the worst concert you've seen

[Ken Gargett]

we have a great thread for the top concerts you've seen. what about the worst? any shockers?

a friend, who was a private airline hostess, did the flight that bb king and U2 came in on years ago (or possibly just BB King, can't recall). she got tickets to the concert in sydney so we went along. great seats. absolutely loved bb king, he was the support. fantastic. and i will confess that i was obviously out of step with everyone else there but U2 left me utterly cold. i'm assuming it was a good concert for them as everyone else raved. there was one moment when they started playing 'like a hurricane' by neil young and i loved that. but it was all too brief. otherwise, utterly forgettable. i know, each to their own. 

but that was springsteenesque compared to ray charles. i know we are not supposed to bag blind people in any way but he was a disgrace. to the extent that i have absolutely no respect for the bloke at all. i think he was a grub. i now fast forward through his bit in 'blues brothers' and if a song of his ever comes on, i turn it off. will not listen to him. 

it was in london at the barbican. very expensive tickets. there was some dreadful woman - she was american, as she repeatedly told us for reasons that never became clear and she was just ever so honoured to be singing for us, in london, with the grub etc etc etc - who was the support. well, she literally emptied the place. she was dreadful. i think about 25 people remained while she was still singing and the rest of us just went to the bar. and she sang for over two hours. then, when she was finally finished, we waited and waited.  and waited.

finally, ray charles came on. sang 4-5 songs which took around 30 minutes and then walked off and never came back. the entire crowd boo'd him long and hard and many were yelling for their money back. if he'd had a shred of decency, he would have been mortally embarrassed. 

hard to imagine worse (well, perhaps if you were at the wrong spot for the stones at altamont). 

[rcarlson]

Ken, I know this gonna kill you.  It was Springsteen.  I can't stand his music.  I have always loathed it.  Alas, my friend from New Jersey bought 2nd row tickets at an incredible premium to take me for my birthday years ago.  I volunteered the bar runs -- and would hang out as long as possible to avoid the ungodly horrible sounds boring through my temples the closer I got to the stage.  The worst part?  Telling my friend how incredible the experience was.  I felt like the character in Office Space telling "The Bobs" that he liked Michael Bolton.

I feel dirty but had to get that off my chest.  I've had it bottled up for years.  Please forgive me. 

[Ken Gargett]

1 minute ago, rcarlson said:

Ken, I know this gonna kill you.  It was Springsteen.  I can't stand his music.  I have always loathed it.  Alas, my friend from New Jersey bought 2nd row tickets at an incredible premium to take me for my birthday years ago.  I volunteered the bar runs -- and would hang out as long as possible to avoid the ungodly horrible sounds boring through my temples the closer I got to the stage.  The worst part?  Telling my friend how incredible the experience was.  I felt like the character in Office Space telling "The Bobs" that he liked Michael Bolton.

I feel dirty but had to get that off my chest.  I've had it bottled up for years.  Please forgive me. 

i'm very sorry to hear that you must now be banned from the forum for life!!

but i understand. a girl i took to one of the bruce concerts years ago fell asleep. seriously. she was much more a kylie M fan and never understood bruce. in fairness, it was the nebraska, 'bruce and guitar and no band' tour.

years later, i ran into her again and was going to bruce the next day and one of our group had been forced out. so she came along again. this was the full band in great form. i remember a brilliant version of jungleland, after an even more amazing backstreets at the concert in melbourne. yep, she fell asleep again. this time, she had, as i later found out, been crook for a long while so was near exhaustion. but still....

[MIKA27]

My ex wife loved Black Eyed Peas, I took her to the concert a while back and it was THE WORST I've ever been to. Fergie as a singer...live, DEAR GOD! Horrible singer, out of key, sounded like a strung cat.

Second worst concert was Guns N Roses back in 1994 here in Melbourne.

It was at the Calder Park raceway, temperatures were around 42'C, a bottle of water was around $8.00 and Axl Rose was no doubt on a bender and was around 3 hours late. By the time he came on stage, majority of people were really pissed off and hot.

[scap99]

Bought tickets and went to a local pub to watch Travis Meeks play.  Big fan of his Days of the New works....

 

Would have been a great show, had he bothered to show...guess he thought he was too good to play that dive.

[mbflash80]

ACDC back on the Razors edge tour at irvine meadows...brian lost his voice early on and it was truly painful to listen to three chords and sandpaper vocals.

[foursite12]

1. Aretha Franklin. Chicago Theater 1986. She wanted to be somewhere else; specifically, in the arms of a particular guy she mentioned, who happened to be in attendance. She essentially sang to him for the duration of the show, ignoring the rest of the audience, looking only at him. Mercifully, her hormones won out and she left the stage well under an hour into her show.

2.  Rolling Stones. University of Illinois Nov 1969. 3 hours late. Bitter cold while we waited outside. Jagger mocking the audience and the location. Bored outta their freaking minds, they had no problem making us aware of the fact they were only doing this because they had to. Utterly passionless. Ken, Your man B.B. King was the warm up and he was fabulous and a true pro. Three weeks later to the day was Altamont.  Some of my group are shown in the Gimme Shelter film, which was cool, but the concert was very disappointing.

[Chompers79]

Kelis - mid '00s. Totally forgettable. Like a lacklustre rehearsal session. Sullen. Almost zero energy. Wore tracksuit pants and hoody. Sat on a stool for 90% of the "performance" and barely spoke at all.

[Doctorossi]

Late 00's Van Halen. Far from the worst performance I've seen, but against my elevated expectations, they steal this one. The guitar had no cut in the mix, so I could barely hear it. Junior on bass had no stage presence whatsoever (and Michael Anthony's backing vocals were sorely missed). Diamond Dave was much more concerned with posing big and cracking a smile to be bothered about the quality of his voice or any effort put into even singing half the notes. I guess the drums sounded ok.

I remember that tour starting with Roth making a promotional boast that we should come to the show and compare them to any other band on the planet because that's the standard they're setting for themselves. Well...

This was one of four concerts I saw that year. I took your challenge, Dave- needless to say, you came in dead last.

[drjammer]

1. Pearl Jam 1997? Red Rocks: A friend conned me into seeing a band that I did not like and surprisingly they sucked  

2. Six Feet Under 1999 Colorado Springs: Was an opening band for Danzig I think but it sounded like Scooby Doo singing death metal 

3. Whitesnake 1987 McNichol's Arena: Opened for Motley Crue, just terrible

[Cayman17]

11 hours ago, mbflash80 said:

ACDC back on the Razors edge tour at irvine meadows...brian lost his voice early on and it was truly painful to listen to three chords and sandpaper vocals.

That sucks. I saw the Razor’s Edge tour when they played Pittsburgh and it was a great show.  

[joeypots]

There is a venue in Boston called the Orpheum. When I was in school it was a D U M P. There we're some good acts there and some not so good. I saw a band called the Jam. I couldn't believe how bad they were.

 

[multi-useless]

What a great thread topic, lol...  I used to go to a ton of shows when I was younger, and I'm gonna say the worst concert expereince was that time I took a girlfriend to see Oasis (it sounded like a good idea at the time) in like 97 or 98.  A crappy show by a crappy band...

[Grateful13]

Phish 2004 on the last tour before the hiatus. Simply terrible. 

[El Hoze]

I am a huge Grateful Dead fan. (the real band, not the new version though I respect John Mayer just don’t care to see them). But the last shows/tour I ever saw were at Giants Stadium before Jerry Garcia died. The first night Bob Dylan opened up for them. I think I could have done a better job honestly and I don’t even have the slightest musical ability. Never been a huge fan of Dylan as a singer (songwriter sure), but him live in a venue like that was just terrible. Also, hate to say it, but Jerry Garcia on that last tour was just not at all on his A game. Kept forgetting the words, had equipment issues, etc. I hear tapes from like 1977, Dead Set, or Without a Net, etc. realize I was born too late (I was born in 1979). 

I am from New Jersey and also hate to say it but never understood the cult-like obsession with Springsteen shows. Super talented guy, just not my thing. 

[cmbarton]

Worst concert I’ve been to: Willie Nelson. It was the Fourth of July, the year 2000. Willie Nelson was having his annual Independence Day concert in Austin for the first time (as opposed to Luckenbach where it was held every year previously). Several friends of mine, including a couple guys I worked with at the time, and my girlfriend road tripped from Dallas for the show.

The all-day concert featured country music greats: Ray Wylie Hubbard, Ray Price, Leon Russell, Asleep at the Wheel ... I think even Jerry Jeff Walker was there. Then, the last act ... as the sun was setting Willie Nelson walks on stage with his trademark guitar, ponytails waving in the breeze in all their glory. He played all the hits, sounding and looking great. Afterwards, fireworks lit up the Texas Hill Country starry night sky.

The next morning I found my girlfriend cheating on me with one of the guys I worked with. No one said a word the entire way back to Dallas ... easily the most awkward four hours of my life. When we got back to Dallas, I dumped the girl and never saw her again. A couple weeks later I quit my job.

I don’t care that she cheated on me, but damn her for ruining the only time I saw Willie Nelson live.

[HDGSN]

The Police, Bonnaroo 2007

[David88]

I saw Radiohead at a festival. I quite like some of their albums and many people rave about their live shows but it did nothing for me

[madandana]

In about 87 I was at the 1st concert at the Metro Dome. Sound was atrocious. Bands were Dylan, Petty and the Greatful Dead.

We had no Idea if Petty or Dylan was on stage.Thats how bad the sound was.

[Danimalia]

Probably the worst was a few years ago when I saw Danzig, who was advertised as playing a Misfits set. He literally rushed through about 8 Misfits songs in like 12 minutes, and then played his own solo stuff. It was such a blatant money grab, it was insulting. 

12 hours ago, drjammer said:

1. Pearl Jam 1997? Red Rocks: A friend conned me into seeing a band that I did not like and surprisingly they sucked  

2. Six Feet Under 1999 Colorado Springs: Was an opening band for Danzig I think but it sounded like Scooby Doo singing death metal 

3. Whitesnake 1987 McNichol's Arena: Opened for Motley Crue, just terrible

I rather liked Six Feet Under. You could have had my Danzig experience and I'd have taken Six Feet Under. LOL

[mbflash80]

14 hours ago, drjammer said:

1. Pearl Jam 1997? Red Rocks: A friend conned me into seeing a band that I did not like and surprisingly they sucked  

2. Six Feet Under 1999 Colorado Springs: Was an opening band for Danzig I think but it sounded like Scooby Doo singing death metal 

3. Whitesnake 1987 McNichol's Arena: Opened for Motley Crue, just terrible

Ive heard many a story of whitesnake not being a good live band...but I will say the 2 times i have seen them they have been absolutely fantastic...Coverdale being on point both times...

[drjammer]

10 hours ago, Danimalia said:

Probably the worst was a few years ago when I saw Danzig, who was advertised as playing a Misfits set. He literally rushed through about 8 Misfits songs in like 12 minutes, and then played his own solo stuff. It was such a blatant money grab, it was insulting. 

I rather liked Six Feet Under. You could have had my Danzig experience and I'd have taken Six Feet Under. LOL

Danzig can be hit or miss, I saw him with original lineup(John Christ, Eeerie Vaughn and Chuck Biscuits) and they were very good but the last time I saw him in Colorado Springs with Six Feet Under and Disturbed, it wasn't a great show. Disturbed on the other hand was very good 

[CigarAsh]

There have been some memorable bad shows I've seen over the years, but I'll vote for the show that was also the best concert I've been to, as well as my first ever.

1972, I was just a lad in junior high school, T-Rex was coming to town. They were the one hit wonder on the radio at the time.  They had some opening act that no one really knew anything about. I think their name was the Doobie Brothers.  We just wanted to hear T-Rex do "Bang a Gong".   Well, the Doobie Brothers were just releasing the iconic "Toulouse Street" album and played most of it. They absolutely slayed the crowd and we went wild. Great performances, stage pyrotechnics - they were amazing.  Half hour after their set, T-Rex comes on and just dies. I mean the crowd was stunned into silence by how bad they were after the epic performance we had just witnessed with the Doobie Brothers. Half the crowd was gone by the time they finished their set. 

Since it was my first concert ever, I didn't have anything to compare it to.  But over the years, it stills stands out for the absolute best concert I've ever seen - and the huge contrast with how bad the lead act was. Will never forget it. 

 

 

[GasGuy82]

Red Hot Chili Peppers during the One Hot Minute tour, circa April 1996.

[JY0]

The Rolling Stones, Miss You tour, 1980'ish.

Pouring rain, general admission to a nasty stadium in Philly, old Veterans Stadium, perhaps? We were cold and soaked, got there 12 hours before the event to get in and get decent seat with 40K of our closest friends. The crush when the gates open was life threatening. I had a cooler resting on my chest that I didn't have to hold, it was so packed. Amazing that no one died. That was the last general admission concert I attended.

We got seats. The band landed via helicopter right behind the stage, 2 hours late. They played for 60 minutes, no encore, and flew out immediately after the last song.

Being in our early 20's we still managed a great time. 😇