I've had a few odd things happen at gigs but nothing terrible. The one that affected my playing the worst was on a very small stage. Horns setup behind me with the trombone player directly behind me. He kept whapping me in the back of my head, neck and back with his slide. His back was against the wall. And my drums at the front edge of the stage. So I sat with my back arched in glancing back every so often.......waiting for the next hit. He was trying to read charts and having a helluva time with it too. The performance sucked. But we had a good laugh about it later on. :D

Sticks flying, broken bass drum head, cut fingers, not being able to hear the band... are all things that have happened to me at a gig. It's -live- music, $hit happens. What's important is, how quickly you can recover!

Sticks flying away is an easy one, just reach down and grab another stick. The time I busted the bass drum head, I just quickly shifted the bass drum line over to my right hand on the floor tom. The band noticed, but the audience didn't. They thought it was just part of the song. The third one was a real weird and embarrassing one. I was playing a Debutante ball in Atlanta Georgia, thousands in the crowd. It was in a large Big-Top circus tent and the stage was set-up against the back wall of the tent. The stage itself was 6' off the ground and the drummers throne was on a very shaky 4' riser behind and above the band. All the amplifiers were underneath me facing away from me. I was ready and when I looked up, I 'saw' the band had started to play, but I couldn't hear a bloody thing! Every one in the band was turned around looking at me in horror. We stopped playing about four bars into the thing and it was a complete train-wreck. Backstage, the singer wanted to assault me for screwing up the gig. After I explained what had happened they set-up a monitor on the riser so I could hear the music. I was never so nervous and embarrassed in my life. We won the crowd right back when we went back out again, but there were some boo's when we first walked out on stage. Burned into my memory. Happened way back in 67.

John

I do some lead singing but, mostly low end harmonies. Back in the day, I was supposed to be given a note by the lead guitarist. I was then SUPPOSED to begin the low harmony line to "Barbara Ann". I thought I was being given the note so I broke into song. I was wrong! The guitarist was just tuning. Everyone stopped of course and looked back at me like I was an idiot. I sure felt like one! We then tried again and played the tune pretty well.

Brian

That just comes with playing....the more you play the more this stuff happens..I always carry spares of at least snare batter head,extra pedal or pedal parts, leatherman tool,duct tape, etc ...for my electronic gig I carry an extra set of foot triggers and ac converter jack and when all else fails you fly by the seat of ur pants...

One pro tip is to have real reliable equipment ie strong throne snare stand with no stripped hardware etc...you try to minimize ur exposure to the bad stuff

I could write a book about the embarrassing stuff over the years.. But here's a few that stand out.. I was once saved only by a plate glass window when the "Suicide Throne" collapsed and I fell backwards off of the riser, it was a two story drop to the pier beyond the glass..

Probably the same throne that I loaned to a girl vocalist/guitarist who was performing solo during our sets. I set it up for her next to the mike but when she came out she moved it.. the leg popped out of the slot and she fell flat on her "you know what" before even playing a note.

We were playing a 600 seater Black tie Ball and I was obliged to play even though I had my right ankle in plaster from a day gig accident. I stumbled whist dismounting the back of the riser and fell flat on my butt. I was instantly surrounded by concerned guests who were all chiropractors.. It was the annual Chiropractor's ball..

Then there was the time when during a wild grand finale.. The floor tom leg slipped about half way through the song.. It was leaning on my leg and I could not play the BD.. so I gave it a nudge with my knee but it went in the wrong direction.. it knocked my ride cymbal off of the riser and on to the stage below. The other lunatics in the band thought that it was a deliberate move.. So they started smashing their guitars up.. The crowd thought it was all part of the act.

Most embarrassing of all was not gear related.. I was booked to fill in with an unknown local band in a small town 2 hours drive from home. However there was some mix up with the booking and the band did not show up.. However the three guest artists did.. and it was a fully booked and prepaid concert auditorium.. So we put together a makeshift show .. Hawaiian Steel.. Acoustic Guitar.. Three different genre of vocals and a dancer.. with me on the Slingerlands.. I needed several shots of courage that night and I still shudder when I even think about it..

Cheers

John

I fainted in the heat from the spotlights during the intro to The Song Remains The Same, had to be carried off the stage....good times!!

My throne pin broke right off of it's welded connection to the bracket under the seat while playing and singing lead with a cold.

Navy Base Gig.

I started rocking on the plywood bottom teetering on the base post.

Stayed cool, did not fall off and most of all did not have a do it yourself proctology exam from the post of my throne. Could have been real bad.

Got threw the song and quickly grabbed my FT case close by.

Sat real low on that case for the remainder of the gig.

Throne was an old Ludwig with the red oval top.

You a James Brown fan?? :)

Cheers

At a benefit gig, I once had a drunk Singer fall backwards off his stool right into my set...He took out my ride and floor tom...Luckily, I was playing off the hats at the time of impact, so, the rest of the band and I just kept playing while he struggled to get up...The audience didn`t make a big deal about it, surprisingly!!

Remember it like it was yesterday...

Cheers

On a CBC TV show, I was happily twirling a stick that went flying and landed in loud slow motion on two cymbals and the floor tom. No times for edits etc, the show was live to tape. So I have had people report seeing my fumble several times since. Your moment was at least an accident, mine was stoopid. There are bound to be more.