Anyone Ever Been Too Drunk Or Stoned?

[agoulding]

[quote name='Protium' post='613426' date='Sep 30 2009, 11:18 PM']We once played a friend of a friends party at our local conservative club where we were offered free drinks all night. We take advantage of this.
We start and immediately get complaints from neighbours either side about the noise, one of whom claimed pictures were falling off her wall.
After 2 songs the bartender literally runs over and asks me to tell everyone to turn down... Guitarist asks "what did he say?", my reply "can't hear the guitar mate", set continues at fult tilt.
Next thing the singer has spat a gobful of beer/spit/phlegm into a ceiling fan and soaked everyone/everything in a 10m radius, cue call to the police, our departure and 'aftershow party' at a nearby friends house. Pretty much the best gig I've played.[/quote]

Thats sounds like a fudging good gig

[Protium]

[quote name='agoulding' post='613448' date='Sep 30 2009, 11:39 PM']Thats sounds like a fudging good gig[/quote]

It was, I think the band before us were glad they went on first

[nick]

Quite a few years ago in one particular band I was in at the time, thought nothing of playing whilst pissed,stoned,wired, tripping or even on a combination of all.

One particular gig at Wolverhampton Wulfrun Hall on a tour, supporting a fairly big band of the day, which also happened to be sponsored by Holsten Pils(!) still sticks in my mind.
Prior to the gig, I'd taken 'something' to get me in the mood so to speak. However, when the time had come to go on & play, I somehow had managed to lose my fellow band mates. They had already started playing, whilst I was franticly running around confused with a bass, lost in the massive kitchen that had become a Labyrinth below the venue, also to the bemused looks of the catering workers.
Eventually found a way on to the stage, but then had further problems actually finding the jack socket on my bass to plug into.
Managed to badly play my way through the gig, the audience had become a giant shoal of smiling fish. When I turned round to face the drummer who I could hear shouting at me for playing so badly, found myself confronted with Uncle Fester from the Adams Family!
Absolute nightmare - bad time.

I don't partake anymore & have been teetotal for a while now. For me now, I feel I play better whilst not under the influence of anything & actually prefer the rush of adrenalin I get from a good gig, which I think alcohol & substances can sometimes suppress.

But each to his own....

Edited September 30, 2009 by nick

[Protium]

Also one time my bandmates were looking for me as we were due on stage within minutes. I was happily passed out on a sofa under a load of coats

[Cat Burrito]

On tour with SkinTrade back in the early 90s we played Lincoln, travelling up from Bath at 7am. We were drinking Special Brew from then. By the time we came to go on they had to prop me up against the fire exit. I recall Tony crawling around onstage on his hands & knees because he'd dropped a pick! We were awful but sold a lot of merchandise that night because the audience were under the misguided impression we were like the Sex Pistols and the Who rolled into one. We weren't the new messiah, we were very naughty boys!

That was the worst although I fell off stage in Nottingham Dec '94 through drink. I tend to do drunken gigs far less now but certainly had my fair share back in the day.

[Sibob]

I've only done one gig drunk, don't remember it and therefore can't remember enjoying it, which is a shame. Listened back to the tapes and my playing was alright, kind of just went onto auto-pilot I guess.
But because of the amount of booze in me, I desperately needed a wee, so as soon as we finished rushed to the toilet, forgetting of course that we may have been called to do an encore........which we were. Walked back 5 mins later with the whole crowd watching me....before playing an encore that I don't really remember.
Then snogged the singers ex-girlfriend while he carried my amp to the car haha

I don't drink at gigs anymore
Or at all really

Si

[Doddy]

I don't do drugs,so that doesn't affect me.

I've done one gig tipsy-not steaming-ages ago and thought that
I played crap. Never done it since.

[William James Easton]

i can't remember..........

[DanOwens]

If anyone thinks they play better after drinking or smoking or anything else, record the gig and listen to your timing. If tightness is your thing, you won't want to repeat that experience!

Dan

[Mr Wilson]

I generally save it for very special occasions. Basically when I didn't have to drive to a gig. The best one for me was free drinks for the whole band all night with shot chasers after every round. Chatruesse was the weapon of choice. I remember the first set but the second set not too well! All I remember was when a song finished giving a 20 dollar note to a random person in the front row and ordering him to buy me a beer and a shot and what ever he wanted. After doing that a couple of times I ended up falling off the stage into a bucket full of ice, getting up to then fall into the drummers kit. He didn't mind to much luckly. (Usually very precious with his gear) he was just as drunk and he had his top off (he never does that)!

FUn times but I would say 99percent of gigs am sober cause I like to be in control. (basically dont trust my sub conscious) although never let me down

[Mr Wilson]

Well never let me don't to an extent that people in the pub knew what was going on. (Still got the gig again)

[allighatt0r]

My worst experience was getting quite drunk before the start of play, but coping valiantly through the first and most of the second set.

But when we got to Wishing Well (which we hadn't played together for about a month) i had absolutley no idea how to play it.... so i think i just tried to fit random notes in.... but my memory there is very vague.... I also know we played songs after that.... but i don't remember those....

I do remember falling down (backwards) onto my bum while playing, and leaning against the guitarist's half stack, just as he stomped on his boost pedal and played a solo.... I felt no pain, but apparently had a very smug grin on my face!

[ardi100]

My first pub gig (17) let loads of underagers in so we packed the place. The rider was limitless so I was smashed. Result? Passed out between sets but managed to do the gig. Repeat for about 3 gigs until I got my license. First gig driving and I couldn't believe how much better I played sober!! Stayed ( mostly) that way since!

As for stoned, I once started messing around while wasted and thought it sounded AMAZING. My mate recorded it on his 8 track because he thought it sounded AMAZING. Had a listen the next day. Guess what? It really didn't sound amazing at all. Rubbish, actually!

[cheddatom]

[quote name='DanOwens' post='613522' date='Oct 1 2009, 07:30 AM']If anyone thinks they play better after drinking or smoking or anything else, record the gig and listen to your timing. If tightness is your thing, you won't want to repeat that experience!

Dan[/quote]

Heh, everyone's different. I've been in the studio before and been too stressed out to play very well, so every time I record now, i'm stoned. Check out myspace.com/nologorock for tightness.

[LeftyJ]

I never drink more than two beers before a gig, and I'm usually driving as I'm one of two bandmembers with a stationwagon, so I'd rather not take the risk. But keep your stories coming, I love 'em

[neepheid]

Not done many gigs so far, but I have to say that I think I perform best with 1 beer prior to going on stage. Too uptight sober, and one time I tried 2 beers and felt that things were a little too loose at the start of the set, that it felt more of an effort to focus on what I was doing. I think I've found my limit.

After the gig is another matter of course - if I'm not driving I'm probably pissed

[4000]

I have to add that these days I drink little and gig even less.

[Marky L]

Hmmm.. well. When I was in a band in the earlyish 80's and had a little more youthfull exuberance things could go a bit askew!

We had two bass players (myself and another) and a variety of other band members and we'd do various stuff for different songs. One of our last numbers was Hot Love by T-Rex. I was meant to do backing vox during this. Fine, except I had certainly reached my drink limit and staggering around the stage in a shambolic state the song came to the long run out.. "La la lah la la la laaaaah". Deciding to enhance this part, I began howling down the mic, whilst doing crotch wrenching high kicks, "Why don't you f**k off you c**ts". I managed to get the rest of the band to join in the kicks and the new improved vocals. Afterwards the pub manager said we'd need to tone it down a bit if we wanted to play there again!

I also recall one gig where I was singing lead and decided I couldn't drink any more and threw the contents of my pint glass up in the air behind me hoping to get it on the drummer. Unfortunately my aim was well off and nearly all of it went over my bass that was propped up in the corner. It worked fine afterwards, but the beer soaked neck was not a joy to play.

[johnnylager]

Yes, frequently.

[51m0n]

Never played a gig drunk or stoned.

However way back in the day I may just have done the odd recording session so stoned that walking was not a possibility.

And they sounded superb both during and after. Guess I found it helped me scrutinise my grooviness even more then

Oh, and yes the recordings still exist....

[thumperbob 2002]

Loads of gigs pissed- had to to speed up the boredom!!- now I play for enjoyment rather than for filthy lucre just the one beer before the gig is fine.

Most of the pro travelling musicians I have worked with have had drink problems- wonder why??

Bob

[Rayman]

Plenty of gigs done under the influence of far too much beer, and I play like a drain when I'm like that, I just can't concentrate, so the line is drawn under a couple of pints at the most before playing these days.

Years ago when I was the singer in a metal band, we had a gig @ the Iron Master club in Telford. We had a lady from Roadrunner records coming to see us so we were nervous. Long story short, I got hammered, truly hammerd before we went on. Unfortunately she turned up. I got halfway through the set, stood on a table and waved my 3 piece suite in her face, and disappeared into the bogs, with the microphone, while the audience listened to me groaning through the PA before falling asleep on the piss soaked floor of the toilets.

It was a joke, I'm certainly not proud of it at all, and the big shame was the A&R woman thought we were good until the 'table incident', after which she got up and left.

[Linus27]

Stoned quite badly once, not for the gig but for the TV interview after. We were playing at Dingwalls in Camden and Rebel Media TV wanted to do a piece on us, with interviews from A & R chaps, promotors, etc to then be shown on Eurosport/Sky Sports etc. It was a behind the scenes look at some of the bands that make the music for their extreme sports shows. Anyway, after the gig, my friend said do you want a smoke. So we had a smoke or two and rightly so, got very stoned. I then had to do a TV interview and the band knew this so made out I was not very well as I was desperatly trying to speak as it was just coming out as giggly gook. Anyway, it did not last and I said some crazy things and then burst into fits of laughter. So, for my debut TV appearance I was stoned. A good start into the rock and roll world

Another gig, at The Dublin Castle in Camden, our guitarist was so drunk, he fell of stage into the crowd. The NME or Melody Maker were there reviewing the gig and gave us a great review and commented on how rock and roll we were with the band so drunk, they fall off the stage. So, all good really.

When we recorded our album in the wilds on South Wales, we first set all our gear up in the live rooms, but because it was quite late, the producer sent us to the pub while he finished off in the studio. He said he would not need us until tomorrow so go and get drunk and enjoy yourself. Great, first night in Wales, recording our first album and so we celebrated, got superbly drunk with all the locals, playing drinking games with them until about 2 in the morning. Wondered back to the studio and settled down to sleep in the onsite cottage, only to get a phone call from the producer 5 minutes later saying we are all wanted in the studio. We staggered up and were told to play through the entire album. We all laughed and fell on the floor but were told its really important and need to do it. So somehow, we bashed through the album, how, I have no idea. I can remember I could not even focus on the strings let alone know what to play. It was quite clever though, the producer got us to do it to get us to relax and for him to get all the levels set, knowing we are going to thrash the crap out of our instruments. I just remember it as the funniest, craziest thing ever.

Edited October 1, 2009 by Linus27

[lozbass]

I honestly never knowingly played a gig straight or sober in the 15 years I was gigging (apart from the very earliest couple of my career when nerves dictated that consumption of either food or fluids was impossible)

[Pete Academy]

Our guitar player also plays bass in a long-running local band. One bank holiday some years ago, a venue held an all-dayer with quite a few bands on. Our man was playing in the afternoon with one band and then closing the evening with his regular bass gig. By the time the evening gig came, he was slaughtered. He played the first song in the wrong key, then afterwards took off his shirt and proceeded to call the rest of the band 'a load of b@stards!'

Didn't remember a thing the next day.