Funny Music Story #4: Rollercoasters & Frostbite

My band had just landed an awesome show at a theme park in Missouri- we'd be playing in early September, and we couldn't be more pumped.  

Our set went great, and we sounded great coming through another band's sound system that they'd loaned to the park for the event. The band after us was a hard rock group that were a little past their prime, a little drunk, and more than a bit hard of hearing. Halfway through their set they'd blown our friend's sound system, overdriving the speakers and complaining about what a crap system it was. 

At the end of the night, we faced a problem: the theme park's staff had blocked us in, and there was no way to get around them. We'd have to wait until they left to leave the park.

As night fell, the balmy t-shirt weather of the afternoon slipped into chilly fall temps, and then nose-dove to just above freezing. We all huddled trying to conserve heat while the staff walked around in puffy coats, taking their time closing down for the night. We hadn't packed anything warm, since we had thought we'd have been home before dark. 

We'd ended our set at 7 PM, and it was almost 11 PM now. My sister and merch girl for the band was shaking with cold and crying. Expletives were flying in the hard rocker's van- they were pissed. 

The breaking point came around midnight. The security guards refused to let us leave until all the other coat-wearing staff exited. We heard another round of expletives from the rocker's van, followed by the lead singer attempting to assault a security guard. After some coaxing, we got him back in the van. We finally left 30 minutes later. I have never been more happy to be warm again. 

Takeaway: people show who they really are when they're very, very cold and tired. Be nice, always.