There are good performances of the American national anthem – vocal performances that stand the test of time like Whitney Houston, or instrumental renditions like that of Jimi Hendrix.
Then there are bad performances of the anthem which evoke cringe and horror, like Fergie’s at the NBA All-Star Game or Ingrid Andress’ from last summer’s MLB All-Star Game.
And then there’s the performance played before a Nashville Predators game last week that can really only be described as bizarre.
Nashville is, of course, a city built on its music industry. Bridgestone Arena boasts a live band that plays between intermissions and some of the country industry’s best and brightest have belted out the anthem upon the ice in the past.
So, with fans in the crowd set to watch a contest against the Anaheim Ducks, the Predators brought out a special performer to honor the country before puck drop.
Bruce Gust strolled out onto the ice draped in a Predators jersey and carrying with him a set of bongos.
A Nashville Predators national anthem performer broke out the bongos last Thursday night
Anaheim Ducks star Trevor Zegras said that his team was distracted by the song
Gust – who, according to eBaum’s World describes himself as ‘spiritually ripped, physically fit, [and] fully equipped’ (whatever that means) – began wailing on the drums while belting out a, shall we say, unexpected version of ‘The Star-Spangled Banner’.
It was so unexpected that Anaheim Ducks star forward Trevor Zegras said that the rendition shocked his teammates.
‘I think the bongo anthem threw us off a little bit in the first [period], but once we recovered from that we were back to our game – which is good,’ Zegras told the Ducks’ broadcast after the contest had finished.
Zegras was able to recover in time as Anaheim went down 1-0 in the first period, but scored four straight goals to win 4-1. Zegras had the third goal for himself and assisted the second.
Both Nashville and Anaheim are toward the bottom of the NHL standings.
