First Gig Worst Gig Best Gig Last Gig

[Dirigible]

Consider this your gilt-edged invitation to share with us any of your first, worst, best, last gig stories, or ideally, ALL four; it need not involve playing Zeppelin music. If you think these memories are important to you now, wait till they’re ten years older, twenty, thirty. If your last gig was Saturday night, how'd it go?

We all know what a good gig is. You get paid (and something else that rhymes with that.) A great gig is when your audience is ‘one’ with the music, a candidate for your best gig category. If you smoked the other contestants at the talent show or battle of the bands or blew the roof off a nightclub that had to be one of your best gigs. A worst gig might be playing to an empty house, the notorious ‘paid rehearsal’ or even more ignominious, the unpaid one. I haven't had any vegetables tossed my way (yet) and hope you haven't either. A disgruntled French audience once threw pennies at Coltrane's band. Drummer Elvin Jones had the grace to say: "We can always use the money."

My worst gig ever was a job farmed out by another drummer who lied about the music. He'd said it was ZZ Top-type rhythm and blues but actually it was Wille and Waylon-like country and western. I didn’t know how to play country drums then, only rock, and would NEVER have touched that gig if I'd known. The band, a guitarist and bassist, gave me dirty looks the whole time. And they were lousy. But I'll accept my fair share of the blame, my inexpertise with train beats and country swing didn't help matters. It's no wonder we played the first set to an empty club. The only patrons the whole night showed up during the second set, friends of mine who came to support me. The uber-bassist sat down at my drums before the third set and was tapping around. When I got on the stage he handed me my sticks and said, “I don’t know how to play them either.” He’d made another snide remark to me earlier. Inexperienced as I was I knew I didn’t have to put up with nonsense like that. I stepped off the stage and over to the two tables my friends occupied. I asked them if they’d each grab a piece of drum gear and haul it outside. They downed their drinks and we approached the stage en masse. My pit crew knew their assignment and 15 seconds later we were outta there.

I didn’t get paid (but thoroughly enjoyed the bass player begging me to finish the night or he wouldn’t get paid either).

This goes without saying to you pros out there, but you beginners: don't take any abuse from anyone, I don't care if it's Jimmy Page or Paul McCartney. If you encounter a situation where other musicians are insulting you, leave. Leave right that minute. That might not be possible if you’re playing a show and it’s the audience who is acting out, but take your first available exit. Take your talent and dignity where it’s appreciated.

Best gig: an audience member handed me $20 to play a request and then paid the band's bar tab: $140.

I wish everyone well. Who’s next?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

PS: The music industry is the only business that eats its young---F. Zappa

PPS: There are plenty of jerks out there with talent---N. Peart

[Humbucker]

Good grief: where to start? After some 35 years of gigging there's just so many instances that qualify, so I will add to this thread now and then. I'll start with my first gig as a guitarist. May 20th 1973, and an under 16's disco! We played an all-original set (first mistake), and it was only 45 minutes before we went on that we met our drummer for the first time; it was also his first gig, so the whole thing had the potential of a total shambles (which it turned out to be). I ran through the songs with him in an alley at the back of the hall. Needless to say he knew none of the material. After that brief rehearsal I said to him,

"You didn't take any of that in, did you?"

"No" was his response.

"OK", I said, "We're on!"

We were scheduled for two sets, but were only allowed to play one. The audiance kept shouting out "Play something we know!". The whole thing was an unmitigated horror: the PA was only 30 watts (!), and the amps we had were horrible...all sorts of creaks and farts, plus we didn't get paid, but it only steeled my resolve to improve things. There still exists a recording of the occasion, but I just can't bring myself to listen to it.

That's it. The memory is somewhat hazy after all these years, but I still inwardly cringe at the thought of my less-than-auspicious start. Ah, the annals of history.

RB

[Dirigible]

The audiance kept shouting out "Play something we know!". The whole thing was an unmitigated horror.

You poor chap. We need to start a thread about what to say when an audience member heckles the band. "Is this your first time in public, sir" is better than "There's a horse's ass in every bar, thanks for identifying yourself" but my all-time favorite is "Isn't it a shame when cousins marry."

[JimmyPage1977]

Couple of my BEST GIGS!

I went to a jam night, shortly after getting divorced from my first wife. I was feeling pretty low and my self esteem was in the negative territory. I brought my favorite Les Paul and sat for a while watching the other guys get up and take their turns. It was a blues jam thing, so I figured I could fit in somewhere. The thing is that I had showed up 2 other times, the first with no guitar, the second with a guitar, but turned down the offer to play. That's how down I was about myself at the time! This time the guy running the jam insisted that I get up there and a harp player friend of mine went up with me. We played a couple of Charlie Musselwhite tunes. They were not that great.

I was ready to get off of the stage, a bit embarassed. The bass player had heard I was Zeppelin freak and asked if I'd stay up and play one with him. Hoping for sudden redemption, I agreed. We played a nice version of "The Rover" and he was very surprised when I played the solo break note for note. I had been practicing "Heartbreaker" a lot at the time and asked if he wanted to try that. He looked at me funny and said, "I'll do it, but only if you know the middle section". I told him yes, I knew it well. He comes back with, " Are you sure you know it, I don't want to fall on my face on this one". I answered him confidently, "Yeah, let's do it"!

The place was half full.... about 50 people in a medium sized bar. We started out and it went well through the verse and chorus we seemed to gain confidence and power as we approached the middle section. Chorus ends and here comes the guitar break: I start out with the solo riffs and see in the distance that a couple of people are peering through a door in the back. AS we get into the part where the drums and bass join in there are people coming through the door to watch the jam. By the end of the solo section there were another 50 people in the bar area. They had left their card tables to watch us play! I didn't even know they were back there!

The crowd exploded into applause when we finished. Everyone in the room was standing as they clapped and cheered. My fondest memory of a live performance.

Best band gig was at a wine festival last summer in Zillah, Washington. 600 people in an old furniture warehouse, who danced and cheered every song. We were treated like royalty all weekend.

First and worst, next time.

[Humbucker]

You poor chap. We need to start a thread about what to say when an audience member heckles the band.

Two of my favourites: One risky, the other not-so.

For the people who think they are making humorous comments - "You read a lost of Oscar Wilde, do you?", and (the risky one) "Get a pair of trousers made for your face".

I've never had to beat a hasty retreat after a gig, but have experienced the odd hostile crowd. But that's another story.

RB

[TelecasterShaggy]

My best gig Ive ever played I didnt even know was coming. I was sitting around my college jamming with a one of my friends who is a huge Bob Dylan fan and we just started playing and people started listening and gitting into it, it was pretty aweosme. Another good gig a played was at a bar two weeks ago and we just played Whole Lotta Love and some guys yelled for me to play the solo again. The worst gig I played I was just starting out and the singer forgot all the words and the drummer kept dropping his sticks, needless to say Im not in that band anymore.

[Dirigible]

The place was half full.... about 50 people in a medium sized bar. We started out and it went well through the verse and chorus we seemed to gain confidence and power as we approached the middle section. Chorus ends and here comes the guitar break: I start out with the solo riffs and see in the distance that a couple of people are peering through a door in the back. AS we get into the part where the drums and bass join in there are people coming through the door to watch the jam. By the end of the solo section there were another 50 people in the bar area. They had left their card tables to watch us play! I didn't even know they were back there!

The crowd exploded into applause when we finished. Everyone in the room was standing as they clapped and cheered.

Great story, 77, you can love that till you're an octogenarian and beyond. And there ain't nothing like batchin' it, I've been happily divorced for 15 years.

For the people who think they are making humorous comments - "You read a lost of Oscar Wilde, do you?", and (the risky one) "Get a pair of trousers made for your face".

I've never had to beat a hasty retreat after a gig, but have experienced the odd hostile crowd.

It's a fine line, you don't want to be insulting paying customers in the club owner's bar. Some Texas tough guy was heckling us and our singer, a Texas tough guy himself, pointed to him in the audience as he sang the lines in the Cars' Just What I Needed, "It's not the perfume that you wear, it's not the ribbons in your hair, I don't mind you coming here and wasting all my time."

This has got to be the worst---before Aerosmith became national some chick was screaming at them at a club date. Tyler told her, "Your string's showing, honey." She made a phone call and the place filled up with goons. Tyler had to apologize onstage to get out of there alive.

My best gig Ive ever played I didnt even know was coming. I was sitting around my college jamming with a one of my friends who is a huge Bob Dylan fan and we just started playing and people started listening and gitting into it, it was pretty aweosme. Another good gig a played was at a bar two weeks ago and we just played Whole Lotta Love and some guys yelled for me to play the solo again. The worst gig I played I was just starting out and the singer forgot all the words and the drummer kept dropping his sticks, needless to say Im not in that band anymore.

More good stuff, thanks for posting.

[leddy]

Best gig I did was the first one in a pub, loved it and didn't want to stop even though I was bricking it !

Worse has to be when my amp packed up midway thru a song !! managed to get it working at the end of the song.

Scariest gig was when I went to practice with a band when I was living in the Middle East, went to rehearse for the first time in the morning, then was told they had a gig that evening playing on a beach for some do...I didn't know any of the songs, and had to use alot of blag to get thru and winged it it was a good experience looking back, but it was so hot and the strings kept going out of tune in the heat ! there was even one song when I said to one of them I have no idea, so he said turn your amp down and the other guitarist coverd while I pretended to play it lol !!!