Bands That You Wouldn't Go See Again

[David Tollefson]

Yes. Saw them with Styx a few years ago (okay, it was Tommy Shaw and a decent back-up band). Anyway, Styx opened, and the crowd was groovin'. Yes took the stage... And people were leaving by the bus load. I wanted to stick around because, you know, it HAD to get better. They played one song off 90125, and there was brief hope. Then went right back to their 70's lsd stuff. We bailed.

[chasea]

Okay, here's a question. How does a musician's experience at a concert differ from mine? I never played an instrument in my life and my experience on stage is limited to a third grade band performance where I rocked the xylephone. Are you watching the technical skills of the musicians? the interactions between them? their energy? their improvisation? their interactions with the audience? something else?

For me, Radiohead. I absolutely fucking love their music. Love it. I even think they do the stadium thing pretty good. The stadium experience just doesn't work for me. I would rather crank up any of their albums at home than stand there with 20,000 people trying to get a good view. If I'm gonna go to a stadium show let it be fun dance music with sweaty attractive people all around.

That's a great question. I've played long enough to go through the entire spectrum of being there for the audience/ being there for myself. I've played for thousands (best guess 8,000), and I've played for a sound guy who'd rather be anywhere else. The bottom line is the business is entertainment. That's the value of what's going on in the room. An experience. Stick to or stray from the source material, but put on a good show. Someone travelled. Someone hired a sitter and decided this would be their night out that month. Someone spent their last dollar. But everyone paid.

As a musician, I'm not looking for anything anyone else wouldn't. I can be pleasantly surprised by someone doing some "inside baseball" shit, perhaps a deeper understanding. But the bottom line is that the show needs to be good.

I dunno, I probably watch the audience more than most people. That said, I've had bands that were ignored by audiences absolutely melt my brain. So what do I know?

[davids]

The Replacements. A drunken mess.

I saw them twice.

The first time Bob (who was always a drunken mess) was still with them and, as I've said in another thread, they lurched between fall-apart couldn't-give-a-fuck bad and music-of-the-gods brilliant. Depending on the song. It was one of the most memorable shows of my life.

The second time was with Slim, opening for Tom Petty at some big outdoor pavilion. They were boring, like a preview of Paul's solo career.

[zachateseverything]

No way I can remember all of the bad shows I've seen.

I know this'll ruffle some feathers, but Built to Spill and New Pornographers stand out as being M-E-H boring. I'd rather a show be bad than boring.

This. I've been to a lot of terrible, terrible shows (the joys of going to DIY punk rock shows in the middle of nowhere...) but some of those experiences were super positive and resulted in fun stories I'll have forever.

The least fun I've had at a show in a while was the Mineral reunion show I went to last year. They sounded absolutely perfect, but they just kind of stared at their instruments/amps for 2 hours as they worked through both albums in full. It was like I was listening to the record, but while being forced to stand in a hot and crowded room that smelled like cheap beer.

[steve garro]

This. I've been to a lot of terrible, terrible shows (the joys of going to DIY punk rock shows in the middle of nowhere...) but some of those experiences were super positive and resulted in fun stories I'll have forever.

I had SO much fun at all the 5 bands/5 bucks shows, I'd never trade that for anything.

- Garro.

[bironi]

Not that I could see them again today, but the Doors at a Rock Festival in Woodinville, WA in 1969.
Morrison was so out of it that half the crowd was yelling for him to F-off.
I was not impressed with Led Zep performance the same evening.

[steve garro]

Not that I could see them again today, but the Doors at a Rock Festival in Woodinville, WA in 1969.
Morrison was so out of it that half the crowd was yelling for him to F-off.

I always like at the contented look on the face of Manzerek in any of the clips with him working with & playing with X

- Garro.

[davids]

Live fast.
Die young.
...what was the third thing again?

[Bob Ross]

the only time I saw Tony Thompson play was with the Powerstation but without Robert Palmer - stupid show all around.

Oh dear god, you saw the Michael Des Barres version? I'm sorry.

[72gmc]

They played one song off 90125, and there was brief hope. Then went right back to their 70's lsd stuff. We bailed.

I used to be a daily visitor to a post production house with a lot of Yes cult members. Coordinating their time off, traveling to shows, raving to me about past shows while we waited for the edit to render. I think Yes did some great stuff, but I've always figured a live show would require that kind of fanaticism and/or catalogue knowledge.

[Rick Stevens]

Missy Elliott is the most ridiculous show I've ever seen. She changed into a different heinous outfit for every song for like an 18 song set.

I saw Gun's N Roses in 91, I think, Soundgarden opened the show. Axl changed outfits every song also. They were horrible. On the other hand Soundgarden was awesome.

[David Tollefson]

I used to be a daily visitor to a post production house with a lot of Yes cult members. Coordinating their time off, traveling to shows, raving to me about past shows while we waited for the edit to render. I think Yes did some great stuff, but I've always figured a live show would require that kind of fanaticism and/or catalogue knowledge.

It was funny -- I've heard and like a lot of their older stuff, but being an 80's HS and college guy, the later releases were more my style: 90125, Big Generator, Union. This tour was to promote Fly From Here, which harkened back to their much older music. I think most people came to see Styx, and they played just about everything off their Greatest Hits. The style switch-up was more than the crowd could take.

[Cookietruck]

'99 or '00, some friends dragged me to Phish, atleast there were enough drugs to zone out and ignore the music...

blonde redhead a few months ago, boring, left early.

andrew W.K., it was a free sxsw show so atleast we didn't pay to get in, i actually forgot his name but i just googled "rock n roll fun party portland" and i saw his name on the first page of hits...enough said...

[joosttx]

'99 or '00, some friends dragged me to Phish, atleast there were enough drugs to zone out and ignore the music...

blonde redhead a few months ago, boring, left early.

andrew W.K., it was a free sxsw show so atleast we didn't pay to get in, i actually forgot his name but i just googled "rock n roll fun party portland" and i saw his name on the first page of hits...enough said...

amen. I saw them in like 1992 just before they made it. There were phish heads and a couple crashed at a friends house. I never forget one dude with a thin mustache and a top hat just sitting there at the after party not saying anything, then all of a sudden out of no where asked everyone if they like to see a magic trick. He needed some string to perform it. No one had any. SO he just went on being quiet for the rest of the night.

[monadnocky]

...then all of a sudden out of no where asked everyone if they like to see a magic trick. He needed some string to perform it. No one had any. SO he just went on being quiet for the rest of the night.

maybe that was the trick?

[Bob Ross]

I think Yes did some great stuff, but I've always figured a live show would require that kind of fanaticism and/or catalogue knowledge.

Not sure about "fanatacism" per se but yeah, I'll grant that any prog-rock band demands that its audience members either have catalogue familiarity or at least be generally receptive to that niche genre in general...which might be the same as "fanatacism" I suppose.

i.e., I can imagine nearly any pop/rock music fan going to see, oh, say, Alice Cooper in concert and at least being moderately entertained, regardless of whether they know anything about the back catalog and/or are fans of the genre (whatever genre Alice Cooper falls under). I don't think the same could be said for, e.g. an Emerson, Lake, & Palmer concert: If Mr. Average Pop/Rock Music Fan went to see ELP perform with no back catalog knowledge and little-to-no familiarity with prog-rock in general, they'd probably be underwhelmed, confused, or embarassed. Probably all three.


Full disclosure: I was a major Yes fan during the 1970s. Saw them live in '79 and again in '00. Probably wouldn't see them again.

[bcm119]

...one dude with a thin mustache and a top hat...

'nuff said.

I don't mind Phish, it's the "phans" that ruin it. Trey is a pretty good guitarist when he's sober.

[lumpy]

Not sure about "fanatacism" per se but yeah, I'll grant that any prog-rock band demands that its audience members either have catalogue familiarity or at least be generally receptive to that niche genre in general...which might be the same as "fanatacism" .

I saw Adrian Belew a couple of years ago. A lot of the crowd cleared out early, including all the women, leaving mostly a bunch of dudes who looked like they'd been kicked out of their bands for creative differences. Great show though. Would see again.

[false_aesthetic]

I saw the first G3 tour: Joe Satriani, Steve Vai, Eric Johnson.

Eric Johnson is, by far, the

[oopfoo]

Okay, here's a question. How does a musician's experience at a concert differ from mine? I never played an instrument in my life and my experience on stage is limited to a third grade band performance where I rocked the xylephone. Are you watching the technical skills of the musicians? the interactions between them? their energy? their improvisation? their interactions with the audience? something else?

For me, Radiohead. I absolutely fucking love their music. Love it. I even think they do the stadium thing pretty good. The stadium experience just doesn't work for me. I would rather crank up any of their albums at home than stand there with 20,000 people trying to get a good view. If I'm gonna go to a stadium show let it be fun dance music with sweaty attractive people all around.

+1 for entertainment.

For example, I was fortunate to attend the last couple Moogfests in Asheville. In 2012, Thomas Dolby played next door to Orbital. EVERYONE was at Orbital, excepting myself and a few hundred serious synth-geeks like me. Dolby BLEW US AWAY. He was conversational, telling stories and sharing thoughts about his music and his past. He sang, he laughed, he played, he was THERE WITH US. Afterwards, still smiling, we walked over to see part of the Orbital show. The VIP seats were near the line-arrays on Stage left, and it was DEAFENING. You could feel your bones rattle and your breath skip. Still, it was a great view of the stage, where NOTHING was happening. They didn't do anything but hover over a laptop and pump their arms occasionally. Unless you were Xing and dancing, there was nothing to see...move along.

What's funniest about this is that I actually like Orbital. When you get to see their studio and composition methods, to see and hear them play, to talk with them, they're great, intelligent guys with some real compositional chops. But on stage...meh. I might as well be at home or in the studio; they're just as good to listen to there.

This past year, it was even MORE of a contrast to see Nile Rodgers and Chic next to Kraftwerk. Nile Rodgers WORKED the crowd. He was an entertainer. Kraftwerk could've been sending emails to each other.