Concerts Where The Artist Walked Off Stage

I worked with a guy who said his girlfriend was punched out by Ray Davies after an early 70's concert. Somehow, Davies found out who she was and sent her a bouquet of flowers the next day.

 

You're brother's quite lucky. Think about it... how many other people can say that Peter Tork beat them up?

 

I accept, I think? I guess I could have been more diplomatic about my choice of words but I'm just a silly guy..............

 

Yes.

 

I saw Lyle Lovett at Meadowbrook Music Theater here in suburban Detroit, and he walked off (to return maybe 10 minutes later) after some pot smokers close to the stage apparently didn't get the message that it was posing problems for the artist. Lyle was clearly displeased, chastised them after returning, but proceeded to pick up where he'd left off and played a great show.

On a side note, it was the last show he did before getting married to Julia Roberts a day or two later. That one caught me by surprise...my mom called me and asked me if the artist I saw that weekend was "Lyle Lovett" - she hadn't heard of him but proceeded to tell me that he became Mr.Roberts.

Same theater, different year, I was disappointed when Jerry Lee Lewis had to leave the stage when the power went out midset. The headliner of the evening, Roy Orbison, never made it on as the power couldn't be restored. Never caught the rescheduled show because, um, Roy died.

 

That's right! He was pissed at a photographer. The story escaped me.

 

I was at a concert (Soft Machine I think) in the early 70's at the Albert Hall where the warm-up act was Loudon Wainright IIII.

He walked on stage, took a look around, said something like "Wow, this is a big place" and walked off stage never to be seen again.

I was also in the audience at the Rainbow the night Zappa was pushed off stage, but I guess that doesn't count.

 

I was at Whiskeytown show in Oregon when the entire band walked off stage and left the building. Ryan continued the show on his own.

 

I was at that show also. He made up for it the following night in Salt Lake City by covering the entire Dark Side Of The Moon album. He mentioned in a narrative during Harpua at the SLC show that "Jimmy" was overwhelmed by how crowded and crazy Las Vegas was that he had to leave. We assumed it was a reference to him leaving the stage in Las Vegas.

 

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I was at a GBH show in Trenton, NJ, about 87 or 88. The club had plastic beer mugs. Not big glass mugs, but not little platic cups either. Some skin heads in the crowd began periodically pelting the band with their empty plastic mugs. The band tried to slog it out, but part way through one song, Collin got nailed right in the face with a full mug. Dubbled over for a moment, then went back to the mic holding his face and finished out the song. Then they walked off. I think he may have had a bloody nose.

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Oh. I completely forgot the New Orleans Cure concert, 89? 90? 91?. Dead of summer, no AC in venue. Paramedics doing double time. One person in my entourage of friends passed out. stretchers were everywhere in the hallways. Their bass player colapsed on stage. Band kept playing. Robert Smith started forgetting lyrics. The band seemed like they were completely trashed, but the heat was getting to everyone. The band was sloppy, and sounded like cr@p, one of them walked off (?). They half @ss played a couple more songs, and then they just ended the show.

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Pete Townshend of The Who walked off stage and wouldn't finish a set that was plagued with problems. Can you blame him?

 

I remember it was a nightclub in San Francisco, I want to say the Matrix, but I'm not sure. A couple of guys even poured there beers on him while he was passed out. I don't remember the date exactly, I was high once in a while then, myself. But I do remember it, mainly because I couldn't believe how drunk he was on stage. If you want to believe it fine. I didn't mean to bite anyones head off, but I don't like it when I say something and then a remark is made that what I said is not true. I would never say that to anyone. There are a lot of strange stories on this subject, I assume are true, why would someone lie?
I thought the comment made to me was rude, that's all.
Jim Morrison was a very gifted guy but he was not perfect. I sat next to him at The Troubadour in LA and I remember a nice looking girl asking him if anyone was sitting in the chair next to him. He said, "My bear is sitting there". Then put his beer there and sat there with a strange look on his face.
I love the Doors, but those were "Strange Days", no pun intended.

 

I didn't attend the concert but Alice Cooper played the Toledo Sports Arena December 12(?), 1973. Someone was throwing large fireworks at the stage. After three songs, the whole band walked off and didn't return.

Also, there was a Who concert where Keith Moon passed out and they recruited some young fellow from the audience who played several songs with them. Wouldn't you love to have been that guy?

 

There is video of that show--pro shot. Moon goes out like a battle casualty--like he's a limp bag of sand.

 

I've tried to find Pandas post here, but wasn't that at The Fillmore West? I've seen some footage of this and it was great how Townshend started asking for another drummer!
I'll put in a few here. I saw AC/DC on the Hells Bells tour in Chicago and they had a band open for them that as far as I can recall, won some kind of contest to open the show. They lasted five or six songs and then gave into the audience's call's to "Get the F*** off the stage." It was pretty brutal! On the flip side of this, I saw David Yow of the Jesus Lizard take a thrown beer bottle straight to the head at a club show in Dallas. He was ready to kill someone but after a short on-stage repair job, continued with the show. I was impressed! Just as an aside, if you've never been on a larger stage with spot light's blinding you, it can be unnerving! It's like playing to a black hole. Can't see squat, especially those bottle's coming at you! I'm glad I play drums....

 

That is without a doubt the funniest story I have ever heard. I can just see them doing the old 1,2, &3 toss him in the swimming pool move, but into the croud! ouch! I hope they caught him. Fortunately he's fine, lol .

 

There is a video of that Dallas show in youtube. Gald to see a mention of the Jesus Lizard here

 

I know the Frogs have been booed off that stage when they opened for the Smashing Pumkpins and Pearl Jam back in the early 90's. Sometimes they would do well and other times the audience would just assault them with objects and verbal insults. Sometimes they would leave the stage and other times they would mess around and purposely play bad to "punish" the audience.

 

The 7/4/80 show was videotaped and shown on HBO (and later released on VHS and DVD in Japan only), and Brian never walked off. I think the frisbee thing happened the following year when they played the same venue again on 7/4/81 (the next day, 7/5/81, their show at the Queen Mary was televised, widely referred to as perhaps the worst Beach Boys show ever). I recall talking to a fan who was at the show and remembered the frisbee incident, and that was the '81 show (that was the tour where Carl Wilson had left).

 

At one of the Wings shows at the Cow Palace in Daly City/San Francisco in 1976, right before the final encore, Paul decided to bring Bill Graham on stage and introduce him to the audience. Paul evidently didn't realize that Bill was not a particular favorite of concert-goers, and the crowd went nuts booing Graham. Paul made some comment to the audience (I can't remember exactly, but it was something like "F*** all of ya!"), and ended the show without the encore (which was "Soily" on that tour, one of the strangest encore/finales of a big artist like that).