This is a recent memory of a really odd incident that occurred. I’m fortunate enough to be given an opportunity to work for bands on tour. I was currently out on the road with the Canadian pop-rock band Faber Drive. A lot of random situations can take place while on tour that make for unforgettable moments. With that being said, this is a story about a senior citizen getting violent and then arrested at one of the shows.
It was a sunny afternoon and we were mid-way through our spring tour. On that day we played in a small town. Like most small towns, it was peaceful with not much going on. The concert was at some community centre featuring multiple rooms. Working for the headlining band, we load in the equipment after lunch and begin setting up for soundcheck to take place immediately after everything is hooked up / in place. Everything was going according to schedule with no problems at all.
At the upstairs part of the venue, the community centre rented out a room to a small group of senior citizens to play card games. We were unaware of that and we still have no idea why this place would be renting out space for the same day a concert was taking place. I’m sure the senior citizens would have never paid for the room if they knew there would be a lot of noise throughout the day.
Mid-way through soundcheck, an old man (who looked like he was probably in his late 60s) walks into the room and points to the band yelling “do you have to play that damn noise so damn loud?!” The Faber Drive guys point to our tour manager who’s at the back of the venue working as a sound technician. As the old man walks toward the back of the room, a locally hired crew guy cuts in and tries to explain the situation. The elderly man didn’t care for the explanation other than wanting dead silence for the rest of the day, and the crew guy's attempts to remedy the situation only made it worse. Crew guy then tried to calm the old guy down and attempted to escort him out of the room to work out a solution. At this point, the disgruntled senior pushed the crew guy away from him and then put up his dukes. As the crew member continued trying to calm him down, the enraged old man suddenly threw a straight punch to crew guy's face that knocked his glasses completely off, then left the room and went back upstairs to his card game. The last thing I expected was a senior citizen to haul off and start smacking around our crew.
Soundcheck is obviously delayed after this to assess what just happened and to let the community centre staff know . The crew guy is all right and sits down holding ice to his cheek to avoid any possible swelling. The staff members of the centre are in shock after we explained the altercation. They then proceeded to immediately call the police to handle the situation since it was clearly a case of assault.
When the police came, they analyzed the situation and spoke to all the witnesses. From there, they proceeded upstairs to confront the elderly man. The officers waited outside of the room where the old man was having his card game with his friends and told him to come out. He refused to listen and continued on as if nothing had happen. After multiple attempts, the officers went inside to confront him. After still trying to talk to the old man, the only response back was a bunch of cursing. The officers then tried to escort him out of the room, only to have him resist. The old man actually tried to fight the officers too.
No one really got to see the outcome of the cops vs. the old man; all we saw after that was the man’s face being blooded up as the officers took him outside to the car. No surprise – trying to physically attack an officer is not the smartest thing to do.
Even though it was really inconvenient and put the entire day really behind schedule, it made for a funny and memorable story. No one would ever expect any sort of violence at a Faber Drive concert which makes it even better. If you’ve never heard of the band, check them out below to see what I’m talking about.
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