What's your most surreal moment in music?

[ashevans09]

Following on from the greatest moment thread I thought we'd go for surreal

My main one has to be randomly coming across Jools Holland's TV show and seeing one of my acquaintances (I used to do some jazz/blues stuff with him and did a couple of musicals with him too) from my year at my school playing on it this week with his band Stornoway. Crazy stuff. Really random to see someone who you used to play music with doing so well. Happy for him though and it must have been incredible for him

Anyway, anyone else have anything?

[waynepunkdude]

Mine was backstage at the Hootnanny in Brixton, I can't explain if Crikey comes on he might be able to.

[Happy Jack]

My daughter and her best friend bringing home their boyfriends a couple of years ago.

It turned out her best friend was going out with Austin Dickinson, who's a dead ringer for his dad, my ex-flatmate Bruce Dickinson. Seeing as I haven't seen Bruce since the day he joined Iron Maiden, this was one of the weirder encounters in my life.

[ahpook]

there's that whole 'schoolgirl on stage at darlington arts centre' thing...

but that was a long time ago, and i don't do that kind of thing any more.

Edited November 5, 2009 by ahpook

[onehappybunny]

[quote name='ashevans09' post='646713' date='Nov 5 2009, 09:29 PM']My main one has to be randomly coming across Jools Holland's TV show and seeing one of my acquaintances (I used to do some jazz/blues stuff with him and did a couple of musicals with him too) from my year at my school playing on it this week with his band Stornoway. Crazy stuff. Really random to see someone who you used to play music with doing so well. Happy for him though and it must have been incredible for him [/quote]

What a result... and what a line up - Jay Z, Foo Fighters, Sting, Norah Jones... the Stornoway guys looked a tad nervous and I can understand why!!

[The Funk]

First semi-pro gig. Looking over the shoulder of the keyboard player/sax player/bandleader to see a middle-aged couple full on going at it to the sound of our music, especially his sax solo. She literally dropped her knickers and straddled her fella while facing the bandleader. Drummer and I were in total disbelief. Bandleader thought it was an appropriate response to his playing.

[Paul_C]

I was in a pub in town (one I'd only ever been in once, about 20 years ago) to see a mate's band playing a battle of the bands thing, and at one point in the evening I was telling his missus how the bass player in the band I play drums for used to work for my Dad, and that the singer/guitarist's girlfriend is someone I went to school with from when we were around 8.

As I was finishing telling her this tale of coincidences, I hesitated, and said ".. and that's my ex-wife" as she walked past.

I do have an even weirder tale of coincidences, but it'd take forever to write.

[skankdelvar]

Doing a set between Melvyn "It ain't half hot, Mum" Hayes' raffle draw and 10 baton twirling kids. With Eric Knowles off the Antiques Roadshow up the front and grooving along to our deafening pub rock.

[Mrs Tinman]

[quote name='The Funk' post='646776' date='Nov 5 2009, 10:36 PM']Looking over the shoulder of the keyboard player/sax player/bandleader to see a middle-aged couple full on going at it to the sound of our music, especially his sax solo. She literally dropped her knickers and straddled her fella while facing the bandleader.[/quote]

Hahahahahahaha - love it! Never under-estimate the so -called 'middle-aged'

[JakeBrownBass]

Mine was this


[url="http://s3.photobucket.com/albums/y56/Jake_tfbs/Greenday/?action=view&current=bassistish.flv"][/url]

[Cat Burrito]

A few moments for you to marvel at;

We played The Maltings in Farnham back one winter in the 90s. On the bill was a band called Avalanche that were getting really hyped. The promoter kept saying "The Avalanche boys will be here any minute". We spent several hours in the warm waiting for them and finally we were told "The Avalanche boys are here!" where on a bunch of guys walked in brushing snow off themselves! Priceless!

I played the Hope & Anchor in Islington back in my punk days and we put on our usual energetic set. The audience was little more than a bunch of tourists who appeared vaguely disinterested. We threw ourselves about and gave it all the attitude. Afterwards we went off to the backstage area which was a side room. We were freshening up when this german guy kicked the door open and shouted with quite some enthusiam "Farkin' hell! Punk rock! You guys are really punk!" We all just fell about laughing. Bless him.

In my early 20s we landed a gig in Lincoln and unwisely started drinking Special Brew from 7am. We all loaded into or transit and drove from Bath. The drinking didn't stop (our guitarist had a legendary pee at a roundabout that lasted several minutes!). By the time we got to LIncoln we were all pretty drunk, except the roadie / van driver. The people who were going on stage were wrecked. We went onstage at 9pm. I was propped against the fire exit as I couldn't stand. I remember the lead guitarist walking around the stage on his hands and knees hitting the floor (he had dropped a plectrum!). The whole show was a shambles. We played to a very nervous looking audience and eventually exited via the fire exit and went downstairs. The promoter came running down stairs demanding we get back up there as "they loved us". We weren't convinced but went back up and played what I can only imagine was the world's worst encore. The audience continued to look awkward but we exited and again the promoter came running down to tell us how much these people loved us. This time we told him that we really weren't convinced and said so. We were told it was like "watching The Who and the Sex Pistols all rolled into one". We went back upstairs and pushed our merchandise - we never sold more before or since! We weren't the new messiah, we were very naughty boys!

[cetera]

[quote name='ahpook' post='646745' date='Nov 5 2009, 09:57 PM']there's that whole 'schoolgirl on stage at darlington arts centre' thing...

but that was a long time ago, and i don't do that kind of thing any more.[/quote]

Respect!

[FuNkShUi]

Recording at the studio run by the son of Phil Campbell from Motorhead. Its built as a part of his house, and the bathroom is indoors. Inside the bathroom the walls are filled, and i mean completely covered with photos of Phil and Lemmie meeting all sorts of famous celebs from around the world. This was quite a surreal site to be surrounded by whilst. . . doing your business!! Never thought id have the queen watching me on the toilet

[cetera]

To 'follow through' with another toilet story....

The first time I visited my friend (and original Doobie Brothers bassist) Tiran Porter's house I had been there a few hours when I felt nature calling and retreated to his toilet. As I took my seat I looked up at the wall in front of me and there on the wall was a 'Rolling Stone Award' for 'Best Band of 1977' or such-like....

When I asked him why it was relegated to the little boys room he said it was because "they're a pretentious and sh*t magazine - so what better room for the award to hang"?! lol!

[yorick]

Don't know about surreal, Stupid, yes. On stage in Germany, ever so slightly pished, i went for the foot on the monitor pose. missed and ended up in the crowd.....

[51m0n]

My first 'gig'...

It was New Years Eve maybe '91. We were all round the drummer's flat above a shop on the London Road into Brighton past Preston Circus.

Come 10 to 12 the band in a state of extreme drunkeness and stupidity decide to get all our gear (such that it was) on the roof and start playing. This meant opening the windows and piling the stuff outside, there was a 1ft high stub of wall beyond which there was a 3 storey drop to said main road. As long as you leant back against the flat's top roof with your feet in the gutter you almost felt safe...

We get the gear out and the guitarist shouts down to some girl walking on the street that we are going to play to her. she looks very confused, then we start playing, our only song a ridiculously bad rendition of Johnny Be Goode.

Rather than leaving she stays to hear us (she must have been even more drunk than us!), and people start piling out of the pubs all the way along the road celebrating the wonder of a New Year. The sheer attrocity of the performance on the roof top above them traps them all like rabbits in headlights, they all converge in the road beneath us. A lot of them.

Meantime our one song draws to a close and we say Happy New Year, see ya and try and retreat back into the flat. At which point a hail of empty bottles and cans sort of convinces us to continue.... with our only song... ... Again!!

At this point the very very drunk rhythm guitarist in a fit of utter p155ed stupidity decides to cement the event in everyones memories regardless of alchol and other imbibement by doing the duck walk [b]along the top of the stub wall!!![/b] - I kid you not, in a state of near paralytic drunkeness he duck walked a 30 ft long 5" wide wall with a 3 storey drop off one side and played his guitar no worse than at any other time I ever heard him play (admittedly thats not saying much). I look back on this and am just flabbergasted, legendary!

By this point there is a properl;y large crowd formed all the way across the road (I'd guess at least 300 people, maybe 500), which is stopping taxis and other vehicles. Powerless (in our stupor) to stop, we watch as impatient taxis try and force their way through the crowd, the people then retaliate by jumping on the taxi roofs and dancing away. In particular I remember a girl wearing very very sharp stilettoes leaving visible dents in the roof of one taxi!!

Needless to say our luck could not continue, and we saw the blue flashing lights from a very long way off, before anyone below us did. Galvanised by the incoming plod we chucked all our gear back through the window under a hail of bottles and followed it, before the crowd was dispersed by the 3 wagons and 40 odd officers who appeared moments later.

We endeavoured to put ourselves in a position of being able to say it wasnt us officer by consuming every last drop of alcohol in the place in cluding a bottle of green minty stuff that may have been mouthwash or may have been Co Op Cremem de Menthe (the label had come off).

The best bit was that the entrance to this flat was right round the back off the road, and the police never worked out how to get in.

Weirdest gig I've ever done that, and one of the best too!

Worst bit was the hangover the next day, oh my g o d !!!

Edited November 6, 2009 by 51m0n

[Bilbo]

In around 1986, I used to be in a Chepstow based band called Silent Partner with Grant Nicholas from Feeder and a guitarist/keyboard player called Brian Sperber. Brian was American and we used to argue like cat and dog about everything - to be fair, it was his band but I was really arrogant then and liked to pick arguments . Needless to say, the band broke up (musical differences - I was musical, Brian was different) and we all went our seperate ways. Without my knowledge, Grant went on to play in bands called Multi Story, Temper Temper, Raindance and then formed Feeder. Brian went back to America and I never heard what he was up to (although he did ring me from the US one night at 4 a.m. to see what I was doing - 'sleeping' I said!!!).

Many years later (2000/01?), I started work as Manager of a Probation Hostel in Kew in S. W. London. One of the hostel wardens was a drummer and, over the years I was there, we would often talk about music. Amongst other things, he turned me onto an LP called 'Straight On Till Morning' by Blues Traveller (recommended). He had lent me the CD and I had taped it and given him the cd back. I was particularly drawn to a track called 'Yours', a heavy ballad-type thing with some great lyrics. I listened to the cassette for a long time and then lent it to my nephew because he was a developing guitarist and I thought he would like it. I never saw it again.

I was living in Farnham at the time and started doing jazz gigs around that area. I hooked up with, amongst others, a drummer from Reading called Julian Bown. We did some regular jazz gigs near Bracknell and used to talk between sets. The subject of early bands came up and I mentioned that I used to play with Grant Nicholas. 'You're s***ing me'? says Julian. 'No' says I. Apparently, Julian was Jon Lee's first call dep drummer for Feeder and had played with the band many times if Jon couldn't do it. He was able to pass on a 'hello' to Grant for me (Julian has since worked with Nik Kershaw and was on at least one of Kershaw's cds).

Roll forward to 2008. I decided I would like to get a copy of that Blues Traveller CD again (so no nagging about the cassette, please ) so went onto Amazon to buy it. It arrived a few days later and I listened to it straight away and loved it all over again. After a few more listens over a few more months, I got hold of my first mp3 player and decided to put some of the tracks onto my PC to transfer it onto the player. As I was copying the disc, and for the first time ever, I read the production credits. Who was the engineer on 'Yours' and who has also worked with Moby, Whitney Houston and Ric Ocasek of The Cars?

Brian bloody Sperber....

What's the chances of all that happening?

[arsenic]

At the age of 18, having a piece of card put in my grubby hands by my father, which turned out to be a ticket - costing, IIRC, 1 Great British Pound - to see Eric Clapton live at.....The Gala Swimming Baths, West Bromwich!!!!!!

My father worked there for many years before his death, and it was his job to supervise the load in, load out, security and locking up at the end of that night.

Support was The Muddy Waters Blues Band - who, incidently, out-played and out-performed EC.

Anyway at the end of the night I was standing talking to may father, Eric Clapton walked past and out without a word.....Muddy Waters came up to us....we didn't have a clue what he wanted, thought he may want directions to the toilet, a pub or the local whorehouse.....he pushed a couple of coins into my fathers hand, and thanked him for having him there......then he turned to me, shook my hand and thanked me for coming to see him with the words, "without people like you, there wouldn't be people like me".

I have nothing but respect for that kind of attitude....

[KevB]

Nothing to do with performing but it's music related...
When I was a kid I was in a school rock band and didn't play anything so I was the 'singer' (I use the term very loosely). I was 'replaced' before their first proper gig cropped up so you can tell how sh*t hot I was Anyway as a 'singer' one of my all time heroes was Ian Gillan. Fast forward 10 yrs and I'm doing a rock show on hospital radio in my spare time. They ask me to go interview....Ian Gillan. I go slightly weak kneed but battle through it, asking what were in retrospect some slightly impertinent questions. Expecting to be either chinned or summarily dismissed at end of interview I thank him for his time etc. To my astonishment he says he thought it all went OK, he'd finished all his commitments for the rest of the day and did I fancy a pint? So there I am sat outside a Nottm pub with him, a couple of hangers on and my girlfriend at the time as he regails us with off the record stories of his time in Deep Purple and other ventures. Utterly surreal. Even invited us out for a curry later that evening but I felt we'd taken enough of his time and declined.

Edited November 6, 2009 by KevB

[TRadford]

Mine isnt performace related, well is kind of.
There is this band that I have loved for years, like since the 1996. They are a Swedish classical/Metal band , pretty big in Europe. Anyway in 2006 I found out they were playing a small festival in the next town from me, this was a pretty huge, as I never thought I'd get to see them. My g/f for some reason emailed them asking for the set list, beacuase she is a belly dancer and wanted to make up some sequences to dance along to the gig. About 2 weeks later she had an email from the band leader, Christofer saying that he'd love her and my sister in law to perform on stage with them for a few songs, as some of thier stuff is quite Egyptian sounding.

On the day of the gig, we went up there at about 7.am and met up with the band backstage, we all had AAA passes and were flauting them around Waynes World style. The girls did their stuff on stage and we had an amazing time. The band invited us back to thier hotel for the after party, where we stayed until 8.am the next morning!

After that we kept in contact through email with Christofer, and he invited us to another gig they were doing in London, again we had backstage passes and the like. At the end of the gig he said the band were doing a DVD filming in Poland later that year, and would my G/f like to dance again. She agreed and we had an all expense paid trip to Poland and again all the backstage goodness.
1 year later, we had a out of the blue email from Christofer. He said the band were going on tour around Europe to promote the new album and asked firstly if my G/f would like to dnace again, and secondly they needed a roadie/set builder and would I like to do it. We jumped at the chance and in Dec 2008 we flew out to Germany to meet up with the band and the tour bus. For the next two weeks we lived the full "rockstar" lifestyle, living on the bus, touring round Europe. We all got on really well with all the band, but especially Christofer. It was the hardest, but the most amazing 2 weeks of my life. A real experience. Not only to be visting all these places, but to be hanging out with a band I idolised for a long time. Not only that, but I also got paid for all my work, even though we had originally agreed I wouldnt be paid. The band and crew siad I had worked so hard and helped so much, I should be paid. I even got offered the job of drum tech for the next tour!

We still keep in contact with Christofer and he has invited us to come stay at his house he is building in Ireland when it is finished.

Not the best story in the world, but one that changed my life a little bit and gave me an amazing experience!

[LukeFRC]

The band I was in a few years back supported Kate Nash, she stole our bands beer. Theres more to it than that but that tells you enough about her and her band

[E sharp]

Years ago , I did a holiday camp gig with the band and we were booked to support Brian Poole (Tremoloes fame) and his band Electrix , I believe .

Us on first for the kiddies stuff - hokey cokey , all the Black Lace numbers etc .
Then Brian Poole
Then us to finish - with our stomping rock

After out first set , I went backstage , to be greeted by Brian Poole trying to squeeze himself into a girdle - Rock'n'Roll

I've never forgotton it
Oh and he never spoke (arogant twat) , but the band were great - really up for a laugh .

[rapscallion]

Playing an open mic in Littlehampton at the Dolphin I think, and my dub band and I are pretty s**t hot that night (possibly copious amounts of London Pride being the reason). We finish the show and an old codger comes over and has a chat. The mans either rather pissed or on something, because inbetween telling us how fantastic it all was, he compliments us on the 'light show' that was being beamed between our eyes every time we changed key etc.

Happy to say that man was our biggest fan.

[RockfordStone]

i played a gig last april and had a bunch of girls who i had never met or even seen before wildly screaming my name.... it was most odd

[teej]

Had quite a few, where to begin?

To carry on in the celeb vein: how about busking in Guildford, and selling our tape (that was before we had cds) to Alvin Stardust? He was first customer of the day and we didn't have change so he had to go off and find some for us. Similarly, in Guildford looking up and seeing Bonnie Langford throwing cash in the bass case. Met Jack Dee a couple of times (wrapped up in a scarf, hat and shades), Oxford and Chichester - he's an old mate, we met at Comprehensive (no, he's not a public school boy) in our Third Year, and got a band together a year or two later. Nigella Lawson sat right in front of me, not 5 feet away at a gig in 'Ain't Nothin' But...'. Playing Will Young's joint winning-contestant/Mum's-birthday party - probably the worst food we've ever had at a private gig.

Surreal busking events involving non-famous people are so numerous I'd be here all night!

Then there's the strange request from an audience member. This, to a trio consisting of upright bass, slide dobro, and kit with just 2 drums - 'Owner of a Lonely Heart'.