cdollaz

Yeah, Phil Collins is a great performer and showman. You may not like his music, but he puts on a good show.

Sweet Baby James

REM back in '84 at the Hartford Agora. They didn't take the stage until well past midnight and they were all completely stoned. They didn't have a set list and literally took 3 to 5 minutes between songs. Also, Stipe's harmonica playing had terrible feedback. It was like listening to fingernails on a chalkboard!

mndtrp

Crazytown at whatever Ozzfest they performed at. Ridiculous music, and constantly berating the crowd isn't a good idea.

Tool on their last tour. It was boring, sounded terrible, and the venue is a piece of shit.

Divine Heresy has managed to suck each time I've seen them.

tcoursen

I'm gonna say Kanye West opening up for the Rolling Stones at Giant Stadium.

To be fair, I am not a fan of that type of music and was in no way familiar with his music at all.

To me it sucked because it just seemed SOOOOO out of place. I'm sure that was kinda what they were going for with having him open for the Rolling Stones. Expose him and the audience to potential new fans.

But, this was Giant Stadium. And is one guy running around on a stage. And the sound sucked so bad that you couldn't make out one word he was saying. or maybe he does just suck and you normally can't make out what he was saying.

I think at one point he did try to get the audience involved and do some sort of audience participation thing going. Nobody was into it, and I mean NOBODY. Not one person around me was even remotely paying attention.

Hell, they didn't even really introduce him when he came on stage. The ticket didn't say who was opening. I had to text message my wife at home and have her look it up on the internet.

Maybe it is me, but I don't think that hip hop is necessarily a type of music that translates well to a concert setting. At least not in a large venue like Giant Stadium. A small club, maybe.

Decker

The WORST CONCERT YOU'VE EVER BEEN TO in your whole life was one that you and your friends all considered "adequate" or "ok"? What a charmed life you have lived.

Chrisedge

That he left at the beginning of the 2nd songs of..."let's judge a concert by the first song"

nothingfails

rofl, so true. As if anyone who hasn't been to at least five concerts doesn't know by now that artists save a lot of their best material for the second half of a show

Jacoby Ellsbury

Pretty bad luck going to concerts.
My buddy got into a car accident on our way to see Oasis, we never made it.

Sound Garden broke up after we bought tickets for their concert, got a refund.

STP and Local H put on a great show back in the mid to late 90s. I think that was the lady picture show album tour

Bush and goo goo dolls were pretty good, that was my first concert in the mid 90s.

Wutang and Rage against the Machine. A few nights prior Zack De La Rocha screwed up his ankle jumping on stage so he was limited in his movement. But Wu was supposed to come on stage at 8 pm. We sat around and waited and would get updates every 30-60 minutes that the show would go on and it finally did at 10:30pm. I went to see WU mostly and even though only 6 members showed up they put on about an hour and 45 minute set. So then Rage came on around 12:30-1am and I dont think the show finally ended until close to 2AM. It was an outdoor concert in mansfield, MA at the tweeter center and I believe they werent supposed to perform past 11pm because of the loud noise.

Saw the Up N smoke tour with eminem, dre, ice cube, snoop, xzibit, eastsiders and a bunch others out in Worcester, MA at the centrum. They used the footage from this concert for the making of the up in smoke dvd.

Also wu and Killarmy and whoever else at the smaller venue in Worcester and that was horrible. The sound was horrible, the venue was horrible, the crowd was horrible. We left early although surprisingly I think every member of wu was there and fam.



Last concert I went to was Dashboard confessional, me and my girl were the 2 of about 5 people over 18 at that concert. Pretty good show.

Apple Gooncha

Why leave while the only good band there is playing?

PerryD

I went to see the double bill of Alanis Morissette and Tori Amos back in 1999 or so. Alanis just paced forward towards to the right front, paced backward towards the middle of the stage, then forward towards the left front, her eyes lifeless and staring above the crowd as she sand. Every song.

cdollaz

Elvis Costello - HOB, New Orleans, 2005. Great performance, at least the first half was before my wife and I left. WAY oversold, you couldn't move and she couldn't see the stage. Miserable.

Sting was pretty boring both of the times I saw him. Only did an hour and a half set also, which is lame.

U2 - Astrodome, Zoo TV Outside Broadcast. We were on the floor at the back of the Dome and couldn't even see the stage and it was the worst sound I have even experienced at a show. It was just one long bass note and couldn't hear the guitar or Bono.

Tool - the singer was in the shadows at the back of the stage for the whole show. Lame.

Offspring - They are just a shitty band.

Prince - too many medleys and only a ninety minute set. And our view of the stage was partially obstructed by a speaker stack. They should figure that stuff out before they sell the seats.

Moopher

That's what Maynard does.

Worst band i've ever seen live was Devildriver, Dez turned into such a baby and just walked off stage.

Runners-up:
Trivium
Fear Before the March of Flames
Dope
Slytherin

Too many to list.

Rex Fenestrarum

Gee, sorry to get everyone's panties in a wad about the shitty U2 show. Keep in mind that we were teenagers at the time. Whenever The Cure or Cocteau Twins or R.E.M. would come to town, everyone would be on "cloud nine" for a couple of weeks after the show. Everyone would say "OMFG that show was freakin' awesome!". The fact that no one in my school, not even the "die hard" U2 fans, thought the show was better than "adequate" should tell you how bad it was.

And, to be perfectly honest, I didn't actually "leave" when "I Will Follow" came on. I got up and walked around the concourse of The Omni for several songs. I ran into several of my friends, and hung out with them - and even made out with one of my female "groupies". I didn't actually leave The Omni until about halfway into the show. I'd occasionally pop my head in to see what was going on onstage.

It's interesting that everyone should jump on me for this, as the U2 show was the show that "popped my cherry" when it came to my "innocence" about live shows.

Several of my friends questioned whether The Edge was actually playing the piano during "New Year's Day". Many thought he was playing "air piano". So many people apparently questioned whether he was playing the piano that an article was written in the "Lifestyle" section of the Atlanta Journal a few days later, emphatically claiming that he was, in fact, playing the piano. So it wasn't just me.

Also, the guy I went to the show with had tickets to both shows, and he claimed that Bono pulled the same "random fan" out of the audience for both shows. Which is fine, I guess... but it certainly loses something when U2 plants a guy in the audience with an Irish flag that Bono rips apart later in the show. Thinking that it was a random fan? Awesome! Knowing that it was the same guy both nights? Much more lame.

For what it's worth, some GREAT shows that I've seen:

Pylon (1990-ish, Center Stage Theatre, Atlanta, GA) - Pylon was a huge influence on R.E.M., and since Pylon broke up in 1985 or so, most of us local fans missed out on seeing them live. But they got back together in 1990, and after an "unannounced show" at the 40 Watt, their first official show was at Center Stage. The crowd was awesome - everyone pogo'ed for the entire show, and no one copped an attitude or anything. The band was pretty decent for having only been "together" again for a couple of weeks, but I was most impressed by the crowd: full of energy, and no attitude. Even Michael Stipe just hung out in the crowd and danced around without playing the "celebrity card".

Bryan Ferry (Mamouna Tour, 1994, Buckhead Roxy, Atlanta, GA) - Although he's not nearly as popular in the US as he is in the UK, Ferry is still a freakin' icon of British pop music. And to see him perform a 3-hour set in a tiny venue like this - I was 10 feet away from him during most of the show - was really incredible. And the crowd was nice and seemed knowledgeable - when he played an obscure Roxy Music tune, they murmured with delight, not confusion.

Cocteau Twins (1990, Center Stage Theatre, Atlanta, GA) - An amazing show all around - good crowd, GREAT sound, and an excellent opening act (Mazzy Star). It was all you could ask for in a show.

Funny aside - I saw Bauhaus at The Tabernacle during their "reunion tour" (or whatever it was) in the early 2000s. My group was standing next to a pack of frat boys that danced for every song Bauhaus played. But when the band launched into Iggy Pop's "The Passenger", the frat boys all looked at each other, as confused as could be. One of them was like "I think it's a B-side or something", while another was like "why are they playing new material at this show?". They all shrugged their shoulders at each other, while my crew laughed at them.

But no one laughed at the U2 show... 'cos it sucked.

Chrisedge

Ya, now it "sucked" instead of being "ok"

And btw, I know (personally) several folks that have been pulled up onstage multiple times (some to dance with Bono, some to play) and once he knows you, he realizes you can play or won't be a psycho, he's more apt to pull you up again...

AND YOU HAVE GROUPIES...aren't you cool...LOL

(I don't doubt the show might not have been "great" but you said you left after one song, now you're changing your story. I've seen them 36 times since '83, and have seen some "off" nights, but nothing I would ever call "Worst Show in my life"..but as someone who's seen them that much, obviously somewhat judgemental)

comanche_doyle

Creed. I remember laughing a couple of years later when a crowd sued them for sucking so bad. That made my day.

JZ1276

Stone Temple Pilots in May at the PNC Art Center in NJ. Filter opened and was excellent. STP took almost an hour and a half to take the stage. Weiland sounded HORRIBLE and was rumbling on about nonsense after every other song. At one point one of the Deleo bros cut him off while he was talking. During the chorus of "Paper Heart" it sounded so bad I was actually embarrassed for him.


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PerryD

Thought of another one, saw Def Leppard in 1987. I was a big fan of their first 3 albums, and found the new album okay (Hysteria). During the concert, they played a grand total of one song from their first two albums (Bringin' On the Heartbreak). Nothing from the first album ("Wasted" would have been great!) at all.

Decker

I would never blame an artist for bad seats, sound or weather. Those things are beyond the performer's control (normally), but one of the worst concert experiences I ever had was seeing The Rolling Stones (with GnR opening, as I mentioned in another concert thread). It was at the LA Coliseum, which is a huge venue and terrible for concerts -- think not only an entire football field, but a large track around the football field as well. It was pouring rain. Worst of all, our seats were so far back, it made watching the Stones perform look like a flea circus -- just little specks going back and forth across the stage. It was so far away that the normal alternative, watching the show on the Jumbotron wouldn't work either : We were so far back that the images traveled faster than the sound and therefore the songs were out of synch like a badly dubbed martial-arts movie. The huge inflatable women that popped up during Honky Tonk Woman appeared about life-sized. It was that bad for me and my crappy seats.

nothingfails

same thing happened with me during the Bigger Bang tour (and it was raining cats and dogs here as well). But I didn't buy a ticket, so I can't complain. My dad decided to buy tickets for him, myself, my sister and her husband, but he opted for the cheapest tickets possible, and I swear we must've been a half mile away from the stage and we could barely see the band. My dad and brother-in-law were satisfied with the seats and show, but my sister and I both felt like neither of us really got to see them live, because we were so far back

movie diva

Now I was at that show and I thought it was a good show dispite the rain, I had a great time, and I thought I had crappy seats so you must have been sitting all the way in the back.

Decker

Well, they weren't all the way up, but they were really far back behind the "opponent's" end zone. Absurdly far away. I swore I'd never go to another show there, but once I got field seats to the U2 Pop Mart tour and it wasn't nearly as bad. Bad seats at the Colleseum are truly awful.

Anyone ever see a concert from the crappy seats at the Hollywood Bowl? It doesn't seem like that big a venue, but when you're in the back, it's like you're in a different area code from the performers. They seem miles away.

DonTHX1378

I've seen Smashing Pumpkins twice and I can back up that they are the worst live band I've ever seen. Someone said in one of the first posts that Red Hot Chilli Peppers were bad and I don't see how that could be cause the 3 shows I've seen by them were great. I'd like to add-
Years ago back in 1996 in saw Primus. I can't for the life of me remember what the bands name was that opened for them, but it was the worst opening bands/acts I've ever seen in my life. Everyone was booing then so badly that the lead singer said "Sorry were not Primus!". All I remember for some reason was the name of the CD they were selling at the show Hyperspice.
I saw The Rolling Stones on their Bigger Bang tour in SF. Metallica and Everclear opened the show. Everclear wasn't that bad, but Metallica was so out of place. They played mostly stuff from the St. Anger album which didn't help. Had they played some more of the older stuff I think it would have worked better. What made things worse was there was a group of people there with signs stating that they were only there to see Metallica. I love Metallica and I've seen them do some great shows, but this wasn't one of them.
I saw the Beautiful Monsters tour with Manson/Hole/Monster Magnet in SF. Magnet was a bore. I felt bad for the other members of Hole because all Courtney could to was backmouth the crowd and this girl whom had a sign that stated "You Killed Kurt". Then she started in on Manson about how they were going to have to pay for one of his lights going out, and that she couldn't have her daughter on the tour because of the "things" that Manson was doing on the tour. Every other song turned into a bitchfest with her and you could tell that the rest of the band wasn't to happy with it. Then Manson came out, did some songs, and started to bitch about her. After the next date Hole left the tour. I latter saw Manson at the Olympic Auditorium in Los Angeles and it was a bad show. I don't think whom saw that show was happy tht night when they left. Hunter from AFI was there that night and has talked about how bad the show was.

starman9000

Fuel was probably the worst I have seen, though I don't really know why I went in the first place. I think that was the first concert I ever walked out of before the encore. (the singer was a douche and tried really hard to be a rockstar, all I really remember was him being all high and mighty about his song on the Godzilla soundtrack.) Zebrahead opened for them, and were pretty enjoyable, even though I generally can't stand that type of music.

The other bad concert was when I tried to see Magnolia Electric Company or Jason Molina or whatever he was going by. The opening bands just wouldn't stop. He wasn't on by 1 am so we finally just left. Maybe the show was awesome, and I suppose thats just a case of me getting old and not being able to stay up on weekdays, but come on!

DrStrangeL0ve71

Glad I skipped that one. Yeesh!

Rypro 525

Prob HFStival 05 for me. Parking was fucking insane (20 bucks) Why people decide to mosh to bands like Interpol, the Bravery, Louis XIV i have no idea. With how rough the moshing and crowd surfing was, you would have thought it was a heavy metal show. Also, Echo and the Bunnymen played i think 2 songs, played one, singer got mad and walked off, came back a couple minutes later, tried to play again, and then walked off again. I was in the stands for them, so i don't recall if it was technical errors, or if the singer was drunk or just an ass. Anyways, Garbage was up next and thankfully kicked ass (and i got back in the pit too) Broke my glasses at the very end of Social distortions set, which sucked, and i had to miss the rest of the show. a friend later told me that there were heavy thunderstorms which caused a delay. Told me also that the pits were really violent and roungh during the Foo fighters set (due to curfew, i think they only played like 15 or 20 minutes instead of the scheduled 45 min.