Rare Unusual Funny Prog Rock Concert Experiences

[MagmaShark]

I was thinking about all the prog rock concerts I've been to over the past 47 years, and some of the ones immortalized on tape and decided to put a show together for my weekly on air prog rock radio show. I found some pure classics - the fire at the Frank Zappa concert in Montreux 1971 forever remembered thanks to "Smoke On The Water", Genesis getting boo'd in Holland on the Abacab tour and Phil lashing out, Peter Gabriel forgetting the lyrics to "Solsbury Hill" (twice!) in Seattle 1983, and put them together with some rare (well, not the most well known) performances by Yes, Pink Floyd and Genesis. The show is podcast on mixcloud here -

https://www.mixcloud.com/magmashark/

I found some other interesting bits on tape for another installment - a fan jumping Jon Anderson at the end of "Awaken" in Pittsburgh 1977 and Gentle Giant introducing themselves using the names of Yes members as a joke at the Roxy in L.A. in 1980. But I'm reaching out to PE fans who have their own stories or their own rare prog rock concert memories when something went awry that would be fun to play and add to a part 2.

Of course Baja Prog is a mountain of resources in itself - Thijs Van Leer falling off the piano bench while playing at the hotel bar, or Carl Palmer complaining that his drum mics weren't working but there was no one at the desk he was yelling at, or Pendragon coming on so late that there were no lighting guys there and they played mostly in the dark?

What are your stories or memories? Suggestions? Recommendations?

PS .. if you've got a recording to add - please PM me - so I can get it on the show

[mozo-pg]

This happened at a Jethro Tull concert in the mid-1970s. I can't remember if it was a smoke bomb or what was thrown on stage. Ian Anderson stopped the show and said he would knock the person's teeth down their throat.

[Nov]

I was at the Genesis "booing" show in Leiden in 1981. It was rather shocking hearing the booing but in reality it was just a few pockets of fans booing stuff such as "No Reply At All". There were about 500 English fans over there on coach trips and we rounded on the people booing a bit - I mean how dare they boo Genesis
Anyway, all order was restored when they played "Firth of Fifth". Happy days

[Lopez]

I saw Genesis at the Tower Theater in Philly in late 1973 around the release of Selling England by the Pound. Peter Gabriel introduced a song from the new album ending the introduction with "...she sits on waves." Someone yelled out, "Eat shit!" Peter retorted, "She does not eat shit; she sits on waves."

[progeezer]

Stretching it to call it a prog rock concert, but it is a band loved by many here, and it sure as hell qualifies for rare and unusual.

In early 1967, my then wife & I went to see the (orig. 5 man) Byrds w/Lothar & The Hand People opening at the Cafe A Go Go in NYC. We were both tripping. Seated at the table next to us was Allen Ginsberg & his longtime lover Peter Orlovsky. We started talking to each other, and found out they were also (in the words of the Chambers Bros.) "psychedlicized" and at one point Ginsberg wanted to get up on his table & dance. Whether true or not, he told us that Peter had acrophobia and would Lynda (my wife) get up & dance with him. She did. One of my biggest memories from the Age of Aquarius.

[arturs]

I saw Procol Harum outdoors in Los Angeles in 2003. I think it was early August, when it is never supposed to rain... The show was interrupted twice by major downpours. The second time, they knew that was the end. They launched into WSoP as quick as they could, but the rain just got heavier and heavier. I think they only made it through one verse and literally just dropped their instruments and ran offstage.

[JKL2000]

I was at a Marillion show in Syracuse in the early 90s where most of the electricity on stage cut out mid-song and suddenly all you could hear was Ian Mosley drumming. Supposedly Mark Kelly spilled a beer and it shorted some stuff out! So Steve Hogarth told a pretty funny joke while they got things working again.

[moecurlythanu]

Cool story, Geez.

[samsondale]

Does Jon bringing his guru onto the MSG stage after a rousing highly emotional rendition of And You and I and a long standing ovation only to take the wind out of the concert’s sails count as funny? Certainly unusual.

[DocProgger]

I was at a Marillion show in Syracuse in the early 90s where most of the electricity on stage cut out mid-song and suddenly all you could hear was Ian Mosley drumming. Supposedly Mark Kelly spilled a beer and it shorted some stuff out! So Steve Hogarth told a pretty funny joke while they got things working again.

But you're not going to share the joke? Cool story.....

[JKL2000]

But you're not going to share the joke? Cool story.....

I actually did in the New Joke Thread. Come on over!

[mogrooves]

Genesis, Princeton University, early '73: the dressing rooms were right off the lobby. We heard an argument between PG & PC over vocal responsibilities, PG at one point yelling, "I'm the singer in this group!"

[markinottawa]

ELO Ottawa Civic Centre. Concert hall/hockey rink is a part of a complex that has oudoor football stadium. Stadium had a major wrestling event going on and during the concert Mad Dog Vachon walked out looked around and then left.

[DocProgger]

Genesis, Princeton University, early '73: the dressing rooms were right off the lobby. We heard an argument between PG & PC over vocal responsibilities, PG at one point yelling, "I'm the singer in this group!"

Come on, you're kidding with that one, right?.....

[GuitarGeek]

I thought I had posted something about the various Roger Waters rants from 70's era Pink Floyd shows. I know I typed it up, but it didn't post somehow. Anyway, quick summation:

1. December 1970 (forget which show, it's the one on the A Psychedelic Night bootleg): Waters gives Gilmour grief about taking too long to tune up after Alan's Psychedelic Breakfast. It's something like, "Oh, don't mind us! I mean, it's only 8:00, and we only started at half past 7, and we've only played one number, but you carry on, mate.

2. LA, 1975: Roger chews out out the security personnel in front of the stage for "hassling" the audience members.

3. Montreal, 6, July 1977: Last night of the Animals/In The Flesh tour. Roger starts playing Pigs On The Wing Part Two, when a very loud firecracker goes off, causing Roger to stop playing and singing. He then launches into a rant about audience behaviour.

A few others that come to mind, from personal experience:

Roy Harper dropping polite hints to overly verbose audience members sitting in the first or second row, when I saw him back in 1997. "You know, I can tell you everything you've talked about during each song". Then about the third or fourth song, he's singing this gentle ballad, and he abruptly stops and tells the people talking to either go to the back of the room or shut up.

Then during his encore, Roy had to stop again, because he had a nosebleed. From what he said, it's the result of a congenital condition, "All my children have it too", etc. So he's dabbing at his nose with a napkin or handkerchief or whatever. So some lady in the audience jumps up and says he should tilt his head back. He xplains that it's an open vein, if he does that, the blood will go into his lungs. This lady is like "Oh, no it won't, I'm a registered nurse". Roy is like "Look, I've been dealing with this my entire life", etc. My recollection was that the exchange got a little heated, though I think someone else who was at that show later suggested it wasn't as much so as I remembered it. (shrug)

Another one, deliberately funny this time, would be Ian Anderson, the second time I saw Jethro Tull, I think just before Thanksgiving 2007. They were playing without an opening band, after the first song, Ian says, "Hello, thank you and Happy Thanksgiving! It's such an honor to be hear tonight, opening for Jethro Tull!".

Then there was the various stories Rick Wakeman and Keith Emerson told when I saw each of them. Rick's included the time he got arrested for DUI, the time his mother brought several people from the retirement home she was volunteering at to one of Rick's shows, and what he claimed was the only time he ever played a show while drunk ("You can't perform while intoxicated, otherwise everything will sound like Tales From Topographic Oceans!").

Not to be outdone, Keith told of meeting Jimmy Smith ("I know who you are. You're that son of a bitch from England who plays all that fucked up shit, aren't you?!") and Leonard Bernstein (who, so the story goes, was more interested in Keith than he was in Keith's music, if you know what I mean). And I somehow find the whole story surrounding the Lucky Man solo, up to and including him having to get the back issue of Keyboard magazine with the transcription so he could relearn it for one of the reunion tours (because somehow he "had" to play that one solo), to be incredibly hilarious.

Peter Gabriel "almost getting strangled" while doing the flying stunt during As Sure As Eggs Is Eggs also strikes me as vaguely amusing. I mean, I'm sure it wasn't funny for Peter, at the time, but ya know, you have to laugh at things like that.

Not prog, but Gene Simmons accidentally setting his hair on fire multiple times (at least twice that I know of) before he realized if he stopped using hairspray (a product that carries a warning about it's flammability) his hair didn't catch on fire. Also, Gene saying of his 80's era stage attire that he could remember looking in the mirror and saying "Yeah, I look cool!", then realizing 20 years later that he didn't. Then there was all the equipment malfunctions.

And let's not forget James Hetfield not realizing it's a really dumb idea to be running around on any part of the stage that has pyro underneath it.

[GuitarGeek]

Oh yeah, I forgot the 12 bar blues version of In The Court Of The CRimson King that was played during the Detroit performance on the Islands tour. Also, Fripp's introduction, where he talks about driving around England with "Learn Epitaph!" written in mud on the side of the band's van, because they were too lazy to wash it off. Also, all of Fripp's other efforts to communicate with the audience circa 71-74, which often times very funny, with that dry British wit of his.

[Progbear]

Puppet Show at (I think) Club Chameleon in S.F.’s Mission district, some time in the 90s. This greasy homeless guy got up on stage and lit his matted, filthy hair on fire during their set. He was immortalized in the booklet to Traumatized. There was also this blond woman who looked like the girl from the “Safety Dance” video throwing popcorn at the band. During the instrumental breaks, Sean [the singer] tried to catch some in his mouth.

[Halmyre]

Marillion at the Glasgow Pavilion, and Fish was having a heated argument with a guy in the audience, eventually inviting him to come up here and we'll discuss it. The guy got out of his seat and went through a door at the side of the stage. From where I was sitting I could see him appear in the wings, by which time the band were well into the next number. He stood around for a bit and then sloped off. I don't know if he ever got his one-to-one with Fish.

Peter Gabriel at the Glasgow Apollo did an impromptu solo encore of Here Comes the Flood, forgot the words half way through "that was what is technically known as a mistake", apologised and started again.

[JKL2000]

I saw Camel at The Bottom Line on what they were calling their Farewell Tour (and it probably was the only time I'll have seen them!) - this was the same weekend they played NEARfest. Anyway, after one set I was in the restroom and this boy who must have been about 14 and probably with his dad said to me "Now that's something you don't see everyday!" Yes, he was talking about the band's performance. I just thought it was nice how enthusiastic he was about it.

Another show at The Bottom line was Gong on their Birthday Party tour. I was talking with a guy on the line, and ended up sitting next to him and as soon as the show started he lit up a big spliff and passed it to me. Perfect timing and a great show! I was pretty much on the Planet Gong for the duration.

[Zeuhlmate]

Not really funny but in 1984 at Roskilde Festival Johnny Winter stopped the show because some idiot throw a bottle on stage. It actually hit Johnny's shoulder.
After that you could not have bottles near the stage on Roskilde Festival (since 1971) anymore.

[Socrates]

Not really funny but in 1984 at Roskilde Festival Johnny Winter stopped the show because some idiot throw a bottle on stage. It actually hit Johnny's shoulder.
After that you could not have bottles near the stage on Roskilde Festival (since 1971) anymore.

Remember that. Only 2nd or 3rd song of the show, if I remember correctly.

And a big fence went up overnight around the area in front of the stage.

[doh]

Funniest for me was when Frost* had their keyboard reboot during a show (CTTE 2017) several times. The second time, John Mitchell just laid down on the ground and the rest of the band followed him.

[markwoll]

I saw Camel at The Bottom Line on what they were calling their Farewell Tour (and it probably was the only time I'll have seen them!) - this was the same weekend they played NEARfest. Anyway, after one set I was in the restroom and this boy who must have been about 14 and probably with his dad said to me "Now that's something you don't see everyday!" Yes, he was talking about the band's performance. I just thought it was nice how enthusiastic he was about it.

Tom Brislin was playing with Camel on that tour and his band Spiraling opened for them at the Birchmere in Alexandria, VA.
The audience had a strange mixture of old guys and teenage girls.
When did Camel have a teenage girl fan base? Other than in the '70's maybe.
It wasn't until Brislin Spiraling/Camel connection was made that this made any sense.

[GuitarGeek]

Funniest for me was when Frost* had their keyboard reboot during a show (CTTE 2017) several times. The second time, John Mitchell just laid down on the ground and the rest of the band followed him.

I recall reading about a show Todd Rundgren did back in the 90's, I guess one of those deals where he performed solo, backed up by synths, a drum machine, etc, all being run by a sequencer program (er, I mean, application) on his laptop. Great idea, only the laptop apparently crashed multiple times during the show, bringing the performance to a dead halt each time.

Another Genesis related one: on the Six Of The Best reunion concert, at one point, Peter starts telling one of the stories, then abruptly stops and says something "I'm sorry, the one thing we didn't rehearse was the stories, and that is the wrong story", then launched into the correct story that was meant to introduce whatever the next song was.

There's a Yes bootleg from the Relayer tour, I think Ft Worth, Texas, where Jon Anderson says "We've got a new album in the shops..." and you hear someone in the audience say "Not yet". And Jon then says, as if heard the person in the audience, "Well, in the shops this week, anyway".

[dgtlman]

Well there's always fun stuff from these guys during technical glitches. Go to around 1:20 for the funny