Musicians you are not alone.
Ruairi Lynch aka Bantum shared an “actual nightmare” concerning on-stage woes with technology on Twitter this week.
Actual nightmare that Ableton crashed during a live set last night, still shook.
— Bantum (@RuairiLBantum) January 15, 2018
In response, other musicians started sharing their stories and the results are embarrassing, hilarious or in other cases, literally shocking. Let the morto begin.
Playing afternoon show with TRM and i got electrocuted real bad, thrown across stage, Matty B basically saved my life by kicking mic stand really hard out of my hand. after a break tried to keep playing but two ambulance men came and told me they had to take me to hospital. lol
— Richie Egan (@richiejape) January 15, 2018
I once spent 5 and a half hours going to play a rave in Roscommon, only to boot up my laptop on a subwoofer and have the magnets wipe the computer's disk. Just went straight back home.
— Toby Kaar (@tobykaar) January 15, 2018
I got punched outside the twister pepper for refusing to play “I wanna be like you” from the twisted pepper for some lads birthday. It was a techno gig.
— ᴋᴏʙɪɴᴀ (@kobinaireland) January 17, 2018
I played in the Phoenix in Cork when I was about 16. Arrived in Cork way too early and got so drunk that I kept forgetting I was in the middle of a gig. Kept putting down the guitar to chat to the drummer, then turning around to see an audience looking at me. GBH played too.
— Carriages (@Carriagesband) January 15, 2018
First time playing with a midi controller I had accidentally mapped a key on the board to stop play. About three times during the gig the whole thing stopped until I realised what had happened
— ᴋᴏʙɪɴᴀ (@kobinaireland) January 15, 2018
I’m mid-set at a packed club in Donegal a number of years ago. Suddenly and with a rather shocking crash, two young lads fall through the ceiling, having attempted to sneak in through a fire escape. One landed on the decks. Lads injured, CDJs dead. Ambulance arrives. Gig over.
— John Gibbons (@djjohngibbons) January 17, 2018
Got a full, (mercifully) unopened can of coke stuck in my saxophone just before a gig once, and had to play with it in there. Worked fine, just a little heavier than usual. Have kept a pair of pliers in my sax case ever since. #gigfail
— Anna Flaps (@annaflaps) January 16, 2018
We were doing a live broadcast on Today FM at about 7.30 in the evening. 2nd tune started, 20 secs in I noticed the midi controller wasn’t working & had to stop. Complete dead air going out on the radio. While Ableton restarted I went up to the mic and shouted REWIIIND. Morto
— SuperExtraBonusParty (@SEBPBand) January 15, 2018
Started playing with band for a short time, played music all my life, never a gig. My first gig ever was Whelans main stage as headline band. Get to part where it's just my guitar that's playing along with drums/vox,amp isn't on.Always thought someone else turned it on for you😳
— Aaron of House Corr (@aaron_corr) January 16, 2018
Got a free tshirt after soundcheck from a promoter one time. Got up on a chair to look at tshirt in a mirror, jumped off chair saying “ta da”, knocked myself out off low ceiling, taken away in ambulance. Checked out of hospital, did show, had v bad headache for next two days 🤘
— SuperExtraBonusParty (@SEBPBand) January 16, 2018
Not so much a tech issue but was Djying button factory supporting Giraffage and a girl who really wanted me to play Ne-Yo or Pitbull(I don’t know why) granned the decks and fell backwards off the stage bringing the desk and everything else with her.
— ᴋᴏʙɪɴᴀ (@kobinaireland) January 16, 2018
Broke a string with Bouts during first half of Sea Sessions set,quickly replaced string & broke that 1 next song.Queue me running around to Kaiser Chiefs dressing room looking for a bass.Tom from @theminutes saved my ass but told me to leave strap as it was.He's 6ft 4' I'm 5ft 7'
— SwimmersJackson (@NiallCJackson) January 15, 2018
First note into a festival show and the bridge on my fiddle fell into itself, rendering the fiddle completely useless. Had to reset the bridge restring the entire fiddle in between launching clips on ableton etc.
— Daithi (@daithimusic) January 15, 2018
The TBMC stage used to have a curtain around the sides. I went to lean against the wall, while playing, cos I was v. drunk. Didn't realise there was a gap twixt stage and wall, obscured by curtain as it was. Fell into gap. Marvelis.
— Dip (@Diplah) January 15, 2018
Dublin show last year, 6 band bill (at least). "Quick line check and start the gig, buddy". *plugs in guitar* PRE AMP WENT ON FIRE! Guitar smoking in front of a full audience.
Engineer laughed. "Your losing time on your gig buddy".
— Saint Caoilian (@CaoilianJSure) January 16, 2018
I had the windows shutdown noise blare out and a laptop running a sequence shutdown mid song in Waterford once…
— CPNHGN (@CPNHGNmusic) January 15, 2018
Quick soundcheck at @BodyandSoulIrl last yr w/ @zaskamusic. Everything fine. Start the gig, no vocal for me for the whole first tune singing lead, engineer is turning up the BVs and then after one tune goes "Oh I didn't even know that guy was there"(me). 😪
— Keith Fennell (@keithfenn) January 16, 2018
Niall Byrne is the founder of the most-influential Irish music site Nialler9, where he has been writing about music since 2005. He is the co-host of the Nialler9 Podcast and has written for the Irish Times, Irish Independent, Sunday Times, Totally Dublin, Cara Magazine, Red Bull and more. Niall is a DJ, co-founder of Lumo Club, event curator, Indie Sleaze club promoter, and producer of gigs and monthly listening parties & events in Dublin.
