[cite]Posted By: Red Fraggle[/cite]Manic Street Preachers at a few Festies over the years. I'm usually running in the opposite direction. I was a fan until I'd seen them.
Big bands often don't perform well at Festies. Here's a selection from a few years back at Glastonbury:
I remember seeing the Manics in 97 or 98, and they just tunelessly bumbled on. After 20 mins we went off to see Prodigy on the Other stage ...... all energy, if nothing else!
Also on the Pyramid stage, Red Hot Chilli's just punched their way through the set, but came alive in their last couple of numbers - and then did an unbelievable 45 minute encore, which had everybody rocking.
Radiohead just played for themselves. Musical masturbation.
A very drunk Alison Moyet, effing and blinding at her dwindling audience - then started singing Southend football songs!
Levellers .....now I must have seen the Levellers about 20 times over the years, been to their own "Beautiful Days" festival near Honiton, East Devon, a few times. Love 'em.
But when they opened Glasto in 97 (one of the mud years) as the first band on, they just couldn't get going - it was pissing with rain, the bedraggled few standing forlornly in the mud, wondering why they even bothered going to festivals. Then after about 10 minutes the sound cut out completely, and one of the crowd scooped up a handful of mud and flung it at the band.
Others started to chuck mud also and the band got splattered. One of the roadies then came back on stage with a bucket of mud and a couple of band members started chucking mud back at the crowd as the sound system spluttered back to life....... then the band finally got it together, and played a decent set.
[cite]Posted By: dabos[/cite]Oggy, Oggy, Oggy - Radiohead are incredible live!
They weren't that day, Dabos!
So boring and mundane. And I already had their Bends and OK Computer albums back then, so knew what to expect.
They did the minimum they could get away with. No encore. No rapport with the crowd. Just played for themselves.
iggy pop at the rainbow. to be honest can't remember much other than i walked out. it's the only gig i've ever walked out of, though was close to walking out of echo and the bunnymen. they played as though they were bored and it came across that way too.
Happy Mondays Glasto 1990. Really looking fwd to seeing them. They were dreadful, really shouldn't have been surprised though. Read years later that they couldn't remember being there!! Something to do with drugs i believe............
I know this isn't true to the thread, as I didn't actually see them live, but I got the Stone Roses live in Blackpool DVD. They were horrible. Ian Brown's voice is so bad it's comical. This along with spike island and Alexandra palace was meant to be one of their defining live moments. The hype that was built up and continues to this day is amazing given that they recorded only 2 albums and their live performances were both rare and pretty dodgy. This hype has enabled Ian Brown to build a very successful solo career. He can't sing for toffee. Did anybody see the Roses live??
That said, their debut album is the greatest album ever - FACT.
[cite]Posted By: Bermuda_red[/cite]Happy Mondays Glasto 1990. Really looking fwd to seeing them. They were dreadful, really shouldn't have been surprised though. Read years later that they couldn't remember being there!! Something to do with drugs i believe............
I know this isn't true to the thread, as I didn't actually see them live, but I got the Stone Roses live in Blackpool DVD. They were horrible. Ian Brown's voice is so bad it's comical. This along with spike island and Alexandra palace was meant to be one of their defining live moments. The hype that was built up and continues to this day is amazing given that they recorded only 2 albums and their live performances were both rare and pretty dodgy. This hype has enabled Ian Brown to build a very successful solo career. He can't sing for toffee. Did anybody see the Roses live??
That said, their debut album is the greatest album ever - FACT.
I've seen bits of live in Blackpool on youtube and it's horrible! I make you right about Ian Brown not being able to sing as well. I'm not sure about the début being the best album ever though, but is was very very good!
[cite]Posted By: Bermuda_red[/cite]Happy Mondays Glasto 1990. Really looking fwd to seeing them. They were dreadful, really shouldn't have been surprised though. Read years later that they couldn't remember being there!! Something to do with drugs i believe............
[quote][cite]Posted By: RalphMilnesgut[/cite]David Bowie at Wembley on the Glass Spider tour. [/quote]
Having seen every Bowie tour in the UK since Ziggy I have to agree that was very poor... Saw it at Wembley, It just didn't work at that huge level.. There was too much going on the stage, at the same time... I enjoyed & thought it worked a lot better on the 5.1 DVD...
Bob Dylan (So bad I almost forgot I went) Finsbury Park Fleadh 93 (I think). Voice was shot, sounded like he had inhaled helium. Everybody laughed when he started singing. Van Morrison was on just before him. Not as bad, but not good. Neither could be bothered.
Worst by a long shot were Queen in Hyde Park but they were a dreadful band in any case so no surprise. At least it was free.
Never saw Led Zepp but they would have been worse I'm sure ; - )
Well I was at the Hyde park concert for the Queen gig , and thought thay were great Henry..... Not a big Queen fan, but the show was quite memorable.
Why am I not surprissed that you did not like Led Zep ( even though you had not seen them live), obviously not biased then!..... Probably the most popular band in Rock history and 100,million fans trying to buy tickets for the re-union and you just dismiss them, without even seeing them!.
One of the most dissapointing that I saw was Eric Clapton at the Albert Hall with Saga, a few years back. Having been a fans of the man for decades, he really seemed to be on 'tick over' and had another guitarist on stage at the time!. 'A bit like Ayrton Senna parking his car in the car park, and expecting him to race in formula 1'. Not until the old cream numbers and Layla did it really get going. After saying that is was more a question of expectations being crushed..... I expected him to play the rock/blues and go for it...... he has moved on to a more refined style,' chicargo blues' ......I have not!
Any way, popularity is no indication of quality. The Sun is the top selling daily paper and Cliff Richard has sold a lot more records than Led Zepp or Rory Gallagher.
I did once have tickets for Led Zepp. Put the fences up at Knebworth but I took the cash instead.
I was at the Queen Hyde Park gig - I rate it as one of the top ten gigs I've ever seen and I regret never seeing them again.
I also saw Zep twice - they were superb live - they built their reputation on relentless touring of the USA and the record sales followed - people seem to do it the other way round these days.
I know you did Henry, so I did not want to dissapoint you!. Rory did not release singles anyway, in fact he fell out with his record company when they started doing this in his later life!, and was the reason why he formed his own label. He still managed to sell 30 million albums, not bad for someone who did not pursue sales!, and Zep never appeared on British TV as a group, although I see Plant has in his own words been a 'media whore' this week, and tramped round every studio that would have him, flogging his latest album!. Anyway, I am a Hendrix man first and foremost, followed by Rory, whose music is so undervalued by the public and media. Whatever your taste in music I tend to think that it is one of life's pleasures.
[quote][cite]Posted By: supaclive[/cite]Sugababes - Supporting Spice Girls at the O2 !!!!!![/quote]
And you admit it?
Not sure these are well known enough but the Yes "Tales of the Topographic Oceans" tour was dreadful. They performed before the release of the album, a double at that. Big mistake for a band like Yes.
Robert Cray used to be great live but I saw him when he left most of the gig up to other band members and had a Hammond organ on every track he played. So bad the audience were chatting amongst themselves.
The worst though had to be Shabba Ranks at Brixton: a riot outside, a shooting inside and a completely disjointed performance of unfinished songs and forgotten words. Dreadful.
[cite]Posted By: Bermuda_red[/cite]Happy Mondays Glasto 1990. Really looking fwd to seeing them. They were dreadful, really shouldn't have been surprised though. Read years later that they couldn't remember being there!! Something to do with drugs i believe............
.
I saw Happy Mondays a couple of years back at Brixton. Truly awful night, they didn't come on until after midnight, played for about 50 minutes through a PA system set up by a monkey.
Charlatans, was another let down. Tim Burgess cant sing live, well cant sing live to the standard of what been recorded.
I used to have a list of these from my music photography days.
I've seen some absolute shocking bands but worst was without doubt babyshambles. Also Paul Weller at some festival was so boring and I was a big fan at the time. But really nothing touches a wasted Pete Doherty.
Red Hot Chilli Peppers at Richo Arena. They were technically and musicly very good but very boring on stage, no crowd interaction and didn't seem like they were enjoying themselves.
I'd forgotten Bob Dylan who was supported by Counting Crows somewhere in park in North London - near Arsenal's ground, I believe. The Crows were fantastic as ever, but I left before the end of Bob. Whether his voice warmed up later I will never know.
Comments
I can't think of any, unless you can include Fat Boy Slim.
Best will always be Faithless live.
Couldn't agree more.
Big bands often don't perform well at Festies. Here's a selection from a few years back at Glastonbury:
I remember seeing the Manics in 97 or 98, and they just tunelessly bumbled on. After 20 mins we went off to see Prodigy on the Other stage ...... all energy, if nothing else!
Also on the Pyramid stage, Red Hot Chilli's just punched their way through the set, but came alive in their last couple of numbers - and then did an unbelievable 45 minute encore, which had everybody rocking.
Radiohead just played for themselves. Musical masturbation.
A very drunk Alison Moyet, effing and blinding at her dwindling audience - then started singing Southend football songs!
Levellers .....now I must have seen the Levellers about 20 times over the years, been to their own "Beautiful Days" festival near Honiton, East Devon, a few times. Love 'em.
But when they opened Glasto in 97 (one of the mud years) as the first band on, they just couldn't get going - it was pissing with rain, the bedraggled few standing forlornly in the mud, wondering why they even bothered going to festivals. Then after about 10 minutes the sound cut out completely, and one of the crowd scooped up a handful of mud and flung it at the band.
Others started to chuck mud also and the band got splattered. One of the roadies then came back on stage with a bucket of mud and a couple of band members started chucking mud back at the crowd as the sound system spluttered back to life....... then the band finally got it together, and played a decent set.
But great mudfight!
They weren't that day, Dabos!
So boring and mundane. And I already had their Bends and OK Computer albums back then, so knew what to expect.
They did the minimum they could get away with. No encore. No rapport with the crowd. Just played for themselves.
As I said, musical masturbation.
I know this isn't true to the thread, as I didn't actually see them live, but I got the Stone Roses live in Blackpool DVD. They were horrible. Ian Brown's voice is so bad it's comical. This along with spike island and Alexandra palace was meant to be one of their defining live moments. The hype that was built up and continues to this day is amazing given that they recorded only 2 albums and their live performances were both rare and pretty dodgy. This hype has enabled Ian Brown to build a very successful solo career. He can't sing for toffee. Did anybody see the Roses live??
That said, their debut album is the greatest album ever - FACT.
Having seen every Bowie tour in the UK since Ziggy I have to agree that was very poor... Saw it at Wembley, It just didn't work at that huge level.. There was too much going on the stage, at the same time...
I enjoyed & thought it worked a lot better on the 5.1 DVD...
We saw Sugababes supporting Take That. Sugababes were rubbish
Worst by a long shot were Queen in Hyde Park but they were a dreadful band in any case so no surprise. At least it was free.
Never saw Led Zepp but they would have been worse I'm sure ; - )
Well I was at the Hyde park concert for the Queen gig , and thought thay were great Henry..... Not a big Queen fan, but the show was quite memorable.
Why am I not surprissed that you did not like Led Zep ( even though you had not seen them live), obviously not biased then!..... Probably the most popular band in Rock history and 100,million fans trying to buy tickets for the re-union and you just dismiss them, without even seeing them!.
One of the most dissapointing that I saw was Eric Clapton at the Albert Hall with Saga, a few years back. Having been a fans of the man for decades, he really seemed to be on 'tick over' and had another guitarist on stage at the time!. 'A bit like Ayrton Senna parking his car in the car park, and expecting him to race in formula 1'. Not until the old cream numbers and Layla did it really get going. After saying that is was more a question of expectations being crushed..... I expected him to play the rock/blues and go for it...... he has moved on to a more refined style,' chicargo blues' ......I have not!
Any way, popularity is no indication of quality. The Sun is the top selling daily paper and Cliff Richard has sold a lot more records than Led Zepp or Rory Gallagher.
I did once have tickets for Led Zepp. Put the fences up at Knebworth but I took the cash instead.
You're your on worst enemy!
I also saw Zep twice - they were superb live - they built their reputation on relentless touring of the USA and the record sales followed - people seem to do it the other way round these days.
As if Oasis/Kasabian fans are ever sober enough to actually give a shit how they perform on the night - you buy albums for that.
And you admit it?
Not sure these are well known enough but the Yes "Tales of the Topographic Oceans" tour was dreadful. They performed before the release of the album, a double at that. Big mistake for a band like Yes.
Robert Cray used to be great live but I saw him when he left most of the gig up to other band members and had a Hammond organ on every track he played. So bad the audience were chatting amongst themselves.
The worst though had to be Shabba Ranks at Brixton: a riot outside, a shooting inside and a completely disjointed performance of unfinished songs and forgotten words. Dreadful.
I've seen some absolute shocking bands but worst was without doubt babyshambles. Also Paul Weller at some festival was so boring and I was a big fan at the time. But really nothing touches a wasted Pete Doherty.
I love Bowie but he was dreadful. The sound was the I've ever to.
Loads left before the end, it was that bad....