Amusing or unusual events at a concert

Fender_Man
Fender_Man Posts: 408
edited December 2008 in Other Music
Ever been to a gig where something funny or unusual has happened on stage? I don’t mean anything pre-planned or staged , just something a little unexpected or amusing.
I remember seeing Judas Priest at Hammersmith, around the time of the Killing Machine album. This was the period when Rob Halford went for the leather s&m look in a big way.
Weeks before the gig , Halford was quoted in the music press as saying that he would be using a big leather whip on the audience and if you were in the first few rows, beware! Being very young, naïve and having fourth row tickets, I was a little worried approaching gig time, thinking I might lose an eye or something.
Can’t remember at what point it was during the show, but out came the whip and as promised Halford proceeded to flick it into the audience. I think it was about the second time he did it, when several members of the audience grabbed hold of the whip end and tried to yank Halford into the crowd. Instead of letting go and thinking, fuck it plenty more whips where that one came from, Halford held on for dear life and assisted by a couple of roadies engaged in a tug of war with the audience. This seemed to go on for an age and there was no way Rob was letting anyone have his precious whip. The band continued playing and I swear I remember one of the guitarists wiping real tears of laughter from his face while this was going on.
What added to the entertainment was about halfway through the "tug" Halford’s leather cap slipped off and was grabbed by a fan in the front row, not only was Rob not gonna’ lose his whip he sure as hell wasn’t letting the cap go and a security guy or two were despatched into the audience to retrieve it. This developed into a full on fist fight, the arrival of several more bouncers and eventually a couple of pissed off fans being led out the fire exits, presumably for a good kicking?
Post edited by Unknown User on
«1

Comments

  • Terryible
    Terryible Posts: 462
    My first rock concert I went to was a New Zealand band called Shihad. Just before they took the stage they got a guy up on stage he took his pants off then laid on a table and the base of his penis pierced. They filmed him getting it done and played it on the big screen.

    On a side note on that concert it was the first time I sneaked in under aged to see a band I liked
    26/02/1998 Wellington, 09/09/2006 Marseille, 16/09/2006 Verona
    23/09/2006 Berlin, 30/09/2006 Athens, 18/07/2007 London
    02/07/2009 Honolulu (EV Solo), 22/11/2009, Sydney, 29/11/2009 Christchurch
  • searchlightsoul
    searchlightsoul Posts: 583
    Losing the sound from the big speakers as RATM performed 'Testify' at the 2008 BDO in perth. Watching the band go nuts with no sound was very wierd.
  • Royals32
    Royals32 Posts: 160
    It was pretty weird watching Noel Gallagher get tackled from behind at V-Fest. Talk about a show killer.
    #==(o )

    You are not your job.
    You are not how much money you have in the bank.
    You are not the car you drive.
    You are not the contents of your wallet.
    You are not your fucking khakis.
  • Get_Right
    Get_Right Posts: 14,732
    just tripped out horny hippies getting it on in the nosebleed seats at dead shows
  • LineOneMightyFine
    LineOneMightyFine Posts: 347
    Fender_Man wrote:
    Ever been to a gig where something funny or unusual has happened on stage? I don’t mean anything pre-planned or staged , just something a little unexpected or amusing.
    I remember seeing Judas Priest at Hammersmith, around the time of the Killing Machine album. This was the period when Rob Halford went for the leather s&m look in a big way.
    Weeks before the gig , Halford was quoted in the music press as saying that he would be using a big leather whip on the audience and if you were in the first few rows, beware! Being very young, naïve and having fourth row tickets, I was a little worried approaching gig time, thinking I might lose an eye or something.
    Can’t remember at what point it was during the show, but out came the whip and as promised Halford proceeded to flick it into the audience. I think it was about the second time he did it, when several members of the audience grabbed hold of the whip end and tried to yank Halford into the crowd. Instead of letting go and thinking, fuck it plenty more whips where that one came from, Halford held on for dear life and assisted by a couple of roadies engaged in a tug of war with the audience. This seemed to go on for an age and there was no way Rob was letting anyone have his precious whip. The band continued playing and I swear I remember one of the guitarists wiping real tears of laughter from his face while this was going on.
    What added to the entertainment was about halfway through the "tug" Halford’s leather cap slipped off and was grabbed by a fan in the front row, not only was Rob not gonna’ lose his whip he sure as hell wasn’t letting the cap go and a security guy or two were despatched into the audience to retrieve it. This developed into a full on fist fight, the arrival of several more bouncers and eventually a couple of pissed off fans being led out the fire exits, presumably for a good kicking?

    Thanks for the laugh!
  • Dismantle The Sun
    Dismantle The Sun Posts: 139
    I love the Fender_Man story.

    Here's another Judas Priest tale that KK Downing was always fond of telling.

    It was the period when Rob rode his bike onto the stage. Once the smoke machine was puffing out more smoke than usual. Rob rode in, lost himself amongst the midst and fell off his bike. No one saw what was going on apart from one of the guitarists, I think it's KK himself, falling over Rob.
    Pack up the moon and dismantle the sun - W.H. Auden
  • upina2001
    upina2001 Indiana Posts: 764
    Stinkbombs in the Lawn at Pearl Jam Columbus 2000

    we moved; it moved.
    it was funny/awful.


    of course, go to a dead or Phish show and you're bound to see about anything and everything.

    Toledo, Ohio (September 22, 1996), East Troy, Wisconsin (June 26, 1998), Noblesville, Indiana (August 17, 1998), Noblesville, Indiana (August 18, 2000), Cincinnati, Ohio (August 20, 2000), Columbus, Ohio (August 21, 2000), Nashville, Tennessee (April 18, 2003), Champaign, Illinois (April 23, 2003), Noblesville, Indiana (June 22, 2003), Chicago, Illinois (May 16, 2006), Chicago, Illinois (August 05, 2007), West Palm Beach, Florida (June 11, 2008), Tampa, Florida (June 12, 2008), Columbus, OH (May 06, 2010), Noblesville, Indiana (May 07, 2010), Wrigley Field (July 19, 2013), US Bank Arena (October 01, 2014), Lexington (April 26, 2016), Chicago Night 2 (August 20, 2018), Boston Night 1 (September 02, 2018), Nashville (September 16, 2022), St. Louis (September 18, 2022)

  • zircona1
    zircona1 Posts: 293
    About 6 years ago I saw Moby. Paul Oakenfold opened. Before either of them came out, I felt somebody suddenly fall into me. This guy collapsed and was having a seizure right in the pit where everyone was gathered. Fortunately, security came in and escorted the guy out, he was walking so he seemed OK.
    "As long as the music's loud enough, we won't hear the world falling apart."—Jubilee

    "I'm not a very good American because I like to form my own opinions." - George Carlin
  • harrymanback
    harrymanback Posts: 435
    if i may, my event didn;t happen on stage but rather in the aisle. at at tool show years ago at the meadowlands, this guy "performed" in front of the porthole/tunnel for the upper deck for serveral songs. security tried to move him several times, but after seeing that he was harmless, they let him be. as you may or may not know, tool pretty much performs in the dark, so this guy was providing a visual of what it would have looked like if we could actually see maynard singing. both funny and entertaining.
    I don't want to be hostile. I don't want to be dismal. But I don't want to rot in an apathetic existance either.
  • SomethingCreative
    SomethingCreative Kazoo, MI Posts: 3,422
    I saw a dude on acid get naked (REALLY NAKED) and attack a hotdog stand searching for water at Bonnaroo this year.


    true story...
    "Well, I think this band is incapable of sucking."
    -my dad after hearing Not for You for the first time on SNL .
  • boxwine_in_hell
    boxwine_in_hell Posts: 1,263
    I saw Paul Westerberg at The Great American Music Hall in San Francisco maybe 3-4 years ago. It was apparent from the moment he took the stage he was in a weird mood. About 1 minute into the first song he gave the bass drum a big mule kick to let the drummer know he was displeased with his drumming. He then said something to the effect of "We sound like a shitty Holiday Inn band." Then he and the other guitar player were yelling at each other when the songs became instrumental. They almost looked like they were going to fight. Finally near the end of the show, Westerberg smashes the shit out of his guitar on some amps and takes a piece of shrapnel to the side of the head. He played the last couple of songs with blood running down his ear and the side of his neck. It was fucking amazing. I'd heard all the old stories about how insane some of The Replacements shows got back in the day. I was like, "Holy shit this guy is a real rock star. He hasn't mellowed one bit with age." I mean he was totally cool to the audience but he wanted to kick the shit out of the other guys in the band. For some reason he was fine with the bass player, the dude just played away while all this was going on as if nothing was happening. It was a train wreck and I couldn't get enough of it.
    one foot in the door
    the other foot in the gutter
    sweet smell that they adore
    I think I'd rather smother
    -The Replacements-
  • Joe2TheRevenge
    Joe2TheRevenge Posts: 904
    i saw a beer drinker throw his empty cup in a trashcan once.

    blew my fucking mind.
    You can't spell "dumb" without DMB
  • boxwine_in_hell
    boxwine_in_hell Posts: 1,263
    Joe2TheRevenge wrote:
    i saw a beer drinker throw his empty cup in a trashcan once.

    blew my fucking mind.

    That's funny.
    one foot in the door
    the other foot in the gutter
    sweet smell that they adore
    I think I'd rather smother
    -The Replacements-
  • DewieCox
    DewieCox Posts: 11,432
    At 2 separate Black Crowes shows, Chris Robinson went on a rant. One about how security wouldn't let the people in the balcony stand and dance. The other b/c some fratboy bitch drilled him with a drink.

    Cedric from The Mars Volta tossed a pretty nasty trash can into the pit. I ended up with a drum stick from this show.

    I have been to 2 PJ shows where members of Ed's family(brother Chris, grandmother) were present....... Indy 2000, Chicago 2003

    At FarmAid 2001 a major hippie dude literally stood at the the back of the pavilion and stared blankly at the lawn for a solid half of the all day festival type event.

    Flaming Lips show, I, along with the rest of the crowd, almost exploded with happiness.
  • dirt
    dirt Posts: 398
    The '05 PJ tour: A friend and I were in our seats at the ACC prior to Sleater-Kinney taking the stage, when the guy behind us accidentaly spilled his water on the ground and it proceeded to flow forward to our row. A girl next to my friend turned around and berated the guy for being careless and making a mess in a place where she set her bag. Nothing the guy could really say but 'sorry' (which he did). Under his breath he mumbled something about the price of a water at the Venue. Me and my friend sort of turned around and laughed in agreement. It was then that we noticed that the guy was Billy Bob Thornton. Pettey cool. The pissed off girl had no idea -- which was sort of funny. He was dressed real low-style but you could tell his low-style was pretty expensive. I think he may have been in town for a film festival or something and wanted to take in some excellent music too.
    drive less - RIDE MORE!
  • Gardenparty
    Gardenparty Posts: 1,910
    Saw somebody get struck by ligthting at the Tibetan Freedom Concert in 98. RFK Stadium in DC

    That was pretty odd and a bit of a show killer.


    Also, this was a short while after Live played "Lighting Crashes. I think herbie hancock was on stage at the time. People thought it was a bomb
    “I know this song so well, I can smoke a cigarette, have a drink, brush my teeth, take a shit, and mow the lawn while singing it. But I'll only be doing a couple of those things during this version.”
  • stargirl69
    stargirl69 Posts: 6,387
    DewieCox wrote:
    At 2 separate Black Crowes shows, Chris Robinson went on a rant. One about how security wouldn't let the people in the balcony stand and dance. The other b/c some fratboy bitch drilled him with a drink.


    Flaming Lips show, I, along with the rest of the crowd, almost exploded with happiness.


    Brilliant.I feel that way everytime I see the Flaming Lips.Well put.

    I saw the Black Crowes at Donnington early 90's.During their set a skanky couple started having sex in front of the stage.Chris momentarely stopped the band and they watched this seedy spectacle for a while,while the crowd booed the skanks and threw condoms at them.

    I saw the Crowes a year later on their own in Edinburgh.Chris leapt of the stage half way through the set and started beating up a punter.The roadies jumped off the stage as the rest of the band kept time,the mele became a free for all scrum for about 10 minutes.Chris reappeared on stage,hatless and shirt ripped and launched right back into the song.

    I saw Judas Priest in late 80's,Rob Halford attempted to drive on stage on his bike,it putted along for a while then ground to a pathetic halt less than a third of the way across the stage.The roadies had to push him on the bike the rest of the way across the stage.He never missed a beat of his rock posturing as the roadies roared with laughter while pushing him.
    The most wonderful Spinal Tap moment I have experienced.
    “There should be a place where only the things you want to happen, happen”
  • stevieraveon
    stevieraveon Posts: 413
    Crystal Method (techno band) show at House of Blues in Chicago around 1997....a song with a big buildup had just gotten to the point where the beat was going to come in when all of a sudden the power went out on stage.

    When they finally got it working they said "Well for a second there we thought we were going to have to figure out how to do an acoustic set"
    Bob Loblaw's Law Blog: "Why should YOU go to jail for a crime someone else noticed?"
  • rhcpjam1029
    rhcpjam1029 Posts: 1,982
    i went to go see Tom Morello the Nightwatchman in concert last year. The opening act was a guy Dustin Kensrue; the lead singer for Thrice. All during the set he kept on asking what time it was. Since I was close to the stage, I became the official "time guy." He even said thanks to me. After the show he was hanging out and gave me a formal thank-you as well.
    Beavis: All my friends are brown and red? What does that mean?
    Butthead: It means that his friends are like turds and that they like suck.
    Beavis: Heh heh. Oh yeah. Yeah! Get those spoons out of my face before I shove them up your butt!
    Butthead: Huh huh.
  • g under p
    g under p Surfing The far side of THE Sombrero Galaxy Posts: 18,271
    Some years ago Metallica played Merriweather Post Pavilion in MD the day after they played the first repeat Woodstock. That day it rained hard all day up until hours before the show. My friends I were on the lawn and I couldn't stand on the lawn everyone was slipping and sliding. I decided to go back to my car and get my softball cleats so I could stand.

    On the way back water and mud was everywhere people were body-sliding down the hill unbeknown to me. While jumping over mud piles one body surfer slid under me and completely took out my friends like bowling pins. They landed on their backs and were completely covered in mud along with a few hundred other crazy fans.

    It was something of a scene out of 60's Woodstock and I never got muddy just wet. That by far was the BEST Metallica show to date they had no constraints to any tour they just played anything they wanted. Surprisingly they played a fav of mine *Disposable Heroes*

    Peace
    *We CAN bomb the World to pieces, but we CAN'T bomb it into PEACE*...Michael Franti

    *MUSIC IS the expression of EMOTION.....and that POLITICS IS merely the DECOY of PERCEPTION*
    .....song_Music & Politics....Michael Franti

    *The scientists of today think deeply instead of clearly. One must be sane to think clearly, but one can think deeply and be quite INSANE*....Nikola Tesla(a man who shaped our world of electricity with his futuristic inventions)


Categories