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Gig Disasters


pbasspecial

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Not sure if this has happened to any of you but last week I attended a gig and the bass players amp died during the second set.  As a fellow bass player was in need, I popped out to the car and brought in my head and cab (Markbass and Barefaced). The band and pub were very pleased to say the very least. 

Last night I had a gig there and usually only bring one bass but some Jedi force told me to bring a spare. 

Just as I hit the first note on the second song the D string broke!

WTF.!  I have a spare. Phew! Quick change over. All is well but had to play 2 sets on the heaviest flatwound Labellas. Aching forearms and tired fingers today. 

So pleased I had a back up plan. First time in 30 years it has happened. 

Anybody else got any stories? 

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Theatre gig, years ago....

Original material. Quiet, attentive audience.

During a solo, our frontman / acoustic guitarist decides to relax a bit and lean against the wall at the side of the stage.

Only... it wasn't a wall: It was a curtain, masking a four-foot drop onto various bits of technical kit hidden in the inky blackness of the wings.

He barely missed a strum, despite the bruising and the broken ribs.

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We were playing the old Wardour Street Marquee back in the 80s..we'd got a few bars into the first track of the set and a full glass of lager comes flying out of the crowd and smashes on the keyboard which promptly packed up.

We struggled on through the whole set without the keys, hating much of it to be honest .... but we were told afterwards that it was the best gig we'd played for ages!

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Back in about 1990 we were playing the Powerhaus in Islington.

So we soundchecked, everything was excellent so we thought we'd go for some food.

There was an Indian restaurant round the corner which had an all-you-can-eat buffet. Being relatively skint we thought this would sort us for the night and probably for a big chunk of the next day.

So we ate all we could, then a bit more, then a bit more to make sure. It was very tasty, but we were definitely sated. In fact we were the past-participle-future-pluperfect of sated, Satan!

We were so stuffed it took us about 10 minutes to wobble the 200m back to the venue. Then we sat there very quietly... When it came time to go on stage we all took chairs, played very gently and moved as little as possible in the hope that none of us would cover the stage and audience in part digested Rogan Josh and mango lassi.

Funnily enough, the audience seemed to enjoy it; we were quite a raucous punk-funk band, known for wearing daft costumes or being painted as we played so they probably thought it was our latest stage gimmick!

Needless to say, we didn't do an all you can eat buffet again before a gig...

 

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Thank you for all your good wishes for my recovery.

;)

In a bizarre stroke of luck, the PA pole fell in such a way that, with my back to it (I was adjusting my amp), although I didn't see it coming the speaker missed my head and the pole fell against my shoulder.

Comfortable it was not, and you can hear Silvie shriek my name to warn me since it really did look lethal, but in fact I was completely unharmed, Paul the Drums leapt up to take the PA back upright, and we launched straight into Delilah.

 

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1 hour ago, Twigman said:

We were playing the old Wardour Street Marquee back in the 80s..we'd got a few bars into the first track of the set and a full glass of lager comes flying out of the crowd and smashes on the keyboard which promptly packed up.

We struggled on through the whole set without the keys, hating much of it to be honest .... but we were told afterwards that it was the best gig we'd played for ages!

It’s your name Carlsberg then, because it’s an old Army saying that you shouldn’t worry about getting shot; a bullet will only get you if it has your name on it......

(I’ll get my own coat)

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A few days after the first Gulf War ended, I was doing CSE forces shows in Kuwait & Saudi Arabia. While having pre gig refreshments about a 1/2 mile from the gig (Kuwait), we heard a rather loud explosion.

A sergeant marched into the mess, then informed us that the show wouldn't go on. He shouted out at the top of his military voice, with a sh*t eating grin, that the Stage and all the hired equipment had gone up in smoke. Amazingly & stupidly, the Stage had been erected near an ammunition dump, which indeed, had gone up in smoke....You could tell by the look on the face of the Sergeant, that us wimpy musicians, should have gone up with the stage as well.:biggrin:

The turn was an Impressionist called Bobby Davro, who minus the band, then offered to tell gags to the troops for some kind of entertainment (no mic - shouting at the top of his voice). He went down a (Desert) storm for making the effort, while we got smashed on some home made wine some French SF's troops had given us. (So, not a complete disaster) xD

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A very posh black tie event in the late eighties. We were a showband with a fairly elderly Irish bandleader (who anyone in Leicester of that vintage will have heard of, or more likely played in his band!) He liked a brandy, and the "nobs" were buying him them in capacious quantity. Last "spot" we're bringing the evening to a climax, the bow ties have been loosened, and the silver shoes are glinting in the spotlights

Crash! B-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o

In his tipsy state the bandleader has steadied himself against his keyboard, toppling it off the stand, the stage, and into the audience. It is now screaming it's head off in pain in the middle of the dancefloor.

A guitar/bass/drums trio finished the evening :)

There again he probably had the last laugh - he used to pay us a pittance. We probably got about £15 each for the evening

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2 hours ago, Happy Jack said:

Thank you for all your good wishes for my recovery.

;)

In a bizarre stroke of luck, the PA pole fell in such a way that, with my back to it (I was adjusting my amp), although I didn't see it coming the speaker missed my head and the pole fell against my shoulder.

Comfortable it was not, and you can hear Silvie shriek my name to warn me since it really did look lethal, but in fact I was completely unharmed, Paul the Drums leapt up to take the PA back upright, and we launched straight into Delilah.

 

I had to go back for another watch, because the angle of the camera really does make it look like that cab strikes you squarely on the walnut. And then i managed to hear the missus shouting '  Jack '

That was sheer luck the cab missed its target

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7 hours ago, pbasspecial said:

Not sure if this has happened to any of you but last week I attended a gig and the bass players amp died during the second set.  As a fellow bass player was in need, I popped out to the car and brought in my head and cab (Markbass and Barefaced). The band and pub were very pleased to say the very least. 

Last night I had a gig there and usually only bring one bass but some Jedi force told me to bring a spare. 

Just as I hit the first note on the second song the D string broke!

WTF.!  I have a spare. Phew! Quick change over. All is well but had to play 2 sets on the heaviest flatwound Labellas. Aching forearms and tired fingers today. 

So pleased I had a back up plan. First time in 30 years it has happened. 

Anybody else got any stories? 

 

I'd just replace the string(s)... but make sure the band plays a song while you do that without bass. THEN when you come in, everybody will realise that YOU, THE BASS PLAYER, is the most important member of the band ;)

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Just to show it doesn't just happen to the "small guys".

Back in the 80s (1986?) we were at a Capital Radio Sunsplash event at Alexandra Palace. The bill included Ziggy Marley, Maxi Priest and Aswad who were enjoying some chart success at the time - all four artists on the bill were using the "state of the art" Simmons Electronic drum kits (remember them? made just up the road from me on the way to St Albans.... but I digress). Anyway the first act went on and the kit worked "perfectly" and they did the whole 45 minute set.

However there was a problem when they came to set up the second Simmons kit (I know...) with the kit feeding back. The delays took over 40 minutes by which time the crowd was getting irritable. Obviously the second act couldn't do the whole set so only performed for about 30 minutes. Off they went while the roadies set about setting up the third Simmons kit (don't interrupt...I already know your question!!). Guess what...same issues and you guessed it, it took them about 40 minutes to set up the aforementioned 3rd Simmons kit.

"So how did the crowd take this?" you ask yourself....Not good, with repeated cries of "we want our money back". 

Eventually the Simmons kit is ready but by now it's getting late, curtains come down so that Maxi Priest was able to come on and do.....4 numbers!!! Because Aswad, who were headlining would need the remaining time to do their set. They had to drag Maxi off the stage...

Now you would have thought that by now somebody would have figured that these Simmons kits have a few issues and maybe, just maybe, it would be a good idea, rather than set up a 4th Simmons kit with the potential problems, to use the kit recently employed by Maxi Priest's band.

Well....no!

The roadies again set about getting the kit ready with the same results..loads of feedback, irate crowd baying for blood, 40 minute delay...by which time Aswad have to curtail their set to about 6 songs including the medley from "Live and direct" which went some way to appeasing the crowd who all joined in, as per "Live and Direct".

The event was being filmed and coincidentally we knew the cameraman who also lived in Hatfield. Throughout the delays he was telling us "just another 5 minutes". This was being picked up by those around us who then turned their venom towards him when this didn't come to fruition. 

Not sure if the film was ever aired but I can tell you that this was the biggest fackery of a gig I've ever attended.....and only £10 a ticket in 1986!! To put that in perspective -  1 Pint of milk 23p, Pint of beer 75p,  20 Cigarettes £1.35.

So remember, it isn't just you it happens to!!

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Another gig - more a disater averted this time - - this time at a community hall in Sneek in Holland.

The stage was about six foot high but wasn't the full width of the hall. At the sides were loads of those stacking plastic chairs packed into the space between the stage and the side wall.

Mid set, mid song - stage lighting blackout - I'm wandering around when I wander off the side of the stage toppling into the piles of plastic chairs......still playing! ...I'm back on my feet and back on the stage before the stage is fully relit!

 

yes I had indulged in the local wares before going on....probably didn't sound quite as good as I thought at the time

Edited by Twigman
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Oh another distaster averted gig.....Valencia -  Club Isla 1986  - huge crowd - early in the set - drum kit is on a riser uplit by loads of spots around its base....I wander a bit too close to the kit and get my foot stuck in one of the uplighting spots...my shoe is literally melting while I try to carry on playing as though nothing has happened....it took a good 15seconds to get my foot out and yes it was hot!

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Another averted disaster:

 

Headlining the last night of the  DropDead Festival 2012 in Berlin (supported by lene Lovich!!).....we turn up to the soundcheck at the venue at the time on our itinerary,

It's closed. There are notices in german plastered all over it.

Turns out that the previous night one of the acts had taken (and used) a flame thrower on stage, resulting in the local fire brigade being called out and the promoter fined €3000 and closing the place down......in her panic to sort out a new venue for us (and Ms Lovich) to play it seems the promoter had forgotten to let us know. Gig went ahead at a place called White Trash, much smaller than the original venue but had a very nice burger bar above it and nothing and nobody caught fire.

 

Edited by Twigman
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