Weather Horror Stories

[Jim Price]

The Man Upstairs must have something against the first Saturday in October; we always seem to get rain or worse on this day!

I was in Ebensburg for Potatofest on Saturday, and minutes after I arrived, the skies opened up and it started drizzling. The crowd largely cleared off the streets to get dry, just leaving the hardcore festival and music fans (like me) to watch Rosie & the Jammers and Zupe. By the time I got down the street to catch the latter part of Zupe's set, the rain had built into a major downpour, and with a breeze to go with it, Zupe had to hastily end his set early to keep his electronics from getting soaked! (Thanks to Zupe and his entourage for providing dry sanctuary for me under the performance tent while the rain deluge lasted!)

Anyway, that episode inspired the idea for this thread - what's your best weather-related live music horror story? Rain, wind, storms, ice, blizzards, hurricanes, extreme hot or cold - what's your most memorable weather-related gig story?

A few of mine from covering shows:

1) The 2002 "End of Summer Jam" in Cresson. (Lonewolf, ToonaRockGuy and Banditos will remember this one.) Midway through Banditos' set, an approaching thunderstorm unleashed its fury on the Cresson Sportsmen's Club. Banditos had to bail out in mid song when lightning hit a little too close for comfort. Lone Wolf was running sound from the tower (R.I.P.), and I ran for cover underneath - then realizing that Lone Wolf and his sound gear were positioned above me, with lightning striking all around! Fortunately we didn't take any direct hits, but it was a tense few moments til the storm passed.

2) Groundhog Day 2002 in Punxsutawney. I remember watching The Marauders brave 32-degree temperatures, sleet, snow and freezing rain during an outdoor gig at a fast-food place on Groundhog Eve. Then the following morning, frigid after standing in 29-degree cold for 4 hours to see Punxsutawney Phil do his thing at Gobbler's Knob, I went to the festival in downtown Punxy, and saw Paul Order ("Paul Plays It All") perform in same cold conditions.

3) Winter 1987-88 in Cresson. One of the first out-of-town gigs I ever covered for Pennsylvania Musician - I drove up the hill to see Double Take at The Hill in Cresson (I think it might have been the Golden Lariat at that point, or whatever that place was called before it became The Hill). It had snowed a few days before, but the roads were in good shape, and it was a little misty and foggy that night. The venue's parking lot full, I pulled off onto the adjacent side street to park my car (my old '79 VW Rabbit, two Scribemobiles ago!). The side of the street was snow-covered, but looked suitable for parking, so I pulled my car over to park...CRUNCH! The snow was covering up a drainage ditch, and my front right wheel sank right in! I tried to back my car out, but couldn't get any traction in the snow, and went nowhere. After about half an hour, Double Take went on break, and several bar patrons discovered my plight. The band wound up coming outside and helping push my car out of the ditch! Relieved and thankful, I went inside and covered the rest of their show. Although the incident wound up costing me nearly $300 in auto repair (the wheel assembly suffered some damage), the positive experience of Double Take and The Hill patrons helping me out saved the night for me.

4) Johnstown, 3 or 4 winters ago (okay, maybe 5). I went to see the Desperadoes at Ejay's Tavern on a Sunday night in March. The weather forecast said flurries or a stray snow shower, I thought it would be safe to do the roadtrip. I arrived at Ejay's and took in the Desperadoes' first and second sets. As they started the third set, Mark Middleton remarked, "Hey, it's snowing outside, just like Accu-weather said it would!" I whipped around in my chair and looked out the window, and it was snowing lightly, with a half-inch of snow on the sidewalk. Since the snow was melting on the street, I decided to stick it out for the rest of the evening. It turned out the snow was melting on the street in Moxham, but up the hill through Geistown and up to Route 219, up to 3 inches of snow was covering Route 756. The snow kept falling and blowing as I crept up 219 to Ebensburg, hoping I didn't skid off the road or worse! Fortunately the snow tapered off some after I got past Ebensburg and headed down the other side of the hill towards Altoona, but that night taught me not to take chances driving over the mountain to Johnstown in winter if there is any hint of precipitation in the forecast!

[Craven Sound]

Johnstown Flood Centennial- 1989- South Fork Dam- Paul Winter Consort

We arrived at 8:00 am to set up the light and sound system for a 7:30 pm show. Once we pulled the trucks into the stage area, we found that there's no stage, sound wings or tent. The Park Service wouldn't let anyone set this stuff up the previous night and were giving us a hard-time about having the trucks there for that day's event. They wanted us to move our trucks out to the parking area and have everything trailered in by tractor and hay wagon. "What time tomorrow do you want this show to go on?" They finally agreed to let us keep our vehicles there.

We assisted the house crew with the stage set-up and got a 4-hour late start setting up the system. Surprisingly, the show went on only a half an hour late, but when Mr. Winter played And the Rains Came they did. The makeshift roof that was attached to the speaker towers was acting like a kite and lifting them off of the ground. I had to climb on steel wings during the thunder and lightning to cut the tarp loose. We loaded up in slopping wet mud, soaked to the bone. It was the worst weather we ever had for a gig, so we affectionately call it the gig from hell.

[Mackovyak]

Wow! Fortunately I haven't had an catostophic experience.

1.) This year, numerous shows cancelled b/c of Hurricane's Charley, Frances, and Jeanne. (I missed the Tiki Bar, Islamorada, Florida Keys; Bierbrunnen Pub, Fort Lauderdale; The Banana Boat, Boynton Beach).

2.) I remember one show a few years ago at the Blue Knob Clubhouse where it was snowing and fog something awful. The drive home was nuts. Those of you who know, going from the Clubhouse, up to the Lodge, and then to Portage is not a fun trip. There were points where a friend and I took turns walking up the road in the fog ahead of the car so the driver could see where to go.

3.) I did an acoustic show at Ash Street Tavern once in Johnstown. Bad snow storm, quit early. Thank god for the Jeep, made a quick venture over to Murphy's for some wings before trekking home.

Justin

[bassist_25]

I was just telling this story this past weekend.....

I was playing a gig at Davey's in Hastings last February. It was clear skies when I left my house, but it started to rain by the time I got out of Madera. I went through Irvona, Coalport, and then around Price Gallitzin Dam. The roads were pretty much frozen by the time I made it around the dam. There's a pretty large hill right before Cambria Heights High School. I charged the hill and began spinning about mid-way up. I motioned for all the cars behind me to go past. Luckily, a couple in a pickup truck offered to pull me up the hill. They unhooked me in front of the school. I continued towards Patton and came up to a stop sign. I put my brakes on and began sliding. The truck that pulled me up over the hill was sitting at the stop. I thought, "Shit, I can't rear-end these people that just pulled me up the hill!" I turned my steering wheel and slid right into the path of an oncoming plow truck. Somehow, I managed to get my car turned back into the the right lane. I stopped before smashing into the truck in front of me.

The ride home was much easier.