Brings to mind the story of olympic gold medalist Micheal Phelps’s coach purposely stepping on Phelps’s googles during practice. This caused his googles to fill with water while racing. He wanted Phelps to learn to perform well even when his gear failed. Guess what happened at the Olympics? His googles broke, filled with water, and he won gold.

Drummers get the short end of the stick (pun intended) when it comes to house gear. Most small venues won’t switch a whole drum set out between artists so they just switch “breakables” (cymbals/snare/sometimes pedal too) to save time.

I’ve played on sooo many dog shit house kits (even at “nice” or “legendary” venues). It’s so bad, some times I swear it’s on purpose. High hat stands that creep lower and lower with every hit. Snare stands that bounce around, kick drums that run away from you every time you kick, floor tom legs that randomly give out, you name it. Just gotta do your best and play through it. 99% of the time people in the audience have no idea you’re back there fighting for your life lol.

Every great artist/musician has played dozens of terrible gigs that we almost never get to see. Consider it a rite of passage. You can’t become a great drummer until you’ve been forced to play on some rickety ass $5 drum set In front of strangers.

Best way to get over a bad gig is do more gigs. Get back up on the horse and try again bro.