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The second time in a 3 month span I had a drunk fall into a speaker stand.  Minimal damage was done the first time round.  I think all that happened was the slot on the bottom of the speaker that fits into the stand broke.  This time some axxhole tripped into a stand toppling the speaker onto one of my $150 rotosphere lights (replaced the bulb, sustained a dent, but works fine).  Show was virtually over and I was playing some dance trax.  I stepped out for a few minutes and wasn't aware it happened until a girl the drunkard was hanging with informed me that my equipment had been violated.  The drunk didn't even acknowledge his transgression.  He kept on partying and wouldn't even acknowledge me when I approached him.  I had the bartender remove him from the bar.

Anything like this happen at your shows?  What do you expect from the bar staff and the drunks when it happens?  I can understand dropping a mic once in a while ...

Had my tv monitor bumped into a couple times, mics dropped - can't even COUNT how many times since '94 (gotta love SM58's never had one die yet), my speakers are placed where no one walks so there was never a problem there.  Worst accident that happened was someone spilled a drink into my mixer & light mixer/contoller - 10 minutes after the show started.  Oops, shut everything down immediately & unplugged from power!  Was able to continue the show for the night completely reconfiguring the processors & running the player directly to the eq, then crossover then amps & using the players mic inputs - ran the mics through the Sonic Maximizer first then into a compressor then into my effects - actually got it to sound half a$$ decent for the night.  Took about 10 minutes to get back up & running.
Took the mixer home & completely apart, got some good cleaner & Cailube'd all pots, faders & buttons.  The mixer was back in service the next night & lasted another 3 years.  The light mixer hasn't been the same since but still works.

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Might be time to rethink your speaker placement at this gig. If it's a possibility to improve it a bit to factor for the "Alcohol Challenged Folks" this would be a good idea.

Accidents do happen but this sounds like a clear cut case of the bar staff over serving this guy. The bar owner needs to be aware of this incident so he can discuss it with the bartender on duty. Here in Oregon it is against the law to serve alcohol to a visibly intoxicated person, and the bar is liable if that person gets in their car and gets in an accident. This might be a good time to discuss who is responsible if this continues to happen and who is responsible for replacement or repair of the damaged goods. It's a touchy subject but needs to be discussed.

I discuss this and get it in writing before I start a gig. I'm responsible for accidental damages to microphones, song books, etc. Unless they are intentionally abused by their customer. Damage like you are referring to would be considered unintentional but the responsibility of the bar to pay for repair or replacement. If they decide to go after the customer for it...that's fine but the equipment needs to be taken care of by the bar.  

I had a guy throw one of my wireless mics at another guy just before a huge fight broke out, of course the guy ducked and my mic shattered and died a horrible death. Luckily due to our written agreement the bar asked me the replacement value and charged the guy's credit card for it before he left the bar. He gave us a bunch of crap but once we threatened to call the police he backed off.

If the bar would have not been able to recover from the customer, our agreement is that they (the bar) is responsible for payment to me.

I have had a few bars refuse this type of agreement and to me that is a major red flag to and I will walk away from the gig before it starts. I put it to them this way...if a customer comes in and gets into a barfight and busts up your equipment are you going to let him walk away without getting reimbursed for damages he caused? They usually say heck no!  Ok then if a guy get's too drunk because he was over served and damages equipment or machinery are you going to let them off the hook for damages?  Usually it's heck no, or depends on the extent of the damages. I just say well I have to protect my investement as well, and I would expect to be reimbursed as well and the bar is in the best position to recover the damages as it is their customer in the first place.

Other than the wireless incident, I had a TV get shoved off of a counter by a drunk that fell into it. Because of our agreement it was cut an dry as to what needed to be done. The bar went out the next day and purchased a new one.

I take responsiblilty for accidental damage to stuff at the KJ booth and dropped microphones etc. I feel that is just a cost of doing business and it is considered a business loss and can be deducted.

hope this helps

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FlipSide Karaoke
Scott

Yes I've had several spills, falls and wipe outs with equipment.

My first thought was the same as Flippers. Is there a way to reposition your equipment so the speakers aren't so vulnerable?

It sounds like the drunk guy was just dancing by your stuff. My problems usually were from singers falling onto or off the stage.
I changed my setup so my speakers aren't on stands anymore, so I don't have people tripping on them. I feel your pain though! Sometimes no matter what you do bad things happen.

One thing you could try is  -  if you know you're going to be leaving the room for any amount of time with the equipment alone ask someone to keep an eye on it for you. I don't know if you have any one you'd trust to do that or not. Just a thought.
Good luck

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Playing in a room full of drunks things are going to get banged into.  I think this is the KJs problem.  Just factor it in as a cost of doing business.  I always thought it was pretty silly to put a hundred pound speaker on a little pole anchored to nothing.  I think that's just a disaster waiting to happen, and what if it falls on someone?

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Okay, who took my pants?

This is one reason why I almost always limit myself to 1 alcoholic drink a night!

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Yah There Is Really Nothing You Can Do About It,Its A Risk You Take,,and you just pray nothing happens to your stuff.