When band times go bad. We have a look at some of the times when the show
didn't go the way it was supposed to.
5. The Stage Dive : Mira Craig trusts her fans
Ok this isn't as bad as you think it's going to be. Well it sort've is. Norweigan/American R&B artist Mira Craig was opening for the Fugees in 2007 and thought it would be a good idea to stage dive. No doubt adrenalised in the heat of supporting her heroes, Craig seizes the moment and launches herself off the stage. Into the floor. Unintentionally - but hilariously - the music stops at the precise moment the wind is audibly knocked out of her. Meanwhile her backup dancers remain motionless, waiting for a cue that isn't coming. Craig broke her knee for the trouble.
Honourable mention: American band Boy Hits Car at KRockathon 10. Hint: Watch above the left speaker stack. Epic.
4. The Arrest: Two Gallants lose trust in the law
Things don't get much hairier than this. Raspy American folk duo Two Gallants were playing an intimate set at Walter's in Washington, October 2006. Reports vary but according to eyewitness acounts the trouble started when a burly cop jumped up on stage, telling the duo to turn it down. Singer Adam replied with "Why?' and all hell breaks loose. In the first video we see the cop suddenly throttle the duo to the floor, where he reportedly tasered both of them while the crowd screams. In the second video he goes after the cameraman, trampling through the venue in a rage.
Two Gallants incident @ Walter's - Video 1
Two Gallants incident @ Walter's - Video 2
Honourable mention: Jake Stone from Bluejuice getting arrested at a 2005 Tsunami benefit for wearing a police uniform on stage.
Jake Stone being arrested on stage
3. The (Out of) Tune: Van Halen trust their keyboard tech
There are a couple of variations on the explanation for what happened here. One is that Eddie Van Halen was drunk and couldn't hear the problem. Another was that he'd been handed the wrong guitar. But the most popular idea is that iconic keyboard sample for the band's signature tune 'Jump' was sampled at the wrong speed. Whatever the reason the result is cringeworthy. As the band kicks in it's plainly evident how out of tune everything is, with the spotlight falling perhaps unfairly on the lead guitarist. Eddie tries to strangle his notes in the direction of the right key, but it just cannot, ever, be found.
Van Halen play out of tune in Greensboro
Honourable mention 1: A laryngitis afflicted Daniel Johns murdering 'Straight Lines' on national US television show Jay Leno.
Audio only. Mysteriously, the video has been deleted from the deepest corners of the internet.
Honourable mention 2: Tom DeLonge - ex of Blink 182 and now of Angels and Airwaves - struggling self consciously through the latters first single 'The Adventure'.
Angels and Airwaves in trouble.
2. The Explosion: The Who trust Keith Moon
Keith Moon was of course the infamous drummer for windmilling guitar legends The Who. Known as a legendary drinker, he was also a rampant mischeif maker. Nowhere more so than at the bands appearance on US comedy show The Smothers Brothers. History says that the band decided to have an explosion go off at the end of their performance of 'My Generation'. Moon felt privately that the band could go out with a bigger bang and thus filled the powder keg inside his bass drum with three times the amount of explosives agreed upon. The resulting bang shook the audience, set and band. Moon ended up with a piece of shrapnel in his leg - as well as lying motionless on the floor afterwards - and it's said that this marks the exact moment that Pete Townsend lost hearing in one ear.
The Who - explosion on live TV
Honourable mention: Keith Moon playing a drum solo. With his drums full of goldfish. Keith Moon, ladies and gentlemen.
Keith Moon - Goldfish drum solo
1. The Accident: Rolling Stones trust the Hells Angels Anyone with an internet connection and a record collection has seen this video. But repeated viewings do nothing to ease the tension. The Rolling Stones famously headlined a free concert to 300,000 people at the Altamont Speedway in Northern California in 1969. No need to clog the internet with further exposition, suffice to say that the combination of the Hells Angels, bad acid, the band at their prime and the drug and violence fuelled December weekend served as both the metaphorical and literal end of the hippie era. The fact that it was captured on film - crystallisd with the death of fan Meredith Brooks at the hands of a Hells Angel - is still a remarkable glimpse into the time.
At 1:30 the camera holds for an inordinate amount on a particular dude just beyond Mick Jagger, seemingly deep in the throes of an intense acid trip. He's ejected before he can cause any problem and the tension seemingly eases. While the Stones bring 'Under My Thumb' to a rambling close in an understated but slightly terrified way, it makes the sudden appearance of Brooks (in the green suit and allegedly armed with a gun) and the shadowy, deadly lunge of the biker stabbing him all the more shocking.
Rolling Stones - 'Under My Thumb' Live @ Altamont