Don't knock your tenor over on an out-of-town gig

Oklahoma City gigs aren't usually my cup of tea. For some reason something always goes wrong.

By the time I got to my Friday gig I was already tired from the drive up from Denton, and was not exactly looking forward to the next several hours of playing party music for rich people in a hotel ballroom. I set up my Mark VI tenor, clipped on my mic, and played some notes. I put on my in-ear monitor only to find the battery dead. Well, I'd better go get another nine volt from the sound guy, right? I put my tenor down on the stand and head across stage... forgetting that the clip-on mic was still attached to to receiver in my pocket. Down comes the tenor.

Crap, not cool, but whatever, it's happened before and it's a solid horn, probably no damage, right? I play a few more notes to check.... and the octave key is bent into the body. Oh boy. I can open the octave vent, but when I take my thumb off the key, it just stays open. I have to close it manually. This is going to be a long gig.

I try to fix it, to no avail. I'm stuck playing the entire gig without an octave key; I just have to voice everything up with my air. Which actually turns out to be REALLY good practice, on the upside. I have to focus on air so much more than I usually do that my sound really benefits. But my tenor, my baby! What did I do to you??

Borrowed a horn for Saturday's gig, going on tour with just alto/sop this week, so... well, she needed an overhaul anyway. Time to take her into the shop. Dents... repairs... resale value.... crap.... Oklahoma City gigs...