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?
Easy one here. The absolute worst, Todd Rundgren and Utopia, Hill Auditorium, Ann Arbor, mid 70's, worse than many high school bands I'd heard up to that point. My friend and I stuck it out to the end, perhaps half of audience had left prior.
Biggest disappointment probably Patti Smith, small club in Ann Arbor, likely one of Fred "sonic" Smith's last shows. First set really nice, expecting big things from second, entire band obviously stoned on heroin, could hardly play. Greatest surprise. Neil Diamond, 1976 Pine Knob Detroit, girlfriend insisted I go, great concert! Made me appreciate his music far more than prior.
And my worst was a Michael Franks concert (aka Popsicle Toes) that a girl friend bought tickets to and insisted we go. It seemed like he couldn't perform unless he was looking at his band so basically had his back to the audience the whole time. And when he faced the audience he had a look like he didn't want to be there eyes looking up at the ceiling. We were in the fifth row from front. But it was worth it. I ended up marrying her.
Billy Joel 5 or 6 years ago. Just plain dull and predictable. The best part was when they did a rendition of AC/DC's "Back in Black" (can't quite remember the reason why). The rest was just going through the motions. Glad my tickets were free, otherwise I would have been majorly upset at dropping $300 + a piece for a 90 minute show by an artist who's best work was in 1977 !
Best shows? Earth, Wind & Fire 1978 tour. Doug Henning, the magician, designed a couple of magic tricks. The lights went down and spotlights hit the roof of the Capital Center. 4 tubes are suspended there with Maurice, Phillip, Ralph and maybe Verdine in one. The tubes then slowly lower to the stage and the crowd is going nuts. The tubes touch the floor and burst open. They're empty! The guys that were supposed to be in the tubes are now on the stage behind the band. Amazing. The band takes off and doesn't stop for 90 minutes. Fantastic music and a fantastic show. I've been to about 120 concerts. From Frank Sinatra to George Clinton and Parliament Funkadelic. The memories!
Best shows? Earth, Wind & Fire 1978 tour. Doug Henning, the magician, designed a couple of magic tricks. The lights went down and spotlights hit the roof of the Capital Center. 4 tubes are suspended there with Maurice, Phillip, Ralph and maybe Verdine in one. The tubes then slowly lower to the stage and the crowd is going nuts. The tubes touch the floor and burst open. They're empty! The guys that were supposed to be in the tubes are now on the stage behind the band. Amazing. The band takes off and doesn't stop for 90 minutes. Fantastic music and a fantastic show. I've been to about 120 concerts. From Frank Sinatra to George Clinton and Parliament Funkadelic. The memories!
Winter of 76...Kiss and Black Sabbath. Kiss was opening act and Hungry for fame. Show was awesome. Black Sabbath was pulled under the boat by Ozzy who gave new meaning to terrible.
The problem with nearly all concerts is the venue or the sound crew (or both) along with greed. Most agents will book their talent at the most profitable place regardless of the acoustics. Unfortunately some groups are just fine with that too but it causes otherwise loyal fans to disrespect. Have heard Massey Hall Toronto is one of the best. Fraze Theater Dayton, Ohio (outdoor) is a gem. Rose Music Center worse than a wind tunnel.
Golden Rule: If you can't get primo seats don't go and the smaller the venue the better. Half the people at large concerts don't know who's playing and the other half are there to get drunk and throw up.
Took a girl to see Rod Stewart in the 80's. Rod was in his disco "Do ya think I'm Sexy" era. He appeared in a spandex outfit and spent most of the night displaying his ass to the crowd. 70's, my ears were damaged when seeing Marshall Tucker at a 1200 seat field house, playing at Yankee Stadium sound levels. Shame on that great band.
Did see a great Dylan (electric) concert in 70's but had decent seats. Diana Krall in second row was priceless. Van Morrison at Greek Theater UC Berkley one of my best ever. Steely Dan, Boz Scaggs, Bonnie Raitt, Lucinda Williams yes,yes, yes! Again, get really good seats or get a really fine stereo system.
Led Zeppelin North American tour 1977. Waited for this show for months. We had seats just off the side of the stage where the band went up the steps to the stage. Bonham comes out, loud clapping, John Paul Jones, noise getting louder, Jimmy page is ready to go on the stage and the lights dim. Page has a guy on his left and one on his right. They basically carry Page to the stage and plug in his guitar. He's just standing there oblivious. Heroin does that to you. Robert Plant hits the stage and the band starts playing. Horrible mixing and sound. Bonham does a 20 minute drum solo. Zeppelin, the Hammer of the Gods. Not that night.
The worst for me was a show that didn’t happen. Was going to see one of my favorite guitarists Richard Lloyd from Television fame at a small club in Detroit. I won’t go into details but he got kicked out of the venue before the lead act was done. And then a few years later he was supposed to play a small bar in Detroit and I go there and he canceled that day. So disappointing. Richard if you’re out there get your s—- together. I’d say you owe me a show but I’ll never try to see you again.
This thread confirms there are so many reasons a live concert can go bad for reasons besides the actual performance being bad. I started attending rock conserts when I got my first car in 1971. Tickets were cheap, most were there to have a good time, were high and the music was almost secondary. Once ticket prices went through the roof and all concerts were assigned seating with few(er) getting high, people went to actualy listen. Add to that the fact that most modern bands can't reproduce their studoo album sound in a live concert setting it's rare that any rock concerts are worth going to.
I fell asleep at a Jethro Tull concert but the only concert I walked out on was Santana. This was right after Jerry Garcia passed away and it turned into a requiem.
Hands down... Sly and the Family Stone, early 70's. Played one and a half songs and Sly fell asleep on stage. Led to a semi riot. Proof that drugs and public appearances are never a "good" idea...
Keith Jarret's solo concert in Budapest, 2016. After the MC strongly requested us not even to think about taking a breath, let alone cough, during the performance, he acted like God himself on stage. Dazed into his extraterrestrial, untouchable self importance, disconnected from the audience made up of simple mortals.... And the music was an uninspiring display of pointless finger exercise. Very disappointing.
George Harrison, Dark Horse tour. He had laryngitis. Should have cancelled the concert. Ravi Shakar played a45 minute song and no one wanted to hear him. Painful.
Well I’ve seen some dogs in nearly 50 years of concertgoing, but one of the worst was Andy Summers (of the Police). Although the audience was very respectful and there to see him do his solo stuff (no one was yelling out requests for Police stuff, talking over his performance, etc), he insulted the audience throughout, and was basically obnoxious from beginning to end.
Robin Trower love his music but the guy just can't put a show on. He just sat on the stage and played guitar no movement whatsoever. I was better off at home listening to albums. Next worst was J Geils Band they had hardware issues that show and everyone got up and walked out.
jimi hendrix 1968. swichted from marshall to sun amps complete with 60 herz hum nobody could fix. played 20 minutes before he stabbed hi guitar thru the amps and walked off. the other bands, however, were great. soft machine was terrific. bill
Gordon Lightfoot, Red Rocks, early 70's.The band arrived on stage 30 minutes late, without Gordon. They tuned up for 20 minutes, played a couple of licks, and then sat there for another 15 minutes, waiting for G.L to show. Then they left. Came back another 20 minutes later, kind of helping G.L. to his chair on stage. He couldn't hold his guitar, so it sat in its stand. They all assumed their places, then G.L. fell off his stool. The band tried various methods to prop him up on a shorter chair, then he fell again and they carted him backstage.We were sitting in the front third of the Amphitheater, and the crowd was so angry after the second exit without even a peep from G.L. that they started throwing bottles at the stage. All in all, we waited for 1 1/2 hours, heard nothing, and had to run to avoid the missiles.
Truth be known, I have attended several shows in Colorado, where the drugged or boozed up performers seemed to underestimate just how much effect Mile High thin air has on their ability to stand.
True addendum to the Atlanta Pop Festival posting....I went with several friends, one of whom had been burned a few weeks earlier when he gave someone $20 for a bag of weed. The guy disappeared into a house and never showed back up. At the concert, we all went back to the car for some special refreshments and when we returned to our blankets, the same dude was sitting on one of them. We escorted him back in the direction of our car, but at the gate, he started yelling for help. We melted into the crowd and he was ultimately arrested on an outstanding warrant. How's that for karma?
Atlanta Pop Festival, July 4th & 5th 1969...the music and bands were good, but it was over 100 degrees on both days. Held at the Atlanta International Raceway (NASCAR venue) on the infield and the heat from the huge racetrack baked the crowd. Firetrucks were called in to spray as many people as possible due to the number that were passing out. I had spent the summer working construction, so it didn't bother me to that extent.
A few different acts at New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival over the years. Bonnie Raitt with a completely shot voice, with the backup singers constantly jumping in mid verse to try and bail her out; Eric Clapton totally mailing it in after receiving the highest appearance fee given to any musician to perform there; and Macy Gray singing with Galactic and being so f***ed up they sent her back to her trailer and had one of the backup singers finish the set.
Not a concert, a musical play: Les Miserables, a show by the touring (not Broadway) company at West Point's Eisenhower Theater. I suspected it would be bad music, but went because we were with another couple who professed great anticipation of this musical.
It was a very well produced, sung, and acted show--but the music, at least to my ears, was spectacularly bad. No redeeming features & not a single memorable note of music. I slunk down in my chair and thought about anything but that show.
Actually was rather shocked to find at intermission that my wife and the other couple absolutely shared my opinion (that rarely happens). We left immediately and went out drinking.
ZZ Top, Felt Forum NYC. Derringer opened and put on one whale of a show. ZZ Top follows, actually said something like "we're in New York City! We're going to play all night long!!" Then proceeded to play a whopping 37 minutes with no encore.
+1 on the Zappa note above -- we attended five or six years running of his Halloween shows in NYC. What a blast! Imagine the costumes and crowd, and Zappa and his band were always tight. The play acting that went along with "Titties and Beer" still sticks in my mind lol
Led Zeppelin 1973, Sydney Australia, 100,000 people, band totally wasted, stumbling around, sound awful. Jimmie Page excellent in studio but live a disaster.
Best concert, Frank Zappa, Mothers of Invention, Sydney Australia 1970 something, 40 minutes tuning up the band, sound absolutely clear, balanced and easy to hear everything going on; Zappa a true professional.
By far, my worst concert was The Police at U of Tenn's middle sized basketball arena, The Stokely Center. The 12700 seats were supplamented by floor seats, and it was packed. I was never a The Police fan, but was given the tickets. It was not just me. After each song, there would beere a few police hand claps. That was as bad as a rock concert could be, I thought, until I was reminded of on I did not see: Leon Russell was over two hours late at the downtown Tennessee Theater, finally showed up for twenty minutes and left. Luckily I missed that one, because Leon Russell is horrible.
Tony Braxton, 2019 at the Fabulous Fox Theater. My cousin surprised us with Dinner and a show. It was a real surprise. You couldn't pay me to see her, but I didn't want to hurt my cousin and his wife's feelings, so we went. It lived up to everything I thought. She talked most of the show and when she did try to put a few notes together, it was inaudible. She tried to get the crowds sympathy talking about her Lupus..... It was a very sad show. Even though I didn't pay for the tickets, I wanted a REFUND!!!!!!
Worst: Like so many others, a drug fueled concert that had tragedy written all over it: Jaco Pastorius and Jorma Kaukonen, Lone Star, NYC, 1985. A giant mess. Jorma survived, Jaco didn't. Some greats worth mentioning: King Sunny Ade, Roseland Ballroom, early 80's... a whole 'nutha level of musicianship than I was used to; Van Morrison early 2000's, Jones Beach, NY, I know, he has a horrible reputation, but maybe he was aware of it by now, and cared a bit more... The excellent James Hunter opened... Morrison played both classics and a bit of country and western from the Pay the Devil album, and lots off the superb The Healing Game; Richie Havens, small club in upstate NY, the man had pure music and energy coursing through his veins... I got to buy a CD directly from him; Melody Gardot, Montreal Jazz Festival, a voice as pure live as recorded; Ray Lamontagne, Radio City Hall and Capitol Theater, there are acts you see 'cause you like the band, and maybe have some fun, and there are acts you see because some just care so much to deliver a sonic experience, Melody and Ray really deliver on both.
That "obnoxious piercing sound" coming from the "freaking amplified oboe" was played by Paul McCandless, the husband of my dear friend (now deceased) Robin Feld.
Bob Dylan at Madison Square Garden in the mid-70s was pretty bad also. It was my first and what I thought would be my last stadium show. Even sitting only halfway back, between the stage and the rear, who could see or hear anything? I swore "never again" after that. But about 10 years ago I got gifted 10th row center seats to see The Eagles at MSG and the sound was perfect and while I prefer Gram to the Eagles any day, they did put on a very tight show.
Gordon Lightfoot, back in the 70's. I think it was the Universal Amphitheater. The opening band was better than he was. He came out and did a half baked performance. You could tell he just wanted to get it over with and cash his check. I never bought or watched anything he was part of again.
The Atlanta Pop Festival, July 4th & 5th 1969. The bands/music were good, but it was over 100 degrees both days. The site was the infield of Atlanta International Raceway (NASCAR) and the radiated heat off of the huge racetrack baked the crowd. Firetrucks had to be called in to spray water on many of the attendees (those they could reach) due to people passing out. It was pretty brutal because there was zero shade until the sun went down.
Speaking of bad concerts, am I the only one who absolutely abhors the fact that about a quarter of the crowd at any one time these days thinks it’s cool to pull out their cell phones and record for minutes on end? It takes a lot of enjoyment out of the experience to have dozens of lighted screens to look past to see a show. I’ve yet to attend an event where the no-filming rules are actually enforced.
The best was probably Gram Parsons with Emmylou Harris and The Fallen Angels at Upstairs at Max’s Kansas City on March 7, 8, 9 of 1973. One night his friend Van Morrison? can’t remember if it was him or Tom Paxton, lol, was there and performed with him. I recall Neil Young and Linda Rondstat being present as well.
A friend worked the tables downstairs and she got me a front row seat (front row meant if you lean forward and rested your forearms on your knees, your head was over the front edge of the "stage") each night by letting me in through the backstage entrance before the show.
What a great subject! I go to a lot of shows but these few come to mind right away: Alice Cooper & Motley Crue 2014 in Glendale AZ. Worst sound I've ever heard. We couldn't hear the bands at all. Aerosmith, Glendale 2005. It was towards the end of the tour and it seemed like they didn't want to be there Van Halen, Glendale AZ, 2015. David Lee Roth can't sing anymore. My friend fell asleep. Peter Frampton & B.B. King, Tucson, AZ 2015. B.B. was getting so old it was painful to see him try, someone should have pulled the plug. Frampton just love the sound of his own guitar. Not every song needs a 12 minute solo.
Elton John in the the old concrete bowl international stadium in Baku, Azerbaijan around 2009-ish Because he had to wait for the president who was over an hour late, to be seated I was already bored and annoyed. Sound quality was terrible, more likely the stadium rather than Elton John. Give him his due though, he did give his all. Tying for worst concert ever was Echo and the Bunnymen at University of Calgary. Just terrible all round. Though not an answer to the question, the best concert I ever saw was The Clash in 1978 at Middlesbrough Town Hall in England. Never saw or heard such raw energy and crowd excitement before or since
@feldman Sounds like the Warren Zevon I saw wasn't indicative of him as a live performer. That is very unfortunate, because he was a truly brilliant songwriter. And yes, because of the venue the audience sat in their seats for the entire show. Mind you, this was 1978 and the following night, same venue, we saw Springsteen and the E Street band play for almost 4 hours. Best show ever.
1968/1969 Country Joe and the Fish. Country Joe was too wasted to stand up much less perform. Aaron Neville about 5 years ago had a bad night. Black Crows about 30 years ago in a bad venue with the volume turned up so loud there was no music just noise.
Yomo Toro at Symphony Space. He was way too old, needed to be helped on and off the stage, could barely hold his cuatro never mind actually play it. He passed away a year later.
The concert producers should have been ashamed of themselves: for putting a revered artist in an embarrassing situation, and for ripping off a nearly full house.
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