(Updated 31st October 2022)
Halloween is THE perfect day to share a few ghoulish Gig Horror Stories!
Blood-curdling, performance anxiety-inducing, scare factor memories in honour of Fright Night!
Some of these moments made my hair stand on end for sure.
Please share yours…if any…please tell me you have some…please…
I have three gig horror stories for you. The standouts if you will.
Gig Horror Stories No. 1 – Bashed in the face by your microphone
I’m sure this one has happened to most singers once or twice. It’s happened to me THREE times over my 30+ years of performing!
It’s usually a drunk punter, (mine were an All Black, a Pirate – not even a costume, and a Euro-trash-tastic dude!!) falling onto the stage and knocking your microphone stand which leads to your mic being MUCH closer to your lips than you had intended plus with intensity!
This particular horror story culminates in a guy picking up my fellow singer, against her will and twirling her in the air, causing her foot to smack into microphone, which in turn bashed into my lip!
It’s a true skill to be able to continue singing with blood pooling in your mouth…just saying!
Here are some less intense performance tips to master!
Gig Horror Stories No. 2 – The ultimate request
After smashing out an epic set of big tunes, which I thought I did quite well, I took a well-deserved break only to return to find a note on the stage perched on my bar stool. It read “Could you please stop singing, your voice is terrible and ruining my night” (or something to that effect – I may have blocked it out!!!)
I started the next set with “Thank you to the person who left the request for me, unfortunately, I am not able to do that one tonight…”.
Gig Horror Stories No. 3 – Superfan?
Many years ago after a great gig that I really enjoyed, a punter came up to my side of stage and proceeded to tell me what an amazing singer and performer I was.
Like went on and on for a good five minutes. Used lots of great superlatives and examples. It was a real compliment fest.
Needless to say, I was feeling pretty special UNTIL…the conclusion.
It went something like this…. rave reviews, glory shower, such a wonderful singer blah blah blah…BUT… you just need to lose weight”.
The adoration record playing in my head scratched to a halt violently as my smile went from real to fake.
I thanked him for his advice on my career and I skulked away feeling less than fabulous.
Clearly a time pre-Lizzo fabulousness!
Ah, the performer’s life, where you are offered accolades and abuse all in one sentence on a regular basis.
Give me a one on one with a zombie over that kind of interaction any day!
However, today we celebrate the slightly more scary creatures of the night…
Can’t wait to hear your Gig Horror stories!
Happy Halloween!
Cherie
