Worst Concerts You Have Attended ??

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.

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. 

Worst concerts for me have typically been stadium shows.  Went to a Guns and roses, Deep purple and Aerosmith combined concert in Meadowlands stadium.  The sound was awful, the performers seemed uninspired and during Deep Purple's smoke covered water someone lit a huge fire in the stands which caused a huge commotion. 

One of the best was shocking to me.  Elliot Yamin, who was a contestant on American Idol, put on a show at a great club in Toronto called the Mod club.  I like his music but didn't expect much and really only went for the wife.  Let me tell you, it was smoking.  The band was incredible and tight, the acoustics were great, Elliot has a great voice and the crowd was really into it.  I had a great time. 

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

ssobel - The "acoustic" tours that artists were taking up during the 90's was a financial windfall for everyone involved but the audience. Those concerts should have been held in small venues where intimacy is palpable and the music (usually one instrument and one voice) can be at it's fullest. Had it not been for the rousing music of James (the lead singers body shaking was impressive and a crowd favorite!) that preceded it, I would have felt completely ripped off. Surely Neil knew better. There are scant few artists who can command attention from an audience of 20K while sitting on a stool with flat vocals with just an harmonica and guitar. Feels good to have commiserated with another on bad things that have happened in concert life!

Thank you everyone for the responses as they are revealing. Let's just say that Bob Dylan and Aerosmith concerts should be attended only after receiving free tickets and an early escape plan.

I have seen Springsteen three times with the last time being for free because my neighbor could not get anyone to go with him and was desperate. Held at that time in Philly's new Eagles stadium, we were as far away from the stage as possible on the upper tier - on the south side. The music came and went with the breeze. A fair amount of it was not audible. We trekked down to stage level and the sound was great. Stadiums and arenas do not always make for a good concert; where you sit matters. As some have stated, there are venues that are made for sound and to a fair extent will ensure a good sounding concert - barring that the artist can stand up and see straight. It is interesting that perhaps the venue should be the first choice, with the artist you are going to hear not being the priority. Fly to Toronto first, then get to whomever is playing that night. :)

Thank's for participating. I have read all of the posts and hopefully more people will post bad concert memories. Lol.