• TalkBass has been independent since 1998. Add your voice.
    Create a free account to reply to discussions, view embedded media, and browse with fewer display ads.
    Join free Log in
    Want zero display ads or expanded classifieds tools? Compare plans.

What was your/band's worst screw up while playing live?

#2
There was the time when we all drank too much Jack Daniels just before downbeat. Even got to see a video of us. Imagine this: 7 piece funk/punk band with a brass section, all starting at different tempos and keys. This was about 7 years ago, and we still laugh about it. Fortunately, it was at our "Cheers", and it was very drunk and friendly crowd.
 
#3
had a guitar player once capo the wrong fret & completely destroy a tune to the point he had to stop & start over. he had no clue what was going on until I told him the capo was in the wrong spot. to be fair it was almost pitch black when he put it on
 
#6
Years ago, back when the KeyClub was still in existence in LA, I played a show in the downstairs lounge with a band.

BL told me I did not need to bring an amp or cab; venue would supply a backline.

Venue didn't have a cab, amp, or DI. Luckily I had my Eden head with me, but...no cab.....

I'd call that entire night a screw up....couldn't hear myself at all in the monitors so I was guessing the whole time......
 
#8
our 3rd show.. i was 19.. the singer got too drunk and fell down and wouldn't get up after half a song and we had to stop the gig.. our 4th gig, same line-up, same venue, was probably the best gig of my life.
 
#9
I think it was this band's first or second gig, singerbabe introduces that "I don't care/I love it" pop tune with a whole spiel about how it's HER song and the guitarist didn't want to play it but she made him because she thinks it's awesome yadda yadda yadda (all of which was true). Then we start playing and she totally, completely, train-wreck botches the vocal. Don't know what happened there.
 
#10
Short story long...
Outdoor street pavilion gig with my a cappella group. Cohen's Hallelujah. Some people got confused about which verse they were on (not hard to do, because that song has so many verses). Make it a third of the way through the tune, and we are forced to stop because no one can save the boys that got off the train.

SO, we start over (the first time this has ever happened in a gig setting). Make it through to the same point in the song and it disintegrates. This time, the two of us that know what happened just start pushing through. Until the same jokers get off the train again and we end up having to repeat material until they figure it out. At this point, we skip ahead to the last two choruses, because this needs to stop. Ugliest 7 minutes on stage I've ever had.
 
#12
I was watching the video of the last gig my band ever played, and we closed our set with "Twist and Shout". Our singer and our rhythm guitarist were kind of butting heads over who was going to sing the lead vocals, but never resolved the debate. Anyway, the songs starts, and they both start singing the lead vocal! And neither of them were going to back down, so you have both of them yelling "SHAKE IT UP BABAAAAYYY!!!"…. "TWIST AND SHOOOUUUUTTTT!!!". And to make matters worse, I was the singular voice on the backing vocals, doing the echo lines, which usually has 2 people harmonizing on it. Looking back, that's a pretty embarrassing moment, although it wasn't my fault I guess.
 
#13
Playing a sunday morning service with the national head of the denomination visiting. This is a congregation of about 130 people - quite an honor for a man of that caliber to visit us. He's on the front row during the song service. In those days we didn't use wedges - just amps on stage. Anyway, before the set the electric guitar guy convinces everyone to tilt the giant Peavey combo I'm plugged into (house's backline equipment) backward, so it will project more. Well, 1/3 of the way into the set and there is an earth-shattering low-frequency crush/crash sound - hard to describe. I turn and look. The amp is face-down next to me. Of course, it takes two of us to set it back up on its feet, and then she's dead. But wait! She's not dead - it's just that the 1/4 inch has driven itself into the input jack like someone hit it with a hammer. I pull the jack out and switch to the "passive" input which was fine and we're good to go. Front panel is still dented and that input is still dead to this day. Haven't used that amp since and we're now using monitors and DI's. o_O
 
  • Like
Reactions: Garret Graves and huckleberry1
#14
Only two minor instances come to mind. One was where one of the guitar players fell flat on his back right in the middle of the stage. The look on his face was priceless. Was a cross between sheer terror, a plea for help and what do I do now? Ha. Hilarious. The other one was when we were playing a somewhat big venue and during soundcheck I told the house sound guy that my XLR out had been acting up so I'd prefer if he'd mic my cab. Completely blew me off. 15 seconds into the first song of the show here comes the sound guy running from the back of the venue, mic in hand. Unfortunately for me the beginning of that first song was nothing but bass before everyone else came in. My little "time to shine" moment if you will. lol Rest of the show went fine but that one instance turned me a little against know-it-all sound guys from then on.
 
  • Like
Reactions: snarebear and tbasstreble11
#15
One time mid-set our drummer started a song in the wrong time signature, therefore prompting us to restart the tune!
That same gig there was no washer on top of the crash cymbal (couldn't find the right size; long story), so it kept falling off throughout the set. Mid-way through a song the drummer hits the crash and it then proceeds to fly off the stand and CUT THE GUITARIST'S INSTRUMENT CABLE IN HALF. Me and the guitarist just laughed it off and got another cable (just goes to show that you should always bring extra cables kids!) but MAN drummer was ever frustrated after that gig :P
 
  • Like
Reactions: huckleberry1 and tbasstreble11
#16
Last year at a major exhibition we where the featured entertainment. It was a 3 Piece band that used backing tracks to fill in the holes musically. The singer would cue the samples and had assured us they where all correct. Well suffice to say one of the samples was in a totally different key from what we actually played the song in... Train wreck ensued... That will teach me for listening to a lead singer ;)
 
#17
Two beauties: First, an outdoor park concert with a big crowd. The drummer went backwards off his riser--and the stage! We found him ten feet down, flat on his back with the wind knocked out of him. Concussion? Hard to tell with that guy. Not coherent at the best of times. Second, a recent benefit in a large soft-seater theatre. The organizers missed the fact that it was the same date as a fund raising run and all the streets around the theatre were blocked off. It took me an hour to get the police to let me through. Ran into the theatre hearing the band (4-horn jump blues) playing without me. There were 3 people in the theatre. We played our set for them and two ushers, outnumbering them 7 to 5.
 
  • Like
Reactions: gumbynotpokey
#18
Nothing extreme to report ... the worst is probably starting songs in the wrong key, wrong tempo or wrong time signature so we have to stop and try again, has happened a few times. I've missed the intro a couple of times when I've forgotten to step on the tuner pedal to unmute it. Not so much nowadays, the errors are usually smaller, and I've learned to just keep playing and get back on track quicker.
 
#20
One of my guitarists started a song on the wrong key. C instead of G. It was a very easy 1-4-5, so no biggie initially. Of course there was a difficult key change at about the 2:00 mark in the song. The drummer (singing in the wrong key now) and I were looking at each other asking what the hell we do at the key change. Complete Trainwreck. Worst part is, we knew it would happen in 2 min.

Another time my singer (different than above) activated a loop from the previous song during a different song. No idea why vocals were recorded on one of his many stupid TC Helicon effects and he never used samples, but it somehow recorded and started playing. We stopped the song to "Millie Vanilli" and other similar heckles. Pretty embarrassing. This singer was notorious for bringing new gear that he had no idea how to work to gigs. What a clown.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Jarobi

Latest posts

Top Bottom
Back