Your Most Unusual Concert Experience

Oddly enough, it was also my first concert.

ZZ Top, Eliminator Tour, The Summit - For the whole show, they apparently had a dummy in one of the light stations 80 feet above the stage. For their last song, the dummy fell off of it right onto the stage. Everyone thought it was a real person. To this day, I can't figure out what that was all about. Was it some kind of tradition? Was is a prank by the lighting crew? ZZ Top didn't even react when they saw it. Really weird.

From the same concert....

My best friend's Dad was friends with ZZ Top in high school. They used to give him tickets and backstage passes every time they came to Houston, so he took me and my best friend on this night. After the show, we got to go backstage. My friends Dad said "let me go in there and make sure it's OK for you guys to come in." We were 6th graders at the time.

20 minutes later, he comes back out and says "OK, let's go" and hustles us away from the area. We asked why we couldn't go backstage and he just said "you just can't." Man, I wonder what was going on behind that door.....

 

I saw GWAR at the Axiom the first show they did in Houston. I don't think anyone knew what they were in for. The band completely soaked the audience with "fluid" during the show. They also gave birth to a new band member on stage. The next night I think they killed the new member off in a WWF type deathmatch.

I saw the Flaming Lips do a set in the Quad Cities with no stage lights; they were all wrapped in white Christmas lights and that was the only light on stage. It looked like lawn ornaments rocking out.

I interviewed the Dead Milkmen for my college station before a show in Des Moines. During the show they dedicated "Big Lizard In My Backyard" to me. That and the 25 cent beer made for a great night.

 

Danzig - Austin TX - Glenn Danzig was doing his midget-metal hero thing while prancing along the edge of the stage. He lost his balance and fell on his ass right off the riser. To keep his cool, he kept on singing and rocking while lying on his ass right on the floor!

 

Weird Al Yankovic, Verizon Wireless 2003. He wasn't really feeling it while performing "Melanie" and admitted it, and said he would do it later at his bus, and he kept his word.

 

Funny. About five years ago I was in Austin for a wedding. Fri night me and the guys went out and the girls stayed to party at the hotel (Radisson). While we we gone later that night, my wife and a friend were in the hotel elevator talking about going up to the room to get some more beer. These guys that were riding in the elevator with them asked in a british accent "you got beer?". My wife and friend kind of looked at each other and the guy said "we don't want to **** you, we just want your beer". So they said ok we will give you some beer. So they end up hanging out with the guys for a good while. It was The Kinks. Ray Davies was in the elevator but didn't drink with them. Funny how he wasn't up for the party 20 years later.

 

I worked "security" for the Ramones, Blondie and Tom Tom Club when they played at UH in 89 when I was 18. (Basically I saw the show for free with a black shirt on)

Well after the show I was supposed to guard the Ramone's van. There was a little crowd of people our there waiting for them, but it was calm. I was supposed to keep people from going up to them etc. Well I couldn't care less. I just stood there and some people came up nicely and asked for autographs. Their manager came over and b****ed me out and I just laughed at him. Then they all got in the van and took off.

 

One of my 5 Metallica concerts...can't remember which. I was in seats towards the front where I could see the stage pretty well. Any way, they had the little row filled with bouncers in the front to protect the band and catch crowd surfers and send them back into the fray. One crowd surfer dude managed to elude the bouncers enough to start climbing on stage. He was right in front of James. He was ignored by James at first, but as the guy was pulling himself up (he quite obviously drunk), he reached up for support and grabbed Hetfield's mic stand and pulled it away from James while he was in the middle of a verse. James freaked out and kicked the dude in the stomach and then landed a haymaker upside his head before the bouncers got ahold of the guy and pulled him away. I could see James mouthing "mother ****er" towards him as they took him away.

It was pretty funny.

 

offspring concert i went to years ago and they were playing 'pretty fly for a white guy' and then the line about vanilla ice was being sung when Ice came out from back stage and they started playing ice ice baby. then me and my three buddies started chanting "ninja rap" (for those who dont know go rent ninja turtles 2) and we got the whole crowd going so Ice busts into an acapella version of ninja rap

 

Butthole Surfers - Power Tools ca. 1986
Crash Worship - Cavity Club (Austin ca. 92)
Crash Worship - Dripping Springs, TX in a crazy freakin' field/forest...wow...
Skinny Puppy - Numbers (VIVISECT tour and Too Dark Park tour)
Honk If Yer Horny - Emo's (Austin SXSW 92ish)


edit:
oh, yeah...the experiences were all "unusual" because of the band's performances in combination with the, er, chemicals...

 

... is the one I didn't get horny.

 

I posted part of this in a Worst Dates thread.

Ted Nugent / Rush / Artful Dodger - 1976I took my date (our first date together) to the concert somewhat early - it's a general admission - and the crowd begins pushing so we're getting crushed but not as bad as the folks up by the doors and walls - they were making loud growns. They finally open the doors and we get our seats - dead center, but not as close as I would have liked. And the thoughtful date that I was, brought 2 bottles of Cherry flavored Vodka - 1 for me and 1 for her - it tastes like cough syrup. It turns out that she wasn't a big fan of drinking cherry flavored cough syrup so after I finish my bottle, I start to finish hers.

The Artful Dodger finishes and while we are waiting for Rush to setup - I passed out. Somewhere in Rush's performance (Neil Pearl's drum solo), I come to long enough to hear someone saying, "The drum stage is rising up and down, the drum stage is rising up and down!" As bad as I felt (I threw up xtimes under my seat before passing out), I had to see that. So I slowly raise my head...the drum stage isn't moving...I slowly lower my head back down for more zzzs.

The next thing I know, Ted Nugent is doing his encore. A couple of songs later, the "show" is over. And while this would have been a horrible date, it's not over yet. As we make our way back to the car, I realise that in haste to get a good seat, I failed to check to see where I parked my car. We check all over in vain looking for my car. Finally, once everyone had left (maybe an hour later), I found my car.

Believe it or not, we actually had a second date. Man she must have been desperate.

The Dead Kennedy's at The Island - 1981/2?I used to go to the Roxy (sp) every weekend, but that was more like the Memorial crowd dressing up as punk rockers. The Island was for true punkers - which I was not. The place is hard to describe except that it's near indestructible - or what can be destroyed had already been destroyed. The Dead Kennedy's were getting lit cigarette buts, half empty drinks, beer cans, etc thrown at them while they were playing. It turns out that that was a form of appreciation and the band felt like we (though not me) weren't throwing enough stuff at them so they started breaking up their equipment and throwing it at us. At $5 a head, I didn't know how they could afford to do that but that was one strange "concert".

Edit: One more

REO Speedwagon 1979/80? Though this one is more pre-concert. My friend and I were sitting in our seats and the band was late. Our seats were on one side of the auditorium in the balcony close to the stage. To pass the time there is 1 lone frisbee that was being tossed around the place. My friend and I were talking about how far each other could throw it and he said he could throw it all the way to the other side (clear the floor). I said no way and just then, the frisbee came right to my friend. He stood up and threw it as hard as he could. The problem was that in his attempt to put enough power into it to reach the other side, he put way too much angle on it and it just sailed behind the stage - to a place where no one could go. I just laughed and laughed while my friend got booed by the whole crowd as their only "fun" was over.

 

1981 or 1982, Fleetwood Mac in Dallas at Reunion. I didn't want to go because I thought they were cheesy. A couple of friends talked me in to it so away we go. They're drinking a lot, but I'm not really wanting to be there so I naturally fall in to the DDriver role. The concert starts and to my surprise it is pretty good. Then, John McVie gets sick and everyone goes off stage for a few minutes. After a while, Buckingham and Nicks come back and do an acoustic set with just guitar and voices... Landslide was great. By now McVie's feeling well enough to continue and they hit a blistering set highlighted by "Oh Well." Man, I didn't realize they could rock like that and I certainly didn't expect much out of Buckingham, but he was nothing but controlled frenzy on stage for that set. Then they went into the more mainstream hits and that was good as well. I came out of the concert a Mac fan and even bought a few Peter Green albums.

As we're leaving, my two drunk buddies are looking for chicks to hit on, but they're drunk so they stand no chance and it's embarassing. Well, they spy a couple with long hair a bit in front of us and start running up to them. I, being sober, could tell right away it was two guys, but they did not heed my warning shout and as soon as the faces met, they sobered up quick.

Worst concert was ELO at the Drum in Austin... they did a 25 minute medley. took a break and finished with two songs. It sucked.

 

I think the guy's name was Shawn Phillips- He had real long hair (over 2 ft. long) and played guitar and sang- popular about 1974 ish.

My wife and my best friend and his wife and I ate a whopping load of mushrooms and smoke some pot and I decided I could drive.

We made the concert although I only remember running red lights on Montrose and that the concert was cool.

But I don't remember leaving the concert.

Sometime around 3:00 am I wake up and we are all in my car parked in the right hand lane at the top of the ship channel bridge.

There was a slight traffic problem as cars were avoiding us and there were no policemen in sight. I started the car, don't know how I got there and then panicked. I thought I was in another city and I was lost, even though I lived on the southeast end and I was only a few minutes from the house.

I drove down and caught 225 going back toward Gulfgate Mall and I45 in a panic wondering where I was.

Somehow driving around my friend snapped and said we are on the gulf freeway headed to Galveston.

It was a great concert as far as I remember.

 

rhester, I could come up with a lot of stories in the same vein, but RMT is looking for stories involving the group or groups at the concert, I think. The acts, if you will, unless I'm wrong.

Personally, I think stories like yours are a bit more entertaining. It's a miracle some of us are still alive!

 

sorry, lingering effects from too much of the above....

I do remember one Hendrix concert where I think he took out lighter fluid and tried to set his guitar on fire at the end and HPD came onstage and took it away from him so he just walked off mad...

does anyone remember that one- I think it was the Coliseum.

Remember those ZZ top concerts (and other bands) where the camera's were always on the girls flashing... I remember one ZZ concert where the girls were competing against each other (so it seemed)

I guess that's still the rage... haven't been to a concert in years.

Doubt the church wants me to tell them the highlights

 

Lightnin' Hopkins 1973. Somebody had arranged the "festival" in a cow field outside of Ft. Worth. We are all just out sitting in this field for a couple of hours waiting on Lightnin to show. He finally shows up..and plays 3 songs and leaves. Well, the first song and the last song were the same song.

 

Are you sure it wasn't at the Music Hall? I think he played once there, and the other times at the Coliseum, being too big an act for the 3200-3400 seats the Music Hall had. I remember Jimi doing something with lighter fluid and his guitar once, but it could have been hallucina... imagined.

Man, the Music Hall was the best place in Houston for a concert, unless you went to a club. Great acoustics, and really not a bad seat in the place. Plus, if you were lucky, you could sneak in. I did it about three times, with a chick every time. They had all these glass doors across the front, and in a crowd, picking the right moment, you could sometimes find one unlocked and waltz right on in. Find a cool usher, or just a couple of empty seats, and enjoy.

 

Arrggggh! That's it. The Music Hall. (I just posted a question in the other concert thread trying to remember the name.) I agree with your post. Some great concerts there... my first with The Cars, my second with Van Halen, and several others.