the worst concert you've seen

[JY0]

On 7/31/2018 at 11:42 PM, joeypots said:

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.

I saw Jackson Brown there in the late 70's the day after his wife died. I grew up there and saw tons of concerts in the theater district, including my first, New Riders of the Purple Sage and Marshall Tucker Band when I was 15.

[KCCubano]

17 hours ago, JY0 said:

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. 😇

Have seen the Stones 21 times-Doubt will be a no 22! One of best shows was in Vegas the night I got married. Show much better than my marriage! 

[Nocoins]

On 7/31/2018 at 8:49 AM, Grateful13 said:

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

Worst show I ever saw was a Phish show in Atlanta at Lakewood Amphitheater in 1995. Only show I've ever walked out of.  I'm not sure what was going on, but for about an hour the band seemed not to want to be playing songs and then they delved into lazy stupid noise for about 20-30 minutes.  My friend and I couldn't take it anymore, and we just shrugged and left.  We'd been at shows in 1993 and 1994, which were excellent, and were flummoxed by what was going on that day.  

Last summer, I heard this show played back on XM's Phish channel.  It was just exactly as bad as it was the first time I heard it.

[Chibearsv]

Frank Zappa 1980 - we drove to Colorado State from Boulder for his concert and I hated it.  After a handful of songs, Zappa declared that we were a lousy audience... which meant we fit perfectly with his lousy performance.  I didn't go in with high expectations since I wasn't really a Zappa fan but I've been surprised by other bands that converted me (Queen being the primary example).  Zappa was just a pompous dick performing his weird experimental music and expecting a live audience should be required to respond positively.  I think we walked out, but my memories from my time in Boulder is very....hazy 😁

[Chibearsv]

2 minutes ago, therealrsr said:

"Huh he huh hey hooon" was the closest I heard to "Tangled Up in Blue"

That's how Dylan always sounds to me 🤢

[KCCubano]

34 minutes ago, Chibearsv said:

Frank Zappa 1980 - we drove to Colorado State from Boulder for his concert and I hated it.  After a handful of songs, Zappa declared that we were a lousy audience... which meant we fit perfectly with his lousy performance.  I didn't go in with high expectations since I wasn't really a Zappa fan but I've been surprised by other bands that converted me (Queen being the primary example).  Zappa was just a pompous dick performing his weird experimental music and expecting a live audience should be required to respond positively.  I think we walked out, but my memories from my time in Boulder is very....hazy 😁

Interesting. Saw Zappa in 1980 as well and it was fantastic. But then again I like his music! 

"There's nothing like a Catholic girl at the CYO when they learn to b__w"! 

[El Hoze]

4 hours ago, JY0 said:

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

The band landed via helicopter right behind the stage, 2 hours late. 

As a big Stones fan who was born in 1979 that sounds pretty f’ing awesome aside from the life threatening conditions. I hate it when people are late but the Stones get a pass!! I’ve probably pushed the envelope health-wise at few Stones shows but it was always self-inflicted. 

[Silverstix]

5 hours ago, JY0 said:

I saw Jackson Brown there in the late 70's the day after his wife died. I grew up there and saw tons of concerts in the theater district, including my first, New Riders of the Purple Sage and Marshall Tucker Band when I was 15.

Have seen Jackson Browne 10 times in various venues in the NYC area.  He's always been terrific live, saw him solo acoustic and with his band.

[Perla]

I had a flat in the city centre. Concerts were held nearby once a year. The acoustics were great. I always invited friends to the terrace and had a great time.

The worst concert I ever heard was Lionel Richie and Placido Domingo, who lost his voice.

[Jack]

Maybe a tie, but the Rolling Stones at the Los Angeles Coliseum (1981?) wasn't their fault.  Gale force winds across the playing field/seating area and horrible audio setup.  I think they banned "festival seating" (aka, run like your life depends on it to find a place to stand for 3 hours.) after that.  Somehow the opening act (The J Geils Band) sounded better.  Wait, I think Prince opened also, first I'd heard of him.

The winner (loser?) was AC/DC at the Long Beach (California) Arena 1979 - a bit after my senior year of high school.  My friend and I went on a goof because another friend was a rabid AC/DC and Bon Scott fan - but couldn't go.  So we got his tickets for a fiver each.  Not major fans at the time it would have been enjoyable but a few of them were a bit under the weather from a pint or two of the local and Bon Scott was unintelligible.  I don't even think they got through 10 songs.  They couldn't sell out the venue so everyone was packed into half of it.

It's probably considered a "classic" show now.

[GavLew79]

Kerrang tour. Must have been 2008 ish. Cardiff Uni Great Hall.

All the bands were great; Coheed and Cambria excelled. Before that Madina Lake come out. Sound guy must have been high. Drums and vocals on 11. Guitars on 1. Couldn't even get the tune. I hope he was fired. 

[Ford2112]

Worst show I ever saw was a band called the Aquabats. A friend of ours said " they're my favorite band!". I'm usually down for any show. What I saw that night made me want to light myself on fire. Evidently the target demographic was 9- 12 year old girls. Worst band on earth. I would see a bad show from the Stones 1000 times rather than subject myself to such horrors. 

2nd Worst was Bad Brains . It was mid 2000s and H.R. was so fked up on heroin he couldn't perform. I felt really bad for the band. You could see it on their faces. Sad.

I've seen more fantastic shows than I can count. Hard to nail down a favorite. 

[Ken Gargett]

11 hours ago, Silverstix said:

Have seen Jackson Browne 10 times in various venues in the NYC area.  He's always been terrific live, saw him solo acoustic and with his band.

seen him a couple of times. always brilliant. 

[helix]

Aerosmith in Vancouver  1980/81 . They were too drunk to play and belligerent with the crowd . We left early the sound was terrible .

[KCCubano]

7 minutes ago, helix said:

Aerosmith in Vancouver  1980/81 . They were too drunk to play and belligerent with the crowd . We left early the sound was terrible .

Yes had that happen at one of many Stones concerts-Keith and Ronnie were clearly way too intoxicated! Had front row seats so had a good view! Very sloppy. Gave em a pass. 

[BoliDan]

On 6/28/2023 at 12:46 AM, JY0 said:

I saw Jackson Brown there in the late 70's the day after his wife died. I grew up there and saw tons of concerts in the theater district, including my first, New Riders of the Purple Sage and Marshall Tucker Band when I was 15.

My worse concert was at the Orpheum too.

Bob Dylan. He tried to reimagine his music in a country theme, and was terrible. Couldn't understand a damn thing. Merle Haggard opened for him who was good.

I hate this venue. It's old, smelly and the theater feel of it isn't conducive for concerts in my opinion. They left the lights on full blast the entire time, the aesthetic was just off for a concert. I like somethings in the bean that are old, but I suppose that I would rather be somewhere updated for concerts. 

 

On 6/28/2023 at 3:24 AM, Nocoins said:

Worst show I ever saw was a Phish show in Atlanta at Lakewood Amphitheater in 1995. Only show I've ever walked out of.  I'm not sure what was going on, but for about an hour the band seemed not to want to be playing songs and then they delved into lazy stupid noise for about 20-30 minutes.  My friend and I couldn't take it anymore, and we just shrugged and left.  We'd been at shows in 1993 and 1994, which were excellent, and were flummoxed by what was going on that day.  

Last summer, I heard this show played back on XM's Phish channel.  It was just exactly as bad as it was the first time I heard it.

That's what they do. Never really understood the appeal of phish shows. They play like two of their songs and the rest is just cacophonous improvised jams. Guess you need to be wasted beyond belief.

[SpecialK]

Grateful Dead, Phoenix touch of Gray tour... 87 or 88 .. had a room mate in the Air Force who was a Dead Head.. this was my first Dead Concert

Not a jam band fan... The Dead were very talented but what stuck out was the friggen BO!! it was enough to gag a maggot... I just smiled and acted like I enjoyed the experience thinking the whole time I should have worn a clip over my nose...

[SteveA]

Pink Floyd, sans Roger Waters. About 1988, located in the Seattle Kingdome. Nose bleed seats with horrific acoustics. They played a mix of songs from various albums and I kept thinking, "but these are concept albums and you can't just tear them apart like this". I remember getting back to my car and starting the radio and thinking how much better it sounded than the live music.

[churcberna]

I noticed that this thread is from five years ago, but I'd still like to share my thoughts on the topic. It's always interesting to hear about both the best and worst concert experiences.
It's unfortunate that your experience with U2 left you feeling cold, even though the crowd seemed to enjoy it. Music is subjective, and not every artist or performance connects with everyone in the same way. As for Ray Charles, it sounds like his performance was disappointing and left you with a negative impression.
If you're looking for memorable live event experiences, you might want to explore lalightingandsound.com. They can provide professional services to enhance your events and create a captivating atmosphere.

[zappaFREAK]

Has to be Donovan +/- 1976 at Madison Square Garden. He was warmup for Yes and was awful. Not sure how that pairing happened. Yes was stellar in their prime.