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Seeing bands/artists past their prime

W

Waspinators

Guest
Jul 22, 2007
462
2
34
South Florida
#1
With concert tickets at a ridiculous high these days, what's your take on seeing an older band that is, for one reason or another, well past their prime? Whether they've lost their voices/chops, energy, signature sound, or been reduced to a tribute band with one original member onstage.

Being a young'n, I never got the chance to see the greats of the '50s-'90s in their heyday. So when I get the chance to see a legendary act, I often have to debate whether it's worth the dough (usually by checking reviews or recent videos). I've seen quite a few greats in the past few years (McCartney, Dylan, The Beach Boys reunion, Little Feat, Judas Priest, etc.), and I'm seeing George Clinton & P-Funk tomorrow and what's left of The Who next week. Usually the shows are nowhere near what they churned out in their heyday, but there's usually some great moments and I'm always grateful to see the 20th century veterans that have molded my music taste when I get the chance. At the same time I've skipped out on quite a few.

Thoughts?
 
#2
I saw Rush recently, and while they still put on a great show and clearly have lost none of their chops, the reason I felt disappointed is not unique to older bands, it's unique to big bands. The sound at large venues is generally so poor it's hardly worth going.

I can think of no other bassist with a tone as cutting as Geddy, yet he was barely even audible when he was playing by himself. The EQ of these shows is all kick drum and guitar. Even the vocals were muddy. And Neil's drum solo was just a boomy mess.

My experiences with large arena shows are generally all like this. My last arena show was Pearl Jam and the same horrible mix was there.

I'd rather go see a smaller band in a well engineered room and listen to the big bands on my Beyer Dynamics.
 
#5
I'm seeing The Who Nov. 9th, really excited. Being 20 I clearly never got to see them in their prime, but they've always been extremely inspirational on many levels to me so just seeing them once in my life is a dream come true.

I've seen Bob Dylan (another favorite) and Rush within the past 5 years as well. While I wouldn't say either are past their prime technically, Bob is clearly not the best at aging gracefully.
 
#6
I noticed this recently: I have not once seen a band in what anyone would call their prime.

Opeth, Katatonia, Three Days Grace, Flyleaf, Breaking Benjamin, Five Finger Death Punch, Korn, Halestorm, Lacuna Coil, Panic! At the Disco, Tool, The Used, Sevendust, Avenged Sevenfold, Black Veil Brides, Evanescence, Shinedown, etc.

I think the only ones that came close to being in their prime were Shinedown, Five Finger Death Punch, and Sick Puppies. Flyleaf I caught at that weird time where they weren't popular but were still on the radio, so I guess that counts as well. Not to say the others were bad. Just past their prime a little bit.
 
#7
Some of the iconic bands of the 60s are still in top form, some are actually better then they were 50 years ago.

Best example, I have never been disapointed in The Stones. To me, no band is classier or bigger. They are whats left of the true "Rock Stars".

I'll say it again, I'm glad I came of age in the 60s.

blue
 
#9
For me it has really depended on the band. I saw The Police at Boston Garden a couple of years ago. They were great (as was the opening band Fiction Plain(sp). I saw the Bad Company show a few years ago with the whole band back together. Paul Rogers alone was worth the price of the ticket. Styx was the opener and was just awesome.

Steve Miller a few years back was iffy at best. BB King was OK. Vocals were really strong for an 80 something guy. But he has lost a lot in the past few IMO. The last couple of versions of Journey haven't done it for me.

Chicago a few years back was in the middle. Some good stuff.... some whatever stuff.

I've seen Tower of Power a few times and it really depends on the night. Sometimes they kill it, and sometimes they look like they need a nap.

It's a crapshoot.
 
#11
I have no problem seeing older bands, provided most of the significant players are still a part of it. Some bands tour with no original members. I'll pass on that...

The only problem is that some of these older bands play smaller venues, and ticket prices are laughable. I would have had to pay ~$600 to take my wife to see Van Morrison and about $400 for us to see Sade here in LA a few years back. And that's cheapest seat retail, not from the scalper scumbags that seem to have all the tickets available when a show sells out in 30 seconds....

Though I did get to see Michael Franks a few weeks ago for $35/ticket. He sounds exactly the same as he did on Art of Tea'.

IME, many 'past their prime' bands still sound better live than many new bands. Especially when the new bands have to play it live and can't lean on all the tricks and crutches they use in the studio...
 
#15
Bullet For My Valentine: not bad live but their albums keep getting from great to not bad and so on

Delbert McClinton: getting older but still rocks. it was awesome how he told the engineer how to mix and all of the sudden the sound was great :D

+1 for Kiss...

Krokus: I've seen them 3 times live and it wasn't bad but there wasn't too much energy around. Once the rhythm guitar had one of his guitars out of tune but he used it for the last 6 songs or so anyway...

Springsteen: great and LONG show. totally worth it IMO

Sunrise Avenue: I've seen them once just about 2 weeks before Fairytale Gone Bad climbed the charts. Great show. When I see them on youtube I feel like throwing up.

Uriah Heep: Seen them for the first time in 2010. The absolutely best show I've ever seen. So much power! Didn't miss Lady In Black at all. Saw them last year again and the show was mediocre (although the other one was hard to keep up with).
 
#16
Over the summer I saw The Dukes of Septemeber ryhtm revue w/ donald fagan, boz scaggs, and mike mcdonad. Granted I am too young to have seen them in their day, this concert was the best i've been to in my life. I see bands play every weekend whether or not I'm playing. And these ol' guys just wailed... and wailed. For 2 and a half hours. Freddie Washington tore it up all night on bass. It was sick.

I guess what I'm getting at is that if you really respect a musician and love their music, go see them! Even if they are a "tribute" of a band you once knew. As long as the 'leader' hasn't totally lost their sh*t (GN'R), the show should still be amazing. There are some bands personally I would prefer to see with different members. A touring musician IMO would do exactly as recording guy did, without messing up as a lot musicians these days have the habit of doing.
 
#17
Having grown up in that era I still see a few of the older acts.
Most are spot on 40 years later.
RUSH in Sept. First time for me.
YES last year in a 2000 seat venue, sold out.
It's a hell of a testament to the bands strength to still be
drawing fans in 40 years later.
 
#20
matante said:
I have no interest in seeing bands live after they stop putting out good albums.
Click to expand...

This is exactly what I believe, with a few exceptions. There's no way in hell I'm shelling out money for the Stones, the Who, etc. because they are in direct contrast with what should have been the legacy of their respective legendary music... also they're missing my favorite members.

However, I'd shell out some moolah to see David Bowie again with a classy, orchestral "Life on Mars"/"Sound and Vision" tour. I'd also kill to see a classic iteration of King Crimson.

To me, the band "LCD Soundsystem" perfectly displays what I want out of a band. They released 3 albums to weave a coherent career, and then called it quits with a 3.5 hour concert at Madison Square Gardens. They were always planning to use a decade to do so, and it's not so much "quitting" or "splitting up" as much as it's a successful project. I have a great deal of respect for them in putting their art (and fans) first.
 

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