Back in 2008, my mother and brother came over to visit and watch my band Widescreen play live. I got very excited. Neither of them had seen me perform for decades and this was a chance to show them I hadn't lost the magic!
The gig was an all-nighter under one of the many arches in London. I gave the band a severe 'pep' talk letting them know I expected our best performance yet . . . absolutely no fuck-ups. By the time we got on stage I was beginning to feel really tired. It was 3am. Just as I started to tune, a drum and bass DJ kicked out the jamms and 'pumped up the volume!!!'. I couldn't hear myself at all.
Things quickly went from bad to the ridiculously bad. I was out of tune for the whole show, completely unable to find the correct pitch. Whenever it was my turn to solo it was hilariously awful. I'm only able to say that because a few years have passed.
I learned never to point the finger of shame at my bandmates. They learned just how out of control I could get. The most interesting thing was that no one in the audience noticed anything particularly untoward.
ps: my mom and brother loved it .hey said the show had a wonderfully manic quality about it . . . you bet.