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I just bought a brand-new set of EV speakers.  Two eighteens and two fifteens, stacked with a pole between them.  They weren't cheap.  Last Friday, a guy fell into one of the setups and nearly knocked it over.  I caught it after sprinting across the dance floor.  He could hardly walk.    I believe in personal responsibility, but there is not only a legal limit to how much alcohol the bartender can serve a patron, but a moral limit as well.  I nearly blew a gasket.  :madgo:  I told the bar-owner I wanted him out, but she told me he was her banker.   She refused to ask him to leave.  I can't find an insurance company that'll cover me due to my working in places that serve alcohol.  How do you guys protect your investment?

...Like a Mother Bear! Hubby and I usually work a show together - whoever isn't behind the table hosting is watching. The bars we work in are very good about policing themselves and we seldom have issues. I did have a guy fall off the stage once, ended up with butt straight up in the air...huge gasp from the audience. I reached down, picked up the mic, SM 58, put it on the stand, told him to get up and keep walking. Most but the drunkest people are respectful and ironically, they will come back the next week and apologize for having drunk too much the week before! Interesting....

I can relate, though - too much invested to let some overserved jerk start breaking things. I'd probably mention it to the owner - because not only will the server get fined but he will, too. $$$ talks.

K

That sucks.  I'm fortunate that the bartenders at the place I gig are vigilant about overserving.  We had bartender (who doesn't work there any longer) get slapped by the liquor board for overserving which put the fear of gawd into the rest of them.  Another fortunate thing is if I tell one of them I want someone removed, there's no question ... they're gone.

I have stated in my rules too, if the bar staff cuts you off, you're done singing for the night as well.

Drunks in a BAR?...what's this world coming to?  :hi5:

serious problem...can you strategicaly place your equipment out of harms way?
maybe you can blockade your speakers with a table or chairs ?.

the truth is there will always be DRUNKS in the bar ....had an a-hole the another night swinging my microphone like it was a jump rope.  and he wasn't THAT drunk.....after I screamed at him he sang one song and that was it .  OHH he wanted to sing MORE I just never called him back up.

Nature of the beast, as they say.  Three weeks ago, I had a guy who is in there quite a bit...drop my mic from 5ft..to the concrete.  Not once but 3 times!!!  It was all over a 2 song period.  I walked up and said...dude, you gotta stop dropping my mics....you are allllll done!  Like Jam said...guess what, he sang no more.  Gotta love the sm58's, I was worried though...MrD

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[highlight=midnightblue]MrD - KJ/DJ Specialist
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I feel your pain !

I'm assuming this guy wasn't singing ? I will not let someone sing if they are that drunk. That is trouble waiting to happen. You may not be able to kick him out, but you have control over who sings. I simply tell the person  " I'm telling you this because I like you. As a friend I can't let you sing. You've had a bit to much to drink. Have some coffee and after a while maybe you'll be a little steadier on your feet "

Something like that usually works.

I don't leave my equipment unless I have someone on stage singing I can trust not to damage anything. On a busy night I'm lucky if I can get free to go to the bathroom. Sometimes I ask a regular to watch things for me while I'm away just in case.

After all thats been said there is still no guarrentee someone won't drop a mic, fall off stage, knock over a speaker etc...
I could go on with a ton of different stories with that stuff happening. The nicest people can have to much to drink and lose their footing or accidentally drop a mic. It is unavoidable sometimes.

I like the idea above about putting chairs or a barrier around the speaker stands. When my speakers weren't mounted and I used stands. I had problems with that too. I would open the legs on my speaker stands really wide, so it was harder to push them over, but then they were more apt tp trip on the legs. Another trick that worked was duct taping the speaker cords down well, so if the speaker started falling it would tip for a while before the weight of it would bring it down. Not the best solution, but it gave me some time to dive and catch it.  LMAO

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This is a current case here. It was a tragedy.  The lone survivor is suing the the 3 clubs that served him. I dont believe in suing but in this case I hope he wins. The days of a bar full of happy hour drunks here are almost over. We very seldom have drunk singers anymore We will not tolerate swinging the mic drunks The reg singers and the crowd appreciates it. Half the time there might be kids in the bar and everybody is well behaved.  

I have a standing order with the bars I work or drink in After 1 beer I do not walk out the door with car keys.

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Wow yeah... that sucks.

I'm lucky in that we work every night at the bar i work at. So all my equipment is pretty locked down. Big (@$%&#!) yorkville speakers are set on the floor so no worries there. My computer, board and the rest are in my booth which is pretty well fortified. The only thing thats in danger is the small monitor which is set up above one of the speakers infront of the booth... I see it wobble from time to time but there is a table against the wall right there so its pretty tough for someone to get at it.

I have as the kids say "gotten into it" with a few people that thought swinging my mics was fun. The bouncer posts up pretty close to my booth so if i get grief its not a big deal.

And yes... thank god for the sm58s... those things are the best.

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KJ for Elite Entertainment at Charlie Horse Saloon in Ocala Florida.