Open Thread Friday: Your First Gig

So on Monday, my band is embarking on a six week tour of the U.S.  We've been playing since 1996, so it's not a new experience by any means, but it always makes me look back on those early days with a mixture of fondness, laughter, dread, and embarrassment.  

Our first gig was a mini-festival of mostly unknown bands in Indianapolis, Indiana called "CircuitFest" (perhaps appropriately misprinted as "CircusFest" on the tickets).  The venue was an old theatre that looked like no one had done much upkeep on it in decades.  Paint chips hung from the walls, exposed wires dangled from the ceiling, and the room was pretty much a giant, concrete echo chamber.  A terrible venue for live music.  But we didn't know any better.  I don't know that I can give an accurate count of how many people were there.  I want to say 75, but I'm sure the fog of nostalgia has artificially inflated that number.  Not a bad showing for 5 bands no one had ever heard of, at any rate.  Speaking of which, that's what the marquee on the venue read: "5 Bands".  Even the venue knew no one knew who we were.  

After the show, we decided to get some booze and have a party back at the hotel.  Being that this was the first time we'd all met, we didn't really know who was with who.  So when we climbed in the van and this excitable, long-haired guy got in the van next to me, I thought nothing of it.  As we drove out of the venue parking lot, it became clear that this guy was blasted out of his mind.  This wasn't just drunk, this was that extra something special that makes it clear as day that someone has been hitting the drugs pretty hard.  I don't remember what it was specifically that he said, but it was all loud, odd, and not the sort of conversation you have with a van full of strangers.  I think he asked us if we were 'cyberpunks'.  All the while, all of the rest of us in the van were completely silent, uncomfortable, and thinking to ourselves, "who the hell brought this asshole?"

When we arrived at the hotel and got out of the van, some of us managed to whisper to one another, "Who is this guy?"  Before long, it became clear none of us knew this guy.  He was just some random wasteoid who climbed in our van.  I think we later learned he was a friend of the boyfriend of one of the singers, but at the time no one knew him.  Immediately, the mission became to ditch this guy.  I don't remember who came up with this brilliant scheme, but someone suggested that he go buy some more beer (because clearly he needed to be more wrecked).  He did so cheerfully, but forgot to ask what room we'd be in.  Mission accomplished.  I often wonder what happened to that guy after he realized he had no idea where he was supposed to go. I bet he had some adventures that night.

So what was your first gig like?  Did weird things happen, or was it totally unremarkable?  Do you remember the show itself (I don't)?  Spill the beans!