Artists who have "lost it" onstage.

About a decade ago he got a similar heckle at the Nieve/Elvis acoustic gig: "I'm falling asleep up here" from the balcony. Elvis said "you know where you can find the door!" and then compared himself to Dylan at Newport.

 

Isn't Cat Power infamous for this?

 

Awesome thread! But this one has to take the prize (if it hasn't already been mentioned):

Freddie Hubbard's infamous 1966 onstage meltdown in Austria.



(Warning: Clip contains strong, offensive language. )

 

I remember reading that this was because someone he knew had died - I wish I could remember who!

 

Hilarious! I guess ole Freddie had a bad night. Wonder if he got paid for the gig?

 

Soap Creek Saloon show in Austin circa 1976 or 1977. Doug showed up falling down drunk and couldn't get it together on
guitar or vocals. Luckily there was an old upright piano on stage so he gave up trying to be Doug Sahm and sat at the
piano and played Fats Domino and Jimmy Donley songs all night slurring his vocals in that cool Domino/Donley way.
It ended up being a good show after all when he stopped being mad at himself and just went with the bayou flow.

 

Oh but yes it did. It was his last live show with the band. I dont recall where it was, a live TV broadcast, and he literally could do nothing but stare straight ahead. Its in the book a saucerful of secrets and it was documented by the band

 

Seth Putnam was quite a character.

 

May have already been mentioned, sadly Syd Barrett's meltdown at his last live performance.

 

Peter Gabriel jumped into the crowd after getting so hyped up after The Knife he broke his leg...

Okay, that sounds like he was just being stupid

 

wow.

 

Not exactly "losing" it, but here's Gerry Mulligan taking on an annoying whistler.

 

Correction: Checked my gig diary...it was at The Rome Inn on 29th Street in Austin, not at Soap Creek. Doug was always
wired-up and ready for his Soap Creek shows.

 

This is a great one that I initially forgot about...

Here's the full story, courtesy of both Michael Lydon's Ray Charles: Man And Music (1990) and Bob Stumpel's wonderful Ray Charles Video Museum, which is where I first discovered this clip:

"The [1983] tour wore hardest on guitarist Eugene Ross, nicknamed 'Big Bubba', a four-hundred-pound Texas bluesman who drank, carried a knife, and had a wooden leg. Big Bubba was always hungry; the tour never stopped long enough for what Bubba called a real meal. His wooden leg gave him trouble sitting cramped on the bus; it also meant he had a hard time attracting women. As the tour ground on, Bubba got more and more discontented. Night after night Ray yelled that his guitar was too loud, and the nagging made him angry. [...]

Back from the second European trip, the gang played a gig in Omaha the night before Thanksgiving [at the Orpheum Theatre, on November 23, BS]. Ray flew to Los Angeles on the holiday, leaving the fellows in a dumpy hotel in Omaha's deserted downtown. The company did buy them dinner, but when Bubba looked down at his plate at a skimpy portion of canned turkey, he dropped his knife. 'Ray's got $ 40 million,' he announced, 'and he doesn't have the decency to give us a real turkey dinner.' At the next stop, the Sahara Hotel in Las Vegas, Bubba came into the band room the first night and slapped his guitar case on a shelf where James Polk had stashed a couple of drinks, knocking them over. 'What's wrong with you, man?' asked Polk. 'I've been pissed off all day at ****ing Ray Charles,' said Bubba. 'If he says one thing to me tonight, I'm gonna tell him to kiss my ass.'As the show began, bassist Roger [Hines], as he often did, turned on a cassette recorder to tape the show. The band was blurring through Busted[...], when Bubba's guitar started to come through too loud. Ray turned to him and said, 'Cut it out.' That was the last straw."


And the end result:

 

Almost saw Ronnie James Dio get into a fight with an audience member.

 

Saw Cheap Trick about 15 or so years ago and a very frustrated and noticeably angry (yet very polite) Robin Zander having to deal with a venue's substandard sound system. That night, the show almost ended early.

 

Saw Danzig berate a sound tech on the 2008 Blackest of the Black tour. Danzig has a reputation as well-known bully, unfortunately.

 

My partner was a witness to a tetchy moment at a Blondie/Pretender double-bill winery show she did down her in NZ. At one point she sort of hinted that no-one was really digging her band's show that much and said tetchily "yeah, you're all really waiting to dance along to Blondie. Aren't ya? Thanks". My partner didn't know what was in her head but she said both bands were great, no issues with the Pretenders at all!

 

The guy from Smash Mouth went off on the crowd at the Taste of Fort Collins last year because everyone was throwing bread at him.

 

You know its bad if Steve Harris doesn't move an inch during a song.

 

You know this story then it's about half way down the page? Strange Days Indeed! - Celebrity UFO Encounters » . I've asked two people who worked with Jimi about this story and they both reckon it's true.

As for tantrums, Eric Bell the original guitarist with Thin Lizzy, left mid gig, threw his guitar down and walked off, a Belfast show I believe. It was the catalyst for recruiting two guitar players.

 

He'd dive into the audience even when there were only like 15 people standing around. Nobody would catch him and he'd fall straight on his ass and keep screaming and bouncing around.
AxCx--not a classy band, but I admire the spirit they had.

 

I'll see ya and raise ya.

Saw Gordon Lightfoot almost 40 years ago and a very frustrated and noticeably angry (plus very imbibed) Mr. Lightfoot having to deal with a venue's substandard sound system. That night, the show did end early amidst a few audible curses.

 

Right. The concert film shows John apparently having the time of his life, as if he were back in Hamburg, playing part of the organ solo on I'm Down with his elbow. Seeing this, Paul cracks up laughing. But John appears far from from losing it or having a meltdown: he appears to be enjoying himself immensely while at the same time laughing at the madness of it all.

 

Looked at my notes...it was actually 'The Rome Inn' rather than Soap Creek Saloon.
Ms. Majewski would have escorted him to the door if he'd shown up that trashed for a
calendar show at Soap Creek.