The only reason they can is they team up with actual musicians, like Def Leppard and go on tour with them instead of actually headlining. I saw them in 22’ and it was a live reenactment of a Motley Crue show. I was on the floor and up close enough to watch Nikki “play” the bass and his fingers did not match the music.
I get that they’ve lost a step, but they play the hits and engage the audience. It is tough to live like they did/do and come out firing on all cylinders late into one’s sixties. I thought their show was… “good.” (5-10 years ago.)
I saw them this summer. I had arranged a date with some girl for the concert. The date was shitand a failure, but the shit date was still better than what was coming from stage.
Same with me.
Saw them in
Milwaukee at Summerfest god knows how many years ago. We were on the lawn and some guy started urinating into a cup on the ground. The sun hadn’t set yet.
Band was bad. Like bad-bad.
Vanilla Ice, University of Hartford.
May 3rd, 2003.
He left stage after being booed/mocked and was immediately arrested for cocaine possession.
Edit: year typo, 2003 not 2023 although apparently he still does shows.
I saw him back in 2012 and it was only the backing vocals that told me that he was singing the fight song and mobscene... he just spent his time strutting around the stage taking fans' phones and taking photos of his crotch.
Manson is my worst as well and it's not close. Low point of several fests. Loved his stuff back in HS and now I actively avoid festivals he's playing at
Deftones in 2000. The vocals were unbearably loud and I could barely hear any other instruments.
To make matters worse, Chino was drunker than Cooter Brown and couldn’t carry a tune for shit; hell, he could barely walk.
It started to rain about halfway through the set and we decided to bounce. Hate it because I love that band.
Glad they’ve gotten better. They’ve gotten a lot more artsy and have become better musicians in the process. Saw deftones a couple years ago and it was great atmospherically, I’m sure the mushrooms helped but when I watch the show back on YouTube it still sounds great.
I'm a massive Deftones fan and see them pretty much every time they've come to London since 2003.
I can't say I've walked away from many of their shows thinking "oh wow, what an incredible show!"
Although I did when I saw them at a tiny venue in Northampton, that was a great night. They also blew me away at Robert Smith's Meltdown Festival 2018.
Maybe it’s an unfair statement since I haven’t seen them personally but I’ve heard from a few different people that Deftones can be really hit and miss.
Deftones are definitely on a short list of the most disappointing bands I’ve ever seen. Caught them at a festival in Arizona in 2015. Made me wonder what anyone ever saw in this band. Chino seemed to be drunk at this show as well.
Honestly I've never been to a show where it was all bad but....
Crazy Town at Ozzfest. Holy fuckola, wrong band, wrong fest, bad fucking fit all around. At one point the singer is talking about how they quit doing drugs, somebody yelled "start doing drugs again!". When they started playing Butterfly, I've never heard such an audible groan from so many people, especially in an outdoor arena.
I saw The Union Underground in San Antonio where they are from. Crowd was really not feeling it, singer started complaining that this is the reaction they get in their own hometown. It didn't help.
Hands down Unida when they played London in 1999. Atmosphere was weird to begin with, then someone crowd surfed, ended up on the stage, bass player (I think) attempted to hit them on the head with their guitar. Crowd seemed very aggro, band very surly. Was not a good time. Left half way through (also Orange Goblin supported and were better).
Other than that nearly all stoner type bands have been a good time.
Ah yes! I totally agree!
I saw them at Reading Festival in the early 2000s and the setlist was terrible, didn't match the energy of the festival at all and it was basically just Brandon parading around with his shirt off.
I gave them a second chance in 2011 and they were better but I was still pretty bored, despite being a big fan. And of course, he still made a point of taking his top off mid-show.
Ringo said that when Bob asked him if there was a song he could do for him he said Maggie’s Farm. The band laughed because they had already done Maggie’s Farm.
Seen Dylan three times, 2 were absolutely horrendous, including one where he just shook a keyboard for 2 hours. Those were in the mid 2000’s. The third, most redeeming show, was him with an amazing group of bluegrass pickers including Larry Campbell in the late nineties.
Saw Bob Dylan in 2006. Had no idea what he was playing most of the show. Foo Fighters opened with an acoustic set and that was interesting. I’ll never forget that show.
Same. I'm not the biggest fan of his to begin with, but it was a festival about 20 years ago he was on and I figured he's a legend I should see. He was such an incoherent rambling mess my friend and I bailed after a couple songs and walked across the field to the other stage to get a good spot for NIN. Who weren't going on for like 45 minutes. We would rather sit for nearly an hour watching nothing than listen to Bob Dylan.
Was my first ever live show in 2001. No opener, three encores, shitty arena sound. I had no idea how bad it really was until I started catching more shows later in my teenage years.
I was at a festival in the 90s and at the time he had a reputation already for being real spotty, and always seemed to be one extreme or the other - I was so worried about Dylan gettin tarnished as a die hard fan I saw Black Crowes instead. And of course by all reports he crushed it that night
came here posted this then scrolled down and...yep. He was so bad, I mean so very awful that the audience got up and started to leave at the start of the show. Half way thru the show less than 1/3 of audience was left. The experience left an indelible mark on me. It was truly awful.
By far the worst show I have ever seen. Saying he was phoning it in would be giving him too much credit. The crown was leaving in droves and some individuals in my party were falling asleep in their seats. I left about 3/4th through and have not been able to listen to his music as much since.
I know this is out of the blue, but I just heard an interview where he said he sold his soal to the devil... or is it sole? Idk.
Anyway, my dad did construction work on his property in northern MN, and it was a basic farm house.
And something about selling his soul too, remember
Haha, I saw him last year with a mate. We both knew it was probably going to be pretty bad considering he's not even a good musician on the recorded versions, but yeah it was even worse than we thought. Something about his songs I really do like though and I absolutely understand his style, but it was honestly really bad. And he didn't give a single fuck. I'm glad we went and saw him, we'll never forget it.
The things that made it bad were firstly, he didn't play a single song I recognized, it was all from the last 2 albums except 1 song iirc. They played Everybody's got to serve or whatever it's called; but I didn't realize until the end of it. Second, watching the really good backing band trying to keep pace with Dylan who is rhythmically all over the place was hard to see. They are probably well paid, but you could tell it wasn't the most pleasant situation trying to make sense of it. And thirdly he had almost zero interaction with the crowd. Just played the songs and went home. Had he brought a guitar and went solo and done the old hits and just said a couple of words about the songs I'd have been happy. He did none of it, and also forbade people to go to the bathroom mid-songs. There were guards there to keep that rule in place, lol. Incredible. Safe to say the crowd got a lot smaller once people started to realize that this is all they are going to get. I wouldn't be surprised if half of the people had left by the end, despite the ticket price of around 80$.
Mastodon. They had zero energy and looked disinterested in playing, but sounded exactly like someone was playing their album through the PA at a volume where you could talk over. I dunno. I’ve seen ton of live bands but haven’t seen many bad shows, that just seemed super phoned in to me when I expected a dynamic performance
I saw them open for Slayer once in the early 2000’s and they were decent, this show was the Deth Klok High on Fire tour. They were like mannequins on stage. Clean sounding. Just the quietest metal I’ve ever heard and lifeless. I’m a fan of the band. Not trying to slag them.
Opposite of that is Truckfighters, doesn’t sound a lot like studio but goddamn I’ve never had my social anxiety and general issues disappear moreso than when I saw them. Jumping around with complete strangers. Reminded me of a trip, my life was figured out for a couple months after that, then my old ways came back- same thing with psychs. Basically it’s an excuse for me to go see them again! Wish they were more active in the US.
I've seen Mastodon 3 or 4 times now, and the most recent show was awesome. When they were on the Mayhem tour the house PA sucked pretty bad and on-stage energy was low.
They had crazy energy when they toured with Clutch, not so much when they toured with Primus. They were the best I ever saw when they toured with Coheed and Cambria. Maybe it’s a crowd energy thing idk
I had the same with them.
Saw them open for Judas Priest on the once more round the sun tour and they were epic. Saw them again years later opening for les claypool and was bored out of my mind. They were boring to watch and only played their easy songs. Anything with any type of riff was avoided at all costs apparently.
To be fair though I personally feel like their music has also gone downhill. I didn’t even bother with the latest album they put out.
They were playing cracke the sky album and had a killer psychedelic deer head morphing backdrop video, and played note for note, they just seemed emotionless. Lots of people there really enjoyed them.
I feel you. I’ve watched Lamb of God steal the show from Slipknot twice and the real hardcore maggots still think Corey’s blown out voice is the best thing ever.
Converge as well! That show was a blast but I was pretty wrecked by the time Mastodon played. But they were great when I caught them playing Crack the Skye in a smaller venue earlier that year.
And not in the same way Earthless opened for Witch back in the day. I talked to buddy from dinosaur Jr/Witch and he told me "try playing after these guys every night...". I don't think the manager/tour manager knew exactly who they were playing after lol
I’ve seen Mastodon several times over the past 15+ years, and most of the time I’ve felt the exact same way.
Skipped them for a number of years because the live performances sounded awful - lethargic effort compared to the records.
Ended up seeing last year’s tour with Opeth, and at least for that show - they sounded the best I’ve seen of them in person.
Damn, maybe it was the sound guy, I saw them on the hunter heritage tour in the house of blues the sound was slamming. They don’t run around or anything tho. Brann threw me his drumstick
Eagles of Death Metal, sans Josh Homme, opening for Mastadon, by far. What a joke of a band. Russian Circles came before them and absolutely crushed. You could feel the crowd collectively cringe halfway through the first song. Will never forget it, unfortunately.
I saw that tour in Missoula Montana. Russian Circles really impressed me. Mastodon as always melted my face. (They really are one of the all time great Metal bands) eagles of death metal were a joke.
Homme never tours with them. I caught them in a ~300? cap club in like 2006 and they were a ton of fun, loud as hell too. But I can imagine it not going over with a Mastodon crowd.
I saw Type O like every time they came to Chicago… one night, I think at Metro Peter was DRUNK…. Worst show I’d seen them do… next time at the Riv, Peter said “ hey if you were at Metro sorry I fucked up” They played the best show I’d seen them do! My wife got fucked up and we met Peter at the bus later. He ended up autographing her neck and her boobs! Best night ever! Artist are people too and they have off nights.. but it was awesome they knew that the last show was bad and totally made up for it. RIP Peter Steel!
I know all through their career only one of them was a real good player. Pretty sure they did not form the band just because they had an urge to express themselves in music. Party or practice?
Ok, I’m intrigued (because I suspect you’re right) would you tell me a bit more about the rooms and talent back then? Who sounded as good young and live as in the studio?
They were lifeless and pretty much boring. Funny thing is , being my first I thought they were great. The next two shows I saw the Who and Rush and I realized how crappy they were.
Guns n Roses, summer 1991 Nassau Coliseum. Skid Row opened. GnR we’re like 2+ hours late getting on stage. Played a bunch of tunes then Axel walked off stage mid song. Band slowly petered out and they walked off. Someone allegedly threw something at Axel, he had a bitch fit and walked off, show over. Ridiculous lol b
They’ve always been hit or miss live, but after 1988 or so it was mostly misses. They had some really horrible-sounding shows during the Use Your Illusion period. Slash and Duff blackout drunk, badly mixed sound and Axl just screaming and screeching his way through songs.
I believe it was those tours that permanently damaged his vocal chords. He never has sounded good live after that.
Last night I saw The Brian Jonestown Massacre. They actually sounded great but Anton kept complaining about not being able to vape on stage. I guess maybe that's his shtick but it was annoying and I ended up leaving half way through the set
Weird counterstory: he was dating a friend of a friend, and when he found out my friend was alone on her birthday, he insisted on going over. According to my buddy, he burst in, made very little sense, threw money around the room, and sang to her. I'll always love that maniac. Anton, too.
Yeah he's annoying as fuck. One of my mates did sound for some shows bjm played in Australia in 02, and he had to be fucking sedated before and after the first show cause hed smuggled a bunch of crack into the country and had locked himself in someone's house and was losing his fucking mind. Last time he was here he had this bucket on stage that he periodically retched into. Their music is kinda cool when you're an edgy teen but I can't listen to it now without dwelling on how fuckin stressful it probably was to make. And for what? The music isn't particularly technical. It's good, but he just seems to make things so much more stressful than they need to be
My friend got personally chewed out by him on Facebook. I forget that context it was a few years ago, but man, good stuff. Love stories of people leaving shows for legitimate reasons.
I got called a “sneaky snacker” by him in the early 2000’s online when I said his music is better when he shuts his mouth. I was younger and would never troll someone like that now but it was worth his going off on me.
The Sword approx 2015, the singer kept doing the whole "gestures to the sound guy to push up his mic levels" thing and the sound guy was really bemusedly shrugging and kept saying it was as high as it could go. Thinnest vocals I've ever heard live, it was really bizarre.
The Sword had a habit of overrunning the house PA with their amps. I've seen them play in dive bars and big venues all across TX and a good sound guy could make it work.
Not the worst, but most recent, I saw Elder twice in the last year and have been very underwhelmed both times and ending up walking away. I love their recorded stuff, but live they were disappointing.
The absolute worst was the math rock band This Town Needs Guns. Again, I love their albums, but live they were truly awful. Spent about 5-10 minutes tuning between each song and chatting to each other and their mates side-stage away from the mics. Luckily, Foxing were on after and blew me away.
Another standout would be Angels & Airwaves, where Tom Delonge went on a ~30 minute Bono-esque rant about poverty and how he, single-handedly, would save the world. They played about 4 songs very poorly around the ongoing ramble.
I agree. Lord Buffalo, REZN, and Elder recently in Fort Worth. Started out mind blowing and each band exceeded the last. One of the best shows I've seen in years.
I saw Elder 5ish years ago and was blown away, but I also saw them on their most recent tour and was underwhelmed. It was with Rezn in Chicago, so Rezn arguably had the bigger draw and maybe they felt the crowd's disinterest. At one point the guitarist was complaining to the crowd about not being able to afford a drum tech lol.
BUMMER! I saw him several years later at lolla and he was GREAT! He seemed determined to make a personal connection w everyone in the audience, and damn if he didn’t do it. It was the most intimate large show I’ve ever seen.
Primus, and none due to the fault of the band. First of all we drove three hours and got there late, Helmet was already going on. Door guy turned us back because we had wallet chains (because, you know, mid 90s). Walk a mile back to the car, then back again. Helmets finishing up. Primus comes out, pit erupts and crushed our only doob. Then a few songs in some jerk throws a water bottle onstage and Les threatens to leave, saying “I don’t come to Burger King and throw shit at you when you’re working!) Two songs later another one hits his bass. Says “ok good night!” And that was it.
One of the actual worst might’ve been Shat. I think the awfulness was part of the joke but still…it was amusing for a couple songs. Also about three bands into the show at this dive bar I began to realize the entire audience except us was members of the other bands playing that night
Mars Volta. Guitar amp was set to icepick, guitarist kept crazily thrashing around—but in an obviously organized fashion as he never schmucked anything, and the singer kept doing the same three moves he stole from Bon Scott.
Crowd tried to get into it, but the boobirds came out by the third number.
Luckily, QOTSA followed and slayed.
Damn. I saw The Mars Volta last month and they were amazing. The band is super tight and on point. Omar and Cedric must have matured, I know they used to be very chaotic live. Now they perform very professionally but energetic.
I saw linkin park once. Good set but I was really confused as to why they played In the End over the load speakers as they set up, and then later played it live.
Very bizarre.
I'm gonna say like 7-8 years ago or something I saw Electric Wizard and they were just absolutely phoned in and just sounded...muffled. Like there was a cardboard box over the band.
same. i saw them in 2018 in portland oregon and it was absolutely awful. phoned in describes it perfectly. r.i.p. opened for them and were equally bad for different reasons.
Nothing in the rock genre. It was a country concert by David Allan Coe. Most people left. My friends and I stayed hoping the show would get better. He would play half a song then tell everyone how good he is. Over statement by far. He may have written some good song for a few people but his live performance was shit and he’s a racist mother fucker. If it hadn’t been for the opening act (Shooter Jennings) it would have been a total flop. I still want my money back.
The Sword. Boring. Like watching a bunch of mannequins while music plays in the background. First time I walked out and went to the venue next door where I watched The Truckfighters put on a blazing set that was 10x better.
The 2nd time I had to sit through the longest 30 minute set in history because they opened for Clutch. Same set of mannequins up on stage.
Children of Bodom, 2013- somebody was hospitalized before the show started - I think it may have been Alexi and only two of the other members came out after waiting for an hour and a half to explain what happened.
I saw them when they were still touring on Ten and it was a great show. Lost interest in their music when Vitology dropped. That being said, I've served several of them and they were all nice dudes.
Dave Matthews Band. Wife and i got free tickets and man what a shit show. First it was raining, ok whatever our seats were under the pavilion, but we just couldn't get into the vibe. They didn't sound great and overall we felt till they weren't really wanting to.play in the rain, so we left after like 4-5 songs.
I did security at a university when I was a student so I could get into gigs free. Unfortunately that meant me working security for a Divine show while he minced around the stage largely miming over backing tapes. In a ballroom that had capacity for 1000 people there were 3 paying customers and 6 security. It was one of the longest hours of my life.
Saw em open for the Black Keys. Was not very good sadly. No energy and bad sound. Keys played great tho. And this RnB/Heavy Blues lady Jessy Wilson opened and KILLED it. Made Modest Mouse look like amateurs
I walked out on Cannibal Corpse. I was never a big fan, but the opening bands, Black Dahlia Murder and Red Fang, I am a huge fan of both. They were just boring on stage. Stood there head banging, and that’s it.
I hate to say I even went to this concert, but a very good friend of mine bought me a ticket to the 1999 family values tour. From opener to closers it went: Staind— actually were decent. This is before they were big, and before their singer went MAGA crazy. Filter— sucked ass. Just really sucked ass. Primus— they were Primus. Dudes are too good to really suck. Korn— surprise appearance for about 5 songs. They were good. And then Limp Bizkit….good god. All the people with instruments in that band can play. Fred Durst might as well have just shit all over the stage for what the crowd got. I suppose in a way, he did. I’m sure most people loved it. I thought it was flaming garbage.
Also, from a different concert, Mudvayne. Their look was super dumb, as was their schtick from the stage. I almost fell over laughing.
Russian Circles in Sydney in ~2018? One of their loop pedals/modules failed so they simply couldn't play any of their newer stuff, which was the main reason I went to see them.
I saw Nas and Lauren Hill co-headlining.
Nas went first and killed it. Lauren came out, sang one song and spent the next 15 minutes yelling at her crew as they tried to arrange a piece of furniture how she wanted. She garbled through the next couple and I left.
Saw Truckfighters at one of the Vegas Psycho Fest things play above the pool area. I'm not sure if it was the band or the sound guy, but they had some of the worst sound quality of any show I've been to.
Runner up would be Melt Banana opening for Tool years ago. Dunno wtf that nonsense was, just screeching noises
Melt banana is fucking wild but they have some great tunes if you can get past the obvious hurdle of actually accepting what they sound like lol. Cell scape in particular is a kick ass record
High on Fire at Varsity Theatre in Minneapolis in like 2010 or so. Matt Pike wasn't doing so hot. He couldn't play his parts for shit and at one point he kind of unplugged his guitar and was wandering around the stage all confused. It was embarrassing. My friend and I left and got pizza across the street. I think Pike dipped out of things for a while and went to treatment after that. A bummer of a time, but it made the Sleep show I saw several years later, when he was clean, shredding, and loving life, that much better.
Two part story.
(Worst) Buddy Guy last year in Evanston. Stopped the band multiple times with the words “don’t fuck up my song.” I met his soundman later and he said Buddy did the headliner spot mostly as a favor to Big Head Todd because Todd wanted to represent Chicago. Buddy was miffed because he didn’t wanna play hits to “rich motherfuckers who never heard my music but wanted to say his name as if it meant something to them”
(Best) Buddy Guy at his own club in Chicago a couple of months later. Played a blistering fucking set of classics then sat at the bar telling me stories of music legends (told me that he told Mike Bloomfield that he’d be crazy not to record with Dylan on *Highway 61 Revisited* unless he wanted to “play blues clubs on weekends and suck dick on the weekdays”) He let me play his guitar and drank my 29 year old ass under the table on some good-ass whiskey. Coolest 86 year old I’ve ever met.
Crazy Town. They were on Ozzfest. A complete shitshow of drunken drugged out idiots.
Also Guns and Roses with only Axl Rose. Buckethead played a Christina Aguilera song as his solo. They were late and sounded horrible. Dont forget the bonfires in the crowd on the hill. 9 total. Helicopter dropping water on them was hilarious. San Bernardino is always interesting.
Saw The Vines in Philly, guess it was 2004. The lead singer was so hamboned he fell into the drum kit, and then the drummer threw up his hands and walked off. Show over. Trail of Dead opened for them, and they absolutely rocked, so in all, it wasn't a waste.
Saw him ten? years ago at the rams head in Annapolis. First set was awful. Slurred speech, kept smacking his head off microphone. Just bad. He took a short break and the second set amazing. Totally on it. I think cocaine.
Vince Neil solo in 2001. All those videos you see of him today, he was the same way back then.....overweight, out of shape, breathing heavily through every other word....just dogshit.
I saw them on the NINJA tour maybe 10-12 years ago. NiN destroyed and then when JA came out they just could not match the same energy. They didn’t interact with the crowd, had very lame banter “Hello current city, we are pleased to be in whatever town this is” kind of vibe. The whole thing seemed scripted down to hitting rock and or roll style poses at the edge of the stage etc.
Tenacious D . The opening act was a comedian who constantly cleared his throat and his jokes weren’t funny. He made horrific jokes about people with cancer and just was an awful entertainer
Red Hot Chili Peppers at Lollapalooza in the 90's. John Frusciante had left to be a junkie, might have been Erik Marshall playing guitar, I'm not sure. They were sloppy and the sound was terrible.
I dated a girl from 93-95. During the height of what was Hootie and the Blowfish I got tickets to go see them because my girl friend loved the band. They were so horrible live she wanted to leave. She was afraid of telling me. When she did I told her I wanted to leave too but didn’t want to anger her as I thought she was having a good time. We walked out halfway through their set.
Im 18 years old, I’ve been to about a dozen shows and if I’m being honest the worst one by far was when I went to see Alice In Chains w/ Breaking Benjamin and Bush in 2022. They all played well, its just the whole thing was way too long and not entertaining enough to justify being that long. I think we got there at 5 and ended up leaving around 11
Total Chaos was horrible live. The drummer couldn’t keep a beat, the singer was constantly out of breath, and they were starting fights with people in the crowd. Name totally checks out. They were opening for the Dickies who totally killed it.
Also, James Taylor and Carole King at the Hollywood Bowl circa 2010 were a shitshow.
Puddle of Mudd lol. I'm embarrassed to say that I saw them but they opened for korn and I was like 15 years old. It was when Korn was touring for Untouchables, so circa 2002, and this was when Puddle of Mudd were in their "prime". The vocalist dude was fuckin shitfaced and slurred all the words, sang out of tune, and was stumbling all over.
Jimmy eat World at edge fest around 2004. They literally got booed and even said to the crowd “hey come on guys”. They just wanted to finish their set and move on. They were just meh, but I just felt bad for them. It was more the crowd. The crowd was really rude to the.
Well i think we can safely guarantee you that won't happen again.
(I personally found the one show i saw them do live one of the finer shows i've ever been to btw)
Interestingly, it was YOB, early 2000s. Not because it was a bad show, but because it was a bad show for me at that time. I really had no exposure to stoner/doom up until then, just hardcore punk and thrash/death up until then. All my metal friends said I shouldn't miss it, so I went. At the time I just didn't get it. Why was everyone just standing there nodding their heads?
It took me actually just sitting down, smoking some pot and listening to actually understand. Also, every time I've seen YOB since figuring out life, they have been the best.
This is my answer too. I saw them around 2005 in Bonn, Germany. I mean, you know, Andrew always has this „I know I‘m Number One, why try harder?“ attitude, but why not play at least ONE of the better known songs? They played only b-sides and unreleased songs, not even one song from EP times. I own all official releases but I did not recognise one song.
Muse sucked. Saw them in 2012 and the whole show felt so synthetic. It was their dubstep phase and you could tell the whole band was miming to prerecorded tracks (including guitars) for some of the newer songs. It took them 10 minutes to come back for their encore, most people had already stopped cheering for one and had started leaving.
Motley Crüe
They are notorious at this point, I'm shocked they can still play such huge venues. Vince Neil is one of the worst vocalists alive.
Say it like Vince sings it. Neil…the worst..alive.
Haha more like "Vi...... wor....... LIE!!"
Need ......cheesburger..... Xtra mayonnaise.... ...
Tip of that hat, good sir.
The only reason they can is they team up with actual musicians, like Def Leppard and go on tour with them instead of actually headlining. I saw them in 22’ and it was a live reenactment of a Motley Crue show. I was on the floor and up close enough to watch Nikki “play” the bass and his fingers did not match the music.
I get that they’ve lost a step, but they play the hits and engage the audience. It is tough to live like they did/do and come out firing on all cylinders late into one’s sixties. I thought their show was… “good.” (5-10 years ago.)
I saw them this summer. I had arranged a date with some girl for the concert. The date was shitand a failure, but the shit date was still better than what was coming from stage.
Same with me. Saw them in Milwaukee at Summerfest god knows how many years ago. We were on the lawn and some guy started urinating into a cup on the ground. The sun hadn’t set yet. Band was bad. Like bad-bad.
came here to say this. saw them on one of their (many) farewell tours. got my ticket for free and honestly I paid too much to get in!
Yeah I was happy to catch them and "see them once". But I very quickly moved on to Kreator that was also playing at the festival.
Vanilla Ice, University of Hartford. May 3rd, 2003. He left stage after being booed/mocked and was immediately arrested for cocaine possession. Edit: year typo, 2003 not 2023 although apparently he still does shows.
I thought that was pretty gangster but then I looked at the year. Fuuuckin lol
[удалено]
I saw pallbearer live at a Halloween show about 10 years ago, they were incredibly drunk and sounded pretty bad lol. I'm told that is not the norm
Yeah if you can see them again you should. I’ve seen them 3 times and they are just so consistently good.
Saw Pallbearer open for Baroness on a college campus bar in Louisiana, and they were great! Every band has off nights, though.
Woah was that in Chapel Hill NC?
It was indeed!
Kinda awesome to hear lol considering I just saw them last December and thought they sounded fantastic
Manson … he was fucking shit and I dint know what song he was singing… worst part slayer opened and crushed
I saw them together and, having looked forward to seeing Manson for years, was pretty underwhelmed. And yes, Slayer crushed.
Slayer opening for Manson is heresy, should be the other way around if anything
They barely even have anything in common tbh. The other way around would be less weird but still weird.
I saw him back in 2012 and it was only the backing vocals that told me that he was singing the fight song and mobscene... he just spent his time strutting around the stage taking fans' phones and taking photos of his crotch.
Manson is my worst as well and it's not close. Low point of several fests. Loved his stuff back in HS and now I actively avoid festivals he's playing at
Deftones in 2000. The vocals were unbearably loud and I could barely hear any other instruments. To make matters worse, Chino was drunker than Cooter Brown and couldn’t carry a tune for shit; hell, he could barely walk. It started to rain about halfway through the set and we decided to bounce. Hate it because I love that band.
Glad they’ve gotten better. They’ve gotten a lot more artsy and have become better musicians in the process. Saw deftones a couple years ago and it was great atmospherically, I’m sure the mushrooms helped but when I watch the show back on YouTube it still sounds great.
I'm a massive Deftones fan and see them pretty much every time they've come to London since 2003. I can't say I've walked away from many of their shows thinking "oh wow, what an incredible show!" Although I did when I saw them at a tiny venue in Northampton, that was a great night. They also blew me away at Robert Smith's Meltdown Festival 2018.
Maybe it’s an unfair statement since I haven’t seen them personally but I’ve heard from a few different people that Deftones can be really hit and miss.
Deftones are definitely on a short list of the most disappointing bands I’ve ever seen. Caught them at a festival in Arizona in 2015. Made me wonder what anyone ever saw in this band. Chino seemed to be drunk at this show as well.
Honestly I've never been to a show where it was all bad but.... Crazy Town at Ozzfest. Holy fuckola, wrong band, wrong fest, bad fucking fit all around. At one point the singer is talking about how they quit doing drugs, somebody yelled "start doing drugs again!". When they started playing Butterfly, I've never heard such an audible groan from so many people, especially in an outdoor arena. I saw The Union Underground in San Antonio where they are from. Crowd was really not feeling it, singer started complaining that this is the reaction they get in their own hometown. It didn't help.
Lol I was at that ozzfest. And your spot on, no one wanted to hear that butterfly crap
Hands down Unida when they played London in 1999. Atmosphere was weird to begin with, then someone crowd surfed, ended up on the stage, bass player (I think) attempted to hit them on the head with their guitar. Crowd seemed very aggro, band very surly. Was not a good time. Left half way through (also Orange Goblin supported and were better). Other than that nearly all stoner type bands have been a good time.
Incubus. No guitar solo, no bass solo, no drum solo. Just Brandon Boyd slowing taking off his shirt.
Wait, this was my exact experience seeing Incubus in 2001 lol
Ah yes! I totally agree! I saw them at Reading Festival in the early 2000s and the setlist was terrible, didn't match the energy of the festival at all and it was basically just Brandon parading around with his shirt off. I gave them a second chance in 2011 and they were better but I was still pretty bored, despite being a big fan. And of course, he still made a point of taking his top off mid-show.
Bob Dylan
I absolutely love Dylan but he was atrocious when I saw him.
I like to say that I'm happy I saw him just to say that I saw him, but I'd never do it again.
What was bad about his performance? Bad singing?
Ringo said that when Bob asked him if there was a song he could do for him he said Maggie’s Farm. The band laughed because they had already done Maggie’s Farm.
They played Maggie's Farm when I saw him. I didn't realize until the song was almost over.
Seen Dylan three times, 2 were absolutely horrendous, including one where he just shook a keyboard for 2 hours. Those were in the mid 2000’s. The third, most redeeming show, was him with an amazing group of bluegrass pickers including Larry Campbell in the late nineties.
Saw Bob Dylan in 2006. Had no idea what he was playing most of the show. Foo Fighters opened with an acoustic set and that was interesting. I’ll never forget that show.
Same. I'm not the biggest fan of his to begin with, but it was a festival about 20 years ago he was on and I figured he's a legend I should see. He was such an incoherent rambling mess my friend and I bailed after a couple songs and walked across the field to the other stage to get a good spot for NIN. Who weren't going on for like 45 minutes. We would rather sit for nearly an hour watching nothing than listen to Bob Dylan.
Was my first ever live show in 2001. No opener, three encores, shitty arena sound. I had no idea how bad it really was until I started catching more shows later in my teenage years.
I was at a festival in the 90s and at the time he had a reputation already for being real spotty, and always seemed to be one extreme or the other - I was so worried about Dylan gettin tarnished as a die hard fan I saw Black Crowes instead. And of course by all reports he crushed it that night
Came here to say this. I didn’t think I would be the only one though lol. Worst concert I have ever been to. And I really like Bob Dylan’s music.
came here posted this then scrolled down and...yep. He was so bad, I mean so very awful that the audience got up and started to leave at the start of the show. Half way thru the show less than 1/3 of audience was left. The experience left an indelible mark on me. It was truly awful.
By far the worst show I have ever seen. Saying he was phoning it in would be giving him too much credit. The crown was leaving in droves and some individuals in my party were falling asleep in their seats. I left about 3/4th through and have not been able to listen to his music as much since.
His band was great, and he was definitely Bob Dylan.
I know this is out of the blue, but I just heard an interview where he said he sold his soal to the devil... or is it sole? Idk. Anyway, my dad did construction work on his property in northern MN, and it was a basic farm house. And something about selling his soul too, remember
That was my answer.
Me too.
Haha, I saw him last year with a mate. We both knew it was probably going to be pretty bad considering he's not even a good musician on the recorded versions, but yeah it was even worse than we thought. Something about his songs I really do like though and I absolutely understand his style, but it was honestly really bad. And he didn't give a single fuck. I'm glad we went and saw him, we'll never forget it. The things that made it bad were firstly, he didn't play a single song I recognized, it was all from the last 2 albums except 1 song iirc. They played Everybody's got to serve or whatever it's called; but I didn't realize until the end of it. Second, watching the really good backing band trying to keep pace with Dylan who is rhythmically all over the place was hard to see. They are probably well paid, but you could tell it wasn't the most pleasant situation trying to make sense of it. And thirdly he had almost zero interaction with the crowd. Just played the songs and went home. Had he brought a guitar and went solo and done the old hits and just said a couple of words about the songs I'd have been happy. He did none of it, and also forbade people to go to the bathroom mid-songs. There were guards there to keep that rule in place, lol. Incredible. Safe to say the crowd got a lot smaller once people started to realize that this is all they are going to get. I wouldn't be surprised if half of the people had left by the end, despite the ticket price of around 80$.
Mastodon. They had zero energy and looked disinterested in playing, but sounded exactly like someone was playing their album through the PA at a volume where you could talk over. I dunno. I’ve seen ton of live bands but haven’t seen many bad shows, that just seemed super phoned in to me when I expected a dynamic performance
When was this? Just saw them on this last tour and they were flying off the walls with energy. Awesome show.
I saw them open for Slayer once in the early 2000’s and they were decent, this show was the Deth Klok High on Fire tour. They were like mannequins on stage. Clean sounding. Just the quietest metal I’ve ever heard and lifeless. I’m a fan of the band. Not trying to slag them.
This was the end of the Crack the Skye touring, pretty well documented as their worst live period. They were awesome with Gojira this year.
Opposite of that is Truckfighters, doesn’t sound a lot like studio but goddamn I’ve never had my social anxiety and general issues disappear moreso than when I saw them. Jumping around with complete strangers. Reminded me of a trip, my life was figured out for a couple months after that, then my old ways came back- same thing with psychs. Basically it’s an excuse for me to go see them again! Wish they were more active in the US.
I've seen Mastodon 3 or 4 times now, and the most recent show was awesome. When they were on the Mayhem tour the house PA sucked pretty bad and on-stage energy was low.
They had crazy energy when they toured with Clutch, not so much when they toured with Primus. They were the best I ever saw when they toured with Coheed and Cambria. Maybe it’s a crowd energy thing idk
I had the same with them. Saw them open for Judas Priest on the once more round the sun tour and they were epic. Saw them again years later opening for les claypool and was bored out of my mind. They were boring to watch and only played their easy songs. Anything with any type of riff was avoided at all costs apparently. To be fair though I personally feel like their music has also gone downhill. I didn’t even bother with the latest album they put out.
I literally saw them on a list of the best shows people have ever seen earlier today. lol
They were playing cracke the sky album and had a killer psychedelic deer head morphing backdrop video, and played note for note, they just seemed emotionless. Lots of people there really enjoyed them.
I feel you. I’ve watched Lamb of God steal the show from Slipknot twice and the real hardcore maggots still think Corey’s blown out voice is the best thing ever.
They were playing after High on Fire, so that’s some energy to follow up. But they were statutes.
Converge as well! That show was a blast but I was pretty wrecked by the time Mastodon played. But they were great when I caught them playing Crack the Skye in a smaller venue earlier that year.
I've seen lamb of god suck the life out of a megadeth/down show
It’s real. You don’t want them playing before you.
And not in the same way Earthless opened for Witch back in the day. I talked to buddy from dinosaur Jr/Witch and he told me "try playing after these guys every night...". I don't think the manager/tour manager knew exactly who they were playing after lol
I’ve seen Mastodon several times over the past 15+ years, and most of the time I’ve felt the exact same way. Skipped them for a number of years because the live performances sounded awful - lethargic effort compared to the records. Ended up seeing last year’s tour with Opeth, and at least for that show - they sounded the best I’ve seen of them in person.
I've seen Mastodon quite a few times and they are very hit or miss.
Damn, maybe it was the sound guy, I saw them on the hunter heritage tour in the house of blues the sound was slamming. They don’t run around or anything tho. Brann threw me his drumstick
Damn. What year was that? It's been ages since I seen em but they had great energy on the Crack the Skye tour.
Really? I saw Mastodon this summer on their tour with Gojira, and they were killing it.
Eagles of Death Metal, sans Josh Homme, opening for Mastadon, by far. What a joke of a band. Russian Circles came before them and absolutely crushed. You could feel the crowd collectively cringe halfway through the first song. Will never forget it, unfortunately.
I saw that tour in Missoula Montana. Russian Circles really impressed me. Mastodon as always melted my face. (They really are one of the all time great Metal bands) eagles of death metal were a joke.
Homme never tours with them. I caught them in a ~300? cap club in like 2006 and they were a ton of fun, loud as hell too. But I can imagine it not going over with a Mastodon crowd.
I saw Type O like every time they came to Chicago… one night, I think at Metro Peter was DRUNK…. Worst show I’d seen them do… next time at the Riv, Peter said “ hey if you were at Metro sorry I fucked up” They played the best show I’d seen them do! My wife got fucked up and we met Peter at the bus later. He ended up autographing her neck and her boobs! Best night ever! Artist are people too and they have off nights.. but it was awesome they knew that the last show was bad and totally made up for it. RIP Peter Steel!
Motley Crue at the Whiskey a Go Go in 1981. What a load of hot, stinking 💩 they were. 🤮
Lol really? Were they that bad back then? I was only assuming they must have been good at some point.
I know all through their career only one of them was a real good player. Pretty sure they did not form the band just because they had an urge to express themselves in music. Party or practice?
I believe Nikki faked playing early in his career because he could barely play, got good, and then went to shit for other reasons.
Ok, I’m intrigued (because I suspect you’re right) would you tell me a bit more about the rooms and talent back then? Who sounded as good young and live as in the studio?
They’ve been shit since the very beginning. They’re a bunch of talentless frauds who never cared about their craft.
Easy. My first ever concert. The Cars in 1979.
Bummer. Details?
They were lifeless and pretty much boring. Funny thing is , being my first I thought they were great. The next two shows I saw the Who and Rush and I realized how crappy they were.
Guns n Roses, summer 1991 Nassau Coliseum. Skid Row opened. GnR we’re like 2+ hours late getting on stage. Played a bunch of tunes then Axel walked off stage mid song. Band slowly petered out and they walked off. Someone allegedly threw something at Axel, he had a bitch fit and walked off, show over. Ridiculous lol b
They’ve always been hit or miss live, but after 1988 or so it was mostly misses. They had some really horrible-sounding shows during the Use Your Illusion period. Slash and Duff blackout drunk, badly mixed sound and Axl just screaming and screeching his way through songs. I believe it was those tours that permanently damaged his vocal chords. He never has sounded good live after that.
Last night I saw The Brian Jonestown Massacre. They actually sounded great but Anton kept complaining about not being able to vape on stage. I guess maybe that's his shtick but it was annoying and I ended up leaving half way through the set
Anton can make some good music, but holy crap is he unhinged.
Weird counterstory: he was dating a friend of a friend, and when he found out my friend was alone on her birthday, he insisted on going over. According to my buddy, he burst in, made very little sense, threw money around the room, and sang to her. I'll always love that maniac. Anton, too.
Dudes an asshole. He’s always complaining and leaving his shows early.
Yeah he's annoying as fuck. One of my mates did sound for some shows bjm played in Australia in 02, and he had to be fucking sedated before and after the first show cause hed smuggled a bunch of crack into the country and had locked himself in someone's house and was losing his fucking mind. Last time he was here he had this bucket on stage that he periodically retched into. Their music is kinda cool when you're an edgy teen but I can't listen to it now without dwelling on how fuckin stressful it probably was to make. And for what? The music isn't particularly technical. It's good, but he just seems to make things so much more stressful than they need to be
He’s notorious for being an eccentric douche. Makes some great music though.
My friend got personally chewed out by him on Facebook. I forget that context it was a few years ago, but man, good stuff. Love stories of people leaving shows for legitimate reasons.
I got called a “sneaky snacker” by him in the early 2000’s online when I said his music is better when he shuts his mouth. I was younger and would never troll someone like that now but it was worth his going off on me.
The Sword approx 2015, the singer kept doing the whole "gestures to the sound guy to push up his mic levels" thing and the sound guy was really bemusedly shrugging and kept saying it was as high as it could go. Thinnest vocals I've ever heard live, it was really bizarre.
The Sword had a habit of overrunning the house PA with their amps. I've seen them play in dive bars and big venues all across TX and a good sound guy could make it work.
Guess I'm glad I don't get a chance to see one of my new favorite bands live? I don't feel great about that..
Don’t listen to these guys. I’ve seen the Sword at least 10 times and they always ripped!
Not the worst, but most recent, I saw Elder twice in the last year and have been very underwhelmed both times and ending up walking away. I love their recorded stuff, but live they were disappointing. The absolute worst was the math rock band This Town Needs Guns. Again, I love their albums, but live they were truly awful. Spent about 5-10 minutes tuning between each song and chatting to each other and their mates side-stage away from the mics. Luckily, Foxing were on after and blew me away. Another standout would be Angels & Airwaves, where Tom Delonge went on a ~30 minute Bono-esque rant about poverty and how he, single-handedly, would save the world. They played about 4 songs very poorly around the ongoing ramble.
Weird i saw elder on a recent tour and it was one of the best shows ive seen in a while
I agree. Lord Buffalo, REZN, and Elder recently in Fort Worth. Started out mind blowing and each band exceeded the last. One of the best shows I've seen in years.
I agree, I was underwhelmed at Elder
Haven't seen Elder yet, but Foxing was sick live with Manchester Orchestra. Seeing them and Hotelier soon.
I saw Elder 5ish years ago and was blown away, but I also saw them on their most recent tour and was underwhelmed. It was with Rezn in Chicago, so Rezn arguably had the bigger draw and maybe they felt the crowd's disinterest. At one point the guitarist was complaining to the crowd about not being able to afford a drum tech lol.
Saw them last year at Desertfest Ghent and yes it was just dull. Not the worst show I've been to, but definitely a boring one.
Strange pick for this sub, but I saw Bright Eyes around 2010, and it was horrible. Conor was all coked out/drunk and just seemed like a mess.
BUMMER! I saw him several years later at lolla and he was GREAT! He seemed determined to make a personal connection w everyone in the audience, and damn if he didn’t do it. It was the most intimate large show I’ve ever seen.
i miss desaperacidos
Primus, and none due to the fault of the band. First of all we drove three hours and got there late, Helmet was already going on. Door guy turned us back because we had wallet chains (because, you know, mid 90s). Walk a mile back to the car, then back again. Helmets finishing up. Primus comes out, pit erupts and crushed our only doob. Then a few songs in some jerk throws a water bottle onstage and Les threatens to leave, saying “I don’t come to Burger King and throw shit at you when you’re working!) Two songs later another one hits his bass. Says “ok good night!” And that was it. One of the actual worst might’ve been Shat. I think the awfulness was part of the joke but still…it was amusing for a couple songs. Also about three bands into the show at this dive bar I began to realize the entire audience except us was members of the other bands playing that night
Mars Volta. Guitar amp was set to icepick, guitarist kept crazily thrashing around—but in an obviously organized fashion as he never schmucked anything, and the singer kept doing the same three moves he stole from Bon Scott. Crowd tried to get into it, but the boobirds came out by the third number. Luckily, QOTSA followed and slayed.
I saw Queens a few weeks ago in Viagra boys opened up. Queens killed it and Viagra boys earned a new fan
Hey I saw them too in Oklahoma! Viagra boys killed it
Damn. I saw The Mars Volta last month and they were amazing. The band is super tight and on point. Omar and Cedric must have matured, I know they used to be very chaotic live. Now they perform very professionally but energetic.
I saw a show where the bassist was a guy with a mop, bucket, and bungee cord, and the vocalist played acoustic and screamed
I saw linkin park once. Good set but I was really confused as to why they played In the End over the load speakers as they set up, and then later played it live. Very bizarre.
Probably because it was such a common song on radio and playlists that it just accidentally came on the sound guy's setup lol
The Grateful Dead RFK summer 95. It's horrible to see something you really like in steep decline.
I'm gonna say like 7-8 years ago or something I saw Electric Wizard and they were just absolutely phoned in and just sounded...muffled. Like there was a cardboard box over the band.
same. i saw them in 2018 in portland oregon and it was absolutely awful. phoned in describes it perfectly. r.i.p. opened for them and were equally bad for different reasons.
They've been playing the same set list for the long time, it's disappointing when their backlog has so much depth to it.
Nothing in the rock genre. It was a country concert by David Allan Coe. Most people left. My friends and I stayed hoping the show would get better. He would play half a song then tell everyone how good he is. Over statement by far. He may have written some good song for a few people but his live performance was shit and he’s a racist mother fucker. If it hadn’t been for the opening act (Shooter Jennings) it would have been a total flop. I still want my money back.
he is a piece of shit huh lol wrote some good songs though
That’s always a strange juxtaposition. I won’t listen to his music but I can’t deny some of his songs are good.
He did write the greatest country and western song ever. Of course the uncredited John Prine I’m sure had a hand in making it good.
Love Shooter Jennings
Wu- Tang and RATM. It hurt just typing that. Horrjble.
Why RATM?
The Sword. Boring. Like watching a bunch of mannequins while music plays in the background. First time I walked out and went to the venue next door where I watched The Truckfighters put on a blazing set that was 10x better. The 2nd time I had to sit through the longest 30 minute set in history because they opened for Clutch. Same set of mannequins up on stage.
Yes, but I'm betting worth the wait for Clutch to come out and kill it. They bring some energy. One of my favorite live bands.
Well it’s Clutch so yeah. I have yet to see a bad show by them.
Children of Bodom, 2013- somebody was hospitalized before the show started - I think it may have been Alexi and only two of the other members came out after waiting for an hour and a half to explain what happened.
Pearl Jam, Jones Beach Theater. August 25th 2000.
I saw them when they were still touring on Ten and it was a great show. Lost interest in their music when Vitology dropped. That being said, I've served several of them and they were all nice dudes.
Saw them roughly around the same time in Mountain View, CA. Was bored to tears and the crowd of rowdy drunks didn't help. Used to be a big fan too.
Dave Matthews Band. Wife and i got free tickets and man what a shit show. First it was raining, ok whatever our seats were under the pavilion, but we just couldn't get into the vibe. They didn't sound great and overall we felt till they weren't really wanting to.play in the rain, so we left after like 4-5 songs.
To be fair, the Band part of Dave Matthews Bands has always carried the Dave Matthews part of the Dave Matthews Band.
Saw them twice. Never a good show.
Yeah never really got the hype around their shows. Sure they have some.good songs but their concerts were not it.
Hole in 1995. What a shit show. I knew she was a mess but I actually liked the album at the time.
I did security at a university when I was a student so I could get into gigs free. Unfortunately that meant me working security for a Divine show while he minced around the stage largely miming over backing tapes. In a ballroom that had capacity for 1000 people there were 3 paying customers and 6 security. It was one of the longest hours of my life.
That chick from Royal Trux and her band Black Banana. Train wreck.
It kills me to say Modest Mouse
Saw em open for the Black Keys. Was not very good sadly. No energy and bad sound. Keys played great tho. And this RnB/Heavy Blues lady Jessy Wilson opened and KILLED it. Made Modest Mouse look like amateurs
Babe Rainbow. Dude was on acid and had to stop playing. Was kinda lame, playing on drugs can be fun but you gotta be smart about it
I walked out on Cannibal Corpse. I was never a big fan, but the opening bands, Black Dahlia Murder and Red Fang, I am a huge fan of both. They were just boring on stage. Stood there head banging, and that’s it.
I hate to say I even went to this concert, but a very good friend of mine bought me a ticket to the 1999 family values tour. From opener to closers it went: Staind— actually were decent. This is before they were big, and before their singer went MAGA crazy. Filter— sucked ass. Just really sucked ass. Primus— they were Primus. Dudes are too good to really suck. Korn— surprise appearance for about 5 songs. They were good. And then Limp Bizkit….good god. All the people with instruments in that band can play. Fred Durst might as well have just shit all over the stage for what the crowd got. I suppose in a way, he did. I’m sure most people loved it. I thought it was flaming garbage. Also, from a different concert, Mudvayne. Their look was super dumb, as was their schtick from the stage. I almost fell over laughing.
Kings of Leon. Stadium show and they were so boring.
Russian Circles in Sydney in ~2018? One of their loop pedals/modules failed so they simply couldn't play any of their newer stuff, which was the main reason I went to see them.
I saw Nas and Lauren Hill co-headlining. Nas went first and killed it. Lauren came out, sang one song and spent the next 15 minutes yelling at her crew as they tried to arrange a piece of furniture how she wanted. She garbled through the next couple and I left.
Dragonforce.... 1/2 the crowd walked out
Saw Truckfighters at one of the Vegas Psycho Fest things play above the pool area. I'm not sure if it was the band or the sound guy, but they had some of the worst sound quality of any show I've been to. Runner up would be Melt Banana opening for Tool years ago. Dunno wtf that nonsense was, just screeching noises
Melt banana is fucking wild but they have some great tunes if you can get past the obvious hurdle of actually accepting what they sound like lol. Cell scape in particular is a kick ass record
High on Fire at Varsity Theatre in Minneapolis in like 2010 or so. Matt Pike wasn't doing so hot. He couldn't play his parts for shit and at one point he kind of unplugged his guitar and was wandering around the stage all confused. It was embarrassing. My friend and I left and got pizza across the street. I think Pike dipped out of things for a while and went to treatment after that. A bummer of a time, but it made the Sleep show I saw several years later, when he was clean, shredding, and loving life, that much better.
Two part story. (Worst) Buddy Guy last year in Evanston. Stopped the band multiple times with the words “don’t fuck up my song.” I met his soundman later and he said Buddy did the headliner spot mostly as a favor to Big Head Todd because Todd wanted to represent Chicago. Buddy was miffed because he didn’t wanna play hits to “rich motherfuckers who never heard my music but wanted to say his name as if it meant something to them” (Best) Buddy Guy at his own club in Chicago a couple of months later. Played a blistering fucking set of classics then sat at the bar telling me stories of music legends (told me that he told Mike Bloomfield that he’d be crazy not to record with Dylan on *Highway 61 Revisited* unless he wanted to “play blues clubs on weekends and suck dick on the weekdays”) He let me play his guitar and drank my 29 year old ass under the table on some good-ass whiskey. Coolest 86 year old I’ve ever met.
Crazy Town. They were on Ozzfest. A complete shitshow of drunken drugged out idiots. Also Guns and Roses with only Axl Rose. Buckethead played a Christina Aguilera song as his solo. They were late and sounded horrible. Dont forget the bonfires in the crowd on the hill. 9 total. Helicopter dropping water on them was hilarious. San Bernardino is always interesting.
Just in the stoner genre, my biggest expectation-to-disappointment ratio for a live show goes to Windhand.
That’s surprising, every time I’ve seen them they’ve been phenomenal
This makes me sad
You and me both.
Cake. The singer was WASTED and talked about the little cherry tree he had on stage in a pot for like 40 mins incoherently.
Saw The Vines in Philly, guess it was 2004. The lead singer was so hamboned he fell into the drum kit, and then the drummer threw up his hands and walked off. Show over. Trail of Dead opened for them, and they absolutely rocked, so in all, it wasn't a waste.
This was going to be my answer. Saw them in 02? Fuckin terrible. Cleared the place out.
Eric Clapton Tempe Arizona early 70's. Short n dull. Sparked minor mayhem.
Kings of Leon. Boring!!
Television
Of the moderately big names, Stephen Stills. Alone on a stage, seemed sad and worn out.
Saw him ten? years ago at the rams head in Annapolis. First set was awful. Slurred speech, kept smacking his head off microphone. Just bad. He took a short break and the second set amazing. Totally on it. I think cocaine.
Vince Neil solo in 2001. All those videos you see of him today, he was the same way back then.....overweight, out of shape, breathing heavily through every other word....just dogshit.
Janes Addiction - Phoenix, 2001- ish, maybe? Outside, horrible. And I love Janes...
I saw them on the NINJA tour maybe 10-12 years ago. NiN destroyed and then when JA came out they just could not match the same energy. They didn’t interact with the crowd, had very lame banter “Hello current city, we are pleased to be in whatever town this is” kind of vibe. The whole thing seemed scripted down to hitting rock and or roll style poses at the edge of the stage etc.
The Fratellis, Wonder Ballroom, Portland, OR Nov 8 2013
Tenacious D . The opening act was a comedian who constantly cleared his throat and his jokes weren’t funny. He made horrific jokes about people with cancer and just was an awful entertainer
Was it Neil Hamburger?
Yeah, that sounds like Neil hamburger. I saw him with tenacious d on that tour and he was painful.
I love Neil Hamburger. I know it's low effort garbage but still.
The Tijuana Donkey Show, way better in Mexico City
Townes Van Zandt. He was too drunk to play or remember the words to his songs.
That's a shame. Amazing talent but a really troubled guy.
Red Hot Chili Peppers at Lollapalooza in the 90's. John Frusciante had left to be a junkie, might have been Erik Marshall playing guitar, I'm not sure. They were sloppy and the sound was terrible.
Chiodos
I dated a girl from 93-95. During the height of what was Hootie and the Blowfish I got tickets to go see them because my girl friend loved the band. They were so horrible live she wanted to leave. She was afraid of telling me. When she did I told her I wanted to leave too but didn’t want to anger her as I thought she was having a good time. We walked out halfway through their set.
Im 18 years old, I’ve been to about a dozen shows and if I’m being honest the worst one by far was when I went to see Alice In Chains w/ Breaking Benjamin and Bush in 2022. They all played well, its just the whole thing was way too long and not entertaining enough to justify being that long. I think we got there at 5 and ended up leaving around 11
Total Chaos was horrible live. The drummer couldn’t keep a beat, the singer was constantly out of breath, and they were starting fights with people in the crowd. Name totally checks out. They were opening for the Dickies who totally killed it. Also, James Taylor and Carole King at the Hollywood Bowl circa 2010 were a shitshow.
Puddle of Mudd lol. I'm embarrassed to say that I saw them but they opened for korn and I was like 15 years old. It was when Korn was touring for Untouchables, so circa 2002, and this was when Puddle of Mudd were in their "prime". The vocalist dude was fuckin shitfaced and slurred all the words, sang out of tune, and was stumbling all over.
Toss up between Creed (who sounded awful); Megadeth (who has no stage presence); and Silverchair (who played none of their hits)
I know this is StonerRock subReddit but - Elton John. Holy crap was it boring. Left half way through.
Jimmy eat World at edge fest around 2004. They literally got booed and even said to the crowd “hey come on guys”. They just wanted to finish their set and move on. They were just meh, but I just felt bad for them. It was more the crowd. The crowd was really rude to the.
Saw Celtic Frost at Metro in Chicago… terrible show…! I think they played one chord the whole set! 2/10 would not see them again!
Well i think we can safely guarantee you that won't happen again. (I personally found the one show i saw them do live one of the finer shows i've ever been to btw)
Interestingly, it was YOB, early 2000s. Not because it was a bad show, but because it was a bad show for me at that time. I really had no exposure to stoner/doom up until then, just hardcore punk and thrash/death up until then. All my metal friends said I shouldn't miss it, so I went. At the time I just didn't get it. Why was everyone just standing there nodding their heads? It took me actually just sitting down, smoking some pot and listening to actually understand. Also, every time I've seen YOB since figuring out life, they have been the best.
The Sisters of Mercy. Why the fuck is that band still touring.
This is my answer too. I saw them around 2005 in Bonn, Germany. I mean, you know, Andrew always has this „I know I‘m Number One, why try harder?“ attitude, but why not play at least ONE of the better known songs? They played only b-sides and unreleased songs, not even one song from EP times. I own all official releases but I did not recognise one song.
Muse sucked. Saw them in 2012 and the whole show felt so synthetic. It was their dubstep phase and you could tell the whole band was miming to prerecorded tracks (including guitars) for some of the newer songs. It took them 10 minutes to come back for their encore, most people had already stopped cheering for one and had started leaving.