Guitarist: 1, Heckler: 0
It’s every musician’s worst nightmare to have the audience shout out song requests that they didn’t even ask for, especially if they know they can’t play the song in question. Whether it’s “Free Bird” or “Whipping Post,” it seems like you’re pretty much damned if you do, damned if you don’t – but in the case of guitarist David Smash, a sense of adventure and a whole lot of talent can turn even the most stressful of live moments into a serious win.
That’s what happened when Smash found himself performing a solo gig at a brewery in Bradenton, Florida and heard a woman in the audience shout that she had a request; he responded in jest with, “Well, that’s good!” before the woman continued, asking if he could play “Tender Surrender” by master guitarist Steve Vai.
For The Record, Here’s What “Tender Surrender” Sounds Like
Smash could have handled it in a number of ways (and even shows them in the video below with funny captions) but ultimately agrees to “try to fake it” before going nuclear and looking up the chords on his phone mid-performance.
The next 8 minutes are an textbook example of how a whole lot of courage can take you places you never dreamed of as David Smash knocked out one hell of a “Tender Surrender” cover that makes us wonder exactly whether he even needed the added help of chords to begin with.
Check it out in the video below – this is wild!