What's the shortest (non-interrupted) concert set you've seen?

I saw Marilyn Manson last night and he clocked in at just over an hour. We were worried that he might pull one of his half-hearted slogs, but he seemed to be in pretty good form and mood. Just a short show. What's the shortest set you've seen by a major headlining act that otherwise went off without a hitch (no storming off the stage tantrums)? Thanks.

P.S. How long do you like a show to be? Not everyone can pull of 2-3 hours and 4 seems like a bit much to me. I think 1.5 hours is good form with maybe 2-3 hours for an expensive dinosaur set.

 

A few years ago, I seen Cheap Trick headline and they played for an hour. I think i expected an hour and a half.

 

Too short?

Well, CHEAP TRICK was probably just being the living embodiment of their name.

 

Iggy and The Stooges opening for Slade in Cleveland. Iggy was unconscious in his hotel room, and they couldn't revive him sufficiently to go onstage until well after their scheduled start time. When he finally came onstage, they only had time for three songs.

But they were FANTASTIC!

 

When was that?

 

Ramones Agora Ballroom Dallas Texas 1976...

They performed the debut album in its entirety....all 26+ mins of it

Then split...

Of course the Ramones were far from major anything in 1976...

But it felt like they were !

 

Bauhaus, Birmingham Odeon, probably around 1982/83. They played for about 50 minutes, no encore.

Angry punks and goths attacked their car as they came out it's the backstage area.

 

January 18, 1974 at the Allen Theater.

 

I think the shortest shows I've seen from headliners have been around 75 minutes.

That can be okay if the artist doesn't have much of a catalog - ie, touring on debut - but I do think it depends some on price of tickets, too.

Show whose length disappointed me the most: Gaga at Roseland 2014. Tickets were normal price, but she only played maybe 80 minutes.

It was a good show but her regular arena concerts run about 2 hours, so we felt "ripped off"...

 

90 minutes is too short - that's bare minimum for a headliner, IMO.

"Appropriate" length depends on the artist. As mentioned, new artists can get away with shorter shows because they don't have the back catalog. 90 minutes is fine for those artists.

For someone like Madonna and Gaga where the show involves a lot of dancing and movement, 2 hours is about right - I sure wouldn't expect them to put on that sort of show for 3 hours.

For a "legacy" band like the Stones or U2, two hours is the minimum. The show should be more like 135 minutes.

For Bruce, 165 minutes is the minimum - well, for a "band" show. He can do less if it's solo.

But Bruce with a rock band really "needs" to be around 3 hours. He's set that bar and can lower it now!

 

Alex Chilton- East Side Club, Philadelphia 1981, 20 minute set.

 

It’s expected for a band whose members are in their 70s for their show to be 2 hours minimum? That’s not appropriate.

 

Tell that to the bands whose members are in their 70s.

McCartney is 76 and still plays about 3 hours without a break.

Springsteen was 66 on the last E Street tour and played close to 4 hours a night at the end of the tour.

If it's inappropriate, blame the artists who've set the bar to 2+ hour long shows. When that standard is set, it's hard to go backwards...

 

They can if they choose, of course. I’m not going to hold it against them if they can’t or choose not to because of their ages.

 

Al Green. On stage for 1 hour exactly, band kept playing he left the stage never to return
Art Pepper played for about 40 minutes with a pickup band but he died soon afterwards so I'm not holding it against him.

 

The Smiths - 45 minutes ( SFX Dublin 1984).
JJ Cale - 55minutes (National Stadium, Dublin).

 

In 1986 I saw Squeeze play, as the headliner, for about one hour. No chatter between most songs and one encore. Seemed to be a very urgent set.

 

GG Allin, roughly 45 seconds. (I did not witness this set but can verify that it happened).

 

Always leave 'em wanting more!

 

It doesn't really apply here because concert standards have changed but I saw the Rolling Stones in July, 1966 and they played for about 30 minutes.

It didn't matter at all though because it was a GREAT 30 minutes.

 

John Cale in Cleveland on (I think) the Sabotage Tour in 1980.
It couldn't have been longer than 40 minutes. It was a brutal sonic assault and poof! the band was off the stage.
A great great concert.

 

The Beatles were notorious for 25-30 minute concerts in the 1964-1965 time period.

 

Willie Nelson: 1 hour (2017)

 

Mikhael Paskalev. He played twenty minutes and left without a word. He supposedly played longer the next time he was in town, but I wouldn't let him fool me again.

 

The Cranberries as headliners in 1996. 45 mins! Apparently the drummer was unwell...