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Finnforest View Drop Down

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Posted: November 15 2010 at 19:54

Interesting Dean.....we didn't walk out on Metallica, but we thought they really sucked live (Justice tour).

Aerosmith was pretty awful in '84.

thellama73 View Drop Down

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Posted: November 15 2010 at 19:59

Let's see, I've been to plenty of disappointing shows. The biggest one was probably Robert Fripp, opening for Porcupine Tree. Not only were his soundscapes very, very boring, they were also sloppy, with audible gaps in sound when he went to adjust some knob or something. Lame.

Then, at that same venue a year later, Jefferson Airplane stunk up the place. They were trying for a loose, relaxed vibe, but it came across as unrehearsed. There was actually one song where half the band stopped playing, thinking it was the end, while the rest continued on. They then had to jump back in quickly to disguise their mistake.

Electric Six (not prog) was a big disappointment as well. I expected a killer show from them and they just didn't deliever.

Finally, the time I saw Blue Öyster Cult was not very impressive either, although that could have been partially due to it being outdoors and not having very good acoustics. Someone said that most bands are better live than on record, and I have to disagree with that. It certainly is the case sometimes, but not always.

Textbook

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Posted: November 15 2010 at 20:03

My parents went to see Meatloaf a few years back and said it was an absolute nightmare.

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Posted: November 15 2010 at 20:40

thellama73 wrote:

Let's see, I've been to plenty of disappointing shows. The biggest one was probably Robert Fripp, opening for Porcupine Tree. Not only were his soundscapes very, very boring, they were also sloppy, with audible gaps in sound when he went to adjust some knob or something. Lame.

Then, at that same venue a year later, Jefferson Airplane stunk up the place. They were trying for a loose, relaxed vibe, but it came across as unrehearsed. There was actually one song where half the band stopped playing, thinking it was the end, while the rest continued on. They then had to jump back in quickly to disguise their mistake.

Electric Six (not prog) was a big disappointment as well. I expected a killer show from them and they just didn't deliever.

Finally, the time I saw Blue Öyster Cult was not very impressive either, although that could have been partially due to it being outdoors and not having very good acoustics. Someone said that most bands are better live than on record, and I have to disagree with that. It certainly is the case sometimes, but not always.

My father once saw BoC live with a friend. They weren't completely sober at the show. Well, actually, not sober at all. But not from alchohal. Which... I have no idea what they saw or heard, but he said it was one of the most amazing performances he's seen, and his job requires him to actually see bands live. But enough about him, about the performance, they had an enormous disco ball come out of the ceiling and while tripping... just brought some awesome stories. So it's just strange hearing that BoC is... bad live.

yanch

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Posted: November 15 2010 at 21:39

None so bad that I've ever walked out, but saw Tull in 1979 in Rochester, NY and it was clear they were not into it or sick or something. No energy and the whole vibe was that they were trying to be done with it.

Had seen them many times before and after and they were always terrific.

Textbook

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Posted: November 15 2010 at 22:07

Yanch: Was it after Glasscock died? That would probably explain it.

I once saw The Highwaymen: Willie Nelson, Waylon Jennings, Kris Kristofferson and Johnny Cash. They made no impression on the audience whatsoever which was bizarre given that these guys are legendary figures and the audience was rearing to see them. But there just seemed to be this invisible thick glass wall over the stage for some reason, it felt like a soundcheck or something and they totally missed the crowd.

Textbook

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Posted: November 15 2010 at 22:09

Also, The Foo Fighters gave a legendarily horrific show at the Big Day Out here in NZ. Apparently they're not normally like that but it was almost "Who are these a****les and what have they done with The Foo Fighters?" bad.

Also The Mars Volta- a great set musically but the vocalist Cedric Zavala dances like a frigging maniac. Which would be fine except he made himself out of breath and couldn't sing properly, gasping and wheezing and dropping the ball on the vocals and the lyrics fairly frequently as the set went on.

Manuel

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Posted: November 15 2010 at 22:28

Rush- Really bad sound. My ears were ringing for a few days after.

Santana- I was invited by a friend. Quite boring really.

Eric Johnson- The opening band (Larry Mitchell's Band) was more interesting.

harmonium.ro View Drop Down

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Posted: November 16 2010 at 01:15

More negativity? Great! Mr. Laz, don't forget to mention again how much of a disappointment were Zeppelin live, I think you've said that already about two hundred times but maybe another mention would be necessary? LOL

Intruder

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Posted: November 16 2010 at 02:48

Where to begin....for most rock shows I second the opinion of Lennon who said that all he gets from rock concerts is a headache, save yer dosh and stay home with the record. I've been to waaaay to many "events" at stadiums, arenas, state fairs, festivals, etc. that just left my ears buzzing and my head throbbing. The Who, The Stones, Floyd, Yes, Tull, even my jukebox heroes the Kinks, just to name a few....saw 'em well past their primes with far too many people and for far too much money.

I once saw a Hawkwind show at an amusement park....they had to go on at 6pm due to some park ordinance. Kids were exiting with their parents as hippies with heads full of acid were entering. Not a bad show but those poor little kids.

I once saw a Procol Harum concert with only one original member....a Steppenwolf concert with only the original drummer....Iron Butterfly and Beach Boys shows with NO original members.....the Guess Who played two songs and had to leave 'cause the sound system fried....the Jefferson Starship in front of 200 or so people at a 10,000 seat venue......an Iggy Pop show that still gives me the creeps,,,,,a Springsteen show where I was stuck with a heap of fratboys that howled "Brooooooce" through the entire four hours....and perhaps worst of all - Bowie's Glass Spider tour, anybody remember that one?

Once showed up for a Dead show but the band never made it - Jerry Garcia had gone into a coma the night before but 25,000 Deadheads were already partying all over the parking lot at the stadium!

90% of the dozen or more Dlyan shows I've attended have been dismal.....always asking the person next to me what song he's doing....nobody ever knows!

Saw CSN circa '82 or 3 with Crosby's mike and amp turned off.....he just stood stage left and blinked all night.

Saw Rush at a tiny hockey arena in Moncton meant for 2,000 but somehow 5,000 packed in....the beer was cheap but air was at a premium....made out with a local lass who proceded to puke on my new Nikes.

Bought a ticket to a one day festival a few years back that was to have included Neil Young, Rod Stewart, Alan Parsons, and Carole King, among others.....only Donovan and Blood, Sweat and Tears actually showed up....oh, and Melanie. Most of the performers hadn't even been notified of the event!

Oh, the tales I could tell....if I could remember half of them. Lesson learned - AVOID STADIUM SHOWS!

I like to feel the suspense when you're certain you know I am there.....

fuxi

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Posted: November 16 2010 at 03:05

Intruder wrote:

Where to begin....for most rock shows I second the opinion of Lennon who said that all he gets from rock concerts is a headache, save yer dosh and stay home with the record. I've been to waaaay to many "events" at stadiums, arenas, state fairs, festivals, etc. that just left my ears buzzing and my head throbbing. The Who, The Stones, Floyd, Yes, Tull, even my jukebox heroes the Kinks, just to name a few....saw 'em well past their primes with far too many people and for far too much money.

Once showed up for a Dead show but the band never made it - Jerry Garcia had gone into a coma the night before but 25,000 Deadheads were already partying all over the parking lot at the stadium!

90% of the dozen or more Dlyan shows I've attended have been dismal.....always asking the person next to me what song he's doing....nobody ever knows!

Saw CSN circa '82 or 3 with Crosby's mike and amp turned off.....he just stood stage left and blinked all night.

Oh, the tales I could tell....if I could remember half of them. Lesson learned - AVOID STADIUM SHOWS!

You've been to 12 Dylan shows and 90% were rubbish? No doubt you can't wait to give the old chap another try or two...

As for me, my biggest disappointment was Yes in an Antwerp sports stadium in 1977. People have said positive things about that show, but I felt they were just going through the motions. I hated the GFTO album, I hated the band's clothes. During the final riff of STARSHIP TROOPER Steve Howe even lost the beat ON PURPOSE, apparently because he was pissed off at thousands of sheepish Belgians lamely clapping along. Yes on the RELAYER tour, now THAT's what I'd want to have seen. THEN, at least, they still had some courage and mystery. (THE LIVE AT QPR DVD only confirms that impression.)

lazland

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Posted: November 16 2010 at 05:14

harmonium.ro wrote:

More negativity? Great! Mr. Laz, don't forget to mention again how much of a disappointment were Zeppelin live, I think you've said that already about two hundred times but maybe another mention would be necessary? LOL

Always happy to oblige Mr Ro Big smile

. They were crap. Did I also mention just how much I thought of Porcupine Tree's last?

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Posted: November 16 2010 at 05:17

lazland wrote:

Always happy to oblige Mr Ro Big smile

. They were crap. Did I also mention just how much I thought of Porcupine Tree's last?

You thought it was a *****er, right? Ermm

Edited by harmonium.ro - November 16 2010 at 05:18

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Posted: November 16 2010 at 08:57

Pain of Salvation on the Scarsick tour is my biggest live dissappointment. I'm not a fan of Scarsick, so the setlist was far from perfect for me, but that wasn't the only problem. I thought the music sounded forced and lacked the emotion I was expecting from a PoS concert. The problem may have been in my end, for many girls were crying pretty much every time Gildenlöw opened his mouth. The concert also included the biggest anti-climax I've ever witnessed: in the end of Undertow where the song grows bigger and bigger until it reaches the climax, they suddenly cut it short and switched to acapella. The concert wasn't a complete disaster though, I did enjoy some moments, but I was expecting much more.

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Posted: November 16 2010 at 09:32

Brownsville Station, Jo Jo Gunne, and Slade at the Spectrum in Philadelphia 1974. Brownsville Station open the show with boring Stadium Rock rubbish and someone in the audience throws a cig directly into the guitar player's eye. Jo Jo Gunnes enters the stage to play yet....more stupied rock. But Jay Fergusion was talented and hailed from the band Spirit. Slade rigged the P.A. and instruments cut out while vocal moniters produced high impacts of feedback. Jay got on the mike and spoke over the audience and to the sound tech...saying..."We are a professional band and we are not going to take this kind of abuse!"

"If it continues, we will leave"....they did. Slade the headliners excited the entire crowd with their ridiculous Rock songs. They were just God awful and I walked over piles of vomit to reach the exit.

Uriah Heep.....Wonderworld tour. At the Spectrum, David Byron entered the stage with a bloody nose. Halfway through the show, he begins singing a ballad. He stops the song 2 to 3 times asking the crowd to shut the F-k up. Finally, he says..."If you don't shut up, we are going to play 50's music for the rest of the concert" That's what they did.

They were bad anyway, but now they were acting like a-holes. Byron laid on the floor and kept asking the crowd if they had enough. "Are you going to shut up now?" he would ask. This went on for about 30 minutes and I walked.

I saw Aerosmith at the Spectrum in 76'. The guitars were muffled and cluttered with reverbish echo. You couldn't hear the snare drum. All you could make out were the cymbals. They sounded like a garage band from the 70's rehearsing on your local yokel block in South Jersey.

Snufu.....again God awful. A funk style which reminded me of glamour.

Santana.....Amigos tour. Not a good time to see Santana obviously. The magic was gone. It later returned on Moonflower. Maybe it was an off night?

Mahavishnu Orchestra....the Apocalypse tour. I found it grand. It obviously wasn't meant to be the Birds of Fire band and many people in the audience were blind to that, pissing and moaning through the entire show. Maybe McLaughlin should have re-grouped Mahavishnu to be like a Genesis event? The fans of the new Mahavishnu could have conversations on cell phones while the band plays the early material, like many 80's Genesis fans do with Foxtrot......Then when the new Mahavishnu material is performed, the fans of the old could exit out the door and smoke cigars....like they do when Genesis play the 80's songs.

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Posted: November 16 2010 at 09:51

I saw E.L.O. during that famous tour where the flying saucer takes off from the stage. After that, it was so obvious that they were playing with tapes, it was pathetic.

I saw Charlie Haden & Quartet West at a show at an outdoor theater at an art museum near Walden Pond. It was very hot & humid. Haden stopped every song for extremely long tuning sessions. After about an hour, that included maybe 20 minutes of music, we left.

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Posted: November 16 2010 at 09:56

The Residents - The Talking Light Tour

Basically, I was expecting big eyeballs and antics similar to that of the Live in Oslo show (check that out on Youtube.) However, when I was at the concert, I was extremely bored and confused. I even asked someone, "is this good?"

BUT THEN, I got a copy of the live show recorded from the soundboard. The more I listened to it, the more I appreciated it. I've also talked about the concert with several different people who were there, and the more I discuss it, the more I appreciate it.

It was definitely one of the most unique concerts I've ever seen. And the fact is, regardless of if their fans like it or not, The Residents are going to do whatever they want to do and not care about anyone thinks. That's what their music is about.

Edited by moe_blunts - November 16 2010 at 10:00

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Posted: November 16 2010 at 10:30

lazland wrote:

It's probably been done before somewhere, but this thread was prompted by watching the telly this morning, when my wife wouldn't let me get her off the computer Angry

I put on Sky Arts to watch Pink Floyd perform DSOTM (from the Pulse DVD, but without any of the other tracks).

I remember seeing this tour, and reliving it this morning, reminded me of just how awful I thought it was. Yep, although DSOTM is a five star classic in my mind, I felt at the time, and again today, just how awful the gig was. The terrible female vocals on Great Gig In The Sky, the vastly unnecessarily overextended Money (with poor old Dick having the indignity of a bunch of gyrating females behind him whilst trying to remember how to play the sax), the obligatory percussionist doing the obligatory jumping up and down whilst, at the same time, saving Nick Mason from being a silent witness, and the conclusion I reached at the time that this was merely a band going through the motions without the man who was passionate about the lyrics he had written.

Controversial, I know. But, what was your biggest live disappointment? A gig or tour you had really looked forward to, but ended up being a total dud.

Give your reasons Big smile

Took the words right out of my Mouth Clap

i to was there and thought the exact same thing.
My Mrs Bought me the Pulse DVD last Xmass it come's across even worse on that, cold uninspiring playing oh wow look lots pretty lights and Big round film screen wooopee dooo no good if the playing is so uninspiring .
Now compare that to Gilmour's Remember That Night which is soooooooo much better.

Another gig which was terrible Zepplin at Knebworth 1977 , to many people we got that there late so was tuck near that back , the sound was all over the place all you could see was tiny little dots on the stage
Rubbish also thought the audience was more interested in getting pissed up (drunk ) than tacking any notice of the Band.

And course there is always the obligatory Dylan gig which always bad Mine was at Earl Court London i think it was the Saved tour sound was terrible Dylan sounded drunk. .

Edited by Hawkwise - November 16 2010 at 10:51

Hawkwise

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Posted: November 16 2010 at 10:38

Textbook wrote:

My parents went to see Meatloaf a few years back and said it was an absolute nightmare.

LOL what did they expect to funny .I To saw Meat Loaf or rather i didn't as they where bottled of the stage at the Reading festival Mr meat got a full bottle (Might been a Can Not a Bottle) of beer right in the face so that was the end of that. and jolly good to.

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Posted: November 16 2010 at 10:42

I went to see Coheed & Cambria on their supporting tour for No World for Tomorrow. Their openers were Three (utterly fantastic, one of the few bands I've instantly fallen in love with live) and Avenged Sevenfold. Dear god, were they terrible. The sound levels were cranked to such an absurd degree that not a single aspect of the music was discernible. My friends and I eventually wandered back into the bar area and sheltered at a table until the sonic vomit had passed. The gigantic flying skull really didn't help the stage show, either. Thankfully Coheed made up for it: excellent, excellent show, though not as good as Three.

The other somewhat disappointing show I've been to was Queen + Paul Rodgers. It was a treat to see even half of Queen performing live, but Paul was just...well, he wasn't Freddie Mercury. Not even close. The whole arena sort of slumped and grumbled every time the band started playing a Bad Company song, and the Queen tracks were just bits of petty warbling. The best part of the show involved Brian May and an acoustic guitar, singing Love of My Life etc. I always thought Mr. Rodgers was a strange choice for fronting such a theatrical, operatic band, and my fears were definitely affirmed live.

Edited by Lozlan - November 16 2010 at 10:45

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