Your Most Disappointing Concerts..

[Enidi]

Haven't had any really disappointing shows as I haven't been to all that many. Perhaps Chicago and The Beach Boys summer of '75 was a bit disappointing in that I was a huge Chicago fan and wouldn't have gone to a Beach Boys show if it was just them playing, so I would have preferred to have a longer Chicago set with a lower tier opening band that just plays a half hour and gets off the stage. Plus there was a speaker cabinet hanging above us which made Terry Kath's guitar solos sound like clanging garbage cans.

Oh no!!

[Enidi]

Robin Trower, 1974, The Spectrum, Philadelphia. His guitar was so loud that when his guitar pick hit a string the sound pentetrated through your bones...It literally felt like that volume was vibrating my body. I had seen Ten Years After and Alvin Lee was loud...but not that loud....

When I saw Ritchie Blackmore in 85' with Purple...no way was he anywhere near to the magnitude of Trower's volume. I didn't get it.

Then I saw Robin Trower a second time at the Chestnut in Philadelphia in the 80s . He was even louder and maybe because it was a smaller venue..? I had to walk out because it was painful and my hearing was shot out that night. Problem was...he didn't need to be that loud. It was ridiculous because you couldn't even distinguish what the bass player and drummer were playing. Sometimes you couldn't hear the singer. It was ridiculously loud. I had several of his albums and I got disappointed over his stage volume because it ruined the mix. I wanted to hear certain songs I liked and he ruined them with volumes of jet landings. Not too different from when Cheech pulls the plug on Chong's guitar amp "Next Movie" In the scene you see Cheech holding his hands over his ears screaming at the top of his lungs for Chong to turn it down!! Sadly...it doesn't differ from that

[Trane]

weird

I had to wait some 25/30 years to see Robin (for some reasons, I never had theoccasion while in NA during the 70's) , and the first two times (Verviers & Lorelei) were among my best concert experiences ever, while the third time (Verviers again) was quite disappointing: very mechanical "going thru the motions".

However the sonics were perfect all three times.

[Mister Triscuits]

The one time I saw Robin Trower in concert it was in a stadium, so the extreme volume was appropriate.

[Enidi]

The one time I saw Robin Trower in concert it was in a stadium, so the extreme volume was appropriate.

The Spectrum in Philadelphia was rather large and they held all the major televised pro basketball games ...so I couldn't actually believe that he was that loud...but he probably stopped playing at that volume eventually and toned his guitar down over the years.

[Joe F.]

...but he probably stopped playing at that volume eventually and toned his guitar down over the years.

I don't think so.

[Vic2012]

I saw Robin Trower in a small venue in 2009. I don't recall his guitar being too loud. Very enjoyable concert.

The next year (2010) I saw Govt Mule in a small venue. The Mule were great but it was so overcrowded with people that I left before the encore. It was so packed people were holding each other up. Never again.

[Trane]

I saw Robin Trower in a small venue in 2009. I don't recall his guitar being too loud. Very enjoyable concert.

I guess if you saw him in a different setting, it could be a quite different isonic issue (see below)


trower.jpg

I can't even imagine this kind of crowd would've come for Robin Trower alone. Even as a headliner, I'd have difficult time doing so. I guess he was opening for the Stones, or the Who in that picture.



Lorelei, though it can host up to 5000, it's a natural amphitheatre in the middle of the greens, atop the cliff of Rhine.

[Mister Triscuits]

I can't even imagine this kind of crowd would've come for Robin Trower alone. Even as a headliner, I'd have difficult time doing so. I guess he was opening for the Stones, or the Who in that picture.

That album cover was photographed at the 1975 Day on the Green concert in Oakland, CA. Trower was sharing the bill with Fleetwood Mac, Peter Frampton, Dave Mason, and Gary Wright. The actual album was recorded earlier the same year at the Stockholm Konserthuset, which holds 1,770 in its main hall.

[SteveSly]

I saw Robin Trower in a small venue in 2009. I don't recall his guitar being too loud. Very enjoyable concert.

The next year (2010) I saw Govt Mule in a small venue. The Mule were great but it was so overcrowded with people that I left before the encore. It was so packed people were holding each other up. Never again.

Speaking of situations like that. Just before COVID hit I saw Sons Of Apollo (Portnoy, Sheehan, Soto, Bumblefoot, others) in a club in Battle Creek Michigan. They totally oversold the show and the place was like a sardine can of people. It was nuts to butts everywhere in the place. We ended up standing way in the back by the bar and it was still super crowded there too. The band put on a great show, but the experience was terrible.

I also saw Goblin / Secret Chiefs at The Metro in Chicago about 6 years ago and had a similar experience. Way oversold. At that show, we did find a wall to lean against on the side which helped, but it was still miserable.

I get that clubs need to make money, but when they oversell like that people can’t even get to the bar to buy drinks, so my guess is they end up loosing more drink revenue than they gain from the packed house.

[ronmac]

I've seen Trower a couple of times and in one small club he was deafening.

[Vic2012]

It was nuts to butts everywhere in the place

Good way of putting it. I spent the whole show just walking around the place. That was the last time I attended any concerts. Crowded places make me very uncomfortable.

[Enidi]

I don't think so.

Lolol!!!!

[Enidi]

I've seen Trower a couple of times and in one small club he was deafening.

Oh no...Lolol!

[SteveSly]

Good way of putting it. I spent the whole show just walking around the place. That was the last time I attended any concerts. Crowded places make me very uncomfortable.

I will say that those two experiences have been the exception. Most of the clubs in my area have a reasonable limit of people and it is not bad at all.

[Enidi]

Robin Trower released some good albums over the years. I shouldn't have mentioned his volume. That was rude of me. Bridge Of Sighs and several others were fine Rock albums

[Magic Mountain]

Robin Trower, 1974, The Spectrum, Philadelphia. His guitar was so loud that when his guitar pick hit a string the sound pentetrated through your bones...It literally felt like that volume was vibrating my body.

This sounds like CIRCA at the Keswick Theater in Glenside Pa as part of ROSFest. When Billy Sherwood hit that first bass note, I thought I was in the movie "Scanners."

[Steve F.]

The one time I saw Robin Trower in concert it was in a stadium, so the extreme volume was appropriate.

I saw Robin in the mid 00s in a club with good sound, and he was totally great. It was the Seven Moons era, but, sadly, no Jack Bruce. Still a very good show.

[Vic2012]

I saw Robin in the mid 00s in a club with good sound, and he was totally great. It was the Seven Moons era, but, sadly, no Jack Bruce. Still a very good show.

Seven Moons is a great album.

[Steve F.]

Seven Moons is a great album.

I completely agree.
When I was telling Joyce about the show, I said, ‘Robyn is a old school guitar hero and you will definitely recognize at least 1-2 of the songs that he will play from either high school or your undergraduate days.’

She DID and we had a great time!

[dgtlman]

Hmmm, most disappointing? Off the top of my head I'd have to say that Rush on the Snakes & Arrows tour at OKC Ford Center arena. The sound was just horrible. I blame the bulk of it on the arena itself because it is just an awful place for a show because of acoustics. However, Rush brought their "shed" sound rig that just did not work in a large arena.

Kansas 2019 at a local casino. Good acoustics & Kansas killed it with stellar playing, however, the set was 1 hour & 10 minutes with no support act.

[mozo-pg]

My worst all time concert experience in the 70s - Aerosmith.

[Progbear]

I do feel compelled to mention the Utopia Redux warm-up show at One Step Beyond in Santa Clara, 1994. The show itself was not bad, but it was delayed forever. Probably Kaz and Roger trying hard to prevent Todd and Willie from getting into a fistfight or something (Drama, who needs it?). The delays would have been more bearable but for the venue itself, which was just a big box with a concrete floor with a stage at one end. No seats, standing on the floor was really uncomfortable, made worse by the crowded-ness of the venue and the fact that it was the middle of summer and extremely hot. They eventually trotted out an opening act, some local singer-songwriter guy with an acoustic guitar doing a solo set. They heckled him pretty badly, and I guess some of the audience knew him because they started getting personal. I felt bad for the guy, he was trying his hardest. Anyway, while I did enjoy the actual concert, the negatives kind of tainted the experience for me.

[SteveSly]

Kansas 2019 at a local casino. Good acoustics & Kansas killed it with stellar playing, however, the set was 1 hour & 10 minutes with no support act.

Had a similar experience with Kansas a few years ago. They played a show in Grand Rapids Michigan about an hour north of me. The show was scheduled to start at 7:00PM with no opening act announced. I thought we were getting the full Leftoverture show that they had been doing, which was 2 hours plus with an intermission, so I figured it would still be a full night of music. What we got was Kansas coming on at 7:00PM doing their “best of” Kansas set and the whole thing was over before 8:30PM. Kansas was great, but when it was over it was like “WTF are we going to do with the rest of the night?.” I have seen Kansas close to 20 times over the years and still love them, but that was not one of my highlights with them.

[Gruno]

Had a similar experience with Kansas a few years ago. They played a show in Grand Rapids Michigan about an hour north of me. The show was scheduled to start at 7:00PM with no opening act announced. I thought we were getting the full Leftoverture show that they had been doing, which was 2 hours plus with an intermission, so I figured it would still be a full night of music. What we got was Kansas coming on at 7:00PM doing their “best of” Kansas set and the whole thing was over before 8:30PM. Kansas was great, but when it was over it was like “WTF are we going to do with the rest of the night?.” I have seen Kansas close to 20 times over the years and still love them, but that was not one of my highlights with them.

It was a casino show. They don’t want you at the show — they want you to gamble in the casino. Casinos often times contract the artists for a short set of usually 70-80 minutes. Some of these casino gigs pay better than standard venue gigs, so it’s easier for the acts to agree. They get more money and a don’t have to work as long. Makes for easier travel or extra time to relax.