Gig stories...

[Red_Label]

My "worst gig" story:
We were booked one year to play for the last day of the season party at a popular local ski hill. It's a long drive up a steep, icy road, then the gear gets ferried up, little by little, in a snowmobile with a large box on the back.
Towards the end of the first set, I started having bad pain in my gut. Halfway through the second set, it hurt so bad that I couldn't stand. It was horrible, and I had no idea what was wrong. I basically laid in a corner while the band finished the night, occasionally being teased by drunks for not being able to hold my liquor, then the load out, and the creep down the mountain. So it was about 4 hours from the time I started feeling bad to the time they got me to the hospital. It turned out to be a kidney stone-absolutely the worst pain that I've ever felt.
The good part is that I got paid the same as everybody else, even though I only played half the gig.

You EARNED that pay man! Having suffered pretty severe gall-bladder attacks every six weeks for 6 months (didn't know what they were until I finally went to the ER), and then frequently for two weeks until I had my gall bladder removed... I can't imagine trying to gig while going through that kind of pain. I've had four spinal surgeries for back/neck pain over the past several years. But none of the soul-crushing back pain I've lived with for 8 years has ever approached the intensity of gall stone pain. There were a few times that I couldn't lay, couldn't stand, and couldn't sit for hours. The only thing that saved me was basically passing-out from exhaustion. Fortunately for me... the answer to serious gall bladder issues is removing the source. Kidney stones don't work that way. Haven't had any of those... yet! [fingers crossed]

Btw... hello from 350 miles to your east! (Billings) The wife and I will be in Missoula for the Mumford & Sons show in August.

[mbruno]

One of my favorite gig stories

I was playing a festival at Big Bear about 4 years ago (maybe 5). We headlined Saturday night and opened on Sunday due to scheduling (we had another gig that night in San Diego we had to get to). Saturday was a ton of fun - good crowd, responsive sound people etc. Perfect really. That night was a lot of fun too - we rented a house with a few other bands and had a good ol party that night. Nothing crazy at the party (mainly cause we had a 9am stage call that morning) but lots of fun.

The next day we all woke up around 7a and started for town to get things together. Everyone was in good shape (again, we took it relatively lightly). We setup fine, played the show and everything went as expected.

As soon as we were done playing, I looked up at the mountains and saw some smoke. By the time we were getting off stage, you could see the flames getting bigger. It was a good ways away, but still not a great sight. The next band went on and was forced to get off stage within a few songs as the fire had spread to become more dangerous for the town. The festival shut down due to wildfire - which was a first for me.

Even more fun, on the way home I started getting really sick. I was driving and had to pull over every few feet to throw up. Eventually I got int he back and someone else drove home (though they stopped regularly for me to get sick too haha). I did end up playing the gig that night too - but it was rough.

[Jill McAuley]

Back in my punk days it was pretty common for us to play three shows on a Saturday: We'd start off with an "all ages" show at 2pm, then move on to another venue for an evening show at 9pm, and then to a late night venue for a show at 1AM - great days them!

[Timbofood]

When we were young and “full of juice” my band played at least three nights a week (plus practice) at a local saloon. The owner, was the guy who gave us our first shot, sadly he has passed to the larger life. One night he pulled me aside and said “Tim, you guys have broken the record for most consecutive weeks playing here...59 weeks! The closest other band only had 45!”
I really miss “The Whistle Stop”, White linen restaurant in the front, narrow, long classic type bar in the middle (we were over capacity there more than a few times” and the old warehouse where the really noisy rock bands usually played.
Those were the days of smoke filled bars and loose Mandolin players!
One night the esteemed Roger Siminoff was even there! He was with Bill Halsey and some folks from Gibson, during the Restore the majesty of the F-5 project, there were s many great memories of that place. There were lots of interesting people that were happily drinking in there. Great dates made!