Who's the worst band you've seen live?

[Deep Thought]

I've seen Motorhead twice, once in the mid-80's at the Cornwall Coliseum, again at Eden this year. On both occasions it was chest-thudding drums, and the rest an indistinct mess. A shame as I have great respect for Lemmy.
The Pogues, also at the Coliseum, early 90's I think-Shane McGowan utterly hammered and unintelligible, and not onstage for two thirds of the gig.
Even my beloved Stranglers, 96 Tears tour at Torbay leisure centre in 1990, shortly before Hugh Cornwell left. Terrible sound, the band looked bored and lacklustre, and neither the horns or John Ellis' extra guitar did anything to improve matters. I didn't see them again for 16 years, with the new Baz Warne line-up, and I'm back to the huge fan I was in my youth.
I saw the Sisters of Mercy four times with the original line-up, and with the exception of the York festival (the Sisters in daylight was never going to work) they were jaw-dropping.
I saw Ellery Bop on that Killing Joke tour! I don't remember them being that loud. They apparently threatened to kill the Jesus and Mary Chain, whom I saw at a tiny club in Plymouth on their first tour-well I say I saw them, in fact all you could see was a wall of bouncers shoving people off the stage for the 20 minutes they were on. I remember they had Kay Sound Fashion combo's! Saw them again several years later on the Rollercoaster tour at Plymouth Pavilions, and they were incredible!

[crez5150]

O h another I've just been reminded of...... Mumford and sons..... Bloody awful live!

[KevB]

[quote name='Smythe' timestamp='1448489780' post='2915937']
A band called Chicks On Speed who were supporting the Red Hot Chili Peppers at the Etihad Stadium 2003-ish. Absolutely diabolical, the amount of pints they had thrown at them throughout the whole 3 songs or so they managed to play doesn't even hazard a guess.
[/quote]

Ha! See post #129, that's 3 of us that remember them and probably all from the same gig

[ras52]

[quote name='crez5150' timestamp='1448968257' post='2919606']
O h another I've just been reminded of...... Mumford and sons..... Bloody awful live!
[/quote]

They stay faithful to the recordings, then?

[KevB]

I quite liked the last album, once they ditched all that faux folkie stuff they revealed a half decent indie rock band lurking within. Not sure if crez saw the old or new version.

[Kiwi]

No name acts that stand out as bad for me but there a few amateur nights with solo singer songwriters that I'll never recover from.

Surprised noone's mentioned Pete Doherty yet

[EliasMooseblaster]

[quote name='Kiwi' timestamp='1448980455' post='2919760']
No name acts that stand out as bad for me but there a few amateur nights with solo singer songwriters that I'll never recover from.
[/quote]

Good point...I've been to a few open mic nights where I've lost the will to live after the ninth identikit man-bun has shuffled on stroking an acoustic guitar under the inexplicable delusion that he's the next Neil Young/Bob Dylan.

[Kiwi]

There was one I had to endure before my band went on where clearly the song was all about catharsis. But his tortured performance style was an unfortunate mix of abusive acoustic guitar, anguished wailing and tortured posturing. The overall visual effect was something along the lines of a 6ft tall weasel repeatedly and intensely failing to climax by copulating with the space immediately in front of him...for 4 and a half minutes.

[colgraff]

Love Kiwi's weasel imagery!

My most disappointing gig was Iron Maiden in ~1990. It was post Adrian Smith but still with Bruce Dickinson. I was a huge Maiden fan in the 80s and remember being desperately disappointed. They weren't bad, in fact were probably note-perfect but the sound balance too loud for the venue so the overall mix was a bit muddy and the guitars seemed to be crackly and indistinct.

[Rich]

[quote name='Kiwi' timestamp='1448980455' post='2919760']
Surprised noone's mentioned Pete Doherty yet
[/quote]
Arrgh. I've been trying to forget he exists, and was doing very nicely right up until a few moments ago. So, ta

[Kiwi]

[quote name='Rich' timestamp='1448997478' post='2919971']
Arrgh. I've been trying to forget he exists, and was doing very nicely right up until a few moments ago. So, ta
[/quote]

Sounds like The Game.

[12stringbassist]

Saxon 1979 supporting Slade.
Vardis 1982 supporting Slade

[b]Slade[/b] were of course [b]magnificent [/b]every time I saw them.
Those two support bands got booed off.

[ubit]

[quote name='12stringbassist' timestamp='1449031991' post='2920226']
Saxon 1979 supporting Slade.
Vardis 1982 supporting Slade

[b]Slade[/b] were of course [b]magnificent [/b]every time I saw them.
Those two support bands got booed off.
[/quote]

I seen Saxon in 1980 , and lo, they were great. They must have put some practice in

[ubit]

[quote name='ras52' timestamp='1448973217' post='2919663']


They stay faithful to the recordings, then?
[/quote]

[simon_says]

[quote name='tauzero' timestamp='1447971353' post='2912031']
Back in the late 70s, I was going to see Black Sabbath. A friend told me that the support band were absolutely fantastic, with a demon lead guitarist. So I went, Dickens-like, with great expectations, only to be sorely disappointed by Tanzder Youth (Sabbath were good though).

It turned out there had been different support bands, and the one I'd missed through going on the wrong night were called Van Halen.
[/quote]

I think I saw that tour. Lewisham Odeon around 1979. Van Halen came on as support and were great - full of energy. Then Sabbath appeared and ruined the evening. I wanted to ask for my money back but I had been given a complimentary ticket so I just had to leave early and harrumph all the way back to Canterbury on the train. Glad I saw Van Halen but it still rates as one of the most dissapointing gigs I have been to.

Edited December 3, 2015 by simon_says

[Funky Dunky]

Stereophonics, years ago. To be fair, they were just on the scene, although I had the misfortune of hearing a recent live set of theirs on the radio at work this evening and they seem no better. Sloppy, and Kelly Jones was all over the place. FWIW, I'm not a fan - my then-girlfriend was, and I regrettably tagged along.

[Funky Dunky]

I have to add a few here:

Dirty Pretty Things - terrible, horrible, God-awful. After the fourth slopfest of a song, I left.

Marilyn Manson - I was never a fan, but I liked a handful of songs and mostly went for the theatrics. Hideous, slightly stomach-churning. When he slashed himself with a bottle and urged the crowd to spit on his wounds, it was time for me to leave. This was after he had gobbed on his paying fans umpteen times already.

Alanis Morissette - T in The Park, 1995. Oh God. What did music ever do to you to make you treat it so badly, you boring boring person? Hideous caterwauling from start to finish. Decent band, though, including Taylor Hawkins, Chris Chaney and one time temporary Chilis axeman Jesse Tobias.

[pigface]

[quote name='12stringbassist' timestamp='1449031991' post='2920226']
Saxon 1979 supporting Slade.
[b]Vardis[/b] 1982 supporting Slade

Slade were of course magnificent every time I saw them.
Those two support bands got booed off.
[/quote]
When I first saw this thread, I thought of Vardis. I saw them supporting Hawkwind in Dublin in about 1980 and they were dismal. And loud.

[Bigjas]

I went to see Stereophonics on Wednesday in Bournemouth. I was not impressed at all. I felt that the band didn't really want to be there, like it was all too much effort. At one point Kelly started having a pop at someone in the audience for taking pictures, really going at them and swearing. There was very little interaction with the audience and it was all a bit flat for a band of this quality.

Jas

[ubit]

How the hell do bands expect people NOT to take pictures in this day and age? I remember getting told off by a steward for doing the same. I was like, have a look around you idiot! Everyone was doing it, but she felt the need to stop me!

[chris_b]

I'm sure I've done some gigs that would qualify.

It's a good job my anonymity remains intact.

[Bigjas]

It was really strange Ubit, Kelly picked this person out in the crowd and was making a big deal out of it. Obviously having a bad day? I can't see the problem with taking pictures.

Jas

[CamdenRob]

[quote name='chris_b' timestamp='1449222141' post='2921617']
I'm sure I've done some gigs that would qualify.
[/quote]

I have been a part of some shockers over the years... I'm very glad no-one has seen fit to youtube some of the worst ones

[bagsieblue]

[quote name='KevB' timestamp='1448037117' post='2912599']
I'd forgotten one, the all-girl 'band' (I think they were more performance artists than actual musicians tbh) that were on first at the RHCP's gigs when James Brown was second on the bill, think it was a greatest hits tour. Man City's football stadium. Shambolic from start to finish. Think they were Australian but could be wrong, forget their name.
[/quote]

Ah yes, I remember that.
Dixie Chicks??, they were awful.
I recall John Frusciante saying it was uncool for giving them so much stick.

[bassatnight]

A couple spring to mind; Tears for Fears back in 1983 they had to play Pale Shelter twice due to a lack of material and seemed nervous hardly talking between songs and everything just seemed rushed. I'd seen Talk Talk a few weeks before who were vastly superior live.

Japan 1981; I had recently bought their Genetlemen take Polaroids album which blew me away; particularly the bass playing of Mick Karn and the synths of Richard Barbieri but it just didn't work live, the keyboards were flat in the mix and the guitars too quiet (to encompass thre bass?) there seemed to be some anomosity between the band and a year later they split perhaps the writing was already on the wall?