ToneWitch
Well-Known Member
We’re a 5 piece band. We play 30-45 classic, 80’s, 90’s and Modern rock songs. Usually, 3 hour long sets. Well, we had a gig at a really cramped club on Saturday night.
I knew the night was going to be bad right when I tried to move some of the backlined/club owned gear over to the other side of the stage. And the waitresses come running up and ask me in a really snarky valley girl voice, “what are you doing?”. I then just explain to them that, “I’m moving some of this gear over as this stage is too small to accompany 5 of us.This will give us a little more leg room, if I just move this 5 guitar-guitar stand to behind the drummer where there is a huge amount of unused space”. They pretty much tell me I can’t do that-the owner will get mad. I brush it off. Whatever. I set up and wait for sound check.
But, this was only the beginning to the worst concert I have ever played in my life.
Technically, not the worst IVE ever played, as a matter of fact I played great. However, the drummer of the band had some other motives. I knew he had been drinking early on in the day before the gig because he invited me out for breakfast bloody Mary’s. Well, he invited me out to breakfast while they indulged in some libations. I don’t drink. So, I knew he had been drinking early in the morning. Well, around 5 pm we show up to his house to load up the drums and remaining gear. We take seperate vehicles. It takes him another hour to show up. No problem still 1 hour 15 min to sound check. Ample time to set up and say what’s up to friends who came out.
We play the first set. It goes okay. Felt like a warm up really. But the drums were just sounding off. Time wasn’t being kept real steady and fills were being missed. This particular night we had to play 1 hour 15 min for the first set and then break for 30 min before the next set.
Well, time counts down. Intermission is over. It’s time for the second set. The drummer literally can’t even walk at this point. He’s hammered drunk. Had been literally drinking all day, during the first set, and shot after shot during the intermission. He drags some girl up to his drum set when we all come out on stage and allows her to hit the drums while the rest of the band just stands there like “wtf is happening” it felt like the twighlight zone. How could he be this ignorant? Finally he sits down to play after some awkward few minutes. All of the rest of the band staring at eachother in disbelief.
We begin playing the second set. Well, the band begins playing the second set. The drummer doesn’t even know what planet he is on. He’s not even close to holding it together. Can’t even count the songs in correctly. My other mates look to me and say “we’re calling it” I tell them no, we’re going to make him finish this set. We drag through 4 songs of the second set. The 5th song it all falls apart. It’s a song in a 7/4 timing and he completely loses us. He stops playing multiple times in the middle of the song to try and find his way back. It’s not happening. He nearly falls off his throne and we’re just left pushing through until the song ends. We all feel like dying dogs that need put out of our misery but nobody around to do the work. The song feels like an eternity. At this point I tell them we are at least going to end on a solid not and play one more easy one and end it there. Big mistake. At this point he has left the building mentally. Spills his stage beer all over my amp and over the back of the singer. We play the final song and I tell the crowd we are done.
I start packing my things. Totally embarrassed and just pissed off at everything in that moment. The venue owner comes up and just rings the drummer a new one. Lays into him verbally. The drummer is the one who set this show up and he treated the venue as if he rented it out for his own little private party. It was disgraceful. As I’m packing my things. The drummer knocks my guitar off it’s stand. Luckily it didn’t break or take any damage. But that was it for me. I’m walking out and the venue owner pulls the rest of us to the side. I wasn’t going to take any payment. But he insisted since we actually showed up to play.
Needless to say the band was done that night. The band as we knew it anyways. The drummer the next day has the ego, the gaul to say he needs a break from the band and that the owner was pissed because we stopped the first set 5 minutes early. He must forget that I don’t drink. I was sober and I know exactly what happened. Drummer doesn’t even know that we got paid for showing up. The rest of the mates decides to switch positions. Our bassist is a better drummer than this guy so he’s on drums now our rhythm guitar is playing bass, I’m still on lead guitar and we still have our front man. Going out as a 4 piece now.
But anyways, that was my Saturday night. I had so much adrenaline pumping through my veins I couldn’t even sleep. I was home before we were even supposed to be off stage. I had to take NyQuil to even fall asleep I was so jacked up on adrenaline. I’ve been playing music live for nearly 20 years at this point in my life and this was a new low.
So that’s it. The worst show I’ve ever played in my life. In the books. It’s only up from here.
I knew the night was going to be bad right when I tried to move some of the backlined/club owned gear over to the other side of the stage. And the waitresses come running up and ask me in a really snarky valley girl voice, “what are you doing?”. I then just explain to them that, “I’m moving some of this gear over as this stage is too small to accompany 5 of us.This will give us a little more leg room, if I just move this 5 guitar-guitar stand to behind the drummer where there is a huge amount of unused space”. They pretty much tell me I can’t do that-the owner will get mad. I brush it off. Whatever. I set up and wait for sound check.
But, this was only the beginning to the worst concert I have ever played in my life.
Technically, not the worst IVE ever played, as a matter of fact I played great. However, the drummer of the band had some other motives. I knew he had been drinking early on in the day before the gig because he invited me out for breakfast bloody Mary’s. Well, he invited me out to breakfast while they indulged in some libations. I don’t drink. So, I knew he had been drinking early in the morning. Well, around 5 pm we show up to his house to load up the drums and remaining gear. We take seperate vehicles. It takes him another hour to show up. No problem still 1 hour 15 min to sound check. Ample time to set up and say what’s up to friends who came out.
We play the first set. It goes okay. Felt like a warm up really. But the drums were just sounding off. Time wasn’t being kept real steady and fills were being missed. This particular night we had to play 1 hour 15 min for the first set and then break for 30 min before the next set.
Well, time counts down. Intermission is over. It’s time for the second set. The drummer literally can’t even walk at this point. He’s hammered drunk. Had been literally drinking all day, during the first set, and shot after shot during the intermission. He drags some girl up to his drum set when we all come out on stage and allows her to hit the drums while the rest of the band just stands there like “wtf is happening” it felt like the twighlight zone. How could he be this ignorant? Finally he sits down to play after some awkward few minutes. All of the rest of the band staring at eachother in disbelief.
We begin playing the second set. Well, the band begins playing the second set. The drummer doesn’t even know what planet he is on. He’s not even close to holding it together. Can’t even count the songs in correctly. My other mates look to me and say “we’re calling it” I tell them no, we’re going to make him finish this set. We drag through 4 songs of the second set. The 5th song it all falls apart. It’s a song in a 7/4 timing and he completely loses us. He stops playing multiple times in the middle of the song to try and find his way back. It’s not happening. He nearly falls off his throne and we’re just left pushing through until the song ends. We all feel like dying dogs that need put out of our misery but nobody around to do the work. The song feels like an eternity. At this point I tell them we are at least going to end on a solid not and play one more easy one and end it there. Big mistake. At this point he has left the building mentally. Spills his stage beer all over my amp and over the back of the singer. We play the final song and I tell the crowd we are done.
I start packing my things. Totally embarrassed and just pissed off at everything in that moment. The venue owner comes up and just rings the drummer a new one. Lays into him verbally. The drummer is the one who set this show up and he treated the venue as if he rented it out for his own little private party. It was disgraceful. As I’m packing my things. The drummer knocks my guitar off it’s stand. Luckily it didn’t break or take any damage. But that was it for me. I’m walking out and the venue owner pulls the rest of us to the side. I wasn’t going to take any payment. But he insisted since we actually showed up to play.
Needless to say the band was done that night. The band as we knew it anyways. The drummer the next day has the ego, the gaul to say he needs a break from the band and that the owner was pissed because we stopped the first set 5 minutes early. He must forget that I don’t drink. I was sober and I know exactly what happened. Drummer doesn’t even know that we got paid for showing up. The rest of the mates decides to switch positions. Our bassist is a better drummer than this guy so he’s on drums now our rhythm guitar is playing bass, I’m still on lead guitar and we still have our front man. Going out as a 4 piece now.
But anyways, that was my Saturday night. I had so much adrenaline pumping through my veins I couldn’t even sleep. I was home before we were even supposed to be off stage. I had to take NyQuil to even fall asleep I was so jacked up on adrenaline. I’ve been playing music live for nearly 20 years at this point in my life and this was a new low.
So that’s it. The worst show I’ve ever played in my life. In the books. It’s only up from here.
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