Worst dive you’ve played at

[Playbyear]

You may wish to consider another type of gig. Bars have- and always shall be " wretched hive(s) of scum and villiany."

This quote from another thread has me thinking.

What is the worst dive you’ve played in ... (or several)?

For me it’s a clear winner. Some of us that played in a normal band, would do a fill in gig as a power trio. It payed the door and not very well because the doorman would let too many “regulars” in for free.

This was in rundown downtown in a section with dive bars. This one had live music. At one time some decent names played there.... but it had gone way downhill.

Some of the features were that beer was only served in cans (bottles are too dangerous in fights)
The “House special” was Jell-O shots.
A couple trash barrels were put out because the roof leaked, and for patrons to vomit in.
There was a coin-op Condom machine, right in the middle of the club, bolted to a support column.

When you set up and started playing there was one crowd. Mostly people hooking up for couple drinks and drugs and then heading out. Then the place simmerd down for a couple hours and the owners didn’t really care how much you played for a while.

The bar had a license to stay open one hour later than anyone else. So the big thing was the owner wanted you to play for that last hour non-stop. That’s when they made most of their money. The place would fill up with already well lubed patrons wanting a couple more and maybe some action.

That’s also when the action heated up. Lots of intoxicated patrons. Dirty dancing, people getting tossed out. Bad fights, (bloodbaths with certain patrons), it was a regular stop for the police.

I’m sure there’s lots worse though... I lead a shelterd life.. Please share

 

[bassicmike]

What, we're not gonna name them?

Chicken Bone in Framingham, MA. Closed now.

What an intercoursing dump. Only time I thought I was going to need the Pbass as a weapon.

Played on a night the Bruins and Flyers were playing Game 7. We couldn't play til the game was over. Which the B's lost. And then the mood got ugly. And, hey, look there's a crappy band playing.

 

[dramatwist]

...abandoned farmhouse and barn with a bunch of meth-heads... at least I got paid, and the Clapton-clone guitarist got laid, so...

 

[AGCurry]

Wow, there are so many I can't choose the absolute worst.

 

[Shalto]

This quote from another thread has me thinking.

What is the worst dive you’ve played in ... (or several)?

For me it’s a clear winner. Some of us that played in a normal band, would do a fill in gig as a power trio. It payed the door and not very well because the doorman would let too many “regulars” in for free.

This was in rundown downtown in a section with dive bars. This one had live music. At one time some decent names played there.... but it had gone way downhill.

Some of the features were that beer was only served in cans (bottles are too dangerous in fights)
The “House special” was Jell-O shots.
A couple trash barrels were put out because the roof leaked, and for patrons to vomit in.
There was a coin-op Condom machine, right in the middle of the club, bolted to a support column.

When you set up and started playing there was one crowd. Mostly people hooking up for couple drinks and drugs and then heading out. Then the place simmerd down for a couple hours and the owners didn’t really care how much you played for a while.

The bar had a license to stay open one hour later than anyone else. So the big thing was the owner wanted you to play for that last hour non-stop. That’s when they made most of their money. The place would fill up with already well lubed patrons wanting a couple more and maybe some action.

That’s also when the action heated up. Lots of intoxicated patrons. Dirty dancing, people getting tossed out. Bad fights, (bloodbaths with certain patrons), it was a regular stop for the police.

I’m sure there’s lots worse though... I lead a shelterd life.. Please share

Wise men say beware a bar that doesn't serve in glasses

 

[BarfanyShart]

In the day we had a weekly gig at a strip club, that was a few trailers stuck together literally by the docks. Usually 2-3 girls working, but when the strip set started, I tended to sit in the green room and smoke weed with the pimp.

 

[Bass Viking]

There was a coin-op Condom machine, right in the middle of the club, bolted to a support column.

A load-bearing condom machine?

 

[2saddleslab]

Worst dive was the first dive. At the 1st gig the owner pointed to the bathroom and said "don't ever go in there." Once a biker road his chopper right thru the bar and revved the engine enough to shut it down until the smoke had cleared.

 

[knumbskull]

A load-bearing condom machine?

post of the year IMO

 

[Paulabass]

On the load-in the bartender gave me two milk crates of chain, and told me to chain our gear together. When I was done he said to put a few wraps around the mic stands. I asked who steals mic stands? And he replied- They make good weapons.

 

[Xjenrbcjsmsbfjw]

When I was a teenager, I used to play a place that had "penny beer night," for a cent you got what was basically a Dixie cup filled with beer. For a buck you could get alcohol poisoning on whatever awful concoction was left in the kegs.
The place was the standard dark, tiny stage, STD filled, alcoholic hangout we've all played, but on those nights it got rowdier and creepier. Looking back, I'd probably do it again because it was one of my first paychecks and NO ONE cared how badly we played, so I've had worse situations, but never worse gigs. Basically one to two vomits per night and dozens of people wildly over served.

 

[Jefenator]

The Horseman's Club in Calgary 1995, an illegal after-hours joint in an old church (naturally). Got to load in on some rickety, ice-coated stairs. The smoke was so thick you sometimes literally couldn't see to the other end of the room. One night one of the drunks drove his truck all over a field and wound up smashing the drummer's car. The vibe got especially sketchy on the night of that infamous Mike Tyson fight (when he bit Holyfields' ear).
The good old days weren't always good.

 

[DrMole]

Probably the Kon Tiki, Salisbury Beach, MA.~ 1989/90.

Did several 7 day stretches there.

 

[johnson79]

Never anything violent, just dingy fire-trap basements for DIY punk shows.

 

[CayGee]

Columbia Rd in Boston - we played JC's Tap right next to the Strand Theatre for several months at a time serving as the house band. This was around 1982-3. One night at the end of the last set, for the last tune the singer decided that he would have a shouting contest to see if the crowd wanted to hear "Styx" or "Stones". Well, the shouting continued until the fight started, they knocked the cigarette machine over and the cops came. Needless to say I don't think we played that last tune...

 

[4stringsjack]

A prison (Worcester County Jail) to an audience of a couple of hundred inmates. I was surprised to discover there was no stage- just a cleared area against one wall of a room. No barriers. Capacity of the prison was about 800 inmates, population at that time was around 1300 inmates. It wasn't a nice place.

They enjoyed the show and thanked us sincerely afterwards.

 

[JW56789]

Pick One:

A) The two times I saw dead people in a bar I played at (who weren't dead at the start of the night) . . . .

B) The one where I played on a stage (for a week!) totally enclosed on three sides (the backwall was solid with a steel fire door) by floor-to-ceiling chain link fence . . . .

C) Or the one with a 110-pound Pit Bull for a bouncer . . . .

 

[Bunk McNulty]

Oh, this one is easy: The Keg, Ridge Road West, Greece, NY, 1975: All drinks in plastic cups. Barstools screwed into the floor with big bolts so they couldn't be picked up. 100% bikers. The ladies would get in front of the band and simulate sex with each other. You could see the guys behind them just waiting for one of us to respond. You only have to see what's coming one time: Where the opening like is "What you lookin' at, bro?" and before you know it, the ambulance arrives. We learned real fast to stare at the ceiling. We played there twice, and the second time was scarier than the first. I went to the BL at the end of the night and pleaded "No mas!" He agreed.

 

[logicman69]

The Safari Lounge in Providence RI. Total dive bar on a side street. They informed us that they had a "PA" which turned out to be a 4 channel Peavey powered mixer (one of those 90w tolex covered boxes) and 2 12" floor monitors propped up on poles. We did a fast 30 minutes set, and as we were packing up we got to witness cops beating on a guy in the street.

Close second was the Livingroom in Providence (the one behind the Dunkin.. not the bubble.. That will make sense to those that know). Probably the dirtiest bar you could ever play in, but for many of us, it was a rite of passage. Randy would give anyone a shot, and that is part of what made it interesting. You never knew who you were getting booked with. It was a pit, though. The "urinal" in the guy's room was basically a hole in the floor.

 

[Ostie]

A prison (Worcester County Jail) to an audience of a couple of hundred inmates. I was surprised to discover there was no stage- just a cleared area against one wall of a room. No barriers. Capacity of the prison was about 800 inmates, population at that time was around 1300 inmates. It wasn't a nice place.

They enjoyed the show and thanked us sincerely afterwards.

Hey, it worked out well for Johnny Cash.....