Best Gig Evar!!!!

[sergiodeblanc]

To go along with the other threads…

What was your Best Gig Ever?


Mine was: We were playing all these shows featuring “Extreme sports” in the early 2000’s, and we got sponsored by Red Bull (which was huge for us).

That were great paying gigs, tons of travel, but the best one was at a county fairgrounds about 20 miles from our practice spot. We loaded the van, got a block away from our spot, and our manager’s cellphone rings. There was a tornado.

$4k to load the van.

 

[bodia]

To go along with the other threads…

What was your Best Gig Ever?


Mine was: We were playing all these shows featuring “Extreme sports” in the early 2000’s, and we got sponsored by Red Bull (which was huge for us).

That were great paying gigs, tons of travel, but the best one was at a county fairgrounds about 20 miles from our practice spot. We loaded the van, got a block away from our spot, and our manager’s cellphone rings. There was a tornado.

$4k to load the van.

What, not this one????

 

[sergiodeblanc]

What, not this one????

That one was pretty good too.

Edit: Ya know, that one paid way better, but had to travel, long days, and I had to sign away my publishing for writing that absolute gem.

 

[bodia]

That one was pretty good too.

Edit: Ya know, that one paid way better, but had to travel, long days, and I had to sign away my publishing for writing that absolute gem.

Paid in tacos?

 

[FragileThunder]

Back in the '90s, I was an "unofficial member" of a Grateful Dead cover band. They were booking a lot of 3 set shows, with the middle set being an acoustic one, I sat in on mandolin for the acoustic set and would then make a guest appearance during the second electric set that frequently meant the whole set. We had a gig scheduled at a good sized club, we usually drew about 500+ there. The night before the gig, we got word through the grapevine that the owner was abruptly closing the club. No notification from the club itself. We decided we would show up anyway, and play in the street as in those pre internet/social media days we knew lots of people were going to arrive to a dark venue. An "off the record" phone call was made to an acquaintance with the local PD who (not being fond of the club owner) agreed to unofficially close the road for one hour. Calls were made to local media outlets. In the end, we played an hour long guerilla set to several hundred people, got coverage on two local TV stations (including footage of a cop singing at the top of his lungs "Driving that train, high on cocaine...") and were lauded for publicly shaming the club owner who stiffed us and a number of other bands scheduled to play that weekend. No money was made, but it was one of the most satisfying musical experiences I've had.

 

[László]

My best gigs ever were two week-long recording sessions in Paris, France (not Paris, Texas which wouldn't have been so bad, either!) and Amsterdam, The Netherlands, for a US car manufacturer.

I was the composer/producer, was working with great UK session players on both campaigns, and had a ridiculous budget. We booked world class studios, and other people recording in the buildings came up to peek in, because at the time European musicians were doing techno, and we were doing rock and roll. They hadn't heard rock in a long time, so came for a look-see.

My session players were straight-up the best drummer and guitarist that I've ever worked with, both of whom had famous sessions and tours under their belts. I played bass, keys, and rhythm guitar. I was by leaps and bounds the worst player in the band, which was pretty embarrassing, but no one seemed to care and they were stuck with me (maybe because I was paying them, huh ).

The engineer in Paris said that at that moment, we were the best rock band in Europe. And I gotta say, we sounded pretty freakin' tight. The session guys had used my demos to prep for the sessions, so they knew the charts.

I'll never in a million years get ad gigs that good again - they simply don't exist any more.

Please tell me why life is so short and changes so fast?

 

[RickP]

Most fun was back in 2008, Hurricane Ike had recently made a mess of the Gulf Coast, and Moody Gardens in Galveston put together a benefit concert for victims of the storm. We opened an outdoor show for The Beach Boys to a crowd of about 7000, with boats still up on the land next to houses not far from the stage. It was a great show all around, but the feeling of community was especially palpable. You could sense the release of weeks of stress, discomfort, and cleanup efforts during this well needed respite from the reality many were sorting out at that time. It put the wheels back on the recovery for many, and a sense of normality was restored for a few hours.

It was like bringing food to hungry people, and I don’t think I ever felt so good about being onstage. A great memory.

 

[Aahzz]

It's weird, because I could almost put this one in the Nightmare gig thread, or the WTF...but it was too much fun to go in either.

We were one of 3 bands schedule to play a benefit for an Alzheimer's charity. We get there, we were supposed to go on first, but the second band canceled, so they asked us to go on a bit later. That was a good thing, because when I say "we" got there, it was the drummer, the guitarist, and me (played bass in that band). Singer was "on his way". We set up, sound check, still no singer. He finally answers his phone and says he's not feeling well, he can't make it.

It's a benefit, and one band has already pulled out. I can sing, but don't know the lyrics to a lot of the songs. So, we start calling anyone we know who can sing who might make it. Guitarist gets hold of a dude named Steve, who can get there in 45 minutes. Steve knows a reasonable number of our songs, and we did have Larry's lyrics cheat sheets for a few.

Turns out Steve was a GREAT freaking singer. There were a couple songs he hadn't previously heard, so for those he became a human music stand for me and held the lyrics sheet while I sang lead. The crowd enjoyed it, we actually played great despite the setbacks, and it ended up being too much fun.

I even have a pic from that one

 

[Iceman101]

My best gigs ever were two week-long recording sessions in Paris, France (not Paris, Texas which wouldn't have been so bad, either!) and Amsterdam, The Netherlands, for a US car manufacturer.

I was the composer/producer, was working with great UK session players on both campaigns, and had a ridiculous budget. We booked world class studios, and other people recording in the buildings came up to peek in, because at the time European musicians were doing techno, and we were doing rock and roll. They hadn't heard rock in a long time, so came for a look-see.

My session players were straight-up the best drummer and guitarist that I've ever worked with, both of whom had famous sessions and tours under their belts. I played bass, keys, and rhythm guitar. I was by leaps and bounds the worst player in the band, which was pretty embarrassing, but no one seemed to care and they were stuck with me (maybe because I was paying them, huh ).

The engineer in Paris said that at that moment, we were the best rock band in Europe. And I gotta say, we sounded pretty freakin' tight. The session guys had used my demos to prep for the sessions, so they knew the charts.

I'll never in a million years get ad gigs that good again - they simply don't exist any more.

Please tell me why life is so short and changes so fast?

In Amsterdam ? Probably Wisseloord studios ?

 

[Permanent Waves]

As an amateur musician with a regular full-time job, my experience may be limited, but I did get a chance to play a few gigs at an A-circuit venue and it was a very different experience. Back in the early 90's, there was a mid-sized venue in Montreal called "Le Medley" which had a capacity of about 1800 people. They had some well known names play there in the day - Motorhead, Vince Neil, Ronnie James Dio, even Tool and Marilyn Manson played there at different points in their careers. On off nights they would have Tribute bands and it had been my dream to play there since I started my first Rush tribute band in 1994. I finally got the chance to play there in 2003 and again in 2005, and got to experience stuff I never saw anywhere else: dressing room with showers, refreshments and snack tray, a minimum guaranteed fee in the low 4 figures, top notch sound, lights and technical staff, and over 500 in attendance.

Sadly, the venue closed down in 2010 to make way for condominiums - a far too common occurrence for a lot of venues in the downtown core of cities like Montreal. The live music scene has really taken a nose dive in the last 15 years across a lot of major centers in North America. The money from live music isn't there to cover increasing expenses and real estate values in the downtown areas.

Here's the first 30 minutes of our second show there in 2005. There is a PRS connection, I was playing my 1997 CU22 which I had just gotten a few months before.

 

[garrett]

Early 2016 I got to do a small gig inside The Big House in Macon, GA. This is like the holy land for me. I'd say the Allman Brothers Band is my all-time favorite and this is the house where they and their families lived in the early days of the band. It was turned into a museum so it is filled all kinds of memorabilia.

To get to soak up the vibes was really cool, but it felt extra special to make music in that house. To really push things over the top, after the show we got to check out the '57 Les Paul formerly owned by Duane Allman. This is the guitar he used on the first two ABB albums as well as on most of the Derek & the Dominos Album.

I was a wee bit excited.

 

[László]

In Amsterdam ? Probably Wisseloord studios ?

You bet!

Unfortunately, my clients wanted to stay in Amsterdam instead of Hilversum, so we had a fairly long drive to get to the studio. I like to stay nearer a studio so there's extra time for recording and mixing, but I was outvoted.

Still, we had the room booked for over a week, and got everything done, so that was most good. Sounds like you've recorded there; I'm sure you'd agree it's a wonderful studio.

Had a very good kitchen and chef, too!

 

[Iceman101]

You bet!

Unfortunately, my clients wanted to stay in Amsterdam instead of Hilversum, so we had a fairly long drive to get to the studio. I like to stay nearer a studio so there's extra time for recording and mixing, but I was outvoted.

Still, we had the room booked for over a week, and got everything done, so that was most good. Sounds like you've recorded there; I'm sure you'd agree it's a wonderful studio.

Had a very good kitchen and chef, too!

I had the opportunity to visit the studio with a friend. We went there to show some guitars to one of the studio- musicians, who was laying down tracks for a fairly well-known band at the time. a couple of band members used to be part of my friend’s former band.
I ended up buying the Rickenbacker 12 string from my friend after hearing it in that studio environment. A lot of big names recorded at Wisseloord. Now I can say I know one more…..

 

[Huggy Love]

I've played a few decent gigs back in my day, even opened for Tower of Power back when I was doing R&B covers, but the one gig that stands out was one of my few all Jazz Rock Fusion endeavors. I put together a quartet to play for a college party that actually wanted a full on 70's fusion experience.

Not a huge crowd, hardly any cute women, but they really loved the set full of Weather report, RTF, & Santana instrumentals, one of the few times we were begged for an encore. Didn't even have any more material so we came out and made up something on the spot with an impromptu jam, then played Stanley Clarke's "School Days" and "Freeway Jam" for a second time. They loved it, and it felt so good to be appreciated for what we could do on the instrument, instead of being a fashionable poser like I had to in other bands at the time.

 

[Bill SAS 513]

I've played a few decent gigs back in my day, even opened for Tower of Power back when I was doing R&B covers, but the one gig that stands out was one of my few all Jazz Rock Fusion endeavors. I put together a quartet to play for a college party that actually wanted a full on 70's fusion experience.

Not a huge crowd, hardly any cute women, but they really loved the set full of Weather report, RTF, & Santana instrumentals, one of the few times we were begged for an encore. Didn't even have any more material so we came out and made up something on the spot with an impromptu jam, then played Stanley Clarke's "School Days" and "Freeway Jam" for a second time. They loved it, and it felt so good to be appreciated for what we could do on the instrument, instead of being a fashionable poser like I had to in other bands at the time.

Love this...Bet it kicked a$$...Sounds like a blast.

 

[Bill SAS 513]

Actually 2 come to mind...
We did a "Stadium" gig , before a Frederick Keys game...set up at Home plate and everything...full house, I think.
Issue: you never realize how long it takes for sound to return to you from outer speakers (near the fences)...So, the intro to "Back in the USSR (good timing, Really??!!) was about 3X as long...singer couldn't figure out how/when to come in... But we repaired/corrected nicely,...Really great time. Met Eric Chavez when he was still in AA or AAA, before being drafted.

Second was also a bunch of years ago, at Pimlico Race Track...Set up in the infield...and approx. 5 people showed up...yup , 5.
However, the Bud Girls were there, and they wanted to sing, so we obliged, and had a blast!!!!

Miss those days!