Worst Concerts You Have Attended ??


I just left a remark about a favorite band of mine back in the day - April Wine - that I saw in concert and was disappointed. Could have been that it was an off night for them, or maybe they were never good in concert. Maybe the lead guitarist had too much to drink? April Wine was not the worst, however. I remember Neil Young in the 1990's who was on his one-man acoustic show type of tour that many artists were taking advantage of (perhaps for financial reasons) during that time. While a friend of I had near front row seats at Desert Sky Pavilion (now Ak-Chin) in Pheonix, the crowd was just roused up into a frenzy by the warm-up band (James) and here comes Neil and his guitar/harmonica. Wow, what a sonic letdown. I remember getting up and leaving and feeling Neil's glaring eyes on us as we ushered out. I think, to this day, he probably still remembers me. We all can remember the great live concerts we attended, but what were the worst and why?
goodlistening64
This could be best....or worst - you tell me.
saw Dexter Gordon at 7th Ave South, got there early, no assigned seating so I sat A1 dead center first row. This venue is kinda tiny, there is no bad seat but I wanted to improve on the situation with up front seat. Slowly place filled up, packed house and the last seats to go are all the seats around me.  dexter starts playing sax emotionally and I got spit on all night long.  Some regulars were joking they were tempted to warn me. I don’t know, if I was a teenager and it was the Beatles I would never wash again.

had tickets to see Jefferson Starship at a local military base.  They canceled due to health of one of the members. All the non military ticket holders like me didn’t get notified and the venue was set up. Opening band didn’t know either so they said may as we’ll play if we are already here. They had run of the house for 3 hours , did mostly covers and the few there casually sang along and called out requests. Being a military base, they don’t just put on a show, they feed you. Great platters of simple American food.  At the end  a guy in uniform apologized and said to stay tuned, the show will be rebooked and our tickets will be valid.
2 months later I came for the rain date show....and the band missed the flight earlier that day. So once again the opening band played, we ate and were promised when the show does finally come about our tickets will still be good.

by the way, before “frampton comes alive” I had no idea who he was. In fact, I don’t know ANY non live or studio work of his.

my friend used to sneak into the fire escape back door of the Fillmore East regularly so he got to see so many more shows than he could afford.
I was so glad to hear goodlistening64 response regarding the 1990s Neil Young's solo performance. I also saw that show and felt ripped off. I remember yelling “PLAY A SONG WE KNOW”. I’ve told people over the years how bad that show was. Feels good to express my displeasure even after all these years.
Sir Elton John in Wilkes Barre, PA "performed" without a band but with recorded fill. It was a kiss the ring sort of show. It seemed he could not have cared less and was, by then, making bank on his Disney tunes. God awful show.
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aside from my jr. high and high school band performances, i am reluctant to use the term "worst" when referring to amateur musicians putting their heart and soul into playing as best they can, however clumsily in the grand scheme. a 1992 performance by the st. paul police band, in the great mall of america, comes to mind. god bless 'em but their timing and pitch/intonation were all over the map, but still they put out an enjoyable performance for those of an open mind, something about the acoustics of the place [an open court surrounded by lots of masonry] added more "there" to the band, solidified them and gave them more gravity than they'd have had otherwise.