Chicago without Peter Cetera…holly sit did they sound horrible and
Yes…was just weird.
You may have been one of the last people to see XTC perform live. 
I saw The Doors (with Jim) four times.* My opinion, based on those four concerts as well as having listened to many of the bazillion live recordings, is that they were a terrific studio band, but extremely erratic in live concert. I think the were “horrible” far too often, and very seldom terrific.
- In all of his phases: Twice as the Young Lion, once as the Lizard King, once as the Bearded Drunk Train Wreck.
Nonpoint played at one of the CPRfests in South MS a few years ago, and when I saw them they were so bad that at first I thought they must be a local band.
As for big acts, Tool is the only one I’ve ever seen that put on a boring show. Maynard hid behind the drumset the entire time. They didn’t interact with the crowd, introduce any songs, anything of the sort. To be fair, I’m not a big Tool fan. I went because they’re my friend Ian’s favorite band, and my friend S got us free tickets.
I saw the Beatles at the Hammersmith Odeon in 1965. I have still got the program, designed by John Lennon. What they say is true: I was two rows from the front, and the wall of noise from the screaming girls was incredible. Even that close to them, I could hardly tell what they were playing, let alone how well. It was very damp too.
In the 1970s, Ambrosia was one of those. Looked and felt awkward, as tho they didn’t want to see everybody watching them.
Last time I saw ZZ Top, they were just phoning it in. (Might have been a bad night, they’ve definitely been better, tho)
Well, when I actually saw Zeppelin live they were great. I have never been that huge a fan of their recorded stuff, but that concert was possibly the most enjoyable I have ever been to. Of course, there is also a big difference between hearing a live recording and actually being there.
As for The Beatles, I can’t speak from experience, but I think you have to consider at least three phases of their career (setting aside Hamburg with Stuart Sutcliffe). For a while they were hugely popular in Liverpool (and certainly the most popular of quite a few bands competing in that scene) before they were known at all nationally or beyond. That strongly suggests that, at least in an intimate situation like like The Cavern, and even with Pete Best on drums, they were very exciting live. They rather quickly went from that to being so huge that no-one could hear a thing at their concerts over all the screaming girls. They couldn’t even hear themselves play. No doubt being at one of those concerts would not have been a very good musical experience, and perhaps not so great even if you could somehow magically, hear through the screaming. Not only could they scarcely hear themselves, or each other, but the sound system would almost certainly have been inadequate to the large spaces they were often playing in, even without the screaming). Then they retreated to the studio, honed their technique (George, especially, seems to have developed quite a bit as a guitarist), but only really came out live again once, for the famous rooftop concert. If “Get Back” and “Don’t Let Me Down” are anything to go by, they were capable of sounding wonderful live by then.
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It is perhaps worth adding that the early Beatles live sound is probably best reflected by their first album, Please, Please Me This was practically a live recording: although recorded in a studio it was made in one day, largely in single takes and without overdubs, and probably mostly consists of their established live repertoire. It is excellent, and noticeably better than some of their other early studio albums such as With The Beatles and Beatles for Sale, even though they probably spent more time recording those.
I hate you.
You saw the friggin’ Beatles play live.
I so hate you.
Sad as I am to say it because I love his/their music, but Assemblage 23 was terrible live. We ended up leaving early from the one concert we went to.
He’s fantastic on his studio albums, though (he’s a one-man show but picks up other musicians for the live shows)
Faith No More. Good lord, what a mess! They sounded like they were all playing different songs at the same time. And the vocals! It sounded like someone playing a practical joke! Straight-up Caterwall.
Very well put.
FWIW, I saw them in August '65 in San Diego. I was a 14 year old Beatles fanatic, and I remember being able to hear them surprisingly well, despite all the screaming. I don’t remember how well they played, but doubt that it was very polished.
Agreed. The PPM album shows how very good they were at the beginning (of the world-wide fame years). And the rooftop concert shows how good they still could be at the end, even as exhausted and dispirited as they were by then.
I saw them in 1983, just before Eliminator blew up, and they were great.
Saw them again in 86, after they were MTV stars, and they were just going through the motions.
The Cars were odd, in that the songs were great, but the performances were so rote and boring. The only lively spark I remember was Elliot Easton spitting out an amazing solo during “Candy-O”, but he still had to wrap it up before the verses kicked back in on schedule.
Which singer did you see?
Patton
That surprises me, as I’ve seen some awesome live shows - with Patton at the mic - by them via YouTube.
I have to add to this as well. I was in high school when Appetite for Destruction came out, and I got all caught up in the frenzy. Then I saw them open for Aerosmith… man, what a letdown.
I can honestly say I’ve never been to a horrible live concert. Probably because I always knew what I was getting before I bought tickets. Of course saw some bad opening acts but those are long forgotten.
Chuck Berry was as you would expect. He was very late. Walked onto stage with a band he had never set eyes on until that moment. Asked for requests from the audience (played Johnny B. Goode second). Then walked out in under an hour. But I was there because “We need to see Chuck Berry while we still can.” And I did.
Probably the worst on stage was Kayne West at the 121212 concert. But I hate that kind of music so I’m not a good judge of how he was. But I did hear from others that he sucked. But I didn’t go there for him.
Is that what they were called? I always wondered about why they did that. Most recently, I came across a video of The Buggles performing “Video Killed the Radio Star” live, and the lead singer performed the entire song standing ramrod straight with his arms glued to his sides.
Aerosmith in Indianapolis, Market Square Arena, sometime around late '78 or early '79, was the worst concert I ever saw. Joe Perry fell on stage, bashed his guitar into the drums, and ran off stage. When Steven Tyler heard the crowd chanting Dream On, Dream On, he said “Dream On? yeah, go ahead- dream on!”
He had the gall to say “Good night- I hope we passed the audition!” when he left the stage. This was the only big-name concert I ever saw that was booed by thousands.