Who were the drunkest performers you saw on stage?

Discussion in 'Music Corner' started by spencer1, Sep 26, 2019.

  1. Tommy Jay

    Tommy Jay Forum Resident

    Location:
    Ohio
    Two most memorable:

    Dr. Hook in the mid 70's. While setting up the stage, roadies began hauling many cases of beer on stage, stacking them up beside the drum riser. By the end of the show, the beer was gone. During the show, you could see the band get drunker and drunker. The two front men, Dennis and Ray, would chug beers and howl maniacally between songs. The culmination was during an instrumental break, Ray started dancing a jig backwards and ended up falling a** over elbows backward over a stage monitor, the beer in his hand splattering the guitarist. Dennis was howling and pointing at Ray who was convulsed in laughter on the floor. Dennis tried to help Ray off the floor, but lost his balance, crashing into the drum kit and knocking over cymbals and mics. The song ground to a halt with everyone in the building--- band and audience--- whooping and hollering, myself included! Talk about a party band!

    A sadder story---In the mid 80's, at an outdoor festival, one of the acts was the Paul Butterfield Band with Rick Danko. Before their set, a massive storm blew in and it poured for over two hours straight. In the interim, Butterfield and his band went back to their hotel, cancelling their set. Danko, however, strode onto the stage with an acoustic guitar and a giant bottle of wine and tried to play. I knew he was in trouble when he staggered about three steps when he set his bottle down before trying a song. It took him forever to tune up and he started and stopped about three songs in mid verse to increasing hostility from the drenched, but still game crowd. I guess he realized it was no good and he slurred an apology to the crowd, grabbed his wine and staggered offstage to a huge chorus of boos. I felt terrible for him. To end on a bright note, the two performers who I had really come to see---Waylon Jennings and J.J. Cale both played terrific sets and made it worthwhile to ride out the storm under a sheet of plastic which we had brought to sit on. Ahh, the good times!!
     
  2. elaterium

    elaterium Forum Resident

    Rick Danko. So drunk he knocked over the mic stands and the drummer’s cymbals. Fell down on stage after 3 songs and had to be carried off. He never came back on. 15 minute show. Everyone I knew who witnessed it, referred to him as Dick Ranko after that.
     
  3. spencer1

    spencer1 Great Western Forum Resident Thread Starter

    I think it was CSUN (California State University Northridge) although at the time it might have been called San Fernando Valley State College which everybody called Valley State.

    Might have been the "Soap Opera" tour, I just know that it was perhaps not their finest hour.
     
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  4. Bassist

    Bassist Forum Resident

    Location:
    London
    A surprisingly rare occurrence for me.

    Johnny Thunders was definitely the most incapable - that was at The Venue in Victoria in the early 80s I am guessing.

    Generation X opening for the Ramones at the Rainbow would be another one. They were more happy drunk but still all over the place. I guess they started celebrating NY a little early.
     
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  5. Vic_1957

    Vic_1957 Forum Resident

    Location:
    NJ, USA
    Oh, this is easy! Rod Stewart. It was 1975... Roosevelt Stadium, Jersey City, NJ. Rod was so drunk, he was either repeating lyrics or missing them altogether... and the dirty looks he was giving Ron Woods during "I'm Losing You" was, well, rather embarrassing on Rod's part. This was right about the time Ronny announced he was leaving Rod's band and joining The Stones.

    Overall, it was still a decent show, IIRC. LOL
     
  6. The Panda

    The Panda Forum Mutant

    Location:
    Marple, PA, USA
    Michelle Shocked's brother opening for her. He was so out of it he couldn't walk straight, kept playing when song ended, Wanted to play some songs again, forgot he had played them already.
     
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  7. Efus

    Efus Senior Member

    Location:
    USA
    George Jones

    I worked the pre-show, then took off to grab something to eat, coming back a line of cars was leaving the venue.
    Whats going? "Jones is drunk on stage"

    Walk into the venue, and the crowd that is left is howling, Jones is swaying back and forth, chopping out chords on an acoustic,
    yelling/debating with the crowd for booing him.
    Band would start a number, Jones would sing a line or two, then go back to trying to quiet the crowd as the band kept playing though at a lower volume, exchanging glances with each other. After about 10 minutes of this, Jones finally walked off stage.
    Only time to that point in its history that the venue ever refunded money for a performance.
     
  8. DPK

    DPK Forum Resident

    Location:
    Southeastern U.S.
  9. drumandguitar

    drumandguitar Forum Resident

    Location:
    Birkenhead UK
    Yeah, new teeth now. Just married his long term girlfriend. In a wheel chair due to a recent fall last I saw. Still a legend.
     
  10. Evan Dando/Lemonheads

    Car button Cloth Tour

    Hoo boy...
     
  11. Vic_1957

    Vic_1957 Forum Resident

    Location:
    NJ, USA
    Man, my brother and I went to see Dickey and band about 15 years ago at a local club in NJ. He never showed up. We got to stay for the other acts anyway and even got two tickets to any other event at the club. We saved the vouchers for... Johnny Winter!

    I saw Dickey many times before so, not a bad trade off, IMO. :cool: I was so happy to finally see Johnny.
     
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  12. DPK

    DPK Forum Resident

    Location:
    Southeastern U.S.
    I wasn't in attendance for this one, but I'm posting it anyway.

     
  13. Duke Fame

    Duke Fame Sold out the Enormodome

    Location:
    Tampa, FL
    I've seen more shows than I can count but I don't have a distinct memory of any performer being obviously smashed. If I had to take an educated guess it would likely be Eddie Van Halen since I saw them multiple times.
     
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  14. Lucinda Williams. When I saw her in late 2007 she was barely able to form a sentence during her in between song intros.
     
  15. Kevin j

    Kevin j The 5th 99

    Location:
    Seattle Area
    Justin Townes Earle. He can be pretty obnoxious to begin with.
     
  16. Chemically altered

    Chemically altered Forum Resident

    Location:
    Ukraine in Spirit
    David Lee Roth numerous times.
     
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  17. markreed

    markreed Forum Resident

    Location:
    Imber
    In person, Ian McCulloch - who fell asleep mid song in 1992. What a complete waste of £5 and a Sunday night that was.
     
  18. The Panda

    The Panda Forum Mutant

    Location:
    Marple, PA, USA
    Forgot Amos Lee. he was still a nobody. We went to a small club to see Marshall Crenshaw or somebody and the opener canceled. He stepped in and brought a chair with him, bad sign in this case.
    Lots of giggling, lots of tuning. Crowd was quiet which made it embarrassing. he kept apologizing with a slurred voice. Since he was still working at the place, he would try to engage the waitresses in conversation from the stage.
    Gave up after around 6 songs
    I was shocked when he made it. He later came on after a headliner to play for free if anyone stayed. he was 'loose' but not as wrecked as he was on the chair night.
     
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  19. Yet another vote for Shane McGowan of The Pogues. It was during the Peace and Love tour (1989) at The Masonic Temple in Toronto. I think he fell down 3 or 4 times before they wheeled him off the stage.
     
  20. davmar77

    davmar77 I'd rather be drummin'...

    Location:
    clifton park,ny
    8/22/1975 Jersey City, NJ, Roosevelt Stadium Rod Stewart & The Faces, Ten Years after, Lynyrd Skynyrd

    I was there too!
     
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  21. spencer1

    spencer1 Great Western Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Oops, one more ...
    Warren Zevon opening for the Grateful Dead in Santa Barbara 1978.
    A very drunk Warren yelling at all of the hippies, 60's rejects and acid casualties which didn't sit well with the audience and resulted in boo's and catcalls.
    Bonnie Raitt joined him on stage and earned him a little good will from the audience but he was drunk as a skunk.
     
    Last edited: Sep 26, 2019
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  22. The Razors Edge

    The Razors Edge Forum Resident

    Location:
    UK
    New Order - Glastonbury 1981, Bernard Sumner drunk on Pernod, according to Steve Morris, slurred his way through a lot of the set and actually fell over at one point. A shame as the rest of the band were quite good.
     
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  23. Dr. Mudd

    Dr. Mudd Audient

    Joe Cocker. He threw up on the stage but kept playing. Drunk out of his mind. Must have been 1974.
     
  24. Vic_1957

    Vic_1957 Forum Resident

    Location:
    NJ, USA
    Awesome! :wave: I still remember the place erupting when Skynyrd dedicated Freebird to Duane.
     
  25. Bill Cormier

    Bill Cormier Forum Resident

    Location:
    Malta, New York
    No surprises here- The Replacements in the ‘80s, and again 5 years ago! Also Dickey Betts around 1993 with ABB, got arrested after the show for roughing up his wife.
     
    Last edited: Sep 26, 2019

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