What's the strangest gig you've ever played?

[Rich_in name only]

I played in a millionaire's mansion one time. We were like a wallflower. Nobody cared that we were there. We were just background noise.

I was playing drums in the '80s on the fulltime bar circuit in Alberta and BC (Canada). I saw a few things that gave me pause...

No weird gigs, per se, but one night we were playing in front of the local biker gang and were being constantly asked to play "Born to be Wild" (what else?). We did play the tune but later in the evening. Anyway, after being pestered a few times, the guitar player and I thought it would be cool to play a "version" of BTBW...so we did. A Polka version! Most of bikers laughed about it (thank god for that) and the bar staff roared.

The one biker (we later found out he was trying to earn his colours) got mad and told the bar staff to "make those *ucking guys play that song right!"

Aah...memories...

Rich

[Mike_L]

Last summer we played a day time set at a LGBT festival. It wasn't weird in a negative sense at all, but it was weird in that I'd never seen so many trans and crossdressers in one place. It was fun, though and I'd play it again if asked to.

[kay-gee]

Walkerton, Ontario. Early eighties. Three nighter. The whole place and the people had a twilight zone-ish vibe. Years later we found out it was the drinking water!

all the best...

[JW_PS_Blk_Dia]

We were playing a show at St. Mary's College (MD) and the day of the show the bar owner cancelled the show. The guy who set the show up told us that the show was on and we'd still be playing.

We went to the new location and we ended up playing in a chicken coop. It was in November and it was freezing. There was a bonfire about 60ft away. The college kids didn't seem interested in the first band that played band, they stayed by the fire. When we go in the coop, our guitar player busted out Sweet Home Alabama and all the college LAX players rushed the coop and did their dance (hands in their hoodie pockets, legs together just popping around). About 45 seconds into Alabama, we started out set list. The LAX players went back to the fire.

I guess the LAX players weren't really into mathrock / emo. Fun Show though. I'd do it again.

[gdmoore28]

We went to the new location and we ended up playing in a chicken coop. .

Did you check between your toes when you left the coop?

GeeDeeEmm

[EddieV]

Walkerton, Ontario. Early eighties.

Lol...I played in Guelph, Ontario a few times. (not far from Walkerton) Got the same vibe.

Strange place.

[N2Bluz]

Anyone ever played in a (purported) haunted bar or theater? I see shows about haunted night clubs and such. You don't have to go into whether you believe in that stuff or not, just curious if anyone has ever gigged in one.

[isaacvining]

I was on guitar for this particular gig, but I think the story is worth sharing.

The band was playing at a (strangely) really nice bar about 3 hours away from home. The drummer was using all of my drum stuff because I already had it loaded in my car and the Ludwigs just work really well with this band. We got all set up and were about ready to soundcheck when the drummer asked me where my stick bag was. Unfortunately it was 3 hours away, sitting in my bedroom... It was 9pm before we noticed so there were absolutely no stores in the area still open that sold sticks. We called every friend we knew in the area asking if they had any sticks but to no avail. We played just acoustic, electric, and bass that night and the drummer drank the free beer haha!

[Warren Wright]

I played a gig that was well over 100 miles from home...forgot my stick bag. In the parking lot, there was this big oak tree, roughly 4 foot diameter and middle of spring, with lots of leaves on the branches that hung down within easy reach. I took my trusty pocket knife and cut myself 4 pair of "wood tipped" sticks ... trimmed them down - about the same diameter as 7A's and about the same length. At the first break, I cut 2 more pair and at the end of the night, I still had the last 2 pair - untouched~!

I was a "desperation hire" - their regular drummer had got picked up on a DWI the night before and it was 3 am Saturday morning, so he had to stay locked up till that following Monday. When they found out I left my sticks at home, they were a mad bunch...when I showed em my "home-made" sticks- and proceeded to play the gig with them...they were quite impressed with my "southern engineering degree". I was quite surprised at how well they worked.
That was my first pair of Oak wood tip sticks~

[kay-gee]

I was on guitar for this particular gig, but I think the story is worth sharing.

The band was playing at a (strangely) really nice bar about 3 hours away from home. The drummer was using all of my drum stuff because I already had it loaded in my car and the Ludwigs just work really well with this band. We got all set up and were about ready to soundcheck when the drummer asked me where my stick bag was. Unfortunately it was 3 hours away, sitting in my bedroom... It was 9pm before we noticed so there were absolutely no stores in the area still open that sold sticks. We called every friend we knew in the area asking if they had any sticks but to no avail. We played just acoustic, electric, and bass that night and the drummer drank the free beer haha!

No pencils, spoons, dowel shaped wooden objects of any kind?

all the best...

[kay-gee]

Lol...I played in Guelph, Ontario a few times. (not far from Walkerton) Got the same vibe.

Strange place.

That's cool. At least Guelph is a college town. A lot of hotties around back in the day! LOL

all the best...

[jgziegler]

I went to SMC for a year, the LAX players were by far the worst people at that school, I would value my cat's opinion of music more than theirs...

[EddieV]

That's cool. At least Guelph is a college town. A lot of hotties around back in the day! LOL

all the best...

I don't remember what the place was called. It was this good size, old-style wooden floor, wooden walls style bar that was connected to a Days Inn (I think it was a Days Inn). The bar itself was like a ROADHOUSE in the middle of Canada.

Thing was....the Days Inn was very typical, nice tile floors, typical interior decorations, very business-like, yet when you walked though the doors from Motel into the bar area, it was as if you'd gone through a portal.

[Johnny G]

So many great stories! The gigs for the deaf or hearing impaired are hilarious. The gig for the mentally challenged is a very touching story.
My strangest was a fill-in for a punk band. One rehearsal, one gig, done.
I show up and they all look like the Ramones. Tow of them had gone so far as to dye their hair to achieve the look. I had long black hair naturally, so they were thrilled.
I set up and go to count off the first song. The singer stops me mid-count. Mind you, he is speaking with an English accent, though he's a Jewish kid from Long Island. He affects the accent because he thinks it makes him more authentic to the roots of punk. So, in other words, a moron.
He tells me that they start their songs with the drummer shouting, "Ready? Go!!" at the top of his lungs. I was appalled, but complied cuz this was a paying gig after all. Every song was pretty much Blat-Doom, Blat-Doom all the way through, too. I brought kick, snare, hats, and a crash.
Turns out, the punk crowd loved it. By the third song, they were shouting with me.
It was an easy $40 at a time when that was a meal, movies, and a full tank of gas.
Oh, and the name of the band was Monkeys With B*ners. Logo was a pink banana.

[Cdeleone]

We were joking around about this last night: Last summer we played this "music festival" in Denver that lasted like 3 days. You get booked to play all along this one street downtown and it could be anywhere - an art studio, a bar, a club...well, for this one we showed up and it was a food bank. Yep, a very small food bank. We had to set up in a room that was about 10'x10' and a row of folding chairs literally a foot away from the microphone. I could only bring in a bass drum, snare, ride, and hat. I believe there were 5 people there and 4 of them were for the band after us. I laughed it off because it was ridiculous. but hands down the worst gig/venue I've ever played

[N2Bluz]

I played a gig that was well over 100 miles from home...forgot my stick bag. In the parking lot, there was this big oak tree, roughly 4 foot diameter and middle of spring, with lots of leaves on the branches that hung down within easy reach. I took my trusty pocket knife and cut myself 4 pair of "wood tipped" sticks ... trimmed them down - about the same diameter as 7A's and about the same length. At the first break, I cut 2 more pair and at the end of the night, I still had the last 2 pair - untouched~!

I was a "desperation hire" - their regular drummer had got picked up on a DWI the night before and it was 3 am Saturday morning, so he had to stay locked up till that following Monday. When they found out I left my sticks at home, they were a mad bunch...when I showed em my "home-made" sticks- and proceeded to play the gig with them...they were quite impressed with my "southern engineering degree". I was quite surprised at how well they worked.
That was my first pair of Oak wood tip sticks~

You're the man! Makes me proud to be a drummer! On a side note; I make all my own guitar pics. Cut them out of old plastic 1 gallon ice cream buckets. I like the soft, flexible plastic for strumming rythum, LOL.

[michaelanson]

I once played a dry wedding reception in an old grange hall that had 1 stage light, which was the largest light bulb I had ever seen, dangling 2 foot above me head. The band was so bad that their"Rock" song was the Hokey Pokey! And the people liked it. When we went outside to drink and/or smoke, there were cows fenced in next to the building. The loud MOO SCARED THE CRAP OUT OF US!!! AND IT WAS VERY ODIFEROUS!

[1DrumBum]

Strangest, and yet, one of the most fun gigs I've ever played was this morning. We played the Rock & Roll 1/2 marathon and 10K as the beginning/ending band (there is a stage set every mile). Our stage was on the side of the road in downtown Portland and we played for 10,000 people....as they all ran by and each one only heard us for about a minute! Played for an hour, then turned 90 degrees to the left , and played for another hour as they all came back towards the finish line. Having to be there at 6:00am was brutal, especially after playing a gig last night, but it was well worth it.

[Zickos]

I played a gig that was well over 100 miles from home...forgot my stick bag. In the parking lot, there was this big oak tree, roughly 4 foot diameter and middle of spring, with lots of leaves on the branches that hung down within easy reach. I took my trusty pocket knife and cut myself 4 pair of "wood tipped" sticks ... trimmed them down - about the same diameter as 7A's and about the same length. At the first break, I cut 2 more pair and at the end of the night, I still had the last 2 pair - untouched~!

I was a "desperation hire" - their regular drummer had got picked up on a DWI the night before and it was 3 am Saturday morning, so he had to stay locked up till that following Monday. When they found out I left my sticks at home, they were a mad bunch...when I showed em my "home-made" sticks- and proceeded to play the gig with them...they were quite impressed with my "southern engineering degree". I was quite surprised at how well they worked.
That was my first pair of Oak wood tip sticks~

I once forgot my sticks at a gig. It was in a club. I checked out their coat closet and found two wooden hangers. I removed the wooden dowels and used them. They were very light but better than nothing. Never worked so hard in my life.

[Jack Keck]

I was asked to play congas with what I thought was a bluegrass group at a RUN FOR THE CURE event this last Saturday. The other instruments were banjo, guitar, and washtub bass. The group leader did not want to rehearse. Once I got to the park, I realized that I had played with him once before. He played harmonica then. We did not play any bluegrass music. It was fun. I would do it again.

[JW_PS_Blk_Dia]

Did you check between your toes when you left the coop?

GeeDeeEmm

Haha. By the looks of that chicken structure, I'm sure there was nothing chicken related living in that thing for a while. Next time I'll make sure to check my shoes before I get out of there.

[N2Bluz]

Hate to revive an old thread, but it seems like the appropriate place;

We played a private party last night. Super night, we played great. Paid very well, tons of awesome free food, drink, etc.. about 75 people there, and 95% of them were dancing, cheering and loved our music.
One blonde chic in particular REALLY liked us. She was wearing a pink sun dress and was definitely enjoying the adult beverages. She made her way up to the stage to dance directly in front of the band. She would start on one side, making direct eye contact with our lead guitarist...like right up in his face...and make very seductive expressions. He would do his best not to be distracted or make direct eye contact. Then, she made her way down the line to directly in front of me. Same thing..dancing seductively 3Ft in front of my drums and staring directly at me. Then she moved to in front of our rythum player/singer. Same thing, but she reached out and started caressing the side of his face as he was singing, LOL. This went on for several songs until she decided to turn up the heat....and began flashing us. We stayed professional, ignoring her, never looking at her directly and never missing a beat. All the while, several of the band wives were watching and laughing at us. On the next break, the blonde walked up and gave our guitarist a piece of paper with her name & number. (We'll call her "Karen"). We all went outside and discussed the preceding events we had just witnessed. By the next set, the blonde was pretty much intoxicated to the point of not being able to walk. Eventually, several people helped her off the dance floor and gave her a ride home. At the next break, the lady that hired us came up and thanked us. We commented about the free "show" we were given by the blonde in the pink dress and how that was a first for us. She said, "Oh, yeah...sorry about that. KEVIN had a little to much to drink.".

No, that's not a typ-o.

[DrumWhipper]

When I was 16 I played at a national youth convention in Nashville in front of roughly 30k people. They had a house kit and house sticks. The drummer for the group in front of ours accidently took the sticks by habit, and I didn't have mine because I was told I wouldn't need them. I ended up playing three songs with ink pens, and pulled it off. Despite the fact it was a church related event, three girls near the stage were close enough to see what happened and handed me their phone numbers when I walked off of the stage.

[rickthedrummer]

I worked with musicians for about 55 of my 70 years. When you combine that with a couple of hundred people on the floor that are drinking. The short list would be gigs that weren't strange in some way, shape, or form.