Worst band you've ever seen?

[Sbassman Scratch]

Lothar and the Hand People in 1969, bless them all and the garage the came from. The first rock band to use a Moog on a national release. Their song was "Machines".

They opened the Atlantic Pop Festival in '69 and would not have sounded so bad in a smaller venue, but they were badly out gunned in talent and gear by everyone that followed.

 

[redwingxix]

Oh lord RATT.

Last summer I saw Ratt twice (I'm not a big fan just happened to not have anything else going on those nights). Different bands, both free shows. Wife and another couple went to see basically a nostalgia tour at Chene Park. Great outdoor venue right on the detroit river, lots of boats anchor right next to the stage to hear shows, great views, just a neat place right downtown but a really odd location choice for this show. Bunch of former 80's rock star bands on the bill with varying degrees of original membership- LA Guns first- decent, then Lita Ford- still great, then Warrant- hard pass, and last on was Bobby Blotzer's RATT. The drummer was the only original member so no warren dimartini, no stephen pearcy, just the drummer and a bunch of young kids and hired guns playing all the old RATT tunes and few newer ones I didn't know for about an hour and half or so. And they killed it. They sounded great, lots of energy, really gave you what you came there for, plus during their show they played their old music videos on the screens while they played the songs live, so they knew where they were at in this stage of the band. It was a good show and far exceeded my expectations for that type of lineup.

Then we saw the other Ratt at a fourth of july type outdoor festival, great summer night, fireworks, cheaper beer than the first show and with the same party, wife and other couple that are big Ratt fans. This Ratt (they didn't earn the extra caps) had most of the original members and they sounded terrible. You couldn't hear the bass at all, (I mean maybe it wasn't even plugged in?) and yet he kept doing that hit open e string and shoot the crowd move on every song for almost every note. The sound was terrible in general, sounded like a cement truck trying to mix toaster ovens and bocce balls into a pourable solution. Vocals were almost unintelligible and if these weren't songs you already knew really well then you would have no idea what you were actually hearing. Every member of the band did every cliche hair band stage move you could think of (that performers of their age could manage) all through the show, but it was done with zero emotion or energy and you could see the puzzlement on some of their faces as they wondered what the hell were they doing up there. It made me think of a non-existent Twilight Zone episode where a kid makes a wish to be a rock star using a monkey's paw and now he is condemned to perform the same set over and over every night for all eternity.

 

[Paulabass]

I was at a record company 'do, and they were introducing a new metal band from Germany. Rammstein (you may remember the song du hast). The venue was WAAAAAAY too small for a metal band and sound was beyond atrocious.
The biggest problem was the band. Incompetent, drunk, hostile, and clumsy. Perhaps they were not used to Canadian beer, but while they were supposed to be schmoozing the audience (record company people) they we rude, and vulgar, and kept knocking over tables.
Then they got on stage (barely) and played 25 minutes out of tune, and the drummer was on another planet.

 

[Haroldo]

I think my bad nights are hilarious! I didn't at the time but I do now. Anyway I haven't seen the whole thread so I'll refrain from commenting further, but there really is nothing to be gained from yelling at someone over the internet who happened to catch your bad night.

I've not read the whole thread, so this possibly was suggested already (and possibly such threads already exist):

Really Bad Night Stories. Maybe group them into sub-genres: 'During which I horribly shaged up' ; 'In which we discover a vile BL or Promoter' ; 'In which weather or other deity-like circumstances made our lives a living hell' ; 'Guitarists who really, really like cranking it to 11' ; Etc. etc.

 

[Altitude]

I loved the Spin Doctors, and there are a bunch of great live recordings of that band from Wetlands and a few other NYC venues, mostly from right before they blew up in '92 or '93.

But I saw them at Red Rocks in about 1994 and they were terrible. I think it was a triple-bill, first Vinx, then Butthole Surfers (or maybe Pavement?) then Spin Doctors. They seemed tired. The sound quality was awful, which is hard to do at Red Rocks. The singer seemed to be mailing it in.

They were last in the order, and we left after about 4 songs. Just not worth it to stay.

Vinx was great that night though.

 

[Altitude]

I am sure it will be blasphemous to some, but I am going to list the Police here. I saw them on their final tour back in the 80's. Their sound was horrible. They rushed through every song at a much faster bpm rate than the albums. No jams or extended song. They looked like they hated each other and the audience. Turned me off to them for good.

I never saw the Police after 82 or 83. I think I actually had to decide between the homecoming dance or the Synchronicity tour show in 84 and I chose the dance. But, what you say here foots with just about everyone I know who saw them near the end. Appears they stayed together one tour too long and were cashing paychecks.

I didn't hear good things about their reunion tour a few years back, either.

 

[sunnyboy010101]

Two concerts/bands come to mind.

FIRST CONCERT:

Late 1980's Bob Dylan concert in Calgary AB. Tracy Chapman was the opening act, and this was like her very first set ofconcerts since writing "Fast Car". No-one in the audience knew who she was, and she kind of went on for a long time, but was overall quite good. Of course, this was just as she hit the big time and got lots of awards, but who were we to know that night.

But this is not about her (she was good). It's about the subsequent Bob Dylan concert. Utter crap. He never sang or said a single articulate word the entire night. He kept his back turned to us 90%+ of the time, and mostly spent his time on stage trying to mess with the band... changing tempo suddenly, playing wrong chords (then turning and grinning at us briefly to show it was intentional), and generally just trying to ruin every
song he "sang". Horrible, horrible performance.

If since noticed that especially with Bob Dylan, but also with a LOT of "performers", unless there's a video camera taping the show, they phone it in. For example, notice how good Bob was in the Band's movie "The Last Waltz", or any video of the Traveling Wilburys"? I rest my case.


SECOND CONCERT:

1994 - daughter's birthday. Again, Calgary. This time Aerosmith was the headliner. This was the second (famous) incarnation of Aerosmith, with all the big hits still being played on radio. The Aerosmith concert was absolutely one of the best concerts I've ever attended. Every song seemed to be done with the proverbial 110% effort. No wrong notes, no slip-ups. Just high energy from the whole band all night. It was about 2 hrs long as well, and every big hit was played, including a couple of encores. (I thing "Dream On" was the final encore). Awesome.

We were seated above one side stage, and I got to see the "underneath the stage" area - where the guitar technician would grab and re-tune each guitar between songs. It was very cool to watch.

BUT THE OPENING ACT. Sorry, I can't remember the name of the band, but they were "heavy metal" (or a poor facimilie). My daughter was into metal at the time, so White Snake and Poison were big on her playlist... until I got sick and tired of it and played her my Led Zeppelin albums. Then that was what she loved. It always helps to play the good stuff to someone who's only heard the dreck.

Anyway, my daughter warned me about this opening act: "Dad, they can't sing, can't play and look like crap. BUT THEY HAVE A CHAINSAW!!!". Well, she was correct on all counts. To this day I cannot recall anything at all they sang/did, except... they really did have a chainsaw for the last song. It was a real chainsaw, and they really started it up. Noise and 2cycle smoke everywhere. They ran it for a good several minutes before shutting down. So terrible band, but they DID HAVE A CHAINSAW!!! :-D

 

[BlueShox]

BUT THE OPENING ACT. Sorry, I can't remember the name of the band, but they were "heavy metal" (or a poor facimilie). My daughter was into metal at the time, so White Snake and Poison were big on her playlist... until I got sick and tired of it and played her my Led Zeppelin albums. Then that was what she loved. It always helps to play the good stuff to someone who's only heard the dreck.

Anyway, my daughter warned me about this opening act: "Dad, they can't sing, can't play and look like crap. BUT THEY HAVE A CHAINSAW!!!". Well, she was correct on all counts. To this day I cannot recall anything at all they sang/did, except... they really did have a chainsaw for the last song. It was a real chainsaw, and they really started it up. Noise and 2cycle smoke everywhere. They ran it for a good several minutes before shutting down. So terrible band, but they DID HAVE A CHAINSAW!!! :-D

This has got to be Jackyl

 

[GBBSbassist]

I'm not really a fan, but I've had the displeasure of seeing Blink-182 live a few times.

I saw them back around 2001 or so, and I remember thinking they were the worst live band I'd ever seen. The vocals were always off pitch, the instruments were out of tune, and there were mistakes galore. I remember thinking that it was the benchmark for a bad performance, until I saw them again last year.

 

[stubborne]

I attended a free Ramones concert at Buff State in 1985, opening act was Green Jello. I think it was their second gig ever. They started the show playing before The Reducers who were supposed to be a great cover band. I can't remember a single thing The Reducers played because we were all talking about how bad Green Jello was. Then the Ramones came on and blew out my left ear drum, but totally worth it.

To be fair, Green Jello has an EP called "Green Jello Suxx".. so I believe they are aware.

 

[NZBassman]

Blues Traveler. Not because they were bad. It was so loud, I was worried about hearing damage. And I’m around jet aircraft all day.

Reminds me of when I saw John Fogerty in 2009? - I actually won tickets through a local radio station, so I wouldn't have gone otherwise
As soon as he and his band came on I thought 'holy heck it's loud'! and the whole concert was like that... my ears were ringing the next day

 

[KsToaDangr]

As for local bands, back when I was in high school, some friends of mine and I went to see a cover band called Scenic Drive. Guitar was out of tune, singer was drunk and forgetting lyrics, drummer was playing every song with the exact same beat, and the bass player just stopped playing after 2 songs.

As for national bands, I saw Kenny Wayne Sheppard band open for aerosmith back in 97 or 98. The guitar was so loud that we couldn't hear anything else, and the singer flat out admitted that he couldn't remember the lyrics to "the new single". Aerosmith was great though.

 

[jbybj]

Lauryn Hill. It’s one thing to come out on stage an hour and a half late, for no apparent reason, but to follow that with a set that was so dull, uninspired and lacking in all emotional content, just sad. I spent a few minutes trying to negotiate a refund on my way out.

 

[DDXdesign]

Speaking of loudness, I recently went to the new venue The Anthem in DC to see Griz and Opiuo (Funk-flavored electronic music) and holy HELL that was the loudest show I've ever been to. A good sized venue and we had actual seats along the far edge (opposite the stage, that is, with the deck making a rectangle), on the upper deck.

There were twentysomethings seated in front of us that actually had their hands clamped over their ears - Griz's saxophone was slicing through the air like razorwire amid the pounding and thrum of the beats and bass. It was INSANE. (The show was awesome in every respect besides the sheer volume, though)

 

[Gravedigger Dav]

I've seen lots of crappy bands at local venues but because they can bring in all of their friends and family to spend $$ at the bar, they get welcomed back.
And THAT is what is completly f'd up about the whole scene.

It has and always will be that way. Club owners care nothing about the quality of music. They cares what their cash register looks like at closing time.

 

[sunnyboy010101]

Worst venu I ever was in was a church that bought an old curling rink (Canadian thing, what can I say?). Very long, very narrow, 100% concrete. Zero sound deadening materials.

Worse, the mixer jockey thought that boosting the treble was way cool. I can imagine the dials: 0 bass, 0 midrange, 11 treble. Gain 11, Master 11. Worse-worse, they had a dude on a trumpet as part of the band and he was mic'd.

I sat thru one service with my fingers solid in my ears the entire time. (even the P.A. for the speaker was all treble).

 

[Scribbler]

Worst band? Had to be anything involving me back in the 1970s.

 

[bassicmike]

worst show was Jean Luc Ponty back in the late 70s. Completely boring, uninspired fusion played by bored uninspired musicians. God, what dreck. music like this killed the genre.

loudest was probably Eddie Jobson in 2009. Felt like I was being punched in the chest with every beat. Finally moved to the back of the hall. I suppose this was prog (bordering on fusion) and aside from a few solo elements that were highly entertaining, the music wore out it's welcome after about an hour.

I might select a Jethro Tull show when they stopped being a relevant act playing new music and simply churned out the hits.

And Wet Willie opening for FZ. It wasn't there fault, that was just poor booking.

And don't get me started on late-period-FZ-cash-the-check concerts...

 

[FrenchBassQC]

I saw Sly and the Family Stone for only 5 minutes, Sly passed out on stage and that was it...

 

[Scribbler]

Played main arena at Sidmouth Festival as support for Steeleye Span back in the day... So excited as they were my idols. Maddy Prior wasn't singing with them but some other woman: so disappointed! Even though I had a ringside seat at the side of the stage, I went off after a few minutes and snuck in somewhere else to see a much lesser known act... And had a blast.