by Geoff Tyson
Strange things happen on tour…
Listen to the single while reading the text.
I was on tour with a band, opening for quite a big artist. We were playing theaters all over the USA. Before each gig, we would have a beer or two to calm the nerves. Over time, 2 turned to 3-4. Never had any performance issues. We often wondered exactly how drunk we could get and actually play the show properly, but we weren’t going to try anything while on this tour.
After the tour was over, we were booked in a few small places on our journey home across the country. One of those places was in a university town during the summer break, so there was nobody in the city, and nobody at the club. It was just the band and the bartender. The club stage was too small for our gear, so he brought a stage extension made from plywood and 2x4s. This was placed in front of the stage which gave us about 2 feet between the end of the stage and the back wall of the club.
So we thought that this would be a perfect time to test our booze limit. Can’t play in the middle of the street until you know where the far corner is, right?
We told the bartender our plan and he thought it was hilarious and was happy to help. So after way too many beers and tequila shots, we decided to start the show.
With this band, the music was quite complicated and intricate. When the first song started, I realized that this wasn’t as fun as I had hoped. Suddenly it was work just to stay on beat! We made it into the first verse of the first song, and when I stepped forward to the microphone for my first vocal, I stepped on to the stage extension, which wasn’t exactly level against the floor. The stage tipped back, sending the microphone like a missile, smashing directly into my face. I fell off the back of the stage, feet up in the air, and it wasn’t even 40 seconds into a 40-minute set. I don’t remember the rest of the show.