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Show Stopped by Gunfire Outside

NOLA Bass

NOLA Bass

Mr. Worst Case Scenario Man
Supporting Member
Feb 3, 2005
7,331
10,198
New Orleans LA
www.spacemetalnola.com
Disclosures
Endorsing artist: Bergantino Audio Systems and GHS Strings
#1
Playing a gig at House of Blues last night and the show was abruptly stopped bc some idiots form a club down the street (that is notorious for trouble, and was having teen night) empties out followed by a shooting on the street. They had to shut our show down then keep everyone in for safety til they were sure it was safe to let people leave. We even had to wait as the swept hte area around our vehicles for shell casings. IDIOTS!!! 16 year old was shot. This whole thug mentality is just mind boggling. Rarely does it hit close to home for me, but it not only stopped out show but my wife and sister in law were heading out to get home and let the baby sitter go home when security turned them around. They heard the gunshots. A few minutes and who knows?? Unbelievable.
 
#4
That's gigging in New Orleans. We were playing Chaz Fest on St. Claude during the last week of Jazz Fest this year, and a guy was shot in the head and killed a block away while we were onstage. Of course this wasn't in the Quarter, so nobody made a big deal about it. Didn't even realize it had happened until it was in the paper in the morning.
 
#7
As bad as that is, it's some better than shots INSIDE the club... that happened to me playing blues on the west side of Chicago in the '70's. I remember wondering where I could take cover, and realizing there wasn't any on stage at all! Fortunately, nobody was hurt, but that ended the night when the cops took over the place. Unfortunately, later that same night the bartender, who was a friend to musicians, was shot & killed. That was one rough neighborhood in those days.
 
#8
The sad thing is here in New Orleans that type of news is "no big deal". 3 to 5 killed on a weekend is fairly common. Not sure what it takes to curb all this. I live on the Westbank and since Katrina crime is climbing out of control. Mainly because of the criminal element moving from the eastbank to the westbank. No matter what I still love this city.

Cheers,
Jim
 
#9
TomB said:
As bad as that is, it's some better than shots INSIDE the club... that happened to me playing blues on the west side of Chicago in the '70's. I remember wondering where I could take cover, and realizing there wasn't any on stage at all! Fortunately, nobody was hurt, but that ended the night when the cops took over the place. Unfortunately, later that same night the bartender, who was a friend to musicians, was shot & killed. That was one rough neighborhood in those days.
Click to expand...

TomB I am so glad Chicago has changed :rollno:
 
#12
jazzbo58 said:
The sad thing is here in New Orleans that type of news is "no big deal". 3 to 5 killed on a weekend is fairly common. Not sure what it takes to curb all this. I live on the Westbank and since Katrina crime is climbing out of control. Mainly because of the criminal element moving from the eastbank to the westbank. No matter what I still love this city.

Cheers,
Jim
Click to expand...

You are so right. However, this time it could have easily been my wife, family or good friends/bandmates in the line of fire with timing just a bit different. It is out of control and the mayor and police chief are so concerned with self preservation that they have completely checked out on this issue. It just makes me so mad. My in-laws are off to Virginia next month and events like this make it hard to argue with that type of thinking to be honest. Yet, I love this city and don't want to see this thug element ruin a great city. Just disheartening.
 
#13
TomB said:
As bad as that is, it's some better than shots INSIDE the club... that happened to me playing blues on the west side of Chicago in the '70's. I remember wondering where I could take cover, and realizing there wasn't any on stage at all! Fortunately, nobody was hurt, but that ended the night when the cops took over the place. Unfortunately, later that same night the bartender, who was a friend to musicians, was shot & killed. That was one rough neighborhood in those days.
Click to expand...

Wow!!!
 
#16
NOLA Bass said:
You are so right. However, this time it could have easily been my wife, family or good friends/bandmates in the line of fire with timing just a bit different. It is out of control and the mayor and police chief are so concerned with self preservation that they have completely checked out on this issue. It just makes me so mad. My in-laws are off to Virginia next month and events like this make it hard to argue with that type of thinking to be honest. Yet, I love this city and don't want to see this thug element ruin a great city. Just disheartening.
Click to expand...

My mom grew up in New Orleans. I lived there from 91-95 and thought I'd stay but once I was done with school I left. I just couldn't hack it. I lived on Toledano by the intersection of Louisiana Ave. and Magazine St. and used to hear gunfire all the time. I got mugged at gunpoint right in front of my apartment door and once saw a couple of guys doing a running gun battle in the street just off St. Charles. Scary.

The thug life comes naturally to some in New Orleans. Do or die. Kill or be killed. The divide between rich and poor is so huge that there is a whole element of the population with nothing to lose in life. I have friends and family who are life long residents who will never leave but it just wasn't for me. There's crime everywhere but NOLA just seems to be over the top.
 
#17
I was in a notorious blues club called the Red Carpet on highway 61 in south Memphis back in the mid 70s watching my buddies band Home Grown Funk, when a shooting happened outside.

It was during a band break and me, my old bass player ( I played guitar back then ) and the HGF bass player were outside. There was a crowd of maybe 50 people watching as a pimp was beating up one of his girls. A guy walked up to him and told him to lay off the chick, and the pimp replied it was his business and back off! Words were exchanged and the guy intervening said some thing like "I don't have to take that" he walked over to the car next to us (a white Pontiac with red interior, I can still see it) got a gun out of the glove box and in front of everyone went to unloading it on the pimp! Man we we went under my car! Thirty seconds later there were police helicopters and twenty squad cars there.

When we crawled out we had a police dog and cops with shotguns pointed at US (we were the only three white guys there) I'm trying to tell the cops we didn't do it to no avail. Thankfully the guy didn't die and as he is laying there tells the cops it wasn't us :eek:.

:eyebrow: ... Needless to say the club cleared out and so did we ... never went back!
 
#19
I here that Club Hush will be closing the end of August. My guess is the HOB, leaned hard on the City Council....
But a 16 year old thug, out that late, getting shot???? *** are the cops? Oh yeah, the chief went to Australia...

I lived in NOLA for a while back in the 60's and 70's, and it was nowhere near like it is now. A shame. But how's yo' momma an' dem?
 

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