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Worst Concerts You Have Attended ??

I just left a remark about a favorite band of mine back in the day - April Wine - that I saw in concert and was disappointed. Could have been that it was an off night for them, or maybe they were never good in concert. Maybe the lead guitarist had too much to drink? April Wine was not the worst, however. I remember Neil Young in the 1990's who was on his one-man acoustic show type of tour that many artists were taking advantage of (perhaps for financial reasons) during that time. While a friend of I had near front row seats at Desert Sky Pavilion (now Ak-Chin) in Pheonix, the crowd was just roused up into a frenzy by the warm-up band (James) and here comes Neil and his guitar/harmonica. Wow, what a sonic letdown. I remember getting up and leaving and feeling Neil's glaring eyes on us as we ushered out. I think, to this day, he probably still remembers me. We all can remember the great live concerts we attended, but what were the worst and why?
goodlistening64
jdane
183 posts
 
This makes me feel much better about all the rock shows I didn't go to in the 60s!
electroslacker
375 posts
 
About a year ago-Brittany Howard at the Beacon in NYC. How could you mess that up?  Well, I was in the balcony, curled in fetal position with both hands over my bleeding ears.  Soundcheck? Medic?
dtapo
73 posts
 
I saw Chick Corea (RIP) in the mid eighties when he was putting together a new band and he came to our small NorCAL  town and played at the Vets Memorial. It was like a shakedown cruise for the band.  Less than 100 people showed up. Well they were pissed at the small turnout and they proceeded to insult the people who DID show up. Kind of left a bitter taste, as he was one of my musical heroes, having seen Return to Forever several times in the 70's. I saw West, Bruce and Laing in the early 70's and they were so loud I got a nose bleed. My ears were ringing for days.
russ69's avatar
russ69
3,360 posts
 
I have to give the opposite opinion on Bob Dylan. Sometime in the early 90s I think. His last show after a big world wide tour. It was awesome. First half acoustic and the second half electric. He played "All along the Watch Tower" in Hendrix's style, it was great. If I remember correctly it was a solid 2 hour show.  
mitchagain
408 posts
 
2007 SXSW Music Festival. The venue was the 18th Floor at the Hilton Garden Inn (one of the 3 best SXSW venues). Andy Pratt was first, followed by Bic Runga, Jonette Napolitano and Graham Parker.

Andy Pratt was beyond awful. He was doing his best to make us leave; but, no one did because the next three acts were so good. About halfway thru his set, Andy dropped his guitar pick and he couldn't find it. All of us were thinking "thank God this trainwreck is about to be over," only to have an audience member yell out that he had a spare pick.......despite most of the audience yelling "NO!!!," that did not deter him and we had to endure another 20 minutes of Andy Pratt. Bottom line, the agony was worth it, since the remaining sets were transcendant. Jonette even explained the origin of the Concrete Blonde song "Ghost of a Texas Ladies Man" (turns out she had a ghostly encounter years earlier while staying at the Driscoll Hotel in downtown Austin).

I was also fortunate to catch Bob Dylan on his 1986 tour when Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers were his backing band.
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