Bad gig experiences...

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Panama_Jack666Panama_Jack666 Frets: 2988
edited December 2017 in Live
We've not done this in a while...

I've had all the problems tonight. Amp problems, guitar problems, tuning problems, pedal problems, playing problems.

Just completely pissed off with it for silly reasons!

Cheer me up! Tell me your bad gig experiences.
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  • rsvmarkrsvmark Frets: 1373
    So we set off from my house at 5pm, or shortly thereafter. The traffic was an utter bastard and the M40 was bumper to bumper so took us 30mins to clear the Stratford junction which I can normally do in 7 mins. Pootling up north the twit nav started to get a bit funny- you know, when multiple issues cause it to continually re calculate the route. Traffic was slow on the M42 and we were still in static traffic an hour later. We finally started to move on the A38 when the trumpet player rang. 'Forget the A38- I haven't moved in 45 mins'..... So we dived off and went right around the minor (and I mean minor) roads via Burton and re joined the A38. We eventually arrived at the venue, some 2.5 hours later to find the doors open and the punters in.

    mad dash to set up, and no chance of a sound check. So right now I am utterly starving having had a biscuit and a coffee at 11am. A mercy dash to the keyboardist house for. Slice of pizza and something to drink. So what's the plan? 'Well, the sound guy reckons he can get something half decent by a song or 2 in....' OK, so that's too bad. 'But we may have an issue, the dep singer has flu....'

    So we get back to the venue and we are cutting it fine. We were due on at 8.45 but no sign of said singer. The punters were clearly getting restless and in walks said singer, as white as a ghost who is up for seeing how it goes....

    2 songs in and I am getting really high pitched feedback when the compressor is on....it's fine when not, but I use the compressor for a lot of funky stuff. A mad fiddle with pick up selectors reveals no solution so press on without said pedal.

    midway through the first set, the singers voice had been holding out.... Well not after that one. Her voice clearly starting to go.....by the end of the first set it was utterly shot.

    So what now? As luck would have it, there is a guy who has had some experience- we grab him no he opens the second set with Play that funky music, shake a tail feather and Uptown funk. We have managed to get as much honey into the singer as we can no she resumes duties until the keyboard player comes out to finish the second set.

    talk about a stressful night. Apparently we were ace! Good to see that pissed up punters had a good time...... And we are doing it all again tomorrow night. What fun!
    An official Foo liked guitarist since 2024
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  • rsvmark said:
    So we set off from my house at 5pm, or shortly thereafter. The traffic was an utter bastard and the M40 was bumper to bumper so took us 30mins to clear the Stratford junction which I can normally do in 7 mins. Pootling up north the twit nav started to get a bit funny- you know, when multiple issues cause it to continually re calculate the route. Traffic was slow on the M42 and we were still in static traffic an hour later. We finally started to move on the A38 when the trumpet player rang. 'Forget the A38- I haven't moved in 45 mins'..... So we dived off and went right around the minor (and I mean minor) roads via Burton and re joined the A38. We eventually arrived at the venue, some 2.5 hours later to find the doors open and the punters in.

    mad dash to set up, and no chance of a sound check. So right now I am utterly starving having had a biscuit and a coffee at 11am. A mercy dash to the keyboardist house for. Slice of pizza and something to drink. So what's the plan? 'Well, the sound guy reckons he can get something half decent by a song or 2 in....' OK, so that's too bad. 'But we may have an issue, the dep singer has flu....'

    So we get back to the venue and we are cutting it fine. We were due on at 8.45 but no sign of said singer. The punters were clearly getting restless and in walks said singer, as white as a ghost who is up for seeing how it goes....

    2 songs in and I am getting really high pitched feedback when the compressor is on....it's fine when not, but I use the compressor for a lot of funky stuff. A mad fiddle with pick up selectors reveals no solution so press on without said pedal.

    midway through the first set, the singers voice had been holding out.... Well not after that one. Her voice clearly starting to go.....by the end of the first set it was utterly shot.

    So what now? As luck would have it, there is a guy who has had some experience- we grab him no he opens the second set with Play that funky music, shake a tail feather and Uptown funk. We have managed to get as much honey into the singer as we can no she resumes duties until the keyboard player comes out to finish the second set.

    talk about a stressful night. Apparently we were ace! Good to see that pissed up punters had a good time...... And we are doing it all again tomorrow night. What fun!
    That actually does make me feel way better! Thanks for sharing!
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  • I’ve just finished a 3 hour set to a bar full of coked up scousers, I nearly wrapped my guitar around one guys head at one point. 
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  • FezFez Frets: 499
    Last night while setting I was plugging one of the lights in and my left thumb went pop so had to play the gig with a sprained thumb. it's now red and quite swollen but it was a corking gig.
    Don't touch that dial.
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  • MayneheadMaynehead Frets: 1782
    Worst time was when I turned up for a small festival, got on stage, set up, and about 10 seconds before we were due to start, realised I forgot to bring my amp footswitch!

    I relied on the footswitch for everything from switching channels, solo boost and switching the fx loop on off. After a brief “oh shit” moment, I proceeded to set the amp manually to ch2, which was my crunch sound, and had to control my tone using a combination of boost pedal and guitar volume. Considering I’d NEVER tried this before, even at home, it was a bit of a baptism of fire.

    Luckily it didn’t sound too terrible, but I was on edge through the whole gig and I’m sure that affected my playing. Was just glad to get through it though!
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  • Stereo amp set-up. Both failed over the course of the set, one after the other. Took to the tech and both were ‘fixed’ same thing happened at the next gig a week later, both went back to the tech and then got sold, wasn’t risking that again! 
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  • Haven’t had a REALLY bad gig just the usual minor backline issues with pedal boards and power supplies, one gig in Edinburgh my mates power supply adapter broke just when we were setting up and he literally had to plug straight into the amp, no tuner no effects. We managed to get through the show, there wasn’t really anyone there either just the other bands who we were on tour with at the time. 

    I remember another where my wireless transmitter fell off my strap as I stupidly used a Velcro tie to fasten it and it slipped out during the first song, the compartment flew open and the batteries fell out across the stage. A few embarrassing minutes later I managed to pop them back in and shove the transmitter in my back pocket for the rest of the show. From then onwards I use gaffer tape and haven't had an issue.

    Apart from playing some right dives and encountering some weird characters in other bands it’s not been too bad. I’ve also got the lucky distinction of never breaking a string during a gig.
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  • LuttiSLuttiS Frets: 2243
    Hmm.. where to start...

    Had a gig once where the drummer was so pissed up that he just played one drum beat for the whole set.. i mean  non-stop.. one beat, didn't stop between songs... i mean.. it was a good beat, but adapting songs on the fly to work with this wasn't the easiest task.

    Another time, i managed to fall off the PA, landed on some audience, spent the rest of the gig on my back. Luckily was only a couple of songs left :)

    I think in that same gig i managed to bash someone round the head with guitar and caused a nasty bump. Currently married to that person, still not forgiven. Incident happened before we started dating. 

    The singer of another band i was in used to lift me on his shoulders during certain solos, unfortunately when picking me up he managed to hit my pedalboard and mute my signal, so when starting the solo nothing happened..  so i look like a dick up on some dudes shoulders trying to figure out why my guitary no worky. It's a long solo and the singer doesn't realise for quite a while that nothing is being played.. 

    Fun times :)
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  • NeillNeill Frets: 941
    Don't know where to start, or finish.

    Last gig I played was to an empty room - how's that?

    Or maybe the time we were booked to do a Blues Brothers themed party, learned all the songs, got the costumes but the organiser had either forgotten or omitted to tell the invited guests, none of which seemed very keen on the Blues Brothers.

    Did an open air gig in the pouring rain once, we were assigned a sort of gazebo to keep us dry but a pool formed on the roof we just noticed it in time and got all the gear away before the roof caved in and we all got soaked, I'm not making this up. 



     
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  • JohnPerryJohnPerry Frets: 1616
    Played a wedding once with a lead guitarist  who had a Johnny Thunders fixation. He wasn't much of a drinker and only about 19 but he nonetheless thought it part of his Thunderish duties to down a half-bottle of Bells before we went on, whereupon he played the entire first song a semitone sharp.

    There was no way of communicating with him and it somehow seemed worse to stop.

    In hindsight this was the high point of the gig which was abandoned half a dozen songs later.

    The couple were divorced in a year. 

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  • Actually I just remembered, back in August I played a show in Brighton and cos the van wasn't available we had to take breakables in cars. I had to take the bulk of the stuff like heads and pedal boards in mine. Set off from West London, got onto M25 and I hear this weird whining noise everytime I accelerated over 60mph. Clutch was going. Coupled with it raining heavily, I couldn't see much and the windows were getting fogged up had the heaters on full blast. Turn off M25 onto M23 and its still whining, I think to myself if I can just get there, play the gig I'll sort the clutch out later. Halfway on the M23 there's a horrid burning smell and its becoming more hard to change gear, esp into 1st or 2nd. I crawl along at around 50mph and manage to get to venue, only for a loud rattling sound to come from the engine. Unload and then the task of finding somewhere to park, nearly impossible in the City Centre. By this time the gear stick had died on me and even come off as I changed at some lights. I made 2 trips round the block and still couldn't find anywhere, had to settle for The Lanes car park. All this with 20 minutes to set up before we play! Raced in and had to set up TWO rigs as I was filling in for a mate and usually tech for the guitarist. The set actually went down well and equipment/set wise there was no issues.

    After I had the task of trying to figure out how to get home. Had to call the RAC to come out to look at the motor, it was midnight at this point by the time we had packed up. Luckily they were out within 25 minutes and diagnosed the clutch/gear stick was bust and I had to be towed home. Even the mechanic asked "how the fuck did you get from West London to Brighton with a fucked up gear stick/clutch?!" I just said "had a gig to get to mate..." and he laughed it off.

    Eventually got home around 3am after being towed. I think car-wise and journey-wise its the worst, but the actual playing at the venue was fine!
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  • JayGeeJayGee Frets: 1254
    I’m currently flipping a mental coin between The Bowling Alley Where Nobody Ever Came and The Wedding Where Nobody Wanted Us, but I think the wedding wins.

    The first of those was a gig with a Punk/New Wave covers band at a bowling alley in Harlow. Literally an empty room (other than three people on the lane furthest away from the bar area where we were playing. Bizarrely we got another couple of dates there where the same thing happened (apparently the manager and staff really liked us, and had an entertainment budget they couldn’t think of anything better to do with) before somebody (I’m still not sure whether it was them or us) decided it just wasn’t worth the effort.

    As for the second one, that was the current rock covers band, Solar 9. We don’t normally do weddings or similar functions, the only exceptions being when it’s a “friend of the band” who knows exactly what we do and what they’ll be getting but on this occasion we got an approach from an agency who’d previously booked us a few decent gigs and events offering (by our standards) a shed-load of money and adamant that we were exactly what his client was looking for to liven up their evening reception. We rolled up at the agreed venue and the agreed time to find that nobody seemed to be expecting us and that a DJ had already commandeered most of the stage, nevertheless after a bit of head scratching we got set up and kicked off set 1 of our contractual obligation to an empty hall while everybody buggered off for drinks and nibbles, only to re-appear when the (excruciatingly loud) DJ kicked off again. Set 2 went pretty much the same way, and seeing how the wind was blowing we did the shortest possible set in a desultory manner, packed up (to the accompaniment of complete silence, ear-bleeding DJ aside), and left without (as far as I know) speaking to anybody.

    To this day I don’t know whether we were reluctantly foisted on an unwilling family by one person saying “Oooh yeah! You should totally have a loud rock covers band, it’ll be great...” and then not turning up, or it we were the punch-line of an (expensive) joke on somebody’s part, but it was excruciating, and even about three times our normal pub-gig fee didn’t make up for it... 
    Don't ask me, I just play the damned thing...
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  • ClarkyClarky Frets: 3261
    up at 4 in the morning.. eat and load car and set off by 5
    go to be parked and at the desk in the terminal in Heathrow at 6 for a flight at 8
    roughly a 2 hour flight to Italy.. +1 hour for Italy time, we land at  around 11
    by the time we picked up our stuff, met the tour manager and left the airport it's around 12 midday
    an almost 5 hour drive gets us to the venue at almost 5 in the afternoon [soundcheck was scheduled for 4:30
    we unload, get setup and finish soundcheck a little after 6.. [support band soundcheck, doors open at 7:30]
    we arrive at the hotel around 7 to check in, get clean, change, eat etc.. and try to chill out a little
    we're back at the venue at 9, going on stage at 10 to play a 90 min set
    we played pretty good but were certainly not at our very best..
    after the gig we meet'n'greet the audience..
    at 2 in the morning we breakdown the gear and load the bus.. back at the hotel at about 3:30..
    the next day we must be up, fed and out of the hotel by 9 because we have a 6 hour drive to the next gig
    soundcheck is at 4-ish.. but the tour manager want to get going early in case we hit traffic
    first thing in the morning the promoter says to me.. "what's up, you look like a fkn zombie and you have a show tonight"

    duuuhhhh ! ! ! !
    play every note as if it were your first
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  • Clarky said:
    up at 4 in the morning.. eat and load car and set off by 5
    go to be parked and at the desk in the terminal in Heathrow at 6 for a flight at 8
    roughly a 2 hour flight to Italy.. +1 hour for Italy time, we land at  around 11
    by the time we picked up our stuff, met the tour manager and left the airport it's around 12 midday
    an almost 5 hour drive gets us to the venue at almost 5 in the afternoon [soundcheck was scheduled for 4:30
    we unload, get setup and finish soundcheck a little after 6.. [support band soundcheck, doors open at 7:30]
    we arrive at the hotel around 7 to check in, get clean, change, eat etc.. and try to chill out a little
    we're back at the venue at 9, going on stage at 10 to play a 90 min set
    we played pretty good but were certainly not at our very best..
    after the gig we meet'n'greet the audience..
    at 2 in the morning we breakdown the gear and load the bus.. back at the hotel at about 3:30..
    the next day we must be up, fed and out of the hotel by 9 because we have a 6 hour drive to the next gig
    soundcheck is at 4-ish.. but the tour manager want to get going early in case we hit traffic
    first thing in the morning the promoter says to me.. "what's up, you look like a fkn zombie and you have a show tonight"

    duuuhhhh ! ! ! !
    Yep life on the road ain't as glamorous as some make out :(
    Link to my trading feedback:  http://www.thefretboard.co.uk/discussion/59452/
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  • TateFXTateFX Frets: 114
    tFB Trader
    Out side gig where the generator ran out of fuel after the first song. That was fun. 
    Formerly Stu_Tate
    Tate FX
    www.TateFX.co.uk
    Instagram 
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  • Blew a fuse in my amp tonight! Bad gig gremlins are following me around!
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  • JayGeeJayGee Frets: 1254
    Stu_tate said:
    Out side gig where the generator ran out of fuel after the first song. That was fun. 
    I’ve had that one too!


    Don't ask me, I just play the damned thing...
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  • JayGeeJayGee Frets: 1254

    .JayGee said:
    Stu_tate said:
    Out side gig where the generator ran out of fuel after the first song. That was fun. 
    I’ve had that one too!


    Actually,  now I come to think of it, it was worse than that. I missed the first set completely (two guitar band fortunately)  after writing off my wife’s car on the way there when somebody pulled out of side-turn about two feet in front of the bonnet, then (having in my view demonstrated superhuman commitment to get there at all) the generator ran dry half-way through the second set of the second set...

    The fact this didn’t even occur to me until now should illustrate just how excruciating the two candidates I posted earlier were!


    Don't ask me, I just play the damned thing...
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  • ClarkyClarky Frets: 3261
    Clarky said:
    up at 4 in the morning.. eat and load car and set off by 5
    go to be parked and at the desk in the terminal in Heathrow at 6 for a flight at 8
    roughly a 2 hour flight to Italy.. +1 hour for Italy time, we land at  around 11
    by the time we picked up our stuff, met the tour manager and left the airport it's around 12 midday
    an almost 5 hour drive gets us to the venue at almost 5 in the afternoon [soundcheck was scheduled for 4:30
    we unload, get setup and finish soundcheck a little after 6.. [support band soundcheck, doors open at 7:30]
    we arrive at the hotel around 7 to check in, get clean, change, eat etc.. and try to chill out a little
    we're back at the venue at 9, going on stage at 10 to play a 90 min set
    we played pretty good but were certainly not at our very best..
    after the gig we meet'n'greet the audience..
    at 2 in the morning we breakdown the gear and load the bus.. back at the hotel at about 3:30..
    the next day we must be up, fed and out of the hotel by 9 because we have a 6 hour drive to the next gig
    soundcheck is at 4-ish.. but the tour manager want to get going early in case we hit traffic
    first thing in the morning the promoter says to me.. "what's up, you look like a fkn zombie and you have a show tonight"

    duuuhhhh ! ! ! !
    Yep life on the road ain't as glamorous as some make out :(
    yes it's not glam at all..

    it's actually very fatiguing 
    play every note as if it were your first
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  • we did a gig in pontadawe and there was dog shit on the stage! 
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