Worst Concerts You Have Attended ??

James Brown in the mid 60’s came on stage and started singing.  Ladies in the first rows started screaming.  “Mr. Brown” started screaming through the mike, “Stop the music.  Stop the music.”  Music stopped.  

“Mr. Brown” said, if you all want to hear me sing, “sit down and shut up.”  He started singing again, ladies in the first row started creaming again.  He walked off stage and did not return. 

No concert and no refunds!

Without a doubt the worst concert I ever attended was about 12 yrs ago in Atlanta at Chastain Park. This is an expensive outdoor amphitheater and the typical problem with concerts there is the audience who’d rather talk about work, tell jokes, and be inattentive to the music period. Women feel it imperative to stand and dance right in front of you, obscuring your view and looking around to make sure they’re getting other peoples’ attention. Selfish! But regarding the artists themselves, they almost all do their best to entertain even with a rude or disengaged audience, however, I had the misfortune of paying for tickets to hear Aretha Franklin. The concert lasted exactly 46 minutes start to finish. 46 minutes for $100 a piece tickets. The crowd seemed stunned as no explanations or excuses were made, no claims of illness, technical problems...Forty Six minutes! It was pure highway robbery. The only redeeming factor was that the typical inattentive audience, the selfish women dancers, and the people who go to the shows to discuss work, the weather, and whatever finally got the same rude treatment they usually give lol !

"Chicago" at my college in 1969.  Off key horns and flat, dull vocals.  Terrible.

Oregon. Never heard a more obnoxious piercing sound as that freaking amplified oboe.

Herbie Hancock at the QE Theater in Vancouver 2019. Great band including guest mutli-instrumentalist Terrace Martin and Vinnie Colaiuta on drums. Although the sound rig itself looked perfectly legit (I worked in pro sound industry and as a pro musician for the earlier portion of my adult life), save for the lack of center fill to cover those like myself sitting 9th row center, the dunce running the main console had a severe case of tin ear. One of my fellow attendees went back to position himself next to the main sound console to see if it was as bad back there, and he said that it was much worse. Wow.
One of my friends had flown in from Toronto just for this show. All those that I knew in attendance including myself were deeply disappointed and angry. I tried to contact the Vancouver Jazz Festival to ascertain who was responsible for that disaster but could not find any contact info for the organization on their crap website. Infuriating.