The Live Show Mishaps Thread

[DrakkarTyrannis]

I think every performer of any kind lives in fear of things going wrong on stage..either minor or HORRIBLY.

What are some things that happened to you or someone you've seen? Feel free to post videos of such situations as well.

 

[Humbuck]

I've shit myself.

 

[TedEH]

/thread I guess. You win.

Worst I've done is break a string or have a battery in something die.

 

[DrakkarTyrannis]

I've shit myself.

......wait...wut?

I need the full story to this..

 

[GunpointMetal]

Our old vocalist tried to stage dive (very drunk) and there was nobody to catch him. That was entertaining. Otherwise its always stupid shit like a cord crapping out, string break, PA trips a breaker or something.

Still waiting on the pant-shitting story.

 

[KnightBrolaire]

nothing that would top shitting myself on stage
I saw a girl that was crowd surfing at a breaking benjamin concert get dropped from like 6 feet up in the air. The EMTs had to break through the crowd and drag her out on a stretcher.

 

[spudmunkey]

At a talent show in high school, we had 30 seconds to set up all of our gear after the lights went out at the end of the previous act. This included a whole drum kit, and all amps and etc.

To speed things up, we put my Dean Markley 2x10 combo on top of the bass player's 1x18 bass combo, because it had wheels. I swear it was a Fender, but I can't remember for sure...all I know is that it had a Radio Shack speaker in it that would blow out every couple of weeks, but they would replace for free because of some warranty that I didn't understand...

Anyway, the lights go out, we drag the drum kit onto the stage on it's carpet in this darkness, with his cymbal stands falling over and crashing across the stage as we moved it.

Then, instead of pushing the amps from their side, both the bass player and I grabbed a side and wheeled it out face-first...which only became a problem because the wheels stopped dead on a pwoer cable we didn't see in the dark. The bass amp tipped forward. I tried to hold it back somehow by grabbing onto my own amp, which didn't do anything other then tip backwards and I guess sort of choke-slammed the guitar amp down, and it fell into the back of the open-back bass amp, hitting the speaker frame, bending it, buckling the Radio Shack speaker cone.

We could hear the audience gasping and giggling at the loud crash and the "oh, shit!" coming from the stage darkess, only illuminated by the red light-up exit signs.

So instead of our first song, "Dazed and Confused" by Led Zep, starting out as the familiar bassline "Bu bummm bummm bummm bummm..." it instead started with "Bphgrt Zzfts Zzfts Zzfts Zzfts..."

 

[Cynicanal]

This was a show I saw, not a show I played, luckily:

The rhythm guitarist/vocalist's guitar amp keeps cutting in and out during the band's set. During the last song, when it cuts out again, he just throws his guitar off, grabs the mic stand, and finishes the set growling the lyrics into the mic while holding it. At the end, he smashes the mic into the stage. The club's soundguy comes on over the PA and says "you're paying for that microphone, buddy" to which the singer responds "FUCK YOU!" At this provocation, the soundguy (who is an absolutely MASSIVE human being) charges the stage and beats the shit out of the singer; the other members of the band try to pull him off, which causes club security to jump in... and beat up the other members of the band, including tackling one of them through the headlining band's Triple Recto full stack, destroying it.

Four dudes beaten up and about $4500 worth of another band's gear destroyed over an SM58. Yeah.

 

[KnightBrolaire]

This was a show I saw, not a show I played, luckily:

The rhythm guitarist/vocalist's guitar amp keeps cutting in and out during the band's set. During the last song, when it cuts out again, he just throws his guitar off, grabs the mic stand, and finishes the set growling the lyrics into the mic while holding it. At the end, he smashes the mic into the stage. The club's soundguy comes on over the PA and says "you're paying for that microphone, buddy" to which the singer responds "FUCK YOU!" At this provocation, the soundguy (who is an absolutely MASSIVE human being) charges the stage and beats the shit out of the singer; the other members of the band try to pull him off, which causes club security to jump in... and beat up the other members of the band, including tackling one of them through the headlining band's Triple Recto full stack, destroying it.

Four dudes beaten up and about $4500 worth of another band's gear destroyed over an SM58. Yeah.

the saddest part is that a poor innocent mesa was injured

 

[Randy]

I've shit myself.

Devin Townsend, is that you?

 

[Humbuck]

......wait...wut?

I need the full story to this..

There's no cool story. I think everybody's gambled and lost before right? Well if you play shows and/or tour long enough, sooner or later this might happen when you're on stage. You're eating weird or bad foods, probably drinking a bit too much, or way too much. Your stomach doesn't quite feel right and that little fart pressure that comes up might just make you feel a little better and oops...oh no! That sick feeling of being fooled by a shart. You grin and bear it until you get off stage and throw your boxers away and if you're real lucky, you're at a venue with a shower. If not, you better hope you packed your baby wipes. I never go out without them anymore.

 

[DrakkarTyrannis]

There's no cool story. I think everybody's gambled and lost before right? Well if you play shows and/or tour long enough, sooner or later this might happen when you're on stage. You're eating weird or bad foods, probably drinking a bit too much, or way too much. Your stomach doesn't quite feel right and that little fart pressure that comes up might just make you feel a little better and oops...oh no! That sick feeling of being fooled by a shart. You grin and bear it until you get off stage and throw your boxers away and if you're real lucky, you're at a venue with a shower. If not, you better hope you packed your baby wipes. I never go out without them anymore.

This is a truly inspirational story. Thank you for sharing.

 

[TedEH]

....and just hope that nobody notices? I get that the show must go on, but there's a limit.

 

[lewis]

There's no cool story. I think everybody's gambled and lost before right? Well if you play shows and/or tour long enough, sooner or later this might happen when you're on stage. You're eating weird or bad foods, probably drinking a bit too much, or way too much. Your stomach doesn't quite feel right and that little fart pressure that comes up might just make you feel a little better and oops...oh no! That sick feeling of being fooled by a shart. You grin and bear it until you get off stage and throw your boxers away and if you're real lucky, you're at a venue with a shower. If not, you better hope you packed your baby wipes. I never go out without them anymore.

this is worrying because Ive had like a Norovirus for 3 days I caught from my young daughters, and Im still not over it but playing live tonight..... hahaha

 

[cwhitey2]

I've shit myself.

The other guitarist in my old band totally shit himself as we finished a show once

 

[Humbuck]

this is worrying because Ive had like a Norovirus for 3 days I caught from my young daughters, and Im still not over it but playing live tonight..... hahaha

Be careful... don't gamble!

 

[lewis]

Be careful... don't gamble!

yeah haha. Im going to seriously AVOID doing this hahaha

Ive not really eaten since Saturday morning but still.

 

[budda]

There's no cool story. I think everybody's gambled and lost before right? Well if you play shows and/or tour long enough, sooner or later this might happen when you're on stage. You're eating weird or bad foods, probably drinking a bit too much, or way too much. Your stomach doesn't quite feel right and that little fart pressure that comes up might just make you feel a little better and oops...oh no! That sick feeling of being fooled by a shart. You grin and bear it until you get off stage and throw your boxers away and if you're real lucky, you're at a venue with a shower. If not, you better hope you packed your baby wipes. I never go out without them anymore.

This is real talk. I have played on a full stomach and wondered if I was going to puke.

My brother broke his bass neck on his first US run with us, but it wasnt really a mishap.

I have fallen into the drumkit (saved it though).

Does no signal going to the amp anymore count?

 

[DrakkarTyrannis]

My bassist saved and saved until he had enough to get a custom V bass. He bought a custom Monson Virus bass and the very first gig we played with it...right before we started his strap pin broke, bass fell head first and the top of the headstock broke.

Luckily Monson fixed it for free but still...for that to happen in front of everyone right before we started...ouch.

 

[Mathemagician]

this is worrying because Ive had like a Norovirus for 3 days I caught from my young daughters, and Im still not over it but playing live tonight..... hahaha

Bread crackers, and maybe a little water. Play it safe.