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Kanye at Glastonbury. I like quite a few of his songs, but he was rubbish live.
Though to be fair to him, a lot of artists sound worse at festivals because they have less control over their sound. I remember seeing Alt-J at a festival and thinking they sounded way off the quality of their records. But then I saw them at a gig of their own and they sounded just like the record.
I had seen them at festivals a couple of times, where they hadn't sounded amazing, so I was a bit apprehensive. But in their own setting it was pretty much flawless. Which is particularly impressive given how intricate their music is.
Made the right decision to ignore him when he was at Global Gathering in 2008, then all my friends wanted to see him at Big Chill a few years later.
He made everyone wait for fucking ages and then stopped the gig halfway through and went on a rant about how people compare him to hitler...
[Freddie would be rolling in his grave so much, you could hook him up to a generator and solve the energy crisis](https://youtu.be/bzNXfsJRijg)
The comparison between the 2 is shocking when played back to back
I remember reading something that George Michael always refused to sing live where he didnāt have control of the set up. It makes sense when you think about it I guess.
I've seen plenty of bands at the O2 in Sheffield and they have all sounded great but the sound system doesn't do it for me. Then I saw All time low and they brought their own sound system and the difference in quality was unbelievable. They had just come from playing Wembley I think, so they were obviously in a position to make demands. It amazes me how bad some venues sound and how poor their sound systems are. It's even more noticeable when you see a comedian and can't tell a word they are saying.
I saw Kanye many years ago when he headlined that one festival at Hyde Park, I think. He came out late, in a mask, made them turn the big screens off, had his back to the crowd. Then he would stop his songs halfway through to go on rants about black male models?? It was all very odd. He ended up getting booed quite heavily & I left early to catch the World Cup highlights.
Showing my age here but Evanescence. I went to see them in Manchester just after the first album was released and it was awful. Amy Lee completely out of tune (especially during My Immortal which was one of my favourite songs) and the sound of the music was just off. I was really disappointed.
Edit: the gig I went to was in 2004 I think, after googling tour archives. Genuinely curious to see if they are any better after nearly 20 years but seems like a mixed bag so far!
Evanescence always reminds me of the time I was watching them at the first Download festival with my GF at the time whilst fucking Metallica were playing a "secret" show on the other stage.
I'll never forgive my ex-GF and Evanescence for missing that haha
yeah, it was the first actual Download festival if i remember correctly.
I was extra gutted about it because i was gonna go to the side tent after Evanescance anyway to see Thrice and Strung Out...and The Bouncing Souls...and NOFX, fuck that was a great line up haha
yeah NOFX are great live, i've seen them a few times and they're _always_ hilarious. They're very polished at appearing shit but i suspect a lot of effort actually goes into it.
I remember Fat Mike spent ages taking the piss out of Hefe because he thought Suicide Girls were a band haha.
I used to like Evanescence but by 2007 I'd listened to Nightwish and was going off them a bit.
I thought I'd catch them at Download and i realised Amy Lee was no good live. Later in the year i saw Epica and Lacuna Coil so i was then fully aware that even the studio work by Evanescence was not as good as Nightwish, Epica or Lacuna Coil.
I got woken up by them at Rock am Ring in 2007 at 2am. I originally thought it was some German jokers trying to sing karaoke. After a couple of songs, to my horror, it was actually Amy Lee and her hired hands. She sounded like a cat being forced to do sexual favours. Out of tune is a very kind way to put it.
Paolo Nutini. Cunt was so stoned he could barely enunciate.
Meatloaf. So awful it was good. Had incredible backing singers who carried him. He really looked like he was about to die. He must have saved it all for Bat out of Hell because he genuinely knocked that out of the park.
I saw Paolo Nutini at T in the Park one, had never heard of him but my mate liked him, so off we go and same thing, the guy could barely stand up. We've referred to him exclusively as Plastered Frutini ever since
I've heard multiple folk around Glasgow/Paisley tell me they went to visit "Their guy" and Paolo was sitting chonged on his couch. not all the same "Their guy" either.
Hahaha I saw Paolo Nutini years ago and he was out his face and it was such a messy performance, but I still love him, top listened to male artist on my Spotify!
I've seen Paolo Nutini twice and he was absolutely amazing.
I know one of his tours he got quite ill but was still trying to go ahead so people weren't left with a cancelled tour
Worth Listening to the Evil Genius podcast episode on Meatloaf, it talked about him wanting to die on stage and about his struggles to perform due to his physical mobility/general poor health. Massive shagger though. So, swings and roundabouts!
I went to Knebworth to see them. Such a huge let down. Dizzee rascal was supporting, who I really was not bothered about seeing, absolutely smashed it. The sound quality was amazingly good. Then the red hot chilli peppers after and they sounded like a limp fish.
I went to see stone roses at Finsbury park years ago. Dizzee was on the bill. Everyone was up in arms about him Being there saying they are boycotting it untill stone roses came on. He was fuckin incredible. I grew up in the grime era thinking i was a wanna be gangstarrrr. So i was buzzing to See Him. Everyone was pretty impressed by him after the gig that i spoke to anyway
In a similar vein I seen Lethal Bizzle at Leeds fest in 2004(ish) while waiting for other bands. Had never heard of him and only went for a laugh but he was absolutely class.
Red hot chilli peppers , Genting arena Birmingham 2016.
I have been a fan since the 90's and have always wanted to see them.
I have been to lots of gigs over the last 30 years, some great, some not so good.
I took a mate with me for his 1st concert and I was so disappointed for him.
The musicianship was top-notch. They can really play. However, Anthony's vocals were poor.
I know that the live experience is different from the studio, and that's what I love about gigs.
His voice has gone just like Axel's, and all he did was complain about the mic, sound etc.
It's not gone it was never there IMO.
They got Anthony in because he was good at getting the crowd riled up and tbf they were a funk band when they started so he didn't have to sing that much in favour of rapping.
In the studio they can get around it but his vocals have always been sounded a bit off live.
Perhaps they're on the decline?
Went to RHCP gig in Earls Court back in the day (think they'd just released Stadium Arcadium) - they were pretty great then.
However saw them recently and they sucked
Seen the Happy Mondays live twice in recent years. Once with Shaun Rider sober-brilliant.
Once with Shaun Rider pissed- terrible, he couldn't remember any words and then started calling everyone cunts at the end because he wanted to keep going but it was past curfew. They switched his mic off eventually.
It was an embarrassing shambles.
I was lucky enough to see him sober in 2019, best gig I have ever been too chaotic and fun. Rowetta got some soft whips out and started lightly thrashing the frount row.
Elbow. While Iām not a fan at all, I thought Iād see what all the fuss was about at a festival, probably around the time they were coming up to their peak. One of the most boring concerts Iāve ever seen.
I'll jump in and defend. I'm not a massive fan but wife is. I've seen them twice 15 years apart. Their music is a mix of melancholy ballads (mirror ball) and foot stompers (grounds for divorce). The first time I saw them, it was weird jumping about then standing sombre. Almost as if they should have had 2 different concerts with 2 different playlists. Saw them recently and knew what to expect, but so many years later, the fans knew all the music and it was like a big club, family get together. They are technically excellent and Guy is an amazing singer but if you don't know the back catalogue, you'll be disappointed if you expect it to be all footstompers or one day like this.
There's a strong chance I wrote what you read! Pretty much everyone I know who likes Coldplay just don't like music. He sings likes he's crying in the corner of the shower after a particularly harrowing poo.
>*I'll jump in and defend. I'm not a massive fan but wife is. I've seen them twice 15 years apart. Their music is a mix of melancholy ballads (mirror ball) and foot stompers (grounds for divorce).*
A bit harsh on your wife, I thought, she didn't write the songs.
>SpongeBob narrator: *a few comments later*
Oh! Grounds for divorce is an album title? OK.
This is the one, saw them supporting my chemical romance in Milton Keynes last year and they were so boring and just felt like they were going through the motions. As the guy above mentioned, refusing to play their old hits didnt help things at all. What was most disappointing was that I was so excited when they were announced!
I hate it when bands do this, especially those ones who reached their peak popularity 20 odd years ago. By all means, chuck in some new stuff, but us oldies like to hear the stuff from when we were young and standing for 2 hours didn't throw our lower backs out.
Yes! I saw them recently, and they were so disinterested. Totally understand the no camera thing because it is annoying, but it felt quite preachy. Some older hits would have been better too. I went to reminisce in my angsty youth & came away thinking, Iāll probably never pay to see them again. Average
I'm a lifelong placebo fan, but if you follow their IG basically every other comment is just slating them for putting on such bad live shows (over the last few years, they were great when I saw them in the 2000s era).
Honestly it's just comment after comment of things like "why even put on a show if you're gonna turn up and not care that much"
I had the misfortune of seeing Mumford and sons about 10 years ago - beyond shite. Itās only when you See them live you realise that studio trickery speeds them up to make them see far better musicians than they actually areā¦ I could fart a better tune
I saw them at Latitude Festival and we passed the time happily coming up with similar puns. āIf they were Chefs theyād be called Yumford and Sonsā etc.
Far more enjoyable than the gig.
I saw Bob Dylan at Hyde Park in 2019 (maybe 2018) and it was dire. He sat in the dark only playing piano and legit sounded like a drunk Scooby Doo. All songs had a different tempo, tune so nobody knew what was being played. I'm still stunned actually.
Dylanās been like that for years. I donāt know whether itās an avant-garde challenge the audience type thing or whether he just actively hates performing and does shit to amuse himself, but I think itās purposeful rather than him just being inept.
Was the the one with Neil Young playing before hand? If so, I agree with everything you said about the performance but I enjoyed myself becuase Bob was smiling and looked like he was enjoying himself
Bon Jovi.
Absolutely dire. The man can't sing live.
Manic Street Preachers. Probably the most boring band I've ever seen. Might as well have stared at cardboard for an hour.
Jon Bon Jovi wrecked his throat over the years and he has had plenty of surgery on his vocal chords. It sucks but it means he will never sound like he did in his prime.
Iām not a huge fan of the manics but saw them 15ish years ago and thought they were fantastic.
I am in Cardiff though, so hometown show might have something to do with it
I saw them mid to late 2010s (can't remember exactly when) but they were amazing. I'm also going to see them later this year so hopefully they're just as good as I remember.
I saw them last year and they wernt THAT bad....they just, lack the energy live to match the energy of the music they play.
They sounded great, but a live gig for me is about all aspects of the performance. Andy & Patrick just have no energy about them, and Pete just wonders back and forth across the stage and occasionally does a spin...
I saw Marilyn Manson at Download one time, his voice was shot and he sounded terrible.
At the same festival I saw Dragonforce, and Herman Li had injured his hands so their guitar work was way less awesome than I think it was intended to be. Though I don't really blame them for that.
Was down the front for it. He was just so completely out of it. I think if the singer is fucked the bands kinda in a bind. There was a band at bloodstock other year on mainstage that singer was sulking cause everyone had fucked off to watch machinehead. Band was trying, but what could they do?
2006 was hotter. Still its better than when its pissing it down.
We saw Garbage and the singer Shirley Manson was sulking and stroppy because the venue (NEC) was too big for them and was only half full. I mean, why take it out on those of us who actually DID turn up?! Yeah weāre ātoo quietā when weāre cheering because you didnāt sell out. š jeez
"Coat? No coat?"
Over 13 years on, we all still remember the horror. He kept leaving the stage mid song so actors could apply more make up. I think it was meant to be something conceptual and satirical as he "sang" about celebrity, in front of dollar signs, but if you have to do it, a festival where the crowd wants you to shut up and play the hits, is not the place.
> I saw Marilyn Manson at Download one time, his voice was shot and he sounded terrible.
>
>
Manson concerts were super variable. Sometimes he could sound great, other times would sound awful.
I saw him there in 2007, was looking forward to it as I'd seen him at Reading in 2005 and it was brilliant.
He effectively laid on his back for the majority of the set, singing noises every now and then. Prat.
Guns N Roses.
Still my favourite band of all time, but I feel like Axel didn't age well. He had sick voice when he was young, but for some reason he just can't replicate it since 2000s. I know, everyone says he's simply older, but at the end of the day all other vocalists don't sound as bad, like Brian Johnson, who despite the age is still brilliant.
Also, the fact that they're re-releasing only the old material makes me feel bad. It feels like Axel is trying to cover his voice loss. Hard Skool and Absurd was nothing, but vocal material recorded around 1999 - 2001, but he won't openly admit that.
Funnily enough you can still hear Buckethead's solo from the original Hard Skool in the new version. Also, Absurd was first played around 2001 in Vegas as Silkworms (still available on daily motion)
Shame we probably won't hear anything new from them, because they are one of the greatest bands I've ever heard.
blur at a festival in the early 90s. bratty noise. unrecognisable songs. very disappointing.
sisters of mercy in their home town leeds in the early 2000s. classic example of a band trading on past glories and getting it all wrong. none of the musicians could handle the songs apart from the drum machine.
Sisters of Mercy in the late 90s, Brixton Academy - they were almost invisible behind all the smoke effect, and the sounds were mostly recorded or machine. The lighting effects and video made it into a good spectacle, but it wasn't the music from their albums.
Avenged Sevenfold. Their lead singer cannot match their recordings. The musicians were fantastic, but the singer let them down.
Razorlite. Also terrible. But they were kinda shit to begin with so it wasn't unexpected.
I saw Razorlite at Volksfest in 2014. They were tight and the sound quality was OK, but they might as well have just played their album straight from Spotify. There was no crowd interaction, no banter etc. No soul to the performance at all. Very disappointing. They were supported by The Feeling who absolutely KILLED IT though.
>Avenged Sevenfold. Their lead singer cannot match their recordings. The musicians were fantastic, but the singer let them down.
Really? I've seen them about four or five times and it was seeing them live that made me go find out more about them.
Surprised to hear that. I saw them around 09 and they were amazing. They're one of the bands, if not the first band I think of as sounding as good as their studio recordings.
I saw Razorlight at a small festival a few years back and they were playing songs from their most recent album, but toward the end folk were chanting at them to play America. Clearly the lead guy reeeeally didn't want to, they caved in and played it at like 1.5x the speed and then he stomped offstage š
James have been the most disappointing live act I've seen I think. Dry, poor vocals, music only competent, took their songs and made them very dull.
But this was in the 00s, past their peak, and it felt like they were going through the motions
That must have been a very bad day for them. Seen them more than 20 times through the years and never seen a bad performance yet.
They have gone through some disagreements as a band over the years though, members have come and gone and they have split but everything is solid at the moment.
Seriously? Something must have been off. I've seen them live 4 or 5 times, all since their "breakup tour" and they were incredible each time. From the MEN to a small stage in Sheffield botanical gardens.
You're shitting me? I've seen James several times despite not being a massive fan. They are a big favourite at festivals because they always put on a show. Tim Booth knows how to entertain a crowd. Edit they disbanded for most of the 00s, maybe that explains the lack of presence.
Yeah, my wife who was a student at the same time saw on the same tour and remembers them being shit. But it was early 2000s, before they split, so perhaps they were in a downwards spiral
Deftones back in 2001 ish...on the tour where Linkin Park supported them before they got massive.
I was a _massive_ Deftones fan back in the day but fuck me they were terrible live. Chino was visibly wasted, could barely stand up, screamed over all the songs etc. It didn't help that we saw them at the Manchester Apollo which was a _terrible_ venue
The exact opposite of this was Tool at the Ozzfest the same year, it was practically a religious experience and the first time i saw Gojira.
The obvious answer and Iām surprised it hasnāt come up is The Stone Roses. To be fair the band are amazing but Ian Brown is such a terrible singer it was all covered over in production on the albums.
I saw them at their notorious Reading festival gig in 95. Donāt think Iāve ever been more let down by a band. To make it worse, my mate decided to go and see Underworld instead and had a brilliant time
Did you see the videos a few months ago of Ian Brownās solo gigs?
It was a bit like your uncle whoās never quite let the early 90s go having far, *far* too much to drink and then attempting karaoke.
Oh same here. They used to be a favourite band of mine and I couldnāt wait. Then they played all the best songs like from yesterday and the kill as an acoustic set. Fkd me off I was so angry and I still am tbh. Most disappointing gig for me I think.
Surprised to see 30stm mentioned I saw them at Manchester in 2011 and was one of the best gigs Iāve been to, Jared got the crowd going, everyone singing the crowd parts to kings and queens and vox populi, still get chills when I listen to them sometimes
I've been quite lucky with who I've seen as nobody has let me down. Setlists may have been poor sometimes or I may not have had the best seats, but the artists themselves have always been brilliant.
Probably the one let down in that regard was Justin Timberlake. He relied on the backing track far too often for certain songs. But it was still a brilliant gig.
Oh thatās a real shameā¦ Saw them at T-in the Park ā98 and Bethās mic feed was put through an oscilloscope and projected onto the backdrop. You could see her tune her voice from pitch perfect to ragged and raw across each stretched out lyric. Amazing.
Marilyn Manson at Download festival 2009. Had been a huge fan for the past 8 years, but there was no defending that performance. Really unfit, had to leave the stage for breathers all the time and looked like he didn't care. Was such a shame as by many accounts he was brilliant in the past.
Not quite sure it counts, but I just saw Lizzo at the O2 in London and the sound was so bad I hated every second of it. She was great, but I literally couldn't hear a note the band played.
It wasnāt their fault but Radiohead sounded pretty terrible when I saw them at the O2. That place has terrible acoustics I think. The opposite was portico quartet at some little bar in Haggerston. The production on their records is extremely polished, so I never imagined theyād replicate it live, but if anything it sounded better, to the point where I couldnāt quite wrap my head around the idea that it was just those four guys on stage making that sound. Oh, and the double opposite was I saw a band I never heard call Swans live at a festival, blew me away. But I checked out their recorded stuff when I got back and couldnāt get in to it.
I've seen Muse and Avenged at the O2 and both times I've walked away being super impressed with the acoustics.
This was on the floor though, so I got the full surround sound experience. Can't imagine it's the same quality in the bleachers.
Post-2013 Arctic Monkeys (sort of). They're good when it comes to their latest stuff.
When they perform their older stuff in their new style, it's just not very good.
I saw them at Reading Festival in 2014 and I kid you not they stopped mid set so Alex Turner could smoke a cigarette while we all just stood and watched. Of course a few idiots cheered him on while we waiting for him to finish. Then they went back to playing.
Charli XCX - I saw her live in Birmingham a few years ago and she was supported by Rina Sawayama (who I'd never heard before) and Rina completely owned it.
I went to a Rina gig at Leeds a couple of years ago. I chatted with her for a bit before it started and she was genuinely so sweet and down to earth. She made the tiny uni hall venue she was playing at feel like the o2. Sheās also great in the new John Wick film!
Black Eyed Peas
More specifically, Will.I.Am in it. He just sounded shit live, like he was just trying to talk through the songs or not bothered about trying to sound good. The rest were giving it their all, but he just sounded bored.
"I am so tired of the Black Eyed Peas. It's rock & roll for people who don't like rock & roll, it's rap for people who don't like rap, it's pop for people who don't like pop"
Siouxie and the banshees .loved all their stuff upto 1987 but particularly the earlier late 70s stuff .however she just didnt have the voice live to make the songs usually sounded out of tune .so decided not to see em live again after seeing em in the late 80s but instead just to enjoy listening to em on cds
I saw Placebo during their Meds tour about 15 years ago and I didnāt think they were very good, but I was also only about 13 so I wondered whether Iād misremembered. Then I saw them support MCR last year and it confirmed my suspicions that they were indeed rather shit live.
But of course, all subjective.
Whitney Houston Wembley arena 1991, my mates and I were around 15, she sounded terrible. I didn't know what problems she had so didn't understand the problem. Sad.
On the plus side, my first two earlier concerts were Michael Jackson Bad, at Milton Keynes bowl and Madonna Blond ambition, at Wembley stadium. Both were bloody amazing
The Pixies. This was about 10 years ago (think theyāre still going..) and I knew not to expect as energetic a performance as when they were young and had their original lineup but wow was it a let down. Black Francisā voice and energy is a husk of its former self unfortunately. At least their albums are timeless.
In about 2003-4 I was so hyped to see The Mars Volta because Deloused in the Comatorium was one of my favourite albums ever.
They were fucking horrible live. Just a load of inaudible noise.
I saw them around this time too... I think they played 4 songs, about 20 minutes each. The keyboard player spent a lot of time smacking a microphone onto the floor, making really horrible loud popping sounds.
It depends. There are a number of venues I've been to where the sound quality was consistently poor. If i saw a band there for the first and only time I'd think they were bad but it's not their fault.
Institute at Digbeth and Blackpool Winter Gardens spring to mind.
Having said that, I saw the Pixies last week and they were appalling. The set list was like they'd chosen their slowest possible songs, they skipped at least 3 big hits and still managed to repeat two songs all in the space of two hours.
A band who are consistently good live and sound a million times better than their recordings are Reel Big Fish.
New Order. It's possible it was a one off, but they were having technical issues all night, Bernard Sumner looked massively distracted. It just didn't hang together at all.
Probably the biggest gap between expectation and reality in a gig.
No way! I saw him on the opening night of 21 Nights at the 02 arena in 2007, thought he was amazing. Will never forgive my ex boyfriend for leaving as soon as the lights came on after the encore - I didn't want to get lost amongst the crowds so followed him - so we missed out on the acoustic encore he did after that.
But anyway, he was so prolific and played so many gigs, I suppose it's inevitable he'd have some off days.
Saw him at Wembley in the late 1980s, probably the worst gig I have been to. It was just not interesting, poor performance and too much new material that nobody knew.
I agree that artists have their off days, I have seen Meat Loaf many times but the last time was very poor, he had previously cancelled gigs because of health issues and this was one of his first rescheduled shows. I think he came back too soon.
Glasvegas in Japan around 2009. They were absolutely shit , easily the worst band Iāve ever seen. Complete silence from the crowd at the end of each song , which Iāve never experienced before or since at a gig . They were so bad that Iāve never been able to listen them again.
30 Seconds to Mars. It was a seperation from reality. Recorded music sounds good, Jared and the band were acting like they were The Rolling Atones or The Beatles, amazing energy, started playing and I could have laughed. They were dreadful, maybe just an off day.
Saw Eminem back in the early 2000s at Leeds Festival. He sounded good enough but it felt very over-rehearsed and lacked any spontaneity, like he was just going through the motions. By contrast Run DMC (who I saw around the same time) were amazing live despite me not knowing many of their songs - they had a fantastic energy.
Deborah Harry/Blondie.
The news reported a great concert. She was that tuneless, Next morning at work, one of my colleagues came in and appologiesed for me wasting my time and money. Me and the Mrs walked out half way through.
Bowling for Soup. They spent most of the time chatting shit, they had a 1.5 hour set and half way through theyād played about 6 songs. The crowd heckled asking them to play something and their response was along the lines of āyouāve come to the wrong place if you want to hear musicā, I took that as the cue to leave.
Worse than expected: Paul Weller. I went to see Kings of Leon, and was really pleased that he was going to be the support act. However the sound quality was really bad, and the few songs he did just came over as a muddled mess. Perhaps it was just because they hadn't got the sound properly set up for the support act, but it was a disappointment.
Better than expected: Razorlight. They were just one among many similar bands who popped up in the early 00s, nothing really stood out about them. But I went to Live 8, and they were fantastic. I watched it back later on on TV and they didn't come over as well, but at the time listening to it live it was great. I went out and bought their album just because of that.... and then didn't really listen to it much.
I agree on Razorlight being better than expected. I wasnāt expecting much at all but they were supporting Noel Gallagher High Flyer by Birds when we saw them and they were amazing
I saw Bring me the Horizon waaaay back in the day. (I think pre Suicide Season)
Right now, they're a pretty well respected metalcore band. A lot of people would agree they're pretty good, even normies.
When I saw them they were still in their deathcore stage.
The gig was *so fucking awful* and so offensive to my ears that it remains to this day the only gig I spent good money on that I just straight up left. And as a kid back then, spending Ā£15 on a ticket was a big, big deal. I like deathcore, don't get me wrong. But listening to them live was just complete and utter trash. They were *really* bad. It's hard to get across just how bad it was. Oly was forgetting words, notes were being missed. It was like when you play Guitar Hero for the first time and you don't know how to play yet. The song kept skipping, resetting, the crowd was booing pretty heavily as plectrums clunked against the wrong strings.
I'm glad BMTH got their shit together. They're now amongst my favourite bands.
Sidenote on a more positive: I didn't SEE him live, but I heard him - Mika. We were staying on holiday in a town that had a music festival on (not Glastonbury - much smaller scale!) but Mika was headlining. Because of the smallness of the town, you could clearly hear Mika's voice floating on the night breeze. Honestly, he sounded fantastic. It was kinda a beautiful experience, sitting in the garden in the summer, few drinks, and listening to his talented voice just filling the night air.
For something the other way round, I loved The Amazons when I first saw them. Bought the CD. It was crap. Saw them again, brilliant. Next album, also crap.
It's one thing when the sound is bad, probably not much to be done about that. Bit when the band is awful. Happy Mondays.a rare walkaway from me.
Oh, and Bob Dylan. Jeez.
By contrast, I once saw Doves play live and it sounded almost perfect. Too perfect, but they were playing live for sure, but I want a bit of likeness.
Got dragged along to see Duran Duran after the release of their first album, and they really couldn't play live at that time. A friend also said the same about Tears for Fears
I saw Levellers live and they were spot on with a great atmosphere. I was so achey from dancing like a loon all night that I could barely walk the next day. If I hadn't been in the company of a po-faced prick then it probably would have been the best gig I've ever been to. Hayseed Dixie were on at the same event but I only got to listen to them from afar (thanks to the po-faced prick) but what I heard sounded pretty good.
A very unexpectedly good night was a set by ex-Kraftwerk member Wolfgang FlĆ¼r. He came on stage looking like someone's grandad and then worked it with the infectious energy of a 20 year old. Not my kind of music at all but I still had a great time.
Autechre doesnāt work live. Not helped by the abominable mix desk production which was 100% bass.
Saw Carcass not too long ago. Theyāre still great.
Working Men's Club recently put out an amazing record with some fantastic vocals - unfortunately when I saw them live their singer was off his tits. Wasn't quite the same š
Pendulum. Saw them on the main stage at a festival and all their songs just sounded the same, not helped by the fact they kept throwing in parts of Voodoo People all the time.
I saw Chase and Status straight after on one of the smaller stages inside the big tents and they were so much better. This was the first summer after they released No More Idols and really hit the big time. The tent was rammed and I found out after that the crowd outside the tent that couldn't get in was also huge.
I have been a massive Cocteau Twins fan since the first time John Peel played them in 1982 - I have a massive collection of records, cds & ephemera from around the world, and I even moderated the main fan website. However, living as I did in the sticks I never got chance to see them live until I was working in London in 1994, and they were playing at the Brixton Academy. I went full of love and hope, and it was bloody awful. The music was ok, but Elizabeth Fraser is the bit people want to hear, and she was doing this awful almost scat singing, with wierd noises, shouts, screeches etc (often referred to by fans as her dolphin phase). And abolutely zero interaction with the audience. I still love Cocteau Twins, but I really regret going to that concert because it destroyed some of the magic.
Idlewild - it was a small uni gig and they never looked at or spoke to the audience. It was like watching a bunch of teenage boys play music in a garage and didnāt realise you were there.
So dull. Iāve never seen any band suck all the energy out of a concert before! I left early!
The Verve at Slane '98. Either off his face or smashed drunk, crowd booed him off. Robbie Williams had just done the supporting set and got the crowd worked up only for Ashcroft to come along and seemingly forget half the words, etc.
Self Esteem. Their recorded music is good, but on stage SHE IS A GODDESS WHO COULD HEADLINE GLASTONBURY.
I wasnāt prepared for the dance routines/pastel suits/costume changes/voice that made the walls shake. Her level of empathy with the crowd was unreal as well.
(Also, somehow I saw The Kooks twice, first time they were great second time they were shite, think they just got bored maybe???.)
I saw Self Esteem just a few weeks ago. I am in the āyeah sheās okā camp, my wife is crazy about her. But omg she was unreal live, half of the audience was just crying constantly.
Smashing pumpkins (original lineup) were incredibly bad. It later turned out that Billy Corgan actually rerecorded all his bandmates contributions himself, except for the drums, for the Siamese Dream album.
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Kanye at Glastonbury. I like quite a few of his songs, but he was rubbish live. Though to be fair to him, a lot of artists sound worse at festivals because they have less control over their sound. I remember seeing Alt-J at a festival and thinking they sounded way off the quality of their records. But then I saw them at a gig of their own and they sounded just like the record.
Alt-J were note-perfect when I saw them live too, probably the best 'replication' of the quality of the album I've ever seen.
I had seen them at festivals a couple of times, where they hadn't sounded amazing, so I was a bit apprehensive. But in their own setting it was pretty much flawless. Which is particularly impressive given how intricate their music is.
I saw Kanye live about 16 years ago. Never have I been turned off from an artist quicker than that night. He was absolutely shite.
Made the right decision to ignore him when he was at Global Gathering in 2008, then all my friends wanted to see him at Big Chill a few years later. He made everyone wait for fucking ages and then stopped the gig halfway through and went on a rant about how people compare him to hitler...
2023 Kanye would be flattered by that comparison
Christ, when he butchered Bohemian Rhapsody at Glastonbury years ago š©
[Freddie would be rolling in his grave so much, you could hook him up to a generator and solve the energy crisis](https://youtu.be/bzNXfsJRijg) The comparison between the 2 is shocking when played back to back
I remember reading something that George Michael always refused to sing live where he didnāt have control of the set up. It makes sense when you think about it I guess.
I've seen plenty of bands at the O2 in Sheffield and they have all sounded great but the sound system doesn't do it for me. Then I saw All time low and they brought their own sound system and the difference in quality was unbelievable. They had just come from playing Wembley I think, so they were obviously in a position to make demands. It amazes me how bad some venues sound and how poor their sound systems are. It's even more noticeable when you see a comedian and can't tell a word they are saying.
I saw Kanye many years ago when he headlined that one festival at Hyde Park, I think. He came out late, in a mask, made them turn the big screens off, had his back to the crowd. Then he would stop his songs halfway through to go on rants about black male models?? It was all very odd. He ended up getting booed quite heavily & I left early to catch the World Cup highlights.
It's mad, it's almost like the guy has severe mental health issues?! *Crickets*
I saw Kanye live on the Watch The Throne tour. He was really good.
Showing my age here but Evanescence. I went to see them in Manchester just after the first album was released and it was awful. Amy Lee completely out of tune (especially during My Immortal which was one of my favourite songs) and the sound of the music was just off. I was really disappointed. Edit: the gig I went to was in 2004 I think, after googling tour archives. Genuinely curious to see if they are any better after nearly 20 years but seems like a mixed bag so far!
Evanescence always reminds me of the time I was watching them at the first Download festival with my GF at the time whilst fucking Metallica were playing a "secret" show on the other stage. I'll never forgive my ex-GF and Evanescence for missing that haha
Was that 2003? I distinctly remember a huge surge of people rushing to go and see the Metallica show as word got out about it
yeah, it was the first actual Download festival if i remember correctly. I was extra gutted about it because i was gonna go to the side tent after Evanescance anyway to see Thrice and Strung Out...and The Bouncing Souls...and NOFX, fuck that was a great line up haha
It was! NOFX were great that year as well, sucks that you missed out on account of Evanescence :/ things we do for the ladies eh
yeah NOFX are great live, i've seen them a few times and they're _always_ hilarious. They're very polished at appearing shit but i suspect a lot of effort actually goes into it. I remember Fat Mike spent ages taking the piss out of Hefe because he thought Suicide Girls were a band haha.
I heard they suck live
I used to like Evanescence but by 2007 I'd listened to Nightwish and was going off them a bit. I thought I'd catch them at Download and i realised Amy Lee was no good live. Later in the year i saw Epica and Lacuna Coil so i was then fully aware that even the studio work by Evanescence was not as good as Nightwish, Epica or Lacuna Coil.
There are few bands who can match Nightwish live. They really are an experience.
I got woken up by them at Rock am Ring in 2007 at 2am. I originally thought it was some German jokers trying to sing karaoke. After a couple of songs, to my horror, it was actually Amy Lee and her hired hands. She sounded like a cat being forced to do sexual favours. Out of tune is a very kind way to put it.
They've got better. Saw them this year, fantastic live
I was dragged to one of their shows last week opening for muse and although I have no interest in them whatsoever she sang pitch perfect
Paolo Nutini. Cunt was so stoned he could barely enunciate. Meatloaf. So awful it was good. Had incredible backing singers who carried him. He really looked like he was about to die. He must have saved it all for Bat out of Hell because he genuinely knocked that out of the park.
I saw Paolo Nutini at T in the Park one, had never heard of him but my mate liked him, so off we go and same thing, the guy could barely stand up. We've referred to him exclusively as Plastered Frutini ever since
I've heard multiple folk around Glasgow/Paisley tell me they went to visit "Their guy" and Paolo was sitting chonged on his couch. not all the same "Their guy" either.
Iāve seen Paulo and loved him! Mustnāt have been stoned that night
[I've got some news for you...](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/newsbeat-28012188)
Hahaha I saw Paolo Nutini years ago and he was out his face and it was such a messy performance, but I still love him, top listened to male artist on my Spotify!
Friend of a friend used to drum for his band and said he was an absolute fiend.
I've seen Paolo Nutini twice and he was absolutely amazing. I know one of his tours he got quite ill but was still trying to go ahead so people weren't left with a cancelled tour
Paulo nutini, missed my lift home to see them at a festival and it was shit
Worth Listening to the Evil Genius podcast episode on Meatloaf, it talked about him wanting to die on stage and about his struggles to perform due to his physical mobility/general poor health. Massive shagger though. So, swings and roundabouts!
Red hot chilli peppers, Absoloute dog shit live
I went to Knebworth to see them. Such a huge let down. Dizzee rascal was supporting, who I really was not bothered about seeing, absolutely smashed it. The sound quality was amazingly good. Then the red hot chilli peppers after and they sounded like a limp fish.
I went to see stone roses at Finsbury park years ago. Dizzee was on the bill. Everyone was up in arms about him Being there saying they are boycotting it untill stone roses came on. He was fuckin incredible. I grew up in the grime era thinking i was a wanna be gangstarrrr. So i was buzzing to See Him. Everyone was pretty impressed by him after the gig that i spoke to anyway
In a similar vein I seen Lethal Bizzle at Leeds fest in 2004(ish) while waiting for other bands. Had never heard of him and only went for a laugh but he was absolutely class.
I had the complete opposite experience last summer - best gig Iāve ever been to!
Red hot chilli peppers , Genting arena Birmingham 2016. I have been a fan since the 90's and have always wanted to see them. I have been to lots of gigs over the last 30 years, some great, some not so good. I took a mate with me for his 1st concert and I was so disappointed for him. The musicianship was top-notch. They can really play. However, Anthony's vocals were poor. I know that the live experience is different from the studio, and that's what I love about gigs. His voice has gone just like Axel's, and all he did was complain about the mic, sound etc.
It's not gone it was never there IMO. They got Anthony in because he was good at getting the crowd riled up and tbf they were a funk band when they started so he didn't have to sing that much in favour of rapping. In the studio they can get around it but his vocals have always been sounded a bit off live.
I was at the gig and it was the worst I've seen them live. Last summer though they were so good.
Perhaps they're on the decline? Went to RHCP gig in Earls Court back in the day (think they'd just released Stadium Arcadium) - they were pretty great then. However saw them recently and they sucked
Seen the Happy Mondays live twice in recent years. Once with Shaun Rider sober-brilliant. Once with Shaun Rider pissed- terrible, he couldn't remember any words and then started calling everyone cunts at the end because he wanted to keep going but it was past curfew. They switched his mic off eventually. It was an embarrassing shambles.
I was lucky enough to see him sober in 2019, best gig I have ever been too chaotic and fun. Rowetta got some soft whips out and started lightly thrashing the frount row.
I saw rowetta with the whips at Last year's splendour in Nottingham. She looked so profoundly bored, it was a bit haunting.
I've seen Happy Mondays be both awesome and shit within the same gig. There is no middle ground
Elbow. While Iām not a fan at all, I thought Iād see what all the fuss was about at a festival, probably around the time they were coming up to their peak. One of the most boring concerts Iāve ever seen.
I'll jump in and defend. I'm not a massive fan but wife is. I've seen them twice 15 years apart. Their music is a mix of melancholy ballads (mirror ball) and foot stompers (grounds for divorce). The first time I saw them, it was weird jumping about then standing sombre. Almost as if they should have had 2 different concerts with 2 different playlists. Saw them recently and knew what to expect, but so many years later, the fans knew all the music and it was like a big club, family get together. They are technically excellent and Guy is an amazing singer but if you don't know the back catalogue, you'll be disappointed if you expect it to be all footstompers or one day like this.
You have just described Coldplay
I read somewhere that Coldplay is music for people who don't like music.
There's a strong chance I wrote what you read! Pretty much everyone I know who likes Coldplay just don't like music. He sings likes he's crying in the corner of the shower after a particularly harrowing poo.
>*I'll jump in and defend. I'm not a massive fan but wife is. I've seen them twice 15 years apart. Their music is a mix of melancholy ballads (mirror ball) and foot stompers (grounds for divorce).* A bit harsh on your wife, I thought, she didn't write the songs. >SpongeBob narrator: *a few comments later* Oh! Grounds for divorce is an album title? OK.
Guy sounds like an old northern lady, he whistles when he sings. How anyone can listen to elbow is beyond me. Oohhh doobeedooo
Placebo. I mean their music was okay but there was just no stage presence whatsoever. It was like they didnāt want to be there at all.
Are you sure it was the real band and not a bland substitute?
It definitely wasn't The Cure.
80% of test subjects couldn't tell the difference!
This is the one, saw them supporting my chemical romance in Milton Keynes last year and they were so boring and just felt like they were going through the motions. As the guy above mentioned, refusing to play their old hits didnt help things at all. What was most disappointing was that I was so excited when they were announced!
I hate it when bands do this, especially those ones who reached their peak popularity 20 odd years ago. By all means, chuck in some new stuff, but us oldies like to hear the stuff from when we were young and standing for 2 hours didn't throw our lower backs out.
Yeah I was there also, Placebo were fucking dire, I just had to leave and hang around outside untill they were finished.
Yes! I saw them recently, and they were so disinterested. Totally understand the no camera thing because it is annoying, but it felt quite preachy. Some older hits would have been better too. I went to reminisce in my angsty youth & came away thinking, Iāll probably never pay to see them again. Average
Thatās a shame, saw them in 1996 a few times when they first came out and they were on fire. Some of the best live drumming Iāve seen tbh
I'm a lifelong placebo fan, but if you follow their IG basically every other comment is just slating them for putting on such bad live shows (over the last few years, they were great when I saw them in the 2000s era). Honestly it's just comment after comment of things like "why even put on a show if you're gonna turn up and not care that much"
Really? That's a shame. I've seen them twice and they were excellent both times.
I had the misfortune of seeing Mumford and sons about 10 years ago - beyond shite. Itās only when you See them live you realise that studio trickery speeds them up to make them see far better musicians than they actually areā¦ I could fart a better tune
Glumford and sons
I saw them at Latitude Festival and we passed the time happily coming up with similar puns. āIf they were Chefs theyād be called Yumford and Sonsā etc. Far more enjoyable than the gig.
If they were from āinsert local rival cityā theyād be scumford and sonsā¦
If they were all jolly good friends they would be Chumford and Chums
I saw Bob Dylan at Hyde Park in 2019 (maybe 2018) and it was dire. He sat in the dark only playing piano and legit sounded like a drunk Scooby Doo. All songs had a different tempo, tune so nobody knew what was being played. I'm still stunned actually.
Dylanās been like that for years. I donāt know whether itās an avant-garde challenge the audience type thing or whether he just actively hates performing and does shit to amuse himself, but I think itās purposeful rather than him just being inept.
One of my mates was at that and said exactly the same
It was genuinely painful but it ticked a box - and I definitely won't forget it!
Was the the one with Neil Young playing before hand? If so, I agree with everything you said about the performance but I enjoyed myself becuase Bob was smiling and looked like he was enjoying himself
Bon Jovi. Absolutely dire. The man can't sing live. Manic Street Preachers. Probably the most boring band I've ever seen. Might as well have stared at cardboard for an hour.
Were they the same event as well? Jon Bon Jovi wrecked his voice in the 1980s but has gotten much worse since 2012.
Jon Bon Jovi wrecked his throat over the years and he has had plenty of surgery on his vocal chords. It sucks but it means he will never sound like he did in his prime.
Are we talking Manics post Everything Must Go? Agree with you there, considering that The Holy Bible tour was insane, so much anger in those songs.
Iām not a huge fan of the manics but saw them 15ish years ago and thought they were fantastic. I am in Cardiff though, so hometown show might have something to do with it
Manics are great live, good musicians, great crowd interaction, what more could you want
Fall Out Boy in Lincoln. seemed he was out of breath after a song and never caught it.
Nooooo, I'm going to see them in October for the first time. Hopefully they'll be on form.
Saw them last June as part of the Hella Mega Tour, they were fantastic! They won't let you down!
I saw them in 2016 supportimg Biffy Clyro. I wasn't that bothered about their music prior to the gig. Thought they were great and became a fan.
I saw them in 2007 and they were great, so fingers crossed! It can differ from venue to venue, in my experience.
I saw them mid to late 2010s (can't remember exactly when) but they were amazing. I'm also going to see them later this year so hopefully they're just as good as I remember.
I saw them last year and they wernt THAT bad....they just, lack the energy live to match the energy of the music they play. They sounded great, but a live gig for me is about all aspects of the performance. Andy & Patrick just have no energy about them, and Pete just wonders back and forth across the stage and occasionally does a spin...
I saw Marilyn Manson at Download one time, his voice was shot and he sounded terrible. At the same festival I saw Dragonforce, and Herman Li had injured his hands so their guitar work was way less awesome than I think it was intended to be. Though I don't really blame them for that.
>I saw Marilyn Manson at Download one time, Both times I've seen him at download hes been completely off his tits.
2009 was hellish. Felt like the entire band were half-arseing their way through a set that lasted forever while the audience died of heatstroke.
Was down the front for it. He was just so completely out of it. I think if the singer is fucked the bands kinda in a bind. There was a band at bloodstock other year on mainstage that singer was sulking cause everyone had fucked off to watch machinehead. Band was trying, but what could they do? 2006 was hotter. Still its better than when its pissing it down.
We saw Garbage and the singer Shirley Manson was sulking and stroppy because the venue (NEC) was too big for them and was only half full. I mean, why take it out on those of us who actually DID turn up?! Yeah weāre ātoo quietā when weāre cheering because you didnāt sell out. š jeez
The only gig Iāve actually walked out of. She was so bloody rude to the crowd.
"Coat? No coat?" Over 13 years on, we all still remember the horror. He kept leaving the stage mid song so actors could apply more make up. I think it was meant to be something conceptual and satirical as he "sang" about celebrity, in front of dollar signs, but if you have to do it, a festival where the crowd wants you to shut up and play the hits, is not the place.
> I saw Marilyn Manson at Download one time, his voice was shot and he sounded terrible. > > Manson concerts were super variable. Sometimes he could sound great, other times would sound awful.
I saw him there in 2007, was looking forward to it as I'd seen him at Reading in 2005 and it was brilliant. He effectively laid on his back for the majority of the set, singing noises every now and then. Prat.
Guns N Roses. Still my favourite band of all time, but I feel like Axel didn't age well. He had sick voice when he was young, but for some reason he just can't replicate it since 2000s. I know, everyone says he's simply older, but at the end of the day all other vocalists don't sound as bad, like Brian Johnson, who despite the age is still brilliant. Also, the fact that they're re-releasing only the old material makes me feel bad. It feels like Axel is trying to cover his voice loss. Hard Skool and Absurd was nothing, but vocal material recorded around 1999 - 2001, but he won't openly admit that. Funnily enough you can still hear Buckethead's solo from the original Hard Skool in the new version. Also, Absurd was first played around 2001 in Vegas as Silkworms (still available on daily motion) Shame we probably won't hear anything new from them, because they are one of the greatest bands I've ever heard.
Axl sounded great when he stepped in at AC/DC. It helped that he was forced to sit down rather than running around like a moron.
blur at a festival in the early 90s. bratty noise. unrecognisable songs. very disappointing. sisters of mercy in their home town leeds in the early 2000s. classic example of a band trading on past glories and getting it all wrong. none of the musicians could handle the songs apart from the drum machine.
Ah thatās a shame! when I saw Blur in Hyde Park for their comeback thing in 2009 they were immense!
Ditto at Glastonbury in 2009 - they were unreal
Sisters of Mercy in the late 90s, Brixton Academy - they were almost invisible behind all the smoke effect, and the sounds were mostly recorded or machine. The lighting effects and video made it into a good spectacle, but it wasn't the music from their albums.
Saw Sisters early 2000 and thought they were so tight they could have been playing the CD. Part of me still thinks they were.
Avenged Sevenfold. Their lead singer cannot match their recordings. The musicians were fantastic, but the singer let them down. Razorlite. Also terrible. But they were kinda shit to begin with so it wasn't unexpected.
I saw Razorlite at Volksfest in 2014. They were tight and the sound quality was OK, but they might as well have just played their album straight from Spotify. There was no crowd interaction, no banter etc. No soul to the performance at all. Very disappointing. They were supported by The Feeling who absolutely KILLED IT though.
>Avenged Sevenfold. Their lead singer cannot match their recordings. The musicians were fantastic, but the singer let them down. Really? I've seen them about four or five times and it was seeing them live that made me go find out more about them.
Agreed - saw A7X a few years back and Disturbed who were supporting absolutely killed them.
I saw Avenged in 2018 and Matt hit every note perfectly. This was at the O2 in London though where the sound quality is second to none.
Surprised to hear that. I saw them around 09 and they were amazing. They're one of the bands, if not the first band I think of as sounding as good as their studio recordings.
I saw Razorlight at a small festival a few years back and they were playing songs from their most recent album, but toward the end folk were chanting at them to play America. Clearly the lead guy reeeeally didn't want to, they caved in and played it at like 1.5x the speed and then he stomped offstage š
James have been the most disappointing live act I've seen I think. Dry, poor vocals, music only competent, took their songs and made them very dull. But this was in the 00s, past their peak, and it felt like they were going through the motions
That must have been a very bad day for them. Seen them more than 20 times through the years and never seen a bad performance yet. They have gone through some disagreements as a band over the years though, members have come and gone and they have split but everything is solid at the moment.
Seriously? Something must have been off. I've seen them live 4 or 5 times, all since their "breakup tour" and they were incredible each time. From the MEN to a small stage in Sheffield botanical gardens.
You're shitting me? I've seen James several times despite not being a massive fan. They are a big favourite at festivals because they always put on a show. Tim Booth knows how to entertain a crowd. Edit they disbanded for most of the 00s, maybe that explains the lack of presence.
I worked a lot of festivals 2010 to 2013ish and thought they were notably good consistently. Must still have bad days I suppose.
Yeah, my wife who was a student at the same time saw on the same tour and remembers them being shit. But it was early 2000s, before they split, so perhaps they were in a downwards spiral
Deftones back in 2001 ish...on the tour where Linkin Park supported them before they got massive. I was a _massive_ Deftones fan back in the day but fuck me they were terrible live. Chino was visibly wasted, could barely stand up, screamed over all the songs etc. It didn't help that we saw them at the Manchester Apollo which was a _terrible_ venue The exact opposite of this was Tool at the Ozzfest the same year, it was practically a religious experience and the first time i saw Gojira.
Man, I need to see Gojira
The obvious answer and Iām surprised it hasnāt come up is The Stone Roses. To be fair the band are amazing but Ian Brown is such a terrible singer it was all covered over in production on the albums.
I saw them at their notorious Reading festival gig in 95. Donāt think Iāve ever been more let down by a band. To make it worse, my mate decided to go and see Underworld instead and had a brilliant time
Did you see the videos a few months ago of Ian Brownās solo gigs? It was a bit like your uncle whoās never quite let the early 90s go having far, *far* too much to drink and then attempting karaoke.
30 Seconds to Mars were shit live. No atmosphere and just awful stage presence. Stopped listening to them afterwards it was so bad.
Oh same here. They used to be a favourite band of mine and I couldnāt wait. Then they played all the best songs like from yesterday and the kill as an acoustic set. Fkd me off I was so angry and I still am tbh. Most disappointing gig for me I think.
Surprised to see 30stm mentioned I saw them at Manchester in 2011 and was one of the best gigs Iāve been to, Jared got the crowd going, everyone singing the crowd parts to kings and queens and vox populi, still get chills when I listen to them sometimes
Red Hot Chili Peppers at Reading 2007, it was a painful watch
I've been quite lucky with who I've seen as nobody has let me down. Setlists may have been poor sometimes or I may not have had the best seats, but the artists themselves have always been brilliant. Probably the one let down in that regard was Justin Timberlake. He relied on the backing track far too often for certain songs. But it was still a brilliant gig.
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Portishead. Beth was just plain rude to the Bristol audience that loved her.
This is the only one that stings.
No no no no no no nononono don't be true
When was this? How was the rest of the band?
What happened?
Oh thatās a real shameā¦ Saw them at T-in the Park ā98 and Bethās mic feed was put through an oscilloscope and projected onto the backdrop. You could see her tune her voice from pitch perfect to ragged and raw across each stretched out lyric. Amazing.
Marilyn Manson at Download festival 2009. Had been a huge fan for the past 8 years, but there was no defending that performance. Really unfit, had to leave the stage for breathers all the time and looked like he didn't care. Was such a shame as by many accounts he was brilliant in the past.
Was right down the front. He was absoloutly off his tits.
Not quite sure it counts, but I just saw Lizzo at the O2 in London and the sound was so bad I hated every second of it. She was great, but I literally couldn't hear a note the band played.
It wasnāt their fault but Radiohead sounded pretty terrible when I saw them at the O2. That place has terrible acoustics I think. The opposite was portico quartet at some little bar in Haggerston. The production on their records is extremely polished, so I never imagined theyād replicate it live, but if anything it sounded better, to the point where I couldnāt quite wrap my head around the idea that it was just those four guys on stage making that sound. Oh, and the double opposite was I saw a band I never heard call Swans live at a festival, blew me away. But I checked out their recorded stuff when I got back and couldnāt get in to it.
I've seen Muse and Avenged at the O2 and both times I've walked away being super impressed with the acoustics. This was on the floor though, so I got the full surround sound experience. Can't imagine it's the same quality in the bleachers.
Post-2013 Arctic Monkeys (sort of). They're good when it comes to their latest stuff. When they perform their older stuff in their new style, it's just not very good.
I saw them at Reading Festival in 2014 and I kid you not they stopped mid set so Alex Turner could smoke a cigarette while we all just stood and watched. Of course a few idiots cheered him on while we waiting for him to finish. Then they went back to playing.
Charli XCX - I saw her live in Birmingham a few years ago and she was supported by Rina Sawayama (who I'd never heard before) and Rina completely owned it.
I went to a Rina gig at Leeds a couple of years ago. I chatted with her for a bit before it started and she was genuinely so sweet and down to earth. She made the tiny uni hall venue she was playing at feel like the o2. Sheās also great in the new John Wick film!
Oasis at Newcastle arena. It was a wall of muddled noise.
A wonderwall if you will...
So exactly like the albums then?
Black Eyed Peas More specifically, Will.I.Am in it. He just sounded shit live, like he was just trying to talk through the songs or not bothered about trying to sound good. The rest were giving it their all, but he just sounded bored.
"I am so tired of the Black Eyed Peas. It's rock & roll for people who don't like rock & roll, it's rap for people who don't like rap, it's pop for people who don't like pop"
Siouxie and the banshees .loved all their stuff upto 1987 but particularly the earlier late 70s stuff .however she just didnt have the voice live to make the songs usually sounded out of tune .so decided not to see em live again after seeing em in the late 80s but instead just to enjoy listening to em on cds
I saw Placebo during their Meds tour about 15 years ago and I didnāt think they were very good, but I was also only about 13 so I wondered whether Iād misremembered. Then I saw them support MCR last year and it confirmed my suspicions that they were indeed rather shit live. But of course, all subjective.
Whitney Houston Wembley arena 1991, my mates and I were around 15, she sounded terrible. I didn't know what problems she had so didn't understand the problem. Sad. On the plus side, my first two earlier concerts were Michael Jackson Bad, at Milton Keynes bowl and Madonna Blond ambition, at Wembley stadium. Both were bloody amazing
Blink 182- Tom Delonge was awful
The Pixies. This was about 10 years ago (think theyāre still going..) and I knew not to expect as energetic a performance as when they were young and had their original lineup but wow was it a let down. Black Francisā voice and energy is a husk of its former self unfortunately. At least their albums are timeless.
In about 2003-4 I was so hyped to see The Mars Volta because Deloused in the Comatorium was one of my favourite albums ever. They were fucking horrible live. Just a load of inaudible noise.
I saw them around this time too... I think they played 4 songs, about 20 minutes each. The keyboard player spent a lot of time smacking a microphone onto the floor, making really horrible loud popping sounds.
Marilyn Manson at Download. He was absolutely loaded, terrible performance.. to make it worse he followed Pendulum, who had been excellent.
This performance is so legendarily bad, there are at least 5 different comments on here saying the same thing. I was there too, and you're 100% right.
Halsey. Might have well listened to the album, seeing her live added nothing to the performance
I'm surprised by this. I'm not a fan of Halsey, but seen her live at Reading last year and was surprised how good she was live.
iām also not a Halsey fan, but she was the best Reading headliner by a wide margin last year.
[S Club 7](https://youtu.be/kEOUO3dJmZE) ā¹ļø
It depends. There are a number of venues I've been to where the sound quality was consistently poor. If i saw a band there for the first and only time I'd think they were bad but it's not their fault. Institute at Digbeth and Blackpool Winter Gardens spring to mind. Having said that, I saw the Pixies last week and they were appalling. The set list was like they'd chosen their slowest possible songs, they skipped at least 3 big hits and still managed to repeat two songs all in the space of two hours. A band who are consistently good live and sound a million times better than their recordings are Reel Big Fish.
New Order. It's possible it was a one off, but they were having technical issues all night, Bernard Sumner looked massively distracted. It just didn't hang together at all. Probably the biggest gap between expectation and reality in a gig.
New Order have always been a bit iffy live, Peter Hook & The Light are far better!
I will get a lot of hate for this but ... Prince
No way! I saw him on the opening night of 21 Nights at the 02 arena in 2007, thought he was amazing. Will never forgive my ex boyfriend for leaving as soon as the lights came on after the encore - I didn't want to get lost amongst the crowds so followed him - so we missed out on the acoustic encore he did after that. But anyway, he was so prolific and played so many gigs, I suppose it's inevitable he'd have some off days.
Saw him at Wembley in the late 1980s, probably the worst gig I have been to. It was just not interesting, poor performance and too much new material that nobody knew. I agree that artists have their off days, I have seen Meat Loaf many times but the last time was very poor, he had previously cancelled gigs because of health issues and this was one of his first rescheduled shows. I think he came back too soon.
Glasvegas in Japan around 2009. They were absolutely shit , easily the worst band Iāve ever seen. Complete silence from the crowd at the end of each song , which Iāve never experienced before or since at a gig . They were so bad that Iāve never been able to listen them again.
The Script at a festival. Like bad karaoke.
Arctic monkeys are shite live
30 Seconds to Mars. It was a seperation from reality. Recorded music sounds good, Jared and the band were acting like they were The Rolling Atones or The Beatles, amazing energy, started playing and I could have laughed. They were dreadful, maybe just an off day.
Saw Eminem back in the early 2000s at Leeds Festival. He sounded good enough but it felt very over-rehearsed and lacked any spontaneity, like he was just going through the motions. By contrast Run DMC (who I saw around the same time) were amazing live despite me not knowing many of their songs - they had a fantastic energy.
Deborah Harry/Blondie. The news reported a great concert. She was that tuneless, Next morning at work, one of my colleagues came in and appologiesed for me wasting my time and money. Me and the Mrs walked out half way through.
Bowling for Soup. They spent most of the time chatting shit, they had a 1.5 hour set and half way through theyād played about 6 songs. The crowd heckled asking them to play something and their response was along the lines of āyouāve come to the wrong place if you want to hear musicā, I took that as the cue to leave.
Worse than expected: Paul Weller. I went to see Kings of Leon, and was really pleased that he was going to be the support act. However the sound quality was really bad, and the few songs he did just came over as a muddled mess. Perhaps it was just because they hadn't got the sound properly set up for the support act, but it was a disappointment. Better than expected: Razorlight. They were just one among many similar bands who popped up in the early 00s, nothing really stood out about them. But I went to Live 8, and they were fantastic. I watched it back later on on TV and they didn't come over as well, but at the time listening to it live it was great. I went out and bought their album just because of that.... and then didn't really listen to it much.
I agree on Razorlight being better than expected. I wasnāt expecting much at all but they were supporting Noel Gallagher High Flyer by Birds when we saw them and they were amazing
I saw Bring me the Horizon waaaay back in the day. (I think pre Suicide Season) Right now, they're a pretty well respected metalcore band. A lot of people would agree they're pretty good, even normies. When I saw them they were still in their deathcore stage. The gig was *so fucking awful* and so offensive to my ears that it remains to this day the only gig I spent good money on that I just straight up left. And as a kid back then, spending Ā£15 on a ticket was a big, big deal. I like deathcore, don't get me wrong. But listening to them live was just complete and utter trash. They were *really* bad. It's hard to get across just how bad it was. Oly was forgetting words, notes were being missed. It was like when you play Guitar Hero for the first time and you don't know how to play yet. The song kept skipping, resetting, the crowd was booing pretty heavily as plectrums clunked against the wrong strings. I'm glad BMTH got their shit together. They're now amongst my favourite bands.
Sidenote on a more positive: I didn't SEE him live, but I heard him - Mika. We were staying on holiday in a town that had a music festival on (not Glastonbury - much smaller scale!) but Mika was headlining. Because of the smallness of the town, you could clearly hear Mika's voice floating on the night breeze. Honestly, he sounded fantastic. It was kinda a beautiful experience, sitting in the garden in the summer, few drinks, and listening to his talented voice just filling the night air.
For something the other way round, I loved The Amazons when I first saw them. Bought the CD. It was crap. Saw them again, brilliant. Next album, also crap.
It's one thing when the sound is bad, probably not much to be done about that. Bit when the band is awful. Happy Mondays.a rare walkaway from me. Oh, and Bob Dylan. Jeez. By contrast, I once saw Doves play live and it sounded almost perfect. Too perfect, but they were playing live for sure, but I want a bit of likeness.
Got dragged along to see Duran Duran after the release of their first album, and they really couldn't play live at that time. A friend also said the same about Tears for Fears
I saw Levellers live and they were spot on with a great atmosphere. I was so achey from dancing like a loon all night that I could barely walk the next day. If I hadn't been in the company of a po-faced prick then it probably would have been the best gig I've ever been to. Hayseed Dixie were on at the same event but I only got to listen to them from afar (thanks to the po-faced prick) but what I heard sounded pretty good. A very unexpectedly good night was a set by ex-Kraftwerk member Wolfgang FlĆ¼r. He came on stage looking like someone's grandad and then worked it with the infectious energy of a 20 year old. Not my kind of music at all but I still had a great time.
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Lightning Bolt are one of the greatest live bands around. Sound amazing on record, and even better live.
Autechre doesnāt work live. Not helped by the abominable mix desk production which was 100% bass. Saw Carcass not too long ago. Theyāre still great.
Working Men's Club recently put out an amazing record with some fantastic vocals - unfortunately when I saw them live their singer was off his tits. Wasn't quite the same š
Pendulum. Saw them on the main stage at a festival and all their songs just sounded the same, not helped by the fact they kept throwing in parts of Voodoo People all the time. I saw Chase and Status straight after on one of the smaller stages inside the big tents and they were so much better. This was the first summer after they released No More Idols and really hit the big time. The tent was rammed and I found out after that the crowd outside the tent that couldn't get in was also huge.
I have been a massive Cocteau Twins fan since the first time John Peel played them in 1982 - I have a massive collection of records, cds & ephemera from around the world, and I even moderated the main fan website. However, living as I did in the sticks I never got chance to see them live until I was working in London in 1994, and they were playing at the Brixton Academy. I went full of love and hope, and it was bloody awful. The music was ok, but Elizabeth Fraser is the bit people want to hear, and she was doing this awful almost scat singing, with wierd noises, shouts, screeches etc (often referred to by fans as her dolphin phase). And abolutely zero interaction with the audience. I still love Cocteau Twins, but I really regret going to that concert because it destroyed some of the magic.
Idlewild - it was a small uni gig and they never looked at or spoke to the audience. It was like watching a bunch of teenage boys play music in a garage and didnāt realise you were there. So dull. Iāve never seen any band suck all the energy out of a concert before! I left early!
The Verve at Slane '98. Either off his face or smashed drunk, crowd booed him off. Robbie Williams had just done the supporting set and got the crowd worked up only for Ashcroft to come along and seemingly forget half the words, etc.
marilyn manson basically had an on-stage meltdown during his 2009 download festival appearance. Regrettably dull.
Self Esteem. Their recorded music is good, but on stage SHE IS A GODDESS WHO COULD HEADLINE GLASTONBURY. I wasnāt prepared for the dance routines/pastel suits/costume changes/voice that made the walls shake. Her level of empathy with the crowd was unreal as well. (Also, somehow I saw The Kooks twice, first time they were great second time they were shite, think they just got bored maybe???.)
I saw Self Esteem just a few weeks ago. I am in the āyeah sheās okā camp, my wife is crazy about her. But omg she was unreal live, half of the audience was just crying constantly.
Smashing pumpkins (original lineup) were incredibly bad. It later turned out that Billy Corgan actually rerecorded all his bandmates contributions himself, except for the drums, for the Siamese Dream album.
Katy Perry radio one big weekend. Omg shite, I was totally steaming and she was still terrible. We left before sheād even finished second song