Re: Worst Gig

[hippo@xxxxxxxxxx (Hugh Messenger)]

Like Cathi, my worst gig was a wedding.  Not just any wedding, but a high
society wedding in Bangkok.  I won't bore you with the details of how we
ended up doing this, but David Michelsen and myself got asked to do our
harp duo stuff for a very upmarket reception, held at the Britannia Hotel
(the most exclusive hotel in Bangkok).

As we were on the road, we didn't have much in the way of glad rags.  David
had gone semi-native, sporting a bright pink pair of Thai style wrap around
pants, bright green shirt, black braces, one red sock and one blue sock in
a pair of thonged sandals.  I was modelling a pair of bright green Doc
Marten boots, a three year old pair of Levi's and a Harley T-Shirt.

We played for 30 minutes to about 300 hundred folk most of whom wore
outfits that cost more than our entire road trip budget.  Not one of them
had heard any of the styles of music we played, from W.C. Handy to J.S.
Bach, although they all politely applauded, usually about half way through
each song.  Twenty minutes in to the set the Britannia's resident keyboard
player, the only person in the room versed in Western music, decided to
join in our rendition of the St. Louis Blues, only he was so drunk he hit
the wrong button on his synth and transposed down a tone or three and
didn't notice.

The only song that received genuine applause was an impromptu version of
"Singing in the Rain" we played after the drunk keyboard played told us to
"pray some Flank Sintatla".

The strangest thing about the whole experience was that everyone *loved*
us!  I'll just never forget standing up there in front of so many totally
uncomprehending pairs of eyes ... I've never wished so hard for the ground
to open up and swallow me.

   -- hugh