If I could nominate "most disappointing" (which is perhaps different to "worst") it would be The War on Drugs in Prague couple of years back. For the first time in years a rock band whose album I wanted to play all through, an old skool midsized venue, assured my wife it was going to be great. Just wasn't. To be fair the second guitarist was out sick, and the main man seemed to have a cold too. I guess it happens to bands. But I had soooo been looking forward to hearing those beautiful songs live. People were bored. My client Tim the Spanner and his crew were there too and left before the end.
Neil Young with Pearl Jam would be in that category, he seemed to have a cold and a foul mood, but this was saved by the warm-up band, previously unnannounced it turned out to be The Levellers, on top form and out to show the big man a thing or two.
Best: Depeche Mode @ Crystal Palace 1994; Muse V2001; James @ The Commodore Ballroom Vancouver 2012ish Worst: Smashing Pumpkins Wembley Arena (Farewell tour); Bob Dylan, CN Centre Prince George, BC, Canada...Corgan and Dylan...both of you, get over yourselves. Awful concerts.
Best - a number of Big Country gigs from 83 up to 1999. Stuart Adamson was brilliant. Always. Worst - difficult to recall really bad ones. I saw so many gigs at The Ship in Plumstead and many more at Thames Poly/Tramshed in very early 80s. Some of them were pretty bad.
I used to go to gigs at the Cellar Bar from 81-84. There were some really good ones and some terrible. I always seemed to miss the ones everyone talked about after (Echo & the Bunnymen, Wasted Youth being two). I missed the Jesus & Mary Chain there as I'd seen them at Alice in Wonderland in Soho and they were so bad I nearly nominated that as my worst gig.
Best: OMD headline act at Rewind Festival (took me back to their 80s gigs at Hammersmith Odeon)
Worst: Whitney Houston @ Royal Albert Hall ( it was very early in her career and she only had a few songs which she dragged out by going up and down her vocal range making the songs almost unrecognisable)
Led zeppelin at Earls court Humble pie at various Genesis with Peter Gabriel at Reading
Not many bad ones i can think of.
Would have loved to have seen Humble Pie. Closest I got was the Steve Marriott tribute concert when Frampton, Shirley, Ridley & Clem Clempson reunited.
Best: The Stone Roses - Warrington Legends March 1989 - they were on the verge of releasing their debut album & this small club (underneath the main stand at Warrington RLFC) was rammed. They came on at midnight to an ecstatic (in both senses) audience. I can still see them in my mind’s eye. Missed the last train back to Manchester by hours and ended up hitch hiking on the motorway to get home at about 5am. The joys of youth.
Worst: The Zombies - Austin TX 2014ish - proof that not all comebacks are a good idea. They were playing on the mainstage in front of a large festival crowd & looked, sounded like a bad cruise line tribute act. Saw the lefendary Roky Erickson (same era) on the same stage & despite looking like a zombie, he was excellent.
Best: Oasis / The Verve - Earls Court (must been 96?)
Worst: struggling to think.
As does that.
Best: Radiohead at Coachella 2004. This is toward the end of touring Hail to the Thief. They did a brilliant version of Planet Telex which they hadn't played in years. They played Creep for the first time or one of the first times in years as well. This is back when they kind of hated their earlier, popular songs.
Also, Explosions in the Sky here in Eugene in October. Their show is just non-stop and immersive and so beautiful.
Sufjan Stevens at a classical music hall in San Diego in June 2016. Touring Carrie and Lowell. He is one of the best on the planet.
Sigur Ros as a three piece in Portland in October 2016. The stage and lights were absolutely incredible, but the sounds they get out of a three piece are amazing. Did two sets.
Sorry, I know that's more than one. I don't really have a worst. Maybe Sugar Ray and Everlast when I was like 12 at a club in LA that had awful sound. Probably some local bands too.
Best - Queen and Status Quo at Wembley in 86. Queen were fantastic, and Quo really got the crowd going. I made the mistake of going to the loo in the middle of their set, and by the time I'd navigated the queue for the ladies Rocking All Over The World had started. The walls were shaking with the vibration of thousands of feet stomping in unison - it was rather disconcerting.
Worst - probably Eat at the Venue, although that had more to do with the fact that my sister's boyfriend got into a fight with some bloke who kept elbowing my sister in the head, and the band stopped playing until they broke it up.
Best: The Who at The Valley (2nd time - I didn't go to the first one). I've seen The Who a few times and they have been great every time, although I've not seen them since Entwhistle died...
Worst: Sparks at the Fairfield Halls. To be fair I only went because a mate got me a ticket so they already had an uphill battle to win me over. ;-)
Best : Stone Roses Wembley Stadium 2017 Worst :Of Mice and Men 2016. An American metalcore band that I bought in error. (Should've been Of Monsters and Men)
There were a couple of gigs where the disparity between two of the acts was enormous, kind of like seeing the best gig and the worst gig in one go.
Queen and Kiki Dee at Hyde Park ('75?) was one. Kiki was amazing, the only thing good about Queen was the light show.
The other was Dylan at Blackbush in '77. They put Joan Armatrading between Clapton and Dylan and whilst Joan wasn't bad per se the contrast between her and Eric and Bob was too much and ruined the flow of the evening.
Best..... Vera Lynn - VE Day Party. Worst........ The Beverley Sisters at woolwich odeon.
I've only been to two concerts as I was grounded for the Who concert at The Valley.
W*nker....... admin @WSS having a pop on twitter now you decide to join in. Tone better have his Gang of Four on standby, I can see it going off when I get there Saturday. Lol. If if can remember what you said when I get there.
Best: stone roses and heyton Park, Ash at Edinburgh Corn Exchange 2001ish, Pulp, SECC 1998. Numerous V festivals. Bit of a curve went to the Brentwood Centre with my parents around 1990, and saw Martha reeves, Ronnie Spector and the Crystals. Awesome.
Worst? Nothing jumps to mind. A few crap support acts.
Best: Muse Reading festival 2002 - absolutely pouring with rain with a bit of thunder & lightening mixed in but all added to the atmosphere
Worst: Red Hot Chilli Peppers Reading festival 2007 - Awful, felt like they were just having a bit of a jam and couldn't wait to get off the stage
Think I've said this before, but being from Southern California, and even moreso the area where they grew up, they were huge when I was a teenager (moreso than they were nationally). And I've never gotten it. Under the Bridge is a good song. There are a couple of late '90s/early naughties songs that I'd put on a running mix (Can't Stop, Californiacation), but there's just so much dross on their albums.
Best - a number of Big Country gigs from 83 up to 1999. Stuart Adamson was brilliant. Always. Worst - difficult to recall really bad ones. I saw so many gigs at The Ship in Plumstead and many more at Thames Poly/Tramshed in very early 80s. Some of them were pretty bad.
I used to go to gigs at the Cellar Bar from 81-84. There were some really good ones and some terrible. I always seemed to miss the ones everyone talked about after (Echo & the Bunnymen, Wasted Youth being two). I missed the Jesus & Mary Chain there as I'd seen them at Alice in Wonderland in Soho and they were so bad I nearly nominated that as my worst gig.
Between 81-84 I was always going to gigs at the cellar bar. Saw Wasted Youth so many times but mainly at the Bridge House. Saw The Alarm at the cellar bar a few times.Remember bands like Praxis, Vaguely Divine etc. some really good times, really good gigs and some not so good. Sure we would have been at the same gigs during this time!
Comments
Worst: Pussycat Dolls O2
Humble pie at various
Genesis with Peter Gabriel at Reading
Not many bad ones i can think of.
Neil Young with Pearl Jam would be in that category, he seemed to have a cold and a foul mood, but this was saved by the warm-up band, previously unnannounced it turned out to be The Levellers, on top form and out to show the big man a thing or two.
Worst - David Bowie Wembley '87 The Glass Spider Tour - A load of theatrical crap and I'm a massive Bowie fan.
Worst: Smashing Pumpkins Wembley Arena (Farewell tour); Bob Dylan, CN Centre Prince George, BC, Canada...Corgan and Dylan...both of you, get over yourselves. Awful concerts.
Worst: Whitney Houston @ Royal Albert Hall ( it was very early in her career and she only had a few songs which she dragged out by going up and down her vocal range making the songs almost unrecognisable)
Worst: The Zombies - Austin TX 2014ish - proof that not all comebacks are a good idea. They were playing on the mainstage in front of a large festival crowd & looked, sounded like a bad cruise line tribute act. Saw the lefendary Roky Erickson (same era) on the same stage & despite looking like a zombie, he was excellent.
Best: Radiohead at Coachella 2004. This is toward the end of touring Hail to the Thief. They did a brilliant version of Planet Telex which they hadn't played in years. They played Creep for the first time or one of the first times in years as well. This is back when they kind of hated their earlier, popular songs.
Also, Explosions in the Sky here in Eugene in October. Their show is just non-stop and immersive and so beautiful.
Sufjan Stevens at a classical music hall in San Diego in June 2016. Touring Carrie and Lowell. He is one of the best on the planet.
Sigur Ros as a three piece in Portland in October 2016. The stage and lights were absolutely incredible, but the sounds they get out of a three piece are amazing. Did two sets.
Sorry, I know that's more than one. I don't really have a worst. Maybe Sugar Ray and Everlast when I was like 12 at a club in LA that had awful sound. Probably some local bands too.
Worst - probably Eat at the Venue, although that had more to do with the fact that my sister's boyfriend got into a fight with some bloke who kept elbowing my sister in the head, and the band stopped playing until they broke it up.
Worst: Nirvana at Reading, a total shambles.
Worst: Sparks at the Fairfield Halls. To be fair I only went because a mate got me a ticket so they already had an uphill battle to win me over. ;-)
Worst: Ryan Adams in Brighton 2014
Worst :Of Mice and Men 2016. An American metalcore band that I bought in error. (Should've been Of Monsters and Men)
Worst - Pete Doherty at Live 8. God knows why the prick was even there
Queen and Kiki Dee at Hyde Park ('75?) was one. Kiki was amazing, the only thing good about Queen was the light show.
The other was Dylan at Blackbush in '77. They put Joan Armatrading between Clapton and Dylan and whilst Joan wasn't bad per se the contrast between her and Eric and Bob was too much and ruined the flow of the evening.
admin @WSS having a pop on twitter now you decide to join in. Tone better have his Gang of Four on standby, I can see it going off when I get there Saturday. Lol.
If if can remember what you said when I get there.
Worst? Nothing jumps to mind. A few crap support acts.
Loved the Station Pub in the 80s. All palm trees and umbrellas