Watched a busker's amp die mid-song at a subway station in Boston last fall
I was waiting for the train when this guy started a killer cover of 'Hallelujah' and right at the big note his amp just cut out. He looked at it, tapped it, then just kept playing acoustic while about 20 of us threw what cash we had into his case. Has anyone else seen a street performer save their set like that?
Happened to me in Chicago a few years back. A jazz duo's battery died midsong and the sax player just whistled the entire solo while the guitarist kept strumming. People actually cheered louder than they had for the amp.
Is it really that big of a deal though? I mean, speakers and batteries fail, that's just part of live music. It happens all the time, you just gotta roll with it. Your uncle probably made the show more memorable by screaming than if he had just stopped playing. A lot of times people overreact to gear problems like it's some kind of disaster, but it's really not that serious.