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April 2008
Posts: 2985
Location: Sydney, Australia | This thread is an opportunity to tell stories of some of the funniest things that have happened while playing live. I'll start:
I was playing in church, and in the absence of a PA or amplifier had plugged my guitar into a portable cassette player to give a bit more volume. In the middle of a reflection (i.e. while we're playing and no one else is singing, so the church is pretty quiet), my 6 y.o. daughter runs up to me and puts her hands on the guitar strings while loudly proclaiming that I'm not really playing because the sound is coming out of the cassette player - which had the side effect of proving that I actually was playing!! |
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July 2005
Posts: 3410
Location: GA USA | Years ago I saw a funny scene in a movie that made me laugh any time I thought of it. Not long after, I was leading worship solo at church and for some reason I thought of the movie in the middle of a song. I kept playing, but could not sing the rest of the song because I was laughing my butt off.
My son had a real life "School of Rock" moment. When he played with his band, they would draw good crowds at their local shows. At the end of one show, he took off his bass and launched off the stage in a massive stage dive... and nobody caught him. What may be worse, one friend did try to break his fall and both of them went splat. Fortunately, kids can survive falls that would kill us old guys. |
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January 2006
Posts: 5881
Location: Colorado Rocky Mountains | Opening of Act II in George M! I have the lead. I'm singing "Give My Regards to Broadway" before a packed house, maybe 1200 in attendance . . . and my fly is wide open. |
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Posts: 9301
Location: south east Michigan | Can't top that one! |
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March 2005
Posts: 12759
Location: Boise, Idaho | Similar story to Brads: I was the new kid in high school and the lead for the junior class play got kicked out of school, so I got tabbed to take his place just before dress rehearsals. I crammed like crazy. The opening scene I was supposed to stand up and yawn and when I did, my fly dropped. Fortunately, there were only other cast members in the audience. We talked about adding it into the production, but I couldn't ever get my fly to unzip on que. |
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January 2009
Posts: 4535
Location: Flahdaw | Nowhere nears as funny, but my famous "gay shirt" video where my wife, then my daughter, THEN my dog come into the room in the background. A classic recording moment that I decided not to redo 'cos it was so nuts. |
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November 2005
Posts: 4832
Location: Campbell River, British Columbia | My highschool covers band. Playing the big teen dance at the community hall. I'm proud of the 40' curley cord I just got for my bass.
I jump off the stage to dance with the girls in front during the lead solo. As it's ending, and near time for me to sing again, I run back to the stage...still playing the bass....jump in the air.
....and catch my foot on the stage, landing full length on the bass. Hands still in position.
Being too dumb to notice, I jumped up and still made it to the mike in time.
Thanks to a rock-steady drummer, I don't think we missed a beat. |
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January 2006
Posts: 5881
Location: Colorado Rocky Mountains | Another funny moment that didn't happen to me directly, but I was on stage right next to it and saw it all happen. It was a big scene from Gilbert and Sullivan's Pirates of Penzance, opening night in a packed house of 2,800 at the concert hall, big name Broadway lead actor singing his aria as the Pirate King, I'm standing close by as part of the stage emsemble with only a big Macaw bird sitting on a stand between us, the lead is holding a big sword prop and spreads his arms big and wide on a particular note right in front of the bird, which then bites his hand and he flinches and drops the sword, making a big racket, interrupting his song, and essentially defeating his big gruff pirate charater. It was so hysterical that the director (still in town as it was opening night) asked him to keep it in, so he did, and got bit 15 more times exactly on cue. |
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March 2005
Posts: 12759
Location: Boise, Idaho | Phil was just warming up for his career as a pratfall artist. Tripping on stage or walking into a screen door was all part of the act, right? |
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October 2002
Posts: 73
Location: out there | I was in a church. |
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November 2006
Posts: 3969
| Originally posted by Lightfoot:
I was in a church. And a thunderbolt didn't hit you? |
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December 2006
Posts: 6268
Location: Florida Central Gulf Coast | My funniest moments playing live were playing live! |
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February 2005
Posts: 11840
Location: closely held secret | My bass solo when playing with Matt at the Mermaid... |
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March 2002
Posts: 15677
Location: SoCal | Had to do with coconuts..... |
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October 2002
Posts: 73
Location: out there | The Thunderbolt came real close and hit my guitar and changed the sound holes to these Z shaped things. |
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November 2005
Posts: 4832
Location: Campbell River, British Columbia | Mark, all comedy is physical comedy. |
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July 2005
Posts: 3410
Location: GA USA | Originally posted by dark bar:
...my famous "gay shirt" video where my wife, then my daughter... Say what?!? But she's your wife now, right? |
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April 2008
Posts: 1851
Location: Newington, CT | Originally posted by Captain Lovehandles:
Originally posted by dark bar:
...my famous "gay shirt" video where my wife, then my daughter... Say what?!? But she's your wife now, right?
(Good one.) |
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December 2001
Posts: 10583
Location: NJ | funny or tragic.??????
late 70's early 80's My band has bugged the manager of the famed JC dobbs on south street for a gig. after getting bumped all summer for a MONDAY night gig finally we get the nod.
We are in our early 20's except for the bass player who is 17. drinking age is 21 in philly at the time so we tell him to not drink and just stick with us.
the day of the gig the bass player is MIA. We finally find him and he is a wreck. HIs girlfriend decided to dump him and he was drinking and partying all day. At some point he decides to drop acid. we collect him and his gear and go to the gig.
At the gig it is apparent that he is in no condition to play. I turn on his amp plug in his bass hang it around him and then unplug his speaker cab. He is so high he thinks he is playing.
the singer also doubled on guitar so I told him to play the chords. I would play the bass lines on my guitar and the other guitar player would play the leads except when I was to play the leads then he would try to play some bass lines.
The gig went great we were loved and even got a $100 bonus.
We pack up the gear, the drummer who never helps us pack puts 2 of the house mics in our stuff. well the sound man and club owner go ballistic and throw us out vowing never to have us play there again. No matter how I explained the mistake they refused to believe me.
bass player is now coming down. He takes his svt 8 x 10 cab and rolls it off the front of the stage to a huge crash. I tell the drummer to get his out of the club he complies.
as i go to load my gear into my car parked across the street drummer and bass player are standing next to a store next to the bar. bass player still pissed over the bimbo puts his hand through the plate glass window setting off the alarm and spewing blood everywhere.
I look at the drummer and tell him to take care of it and drive away before the cops came.
that band never played that club again |
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June 2003
Posts: 1792
Location: Rego Park, NY, | Originally posted by moody, p.i.:
Had to do with coconuts.....   |
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July 2005
Posts: 3410
Location: GA USA | Here\'s a video of a funny OFC moment. Playing Ice Cream Man with Mishka and Lanaki (with Blues Sailor on maracas) at a park in Asheville at SSJ1. A dude that worked for parks & recreation wanders up and starts singing.
BTW, Lanaki is a professional performer, but his voice had all but left him. Because of his singing career he asked that the raspy videos of him not make it out into the general populace. On this particular number, however, rasp becomes him.
On Al's story, I vote "tragic". |
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December 2006
Posts: 6268
Location: Florida Central Gulf Coast | Originally posted by Captain Lovehandles:
Playing Ice Cream Man 'Big Chris' didn't even need a mic! Fun vid... |
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December 2001
Posts: 7236
Location: The Great Pacific Northwest | Well, I have two.
The first not exactly funny, but sure fun.
Opened up for Blue Oyster Cult and one of our signature tunes was ME-262 (one the their songs they didn't usually play that tour).
Well, apparently they were going to play it as part of the encore, but Eric came onstage and proclaimed "Since the opening act played the song we had planned, we dusted off a couple of others" and they proceeded to play Golden Age of Leather and I Love the Night.
The next was just pathetic and many of you have seen it.
I had the pleasure of playing and singing Taxi with Cliff at one of the last Factory Tours. Unfortunately the 8 hour drive followed by an entire day of touring and meeting and greeting took its toll. As I didn't have a chance to fully memorize the lyrics, I had a lyric sheet, which would have been ok... but it started to drizzle.. My glasses fogged, followed by the lyrics becoming a big blue blotch at the bottom of the page as the ink washed away. That was officially my worst gig ever. :( |
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June 2003
Posts: 1792
Location: Rego Park, NY, | Miles and Cliff OFC Tour 2005
 
Sorry about the poor picture quality. While I was trying to protect my camera from the rain, I f'ed up the settings on my camera. |
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August 2002
Posts: 8307
Location: Tennessee | The infamous Adamas bass. What a killer instrument. |
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Funniest moments playing live
