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Most outlandish audience requests ...

powderfinger

powderfinger

Feb 24, 2009
791
53
#1
Ok, we have all been there. Its between songs, and some drunk comes up to the stage, and makes a total asinine, out of place, ridiculous request.

Lets share outs. Make sure you let us know what kind of music your band plays/played, and what the audience member actually requested.

I have a few. I was playing in a country/blue grass roots style band once, and some drunkard stumbles up to the stage and requested "some Foo Fighters".

Another guy requested some Bob Dylan about 10 ago at a gig, when I was playing in a classic rock cover band. We kicked into Knockin on Heavens Door, and announced over the mic that this was a request. The guy then screamed, "*** DAMMIT... I DIDNT REQUEST GUNS N ROSES".

Your stories?
 
#3
When I was a wee lad I wasn't above making dopey requests of the bands I'd go see. We'd go see rock cover band or an r&b band and in between songs I'd yell out "Play some Zappa man!" Which, when it wasn't totally ignored either got me stares from one more band members or some laughter.

Now I'm playing in a reggae, r&b, rock cover band and wouldn't you know it but about a year ago some drunk yells out in between tunes "Play some Zappa!!"

As it turns out we could oblige him because we do a couple of Zappa tunes (though they're not part of the set list since our typical audience isn't looking for Zappa)
 
#4
I was at a show in Charlotte once. Indie rock band playing at the club. I decided to be a smart ass, and yell "Play some Skynyrd". They unleashed the most wicked version of Gimmie Back My Bullets, Ive ever heard!
 
#5
I used to play in a hard rock band that played a mix of bands like stone temple pilots, RHCP and RATM, and we got a request from a very drunk friend of mine to play some gin blossoms. I told him we would play some in the second set and he passed out three songs into the first set!
 
#8
playing in a rock cover band last year, we just finished playing Separate Ways by Journey, and a drunk comes up directly after that song and asks: "Do you guys know Separate Ways, man I love that song." (he was dancing to it, waiting for us to finish, so he could ask) He pulled out a $100 bill, and said if we know it, it's ours. So our singer does the whole "We just had this song requested". A few people up front started laughing because they saw the conversation go down. Yes, we played it a second time, and the guy thought we were bad-a$$'s for being able to "just play it off the top of our heads". And yes, he put the Ben Franklin in the tip bucket!
 
#10
we are a rock band, covers include foo fighters, lenny kravitz, craker, collective soul... we have been asked to play, gin and juice, baby got back, zuit suit riot, and a few others. We can generally pull off enough to make the crowd happy by breaking into the sublime, (what I got beat) and our singer mixing in verses and chorus of about 10 different songs including sublime. It suprisingly goes over well everytime.

edit: people ask us to play Forgot About Dre quite often, but that is a song we actually learned an rock it out
 
#11
essentre said:
I'm in a modern/hard rock cover band. Think Foo's, AIC, Maroon 5, Gavin DeGraw, Nirvana, STP, stuff like that. This past Saturday someone asked us if we knew any Exodus.

....Really?
Click to expand...

I have been amused by all responses thus far, however, I think *this* one takes the cake. I mean, Exodus??? I didn't even know that band was in the collective consciousness any longer. Exodus...LMAO.
 
#14
viper4000 said:
playing in a rock cover band last year, we just finished playing Separate Ways by Journey, and a drunk comes up directly after that song and asks: "Do you guys know Separate Ways, man I love that song." (he was dancing to it, waiting for us to finish, so he could ask) He pulled out a $100 bill, and said if we know it, it's ours. So our singer does the whole "We just had this song requested". A few people up front started laughing because they saw the conversation go down. Yes, we played it a second time, and the guy thought we were bad-a$$'s for being able to "just play it off the top of our heads". And yes, he put the Ben Franklin in the tip bucket!
Click to expand...

FTW. :bassist:
 
#17
powderfinger said:
Who is still an Exodus fan in 2011????? I always assume their only fanbase are guys who are 65-70 now, but who were having midlife crisis in the early 80s, and this was their "get laid" music. lol
Click to expand...

Exodus is still very much recording and touring (in fact I think their last few albums have been the best they've ever done). I'm 32 and am a big fan still.


However, it's a bit silly to request Exodus at anything other than a metal night.
 
#19
I haven't received any unusual requests but I was doing a gig many years ago and while we were setting up, a drunk kept coming up to me and saying "I heard you guys suck". At first I ignored him. Then I said, well, maybe you should hear us and decide for yourself. A few songs into our set, he was standing in front of the stage with his arms in the air and cheering to every song. After our set, he went up on the stage and started playing the drums, without permission. Our drummer who was about 6 feet 4 inches tall and weighed close to 300 pounds, didn't care for this very much. Within seconds, the bouncer and our drummer had literally picked the guy up and thrown him out the door and onto the sidewalk.

The most unusual song I ever played was one that my guitar player's daughter liked. Whenever we rehearsed at his house she would ask us to play it before she went to bed. One night while we were playing a gig, the guitar was in a goofy mood and started playing the song. We all joined in and the dance floor was immediately packed. We were shocked that so many people were getting into the song. Especially, since it was (and I can't believe that I am admitting this) "Sugar Sugar" by The Archies.
 

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