Re: What the Fark 4: It's not unusual to be strange anymore
Got to witness a Wes Scantlin melt down in person Friday night (lead singer for Puddle of Mudd). Knew their set was going to be interesting from the moment he was over a half hour late once the stage was set for them, then casually walked on the stage with his coat on, t-shirt inside out, and a duffel bag like he was just picked up from a bus station.
Opening guitar riffs started on Blurry (okay, solid opening since it's already three and a half hours into the show (Year of the Locus, Tantric, and Saving Able opened). Wes waves off the band before the first verse. He rambled his love for "everyone here," he kept walking up to the microphone, batting at it like a kitten, and would suddenly back up, throw is hands in the air, and give a wide eyed look of "I didn't do it." Didn't start Blurry at all.
New opening song (this is how terrible he was, I don't even remember what he sang), someone came running on stage shirtless and got removed by security. Wes was unaffected by it. (Okay, maybe he's not coked out completely and can salvage the show).
Got through "Psycho" without an issue. (Hey, things are looking up!)
Halfway through "She Hates Me," (back to back hits? Way to get the crowd back into it!) Wes is using the mic stand to ensure he doesn't tip over. Keeps leaning on it making it shorter, then pulling it up to get it back to where he wants it. Yanks the mic stand apart. Continues "She Hates Me" while miming his amazement that the mic stand pulled apart. Completes the remainder of the song using the mic and half it's stand like those old long stick mics Bob Barker and Gene Rayburn used to use.
After the song, drops the mic on stage. Spends a couple minutes shrugging his shoulders with a child like look on his face of "I don't know what happened, I don't know how to fix it." B*tches into the bass guitarists mic that he loves everyone there, but he needs a new mic stand.
Roadie comes on stage, visibly pi**ed, and reassembles the mic stand.
They start another song, Wes waves the band to stop again. Goes on a long tirade about how he wants the roadie to get hit by the band bus, how he's a piece of sh**, how he's never done anything right. How he loves the crowd, but can't deal with bullsh** like that. Name drops Fred Durst (awkward) teaching him a thing about how to handle roadies. Sings something "dedicated to him (the roadie)." Throws almost $200 worth of $20 bills to the crowd during the song; at the end of the song asks the crowd to "fu**ing get him a new mic stand, or not, just keep the money." At this point, his bass guitarist is laughing his *ss off with a look of "Not this sh** again, what else is he going to do," and the lead guitarist is completely ignoring Wes.
(Also at this point, the guitars and drums are much louder during the songs than the vocals from Wes' microphone.)
Mic stand collapses with him leaning on it and becomes short. Wes sings another song, but this time while sitting on the front of the stage atop his feedback speaker. The whole song.
Then he rants again. Crowd is starting to get rowdy at this point. Four hours of show at this point, at least four hours of beer, and a headlining act that is acting like an opening band isn't helping. Whines that he "doesn't know what to sing." A helpful couple of drunks from the back of the theater yell song names (totally waiting for "Free Bird", sadly not mentioned). Wes just pouts on stage. Waves off one of the theater guys who brought a new mic stand.
Gets up. Puts on his jacket, says he loves everyone, grabs his duffel bag, and walks off stage.
Band starts packing up their guitars as if it's the end of the show (it was).
Crowd is a mix of confused and pi**ed. Wife and I start to leave with a good quarter of the theater. Guy behind us asks where we're going, "he'll be back out, they just gotta get things set up for him." My wife responds (after Googling Wes' antics during his performance) "Not according to TMZ. This is his routine, either the show goes great, or he leaves early when he's whacked out."
When we got to where we parked, about three blocks away from the theater, we heard a pretty loud vocal commotion from behind the theater where the buses were parked. Drove past the buses on the way out, and it seemed to have quieted down.
At least Saving Abel was good, making Friday night not completely terrible.
Got to witness a Wes Scantlin melt down in person Friday night (lead singer for Puddle of Mudd). Knew their set was going to be interesting from the moment he was over a half hour late once the stage was set for them, then casually walked on the stage with his coat on, t-shirt inside out, and a duffel bag like he was just picked up from a bus station.
Opening guitar riffs started on Blurry (okay, solid opening since it's already three and a half hours into the show (Year of the Locus, Tantric, and Saving Able opened). Wes waves off the band before the first verse. He rambled his love for "everyone here," he kept walking up to the microphone, batting at it like a kitten, and would suddenly back up, throw is hands in the air, and give a wide eyed look of "I didn't do it." Didn't start Blurry at all.
New opening song (this is how terrible he was, I don't even remember what he sang), someone came running on stage shirtless and got removed by security. Wes was unaffected by it. (Okay, maybe he's not coked out completely and can salvage the show).
Got through "Psycho" without an issue. (Hey, things are looking up!)
Halfway through "She Hates Me," (back to back hits? Way to get the crowd back into it!) Wes is using the mic stand to ensure he doesn't tip over. Keeps leaning on it making it shorter, then pulling it up to get it back to where he wants it. Yanks the mic stand apart. Continues "She Hates Me" while miming his amazement that the mic stand pulled apart. Completes the remainder of the song using the mic and half it's stand like those old long stick mics Bob Barker and Gene Rayburn used to use.
After the song, drops the mic on stage. Spends a couple minutes shrugging his shoulders with a child like look on his face of "I don't know what happened, I don't know how to fix it." B*tches into the bass guitarists mic that he loves everyone there, but he needs a new mic stand.
Roadie comes on stage, visibly pi**ed, and reassembles the mic stand.
They start another song, Wes waves the band to stop again. Goes on a long tirade about how he wants the roadie to get hit by the band bus, how he's a piece of sh**, how he's never done anything right. How he loves the crowd, but can't deal with bullsh** like that. Name drops Fred Durst (awkward) teaching him a thing about how to handle roadies. Sings something "dedicated to him (the roadie)." Throws almost $200 worth of $20 bills to the crowd during the song; at the end of the song asks the crowd to "fu**ing get him a new mic stand, or not, just keep the money." At this point, his bass guitarist is laughing his *ss off with a look of "Not this sh** again, what else is he going to do," and the lead guitarist is completely ignoring Wes.
(Also at this point, the guitars and drums are much louder during the songs than the vocals from Wes' microphone.)
Mic stand collapses with him leaning on it and becomes short. Wes sings another song, but this time while sitting on the front of the stage atop his feedback speaker. The whole song.
Then he rants again. Crowd is starting to get rowdy at this point. Four hours of show at this point, at least four hours of beer, and a headlining act that is acting like an opening band isn't helping. Whines that he "doesn't know what to sing." A helpful couple of drunks from the back of the theater yell song names (totally waiting for "Free Bird", sadly not mentioned). Wes just pouts on stage. Waves off one of the theater guys who brought a new mic stand.
Gets up. Puts on his jacket, says he loves everyone, grabs his duffel bag, and walks off stage.
Band starts packing up their guitars as if it's the end of the show (it was).
Crowd is a mix of confused and pi**ed. Wife and I start to leave with a good quarter of the theater. Guy behind us asks where we're going, "he'll be back out, they just gotta get things set up for him." My wife responds (after Googling Wes' antics during his performance) "Not according to TMZ. This is his routine, either the show goes great, or he leaves early when he's whacked out."
When we got to where we parked, about three blocks away from the theater, we heard a pretty loud vocal commotion from behind the theater where the buses were parked. Drove past the buses on the way out, and it seemed to have quieted down.
At least Saving Abel was good, making Friday night not completely terrible.
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