I was one of those who hated to see that kind of line up in the late '70's. I didn't get punk rock at all - why in the world ruin a Sabbath/ VH show by putting the Ramones on the bill?! By '79 - after The Knack hit me as the gateway drug - I couldnt get enough punk. In '84 The Circle Jerks and Alkatraz (one of Yngwie's bands) played Perkin's Palace in Pasadena - another bad pairing but I was now on the side of the punk band. I was working in the Licorice Pizza warehouse in those days. The day after the show I saw one angry pro-Yngwie attendee pull a Circle Jerks LP and bend it 'till it broke in half.
Didn't see Eagles in their heyday. Saw them a number of times from 2003-2015 and enjoyed the shows, though I understand they're not the most dynamic live act. Saw Macca 3X in 1990 and thought the show was enjoyable but not great - I agree that band was kinda dull. The shows with his current band have been better. I've never regretted going to Eagles or Macca shows...
College days: A bunch of great (but not very popular) bands saddled with a small venue and a very bad sound guy. Vocals lost in the bassy mud; no real sense you were listening to the band you enjoyed so much on your stereo. And then the resulting ringing in your ears the next days. Punk rock live show days: my wife and I, along with two other people, put on alternative / punk shows at various venues around town. I prided myself on my decent sound (considering my limited budget) and some of the acts we were able to bring in. Some of the local groups, however, were the worst: so happy to finally play that they would go on and on, often beyond their time slot. Lots of heart but not always a lot of talent! Lately: IAMX - was a big fan, but his latest album at the time, Metanoia, was a change of direction. A lot darker and not as catchy. Nonetheless I really wanted to see Chris Corner play live. So off my wife and I went, getting a hotel near the Greektown Casino in Detroit. Had a few too many drinks in the afternoon so I was tired by the time the show started. It started late, had two subpar opening acts, and IAMX was definitely not impressed by the small crowd size. No real heart going on, more like a rush through the songs. We ended up leaving before the show was over. I don't think they'll be playing Detroit any day soon.
Great article! The 3 songs were fantastic, that’s why it hurt so much that they didn’t come back. My only time seeing them, but I’ll take that concert just to say I saw ‘em. It was as scary of event as I’ve ever been to. We didn’t have riot police with bubble helmets in my smaller town. They kept announcing stuff over the garbled speaker and nobody could understand. We thought they were saying wait, the band is coming back out, don’t leave. Ugh.
There's also audio of the show on YouTube complete with the unfinished 3rd tune. It's audience recordings and not the best of that kind but does confirm that Zep was really on their game.
Worst concert experience - in the early 2000s I went to see the rapper Nas at Brixton Academy. Back then you could still smoke in indoor venues in the UK, so luckily I was leaning against the wall smoking something very nice. Suddenly, some dumbo decided to try and shoot someone, there were 3-4 shots, and everyone, like a sea of people, were running in all directions. One of my non smoker friends got trampled on in the stampede. Concert was abandoned and the police came - took an eternity to give a statement and be allowed to leave. After that, no more rap concerts.
Brought to mind an Erykah Badu concert on my birthday at that very same venue. It was bizarre - everyone and I mean everyone, was standing around just chatting as if they were in some sort of wine bar. No one seemed to have the slight bit of interest in what was happening on stage...
Metallica -- Black Album tour. I was probably 17. I was lucky enough to see them on the AJFA tour a couple years earlier and had a great experience. In between the two shows, Nirvana happened, and I was pretty well-acquainted with punk/metal shows, mosh pits, etc. Some random ******* punched me out of nowhere. I never even saw the guy. No interaction. Just a ****ty sucker-punch. We weren't even in the pit. I've been in a few fights, but for whatever reason that punch *really* hurt and definitely ruined the show for me. I had a headache that wouldn't stop and morale was low as I began to realize that Metallica were seriously playing ****ing MEDLEYS of their older songs. Just typing this out makes me mad all over again! WHIPLASH!!!
I would have liked to have seen/heard them in a better venue, on a night when they were not using their microphones as [insert your imaginative vision here]. I always enjoyed their albums. I had been reading the J.R.R. Tolkien books and I think the Heep songwriters had also. Not to mention Led Zepp.
Worst by far was leaving the Riverfront Coliseum in Cincinnati after The Who concert in 1979......having that killer post-show buzz.....and hearing on the radio that a couple dozen of my fellow concert-goers had lost their lives in a mad, crushing rush for the entrance doors before the concert had even started. My buddies and I drove back to Louisville in dead silence.
Roger Waters Berlin 1990 The Wall, first the trip to Berlin (from The Netherlands) was dreadful with 2 of the 4 busses breaking down, and then standing in a traffic jam for Berlin. But the concert itself was incredible bad organised. Dont think the event was prepared for the 350.000/450.000 people attending. We were standing halfway on the field, a place more to the front was simply impossible (people were suffocated, saw ambulances driving off and on). The volume of the music was incredibly low, people next to me talking over the music (and those were the loud parts). My most vivid memory was all the people shouting "Lauter! Lauter!" (louder) around me. Also the facilities werent prepared for that amount of people, I saw a drink stand basicly destroyed by an angry mob because they were sold out. And you couldnt sit anywhere because people were doing their business outside instead of the few lavatories. I didnt see or hear anything from the concert. I remember saying to my friend "cant wait to return home, and see the actual concert on tv!". Since then I try to activly avoid big crowd events.
Worst Concert: Primus @ Heaven at the Masquerade in Atlanta (with Heaven's infamous bouncing floor). Hot as all get out, terrible crowd (only there for JWARD), and unfortunately no memory of the actual performance. Worst Cancelled Concert: White Stripes, Seattle (probably Paramount), 2007
Hah! Sorry I didn't see you there. That was a tough blow, especially when I saw Under Great White Northern Lights...
Same thing happened to me in 1993 at a Black Crows show. Sucker punched in the side of the face by some idiot who was apparently fighting some other idiot...pushed my nose over the the side but luckily didn't break it...luckily I say, as I was getting married 4 months later!
Tripping so hard at GD night concert in Hartford or New Haven and seeing an old friend and could not speak. Next I heard of him he had drowned. Worst concert experience.
Ah, that reminds me of another one: Vic Chestnut at the Roxy in ATL, opening for Live (Throwing Copper tour, ~'94). He started strong but then asked the audience to start tossing money on stage, asking for "bills". Instead the audience started throwing coins and a few hit him, so half-way through probably song 3 or 4 he stopped, started yelling at the audience "I said bills!" and then he and his wife (his musical partner) left. Done. I felt bad for him more than having a bad concert experience, but it definitely left a memory and an impression about him (a good one) and audiences (a bad one).
Went to a GA show tonight in a small room which was not exactly the hottest ticket in town. Still, I went early because I wanted to grab some of the limited furniture in the room so as to not have to stand all night. I was casual enough to only show up 30 minutes early, but that was enough to get me "first" in line. (Told you it wasn't the hottest ticket in town.) Except for two older dudes (I say older, they were probably just middle aged like me) who showed up later and wordlessly planted themselves in front of me - first outside then inside, so TWICE - like it was the most natural thing in the world - like that's how lines WORK; and a third guy with a young girl who kept looking at me strangely. (I was apparently being sized up.) Long story short, I ended up 5th in line. It all worked out. I didn't get a place on the limited near-stage couches, but I was comfortable, sat with nicer people, had interesting conversation, and the night was great. But WTF is up with middle-aged men acting like someone's getting between them and a club appearance by Ariana Grande, getting all stealth, chatting up security, staring you down and saying "Thank you!" once inside, etc? ("Thank you!? You have bad manners, you heisted my ****, you know it, and you think this is how you de-escalate the situation?") I was by myself, but had I been with guests I probably would have been more demonstrative from moment 1. A simple "There's a line here." usually works, but I didn't think I'd ever have to use it with middle age douches, or that I'd have to cling to the entrance door or something. Jeez.
The Vines in 2003 or 4 in the Ambassador in Dublin , Got to say their debut is still one of my favorite albums. But god that was a tough slog the front man Craig Nicholls was so erratic, the first three songs were grand but then stop starting of songs happened, him throwing his guitar at people at the side of the stage, Covering Outkast's Ms Jackson, with him singing the same line "Sorry Ms Jackson" for what felt like 20 minutes. Half the audience pretty much left at that point. The bassiest definitely wanted to kill Nicholls. At the time I thought it was just typical rock star behavior with him been drunk and drugged out of his brains. But years later it came out that he has Asperger Syndrome.
Soulwax at The Scala in London August 2004. I'd only seen them once before at The Electric Ballroom and it was far too quiet! Then they cancelled a couple of appearances I had tickets for and then they announced this show. I was really excited as I was a big fan and I was going to see them at the venue featured in 'A Hard Day's Night' which I'd never been in before. I convinced a friend to come with me. Tickets were full price. They came onstage at around 11pm (no support band) and played for 40 minutes. For 35 of those minutes the bass bins weren't on in the PA system (though nobody else seemed to realise until they did kick in, at which point the audience picked up a bit). And then it was over! No encore or nothing! A complete rip off. Still mad about it even now!
I was supposed to go to this but then I got a job interview on the same day for a position I really wanted and couldn't go. My friends came back with very similar stories to yours. They also missed their ferry home due to the traffic and had to sleep at the port. Glad I couldn't make it!
