1993. Went to see Radiohead in Dallas. Got there late and missed Radiohead. Turns out Radiohead was opening for Belly. !?!? Belly was awful. They did "Are You Experienced?" and it was torture. Not sure whatever happened to them, or to radiohead for that matter.
Bon Jovi on the New Jersey Tour in Niagara Falls. Friends urged me to go. I fell asleep during Bon Jovi's boring set. It was all big hair and tight leather pants and man-scarves. It was worse than eating overcooked mushy asparagus at Easter dinner. Skid Row opened and were kind of fun. Elton John and Billy Joel in the toilet bowl shaped Three Rivers Stadium..Pittsburgh.. 93 or 94. Dreadfully dull concert. I only went because my college roommate's parents liked me because I wrote them a thank you note for having me over for Easter dinner featuring overcooked mushy asparagus when I had nowhere to go ("wow! that long haired weirdo isn't so bad" I can hear them saying) and they bought the tickets so I could be my roommate's sister's date and during Piano Man when we were all swaying to and fro holding hands and arms draped over one another's shoulders I remember wishing that someone would flush the contents of this toilet bowl shaped stadium away.
Psychedelic Furs in Sheas Theater, Buffalo, 1986. I happened to be on a flight back to Buffalo from somewhere that day and was sitting in coach with a guy who happened to be their manager (unbeknownst to me) and we struck up a conversation that of course went in the direction of music. He ends up giving me a couple of comps (tell them at the door I'm on the list). I wasn't a fan but hey, they're live and it's free! Godawful. The guitar player (Ashton?), I swear he only could play in two keys and in one position up the neck and thought he was a guitar hero. The lead singer (Butler?) was worse. The songs were crap. What is music coming to??? We were out of there after four songs.
Led Zeppelin Tampa Stadium 1977. Music was really good for the 20+ minutes or so that they played, but the rain and lighting and thunder came and the band left the stage saying they would return. Well we all know how it ended, after 45 minutes or so they announced that the show had been cancelled and a riot broke out. We avoided the violence but we did see people on the ground and battered and bloody while walking out. I did many years later acquire a bootleg of the show and still have it and pull it out every few years to give it a listen. Not bad for my first real concert at age 17 and in the ensuing 41 years I have attended 500+ concerts and shows and have never really had what I would call a bad concert except for maybe a WSP show in SLC that made my ears bleed lol.
Overall, probably Uriah Heep, at Selland Arena, Fresno Ca. in the Spring of 1974. Selland was a horse show venue that was never intended for any kind of sound oriented events. Built completely of sheet metal over girders, not only was the quality of the music reproduction there atrocious, the entire structure vibrated and buzzed. And the SPL that night was not all that loud. Uriah Heep sounded just like their records, but they did some very strange things on stage that could only detract [even more] from that show, except for, I suppose, anyone in the audience who was close to being equally as weird. The one, and a BIG one, saving grace was the opening act, Manfred Mann and his Earth Band. Their set was fabulous. THE MANN & Co. were fully capable of out-rocking a lot of bigger named groups at the time. Go Manfred! Go, Mighty Quinn! Do-Wah Ditty Ditty! No, they didn't play that that song, although it would have been OK, being that I was a child of the British Invasion craze period.
I'm a big Classical fan, and a couple of years ago I went to one of the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra's free outdoor concerts. It's a decent idea in principle and an enormous amount of people turn up who would never usually listen to classical music, but unamplified music does not work in a large venue like that if the audience is talking non-stop. Being used to normal classical concerts where people are there to listen intently to the music, I have to admit I couldn't stand it. There was a lady near me who had been chatting non-stop to her friend for the entire concert when she suddenly stopped and listened for about 5 seconds, stated that 'I don't like this kind of music,' (as if you can judge a complex piece of music after listening for 5 seconds when you can hardly hear it over the din) then continued talking until I had enough and left.
I had someone 'relieve themselves' against by leg at a Genesis gig (Roundhay Park, Leeds - Invisible Touch tour). That was rather unpleasant but, otherwise, the gig was great (I was dead centre, second row with nigh-on 100,000 people standing behind me (including one guy who simply couldn't wait...) The worst gig, performance wise, I think I've witnessed was T-Pau on their first (and only?) big headlining tour - Birmingham NEC. They simply didn't have the experience or the chops. They came on like major superstars but had no idea how to win over a crowd that large or a place that big. Pitiful really... And utterly demolished by their support band - It Bites...
That reminds me of the time I went to see an outdoor jazz festival in Topeka, Kansas. I went to see Sam Rivers and stayed for the other artists. A woman near me spent the entire festival talking loudly on her phone, calling one person after another, saying loudly to each person “guess where I am! I am at the jazz festival!” At some point I had to marvel at the large number of people she knew well enough to call. I am sure that she never heard more than a few seconds of music between her loud calls.
Going to concerts when i had the flu and didn't want to miss them, already having tickets. Done this twice that I can recall.
Mirrors my exact experience seeing the Halle Orchestra in the grounds at Tatton Park, a stately home near Manchester Airport UK., a few years back. The airport consented to changing the departure paths for planes for the duration of the concert, so the concert should have been fantastic. Except for the audience. Talking, having barbequeues, chatting on their phones and generally there so they could be ‘seen’ to be there. Not content with ruining the concert itself, a number were worse for wear and were spewing in the car park. Unamplified, the orchestra were inaudible over the wallah of people socialising. I’ve seen the Halle a number of times before and since at Bridgewater Hall, Manchester and they really are world class, an absolute joy to listen to. There is no way I would ever do an outdoor classical concert again. Bridgewater Hall, a purpose built concert hall, seems to filter out social ticket buyers from attending, and I’m fairly confident that they if they were to attend, they be shushed and then ushed out of the hall toot sweet. By a country mile, the worse audience I have ever had the misfortune to be amongst.
I went to see Springsteen in NYC several years ago. I was sick as a dog, really bad. The concert was great, maybe even his best show I have seen. But the overall experience was not good.
Two really - 1. Bad Company about 35 years ago. So loud it was ridiculous. Left after the 3rd song. 2. Rolling Stones . The Cotton Bowl in Dallas. Outdoor arena; rainy night and I really don’t find a single talent amongst them. Just wanted to say I’d seen them....they were every bit as bad as I expected. Gotta give them credit for their longevity though!
Meeting Kansas. I can't listen to them. I have a t-shirt autographed by the band, and I'm waiting for one of them to die so it will be worth more when I sell it on eBay. A horrible thing to say, but they earned it.
Lou Reed at Hammersmith Odeon 78 or 79 ish around about the time of The Bells album anyway, utter and total crud - and I travelled over 200 miles to get there, then had to go back
Maria Mulduar. The "Just out of rehab" tour. My favorite part was her calling out the names of blues singers to get people chearing, and then saying they wouldn't play anything by any of them. So bad it was fun. Swans. The "We still have a few more people to piss off" tour. Don't blame us for your poor choices when it comes to management. We're the only ones who like you. Photomaker. This was a long time ago. When they asked if we wanted more, we said "No!" and left. UFO. The "We can do this wasted" tour. I was suprised know one fell down. That would have ended the show. Montrose. I fell asleep during the forth song. I actually like him, and I write it off for working way too much that year. Merle Haggard. I fell asleep during the second song. I told a friend who is into Merle what happened. He laughed and said "Yep, you saw Merle."
Good times. I remember playing a gig the day our singer accidentally impailed his hand with a staple gun. One guitar player had a migraine, the other cramps. There was a potted Palm tree in front of the stage and the singer threw it across the venue saying "what kind of place is this?" along with many colorful metaphors. Most of our "fans" we're high school kids who weren't allowed in, so a small riot ensued and a few of the kids were dragged away by over zealous policemen. Then this Nazi punk started high stepping and the singer jumped off stage and started a fight with him. I can still remember his insane look at me as I grabbed him by the shoulders and said "Just one more song! Can you hold on for one more song?" After our set, some guy walked up to me and said we did the best show he'd ever seen at that place. Then Flaming Lips came on and calmed everyone down. All in all, it was a fun night.
My wife went to that show. She was happy they played "Nobody's fault but mine". Didn't know about the riot until the next day.
