Worst Concert Experience?

[ronmac]

Either M.O.E., (wife's idea and I wasn't in the mood for the "riff repetition"), or Van Halen with the last Roth reunion, (WAAAAYYYYYYYYYYY too loud)

BG

Worst show ever, Diver Down tour. Shitty sound (couldn't make out anything). And DLR with his assless pants mooning the crowd during the bulk of the show. I know I've mentioned it here before, but it was the only show I've ever been to where the music in between sets (The Beatles) blew away both acts. Can't even recall who opened. A lot changes in a couple of years, because, when I saw them in Philly a couple years earlier, they were fantastic. Except for that stupid drum solo where everyone on the band joined in and banged away like five-year-olds.

[Proghound]

Louies Rock City it was.. and maybe my memory is a bit sketchy.. but it did seem like a long show to me..

Well I think a local band- Facedancer, actually opened up before Dr Feelgood. Though I missed the opening act, I do recall it was quite late before Giant came on, breaking down and setting up 3 bands on the same stage.... So it was definitely a "long night", not sure their basic set wasn't actually shorter than the time I had seen them near Baltimore earlier in the year. But I do remember the crowd was pretty crazy and forced an extra encore or two that night.

[Haruspex Carnage]

How can you really be disappointed in paying to see IMPROVISATIONAL shows? If you don't like improvised music, or music that COULD fail/is an experiment, or more or less a characteristic of jazz, simply don't go?

The last two shows i saw that i wish i didn't were Tool towards the end of the 10K Days tour (they basically became a too-big-for-their-britches arena rock band that attracts all calibers of these like fraternity bros moshing and flailing in their seats while thinking they're "enlightened" by knowing what 46&2 is about and screaming so loud you can't really hear the band)...and then there's the first and only time i saw Dave Matthews Band with honestly similar results for Tool.

OH, and also, Time Of Orchids, the only band i've ever walked out on...giving, (off-topic but) a la writers like Palahniuk and Danielewski, everything avant-garde, experimental, a disastrously and well-deserved bad name.

[nosebone]

I went to see the Dregs in Nashville at a club some time in 1991-92 when I was living there attending Vanderbilt University as a grad student. I was really looking forward to the show, and even got primo seats near the stage. The Aquarium Rescue Unit was the opener, and they were OK, but when the Dregs came on, they were so loud I literally couldn't stand it, nor could my wife. The bass drum was so loud I could feel every hit like someone beating my chest.

We retreated to the back of the venue and then into the hall outside where it was semi-bearable, but sounded like total mush. Frankly it sounded like mush inside too. You couldn't hear anything clearly except this thunderous bass and drums, and only the highest notes from the guitar. Violin and keys were buried, as were any dynamics. I have never heard music that loud in any other circumstance, and I've seen a lot of supposedly loud bands.
Bill

I saw the Dregs on that tour at Toads Place in New Haven Ct.

It must have been late 93 or early 94.

Part of the sound issues with that lineup I blame on Jordan Rudess.

His stacking of digital patches hogged the harmonic spectrum giving the Dregs , for the first time, a muddy/blurry wall of sound.

Organ, piano and a Moog is all that's needed for that band, imo.

It was loud , but not as loud as Steve Vai in 96 at Tuxedo Junction in Ct.

A vicious sadistic volume that physically moonwalked spectators around the room.

I shoulda sued!

[Brian Griffin]

Was that Louie’s Rock City, Baileys Crossroads, VA Nov 77?... I remember the exact same thing....it was ugly, but Giant was amazing!

My show was in NYC at the Palladium

Sounds like this was a rough tour for the Feelgoods

BG

[Ten Thumbs]

Isaac Hayes, early 1970s. His band came on and started playing, grooving along for about ten minutes, and then the promoter comes out and says the show is cancelled, IH is not here. Shafted. Only cancellation where I was in the building when it got cancelled.
Hung over, top rows back of the stadium, hungry and in the rain, but The Band and CSNY were good. More of a self inflicted and rain bad conditions concert.

[mogrooves]

Kinks, 1970. The Brothers Davies were so loaded they could barely stand, let alone perform.

King Crimson the last time they played in London (Shepherds Bush), 2000?. Just a wall of noise, no identifiable songs.

Around the same time, with the execrable John Paul Jones, whose mind-numbing volume bludgeoned me unconscious.

the "he can't sing anymore" shows

CSN&Y, 1970. Couldn't carry a tune with all eight hands.

Speaking of too loud.

Mott The Hoople, 1970.

My one and only experience in a stadium to see Paul McCartney will be my last.

Excluding festivals, I never attended a stadium gig until seeing Macca four times in two weeks in '89. For the first three he may as well have been on Mars, but for the fourth we had 14th row seats. Otherwise, forget it!

Growing up, I had a huge fascination for Woodstock.... When I was in my 20s, I met someone who had been there. His comment? "Rained all the time, mud everywhere, nothing to eat, it was not a good time". Whoa, ruined my idealized version of it

Very common response given the number of people who--enticed by sensationalized news coverage--went on-the-spur, unprepared. We, on the other hand, had tickets months in advance and so went well-prepared. Still, it was a trial.....

Anybody here go to Altamont?

I caught them the week before. No killings.....

[JJ88]

How about the Isle Of Wight 1970, anyone here see that? The film of that is extremely dramatic again, the more extreme elements of the counter-culture making its presence felt, though hardly to Altamont levels. One protester invaded the stage during Joni Mitchell's performance, Kris Kristofferson gave up and left the stage, the compere Ricki Farr was involved in verbal combat on stage with some of the crowd.

I used to go to free festivals some years back and saw some name acts of the time, some of those really were dodgy. Sandi Thom was one- basically a one hit wonder but I do remember one guy with a poni-tail singing along to every song she did, nobody else cared beyond polite applause. I think it was the year later I saw Glasvegas who were much hyped by the NME as another of 'rock's saviours'. To me it felt like The Proclaimers meets The Jesus And Mary Chain. They never 'took', as the saying goes, and were I think dropped after the second album. This was the point where the public got fed up of 'guitar bands' like this.

Talking of Woodstock I saw Richie Havens at one of these and he was marvellous. He really put on a show and engaged with the crowd.

[at least 100 dead]

The Cure, Nov 29 1985, Düsseldorf.
Extremely hostile audience – incessant pushing /shoving and beer spilling during the opening band Hard Corps; had to take refuge in the bleachers after ten minutes. Some of those goths make metalheads look like docile Waldorf pupils. The Cure were very good, though.

Porcupine Tree, ca. 2005, Frankfurt
All you could hear was brown noise. We stood next to the mixer, but he appeared to be blissfully unaware of the sonic mess. Had to leave after 30 minutes.

[Hoops]

[QUOTE=mogrooves;389556]Kinks, 1970. The Brothers Davies were so loaded they could barely stand, let alone perform.



Was this at the old Ludlow Garage in Cincinnati? I saw 'em there about that same time - one of the funniest things ever! They "hit" the stage about 2-3 hours late - after, I believe, an extremely loud piece of Humble Pie...

[walt]

Circa 89 or 90,my friends band Alien Planetscapes, was booked into a Brooklyn bar that usually caters to the urban cowboy c&w crowd. This night they advertised(so we were lead to believe) as a "Space Rock" special, apparently to try to attract a different crowd.Don't ask me why.

Sure enough, my friend and his trio set up,and we saw that the crowd was not what we had hoped for, but was the usual cowboy hatted urban wannabes, thinking they were going to hear what they usually heard.Later, we found out that there was little or no advertising of the different music being played that night.

As one might imagine, the good ole boys didn't "take" to the space rock offerings of Alien Planetscapes.They let the band know, in no uncertain terms, that hearing synth, guitar, bass and drums playing AP music was not what they has paid their money to hear.Loud angry shouts from the audience, answered in equal measure from Doug, who stopped the music and told the shit kickers to shut up and listen.Doug could be a cantankerous individual, who wouldn't back down to anyone and who relished an argument, or, in more than a couple of cases over the years, duking it out with someone.I broke up a few skirmishes over the years between Doug and some angry audient.

We soon realized that we had to get the hell out of that bar, quickly, or things were going to get out of hand.The band, me and RB unplugged, packed up the equipment and beat a hasty retreat, shoving Doug out the door when he wanted to confront the bar owner for booking AP in that joint.Several beer bottles were tossed our way.

Quite a night.

[mogrooves]

Was this at the old Ludlow Garage in Cincinnati?

Fillmore East, NYC. The night was saved by Quatermass. I caught the Kinks earlier that year and they were great......

[ronmac]

CSN&Y, 1970. Couldn't carry a tune with all eight hands.

Not an unusual occurrence, I'm sorry to say. I have rarely heard a recording from any year where they all sounded good. Even without Neil, who, IMO, never sounds good.

[ProgMusician]

The Yes 90125 concert in Nashville, TN. It was so ridiculously loud that I was afraid that the concrete was going to buckle (or that my heart would stop). Most unenjoyable!

[Esoteric]

I have seen Crosby stalls and Nash many times in recent years and Crosby and Nash on their own and they were superb every time , and we are very fussy on such things.

[SteveSly]

I have seen Crosby stalls and Nash many times in recent years and Crosby and Nash on their own and they were superb every time , and we are very fussy on such things.

I have seen them several times including about 6 months ago and thought they were great. Still's voice is pretty shot these days (except on the bluesier numbers), but Nash and especially Crosby still sound great.

[Dave]

I saw Missing Persons in 1984 and they couldn't get the vocals (Dale Bozzio) into the mix, so they started the show late playing only instrumental versions of their songs, wait maybe this wasn't the worst concert experience Anyway, about 3/4 through the show they figured out the vocal problem and replayed a few songs with the singer. Also, I won the tickets from the local independent TV channel by answering a trivia question by naming the band Terry Bozzio played in before forming Missing Persons

[nosebone]

Saw Paul Macartney at Giants stadium in the early 90s.

Pretty good show, as I was walking around in the orchestra...,er.. field.

BUT...., I dropped my car/house keys in the porta-potty!

I turned away , sucked in a big breath, and fished around in the blue shit water until I grabbed em back.

[progeezer]

I turned away , sucked in a big breath, and fished around in the blue shit water until I grabbed em back.

Aha! So this is where the phrase "shit happens" started.

[trurl]

Isaac Hayes, early 1970s. His band came on and started playing, grooving along for about ten minutes, and then the promoter comes out and says the show is cancelled, IH is not here. Shafted.

I see what you did there.

[malgeo]

Bob Dylan, bloody awful...

Saw Dylan in Portland, Maine, November 2001. As we left the show, one of my friends said, "I can't believe he's famous." Horrible show.

[mjudge]

Tool towards the end of the 10K Days tour (they basically became a too-big-for-their-britches arena rock band that attracts all calibers of these like fraternity bros moshing and flailing in their seats while thinking they're "enlightened" by knowing what 46&2 is about and screaming so loud you can't really hear the band)

Never seen Tool, but this reminded me of the most depressing concert I've ever seen, though by no means the worst musically: I covered Rage Against the Machine at Lollapooza 7 or 8 years ago, and it was goddamn miserable to watch Zack de la Rocha having to spend the entire set begging self-righteous meatheads to stop crushing girls and kids against the front-of-stage barrier. It really made painfully clear that much of RATM's audience takes political anger as an excuse for moron violence, and to watch these molly-watered rich kids abusing the band for not playing "Killing in the Name" while beating the hell out of anybody smaller than themselves, well ...

This is obviously a different thread, but typing that also reminded me of what must've been the worst show I ever played – in 2011, I went on a fairly disastrous tour as the hired-gun guitarist with a polite little psych-pop band, and among other shipwrecks, we ended up playing a bondage bar in Atlanta to a crowd of literally zero. I don't mean "sparsely attended," I mean zero. I got despairingly drunk and played most of the set flat on my back.

[Jerjo]

Elvis Costello, must have been around 1993. Not a single word to the audience and the sound pushed up to blur point. I would have loved to kick him square in the balls.

[mjudge]

Mars Volta Wiltern Theater in LA circa 2005. These guys just can't play their material live. It was like attending a first rehearsal. The drummer was usually a half beat or more in front of everyone else. The guitarist was in a different key than the other guys. It takes a really bad show to get me to leave in a half hour and that one did it. Of course the kids were eating it all up. Kind of funny to see college girls in the new millennium going nuts over such an incoherent racket.

To be fair, there were some pretty serious drug problems in the Mars Volta for their first couple tours – I've seen them several times, and they've ranged from astonishing (Dallas on the Bedlam in Goliath tour, which was truly one of the greatest shows I've ever seen) to perfunctory (Octahedron tour: they weren't bad, exactly, but seemed kind of bored and pissed off the entire time; a few days afterward, Cedric and Omar purged half the band, so I guess things were much as they appeared to be).

[NogbadTheBad]

This is obviously a different thread, but typing that also reminded me of what must've been the worst show I ever played – in 2011, I went on a fairly disastrous tour as the hired-gun guitarist with a polite little psych-pop band, and among other shipwrecks, we ended up playing a bondage bar in Atlanta to a crowd of literally zero. I don't mean "sparsely attended," I mean zero. I got despairingly drunk and played most of the set flat on my back.

Maybe they were tied up?