Yeah, I remember reading about them on the Bomp list many moons ago. They'd won some battle of the bands competition and were invited to play one of the Cavestomp shows, and they were told that a backline would be provided, including drums. But their drummer assumed that meant he wouldn't need to bring sticks, either (whoops)! Here's how this tale unfolded, copied directly from the Bomp list archives:
The Waistcoats, who were also on the bill, lent him two pairs of sticks, of which he broke three IN THE FIRST TWO SONGS. And he wasn't even playing that hard -- I was offstage to his right and had a very good view.
None of the other bands were willing to lend them any sticks after that, and I don't blame 'em. (Though the headliners, Electric Prunes, weren't in the building at the time and weren't asked.)
The Priests wandered helplessly around the stage for awhile while the drummer left to go beg for sticks. HE DIDN'T EVEN TELL THE OTHER GUYS IN THE BAND WHAT HAD HAPPENED OR WHAT HE WAS DOING. All they knew was that he had bolted. They must have thought he got sick or something.
There are no music stores in the immediate area, but there are a couple in that part of Brooklyn. Several people IN THE AUDIENCE started making phone calls looking for sticks. A few of them found sticks at rehearsal studios and such, and people were dispatched to get them.
Of course, this was all too late. After a VERY painful ten minutes of Priestly Stage-Pacing, Van Zandt came out onstage and grabbed the mic and said "Oh well, whaddaya gonna do? DA PRIESTS!" and they were outta there.
But what happened next was hilarious. As the next two bands played, the sticks started arriving. People wandered in with drumsticks, placed them on the stage, and walked away. For a while I thought it was 1980 again and Pink Floyd was doing "The Wall," and eventually the band was going to be completely obscured from view by a wall of drumsticks...
Haha!