A Performance First (tragic)

jak3af3r

Jake
Joined
Apr 16, 2018
Messages
1,179
Location
Nashville, TN
I've seen a great number of things in the last year being on the road professionally. These incidents range from love-birds loving, intense arguments, near fist-fights, arrests, wardrobe malfunctions, etc.

Thursday, the first day of a 3 day run, we're in the upper peninsula of Michigan halfway through the second set of the night. "Main Street" by Bob Seger is called (I can't stand Seger so go ahead and cast shade.) So to kill time, I have to play extended solos.

I'm almost done with a solo and I see a guy fall but only the last two or three inches to the ground thinking he's just lost his balance reaching for something on the floor from his chair.

A few seconds go by and I get the attention of the singer because he hasn't managed to get up. So we stop playing and clear the stage. There's talk that he's diabetic and went hyperglycaemic. The demographic in a casino on a Thursday night is typically older people so I guess this is a regular occurrence and security doesn't seem to be in a rush.

Next thing I know we're being told to leave the room and they start performing cpr on him and close the curtains over the doors so no-one can see in.

This goes on for 25 minutes until an ambulance shows up and they run in, but walk out. Not a good sign. Now we hear from security we can't go back in until the body has been moved.

This is by far the most notable thing I've ever seen from the stage and I genuinely hope all performers never have to share the same experience for their sake and the sake of the family and friends involved.
 
I've seen a great number of things in the last year being on the road professionally. These incidents range from love-birds loving, intense arguments, near fist-fights, arrests, wardrobe malfunctions, etc.

Thursday, the first day of a 3 day run, we're in the upper peninsula of Michigan halfway through the second set of the night. "Main Street" by Bob Seger is called (I can't stand Seger so go ahead and cast shade.) So to kill time, I have to play extended solos.

I'm almost done with a solo and I see a guy fall but only the last two or three inches to the ground thinking he's just lost his balance reaching for something on the floor from his chair.

A few seconds go by and I get the attention of the singer because he hasn't managed to get up. So we stop playing and clear the stage. There's talk that he's diabetic and went hyperglycaemic. The demographic in a casino on a Thursday night is typically older people so I guess this is a regular occurrence and security doesn't seem to be in a rush.

Next thing I know we're being told to leave the room and they start performing cpr on him and close the curtains over the doors so no-one can see in.

This goes on for 25 minutes until an ambulance shows up and they run in, but walk out. Not a good sign. Now we hear from security we can't go back in until the body has been moved.

This is by far the most notable thing I've ever seen from the stage and I genuinely hope all performers never have to share the same experience for their sake and the sake of the family and friends involved.
Sad. It's strange how witnessing the death of others can be so humbling. I've been in that position more than once (more than I care to count) I hope you are able to work through this.
 
She molar thing happened at a Ghost show a couple weeks back. That struck me because when I saw Ghost this tour, for some reason it crossed my mind that if I were to suddenly drop dead one day, a concert wouldn’t be a bad place. At least I’d go doing something I love.
 
I’ve never had anything like that on stage.
I have had a long wait on the side of the road a couple of times after witnessing a horrific crash. The clock ticks incredibly slowly sometimes.
 
That sucks. Did that end the night for the band then? I only ask because I heard with the Ghost show @alantig mentioned, they cancelled the show. I imagine that’s at the discretion of the venue, what they want done?

It would be rough to have to play after that.
 
I'm fine for those concerned. My mom is a nurse so horror stories and medical mysteries were prevalent around the house on TV all the time so I guess I'm desensitized.

The rest of the night was cancelled afterwards but the next two nights went ahead as scheduled. After talking with a friend of the band who is/was an emt, this is not the first death in that particular room.
 
Nothing like that ever happened during any gig I ever had, but I was at a free concert were a shootout happened. Going from enjoying a local act doing a nice cover of Santana's Europa to seeing somebody's knee explode was a little shocking & stayed with me for a while.
 
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