I was about to say on the other post, are you sure it was alcohol and not lighter fluid or windshield washer fluid? I think Evan’s at that point about now...
I would go see Buddy Guy several years at his club ,and before he signed to Silver tone , and he was a man on a mission . You knew you were seeing the best kept musical secret in the world ( although the club was always packed for him, still nationally he wasn't that well known) . Although he did do some of the things you described it was contained . After he got signed his performances rapidly got worse, and often he's on auto pilot. And yes he likes the cognac , always has.
I'm sure the guy can play or he wouldn't have the reputation he has. It would be nice if he felt motivated more often to demonstrate his skills for us paying suckers. I saw him back in the late 80s and 90s.
Sam Kinison one NYE in Las Vegas. Had some band of LA hair metal “all-stars” opening up for him. Some of the guys from Warrant and a couple of other bands I can’t remember now. He doesn’t come on at first and the crowd starts getting restless. They finally drag him out and he slurs a few lines into the mic and it’s clear he’s too drunk to perform and people start walking out. Luckily I didn’t pay to see the show.
I saw him in Joe Cocker about - I dunno, 15 years ago- and he was really great! Stately, in good voice, and classy. I was so glad I got to see him live in his latter years.
I was right at the front for the 2 shows Dylan played in Glasgow in 1991 and I recall he seemed far from sober.
Mean Fiddler, Harlesden, 1987. I wasn’t there but my g/f of the time was. Martin was massively late, owing to ‘his plane having been delayed coming in from Italy.’ When he finally appeared, he threw up into a bucket during the first number and crashed backwards into the drum riser on the second. Gig cancelled after that.
Haven't seen him live but agree with your assessment. He's good but not that great. But he was definitely in the right place in the right time for blues - Chicago in the 50s/60s.
I saw Evan Dando live in March this year, and he put on a professional show. Played well, sang well, fine band.
Motley Crue during Girls x3 tour. Nikki & Vince were drinking JD from the bottle on stage...it had to be real cause they played so sloppy saw them again 2 years later for Dr. FG tour when they were (supposedly) sober and they sounded much better.
The Mentors, particularly El Duce. Gig started a few hours late because they couldn't find him. Eventually he staggered into the club and was somehow able to play. I was in the loo later in the evening and he stumbled in. Gave me a bear hug then tried to piss on me.
I've seen tons of shows and there were many off their face musicians... Just not sure it was alcohol...
Bob Dylan - his secret marriage collapsed in 1990 which led to many drunken performances in late 1990 through the first half of the 1991. Stuttgart 1991 is pretty notorious particularly the shambolic opening song "New Morning". I saw a bunch of shows in July of 1991 and he was pretty drunk at most of them though when he wasn't, he was pretty good. Lucinda Williams - on the LSD tour in Rochester Hills, she was pretty out of it. Came out to sing with Steve Earle and sang flat. Her set was not strong. Saw her three months later and she was sober and great. The Replacements on their last opening slot with Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers in 1989. Absolute train wreck performance with guest Benmont Tench on piano. However, they still performed a rocking version of "She's A Goer" in the middle of the set. They went on the record in Rolling Stone magazine saying that was the low point of their career because they could not stand playing for people who did not care.
Man I didn't even think of the Replacements. I saw that Channel show and the night before in Providence. I didn't hang with the band but just from the audience you could see Bob Stinson was in rare form and super chatty at the Providence show, which I hadn't seen before. I think that was his last week of shows with the band.
she liked to call people "pigs". I went to a Cale show in London 1981, she was in the front and wanted money she claimed he owed her, spent some of the show screaming at him for her money
Two repeat offenders both at the Corn Exchange, Cambridge. John was totally incomprehensible the whole night, literally didn't catch a single word. I think the fact that he could play guitar at all was simply by a memory relex action and you could tell he was a good player. Our old friend Shane Macgowan. Got right to the front of the stage and could see him swigging away on a bottle that definitely didn't contain lemonade and by his demeanour there had been more than one previous bottle before taking to the stage. He staggered on stage and amazingly stayed upright (must have been a very strong mic stand) with Terry Woods failing to cover up that he was amused in a weary way. Shane got through the gig and a couple more bottles. There is probably a very good reason why Shane sounds drunk on his records.....
Ryan was a happy drunk back then, I saw Whiskeytown on their one visit to the UK in 1998 and although he was well out of it he was funny and engaging and it didn't seem to affect his performance, although he did moan (a lot!) about the hired gear. The first few solo tours were okay as well, one very memorable show in Manchester when he was sat on stage with a bottle of wine and a packet of cigs and would have played all night if they'd let him. But by 2003 he seemed to be having problems keeping it together, I remember another night in Manchester two year later when you began to worry about where it was all heading, it seemed like he'd hit the self-destruct button. A couple of months after I was at the Liverpool show when he fell off the stage and broke his wrist. At the time you couldn't see how he could continue like that for much longer. Thankfully he proved us all wrong, but some of those gigs around that time were hard going.
