Have you ever played in front of people while drunk, and if so, how did it go?

[Bushleague]

Originally Posted by KevWind

Me ? no but I have played as John Fogerty put it "while people sat there drunk" and why I pretty much quit doing bar gigs..

One irony I've noticed, you go watch actual, talented musicians in most typical settings and they are usually just a background noise for people to get drunk too.

You wander into a punk show, the crowd might be a bit drunk but they are generally fully engaged, know most of the songs, and sing along enthusiastically with minimal prompting. With little chance of the songs ever getting any airplay, the music is almost purely intended to connect with the audience on an emotional level in a live setting. Food for thought.

As for performing drunk, my tolerance for alcohol is such that actually getting a buzz on requires considerable effort. So while I do drink before performances, and would likely fail a sobriety test, I dont know that its accurate to say that I play drunk. To be honest I'm not really sure why I even bother. Back when I smoked the herb though... I cant do anything well on that stuff.

[eyesore]

I play at wineries and breweries on weekends. I'll have one or two glasses of beer or wine. Does this make it a drunken experience? I don't consider that drunk. Maybe someone else has a different opinion.

[RustyAxe]

My band leader: "These people PAID to be here, we have to make it worth it, we owe it to them". This fella started his first band in 1960, at age 19, and has run a working band ever since. Lots of personnel changes over that time, been with him now for 11 years. He still has people come to our gigs that were at his first gigs! And new people show up every weekend (avg. ~90 per gig). He'll fire a drunkin' player on the spot, I've seen him do it, and then had to carry the vocals for an extra set. Like Mr. Louis Armstrong once said to an inebriated player, "Don't F' my hustle!".

[turtlejimmy]

I can't remember. I was told it didn't go well.



Turtle

[Andyrondack]

I once saw Nile Rodgers interviewed on tv. Nile told a story about attending a party and being asked to show some of his guitar playing skills, he was pretty drunk and convinced he'd showed them what great playing was.
Next day he got to hear a recording of his playing and it was in his opinion pretty awfull .

[Nama Ensou]

Quite a few times, always got asked back too. It's different focus when singing every night is what you do on a regular basis. Haven't even had a drink in a while and the only drinking I really do is when customers are bringing me drinks.
There'll come a point in the night when I realize that I'm not going to have any more for a bit, so it's a balancing act and you've got to be able to pay attention through all the bar noise, remembering lyrics, picking the next songs, how long to let a song go and determining if you've had enough to drink already.

[Mr. Jelly]

Then I realized I didn't have to be in a band to go out drinking.

[Nama Ensou]

First time drunk in a long time tonight and it didn't take much, but I played half an hour over the two hours I was supposed to do to a really nice listening audience and already got invited to play there again next month.

I ate all the rest of the hors d'oeuvres at the end too!

[leew3]

Way too consistently for a period of time in the 80's. I can't say whether it affected my playing and thankfully there are no recordings! I am delighted to say that I've been clean and sober since 1988.

[Nymuso]

No. Not ever.

I saw a very well known folk performer (now deceased) in NYC in the early 70s. He was totally and obviously wasted. Lesson learned about professionalism. For me anyway. Apparently not for him.

[mr. beaumont]

I played for years at a martini bar, and the owner INSISTED he make me a nice old fashioned when I arrived.

It would sit on my amp until I was done playing. Then I can have 2 or 3 if I want.