I saw Sparks and Marshall Crenshaw open for the Go-Go’s at an outdoor show, and they were pretty entertaining. Then the Go-Go’s came out and spent so much time on infantile stage patter, and more stage patter, and then an occasional song, that after a little while we shrugged, and got up and left. It was a good way to beat the traffic out, anyway.
I once got tickets to the Rolling Stones somewhere outdoor - maybe the Cotton Bowl in Dallas? - and it was exactly the same. There was DEFINITELY something happening way down there at the other end, some lights and little people running around on a stage, and some big inflatable balloon thing, but otherwise it was muddy music played through a tin can. A shame, because I’d seen them a couple of other times and it was great.
In 1983 I was roped into seeing The Moody Blues in Dallas, and had zero interest in going to see some oldies band. But first, unbeknownst to me, Stevie Ray Vaughan was opening and was terrific, and second, the Moodies blew me away by playing a long, massive, energetic setlist. That show stuck with me for years.
It was probably 1983 at the Centrum in Worcester Mass… it was Billy Ray Vaugh or Stevie Ray Vaugh who opened… It was the band I am sure of it. BUT I am going to research this as I think it may have been my first concert.
Sometime in the mid-'90s: Paul Anka (and no, not Lorelei Gilmore’s dog, who would have been preferable). 1) The whole show was done as some kind of “Old Home Week”–he gabbed about his family, his new grandbabbie, his friends who have all gone before, blah, blah, blah. At one point, he “sang” a duet with a film clip of his good pal Sammy Davis, Jr. Ick! The blue-rinse ladies thought he was the cat’s PJs. 2) His repertoire is pretty lame, e.g., “Times of Your Life,” “Having My Baby,” even, “Diana;” it’s a horrible song–the theme is a good one, but the presentation sounds like a Benny Hill sketch.
I felt 50 years older by the time the show was over. And I’m not sure, but it felt like my hair was turning blue. Fortunately, free tix.
I wonder if the producers were just being cheap, and didn’t want to pay whatever royalties would be required to depict “John Lennon” (or an obvious likeness) in their show.
Nine Inch Nails, recently. I was never a huge fan, but I’ve enjoyed their music and have heard great things about their live show. It wasn’t bad, just…bland? The staging and performance were all very flat and the sound was good but almost sounded like studio cuts. The salt in the wound was that it was at a festival and I missed New Order to see NIN, which I am certain was the wrong call.
Too funny. Neil Diamond was my other candidate for this thread. This was also in the 1990s, in a sports stadium. I have a small handful of Diamond songs that I actually like quite a bit, but then there’s everything else.
My strongest memory is when he performed the song ‘Forever in Blue Jeans’; that seemed to last longer than all the other songs combined. Every time I thought he was done, he’d rev up his engine again with “Money talks, but it don’t sing and dance and it don’t walk…”.
mmm
Buddy Guy was fantastic. BB King was completely unable to perform. Yeah, he was an old man in poor health. However, if he knew he couldn’t put on a concert, charging $90 to watch him sit in a chair while the band did all the performing is underhanded.
Wilco. Mid to late 90’s? Played 5 songs, took a very, very, very long break, played another 5 songs. No encore. Tweedy bitched because they had to play Casino Queen. I’d seen them before at Summerfest in Milwaukee before they became semi-popular and enjoyed that. I wish I hadn’t seen them the second time.
Not that it’s a character flaw or anything but Hope Sandoval always came across like someone who’s so severely introverted that she often has to struggle to step up to the mike. Your concert review just confirms what I’ve long thought.
Also, on an obscure related note, does anybody here remember the “Your Favorite Band Sucks” web site from about 20 years ago? For those who don’t, the site was pretty much self-explanatory. It was a scrolling site where people vented and spewed vitriol at the music acts they hated. One frequent poster, in particular, really had it out for Hope Sandoval and no matter what topic he (I’m assuming the poster was male) was discussing, he would always drop in an insult about “that ugly bitch Hope Sandoval.” With people like that out there, I’m not surprised she seemed so uneasy about performing.
I’ve gotta defend Al Stewart at least a little bit. According to Wikipedia, he had four top 40 hits: “Year of the Cat” (#8), “Time Passages” (#7), “Song on the Radio” (#29), and “Midnight Rocks” (#24). No idea if he has a general reputation as a sourpuss in concert.
What a strange decision by the promoter who put this together, as well as the Beach Boys management. How did they think this was going to work? I’ve never heard of a pop/rock concert staged immediately after a sports event. And what a mismatch between the artist and the event. Did they really think the Beach Boys would draw more ticket buyers for a college football game? Very bizarre.
My worst concert ever was a nostalgia tour show featuring Foreigner and either Styx or Journey. (I can’t remember.) I’m guessing the early 2000s. It was staged at an outdoor space at Sacramento State University at 5 pm on a 100 degree summer day. Most of the crowd sat on very uncomfortable aluminum folding chairs with unpadded seats. Styx/Journey played first, and I think they were OK. I can barely remember. Then Foreigner came on. Mick Jones looked OK, and he could still play. But Lou Gramm on vocals was godawful, unbelievably bad. You may recall his high-pitched screech during their glory days in the 1970s and 80s. He couldn’t come anywhere close to those notes, and countered by singing those sections a full octave low. Even when he could sing the tune in a recognizable manner, his raspy tone suggested someone who’d sustained long-term alcohol abuse. On top of that, he looked like walking death - grossly overweight, bloated, and blotchy skin. It was pathetic and sad.
I attended the show just for something to do with my friend and my brother. I think tickets were about $20-$25, and we were maybe 30 yards from the stage.
I read later that Gramm was going through some health problems at the time, and his medications did a number on his body. Apparently he’s recovered and is a little closer to his old self.
That’s… fair, in that she’s not giving terrible performances out of withering contempt or anything. But it’s still a terrible show and I wouldn’t recommend anyone pay money to see one.
Well now, aside from being rude & nasty, that’s just crazy talk.
Around here they have them from time to time after a baseball game. “Country” music acts are the most common. But they did have the alleged Beach Boys once.
We never hung around after a game to watch any of those. After hours sitting in the hot sun, it’s time to call it a day. (Esp. since the setup time before the act gets going is quite long.)
Circa 1990, I gave my best friend tickets to a Neil Diamond concert for her birthday. The real gift, however, was that I agreed to go with her, something no one else in her extended circle of friends was willing to do.
I had braced myself to endure the toxically saccharine performance itself, but I was not prepared for the audience, which was composed of older women in the throes of orgasmic ecstasy at being able to breathe the same air as Mr. Diamond.
Everyone there except me knew the words to every song and was singing along. I moved my lips in an attempt to fake it and tried to keep a very low profile because I was pretty sure that if the crowd knew what I was actually thinking, they would tear me limb from limb.
I’ve seen Sonic Youth four times. Two of the shows were brilliant legendary shows of which rock-god tales are made. The other two were terrible, they simple stood dead-faced and motionless barely making it through the songs. I wish I could take back the two bad shows.
Natalie Merchant was more ego than performance. There was a whole bunch of veiled drapery, platform staging, and lighting effects to try and elevate her to diva-hood, but the whole show came across as a lethargic Stevie Nicks impersonation. And twirling, oh god the endless twirling.
