NDR--Survey. Worst concert you ever saw?

Jeff Reardon

Jeff Reardon

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Eric's survey on great concerts requires that we examine the opposite side of the coin--What was the worst concert you ever saw? And why?

Mine's easy--Bryan Adams (my wife's favorite, but definitely not mine) opening for a Foreigner reunion tour. Augusta Maine Civic Center, 2008.

I was never a fan, but I think there might have been a time I could have enjoyed a Foreigner concert if I was drunk enough, but not after age 30. As for Bryan Adams . . . my wife is very understanding about many things, but I'm not sure I can ever forgive her for making me go.
 
Used to go see Steve Miller every year at the Garden State Arts Center. The last show that I ever went to (because of this incident) he had a black guy come on stage and do a rap with one of his songs while he was up there playing. I refuse to remember which one because I have mentally blocked it out. A lot of pissed off people at that show. A lot of wtf???
 
1976 Monroe La. Civic center, Jackson 5. Little Mickey bouncing back and forth across the stage doing a medley. Half the crowd got up and left. Remember, I said Louisiana. Only reason I went was cause the flame in my eyes at the time wanted to go. Did enjoy Brass Construction that started the night though. Too bad they only played together for 3 years.
 
Willie Nelson a few years ago. thank goodness the tickets were free. Had a buddy drag me to a The Dead concert too, absolute torcher.
 
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Jethro Tull at the Portland Civic Center ....... so bored that 3 of the 4 in our party fell asleep.
 
GNR + Metallica in Montreal Metallica's lead singer was not feeling well but they still they came out on stage and did a couple of instrumentals then told the audience they would come back to Montreal again for a raincheck, they were nice and polite about it. Axel refused to come out on stage due to "insufficient" security and casued a full-scale riot (like when the Canadiens don't make the stanley cup playoffs).

Sure enough, a year later, Metallica returned and did more than just one concert during an extended stay in the city. They walked around, visited hospitals etc. GNR has yet to return...
 
"GNR + Metallica in Montreal Metallica's lead singer was not feeling well but they still they came out on stage and did a couple of instrumentals then told the audience they would come back to Montreal again for a raincheck, they were nice and polite about it. Axel refused to come out on stage due to "insufficient" security and casued a full-scale riot (like when the Canadiens don't make the stanley cup playoffs).

Sure enough, a year later, Metallica returned and did more than just one concert during an extended stay in the city. They walked around, visited hospitals etc. GNR has yet to return...
Click to expand...
you must have been in the bathroom during that. That was the show where Hetfield stepped into the pyrotechnics during "Fade to Black" and recieved 3rd degree burns all over his body. That's why their show was cut short. And sure enough GnR could have saved the day but Axl was being Axl and showed out and cut their set short. If I'm not mistaken, GnR played a song or two and that was it.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W7Pn48o9bhU
 
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Bruce Hornsby and the range at SPAC in 1990ish. Every song sounded like mandolin rain. I later received "the Heisman" from my date. Tough night.
 
Zac Brown band, past summer in Camden,,,ZAc's band is really good but they had some horrible bluegrass band,,I think name was Applewood?? They played most of the concert with Applewood $hit band.....Dissapointing to say the least,,Then there is the ride through Fallujah, as you make your way out of Camden road construction detours
 
"GNR + Metallica in Montreal Metallica's lead singer was not feeling well but they still they came out on stage and did a couple of instrumentals then told the audience they would come back to Montreal again for a raincheck, they were nice and polite about it. Axel refused to come out on stage due to "insufficient" security and casued a full-scale riot (like when the Canadiens don't make the stanley cup playoffs).

Sure enough, a year later, Metallica returned and did more than just one concert during an extended stay in the city. They walked around, visited hospitals etc. GNR has yet to return...
Click to expand...
you must have been in the bathroom during that. That was the show where Hetfield stepped into the pyrotechnics during "Fade to Black" and recieved 3rd degree burns all over his body. That's why their show was cut short. And sure enough GnR could have saved the day but Axl was being Axl and showed out and cut their set short. If I'm not mistaken, GnR played a song or two and that was it.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W7Pn48o9bhU
Click to expand...

Ah... was that what it was? Not what we heard. I wasn;t there for GNR anyways... there were 20,000+ people in and around the Olympic Stadium, and we were only hearing bits and pieces of what the heck was going on - very disorganized show... my friend's kid brother was with us, so we were trying to protect him from drunks amd flying debris, of which there was alot.
 
Without question, it was my 4th grade band recital at Hoover Elem.

The thing that made it funny, was that my father made his way through college and into Med School while playing trumpet in different acts.
He backed Louis Armstrong up, and even worked with Quincy Jones (Dad and Quincy went to High School together in Bremerton, and even helped him transpose some trombone parts from trumpet sheet music (Quincy played trombone then.)

So, music was a very important thing in my family.

I remember we played the theme song from the TV Show MASH, and really butchered it. It was awful, and dissonant, and all together wrong.

On the way home, I remember dad looking in the rearview mirror at me and saying, "you know son, if you don't want to play the clarinet in that school band anymore, that's OK."

I was elated.
 
The White Sidewalls at Valley Fair in MN sometime during the 80s, several times. They may not have been too bad but when teenagers are at an amusement park like that the last thing they want to do is sit and listen to 50s music for a couple hours... OK maybe it was only an hour but it sure seemed longer then that.

Tim
 
Neil Diamond 26 years ago. Some girl asked if I wanted to go and I liked the girl so I went. Wasn't worth it.

Mark W
 
Didn't Axel get arrested before the show and they detained him for longer than he felt was reasonably necessary.
 
Double billing of Coolio and House of Pain- in Sydney, Australia. The venue was way undersold, stage way too large for either act, and the audience definitely did not any appetite for what both groups were offering. Best moment was when House of Pain guy (Everlast?) got belligerent with the audience, demanding that they stand up and get into the music. No one did, and the reprimand was offered again with more force. in response a small group got up and vibrated (a few jumped) for 10 minutes. Then they sat back down for the remainder of the set. Following this, Coolio's stage crew assembled what could only be described as an improvised tri-folded, presentation-style cardboard background image in order to make the stage seem less cavernous. The result looked as if Coolio was performing in a large, red shoebox.
 
Jeff

I don't know if this is the worst I ever saw, but my Sophomore year in high school we went and saw VanHalen's Diver Down concert. Now the show was quite good but what made it the worst concert I ever saw was my ears rang for three days after that concert. The shrilling guitar solo probably caused more hearing loss than all the years of duck hunting shotgun blasts. Definitely the loudest concert I ever went to and probably the most damaging to long term health.
 
Michae Bolton, (married guys will understand), at Wings Stadium in Kalamazoo, MI about 20 years ago. The "warm up" act was some blond girl named Franchesca Beguette or something like that. The entertainment critic in the local paper the next day, said of her singing talent, "she had nice hair". I guess he had to find something nice to say about her act.
This was a "family outing" and our sons still haven't forgiven us.
 
Southside Johnny and the Asbury Jukes. At the Stone Pony somewhere in the 80's. We went hoping that Bruce Springsteen would show up as he often did in those days. But he did not. Close your eyes and imagine the worst garage band you ever heard.
 
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