We got booked to play a show at really nice venue by a promoter who is really wanting to push us and take care of us. However, little did she know, the same venue was also hosting somebody's 62nd wedding anniversary party in the adjacent room where there was no wall.
When we realized that were there were nearly a hundred people in that party that were all over age 65, we knew there was going to be a problem. As we began to take the stage, the people from that party began to filter into the crowd that we would normally have. As we began to set, our drummer started off with a long drum fill that hammered its way into a double bass riff that lays the foundation for me screaming in my Halford style voice.
After we made it through the first song, we were informed that we needed to drop the volume by at least half. We did so accordingly. Then, halfway through the second song we were told to turn down even more. After we did this, we could no longer hear the bass or guitar amps on stage over the drums. Then, as we attempted to start the third song, we were just completely cut off.
The promoter was angered beyond words and took it up with the venue owner. For some reason, the owner did not see a problem with booking a metal band at the same time as having a wedding anniversary in the next room when they were doing the scheduling, but totally realized the mistake.
They came to an agreement to have us play later in the evening, which turned out better for us. So, that was a good thing. But, I think mixing the wailing, classic Metal vocals and gutteral Death Metal accents probably gave a few senior citizens some nightmares.
