The Gig Brawl Stories Thread

[LiquidMidnight]

Many of us play establishments in which alcoholic beverages are served. Sometimes, people get their beer muscles and, unfortunately, a fight or brawl occurs. This is the thread where we discuss some of the craziest, weirdest, or just plain saddest fights that we've witnessed in the line of duty.

I was playing a gig about two and a half years ago at this place that we played about every six weeks. Most gigs went on without a hitch. However, on this particular night, during the last set, some guy in front of me snaps for no apparent reason and begins wailing on some other poor dude. I literally see the guy's tooth go flying past me and land on the drum riser. After a while, the crazy guy runs from the dance floor, jumps up on the pool table, and kicks an older gentleman, knocking him out cold. He then ran out the door and the venue called the police. Needless to say, that guy was banned. We had about twenty minutes left in the set, but we just decided to call it quits for the night. The experience was so surreal and just ruined the vibe.

 

[Danomo]

A buddy and I go to see a another buds band, walk up to the bar, someone yells "Heads Up", my bud turns to the left... And sees a FULL pitcher of beer sailing at his face.
All his front teeth are caps now.




Fender JP-90
Epi Bass Club #169 JC sig

 

[Slade N]

this dive bar about 3 years ago, were playing and I see this guy acting strange, drunk but also odd...i was waiting for some chick to slap him but they just brushed him off as he tried to get close. Out of nowhere and for no reason (atleast that I saw) another drunk guy runs up and pops him. They start to go at it. as they do they kinda fall into the crowd on the dance floor, the crowd pushes them back and into other other folks...with all the pushing more fighting breaks out...within about 30 seconds of it starting its a full brawl of about a dozen people...we played on

 

[mrwood4]

About ten years ago the classic rock/blues/R&B band I was in was playing a bar and all was good. Lots of people dancing. Then the stereotypical drunk with the ego starts a fight right on the dance floor. We were playing Brown eyed girl. Right when it's time to sing sha la, la la.... our singer goes into the crowd and hits the guy over the head with his mike. Sha la la la la..POW!!! More people got involved and it got out of hand. one side of the PA got knocked over.

 

[Ironbar]

I like the "Best Gig You Ever Had" thread better.

 

[LUpton]

Many, many years ago, I was playing bass in a terrible country band, in a dive bar in eastern San Diego county. It was the kind of place that had a 3 ft railing around the stage, if you know what I mean...

One Friday night late in the year, we were playing "Please Daddy Don't Get Drunk This Christmas", which I sang (badly), and apparently it hit too close to home for one patron, who proceeded to come over the stage railing to shut me up. No bones or instruments were broken, but I got a fat lip, the guy got banned from the bar, and we never did that song again....

 

[theronbass]

Watched a fight between two drunks spill out into oncoming traffic on a major road. One of them was hit by a car and broke his leg. He drug himself out of the street and they kept on fighting

 

[Zooberwerx]

Given the rash of violence here in Tidewater Virginia, ABC is gunning to cite / fine / shut-down any venue that allows such shenanigans. One club comes to mind and we play a two-nighter monthly. The bouncers (...one wears a sidearm) and waitstaff are quick to identify trouble and respond accordingly. They don't negotiate especially with those have been "overserved"

Riis

 

[Biggbass]

Oklahoma City
'Filthy McNastys'
We're playing La Grange
Guy at table in front of stage flies across table and lands a fist in another guys face.
Table goes airborne
Fight starts
All hell breaks loose
Band just keeps on groovin to the guitar solo and lays down the soundtrack to a classic bar fight

A memory that will last forever!

 

[Wolffgang]

That sounds *awesome*. I'm not exactly a big fan of violence, but I *am* a fan of Shanghai Noon (don't you judge me >.>), and it sounds like you basically recreated its best scene. Bravo.

We had something like that happen, except during the solo for Prisoner of Society (Australian rock song, very fist-pumping). Oddly I've found that the nicer places we play tend to let it go on a bit longer than the dive bars, not sure what to make of that.

 

[hotbass57]

A few years ago in a little bar here in Cincy. We're setting up and getting ready to play, in walk 4 Iron Horsemen. They're a well known biker outfit in Ohio. As we're setting up they come over and start betting a few bar patrons that they can down pitchers of beer, now these guys were physically BIG dudes. So this goes on a while,everything appears fine. We fire it up and start playing. 1st set no problems, they're being cool and just enjoying the band. The pitchers have slowed down. 2nd set again goes without a hitch. Now the bar is divided by a half wall,stage one on one half, bar on other half. This plays out well for those of us who were on the stage side. 3rd set starts we're observing our biker friends they are all on the bar side, when all hell is unleashed. If you've seen the movie Road House, this could have been a scene in that movie. Now when this started people slid out the backdoor and called police. The police were all outside waiting. It finally ended when the bouncer who was bleeding from the largest gash in his forehead from a bottle made it back behing the bar and got his gun. There were about 8 people on the floor with multiple injuries. As they were leaving the took bar stools to the pin ball machines. Now you can here all hell breaking loose as the Cincy police were arresting and beating the hell out of these guys. The EMT's came in and started hauling people out to the hospitals. It was insane, we did keep playing until we all just stopped and went and grabbed our gals called others on that side to get on stage with us. We packed up in about 5 mins and never played there ever again. This will be a complete chapter when i write my memoirs

 

[JimmyThunder]

This is one of things where I wish I had more exciting gig stories. I'm no fighter, am guaranteed to get my butt kicked really, but I wish I had the story!

 

[Kmonk]

I've been playing gigs since 1978 including many biker rallies such as Bike Week in Daytona, Myrtle Beach and Laconia, and have never seen a fight at any venue. The closest thing to a fight I've seen was back in the early 80s when I was playing and some guy was bothering my girflriend. Our keyboard player who was 6 foot 5 and weighed 300 pounds saw what was happening and quickly put a stop to it. About 15 years ago, my band was setting up in a club and some guy kept yellling "I heard you guys suck". I told him that he was right, we do suck but reminded him that he paid to get into the club and thanked him for helping to pay us. After our first song, he started yelling, "Hey you guys don't suck". In between sets he started yelling "You guys suck" again. Two bouncers literally picked him up by the arms and feet, opened the front door, swung him back and forth 3 times and then threw him into the street.

 

[npbassman]

I'm in. Back in the early 2000's I was in a hard rock/metal band and our lead singer was in a pretty well known biker club. Every so often we would have an "incident" at our gigs so I got into the habit of lining up my rig far enough away from the wall to be able to stand behind it should things get too close to me. I'm only 5'6" and at the time I had a 6x10 with a 10 space rack on top so it made for great cover!

One gig we're playing to a packed house and mid-song I see something happen to a really big guy on the dance floor. He wasn't part of the club but he's maybe 6'5-ish and holding his mouth cause it looks like he just lost a few teeth. He makes a B-line for the bathroom to see what's broken. Not less that 30 seconds later, here he comes out running of the john with his sights set on the target back on the dance floor. I assume my position next to my rig but of course, I have to see what happens next. The big guy starts pounding on whoever got him (and anyone else in range), the bikers join in and now we have a giant mass of people just throwing down. It had to be at least 15+ people. The crazy part is, this giant herd of fighters moved across the room, against the wall, partially over a pool table, and then out the door. The only way I can better describe this "moving mob" is that it was like watching the CGI beetles in the mummy movies make their way across the sand and other obstacles in unison during which thrown punches and hair pulling continue throughout. We kept on playing to the end of the tune but I think we had to stop when the cops showed up. For some strange reason my girlfriend (now wife) stopped coming to the shows after that.

 

[Danomo]

Not a bar story, but it played out like one: At a neighbors party, we did an open mic thing, and had set up a few instruments, amps, and a Karaoke machine. A number of us played, and it was a good time.
A bud and I had just finished a few songs, and we got calls for more after a little break.

Guys were playing "boxcars" at the basement bar. We were running out of songs we both new, so we were checking out the Karaoke CD's. We both saw 'War' (Edwin Starr), and went for it.
Just as we finished the first verse, the bar erupted with cards, drinks, beer, and punches. For some reason, we didn't stop until the fight did.

We were kind of laughing, because both the guys were major A-holes. Though I felt bad about my buds basement.


Fender JP-90
Epi Bass Club #169 JC sig

 

[tedious1]

Wasn't my gig, but I knew all of the guys playing. So packed bar, high-strung crowd, touchy bouncers, spent the whole evening waiting for the inevitable throw down, but it never came. My buddy's band is the last band of the night, and by the time they announce the last song, the tension is palpable, and we're all waiting for the ultraviolence to begin...

Last chord, last song, the lead guitar player walks across stage and cold-cocks the rhythm guitar player. Round 1 to lead guitard, but the whole band lived in one house, and I gather the rhythm player won rounds 2-15...

The best bit, this is the guy (lead guitard) who wouldn't play any sport for fear of injuring his hands...

 

[xUptheIronsx]

being a veteran of hardcore/punk house shows and shows with mosh pits, i can say that I have seen just about everything. And, i have been lucky enough to have never been involved when I didn't want to be. I will get in a pit as long as there is no ninja/jocky/kickboxing stuff going on.

it is also funny that the only shows I have ever been to where innocent people get caught up in the fray are at regular clubs with security. It always seems liek the more stupid violence happens when there is beer and girls in the mix. It is also interesting to note that at the no security house shows, fights rarely happen among the patrons at the show. It is always afterwards as people disperse into the neighborhoods etc to go home, and it is usually cases of getting jumped or mugged. The only time things get stupid is when the skins arrive at a show, and that only happens rarely anymore

 

[DwaynieAD]

I tried to get in a fight with the bar manager of a venue once but he wasn't having it so our guitarist went and smoked a bowl with the bouncer instead.

 

[Winfred]

About 15 years ago, at a place called the "Three Chopt Sports Bar".

We're playing Sweet Home Alabama (yep). Fight starts off small in the middle of the dance floor. One drunk punches another. The Drunk's friends join in.

About 30 seconds later, it's a bar room brawl. The lone bouncer tries to break it up, and gets wrestled to the floor. It looks like a scene from Roadhouse. Girlfriends join in, everyone is swinging wildly at one another, and beer is flying everywhere.

About 3 minutes after that, Deputies arrive. Maybe a half dozen of'em. They made short work of everybody.

Half the bar goes to jail.

The drummer and I never stopped playing.

The bar got shut down about 2 weeks after that.

I still miss that place.

 

[walterw]

from now on, let us all make a rule that whenever a fight breaks out we immediately stop whatever song we're playing and go right into "the ace of spades"!

as for me, i'll just leave this post-gig pic here:

(not my hand or tooth, the brawl happened pretty quickly and quickly got stuffed out the front door)