MGMT just after they released their debut album…no stage presence at all and pretty lame at best.
KMFDM…I’ver seen them a few times over the years and they’ve always been weak as cats piss.
Ministry on their last few tours…we had a great time but the actual sound and performance was horrible compared to their prime.
Sigur Ros…hands down the most boring live show I’ve ever seen.
Mentioning Frankie having a drinking problem makes it all the more funnier when I was backstage and at one point he said “look at me I’m drinking and I don’t even drink” He also mentioned finding another bar to go to. I told him there was a bar across the street and he asked if it was a tranny bar. Then he went on to say that trannys freak him out. I really should’ve used that opportunity to bust his chops about the Special Affect footage on youtube of him in drag. Not to mention the short film at the end of The Kult Kollection dvd where he’s once again in drag kissing Levi.
Finally, the biggest disappointment bandwise was our headliners Black Sabbath.
In addition to the Sabbath set being a complete train wreck because of Ozzy’s drugged out ineptness, Sharon’s bullcrap during and after Maiden’s set was already causing people to leave en masse. I think a good 1/4-1/3 of the venue was getting the eff outta Dodge during Sabbath’s set.
So . . . . the parking and exit situation which is always a nightmare for Glen Helen regardless was 10 times worse (there’s literally a single lane in and out of this 80,000 capacity venue). It was 3 hours before our car finally got moving. I think that was my 3rd time at Glen Helen if I recall correctly and I vowed to NEVER see another show there no matter who was playing. It’s been 7+ years and I’ve kept that pledge to this day.
Most disappointing was easily the Ministry CuLaTour… super lame (as we’ve all discussed).
In general though I’ve not seen too many really bad shows.
The “How to Destroy the Universe” festival show in Vancouver was disappointing because the venue (Richards on Richards) had some other crappy show booked right before it, and they didn’t clear out until our show was supposed to be starting… which meant no setup time… which meant that bands I wanted to see didn’t even get to play. And F-Space had to cut their set short. Very lame, though not because of the bands.
Agree on festivals in general… crowds can be lame… you have to hear crappy bands that you don’t like… and often the sound is shitty for the ones that you do like. (though How to Destroy the Universe was great (except for the venue fucking them over))
Took my sister and her friend to see Faith No More back in 1995.
They were boring as all hell. I felt embarrassed to even be there.
whaaaaat! you got to see foetus and it sucked?!?! explain yourself.
Jim was really messed up, could hardly sing. He kept leaving stage, the band then played the three note “Death Rape 2000” for long periods while the drummer tried to drag Jim back on stage. There was no passion and just the feeling that we were watching a really sad man during an extremely hard time of life. The audience turned on him near the end and there was a lot of booing.
I was 16 and totally shocked that a band I loved so much could be so terrible. Now, with older eyes I realize how it was more heroin I saw on the stage and less Thrilwell.
Funny thing is I saw Cop Shoot Cop onstage three days before and assumed they would be an appetizer for the Foetus show and they blew him out of the water, amazing show.
Years later I saw Foetus again and he was much better even though the material he was touring with was weaker.
When I saw Foetus he was trying super hard to be a rock star. It’s almost like he saw himself as a Scott Weiland or something. Not really what I was expecting at all.
RHCP - Phoenix Park Dublin 2004: Looked like they were bored shitless and the crowd were awful as well. Pixies blew them off the stage.
Ministry - Tripod Dublin 2008: saw them in Glasgow on that tour and really enjoyed them. This, however, was another ‘going through the motions’ gig.
QOTSA - King’s Hall Belfast 2008: shit crowd, shit band.
Gary Numan - Spring and Airbrake Belfast 2008: crap sound, no enthusiasm.
RHCP - Phoenix Park Dublin 2004: Looked like they were bored shitless and the crowd were awful as well. Pixies blew them off the stage.
Ministry - Tripod Dublin 2008: saw them in Glasgow on that tour and really enjoyed them. This, however, was another ‘going through the motions’ gig.
QOTSA - King’s Hall Belfast 2008: shit crowd, shit band.
Gary Numan - Spring and Airbrake Belfast 2008: crap sound, no enthusiasm.
RHCP are shite anyway, i saw them in 93 or so in Dublin and they were fucking rubbish beyond belief. I was at those Ministry Dublin and Glasgow shows as well, Glasgow was amazing. I saw Gary Numan in the Limelight or Spring and Airbrake a good few years ago, he was good enough but i wouldn’t say i was a huge fan. He seemed to be very into NIN at that point.
I really liked the Dublin Ministry gigs, but, yeah . . . That whole tour was pretty much “going through the motions”.
RHCP are shite anyway, i saw them in 93 or so in Dublin and they were fucking rubbish beyond belief.
A mate saw them at the Ulster Hall in 92. Said they were ok but were blown off the stage by the Rollins Band.
I saw Gary Numan in the Limelight or Spring and Airbrake a good few years ago, he was good enough but i wouldn’t say i was a huge fan. He seemed to be very into NIN at that point.
He did play the Limelight in 97 (I think). He even appeared on the Gerry Kelly show to promote it! The show I saw was him doing Replicas in its entirity.
I really liked the Dublin Ministry gigs, but, yeah . . . That whole tour was pretty much “going through the motions”.
The only memorable thing about that gig was some American asking me for directions. I was utterly bemused to see that he had written Lard and Twisted Sister on his denim jacket.
Yeah, i really enjoyed them, but i’d seen the tour 3 times before those shows so maybe they didn’t blow me away as much as they would have had i only seen those ones. I’ve never walked away from a Ministry show without a big grin on my face.
The only memorable thing about that gig was some American asking me for directions. I was utterly bemused to see that he had written Lard and Twisted Sister on his denim jacket.
Sounds like a real douche. I hope you gave him bad directions.
Almost every show I’ve been to I’ve enjoyed. Never really been disappointed with a show that I made the choice to see. But there is one that stands out as the worst fucking piece of shit I’ve ever been to:
EDIT: Wow, this is long.
TOOL - 2006
Tickets were outrageous and the only reason I bought one was because my friend’s grandparents were letting us stay at their incredibly nice house in Fresno in a rich neighborhood while they were out of town. And obviously because I was a fan of the band.
Anyway, the audience was full of frat-boy douchebags. Fucking drunk idiots. Before the show even began some dumbass jumped on someone’s back or something - I don’t really remember what caused it - but he fell on the concrete making a dull thud. These things happen, but at this show it was a taste of things to come and a warning of how retarded much of the audience was. My buddy almost got into a fight right away with some drunk. So, I had to break up a shoving match. Soon after I get beer spilled all over my back and then I almost get into a fight. Some mental looking, drunk mouthbreather, with massive bottle cap glasses got into my buddy’s face, so of course I have to get in between them and try to calm shit down and then he wants to fight me. I still remember his stupid face. All of this happens before the show even starts, while the house lights are still on, and it happens for over two hours. I went in happy and excited to meet new people and see a good show and now I just want to leave. I actually paid money to deal with this shit.
The band comes on an hour+ late with no apologies for making us wait. Maynard says something like, “Hello, dickheads…” I don’t remember what it was exactly but it pissed me off because I’d been standing there for over 2 hours thanks to them being an hour late and he seemed liked he didn’t even want to be there.
They played like 10 songs and a majority were singles. They could’ve made it work had they not been so goddamn boring. Adam Jones, the guitarist, just fucking stood there the whole time. He even managed to fuck up a few songs (how do you fuck up a Tool song on the guitar? Especially when you wrote it?).
Nobody moved from their little designated spot and Maynard spent much of the beginning in the back behind some screen or some bullshit. At one point they were even sitting and Maynard left while they had some kind of boring “jam session”. I knew they weren’t going to be running around breaking shit, but damn they looked almost as bored as I was and they were putting zero effort into what they were doing.
The drunk frat-boys are running around knocking people down, throwing fists. They aren’t even moshing or trying to start a pit. They’re just being dicks who are there to “fuck shit up”. There’s some massive fat fuck ruining a pit. Girls, who for whatever reason thought they could handle a pit, are running out crying with bloody noses and/or smeared make-up. There were a bunch of hardcore dancers in their little zones doing floor punches and windmill kicks. It was ridiculous. I wound up standing in the back for most of the show to see the “visuals” (which were mostly just the music videos for some of the songs they were playing).
I’ve been to some shows with really aggressive, hostile audiences. Brujeria was awkward as fuck since I was one of the only white dudes in the crowd and my girlfriend at the time was “multiracial”, or more importantly not white. That sounds bad but I don’t know how else to put it because that’s what most of the people at that show noticed and were saying. So, it was fucking weird and I felt like Rodney King at a Krispy Kreme. But even that was more enjoyable than seeing Tool… and I don’t even like Brujeria! But at shows like that, where there’s a scene, people typically don’t go in to hurt anybody and will help others up if they fall and kick people out if they’re causing harm. And that’s what I’m used to being around.
There is nothing that will make me despise a band more than seeing them put no effort into their live show that people paid money to see. It doesn’t matter if you’re playing in front of 10 people or 1,000. Give it your all or get off the stage.
I suppose after that show I understood the weird animosity they have towards their fans a little better. I’d be pissed too if the audience was filled with a large portion of idiots beating people up. But don’t fuck the rest of us over who are there to enjoy the show and paid money for it. They could’ve possibly made me completely forget about the terrible crowd had they put in an ounce of effort. Instead they made it so every aspect fucking sucked.
They haven’t gotten a penny from me since and won’t ever again. I thought their last album sucked anyway and it’s only gotten worse with age. And with the way they re-released Opiate recently, fuck am I glad I’m not dumb enough to give those arrogant clowns my money. I used to be a fan of the band but now I just like some of their older music.
You didn’t enjoy it then? [:)]
Nah, it was alright.
Nah, it was alright.
It does sound like a nightmare. There’s always assholes at every show, but at certain shows they’re more obvious because of their larger numbers. I just stand well back these days and let the assholes do their thing, but sometimes you just can’t avoid them, sadly. I’m not a fan of Tool myself but it surprises me that they attract that kind of crowd, their music being more…cerebral, i suppose.
Seen plenty of those kind of people at Metallica shows though. Last time i saw them some guy with no top on kept barging into my friend from behind. She’s pretty small and he was doing it constantly, so i turned round and asked him to stop being a dick and stay away from her. He acted all big, like he was going to punch me, then went back to standing with his back to the stage, waving his arms at the people in the seated area behind, thinking he was revving them up. He was so stupid and drunk he seemed to think the cheers were for him, not for Metallica, who were playing behind him. Arsehole. People like that are not music fans, they’re just twats who think they are the centre of attention, when really everyone is either laughing at them or is disgusted by their antics.
[reply]Nah, it was alright.
It does sound like a nightmare. There’s always assholes at every show, but at certain shows they’re more obvious because of their larger numbers. I just stand well back these days and let the assholes do their thing, but sometimes you just can’t avoid them, sadly. I’m not a fan of Tool myself but it surprises me that they attract that kind of crowd, their music being more…cerebral, i suppose.
Seen plenty of those kind of people at Metallica shows though. Last time i saw them some guy with no top on kept barging into my friend from behind. She’s pretty small and he was doing it constantly, so i turned round and asked him to stop being a dick and stay away from her. He acted all big, like he was going to punch me, then went back to standing with his back to the stage, waving his arms at the people in the seated area behind, thinking he was revving them up. He was so stupid and drunk he seemed to think the cheers were for him, not for Metallica, who were playing behind him. Arsehole. People like that are not music fans, they’re just twats who think they are the centre of attention, when really everyone is either laughing at them or is disgusted by their antics.[/reply]
It was a nightmare and a big disappointment on every level. I was surprised at the people in attendance as I had thought the same thing about the music being too “cerebral” for meatheads like that. But it was Fresno and I suppose some people don’t bother listen to lyrics and skip past the slow songs.
I’m used to extremely aggressive shows as 90% of the shows I’d gone to when I was a bit younger were for punk, hardcore, and grindcore bands. I’d played in a lot of bands at these types of shows too. Things would get crazy but for the most part everyone was cool. There’s always a few bad apples but typically at any show with a scene attached to it everyone looks out for each other and the mongoloids who think a circle pit = “punch and kick people” get their asses thrown out. Cops were really ever the only concern. So, this sort of behavior was foreign to me.
Haha, I can only imagine the kind of people that attend Mettalica concerts. Guy sounds like a typical douchebag. When drunk dudes at concerts start getting rough or obnoxious with women it can go to a whole other level. Luckily it didn’t get to that point in your situation.
Well you were in Fresno… That just about says it all