Bar fight

Hiya gang,

Well, it had to happen eventually -- I've been playing dive bars for 10 or so years, and Saturday night I got to witness my first bar fight from the stage. We'd just finished "What's Up" by 4 Non Blondes and in the corner farthest from us, some guy starts wailing on another. Tables getting knocked over, total chaos. We didn't go into the next song, just kind of watched in stunned amazement. Our singer kind of moved back and crouched against the wall, and I went and stood in front of her in a sort of half-@ssed attempt at chivalry.

Eventually the owner, who is a 30-something hot chick with tats and piercings all over the place, and is also retired USMC, shoved them out the door, yelling "No fights in my #@$%&* bar!" Deputies showed up, took one guy to the ground and the other to jail.

Bartender comes back to us and says, "Start playing again and let's get this night back to normal." So we did, and it worked :)

I'm not at all a violent person, so I really didn't like having this happen. Anyone have any stories about similar situations? What did/would you do?

We played great, though; afterward my bandmates and I agreed it was the best gig -- musically -- we'd had yet. Go figure.

CV
 
Mentioned this in another thread. Always have a high energy song on tap in case a fight breaks out. Draw the rest of the crowds attention back to the stage and dance floor. Let the bar folks handle the rowdies. This does several things, keeps other civilians out of harms way, clears space for the bouncers to get to the action and shove it out the door, and focuses the evening on the positive instead of the fight being the main event. Do this and the bar folks will be very happy. And you get more gigs.

Whatever you do, don't try to be gallant and help out with the problem person unless you are a cop or secret service. If it's just a 98 lb. lady behind the bar, let her call the cops and you keep the heat down, and others out of the fray, by doing your job and entertaining everyone else. Even trained cops get hurt trying to take down wigged out idiots, don't add to the bar's problems.
 
I've witnessed a few fights from the stage in my time. Also, 2 heart attacks and a fainting spell which turned out to be a diabetic coma. All scary stuff, and leaves you wondering, "What should I do?"

I got involved when our bass player got yelled at onstage by somebody in the crowd who didn't like his girlfriend being picked up on by band members. When the break came, I walked our (scared) bass player out of the restaurant, with this guy following us. I turned around, puffing up my chest (...which, coupled with my arms, makes me look buffed...ha!), and told him to go cool off, and that if he didn't want his girl hanging out with band members, then he should talk to HER about not approaching us and flirting like she was single and looking for love. He didn't take this too well and got in my face. Luckily, he just needed to yell it out a bit, and things didn't get physical, but I was ready if they were, and I'm not a violent guy in the least...I just felt like standing up for my friend, who is scrawny as a beanpole.
 
I have witnessed many a fight at dives our band played in. Some even cleared the whole place of people!

Worst one was in a place in Arkansas. It broke out during our gig and after we left for the night......this was a Friday night. The next evening when we arrived, tables and chairs were broken up and there were blood stains on the wood floor. Big free for all.

Several people were sent to the local hospital.

Most of the time, we kept playing when a fight broke out because sometimes, the drunks get pissed off at you if you stop the music. I got tired of all that and plus having a heart bypass kind of persuaded me to retire from live music.
 
Mentioned this in another thread. Always have a high energy song on tap in case a fight breaks out.

I'm not too versed in bar fights, but I'm thinking no one is gonna be looking at the band when a fight is going on...unless you have a female singer who pulls up her top during it...
 
I'm not too versed in bar fights, but I'm thinking no one is gonna be looking at the band when a fight is going on...unless you have a female singer who pulls up her top during it...

What you're trying to do is keep people from clustering around the problem. In a small bar, everyone's going to see it. A larger bar or club, some folks may not notice until they see a crowd gathering. In either event, banging out something loud and hard will draw some attention towards the stage. Don't acknowledge the fight or say anything that focuses people's attention that way. I've had fights break out in 300 seat clubs and in tiny bars where they crashed into the PA and I just reached out to grab the speaker from falling over and kept on playing the guitar. A buddy of mine played in a big 600 seat C&W club and he said they never stopped. The bouncers would just come over, fold the clown up on the floor and carry them out. Most folks more than 20 feet away had no idea. Stop and stare, or make "knock it off" comments from the stage and you'll get everyone in the place involved. And a real mess for the bar staff to straighten out.

In the OP's case, the idiots responded to the authority of the bartender and went outside. Which usually happens if you can keep things from escalating. Which is why instead of feeding the fire, the band can help by creating whatever diversion they can. I wouldn't advocate stripping, but a banging tune helps.
 
Sounds like a great reason to never accept a playing engadement where alchohol is served.


..beyond the secondary nature that music takes in such an environment.
 
Alexandra Hills pub in Brisbane was the worst I'd ever seen. Nice venue and not a dive but it was a case of when, not if, fights would break out every single weekend.
Saw plenty of idiots escorted to the door by security but luckily no-one in the band was ever accosted.
Probably the only time I felt unsafe was when I was loading out after a gig one night out in the carpark, two guys walk past me and one says to the other "We'll roll this c*** and take his gear". Either I scared them off with my oh-so-scary stare or they were just bluffing cos they just kept walking!
 
Have seen my share of bashings, beatings, glassings and even a stabbing. Whilst I can recall the occasional plea for calm from the lead singer, more often than not we just kept playing. They flare up pretty quickly and there really isn't time for the band to get involved. Nor should they. Let the bouncers get their hands dirty, they're trained for it and that's why they're there.
 
I find it amazing that the owner is in her thirties and retired from the marines. She must have gone in when she was ten, lol
 
I saw a gun come out one time. Creepy. It didn't get used , but still.....creepy.

Here is a tip for future fights. Stick a mike in front of a PA speaker and watch the crowd disperse. It's like a tazer to the ears.
 
I grew up in a rough neighborhood. I've seen and been involved in more fights than I can count. At this point in my life, I'm not interested in playing a venue where fighting is going to occur on a regular basis.

There's a joint down the street from where my buddy lives that is notorious for hosting a really rough crowd. This is the kind of bar where you walk in and people are looking for a reason to fight. Look at a guy - or his girl - the wrong way, and it's on. Think of the Double Deuce bar in the movie Road House, except with lousy music. We've never played at this place, and I doubt we ever will, but it might be fun to do just one time to see how crazy it gets.
 
Unfortunately, we were the main focus of a fight, about 2 shows in with my new band. Up until that point, I hadn't played with any bands that played the bar scene, so this was definitely a new experience.

There were some drunk guys from a construction crew that weren't even in the dance hall all night, only there to drink at the bar. After our show, before breaking down we always have the normal patrons come speak with us and the normal "great job tonight" conversations. As we were chatting, the construction guys walked by us towards the exit and mumbled something. Our bass player just asked him what he said and one of the guys just lunges at him, but my bass player leveled him before he even got the chance to get close. Once that happened, it was 5 construction guys vs. the 3 of us. Well, I grabbed the next guy that came lunging, took him out and drug him out of the way, while the guitar player took out one as well. Luckily, some of the folks who were leaving heard the controversy and came back in to help. They were kicked out and threatened to get a gun as they were being escorted out.

Really wasn't a big deal, but I'm not a fighter and unfortunately we had to stand up for our bass player who did nothing to start anything. Luckily, the owners (2 little ladies) saw it go down, and couldn't apologize enough about what happened to us. Played there a dozen times since and no issues at all.
 
Sounds like a great reason to never accept a playing engagement where alcohol is served.


..beyond the secondary nature that music takes in such an environment.

I believe that most of us played in bars at some time. I play a good many wedding receptions every year and it's very seldom that there is no alcohol being served. Maybe just a handful of times that I can remember. The worst I've seen is people falling into fountains or cakes, lol.

Dennis
 
So something I'm noticing is that every post somebody says they aren't a fighter. Now I dont feel bad to be a drummer who stays away from violence:D
 
So something I'm noticing is that every post somebody says they aren't a fighter. Now I dont feel bad to be a drummer who stays away from violence:D

I'd say a drummer who goes around looking for fights doesn't keep a job for too long. However, a drummer who is willing to stand up for his mates probably stays hired haha.
 
Hiya gang,

Well, it had to happen eventually -- I've been playing dive bars for 10 or so years, and Saturday night I got to witness my first bar fight from the stage. We'd just finished "What's Up" by 4 Non Blondes and in the corner farthest from us, some guy starts wailing on another. Tables getting knocked over, total chaos. We didn't go into the next song, just kind of watched in stunned amazement. Our singer kind of moved back and crouched against the wall, and I went and stood in front of her in a sort of half-@ssed attempt at chivalry.

Eventually the owner, who is a 30-something hot chick with tats and piercings all over the place, and is also retired USMC, shoved them out the door, yelling "No fights in my #@$%&* bar!" Deputies showed up, took one guy to the ground and the other to jail.

Bartender comes back to us and says, "Start playing again and let's get this night back to normal." So we did, and it worked :)

I'm not at all a violent person, so I really didn't like having this happen. Anyone have any stories about similar situations? What did/would you do?

We played great, though; afterward my bandmates and I agreed it was the best gig -- musically -- we'd had yet. Go figure.

CV

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA
Brrrrrilliant...
We're dying for this to happen and have a very nippy version of Blitzkrieg Bop waiting for it to happen.... :)
 
Played a show at Lodz Uni, Poland. We turned up late due to traffic and poor Polish roads, and the riot police had been and arrested loads of people.

Prior to that played three shows in Ireland opening for NoFx, one in Belfast which went ok, one in the afternoon in Dublin which went ok and then one in the evening at a little town called Kill, yes you read it right 'KILL'. The venue was full of drunk 15 year olds, so later as we were packing away and while NoFx were on, the kids wanted more, NoFx said no... we had just finished packing away and it kicked off outside. We drove off with the van doors open and kids kicking and banging the van. Don't know what happened to NoFx.
 
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