Worst gig you ever had.

[lfmn16]

After 40+ years, I don't think there is a single worst, but when I was 17 we played a battle of the bands as a trio. We were actually pretty good, but it was our first gig and the guitar player got the worst case of stage fright I've ever seen. He had a Marshall stack and spent half of the set standing in front of it with his back to the audience and half standing behind it. I don't think he ever actually looked at the audience.

On the bright side, I was talking to one of the other bands and it turns out that they were looking for a bass player, so it was my first and last gig with the trio.

 

[casper_morgan]

My worst gig was probably a gig where the stage was in direct sunlight in the middle of the summer time (in texas) so its about 105 outside and the sun on my face the whole time. Miserable. We sounded ****** too because of it being outside and the sound guy wasnt great either.

 

[xUptheIronsx]

for me, it was a gig in Johnstown PA...a small little "punk" bar that we drove 3 hours to get to. Played with a band that had played with us in C-bus and said to come to their place. That we would go over well.

We got there, found out that we were the first band on, so loaded our stuff in. It was pretty small, and in a pretty "blown out" part of town. Well, our contact shows up and says "Oh yeah...this is a skinhead club. If they like you, they will "sieg-hiel" the whole show...if not they will throw everything in the bar at you." We were crapping our pants, but there was no turning back as all of our stiff was set up inside and the bar was quickly filling with "boots and bracers".

So we get on stage, and the lights are set up so that you can not see past the front of the stage, do a quick "line check" (which was basically the "sound guy" turning on a 70's era Peavy 8 channel mixer and making sure that there was power) and launch into our first song. I fully expected to get destroyed with pool balls, beer bottles etc that I would not see coming a me...but after 3 songs, there were 150 skins giving that sign in front of us. What a macabre feeling of relief for that small amount of time

Needless to say, we finished the rest of the set, and got the hell out of there. We found out that they wanted us to come back and play other gigs, but we never did.

 

[SteveHeissner]

When a groupie was blowing me back stage and my girlfriend (at the time) walked in.

 

[groovyBoom]

A few years ago at a joint in Raleigh, NC, my band got a call from an up-and-coming promoter to headline a 'music series' event. Our band was gaining exposure in the area, so we jumped on the gig. It was a 3 band bill with a good draw and guaranteed pay. Awesome

We drove two and a half hours to get there and rolled up right as the open light came on. The soundguy opens the loading door for us, and we pull our gear in. Promoter was MIA, and none of the other bands were there yet. Whatever. (We were used to being the first band on-scene so we could get situated and be relaxed instead of being stressed and rushing to set up last-minute. ) The place was not in great shape, but it had a good stage, lights, and PA with a good amount of standing space in the room (150?)

We spend the next 45 minutes chatting up the soundguy. Really cool guy. About the only bright spot in this whole experience.

Promoter shows up right as another band rolls up and starts loading in. The promoter seemed like a cool guy, and he started telling us more about how the night would work. "We have a great night set up. 4 other bands including you guys!"

I had to bite my tongue right there, because I knew he wasn't gonna try to squeeze in 5 bands in the same time as 3. The rest of the band and I just looked at the promoter and smiled, nodded, kept the vibe light... but when he left our table, we all started asking each other how it would all work.

OK, cool. The night started with an Indie band. They set up, line checked, and ran their set to a healthy crowd. They broke down and got their door cut and their pay. Then it got weird. Some DJ and a rapper got up there next. OK, cool... but it was supposed to be a 'rock' thing. They play to a good crowd, pack up, get paid, leave. Then the promoter comes over to us and says the 3rd band hasn't shown up yet... so he whips out his phone and calls someone, telling them to bring their guitar.

This scruffy-looking guy comes in through the loading door carrying a really screwed up looking no-name acoustic, eyes rolling around like he was drunk and/or stoned out of his mind. He plops down on a bench on stage, and the soundguy throws a couple of mics in front of him. He launches into some cringe-worthy original material consisting of lots of unfortunately profane howling and very sloppy chording.

The crowd thinned out a bit, but there was still a good few people as the 4th band goes up. The promoter even prefaces it by saying "You're in for a treat". Its some obscure alt-rock that even the hippest of hipsters would be terrified of. A guitarist and a DJ with some insanely loud screaming lyrics and blaring Marshall half-stack with some weird backing tracks coming through the PA. Needless to say, it scared the rest of the crowd off before we had to go on. They packed up, got their cut, and took off.

Then we loaded up, line-checked, and started playing... to the nice soundman and the promoter. We figured we'd at least play our full slot even though we waited nearly 4 hours to do it... and in the intro of the 3rd song, the PA cuts off and the house lights come up. Our vocalist gives me a look and just laughs, saying "Well I guess we're done!" and sets the mic back on the stand. We pack our stuff quickly and go over to the promoter... and it gets worse "Sorry guys, all you get is $13."

I'm usually the calm guy in every band I'm in, but I remember looking that guy in the eye and telling him that we want to get our money because I didn't drive all the way out here to get ripped off. He said he just didn't have the money now, so we take off and ALL AGREE not to work with that guy ever again

Live and learn, am I right?

 

[kevteop]

I've played hundreds of gigs and looking back all the memories I have are entirely positive. I know there have been difficult ones and times when I've come off stage covered in blood and that time when I had to literally flee the venue because our 6'8" tenor player was going to beat me to within an inch of my life, but overall they were good gigs y'know?

I remember one gig I played in a bad mood, can't remember why I was in a bad mood but I was fuming over something, our front man made me take a solo which is still the only solo I've ever played, and I was even angrier that he did that, so I stepped up and played this really aggressive, fairly atonal solo (we were a funk party band!) and when I finished it the crowd - who'd been completely silent - went absolutely ballistic. Cheered me right up!

 

[mellowinman]

A few years ago at a joint in Raleigh, NC, my band got a call from an up-and-coming promoter to headline a 'music series' event. Our band was gaining exposure in the area, so we jumped on the gig. It was a 3 band bill with a good draw and guaranteed pay. Awesome

We drove two and a half hours to get there and rolled up right as the open light came on. The soundguy opens the loading door for us, and we pull our gear in. Promoter was MIA, and none of the other bands were there yet. Whatever. (We were used to being the first band on-scene so we could get situated and be relaxed instead of being stressed and rushing to set up last-minute. ) The place was not in great shape, but it had a good stage, lights, and PA with a good amount of standing space in the room (150?)

We spend the next 45 minutes chatting up the soundguy. Really cool guy. About the only bright spot in this whole experience.

Promoter shows up right as another band rolls up and starts loading in. The promoter seemed like a cool guy, and he started telling us more about how the night would work. "We have a great night set up. 4 other bands including you guys!"

I had to bite my tongue right there, because I knew he wasn't gonna try to squeeze in 5 bands in the same time as 3. The rest of the band and I just looked at the promoter and smiled, nodded, kept the vibe light... but when he left our table, we all started asking each other how it would all work.

OK, cool. The night started with an Indie band. They set up, line checked, and ran their set to a healthy crowd. They broke down and got their door cut and their pay. Then it got weird. Some DJ and a rapper got up there next. OK, cool... but it was supposed to be a 'rock' thing. They play to a good crowd, pack up, get paid, leave. Then the promoter comes over to us and says the 3rd band hasn't shown up yet... so he whips out his phone and calls someone, telling them to bring their guitar.

This scruffy-looking guy comes in through the loading door carrying a really screwed up looking no-name acoustic, eyes rolling around like he was drunk and/or stoned out of his mind. He plops down on a bench on stage, and the soundguy throws a couple of mics in front of him. He launches into some cringe-worthy original material consisting of lots of unfortunately profane howling and very sloppy chording.

The crowd thinned out a bit, but there was still a good few people as the 4th band goes up. The promoter even prefaces it by saying "You're in for a treat". Its some obscure alt-rock that even the hippest of hipsters would be terrified of. A guitarist and a DJ with some insanely loud screaming lyrics and blaring Marshall half-stack with some weird backing tracks coming through the PA. Needless to say, it scared the rest of the crowd off before we had to go on. They packed up, got their cut, and took off.

Then we loaded up, line-checked, and started playing... to the nice soundman and the promoter. We figured we'd at least play our full slot even though we waited nearly 4 hours to do it... and in the intro of the 3rd song, the PA cuts off and the house lights come up. Our vocalist gives me a look and just laughs, saying "Well I guess we're done!" and sets the mic back on the stand. We pack our stuff quickly and go over to the promoter... and it gets worse "Sorry guys, all you get is $13."

I'm usually the calm guy in every band I'm in, but I remember looking that guy in the eye and telling him that we want to get our money because I didn't drive all the way out here to get ripped off. He said he just didn't have the money now, so we take off and ALL AGREE not to work with that guy ever again

Live and learn, am I right?

I'm sorry, and I know this is wrong, but my wife and I would've taken that guy outside and beaten him almost to death.

 

[kikstand454]

I'm sorry, and I know this is wrong, but my wife and I would've taken that guy outside and beaten him almost to death.

X2

 

[richntiff]

X2

x100

 

[rbacker95]

My band and I were a three piece at the time, but we have recently added a guitar player. Anyways, we were suppose to open up for a pretty big touring Indie band, and we were psyched about this show because there were supposed to be over 200 kids there. Well we got to the gig to discover we were gonna be on a second stage to help all the bands get on and off faster. We were ok with that, because we were still playing just before the headlining band meaning we'd have the biggest crowd. Long story short, only 20 or so kids came over to watch us, and then the headliner started while we were still playing so we lost what little audience we had.

 

[Biggbass]

Night Club in Fort Worth Tx. The manager was nuts. When the band was on break and he wanted the music to start he would shout at the top of his lungs from across the room, "Alright band get back to work I'm not paying you to drink beer and talk to the customers!" The guy drank chocolate milk laced with Vodka and kept a snub nosed pistol in his back pocket.

No..wait..it was Fort Hood 1975...enlisted men's club...we opened for 1910 Fruitgum Company. That, of itself, was a memory I'd like to forget but all these years later cannot.

 

[groovyBoom]

I'm sorry, and I know this is wrong, but my wife and I would've taken that guy outside and beaten him almost to death.

You know what? I'm right there with you. The whole ride back home was spent fantasizing about that very thing.

I hate it when people try to play musicians out like slave labor... "Sorry, all we can pay is meals" or "We don't think you had a big enough draw" even when the house had a good number of people and were buying drinks at PREMIUM.

I swear, truth is stranger than fiction...

 

[Lenwood Dinard]

I had been playin with this band about a year and the guitarist was always whining sayin he wished we had a house band gig. I get us a weekly gig at a rather nice club, the pay is well above average, and the owner is young business-savvy guy. Dream gig! 2 shows in, hosting an open mic night, this guitarist disappears for 45 minutes. I know it was 45 minutes because the club owner timed his absence. I'd exhausted my guitar playing skills and the club owner was on stage playin a little guitar with me and the drummer when this AWOL guitarist shows up, gets on the stage and says to the owner, while we're playing a song, "hey bro, can you get off the stage? I want to play with this other guy. ". This club owner is thinkin to himself dude, I just covered your butt and now you tell me to get off the stage?!! After the gig I whole heartedly apologized to the owner and he was amazingly cool about it. He was pissed, but cool. I told him I would have a new guitarist next week. And I did. Saved that cushy gig! I still see that guitarist around and he always introduces me as "I used to play in a band with this guy. Until he fired me. ". LoL

Another gig at a pool hall, this cute girl I'd just started dating came with me. I was playing, she was drinking. All night. She kept asking when I was gonna be through and was obviously quite drunk. I had 1 more set and took her out to the Band Wagon (suburban) to sleep till I was finished. Ahhhh, peace! I just wanted to finish the show. So I begin to pack up and go out with a load of equipment and see that she's sleeping peacefully... After having thrown up mad draft beer and munchies-style all over the driver seat, door, steering wheel, floor, and herself! I was not a happy camper, having to clean that up before I could drive home, then clean again the next morning.
And finally:
Was booked at a bar we regularly played at. It was winter, forecast to freeze and I asked the bar manager if he wanted to cancel. People in this town don't drive good as it is. Add icy roads and alcohol and it's accident city! But no, he said is on, and he was gonna get all the business from the bars that were gonna close. I even asked him the morning of to make sure, as the other two band members lived out of town, had to drive over a bridge that would be closed due to ice, and would have to come early. Nope, it's on. Ok then. We set up, do a sound check, play 2 songs to a Pretty decent crowd and then the bartender says ok, manager called and we don't need you. We're gonna close.needless to say, we never got paid. Told him never call us again.
A

 

[Mike N]

A few years ago at a joint in Raleigh, NC, my band got a call from an up-and-coming promoter to headline a 'music series' event. Our band was gaining exposure in the area, so we jumped on the gig. It was a 3 band bill with a good draw and guaranteed pay. Awesome

We drove two and a half hours to get there and rolled up right as the open light came on. The soundguy opens the loading door for us, and we pull our gear in. Promoter was MIA, and none of the other bands were there yet. Whatever. (We were used to being the first band on-scene so we could get situated and be relaxed instead of being stressed and rushing to set up last-minute. ) The place was not in great shape, but it had a good stage, lights, and PA with a good amount of standing space in the room (150?)

We spend the next 45 minutes chatting up the soundguy. Really cool guy. About the only bright spot in this whole experience.

Promoter shows up right as another band rolls up and starts loading in. The promoter seemed like a cool guy, and he started telling us more about how the night would work. "We have a great night set up. 4 other bands including you guys!"

I had to bite my tongue right there, because I knew he wasn't gonna try to squeeze in 5 bands in the same time as 3. The rest of the band and I just looked at the promoter and smiled, nodded, kept the vibe light... but when he left our table, we all started asking each other how it would all work.

OK, cool. The night started with an Indie band. They set up, line checked, and ran their set to a healthy crowd. They broke down and got their door cut and their pay. Then it got weird. Some DJ and a rapper got up there next. OK, cool... but it was supposed to be a 'rock' thing. They play to a good crowd, pack up, get paid, leave. Then the promoter comes over to us and says the 3rd band hasn't shown up yet... so he whips out his phone and calls someone, telling them to bring their guitar.

This scruffy-looking guy comes in through the loading door carrying a really screwed up looking no-name acoustic, eyes rolling around like he was drunk and/or stoned out of his mind. He plops down on a bench on stage, and the soundguy throws a couple of mics in front of him. He launches into some cringe-worthy original material consisting of lots of unfortunately profane howling and very sloppy chording.

The crowd thinned out a bit, but there was still a good few people as the 4th band goes up. The promoter even prefaces it by saying "You're in for a treat". Its some obscure alt-rock that even the hippest of hipsters would be terrified of. A guitarist and a DJ with some insanely loud screaming lyrics and blaring Marshall half-stack with some weird backing tracks coming through the PA. Needless to say, it scared the rest of the crowd off before we had to go on. They packed up, got their cut, and took off.

Then we loaded up, line-checked, and started playing... to the nice soundman and the promoter. We figured we'd at least play our full slot even though we waited nearly 4 hours to do it... and in the intro of the 3rd song, the PA cuts off and the house lights come up. Our vocalist gives me a look and just laughs, saying "Well I guess we're done!" and sets the mic back on the stand. We pack our stuff quickly and go over to the promoter... and it gets worse "Sorry guys, all you get is $13."

I'm usually the calm guy in every band I'm in, but I remember looking that guy in the eye and telling him that we want to get our money because I didn't drive all the way out here to get ripped off. He said he just didn't have the money now, so we take off and ALL AGREE not to work with that guy ever again

Live and learn, am I right?

I went thru something very similar to that years ago. Good size club, was supposed to be three bands with us playing second. We show up, it's now five bands with us last. Original guy we talked to about the gig was not there, some doofus came in to cover for him and this dude was as clueless as they came. Singer and I wanted to bail (we were a last minute throw together band as it was) but the drummer convinced us to stick it out. After the forth band played the crowd followed them out the door like they were giving away free money across the street. Wound up playing the gig for the sound man, the substitute promoter, the bartender and the lone drunk collapsed over the far end of the bar.

We were paid exactly $0 for our efforts.

 

[kohntarkosz]

I'm sorry, and I know this is wrong, but my wife and I would've taken that guy outside and beaten him almost to death.

Nah... I would have taken some SM58s or something else to the value of whatever the other bands were paid.

I've played gigs with the magical 'expanding lineup' whereby your set starts an hour late because they let some hobo best friend onstage for way too long out of the blue.

 

[groovyBoom]

I went thru something very similar to that years ago. Good size club, was supposed to be three bands with us playing second. We show up, it's now five bands with us last. Original guy we talked to about the gig was not there, some doofus came in to cover for him and this dude was as clueless as they came. Singer and I wanted to bail (we were a last minute throw together band as it was) but the drummer convinced us to stick it out. After the forth band played the crowd followed them out the door like they were giving away free money across the street. Wound up playing the gig for the sound man, the substitute promoter, the bartender and the lone drunk collapsed over the far end of the bar.

We were paid exactly $0 for our efforts.

Yiiiiikes... That's terrible.

 

[aggrokragg]

The worst gig I ever had is one I can still look back and laugh at.

Our singer got a show setup through a friend of a friend of a friend...who knew a "club manager". We drive a couple hours down to the club with some friendly bands in tow. The manager wanted an "eclectic lineup" since he had just started doing shows at this venue. Free drinks for bands are also promised. There were supposed to be five bands on the lineup. Four show up.

1. My band - the hardcore metalheads
2. My friend's band - the punk/ska guys
3. My other friend's band - the shock rockers
4. A couple with two acoustic guitars and a tambourine

We all load in via the back of the building, the venue looks decent, good bar, lots of tables. LOTS of tables. One of my friends goes out to have a smoke and comes back in mortified.

He tells us he went around front and the sign shows it is a new "upscale sushi bar and family restaurant".

So the doors open and well-to-do families start piling in, most of them thinking they are going to have "dinner and a show" which is what we later found out the owner intended on.

My band immediately huddles up and plans on having the acoustic duo go first to give us time to think. Turns out they had about four songs. They play them, do an "encore" of the first song, then slip out the door, pocketing the lion's share of the cash.

Next up is my buddies shock rock band, who have been infighting all night because their guitar player wants to perform, but the singer (my friend) refuses to do their set in front of kids. They get their entire stage show rigged up (lots of props), get halfway into the first song and my buddy has his "come to Jesus" moment on stage and just shuts his mic off. They finish the song as an instrumental to a bunch of bewildered and nervous looking parents, and then break their stuff down.

We take the next slot, and by that time it's getting later and the place is packed save the people who got up and left. We go on and right from sound check the owner yells "you are too loud!". So we try to turn down, and then perform one song. People start getting up, or just looking shocked or upset or begin scowling and shaking their heads at us. A few of them complained to the owner. We talk after the first song and my singer decides to wing it doing "radio edit" versions of our stuff where he sings or speaks any screaming parts. We quickly finished the set and drove away slightly less customers.

Rounding out the lineup was the ska/punk band. The "show manager" asked them to play their set twice since they were the only band the owner could tolerate. After that they hooked up a cassette player with muzak to the house PA.

Since the Captain and Tennille split with most of the cash, three marginally angry bands each got $20. At that point we loaded our gear and demanded our free drinks. Everyone drew short straws for DD and we got loaded on Sake bombs.

Highlight of the night? A really drunk dude sitting alone at the bar in a Motorhead tee shirt told us we totallyed rocked and asked if we had any CD's for sale.

 

[MrBKerth]

Pay to play in deep ellum before I stopped being dumb enough to fall for that crap.

Besides that, my town is flooded with singer songwriters. Not cool acoustic acts, but 3-4 chord basic nonsense boring and all the same.

Anyways, we are doing this dive bar gig for a guy cause he's hooked us up with a few paying gigs (for an originals act). So we are supposed to go on at 10 right (as we were told)? Wrong. We show up prompt as always expecting a pretty standard night and keep getting pushed back to slip in some tool who wants to sing about his dog, pickup truck, or X.

Trying not to burn any bridges and keep the paid gigs coming we end up playing at 1:45-2:00 to three people, no pay, no booze or even an apology, and they made us call out last call and closing time for them to. I still feel dirty.

I do wish we could've played subsonic's closing time though

 

[Ironbar]

Narrowly missed some satanists!

It's not really a gig but an audition. In the early 90's I lived in LA. My band was playing at the Troubadour and I met this really pretty girl. As we were talking she said she was a singer in a band and they needed a bassist. She liked my style and wanted me to meet them. She gave me her number and I called her the following week. She invited me to her house in west LA to 'hang out'. When I got there she met me at the door wearing jeans and a black bra. I thought I was lucky. Her place was quite dark, and she hardly had any furniture. She led me to a room and sat me on the floor with a ghetto blaster playing her band's material. As my eyes got adjusted to the dark I saw posters and trinkets of devil stuff. I turned around saw a huge pentagram on the wall with more trinkets and burnt candles........!?!?! I got out of there.

...or it could end in a kinky evening

Or in a human sacrifice!

 

[basskababble]

I was in an all originals band with little singer who had a huge napoleon complex and a bigger ego. The talent was in the other singer, a female. He says he's taking off for two months and we get the chance to open for Inspecta Deck of the Woo-Tang Clan. He says we can't play the gig without him, and we tell him to go on his trip, we'll be fine.

We get to the gig and it's packed, but the acts before and after are all local rappers singing along to their backing tracks. The promoter delays our set by two hours, and our female singer is nervous about fronting the band alone, so she drinks.

Come set time the group before us (a very young hybrid rap/rock group) has what must've been their first gig. They're still playing about 10 minutes into our allotted time. When they're done the drummer is taking his kit off stage one piece at a time, and none of his mates are helping him. I walk up on stage and start passing his band members pieces of the kit, condescendingly saying "I pass this to you, then you put it down and go get something else then talk to your girlfriend later ok?"

We start into the first song and our front-woman is drunk. She spends the set grinding on the floor, she makes out with a girl in the crowd (with her boyfriend watching) and tosses her bandana away like she's Axle rose. The band is fine but too big for the stage so we're awkwardly places and can't communicate, with me out front next to the space where our grinding singer should be standing. When her second verse comes she looses her place and motions to me to sing... thinking it's the third verse which I DO sing. I don't bite halfway into a measure, instead I sing when I'm supposed to, and a few people clap and give me the aww face like I'd forgotten a part and remembered a verse later.

Little napoleon's girlfriend is there watching the whole thing. She reports back a terrible show. My girlfriend brought her friend, and it was their first time seeing us.

The best part was after the show. Inspecta Deck is standing outside, chatting with our singer. I walk up to tell her we're leaving and she says "Inspecta Deck, meet Gabe"... like I'm the one who was in a famous 90's clan...