If you see that movie "Decline of Western Civilization Volume 2: the Metal Years", Lemmy really looks pathetically drunk, floating on a styrofoam chair in a pool. Not his finest moment, and captured for eternity in a movie.
Don't forget too, Sandy Denny. It was a miracle Mr. Martyn, in spite of all his self-destructiveness, ended up outliving her by roughly the same amount of years as she'd lived on this earth at the time of her own death after years of self-destructive behaviors.
The Gregg Allman Band, late 80's or early 90's. Harpo's Music Theatre in Detroit, which was really just an oversized bar. These guys came on after midnight, most of them sporting their own fifth of Jack. Most visibly drunk when they came on stage, (including Gregg), after every song there was a long break while they discussed what to play next. Gregg kept getting up and walking around the stage talking to the others. At one point, someone down front pissed off Gregg and caused he and a number of the band and roadies to come to the edge of the stage. We were close enough to hear Gregg shout at someone, "I'll come down there and kick your effin' ass". Caused quite a scene for a minute but eventually calmed down. They ended up playing until 2:00. All in all, a decent show, just a little more "Laid Back" than most.
I've only watched that movie once but that scene stuck with me. I'm sure that huge display bottle of booze with pill casings floating in it didn't help things.
I think the important thing is to perform how you’ve practiced. If you practice sober, it’s best to play sober, etc.
You are correct, and I was wrong. It was Chris Holmes. I saw the movie when it came out decades ago, and I guess I slurred together some of the performers!
Wow, saw them quite a few times back in the day, and basically every time they were great! I never noticed any drunkenness at any show, but maybe I was dancing too hard.
A friend of mine claimed to have seen Viv Stanshall (formerly of the Bonzo Dog Band) live on stage in the early 1970s for all of the thirty seconds he was upright on it (possibly as part of a GRIMMS/Freaks ensemble gig is my guess, from my pal's description). Viv apparently stumbled blindly onstage waving a giant plastic/inflatable 'male organ' about, overshot the front of the stage, bypassing the microphone completely, fell off said stage with a heavy thud, and did not get up again. He then had to be carried out of the room while the other musicians he was with vamped for a minute or so until the next act hastily came up. In his case though at that time that would most likely be down to a booze and tranquilisers combo rather than just alcohol. Conversely, I saw him three times on the same solo tour in the 1990s while he was on the wagon and he appeared as sober as a judge, and did a great two hour show each time without so much as a slurred consonant.
Great read this thread ! And it also shows that the boredom, fame, opportunity, etc etc ... can draw the most talented people into alcohol. I only know of 1 occasion where a "dunken performance" had major repercussions on a band ... Was a bit surprised that it was not already mentioned, but the "The Doors" gig in Miami 69 basically meant the beginning of the end of The Doors. Arrest warrant for Jim Morrison (wanted in the county of Dade for indecent exposure), barred from airplay, almost a complete tour cancelled (the 69 tour, probably also why they did not appear at Woodstock), constant surveillance during later The Doors concerts with cops ready to stop the concert at the least provocation by Jim, etc etc ... Reading many books about The Doors, you will see that most people consider this the beginning of the end of The Doors. While this was not the only performance of Jim being drunk (I would take the entire 70s tour, some 68 gigs, etc.), the Miami gig has been taped in quite a decent quality ... This is classic rock, although not for its performance, but for its context ... Luckily, when Jim was drunk at this occasion, he seemed in relative good spirits looking for love () and not the dreadful "Jimbo" character that people started to hate when he was drunk ...
No, I wasn't there. What I know, though, is that the chances of Genesis deciding to tune down keyboards, bass pedals and guitars juuuust a little tiny bit below standard for that one show are in the region of zero. That, together with the fact that all songs are played juuuust a little tiny bit slower than usual provides the obvious answer: either the playback machine ran slow, or the recording machine ran fast. I don't think you're a liar. I think you're just someone whose memory of an evening forty years ago has been spoilt by a compromised audio document. I also think you're someone who would rather get offended and resort to namecalling when your opinion or view of something is challenged, which is a shame, but that's your privilege. Project away.
There’s an upgraded version of the show and the speed is off, on the recording. There’s certainly nothing wrong with the performance, itself.
No, I was not there. I highly doubt the band was drunk. Like another forum member alluded to, perhaps your memory of 40 years ago is incorrect. Knowing Genesis’ reputation for being musicians, I can’t believe the band would perform In a drunken state. And, I’ve a copy of that show, too. The tape runs slow. I’ve speed corrected it, and it sounds just fine. No indication of sloppy performances. As for Duke‘s Travels, when he came out from the drums to sing the reprise, he would sing from a spot between the two drum kits. Maybe he almost tripped in the dark, or the space was small and he was trying to squeeze through.
More than one member of bands I've played in, staggering onto the stage, forgetting lyrics, singing the same song more than once, being rude, crude, and lewd, and cranking up their guitar amps loud enough to drown out the rest of the band. And most of them insisted that they played their bet when they were drunk. In a couple of cases, someone made a video or audio recording of them performing drunk and played it back to them when they were sober. Hopefully that cured their delusion.
Was that at Jonathan Swift's by any chance? Because that was the only time I ever heard about him playing in Boston while I lived there, and if so he did finally make it to the stage although I left disappointed in the performance.
I think booze is one of the worst drugs that a musician can take before performing. I’m not talking about a couple of beers - that’s fine, and may even take the edge off the nerves - but very few musicians play great when they are sloshed.
No, the Jonathan Swifts show was a different one, earlier. I actually have an audience recording of that one a friend made. The "show" I'm talking about was actually in downtown Boston, not in Cambridge (which is where Jonathan Swifts was, right?). I now can't remember the name of the Boston club, and it was one that I had never gone to to see music either before or after the Martyn "show", so probably won't be able to summon up the name.
Yes, pretty sure he did play Johnny D's during that time period. Roy Harper also played Johnny D's, and my wife was one of the 12 people there! If you were there, maybe you sat next to her. I didn't see that show because I was in Nepal at that time.
