When Bands Attack

[spentbullets]

continued from the ongoing discussion going on the ABTV thread

my favorites that I've heard or witnessed:

1) Pond in 93, in the middle of a song Charlie the singer guitarist pointed out some mofo harrasing a couple ladies during the show and told them to knock it the fuck off. Halfway through the next song, he throws down his guitar mid song and chases the same asshole out of the club (I think this was Moe's) and came back onstage and said "Should we start that last one from the top?" sarcastically because it was the middle of a 8 minute song haha

2) During Larry Yes' opening set for Elliott Smith in 2000 at Breakroom some piece of work balled up a piece of paper and threw it at Larry while booing. When Elliott came out he seemed pretty subdued, even for him and played a workmanlike set while very little crowd interaction until he finally asked "Why would someone throw shit at Larry?" and mentioned it again a few times before the main set was over. After a short encore (and a total of less than an hour total onstage) he finally said he was sorry for harping on it so much and said good night. If I ever find out who threw that piece of paper I will personally kick him in the nuts or twist her ninnies whichever the case may be, because he played for 90 minutes in Portland the next night including songs that were never officially released before his death and even a Beatles cover with Sean Croghan. Beware I ever find you lol

3) the classic Showbox '03 rant by Mr Lanegan before Message to Mine, funny as hell

4) Lou Barlow promising that his next song would be his last if everyone would just shut up while he played it, show was at the Showbox opening for Quasi

5) Josh Homme having a major problem with some asshole at a 99 show in Cali, many mentions of him before finally delivering the classic "You know if I was just out there watching this show yours would be the first ass I kick, this next song is for you it's called I'll See You in Hell" plays Quit Me Baby

6) Greg at the recent stripped down Gutter show in Portland: "I'm not going to tell you ladies how to enjoy your show, but you both just missed a fucking beautiful song (Resurrection song). blahblahblahblahblah, anyway a beautiful song and you didn't hear a fucking word of it. I'm going to play something loud now so you can go back to whatever you were talking about."

7) not really an attack, but if I could go to any show in history it would have to be the Screaming Trees 4/9/91 Cubby Bear in Illinois show where Mark throws down his mic in the middle of a song and leaves poor Van to drunkenly entertain the crowd for at least another 15 minutes "Everyone here has had that one embarrassing moment in their lives, and all of you are sharing my moment with me right now" fucking classic and everyone who hasn't already should head over to Katie's Time for Light site and d/l for themselves ...

I know I am historically a thread killer, but I hope we can keep this one alive for a bit and more funny shit can be added to this list

that is all for tonight,
Christopher

[Derek]

Does anyone have the mp3 of the showbox rant? I'd like to let some friends hear it.

I'm right in thinking its the one where he tells someone "i don't come to your work and kick in the toilet booth doors" right?

Anyone?

Thanks.

[Shoesh]

I was there when Josh had his famous rant.
"You wanna fight, go to a fucking gay bar. Klootzak, vieze lul."
forgot half of that rant

[manintheshadows]

Both times I saw Jeff Klein support the Twilight Singers, he's interrupted songs midflow (or adapted the lyrics) to berate people who talk through his set, especially the two people who were stood right near the front with their backs to the stage who didn't even notice that the show had stopped and everyone was looking at them... the second time was really annoying as he was halfway through a great version of Suzanne and had to abandon it because he'd forgotten where he was up to.

[Buttercup]

Jeff Klein scolded me and some other girls for talking before his set even started.

Haven't really witnessed much else. I saw Dave Grohl try to persuade a girl to put her top back on. She wasn't unattractive. He seemed to be genuinely concerned about her self-worth.

[manintheshadows]

May 17, 2009 8:05:47 GMT -5 Buttercup said:

Jeff Klein scolded me and some other girls for talking before his set even started.

First time I saw him, I'd just got in after going to the gig straight from work and went straight to the bar (as you do) at the back of the tiny venue. It was a short while that I realised that I was stood under a tiny spotlight and there was some bloke on stage glowering at me in a "may I start now?" fashion.
IIRC, this was the same show that Greg was at his piano for the encore and was just about to start when someone thrust a piece of paper under his nose to sign. Followed by another short delay when it became apparent that the guy with the paper didn't have a pen on him

[hamilton]

May 17, 2009 7:38:59 GMT -5 @manintheshadows said:

Both times I saw Jeff Klein support the Twilight Singers, he's interrupted songs midflow (or adapted the lyrics) to berate people who talk through his set, especially the two people who were stood right near the front with their backs to the stage who didn't even notice that the show had stopped and everyone was looking at them... the second time was really annoying as he was halfway through a great version of Suzanne and had to abandon it because he'd forgotten where he was up to.

no offence to Mr Klein, but he clearly doesnt understand that he was a support act and that people had not gone there to see him, or paid to see him. i would bet that at least 99.99% of those crowds would've been there if he hadn't been supporting.

support acts need to win over an audience which is not their own, rather than get in a mood at them. it makes you seem like a petulant child to get in a mood at people who don't know your songs, haven't paid to hear your songs, and sadly, often dont care about them.

like it or lump it. put up or shut up.

that's just my cynical opinion on support acts. i actually quite like Jeff's stuff.

[manintheshadows]

The thing was, the people chatting were right at the front. Jeff's point (and rightly so) was that those who didn't want to listen could bugger off to the back so that those who wanted to listen to him could do. This got a large round of applause both times, and I wish that this would have happened at the Mark/Isobel show at Bexhill where one woman proceeded to talk as loudly as possible during all the bloody quiet bits of their set...

He does get somewhat emotional during his sets as well (a good thing), so it must be a tad annoying to be interrupted in such a way - when he's in full flow live it's something to witness. I've got a great recording of a show in Detroit where he goes a bit special during Pity

[hamilton]

oh right, i see. well, fair play to Mr Klein.

in fairness, ive been at one or two of the shows where he's been the support, and i enjoyed his sets. i could see that some people were really into it so i let them head to the front and i stayed back a bit and talked quietly to my friends about how cool the loop pedal stuff he was doing was.

[Stephanie]

I think it may have been here that I read about Henry Rollins catching a bottle that was thrown at him at a show and hurling it right back into the audience without missing a beat?

And I'm rather fond of this episode in the GT international tour, where Greg demands that the audience sing the "Helsinki national anthem" and a drunk Viking professes his love for the GT:



;D

I also think the mud fight that Green Day got into with the audience at Woodstock '94 was pretty entertaining:

[borracha]

These two would be "how bands respond to audience attacks"

Guns 'n Roses, '92 or '93, biggest stadium in Buenos Aires (70.000 people or so), Axl stops the show twice, gets a translator and says that they won't keep playing if people don't stop throwing things at him (they were throwing ceramic towel holders they had pulled out from the bathrooms)

A little background for this one: Pez (my favourite band from my country as you may know by now) singer and guitarist used to play guitar for another band which was really popular here (unlike Pez) "Los Fabulosos Cadillacs". He only played there a few years, never wrote a song for them (he writes most of pez's stuff), music between the two bands is really different and when they broke up he went back to pez

Anyways, a few years back Pez is playing at this small bar in my town. There's this vicking/motorcicler guy, pretty big, completly drunk who stands in front of the stage and starts yelling "Play one from the Cadillacs", singer says "no, we won't" (they never do, btw). They keep playing, in between songs the guy keeps yeeling, singer keeps saying no, we have enough of our own songs, or our songs are better, etc. Finally, the guy's passed out in a chair and the singer goes "NOW, we're gonna play one form the Cadillacs" ;D

[Derek]

Thanks man

[hamilton]

www.youtube.com/watch?v=pa8Db8DvTXQ

[borracha]

Haha, I'd forgotten about the "shoe the shoeless" thing!

[♫ ♪]

i was looking for another Vedder rant from 98 but can't find it on youtube.

but i did find another one from a few years ago...

[frankie]

Talking about this one?



good stuff

[♫ ♪]

yep that's the one. good find.

[gr0undzer0]

May 17, 2009 11:23:41 GMT -5 Stephanie said:

I think it may have been here that I read about Henry Rollins catching a bottle that was thrown at him at a show and hurling it right back into the audience without missing a beat?

that was me, one of the greatest moments I have ever seen

[wellwater]

This thread is pure gold, keep 'em coming ... especially the Vedder vids, they're a laugh.

[hamilton]

how about when crowds attack?

Lanegan Band at Academy II in Birmingham, '03.

some guy shouting for Dollar Bill - instantly met with a load of 'shut up' and 'fuck off' comments from the crowd (including myself). Lanegan smirked and said something along the lines of 'yeah, what they said.'

[Stephanie]

May 18, 2009 6:21:40 GMT -5 gr0undzer0 said:

May 17, 2009 11:23:41 GMT -5 Stephanie said:

I think it may have been here that I read about Henry Rollins catching a bottle that was thrown at him at a show and hurling it right back into the audience without missing a beat?

that was me, one of the greatest moments I have ever seen

Ah, I'm glad you shared that story. Rollins is awesome.

[Fields at Midnight]

When Fans Attack

[Shoesh]

May 18, 2009 7:45:19 GMT -5 @hamilton said:

how about when crowds attack?

I was having a good time at a Lanegan gig (during sideways in reverse, not some quiet tune) and the cow standing next to me "enjoying the show" with her eyes closed kept shushing me and my friend and saying: Shhh, Mark is singing.

Anyway, after a while she started shushing people who were standing a lot further away from her who were just talking, as I was, and some woman turned to her and said: Shut the fuck up, bitch!

I want to believe that my buttsaver was Lungsey. ;D

[maidli2]

May 18, 2009 14:00:53 GMT -5 Shoesh said:

I want to believe that my buttsaver was Lungsey. ;D

THAT ARE THE 2 NICEST WORDS OF THE DAY ...

[RominiBikini]

May 18, 2009 10:05:39 GMT -5 Fields at Midnight said:

When Fans Attack

nice. i hope that was green day, or some gay ass shit like it.