Worst Concerts You Have Attended ??

Been to more then a few bad concerts, but the one that I easily remember was a Buddy Guy/ Junior Wells show at the Bottom Line in 74 or 75. Should have known it was going to be a very short night watching the two of them at the bar. Buddy played two or three notes and talked/ slurred about how he taught Jimmy Hendrix everything and that was it! Very early night.

Worst:  Steppenwolf. It was ear bleeding loud and you could not tell what was playing. 
Best: Leo Kotke who just sat on stage with his 12 string and played like it was him and several others. Opening act was Laura Branigan by herself at a piano. Both were fabulous. 

The Mothers of Invention Ford Auditorium Detroit 1969. Frank announced to the audience that they had been hassled by our local constables and decided to play the song Bacon Fat  over and over again. His guitar solos were incredible though. In retrospect The Grande Ballroom concerts in Detroit give me bragging rights of seeing so many legendary bands in their prime, but honestly, at the time the music was background ( LOUD) sound to cover all the drug deals going down.

I am sure I attended some bad concerts. I just don't remember them. 

Dixie Chicks at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas. That venue may be fine for boxing, but not for concerts. Michelle Branch was the opening act. The sound system was awful.

Sting, mid 2000's, Madison, WI.  Uninspired, low key, little interaction with the audience, flat out boring.

Hynde

Worst, Dickie Betts and Chrissy Heinz, Pretenders, Both so loud I had a headache for days. Best, Front row Bruce Springsteen as he was the warm up for The Paul Winter Quartet before the release of Asbury Park. 

My almost favorite band--The Eagles--Miami Stadium.  I walked out after the 4th song, which was really the 2nd song.  They started and stopped the first two songs twice.  My guess is that they were so high they could not perform. It was completely embarrassing and terrible for professional musicians.

BEST show (after the Beatles, of course) was ALSO the Eagles--July 4th, (1976, I think), Tampa Stadium.  Loggins and Messina (last show together), Fleetwood Mac (Rumors) and Eagles (Hotel California).  Totally amazing show.

As for SOUND issues, almost every show lately is horrible regardless of the band.  I don't think the artist cares at all as they just do the show and leave with no thought to the audience.

Surprise show--saw Rod Stewart recently and he was terrific!  Also, saw the David Byrne show in NYC last year and it was amazingly good.

Cheers!

Grateful Dead, Baltimore Civic Center, late 70's.  Completely flat lackluster performance just plodding thru the songs.  When they were on the right dose they were ON but this was clearly not one of those nights. 

Saw Van Morrison once.  Pure torture.  He came across as a proper pompous, tedious little twat.

As a teen I saw (I believe) Deep Purple's last ever gig in Liverpool.  Spinal Tap really nailed that era.   Tedious solos.   Tommy Bolin could hardly stand up.  I think he died a week later.

Deadhead the one time I saw Van was in 1970 at my college. He was drunk off his butt, but still managed to put on a pretty decent show. His material was pretty new to him at the time, so he apparently hadn’t gotten jaded yet. He was living nearby in Woodstock, NY then, and likely stopped off at his local tavern before the show for a few, or maybe quite a few, beers.

Pink Martini at Wolf Trap about six years ago... the sound was terrible.. and the way they choose to play different country’s national hits was so funny.. it was so obvious how it divide the crowd on groups who were interested and not.
However the one I really liked was ’13 Depeche Mode at Jiffy Lube Center VA... superior sound and energetic, fantastic atmosphere. 

Worst Bob dylan in glasgow 2004. Played most the gig with back to audience. Session muso's staring at Bob trying to work out what he was playing and where he was going
Lazy disrespectful and working to pay off a tax bill. 
Still have his music on sacd and vinyl just the person at that time was rubbish. 

Best gigs - John Prine Cambridge folk festival followed by old Crow medicine show in early years... Energy, interaction and perfection. Manu dibangu at Ronnie Scott's london

This might shock a few folks but it was a Van Morrison show in New Jersey in the late 80’s, he played a medley of his songs for an hour, he’d start a song, sing a line or two, then roll into another one, it was clear the songs that had meant a lot to me, meant nothing to him any longer. In my mind, if you think your own songs aren’t worth the time and effort to sing them, I’m not going to take the time and effort to listen to them. 

The bad concerts that come to mind were all in recent years.  I think they were even more disappointing because we had high hopes they would be good:

Bob Dylan — As others noted, he was like this little depressed old man that mumbled, not sure he didn’t doze off in parts, and he played blah music with no comprehensible lyrics.  Total snoozefest.

Willie Nelson — It was a tour “with Family”.  His voice was faint and so was the music.  He must have been tired of singing his hits, as he did a brief medley of his hits and then on to something unfamiliar.  Big letdown.

Three Doors Down — This was after lead guitarist Matt Roberts left due to health problems and bassist Todd Harrell was gone due to drunk driving accident.  So they had replacement players.  Music was so LOUD that I couldn’t enjoy it or understand what Brad Arnold was singing.  I loved their albums, so this live rendition was disappointing and headache-inspiring. 

Jimmy Buffet, not a fan. got the tickets to take this girl out i hadn't even spoke to, thought she would say yes. walked up to her front door and asked if she wanted to go to a concert with me, she said no, i said ok turned around and left. went the concert anyway and it sucked. Bad experience all around.

Very disappointing: Jackson Browne at the Garden State Art Center in Holmdel, NJ. Just blah. 

The Punk and Junk Dudes.

That’s easy, Gun’s n Rose’s toward the end of their reign. Axel couldn’t even finish a song. Pathetic, we left.

Sunset strip, converted movie theatre 1968.  Janis Joplin came on stage with Big Brother.  She sang two songs, puked and left.  Big Brother said go home shows over.   Same year Steppenwolf, I swear they forget how to play.  Everything they attempted to play sounded like crap.

I saw Pink Floyd do their kick off tour of Dark side of the Moon back in 1972.....amazing!! Jethro Tull Thick as a Brick, David Bowie when is was doing China girl, Mody Blues, Justin Haywood voice is amazing  also Andrea Bocelli in Central Park  Saw Rush in 71 at a bar where l was a bouncer and at the time, and l had no idea who they were

Another vote for Dylan. Probably 40 years ago, when he did his Christian revival thing. The audience was not amused.

Bob Dylan. Hands down. He didn't even play Like a rolling Stone. Walked on staged played for about an hour then walked off. 

Pathetic. I did leave at the end but immediately after called the radio station with my review. I wasn't the only caller. 

Black Sabbath @ Memorial Coliseum in 1971 or 1972.  They quit after maybe 2 songs and announced they had to do so to make it to another gig on time.

Not that it was the worst, but I've just remembered a Byrds Concert.  At the Aquarius Theater in Hollywood (where, at the site's previous incarnation, my older sister actually had her sweet sixteen party). Crosby, of course, was long gone but Gene Clark, once more with the band, had just quit that very night. Or was it Crosby who just quit?  In any case, McGuinn, Hillman and drummer Mike Clark bravely soldiered on as a trio. McGuinn sang both lead and back-up vocals and played all the guitar parts.

@tony1954 - Let me guess - when you saw Zevon everyone was sitting in there seat passively watching?  I saw him many many times - he got into it like crazy when folks were up on their feet dancing and just jamming out (later in his career he only played places with a dance floor right in front of him). I learned that early and always arrived early and sat on the floor right in front of him. As soon as I’d start jamming on his playing he’d just light up. There were a couple nights when it felt like he was playing just for me. I’m sorry you had the experience you did. I loved Warren every time I saw him and I’ll miss him until the day I die. 
Matt

@carlsbad

+1 coldplay at 2016 super bowl. I wasn't there but it was the first halftime show that made me and a lot of watchers all over the country sober up.

Mostly the worst concert, and momentarily the best ever, was Frank Zappa playing SUNY at New Paltz in the early ’70’s. He had a really great band at the time. I think I recall George Duke, Flo and Eddie from the Turtles, Jean Luc Ponty maybe, and some others who were excellent musicians. Being an a__, he spent most of the concert diddling around with his comedic crap, patronizing the audience I guess he felt wasn’t up to appreciating his music. I was really pissed and felt ripped off.

Then he broke into a scintillating, unforgettable guitar solo on Montana that was simply stunning. It’s a shame he was on that lame trip of his.

Mike

Kid Rock was the worst!! I remember watching and it was horrible, then the drummer got up and the drums kept going lol!!
Best was Rush on moving Pictures and Steven Wilson a few years ago!

Grand Funk Railroad in Philly 1968,69? small venue by the river. The speakers I do remember they were so big and LOUD and some guy, he had to be tripping, was on the edge of one shaking all over woo. He had to go deaf. They were so freakin deafening we left.
  

Macy Gray, about 10 years. Sadly stumbling around the stage. Songs a jumbled mess. We left after 5 songs.
And I also attended a Dylan concert where most songs were unrecognizable.

Best...Rolling Stones with Stevie Wonder opening, Hollywood Palladium.

Allman Brothers -- Yeah, it was during the classic period when Duane Allman and Dickie Betts (was that his name?) were trading licks all night, but Duane only seemed to play one lick -- the whoop-de-doodle-do one. After about three hours of it I decided that if I heard one more whoop-de-doodle-do, I'm leaving.  About fifteen seconds later, presto. I left. It didn't help that the band's attitude never strayed from an "I'm cool and you're not" sneer.  The next morning I heard from my Allman Bros. acolyte/fellow concertgoer/college roomie that they continued boogying for another hour. And, hey man, did I miss something special!

New York Dolls -- loved the record but the performance was all about posing. No trace of conviction or chops. I have to say, though, that I love David Johansen's LP, the one where he does the demented lounge singer.

Vladimir Horowitz at the Ambassador Auditorium in Pasadena, maybe thirty years ago. My buddy's parents had an extra ticket. Was it front row center.? Anyway something to that effect.  It was long past Vlad's prime.  He couldn't get his fingers to work. He couldn't remember the scores.  Of course, this never mattered in his prime because he was famous for taking audacious liberties with the music.  But even Vlad was embarrassed by his performance. The audience, though, was too much in love to give him guff.

And then there was Steve & Edie Gorme with my parents in Vegas.  At one point, Edie jokingly said, "Who needs the Doors?"  It was maybe 1968. Being a Doors fan at the time, I took personal offence...

1972 or 73? Cobo Hall Detroit, The Ohio Players...The band was fine it's just that the late cheapo seats we got where the moveable retractable kind and they were placed in and area where the night before was a circus and for the entire show everything smelled like animal s**t. No amount of libation could overcome that smell...And since we were from out of town and unfamiliar with the place, we were to young and dumb to move.

Absolute worst performance was The Doors, having Jim nearly throwing up on me off stage, and spending most of the show curled up in a fetal position. And at this late point in the bands career Robby, John and Ray were probably fed up and just didn't put their hearts into it. I've had worse experience at concerts, but that's another story.

Greatful Dead...most overrated band ever. Walked out on them at the Boston Tea Party club and at Woodstock. Boring....

Another stink fest was Carly Simon about 4 years ago in Boston. She couldn't carry a tune.

BB King a few years back at Wolf Trap in VA. He just sat in a chair in a diabetic coma and complained about the band. Oh and he played guitar a sum total of 30 secs. Same lick twice just 30 mins apart. 

Rolling Stones at soldier field 98’. 
Got stuck working for them for 5 days setting up the show, we all got free tix, then when the show started, it was so bad we all left. 

Lou Reed.

It was probably my fault to some extent. It was not reasonable to expect Rock'n'Roll Animal and he did not deliver it. Even the beginning was to be the same songs, but Rock'n'Roll Animal it was not.

Although it was decades later, I think I got a zombie from this article...

LOU REED: FREEING THE ROCK & ROLL ANIMAL (pleasekillme.com)

Elton John...Atlanta....mid or late 70's. He was established as a main music star by then. Venue was a large auditorium with thousands present. He played and sang like he wanted to get out of there as soon as possible. His band played like they were just showing up for a paycheck. I thought he owed more to the audience since the tickets weren't cheap.

Worst performance I remember was Sonic Youth opening for Neil Young on the Ragged Glory tour. Just total noise. Worst sounding concert was Black Keys (Brothers tour) at DAR Constitution Hall in Washington, DC. The soundboard operator turned the bass up to 11 - it was basically unlistenable. I stuck it out, but was so disappointed.

The worst shows that I have ever been at always involved bad sounding pa mixes that you just could not listen past like pretty much all of the shows I went to at the mark of the quad cities.

George Harrison - Dark Horse tour. Last show of the tour, George's voice was shot and Ravi Shankar filled in between almost after every song. Between George's voice, or lack there of, and Ravi droning, it was excruciating. 

I wonder how many classically trained musicians come on stage ripped?  
Not many.

Dianna Krall, several years back, was a let down.  Seemed under the influence.

Iris Dement was very bad. Acted like she was very inebriated.

Bob Dylan. Could not even decipher what song he was singing. I don't think he understood that people go to his concerts to hear his songs, not some "muttered interpretation".

Warren Zevon. Introverts and hit records don't work well together.
Joe Cocker. Alcoholism and singing don't work well together.
JJ Cale. Music was okay, but he sat on a chair with a wide brimmed hat pulled down over his face the whole night. Maybe it wasn't him?

Modest Mouse. They showed up drunk or high (or both?), sound sucked, and they didn't even play the one song everyone was there to hear. At the end they just left the stage. No words, no encore. Only stayed because the beer was good.