The worst part is, the rest of the band doesn't even look the least bit surprised at the situation. I'm impressed at their ability to make the show go on, though.
Yngwie Malmsteen. Just a horrible show. Gave me a headache. Thought he was sick or something. Found out later from someone that saw him after the show he was wasted. Put me off his playing pretty much forever, sad to say.
Guided by Voices at Riotfest. Robert Pollard drained a large bottle of Jack Daniels. They also sucked. Unfortunately, this turned me off of Guided by Voices for a long time. I saw blink-182 the same day and Tom DeLonge was fairly wasted; I think he was done with the band at that point. I've seen a lot of local bands who were really wasted while playing. I don't know if they really count; most of them were goofy punk bands.
Robert Pollard, Guided By Voices, ShowBox in Seattle, 2010. As with all of their shows, they had a beer cooler on stage back by the drum riser. I think Bob emptied most of it. Didn't miss a beat, though - the guy's a pro. Amazing show. A pic from the show. I'd been right up at Bob's feet at the beginning of the show but quickly retreated to the back of the room (that's my head floating in the darkness back there - the claustrophobic then-wife was hanging out in the bar and snapped the picture).
Given his history, I can't put money on this, but the one time I saw him he seemed sober to me. This was probably 1984/85, and I know during this time he was going through various attempts at sobriety. This guy who owned a large hotel just outside my small resort town in NH, somehow managed to get John Martyn to play at his hotel(he was a huge fan) I had become a fan after hearing the version of Couldn't Love You More from his Glorious Fool album on an independent radio station a few years before, so when I heard this, I got my ticket immediately. So got to see John, I assume Alan Thomson, Foster Paterson on keyboards, and a drum machine, with maybe about 100 other people in the hotel's ballroom. He was wonderful, cheerful and funny, in that very dry, witty British sort of way.
Van Halen US '83 Festival - I think the whole band was drunk Joe Perry Project - Golden Bear Huntington Beach 1984. It was sad and he was angry drunk and out of tune. I'm amazed he got back to where he was with Aerosmith.
Once again, Dickey Betts and Great Southern 2009 Captain Hiram's Sebastian FL. Dickey was so hammered he was slurring his words when he spoke between songs. For some reason he could sing without slurring and it didn't seem to impact his guitar playing as much as his speaking.
Doubt they were merely 'drunk' but Shaun Ryder and Bez were pretty out of it when i saw Black Grape in the mid 90s.
Eric Clapton Tour supporting 461 Ocean Blvd Palm Beach Fairgrounds Rain delay caused him to come on extremely late at night. Remember him throwing liquor bottles into crowd
Alabama 3 doing an acoustic set in Dunfermline several years back. They were on fire though, absolutely great night. A pal of mine saw them in Glasgow the next night and apparently they were terrible, must have been the hangovers.
Another vote for Dickey Betts. It was in a small club and he was clearly plastered. At the end of the show, he grabbed my date and tried to carry her off ... leading to a tug-of-war which I fortunately won. My date and I were drunk as well and the evening ended with her mother chasing me off their property. Not a stellar evening.
I've been going to GbV shows for 25 years. The road manager brings a large cooler of beer onstage right before showtime. About 10-12 songs in, he brings out the tequila bottle. All bets are off from that point forward. Pollard being hammered is part of the GbV schtick, for better or worse. When Bob stands still, closes his eyes and sings (sometimes 50 or more songs), he fine. But if something sets him off, he can be embarrassing. I saw Shane MacGowan polish off an entire bottle of Irish whiskey, along with a few beers, over a show in DC in 2006 or thereabouts. He became more intelligible as the set progressed. The Replacements at the the Marvin Center in 1986 and the Bayou in 1987 in DC were pretty sloppy. At the Marvy, Bob Stinson burned the setlist, and the show became a 70s jukebox. Dickey Betts did a drunken guest spot with Tedeschi Trucks at the Beacon in 2013 that was just sad. I went to that Faces/Ten Years After/Skynyrd show at Roosevelt Stadium in 1975. Skynyrd and TYA blew Faces off the stage. Faces were running on fumes by then.
This thread's bumming me out. As a remedy, here's a great article, from last year where they talk to 9 musicians about their sobriety - among them are Steven Tyler, Joe Walsh Trey Anastasio, Ben Harper and Jason Isbell... 9 Musicians on How They Thrive Creatively Without Drugs or Booze
I don't know the guy's name, but there's a fairly decent Stones cover act called The Rollin' Stoned (or there was before the craziness). Seen them a couple of times and they're not too shabby at all. One night at Sheffield's late-lamented Boardwalk Club they were doing a show and it was 'Brian Jones's birthday. That's fine, everyone should enjoy their birthday. Most of the crowd had had a few beers too. That kind of night. With 'Brian' it just started with word-slurring. As he was fairly active on stage anyway, it turned into accentuated stumbling and lurching. Then, mid-song, he slumped to the floor. Other band members were stepping over him, carrying on (as you do) for the rest of the set. Someone gently dragged him off if I recall correctly. Oh, how we chuckled. Seen them before and since and nothing like that had happened previously or after. Watching drunks is REALLY funny.