Gigs you left early.

[toneknob]

11 minutes ago, silverfoxnik said:

I walked out of a show by The Drifters in a dreadful 'chicken in a basket' venue in Watford once, must have mid-80s..

Yeah I draw the line at terrible pub grub as well

[Soledad]

8 hours ago, Dankology said:

I wasn't aware that the original Love had toured internationally - must have been fantastic to catch them during that era.

I think a one and only, a few UK dates, me and mates heard about it in MM (I suspect) - 'Alone Again Or' live was amazing.

[skb558]

Only two that I’ve actually walked out of...

Hawkwind  - York Barbican mid-80s. Had just driven from Gloucester for the weekend to be met by my best mate telling me he had a special treat, tickets for Hawkwind. I was tired, hadn’t seen him for a few weeks and after about 40 mins of the godawful racket, we looked at each other and said in unison , “Beer?” Didn’t go back.

Wishbone Ash - 50th Anniversary - Brudenell Social Club, Leeds 2019. Self-indulgent twoddle, crap visuals and not much atmosphere. Left at the interval.

Big fan early on, saw them for the first time in ‘72 at Sheffield City Hall having won tickets in an NME competition; seen ‘em loads.

Would have walked out of Van Halen in Dallas in 2007, awful sound, but waited for ‘Jump’ 🙄

[4000]

3 hours ago, cetera said:

Just thought of another. Deep Purple in 2007 at Wembley Arena...with Thin Lizzy & Styx in support.

Thin Lizzy were average.... but Styx were phenomenal! Supreme musicianship, vocals, songs and sound....!

Within a few songs of the Purple set though I couldn't see them raising their performance much above the durge & plod they'd started the set with so I headed home....

Thin Lizzy without Phil should not be considered Thin Lizzy, just like Motorhead without Lemmy. 

And Purple haven’t been remotely the same since Ritchie first left in 1975!

[ead]

The Shires in Manchester afew years ago.  Thought I'd give country music a go but really not my thing.  I did manage the first half though and remember being impressed by the number of stetsons and cowboy boots in the Greater Manchester area.

[Frank Blank]

Stranglers - backed up by Wilko who was on excellent form, blew the Stranglers clean off the stage.

Steely Dan - utterly dull, going through the motions. The Doobie Brothers knocked it out of the park.

Heaven 17 - waited just shy of 40 years to see them and left after four songs, appalling, they seemed a tad over refreshed.

Killing Joke - keep giving them the benefit of the doubt, or perhaps I'm hoping they are going to be like they were in the early days, no such luck. Under rehearsed, play the same set list give or take a song or two, just KJ by numbers. Have walked out of the last four gigs, last time was after two songs.

Fields of the Nephilim - walked out on numerous occasions, I can't keep a straight face.

[Barking Spiders]

Sonisphere 2014 -  me and my new ladyfriend (K) had only been dating for a few months and knowing she was a big Metallica fan I took a punt and got tickets. I was mainly looking forward to The Prodigy but what a let down, largely due to Maxim's boring 'where's ma peepul' schtick. After the zillionth time he said that we left. I was also interested in seeing The Deftones but K thought they sucked, I had to agree. Ditto Alice in Chains, who I like, but they were off form. Thought we should stay for Iron Maiden, who headlined the saturday night, but after a couple of songs, we thought going back to tent, soaked in other people's p1$$, was preferable. By sunday morning we (mainly me) had had enough and left early to spend the day in Cambridge. K never did get to see Metallica, and I've been trying to make it up to her ever since 😊. Incidentally, Limp Bizkit and Baby Metal were the mutts nuts.

G3 (Satriani, Vai, Fripp) 2004 I think, at the NIA Brum.  Firstly some soundcheck guy and came on noodling about on a guitar synth in near pitch black. After 10 mins all the guys in my row looked at eachother and wondered WTF was going on. 20 mins later it dawned on us it was mr Wilcox. We thought things would pick up with Joe Satch and Steve Vai. Wrong, and here began my 180 degree about turn, from a devotee of shred to a hater. I walked out after about half an hour, followed by 7 or 8 others in my row.

Fairport Convention - me and my ex went as Cropredy virgins with another couple who were Cropredy t@rts, he being a megafan of FC while his mrs seemed to be the long suffering wife. During their set, while he was happily singing along to their hit etc I found a nice deckchair and went to sleep. 

 

[Nail Soup]

I can't remember the artist, but my Mum and Dad suggested going to a local gig for my birthday treat.

So they found something at a local venue - some kind of Indian influenced world music - and asked what I thought. I said sounds good, Let's give it a go.

Turned out it was a load of noodling jazz, with a bit of Indian thrown in here and there. Also the guy who was band leader 'didn't feel like talking' so one of the backing singers did all the talking.

So we left at the interval, after assuring parents that I was happy that they made a good punt, but this time it didn't work out.

Turns out the venue is a Jazz venue and don't even bother writing jazz into the artist descriptions .

[Lozz196]

41 minutes ago, Frank Blank said:

Stranglers - backed up by Wilko who was on excellent form, blew the Stranglers clean off the stage.

I saw The Stranglers supported by Wilko in about 2010 and thought the same, tho I did stay and watch all of The Stranglers set. Wilko/Norm had so much raw energy it was amazing.

[Islander]

I can think of two.  The first was John McLaughlin's Mahavishnu Orchestra at the 1975 Reading Festival.  Not so much walked out as fell asleep 🤣  They were certainly very competent and tight but as boring as a boring thing.  The second was Rico supporting Bob Marley at the Rainbow Theatre in 1977.  They were all over the place and impossible to listen to - Marley was fantastic though

[Doctor J]

15 minutes ago, Barking Spiders said:

 Incidentally, Limp Bizkit and Baby Metal were the mutts nuts.

Ah, yes, I had forgotten about them. Limp Bizkit several years ago. Some Kerrang package tour. Utterly horrible. Nekrogoblikon, crap metal with some extra from The Office in a goblin mask. Then Crossfaith, I think it was. Japanese crap metal but ridiculously loud and with seizure-inducing strobes every three or four seconds. There was another band whose name escapes me but they were patrons of the trough of crap metal, too. Then Limp Bizkit, who I had high hopes for, but they were rubbish, just disjointed and disinterested. I left at the start of the second Nirvana cover. It still annoys me that I paid into that one.

[Frank Blank]

2 hours ago, Lozz196 said:

I saw The Stranglers supported by Wilko in about 2010 and thought the same, tho I did stay and watch all of The Stranglers set. Wilko/Norm had so much raw energy it was amazing.

They were always a darker more intense act with Hugh Cornwell out front. Baz is too nice!

[Killed_by_Death]

 

The only reason I can think of to leave a concert is if it were too loud, but I learned to carry earplugs for those occasions.

There was even the beginning of a serious earthquake when I saw The Cure at the Rose Bowl & some people chose to split.

We ignored it & I somehow slept through a 6.7 Richter quake that night. Sections of highway had fallen & our mobile cranes on the shipyard pier were frozen in place by the bent tracks:

 

[LukeFRC]

I had moved to Glasgow and a guy who I was just getting to know asked if I wanted too go catch a gig with him, it was somewhere near the lighthouse they were called "this will destroy you" and were crazy loud too the point they were just a wall of noise. I didn't know the guy well enough to just leave him so ended up hiding outside the toilets on another floor near the exit for 10 min till he had had enough and came to find me. I lasted 5 min, him 15. We are still friends.

 

[cetera]

13 hours ago, Frank Blank said:

Steely Dan - utterly dull, going through the motions. The Doobie Brothers knocked it out of the park.

 

To be fair, Steely Dan are such perfectionists that they always seem like they're going through the motions and their music doesn't lend itself to rock show energy. I love them for that though anyway...

The Doobies, however, are ALWAYS fantastic.... just a perfect mix of musical styles, rock intensity and fantastic vocals/musicality.

[Frank Blank]

19 minutes ago, cetera said:

To be fair, Steely Dan are such perfectionists that they always seem like they're going through the motions and their music doesn't lend itself to rock show energy. I love them for that though anyway...

The Doobies, however, are ALWAYS fantastic.... just a perfect mix of musical styles, rock intensity and fantastic vocals/musicality.

Definitely this. SD remain a studio favourite.

[joseb84]

I've never had a 'walk out in disgust' moment but a few incidents of this kind:

1- I feel asleep at an Eric Clapton gig in the early 90s. I was only a young kids at the time but really enjoyed his Cream and Dominoes stuff that my dad played me. Sadly he only played his acoustic solo stuff, which I promptly voted against with unconscioussness. Dad was raging (at Clapton) for a year afterwards! Thankfully this was atoned for by the Cream reunion gigs a decade later, where Clapton was the star of the show.

2. Also Dad-related incident, he stormed out of Buddy Guy gig the whole family went to, I think in 2000. After a cracking opening couple of songs he descended into a sea of self-indulgent nonsense and patter with the audience. I was still too young to recognise this and stuck it out, but in retrospect it was the correct response!

3. I should have left Morrissey's set at Glasto 2004 - he was as grumpy as anything but it was the first time I'd seen him so didn't want to miss any gems. This was made up for very quickly as I got to be at the front for his Reading show that summer which was electric.

4. I left in the middle of Hell is for Heroes at Shepherd's Bush. They weren't in any way bad but l had come with a bunch of other fans to see the support band (Kinesis), so was exhausted after giving it everything in their set. Also met James from the Manics at the gig that night so I was a little star struck to focus on HIFH after that.

 

[chris_b]

I don't go to gigs where I'm going to be disappointed, so I've never left half way through. Sadly, I've played a few gigs where the audience did that!!

[mcnach]

On 22/02/2021 at 12:02, Elfrasho said:

We've probably crossed paths, I was in Hector bizerk. I'm sure we've shared a few stages/festivals over the years! 

 

Oh, we have indeed! Good times

 

[mcnach]

11 minutes ago, chris_b said:

I don't go to gigs where I'm going to be disappointed

 

I should check my crystal ball before leaving the house more often...

 

[fretmeister]

Walter Trout - Milton Keynes.

It was so loud it was actually dangerous. Left after 1 song. Not even Motorhead were that loud. I genuinely thought my hearing would be destroyed if I stayed. That was the last gig that I attended without ear plugs. I always take a set now just in case.

 

Page & Plant at Wembley Arena. Far too much fog - caused an asthmatic episode in my missus and she doesn't even have asthma! 

[Frank Blank]

3 minutes ago, fretmeister said:

It was so loud it was actually dangerous.

This reminds me of a gig I almost left, definitely the loudest I've been to. Tangerine Dream at the Dominion.

[chris_b]

16 minutes ago, mcnach said:

I should check my crystal ball before leaving the house more often...

I see bands and artists who I know and know are consistently good. No crystal ball required.

[BigRedX]

31 minutes ago, chris_b said:

I don't go to gigs where I'm going to be disappointed, so I've never left half way through. Sadly, I've played a few gigs where the audience did that!!

 

Just now, chris_b said:

I see bands and artists who I know and know are consistently good. No crystal ball required.

Unless you've seen them before with the same line up, you have no idea if a band is going to be any good until you go and see them. 

I try to avoid disappointment by mostly going to see bands that I like the music of. Have it still is no guarantee. I had enjoyed the albums by both Fleet Foxes and propaganda, but both bands were terrible live (although for different reasons).

[Doctor J]

I've never gone to a gig expecting to be disappointed. It's sneaky. It always takes me by surprise.