Several years ago, I saw Candlebox live. Not a bad show, but their opening act was atrocious. A band called The Flaming Lips. Horrible, horrible, HORRIBLE sound quality. They never took a break between songs, so their entire set was one 45-minute long acid trip. No interaction with the audience, nothing. Just 45 minutes of crap.
Tommy Stinson is still alive - coincidentally, the latest episode of Marc Maron’s WTF podcast features an interview with him.
You’re probably thinking of Tulsa. I saw My Life With the Thrill Kill Kult at Cain’s Ballroom in 1997 and it was without a doubt the loudest, hottest show of my life. My ears were still ringing four days later. They put on a fantastic show, though.
I finally attended my first Rush concert in 2004 (the 30th Anniversary Tour) at White River Amphitheater in Auburn, WA. Great show, even from the cheap seats (well, the grass) in the back. But there was this dumb chick somewhere behind me who was apparently there only to hear Neil Peart’s drum solo. Except she probably couldn’t hear it, and neither could anybody around her, because for the entire duration of the drum solo she was bellowing, at the top of her lungs, “OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOHHHH! NEEEEEIIIIILLLLLL! GOOOOOOOOOOOOO! WOOOOOOOOOOOOOO! NEEEEEEEIIIIIIILLLLL! OOOOOOOOOOOOH! YEEEAAAAHHHH! NEEEEEEIIIIIIL!” I had never before thought it possible to drown out a rock drum solo with an unamplified human voice.
Unfortunately, Tommy Stinson is in Guns 'n Roses now. He’s been in G 'n R longer than he was in The Replacements. sigh
I saw The Replacements twice between '87 and '89. Both shows were good and they weren’t too messed up and were able to actually perform. One of my favorite bands.
I saw Run DMC at an outdoor festival in Birmingham, AL in either 2001 or 2002. They would start a song and then after about 45 seconds would stop and Run would say, “Get up, act crazy, put your hands in the air!” etc. They would start the song again and this repeated over and over. I thought, “Jesus Christ man, just play the song and then when that one ends play another one.” This went on for every song and after maybe less than an hour I gave up and left. Drove me crazy.
Oops, Tulsa.
I have seen more bad concerts than anyone ought to have, but I am a live sound engineer, sorta comes with the job. Let’s see who was totally craptastic.
Steven Pearcy from Ratt. Not that I expected much but an actual Ratt reunion was in the cards as one or two of the original members lives(ed) here in Houston. The guys were nice during soundcheck but came back from dinner and their attitude was adjusted. Former members walked in, saw sh*t show and immediately exited. Torture
The woman who is famous for “Girls just wanna have fun”. For being a no talent hack, lady your ego and arrogance was amazing. My favorite moment, we are on a theater stage at U of H, she demands the kids running lights come down to talk with her. “i can tell from your hair that you have been to a rock show, make it look like a fucking Rock Show”. That won’t tell you how bad that day was but this might. Her crew apologized to us as they left “sorry we were so difficult but she does that to us” turns out every job on the crew was posted online because she just fires people at random. I use a word for her that is no longer allowed in the Pit, sorry if I burst anyones bubble.
That is all for now, but I probably have hundreds more. There are very few who I will identify because part of my gig involves keeping artists private lives private. If I name you, well, you have to try Hard to get me to do that.
Capt
Are you talking about Cyndi Lauper? She’s not a no-talent hack.
MORE COWBELL!!!
Ever since that classic SNL skit aired, Eric Bloom has had to fight off rumors that he is dead.
I saw Night Ranger back in 1987 or 88. It was the second gig on their tour, and they really should have taken a few more weeks for rehearsals. The band was uneven, the mixing was bad…or possibly the band just didn’t show up and they got some kids from the local high school to play the show…it was hard to tell.
To the band’s credit though, they did apologize to the crowd at the end of the show. I did think that was nice.
IME and IMO she is, she is also an incredibly mean person. I don’t speak or write her name for the same reason I try not to use the names of the Boston Guys. They in no way should be famous. BTW the instruments she plays onstage, FOH guy for her told me that they are never put into the mix and were not in the house that night, for good reason I heard it in sound check. Timeless, tuneless and toneless.
Capt
According to Yelp, this venue closed in 2005 and reopened as The Ruby Room.
The Boston Guys? Are you talking about the band that did “More Than A Feeling”, etc.? I saw them in 1995, and honestly, it was a disappointment.
RIP Bradley Delp.
p.s. I’ve never understood Cyndi Lauper’s status as a “classic” musician, although “Girls Just Want To Have Fun” is a fun song.
No not at all, I should have been more clear. I meant the marathon guys, the brothers whose name shall not pass my lips. Sorry
Capt
Look, I understand that fans love her and she plays to that well but I have been a production pro for 17 years and No One Ever has been as bad as her, ever. I stand by what I said. I don’t mind diva and I know my place.
Capt
Fair enough. She hidden it well from general knowledge, though, for the past thirty years. When someone is a chronically bad performer and a horrible person, it usually gets out. Guess it’s coming out now.
That reminds me of when I saw the Crystal Method in a hotel ballroom in Vegas. One dude nursed a beer while the other twiddled knobs on his mixer.
Why do electronica bands do live shows? It’s absurd. At least it didn’t cost anything to get in.
The absolute worst live performance I have ever seen was just two months ago at Meatloaf’s final, final, this time I really mean it, final tour. I read the reviews beforehand. I knew it was going to suck… but my favourite all time thing to do when I’m in a bad mood is to put Bat Out of Hell in the car stereo , turn it up really loud, roll down the windows and hit the highway. It’s very cathartic.
Holy crap tho, did it suck! I wasn’t expecting him to hit the really big notes and I was ok with that, but he couldn’t hit ANY note. Even the soft songs like Heaven Can Wait were awful. The crowd couldn’t really sing along to carry the show for him because we couldn’t figure out which key he was in. It was sad and he knew it. He seemed really grateful that the audience was so kind but surely he made enough money off that album to not have to have done that tour? Cynical money grab I guess. Sad.
Capt - sounds like we should compare notes sometime. A few points:
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I can’t speak to Aerosmith, whom I assume is the Boston Band. Love their first few albums, enjoy the guitar, have heard interesting things about working with them, but nothing first hand.
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I know a guy who was the guitarist in Steve Pearcy’s non-Ratt band. When I was a wee player, I installed some pickups for the guy thinking he was badass. Apparently those shows are just a sloppy paycheck…
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I have stated on this board before that I have been bandmates and friends with a guy who produced one of Cyndi Lauper’s albums. He would agree with EVERYTHING that Capt Kirk said. Well, to be clear - Cyndi has a great voice - no need to question her talent. But she is apparently her own worst enemy and so dysfunctional in the studio that it makes working with her traumatic. This friend is the nicest guy - worked with Elvis Costello, Paul Carrack, Vince Clark (Depeche Mode, Yaz, Erasure), Neneh Cherry; heck he produced Tricky’s great CD Maxinquaye - and is known for keeping things light and easy in the studio. He found the only way she would buckle down and produce results was if he engaged her antagonistically - she needed that drama and tension and would lash out if it wasn’t happening. He won’t mention her name either.