Those Spinal Tap/Bad News moments

SexyGreyFox · 25 Feb 2007 at 14:32

Loads of us play in bands on here or perhaps you saw something funny at a gig.
So whats your Spinal Tap/Bad News moment?

I've got a few but last night was a good one.
We played in Crewe last night and looking at the board outside showed that friday nights was rock night and sat night was solo singer night.
Lets just say that come the end of the night there was the bar staff and a bloke with his dog. The dog also kept coming up to me and licking my legs.
They did give us 3 gigs for a friday though so all wasn't too bad.

In the late 70's/early 80's Saxon were a well known rock band and according to the Spinal Tap writers they were the reason for Spinal Tap. However, they didn't witness a brilliant Spinal Tap'ism.
All of Saxon had long flowing locks and a lad jumped on the stage and grabbed the baseball cap of Biff the singer. Somebody else ran on and grabbed the baseball cap off one of the guitarists. A third ran on and grabbed the baseball cap off the other guitarist (Graham Oliver!) and off came his wig with it :eek:

He ended up running off the stage and stayed away for three songs.
At that moment it was funny but Biff announced that he was having cancer treatment and he came back on with bald head to a standing ovation.

I've got 100's so lets hear some of yours.

simisker · 25 Feb 2007 at 16:59

dmpoole said:
[...]
Lets just say that come the end of the night there was the bar staff and a bloke with his dog.[...]

"You didn't let the dog in free, did you?"

A band I used to be in a long time ago was once upstaged by a kid with Down's Syndrome and an Elvis fixation. He single-mindedly stood in front of a mirror between us and the audience [seemingly oblivious to either] and practiced his "whip comb out of back pocket and slick back the quiff while curling the lip" move. For our entire forty-minute set.

Neoni · 25 Feb 2007 at 17:08

dmpoole said:
Loads of us play in bands on here or perhaps you saw something funny at a gig.
So whats your Spinal Tap/Bad News moment?

I've got a few but last night was a good one.
We played in Crewe last night and looking at the board outside showed that friday nights was rock night and sat night was solo singer night.
Lets just say that come the end of the night there was the bar staff and a bloke with his dog. The dog also kept coming up to me and licking my legs.
They did give us 3 gigs for a friday though so all wasn't too bad.

In the late 70's/early 80's Saxon were a well known rock band and according to the Spinal Tap writers they were the reason for Spinal Tap. However, they didn't witness a brilliant Spinal Tap'ism.
All of Saxon had long flowing locks and a lad jumped on the stage and grabbed the baseball cap of Biff the singer. Somebody else ran on and grabbed the baseball cap off one of the guitarists. A third ran on and grabbed the baseball cap off the other guitarist (Graham Oliver!) and off came his wig with it
He ended up running off the stage and stayed away for three songs.
At that moment it was funny but Biff announced that he was having cancer treatment and he came back on with bald head to a standing ovation.

I've got 100's so lets hear some of yours.

i gigged with saxon, not that good to be fair.

SidewinderINC · 25 Feb 2007 at 17:09

I saw the best UK Rage against the machine tribute band and they had a support band called "dropzone" who were just a covers band at the time...

they must be in their 50's and playing covers ranging from greenday to system of a down and then limp bizkit. all fun and games!

the bassist was having trouble all through the set, first his crappy cheap wireless cuts out all the time and he ends up just plugging into his amp.

then during the limp bizkit finishing track he stands on his 2x 12" cab and attempts to jump off with some flair and style.... he didnt have his cable tucked through the guitar strap and stomps is straight out of the socket!

he scrabbles around for ages trying to get it sorted and by the time he gets it done the song is over!

i was front row and right in front of him, it took so much effort to not just laugh.

Neoni · 25 Feb 2007 at 17:11

SidewinderINC said:
I saw the best UK Rage against the machine tribute band and they had a support band called "dropzone" who were just a covers band at the time...

they must be in their 50's and playing covers ranging from greenday to system of a down and then limp bizkit. all fun and games!

the bassist was having trouble all through the set, first his crappy cheap wireless cuts out all the time and he ends up just plugging into his amp.

then during the limp bizkit finishing track he stands on his 2x 12" cab and attempts to jump off with some flair and style.... he didnt have his cable tucked through the guitar strap and stomps is straight out of the socket!

he scrabbles around for ages trying to get it sorted and by the time he gets it done the song is over!

i was front row and right in front of him, it took so much effort to not just laugh.

i remember a gig i played and the band after us plugged the microphone into a bass amp, and kept pulling the lead out. highly amusing.

One More Solo · 25 Feb 2007 at 19:24

When we were stood round during soundcheck at our last gig, opening for some band doing their EP launch. The other band is at the other end of the room. Our guitarist quietly announces "That band are ****ing ****ers" to us (or so he thought). Only problem is he still had his earplugs in from soundchecking, and pretty much the whole room heard.

We played our set and quickly left.

Naffa · 25 Feb 2007 at 19:56

I remember one gig I was at, wasn't playing, nearing the end of the set two people started having sex on the bench in plain view of everyone.

SexyGreyFox · 25 Feb 2007 at 20:46

I was doing a gig a couple of years ago in Macclesfield and I had a tummy bug.
After about 3 songs i ran out of the door into the back alley and proceeded to vomit. I came back in and the audience were laughing at me. 3 songs later I was back out again and talking while I was vomiting eg Oh god, Why me? etc.
I go back in and everybodys smiling again. This happens a third time but nothings coming out and I'm now swearing and heaving quite badly. I go back in and finish the set off.
Two punters come up to me and said it was one of the funniest things they had ever heard and I was puzzled.
It then dawned on me that I had taken my radio mic out with me and the whole pub heard me praying to the vomit God

Naffa · 25 Feb 2007 at 21:11

Lmao

Well done with that one.

banja · 25 Feb 2007 at 22:27

I was in a Smiths-ish / Wonderstuff type indie band a few years back. We played a rock pub once where the stage area was used for the pool table when gigs weren't on. When we arrived we had to politely ask these biker types to finish up playing so we could set up. They weren't happy.

Our 30 minute set was greeted with total silence, and by the end, we were having wotsits thrown at us. After the gig the landlord refused to pay us, at which point our drummer got aggresive and threatened him. We were chased out and told never to come back.

The pub has since been sold, refurbed and turned into some poncey bar. Shame really, as it was a good pub back in it's day.

Another band I was in, we played at an outdoor festival one summer. Unbeknown to me, our singer had met a cheerleading group while away on work, had given them a tape and asked them to come up with a routine for the first song.

They turned up at the festival, pom poms and everything, about twenty of them from age 6 to 20. When we started our first song they jumped up at the front of the stage and performed this great all singing all dancing cheerleading number. I looked like Derek Smalls at that moment, mouth wide open, aghast. Although really it was very good, and made us look completely ace.

SexyGreyFox · 25 Feb 2007 at 23:19

About 3 years ago we did a Biker Rally called the Frozen Nuts in Derby and a band supported us. After about 20 minutes the bikers picked their gear up and put it outside in the snow

QABoy · 26 Feb 2007 at 12:57

Van Halen around 1980 at Donington. Somebody threw a bottle at Dave Lee Roth so he stopped I'm On Fire halfway through it. He pointed at the guy and said he knew who threw it and after the show he was going to **** his girlfriend and then counted the song back in. Best put down ever and he probably did do what he said he'd do.

riddlermarc · 26 Feb 2007 at 13:26

The first ever gig I played, we had to get there five hours early to soundcheck (seriously..).. there was nothing else to do after that so we started drinking. Come our opening song, I was so hammered I could barely stand. When I was supposed to play the guitar break halfway through the song I completely forgot, stopped with the rest of the band who then proceeded to all stare at me for a good few seconds before I realised

"oops" was all I could mutter down the mic and proceeded to play, accompanied by some sarcastic clapping from the audience

After that, I never drank before a gig and still don't to this day.

Cuchulain · 26 Feb 2007 at 13:32

riddlermarc said:
The first ever gig I played, we had to get there five hours early to soundcheck (seriously..).. there was nothing else to do after that so we started drinking. Come our opening song, I was so hammered I could barely stand. When I was supposed to play the guitar break halfway through the song I completely forgot, stopped with the rest of the band who then proceeded to all stare at me for a good few seconds before I realised "oops" was all I could mutter down the mic and proceeded to play, accompanied by some sarcastic clapping from the audience

After that, I never drank before a gig and still don't to this day.

Hahaha, class.

"DEN!"
"Wha?"
"IT'S YOUR BREAK!"