The oddest things that happened to you at a concert

[remphish1]

Elaborate on any odd things that happened to you in the show...here are mine

 

 

1) Went to a show last night and all of a sudden I became part of the show! Last night I saw Ben Lee. Someone in the audience requested a song. He said I want to play but don't remember the lyrics. Can anyone look them up? I was in the front row and found them. I went to hand him my phone and he said can you hold it and help me! He ended up singing the song pretty much directly to me which was awesome and odd at the same time!

 

2) Saw Guster back in 1998?? They started playing Ice Ice Baby and asked for singers I was the only one who volunteered

 

3) Got hit with a bucket of fried chicken at a southern culture on the skids show

 

4) My wife is a big country music fan...those fans are always the drunkest. Saw Kenny Cheseny and someone hocked a major lugee which delightfully landed on my arm. I have never been so grossed out

 

5) Saw Lisa Loeb and yelled out a request. She decided to play it and tell a whole story how no one request that song and it meant a lot to her and she started getting emotional

 

I will think of more but these are the main ones..

 

Other random concert stories all non intentional

 

Ira Kaplan from Yo La Tengo stepped on my foot

I tripped Lenny Kravitz by accident

I helped Jeff Tweedy find his car

I met David Bowie at a Nine Inch Nails Concert

I met Marylin Manson at a Radiohead Concert

I sat next to Woody Harrleson while he smoked pot

I met Chevy Chase

I met Patti Smith at a My Bloody Valentine show

I played Racquetball with Ryan Miller from Guster

I got to hang on George Clinton and Matthew Sweet's tour bus

Hung backstage with Dave Chappelle

I ate at the table next to Ike Turner and Danger Mouse before the Gorillaz concert

[PopTodd]

At one of my old band's shows, I met Larry Damore (Pegboy/Bophal Stiffs) and John Haggerty (Pegboy/Naked Raygun), because they were there to see Taggerty's roommate's band, who was sharing the bill with me.

 

I was interviewing a band, Dillon Fence, for the music rag that I wrote for in college. We were backstage at Mississippi Nights in St. Louis, when Exene Cervenka popped her head in, and gave us all a huge smile and hello. Like she was so, so happy to see us. Really one of the sweetest things that I've ever seen. (Dillon Fence were opening for X.) The guys in the band told me that she was usually like that; a total sweetheart. That made me so happy. Still does.

 

George Wendt ("Norm" from Cheers) showed up at a show that I was playing at. I just said "hey" and shook his hand and watched him get more and more annoyed and more people kept coming up to him and announcing, "NORM!!!"

[worldrecordplayer]

I'm sure I have many, but here's the first one to comes to mind.

 

On March 25, 1994, I got to sit onstage for the second set of the Grateful Dead show at Nassau. Behind Vince and just to the left of Garcia, and right next to Hornsby who played accordion that night. I have cousins in SF, and they became friends with Bob Bralove, so starting around '91 whenever the Dead came to Boston, Bralove would set me up with passes and tickets and I'd often catch him for a drink after the show (they always stayed at the Four Seasons in Boston). For this Nassau show, my wife and I either drove down to LI or we were already in NYC for other family gatherings. Anyhow, my cousin's daughter was in town, and she knew Bralove and his wife her entire life. So  at the set break, Bralove's wife came and got us and brought Laurel and me to the stage. There were 2 seats for us, and we were given strict orders to DO NOT MOVE. Kinda weird to have to stay planted in your seat for an entire Dead set. 

 

Typical for 1994, it wasn't a great set. Now that I look at the comments in the link below, most folks thought it was a terrible show. But, it had one amazing moment for me. The band, like most musicians, always spoke of how they could feel and feed off the energy of the crowd. When they came out for the encore and went into The Weight, there was a palpable surge of energy starting way back in the Coliseum, that rolled through the entire arena and washed up onto the stage. The wave of energy washed over everyone on stage, and you could see it and feel it coming. It was as palpable and real as sitting on the beach and watching a wave form and roll towards and over you.  I will never forget that moment.

 

http://www.setlists.net/?show_id=2230

[tinnitus photography]

At one of my old band's shows, I met Larry Damore (Pegboy/Bophal Stiffs) and John Haggerty (Pegboy/Naked Raygun), because they were there to see Taggerty's roommate's band, who was sharing the bill with me.

 

I was interviewing a band, Dillon Fence, for the music rag that I wrote for in college. We were backstage at Mississippi Nights in St. Louis, when Exene Cervenka popped her head in, and gave us all a huge smile and hello. Like she was so, so happy to see us. Really one of the sweetest things that I've ever seen. (Dillon Fence were opening for X.) The guys in the band told me that she was usually like that; a total sweetheart. That made me so happy. Still does.

 

George Wendt ("Norm" from Cheers) showed up at a show that I was playing at. I just said "hey" and shook his hand and watched him get more and more annoyed and more people kept coming up to him and announcing, "NORM!!!"

too bad she turned into a nutjob alt.righter...

[PopTodd]

Oh, I almost forgot:
I was 19 years old and working with the Teamsters, loading trailers at a Pat Metheney Band show at Ravinia Festival, outside of Chicago. It was hot as hell and we were busting our asses. Sweating up a storm. I was a big Metheney fan at the time so, as long as I had a pass for working, I thought that I would slip in to the dressing room, if I could, to meet Pat. I did. Lyle Mays, too. They were both very appreciative of the work that I was doing on that hot night and so they gave me a Corona out of their own personal stash to thank me. Now, as a fan, that was a big deal to me. And as a 19-year-old, the fact that it was a BEER was even cooler!

A couple of super-nice guys.

too bad she turned into a nutjob alt.righter...

I didn't know that. This makes me sad.

[worldrecordplayer]

At one of my old band's shows, I met Larry Damore (Pegboy/Bophal Stiffs) and John Haggerty (Pegboy/Naked Raygun), because they were there to see Taggerty's roommate's band, who was sharing the bill with me.

 

I was interviewing a band, Dillon Fence, for the music rag that I wrote for in college. We were backstage at Mississippi Nights in St. Louis, when Exene Cervenka popped her head in, and gave us all a huge smile and hello. Like she was so, so happy to see us. Really one of the sweetest things that I've ever seen. (Dillon Fence were opening for X.) The guys in the band told me that she was usually like that; a total sweetheart. That made me so happy. Still does.

 

George Wendt ("Norm" from Cheers) showed up at a show that I was playing at. I just said "hey" and shook his hand and watched him get more and more annoyed and more people kept coming up to him and announcing, "NORM!!!"

 

 

too bad she turned into a nutjob alt.righter...

Exene? An alt-righter nut job. I also had no idea. Maybe I'll have to stop seeing X, and just see John solo. 

 

I went to college in St. Louis, spent many nights inside Mississippi Nights. Likely before your time Pop Todd. 

[PopTodd]

Exene? An alt-righter nut job. I also had no idea. Maybe I'll have to stop seeing X, and just see John solo. 

 

I went to college in St. Louis, spent many nights inside Mississippi Nights. Likely before your time Pop Todd. 

Possibly. I'm 46 years old. Was only there for a few shows when I was at Mizzou and SIUC.

I was there in the Late 80s/Early 90s.

You must remember The Unconscious, eh?

[jff]

A creeper came up behind me and fondled my ass. At first I thought someone was just trying to pass behind me in a tight crowd.  But then it got weird and by the time I turned around to put a stop to things all I could see was a sad old man slipping back into the crowd. That was either at a Deee-Lite or a Dread Zeppelin concert.  Can't remember with certainty.

 

I guess this thread just got a little dark.

 

Don't worry, though. It was more pathetic than damaging.

[tinnitus photography]

was Tortlelvis still on stage?


Exene might be listening to too much Alex Jones. and by too much, i mean any.

http://www.spin.com/2014/05/x-exene-cervenka-santa-barbara-mass-shooting-hoax-gun-control/

[jff]

was Tortlelvis still on stage?

 

 

Yes, this was back in the day when they first became a known commodity. 

[PopTodd]

I went to see a double bill: Stereolab/Tortoise at Lounge Ax. There were 2 shows that evening, as the bands took turns opening for each other for each one. I was going with a friend of mine who also loved Stereolab, but neither one of us had heard any Tortoise at that point.

We were eating dinner across the street from the club and talking about how excited we were to see Stereolab for the first time. But, as we might wind up seeing them twice that evening, I really hoped that Tortoise just wouldn't suck, and I said so to my friend. He agreed with me and we talked about this topic for a couple of minutes.

About that time, the guys who were sitting at the table next to us stood up, picked up some instrument cases, and walked across the street to the club.

Yup. It was Tortoise.

We were embarrassed. And, thankfully, they did not suck.

[Winston Legthigh]

Was in the front rowdy section of a COWS show in the early 90s. My friend and I decided to duck outside to get a breath of fresh air. His shirt was covered in blood. We freaked out. He did a quick diagnostic, and announced "OK, not my blood" We shrugged our shoulders and went back in. 

 

Saw the Cult open for Metallica in the late 80s at Alpine Valley. I was way back at the top of the hill. Metallica fans didn't care for the Cult, to say the least. Many started throwing sod at the band. I don't remember much, but I can still hear the lead singer begging "Would you PLEASE quit throwing sod??"

 

A friend of mine secured fIREHOSE to play at his small college in the late 80s. Part of the deal was that they promised Mike Watt that they'd host a BBQ to feed the band before the show. I poured Mr. Watt a beer from the keg. I'm sure I was frozen in adulation. 

[tinnitus photography]

is anyone here a fan of Thinking Fellers Union Local 282? they were a very unique and hard to pigeonhole band from SF (via Iowa), who i absolutely adored in the '90s. saw them at least 5-6 times, always a treat. they could go from the skronkiest noise to the most beautiful melody, sometimes in the same song.

anyway, they couldn't quite get back together again for the Matador 21 celebration/fest in Vegas in 2010, but that did get the ball rolling so they were able to play an ATP festival held in England, curated by Animal Collective. a few days before flying to the festival, they convened in Boston where drummer Jay Paget lives, rehearsed, and played a practice gig at a tiny club called the Midway. i think it holds around 100 people?

I was with some friends there before the bands started up, and we got to talking about ATPs in general. I brought up this woman from Houston who I'd met at the first two held in Upstate NY who we affectionately call Heather Crazy (she claimed that the GBV song "Chasing Heather Crazy" is written about her, but i think she's off in her assessment according to some insiders i know in the Pollard camp). She's got a lust for life that few can match, and is a whirlwind of energy and fun. Anyway, literally a minute after talking about her, I look across the room and there she is.

 

absolutely floored me. 

[NoJ]

Saw Pink Floyd in 87ish at the Rosemont Horizon during their Momentary Lapse of Reason tour. Worst concert I've ever seen, incredibly boring. It pains me to say that because I do like their records. Anyways, the Rosemont pigs were really obnoxious that night. They were pulling people out of their seats, left and right, for lighting up. I was sitting next to a guy who seemed normal but when the lights went down and the show started, he started acting strange. Like he started touching the people around him, myself included. I told him to knock it off which thankfully he did. But he couldn't stop touching the woman next to him. Her boyfriend got all up in the guys face, swearing and threatening him. The guy then sat there with his hands on his thighs for a bit (I was watching because this was more entertaining than what was happening on stage) and wouldn't you know it, he started touching her again. Up goes the boyfriend and he comes back with some cops who drag Mr Feely away, never to be seen again. I have no idea if the guy was X'd out or special needs or whatever but that was weird.

[Lammycat]

Saw Pink Floyd in 87ish at the Rosemont Horizon during their Momentary Lapse of Reason tour. Worst concert I've ever seen, incredibly boring. It pains me to say that because I do like their records. Anyways, the Rosemont pigs were really obnoxious that night. They were pulling people out of their seats, left and right, for lighting up. I was sitting next to a guy who seemed normal but when the lights went down and the show started, he started acting strange. Like he started touching the people around him, myself included. I told him to knock it off which thankfully he did. But he couldn't stop touching the woman next to him. Her boyfriend got all up in the guys face, swearing and threatening him. The guy then sat there with his hands on his thighs for a bit (I was watching because this was more entertaining than what was happening on stage) and wouldn't you know it, he started touching her again. Up goes the boyfriend and he comes back with some cops who drag Mr Feely away, never to be seen again. I have no idea if the guy was X'd out or special needs or whatever but that was weird.

I saw them at Foxboro in spring of '88. Snuck in the back-stage area amongst some cleaning/garbage crew and spent the show in a hallway side-stage. I had to kind of face towards the wall whenever security-types walked by as I had no lammy/pass. I remember high-fiving Gillmore as he walked up the ramp past me during half-time, though.

[Lammycat]

I'm sure I have many, but here's the first one to comes to mind.

 

On March 25, 1994, I got to sit onstage for the second set of the Grateful Dead show at Nassau. Behind Vince and just to the left of Garcia, and right next to Hornsby who played accordion that night. I have cousins in SF, and they became friends with Bob Bralove, so starting around '91 whenever the Dead came to Boston, Bralove would set me up with passes and tickets and I'd often catch him for a drink after the show (they always stayed at the Four Seasons in Boston). For this Nassau show, my wife and I either drove down to LI or we were already in NYC for other family gatherings. Anyhow, my cousin's daughter was in town, and she knew Bralove and his wife her entire life. So  at the set break, Bralove's wife came and got us and brought Laurel and me to the stage. There were 2 seats for us, and we were given strict orders to DO NOT MOVE. Kinda weird to have to stay planted in your seat for an entire Dead set. 

 

Typical for 1994, it wasn't a great set. Now that I look at the comments in the link below, most folks thought it was a terrible show. But, it had one amazing moment for me. The band, like most musicians, always spoke of how they could feel and feed off the energy of the crowd. When they came out for the encore and went into The Weight, there was a palpable surge of energy starting way back in the Coliseum, that rolled through the entire arena and washed up onto the stage. The wave of energy washed over everyone on stage, and you could see it and feel it coming. It was as palpable and real as sitting on the beach and watching a wave form and roll towards and over you.  I will never forget that moment.

 

http://www.setlists.net/?show_id=2230

Cool! Caught an "Attics" and more than a 6-song first set, at least....

 

The only on-stage I've had (all-access, actually) was at Red Rocks when Wilco opened up for Sheryl Crowe in ;97 or so. I did get a back-stage pass at Boston Garden in '93 and got to (briefly) meet Owsley. My little brother was at BC then and we met up at the show. We were talking about this over the weekend via text and he sent me a pic of the pass (he ended up with it and it looks nothing like I remember it looking that night).

[Mr. Heartbreak]

I've probably told this story on here before, but what the heck. In December '79, my brother and I went to see The Who in New Haven with a few of his buddies. Five of us piled into a car that sat four comfortably, so someone had to sit on the hump in back. On the way out of Bristol, we stop at Bristol Hospital, and one guy gets out and goes inside to meet his connection. (You couldn't make this shit up.) He comes out with a nice big bag of weed and off we go.

 

It's 45 minutes to New Haven, so there's plenty of time to get mighty well done. The guy rolls a joint, lights it, takes a hit, passes it, and starts rolling another. Pretty soon, it's take a hit, blow it out, take the next joint, take a hit, blow it out. Literally every breath is a big hit of weed. The car looks like Cheech and Chong in Up in Smoke, just filled with smoke. I'm all of 14 at the time, so by the time we get to New Haven, I'm curled up in the corner of the back seat having cartoon nightmares of Ted Kennedy. If anyone ever tells you that you can't overdose on weed, I'm here to tell you, you sure as hell can.

 

We pull into the arena parking lot and just fall out of the car. Right next to us is a candyman, who looks at us and says: "Acid, shrooms, crystal meth?" Uh, no, we're good, man.

 

We go inside and find our seats, and I'm so zonked out, I'm literally feeling sick. Almost paralyzed with it, and worried that I'm going to puke. I sit in my seat and the lights go down, and there's a big black screen with big yellow letters spelling out the word Quadrophenia. It comes forward, gets bigger, than disappears. It just keeps coming at me like a warrior. Quadrophenia. Quadrophenia. Quadrophenia. Dear Jesus, please let it stop!

 

Finally it stops and The Who come out and kick major ass. Someone hands me binoculars, and I look and I can see the little orange tag on Pete's Levi's jeans. But I don't move out of that seat for a minute the entire time.

 

So now you know the answer to the whole standing/sitting debate: if someone doesn't get up and dance around at a rock show, there might be a very good reason, and it might not be that they are sooooo old.
 

[Lammycat]

^ Ha! Been to a ton of shows (and Nighthawks games!) at NH Coliseum under similar circumstances. The circular ramp to/from the parking garage was cool but the outdoor escalator always made me nervous.

[NoJ]

Mr Heartbreak, that happened to my brother at a Steve Winwood concert back in 86ish. He got so zonked that I had to walk him around the venue. He ended up barfing. The next day he told me he was seeing people with orange pumpkin heads wearing black capes. Very odd because what we had was mid grade at best.

[calvino]

Mr Heartbreak, that happened to my brother at a Steve Winwood concert back in 86ish. He got so zonked that I had to walk him around the venue. He ended up barfing. The next day he told me he was seeing people with orange pumpkin heads wearing black capes. Very odd because what we had was mid grade at best.

 

Sounds like he had a Trump premonition.

[leatherman]

When my wife and I first started dating, probably around 2001 or 2002, we went to see Evan Dando play a solo set at the Earl here in Atlanta with a couple of our friends.  We're right up front, practically standing at his feet, and during the first few songs it kind of feels like he's checking my wife out.  My buddy mentions it to me and starts busting my balls a little, joking about how I'm going home alone etc. About half way through the show, he asks her if she'd come on stage and help him out.  He wants to play a new song and needs her to hold the lyrics for him.  Before playing the song, he introduces himself to her and chats with her a little.  The song ends, he thanks her and she hops back down to stand beside me, just beaming with excitement.  I mean it's Evan Dando, so I don't blame her or anything.  The show continues and he talks to her from the stage multiple times, referring to her by name, asking for requests etc.  By this time, I'm super uncomfortable and thinking I may actually be going home alone.  My buddy's still talking shit to me the whole time and busting my balls. Finally, the show ends, he says "Thank you, goodnight" and steps right off the stage and kinda blocks me out with his back as he takes her hand and starts chatting her up, eventually leading her to the bar.

 

Thankfully, she pretty quickly led him back to our group, introduced him to me and he soon lost interest and took off.  She still jokingly wonders if she made the right choice.  

[jff]

^^That was right around the time he turned into a pathetic junkie, so I'm going to say your wife made the right choice.

[Lammycat]

^^That was right around the time he turned into a pathetic junkie, so I'm going to say your wife made the right choice.

And shortly after his marriage. Heh.

[Mr. Heartbreak]

Sounds like he had a Trump premonition.

Hey, if I could see Ted Kennedy cartoons, why not?

[Winston Legthigh]

Mr Heartbreak, that happened to my brother at a Steve Winwood concert back in 86ish. He got so zonked that I had to walk him around the venue. He ended up barfing. The next day he told me he was seeing people with orange pumpkin heads wearing black capes. Very odd because what we had was mid grade at best.

a friend of mine made some special banana bread. I ate a couple of pieces before going to see the Black Keys play at First Ave in Minneapolis. Another friend who met us there kept asking me if I was OK. Sure I was ztoned as fuck, but otherwise OK. Apparently I was turning a whiter shade of pale. Soon after, I could literally see the black curtain coming down, so I grabbed my friend's shoulders with both hands and said, "You gotta get me out of here." I didn't let go as he headed for the door. We went outside for fresh air and I sat down. Soon my legs were solidly underneath me again. 

 

So yeah