OT (hopefully): Worst band you've ever seen live

[Eric]

Sting...or should I say STINK

He's too good to play his hits the way they are recognizable. And his drummer came out and rapped...

[Eric]

Joe Perry kinda struts around unplugged and poses...

[Jeremey]

Sting...or should I say STINK

He's too good to play his hits the way they are recognizable. And his drummer came out and rapped...

I was underwhelmed at a Sting concert, but I appreciated the musicianship of the band. And Omar Hakim is a flat-out badass!

[jrnyjetster]

THE CARS in their heyday...they were dreadful live.

[NealIsGod]

THE CARS in their heyday...they were dreadful live.

But The New Cars CD, "It's Alive", is awesome...

[TRAGChick]

Peter Gabriel at Madison Square Garden.

WAAAY too "theatrical" for me .

He spent too much time getting into his bizarre getups and props....completely destroyed the momentum of the show, IMO.

Mark loved it....but then again, he's 5 years older than me, and followed Peter's career thru the 70s, and knew EVERY SONG he ever did.

I fell asleep until he played "Sledgehammer"....that's one of only a handful of songs I recognized.

[Red13JoePa]

Pains me to say.
The Stones (this tour at least).

[Angiekay]

Kansas.

Kansas.

Kansas.

Huh???? Those guys are ALWAYS on musically. I've never heard of them giving a bad show. Now, Steve Walsh's vocals aren't quite what they used to be, but as far as the musicianship of the band, if they ever give a bad show, it's few and far between.

They are boring and unimaginative. One show I saw them at, they didn't play a song anyone knew until the encore...not even a HIT! I've been in radio almost 20 years and didn't know one song until the encore....sad. The only reason I saw them so many times is because they have opened for Styx several times. If I can avoid them in the future, I will at all costs. Steve performed better when he was on the crank.

[NealIsGod]

They are boring and unimaginative. One show I saw them at, they didn't play a song anyone knew until the encore...not even a HIT! I've been in radio almost 20 years and didn't know one song until the encore....sad. The only reason I saw them so many times is because they have opened for Styx several times. If I can avoid them in the future, I will at all costs. Steve performed better when he was on the crank.

Could it have been just a bad show/tour?

[Angiekay]

They are boring and unimaginative. One show I saw them at, they didn't play a song anyone knew until the encore...not even a HIT! I've been in radio almost 20 years and didn't know one song until the encore....sad. The only reason I saw them so many times is because they have opened for Styx several times. If I can avoid them in the future, I will at all costs. Steve performed better when he was on the crank.

Could it have been just a bad show/tour?

THREE times in six years? Doubt it.

[conversationpc]

They are boring and unimaginative. One show I saw them at, they didn't play a song anyone knew until the encore...not even a HIT! I've been in radio almost 20 years and didn't know one song until the encore....sad. The only reason I saw them so many times is because they have opened for Styx several times. If I can avoid them in the future, I will at all costs. Steve performed better when he was on the crank.

Boring? I can see that if you don't like their music but their catalogue is way bigger than just the three overplayed songs, i.e. "Carry on Wayward Son", "Dust in the Wind", and "Point of Know Return". At least they have the guts to play something other than just the hits, unlike Journey doing the dirty dozen almost every show.

Unimaginative? Had to laugh at that one. They are one of the few rock bands out there that change up the arrangements from their songs from night to night just to keep them imaginitive. I've seen them 7 or 8 times over the last 10 years and haven't heard them do the same songs the same way twice.

There's no way Walsh performed better when he was under the influence. Look back at all their stuff from the late 80s through the mid 90s. His vocals were awful. His voice was shredded and it wasn't getting any better. He got off the drugs and started taking care of himself and his voice is now 100 times better for it.

[Angiekay]

Boring? I can see that if you don't like their music but their catalogue is way bigger than just the three overplayed songs, i.e. "Carry on Wayward Son", "Dust in the Wind", and "Point of Know Return". At least they have the guts to play something other than just the hits, unlike Journey doing the dirty dozen almost every show.

Unimaginative? Had to laugh at that one. They are one of the few rock bands out there that change up the arrangements from their songs from night to night just to keep them imaginitive. I've seen them 7 or 8 times over the last 10 years and haven't heard them do the same songs the same way twice.

There's no way Walsh performed better when he was under the influence. Look back at all their stuff from the late 80s through the mid 90s. His vocals were awful. His voice was shredded and it wasn't getting any better. He got off the drugs and started taking care of himself and his voice is now 100 times better for it.

*Shrug*

You have your view, I have mine. I've seen them a half dozen times and they have sucked *every* time, to the point of me having to leave and hang out by the bar if it wasn't a GA show. I like their music to listen to, but I will never pay to see them live again.

[conversationpc]

*Shrug*

You have your view, I have mine. I've seen them a half dozen times and they have sucked *every* time, to the point of me having to leave and hang out by the bar if it wasn't a GA show. I like their music to listen to, but I will never pay to see them live again.

Hmmm....I'll just chalk it up to not being as big a Kansas fan as I am. They are a dynamic live band, in my opinion, and one of the few bands that sound a heck of a lot better live than on any album.

[Ms_M]

I think they were called Tripping Daisy. They opened for DL several years ago. Very weird.

Yes they opened for DL in '96 for the Slang tour...Awful!!! I actually turn to the girl I took and apologize for what we just heard.

I'm glad I wasn't the only one who didn't understand them. What was with the bathrobe anyway??

[larryfromnextdoor]

THE CARS in their heyday...they were dreadful live.

But The New Cars CD, "It's Alive", is awesome...

neal, i dont think many folks have this little gem,, it is great!

[mnmsjrny]

Sting...or should I say STINK

He's too good to play his hits the way they are recognizable. And his drummer came out and rapped...

Hmmm... when was this? I ask mostly because a Sting show I saw 10-12 years ago still holds as the BEST concert I've ever seen. Admittedly, it was one of those impossibly rare convergences of great venue (Greek Theater, Berkeley); great weather (warm spring evening); great view (full moon over SF Bay); and absolutely perfect performance by the whole band. I've seen Sting 3-4 other times and nothing has topped that perfromance (and yes, some have been a bit dull. I'm still hoping one day he'll play "Roxanne" as originally recorded, but then I'm an optimist!)

As for *worst*.... Hmmm... oddly enough probably another Sting show -- the band that opened for him called Geggy Ta (WHY I remember that I have NO idea as I've tried for years to foget) who came marching on stage through the crowd and were just incredibly bad. Kept wondering who on earth had held a gun to Sting's head to allow them on the tour.

Worst "name act" -- Debbie Harry who was so off key I couldn't recognize the handful of Blondie songs she performed when opening for Tears for Fears. Runner up -- Sonic Youth, talk about making your ears bleed.... ugh absolutely nothing sonic, just dischordant noise... blech!

[zino]

If anyone has ON DEMAND from Comcast cable check out the Forginer concert clips under the music section, down right terrible. The worst I have ever heard a live band

[NealIsGod]

If anyone has ON DEMAND from Comcast cable check out the Forginer concert clips under the music section, down right terrible. The worst I have ever heard a live band

I always forget about that ON DEMAND. Will check it out, thanks. Any other good groups?

[brywool]

REO on their High Infedelity tour. YUCK! Cronin's voice drives me nuts. Walked out.

[NealIsGod]

REO on their High Infedelity tour. YUCK! Cronin's voice drives me nuts. Walked out.

Really? I am looking for a good video boot of that tour.

[zino]

If anyone has ON DEMAND from Comcast cable check out the Forginer concert clips under the music section, down right terrible. The worst I have ever heard a live band

I always forget about that ON DEMAND. Will check it out, thanks. Any other good groups?

Hoobastank is on there, and t hats all that I can remember, They had Bon Jovi a few months ago which was good

[zino]

REO on their High Infedelity tour. YUCK! Cronin's voice drives me nuts. Walked out.

He tells too many stories for my liking, I like some talking in concert but he goes over the top

[WalrusOct9]

Peter Gabriel at Madison Square Garden.

WAAAY too "theatrical" for me .

He spent too much time getting into his bizarre getups and props....completely destroyed the momentum of the show, IMO.

Mark loved it....but then again, he's 5 years older than me, and followed Peter's career thru the 70s, and knew EVERY SONG he ever did.

I fell asleep until he played "Sledgehammer"....that's one of only a handful of songs I recognized.

Gabriel in 2002 was one of the best shows I've ever been to. But I also know just about all of his music, and enjoy the theatrical nature of it. It's just a part of his music and his personality, and I think Gabriel live is a really unique experience.

Worst show ever? Hands down Dave Matthews Band in '98. Sooooooo...fucking...repetitive. And I like some of the jam bands, I'm a huge Phish fan, and have seen String Cheese Incident and a few others a couple times. But DMB's songs are far more repetitive, and the audience was comprised entirely of drunk frat guys and drunk teenage girls who could've cared less what song they were playing. Before they got overplayed to death, some of their music wasn't bad, but 2 1/2 hours straight of it made you realize one song wasn't particularly different from any of the others. Honestly, Dave is the weak link in the band...everyone else can play their asses off, but they're tied to these very simplistic songs and short, repeititve patterns to solo over.


(this isn't counting opening acts...oh, I could tell some stories)

[brywool]

I don't mind Cronin's story's but his voice is piss pour. (Lassie! Go out in the snow storm and find the pitch girl!)

Honorable Mention:
Billy Squier a few years ago with Styx. P.U.!!!! He did Everybody Wants You as a blues tune and it was so pretentious and stupid. It was cool though... My wife used to have the hots for him and she saw him with his little shaved head and waaay flamboyant mannerisms and so it knocked that little fantasy right out of her head!

Kansas a few years prior to that also wasn't great. Walsh was in a cast and just didn't have a voice anymore.

Gabriel was bad?? His concert videos are awesome!

Dave Matthews... god I hate that band...

[TRAGChick]

Peter Gabriel at Madison Square Garden.

WAAAY too "theatrical" for me .

He spent too much time getting into his bizarre getups and props....completely destroyed the momentum of the show, IMO.

Mark loved it....but then again, he's 5 years older than me, and followed Peter's career thru the 70s, and knew EVERY SONG he ever did.

I fell asleep until he played "Sledgehammer"....that's one of only a handful of songs I recognized.

Gabriel in 2002 was one of the best shows I've ever been to. But I also know just about all of his music, and enjoy the theatrical nature of it. It's just a part of his music and his personality, and I think Gabriel live is a really unique experience.

Yeah, I know....I've seen the old footage of him dressed in an old-man mask; as a huge flower, etc etc....

.....and all I could think is, "um..........why?"

Also, I thought that since he's now *ahem* OLDER, he'd "mellow out" of all that stuff. Wrong.

[WalrusOct9]

Hmmm, I saw Kansas in '03 and '04 and they were great. Walsh's voice has a different timbre to it, but after he cleaned himself up in the late 90's he sounded a LOT better. He sounds great on their DVD as well (from 2002), although presumably some of that was "fixed" later. Still, the two shows I went to were great, and they even played "Magnum Opus" in '04.

[conversationpc]

Hmmm, I saw Kansas in '03 and '04 and they were great. Walsh's voice has a different timbre to it, but after he cleaned himself up in the late 90's he sounded a LOT better. He sounds great on their DVD as well (from 2002), although presumably some of that was "fixed" later. Still, the two shows I went to were great, and they even played "Magnum Opus" in '04.

I was at the DVD show and, from what I can tell, there wasn't too much fixing up done to the original product. There are enough mistakes in the DVD to tell that (I pick up on the guitar flubs, not sure about the others...). You're right about Walsh's voice. He's improved a lot since the "Live at the Whiskey" days, that's for sure.

[chickpea]

REO on their High Infedelity tour. YUCK! Cronin's voice drives me nuts. Walked out.

I saw them on that tour. The singing and playing was fine. What bothered me was Kevin Cronin announcing every song right after they played it. "That was Keep on Lovin' You, thank you!" "That was Take it on the Run, thank you!"

[Big J]

Cronin's a dork, that's established, and I can see why his voice would irritate some. I liked REO the only time I've seen them though, and wanna see them again.

Cronin's dorkiness has a certain charm to it, with the stories and all. It beats Steve Prickly...err...Perry.

[Clasicrockldy]

The worst band I ever heard played in my high school quad waaaayyyy back in the day. It was a duo, I can't remember their name, but if you wanted sugary-syrupy music......... they were the ones ! Yuck !

Now the best band that played in my high school quad, before they became semi-famous was Yesterday and Today, which was shortened to Y & T. Anyone remember them?