened because i was really angry and i didn't want to be the Angry Yelling Guy, so i waited until now to bring it up for future gigs. I don't want dude to get it trouble. I just need it to be known not to do it, regardless of who is helping."
And then i'd put a sign over the power cables "DO NOT UNPLUG WITHOUT ASKING" for all future gigs at any venue, not just this one.
Simply tell him sound equipment needs to be turned off and on in a certain order or it damages the speakers. He doesn't know and it sounds like your band mates may not know either. It can be a learning experience for many.
Maybe it's on the same circuit as one of the kitchen equipment and he was told to yank your cords out. It's no biggie really. If your PA cannot survive that power outage, then you need a better PA
And why would you ask this on the internet after the fact. Too late, too slow now now. Unless I was in a fist fight later with him or his buddies or I got sued later, whatever re-action I gave is not worth talking about. I could be seen as a dick or someone that provided a good lesson, but hard to predict because there are so many factors involved.
I do not think it will damage anything. PA speakers can handle loud pops. Otherwise I will not use it to amplify snares and bass drums.
I do not think it will damage anything. PA speakers can handle loud pops. Otherwise I will not use it to amplify snares and bass drums.
It's really not that big of a deal. Unfortunate? Yes. Worth getting "livid" over? Not at all. Did anything bad happen to your gear? No? Then what's the fuss?
I love people who get all up in arms over the idea that something bad could have potentially happened even though nothing bad did happen. You see this a lot these days. Getting angry on principle. But why?
You play enough gigs and things get unplugged. What you'll notice is that never actually causes any harm to anything. You just plug it back in, turn it on, and you're good to go.
Live and let live.
I love people who get all up in arms over the idea that something bad could have potentially happened even though nothing bad did happen. You see this a lot these days. Getting angry on principle. But why?
You play enough gigs and things get unplugged. What you'll notice is that never actually causes any harm to anything. You just plug it back in, turn it on, and you're good to go.
Live and let live.
There could be additional variables that could have been affected, such as a recording process, hard drives, etc. It's not just about amps and PA's. Him not knowing what we had plugged in or going on is the issue.
When I saw him at the next rehearsal, I handed him the bill; he laughed and said "Call it patina". I told the conductor what happened, and never saw him again.
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Exactly..."I know you probably weren't aware, and we appreciate your help, but..."
