2. music
  3. 164705-152421

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
beans57
10 posts
 
Todd Rundgren in the 70s.  Hands down from this cat . . . . 

No fan.  Girfriend and her bud pleaded with me to get tickets so I did and we went.  45 minutes of mediocre, pompous pop.  45 minutes.  And despite shrieking and applauding of their fans, after 45 minutes and the last couple done by sequencers alone onstage, no encore for them.
beans57
10 posts
 
And, since some have mentioned it, best - although like all of us there are many and perhaps tough to even consider listing, but a 70's gig by The Strawbs with backup the Welsh group Man.  Incredible.  If my recollection is right, Man was called back out for two encores with the second encore seeing members of the Strawbs off to the side of the stage.

The Strawb's Cousins later said that gig (Massey Hall, Toronto) was perhaps the best gig they ever played.
edcyn
1,876 posts
 
I saw many of the artists mentioned in this thread, and I'll bet many of the performances I saw were on the same tours where you guys saw them.  I'm in agreement with the assessments a good 80% of the time. 

Clapton, probably my favorite electric guitarist of all time, was a distinct disappointment with Blind Faith. Tasteful to the point of boredom.  James Taylor was, yes, dull. The only reason I saw JT was because the tix got me a date with a girl I was hot for. I saw Dream Syndicate at the Country Club(?) in Northridge simply because one of my punk band mates was somehow connected to them. Echhh. Hated Foghat.  Zappa and his band (not the Mothers) were tight but Frank was pompous, overbearing and one-dimensional.  I also saw Frank paired with Zubie Baby & the L.A. Phil.  Finally, I have to say that I loved the ELP concert I saw at the Santa Monica Civic.  And did I once mention that I saw the CSNY concert at the Hollywood Bowl that Joni Mitchell opened and that started Joni's and Graham's long-running romance?

In any event, this is one of my favorite internet threads...evah!  
jdane
183 posts
 
This makes me feel much better about all the rock shows I didn't go to in the 60s!
electroslacker
375 posts
 
About a year ago-Brittany Howard at the Beacon in NYC. How could you mess that up?  Well, I was in the balcony, curled in fetal position with both hands over my bleeding ears.  Soundcheck? Medic?
More to discover