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Worst band you've ever seen?
- Thread starter Lukc
- Start date
The most disappointing was Albert Lee and Cindy Cashdollar at the Ossipee Music Festival ca. 2015 (South Hiram, Maine). I was really, really looking forward to seeing Lee live after hearing him on record for so many years. I had not heard of Cindy Cashdollar, but one of the organizers gushed about her playing (steel guitar, primarily). Lee and Cashdollar were one of the headlining acts. And it was a gorgeous, bucolic setting.
And then headline Saturday night rolled around. Lee, Cashdollar, et al., futzed around for what seemed forever trying to get their equipment to work. And perhaps this futzing took its toll as the band seemed to just phone it in. No spirit. No effort to connect, it seemed. A great festival with many great performances just had the air let out of its tires.
And then headline Saturday night rolled around. Lee, Cashdollar, et al., futzed around for what seemed forever trying to get their equipment to work. And perhaps this futzing took its toll as the band seemed to just phone it in. No spirit. No effort to connect, it seemed. A great festival with many great performances just had the air let out of its tires.
It's definitely not good that you had a terrible experience watching a favourite of yours fail to deliver the goods... But I do have to say that it has just caused a beautifully written post! Nicely phrased, and all.
ive seen this when a 4 string player switches to 5 and vice versa. Their "fattest string" just happens to produce differet notes.
I opened for Albert Lee, and watched from sidestage such an electrifying performance I was awestruck. Too bad you saw him on an off night. He deserves the legend which surrounds him. (We went out for dinner after, and he's a quiet man with a stiletto sense of humor.)
Albert, and Steve Lukather are known as being the highest paid sidemen on earth, but it's impolite to ask how much money someone makes. During dinner I asked Albert where he lives- "Malibu, right next door to Mel Gibson"- question answered
the worst band i ever saw was - several times, actually - was, alas, the band of a friend of mine. he was the singer, and while he's a really good singer for covers, he's always awful with originals - and the band's songs were all originals. the guitar player is a shredder, but they were a straight ahead rock band, so his leads didn't fit the songs in any possible way.
the drummer, who had some talent but needed a LOT more experience sped up and slowed down worse than any drummer i've ever heard plus he kept doing fills and stick tricks he hadn't practiced enough, so he'd blow the rhythm and the entire band would need to regroup in the middle of the song.
the bass player played very basic, but i thought he held down the bottom end pretty well. when i told him that, and asked if he wanted to jam sometime, he informed me very sadly that he really sucked.
the drummer, who had some talent but needed a LOT more experience sped up and slowed down worse than any drummer i've ever heard plus he kept doing fills and stick tricks he hadn't practiced enough, so he'd blow the rhythm and the entire band would need to regroup in the middle of the song.
the bass player played very basic, but i thought he held down the bottom end pretty well. when i told him that, and asked if he wanted to jam sometime, he informed me very sadly that he really sucked.
Cars, 1982. Not bad, but incredibly boring, which is worse.
Bad from a "major band"? The Grateful Dead. First show I saw of theirs was not great but decent. Workmanlike. Said to my friend afterwards "huh, all those bootlegs I've heard must have just been really poorly recorded".
No no no!
Second show of their I saw was literally the worst show I've seen put on by anyone, anywhere, and that includes high school "battle of the bands".
Holy smokes, forgot about them. 1984 or 85, San Diego, and they had a badass stage and gear and record and the whole deal and they were so wasted that they didn't even last an hour and their idiot lead singer fell off the stage. Sad because they had a slamming rhythm section, but it didn't even matter as the rest of the band was not even functional. Thanks for reminding me, I guess.
Bad from a "major band"? The Grateful Dead. First show I saw of theirs was not great but decent. Workmanlike. Said to my friend afterwards "huh, all those bootlegs I've heard must have just been really poorly recorded".
No no no!
Second show of their I saw was literally the worst show I've seen put on by anyone, anywhere, and that includes high school "battle of the bands".
Holy smokes, forgot about them. 1984 or 85, San Diego, and they had a badass stage and gear and record and the whole deal and they were so wasted that they didn't even last an hour and their idiot lead singer fell off the stage. Sad because they had a slamming rhythm section, but it didn't even matter as the rest of the band was not even functional. Thanks for reminding me, I guess.
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Got to agree. I saw them in 79, Candy-O tour, and saw them on TV a week before the show ("Midnight Special"), and seeing them live was identical to watching them on TV, except the editing on TV made them seem more lifelike. But they played great, especially Elliot Easton.
Funny you should say that because if I could go back in time and see any band I wanted to the 3 bands I'd choose would be The Cars in the early 1980's, The Who in the early 1970's and Electric Light Orchestra in 1976/77
Saw then twice as well. First time I was... in the correct mood, if you know what I'm saying. During a break mid set several people in the audience began a drum circle. The band's percussion eventually joined in, and that evolved into a jam by the whole band that seemed predicated on the crowd's initial rhythm. The band would do stop gaps, and in those stops you could still hear the bongos in the audience going. Considering many of the crowd traveled with the band, it's entirely probable it was less spontaneous than it seemed at the time. I was still impressed and it was a very memorable show.
Several years later I saw them again, this time stone cold sober. OMG they were horrid. Random band members putting instruments down and wandering off stage mid song throughout the set. Songs only becoming vaguely recognizable minutes into them. The smell of the crowd around me...
I left about halfway through. To this day I wonder if my state of mind the first time made it good or if it was just them having a really off night the second show. Bit of both I guess.
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Was 76/77 when they toured Out Of The Blue? Because I would have felt really ripped off if I'd have paid money to see that show. They just played the records, then faded up the band to put an ending on the songs that faded out.
Worst bands I've ever seen live.
The Plasmatics and the Melvins. Both opening for KISS on different tours, hated both of them. To be fair, many people seemed to like these acts but I thought there were both just barely orchestrated noise!
And on a smaller level, looking back at some video from the mid-90's, I was still a drummer, all I can think when I look at those is how in the world did we get paying gigs?
The Plasmatics and the Melvins. Both opening for KISS on different tours, hated both of them. To be fair, many people seemed to like these acts but I thought there were both just barely orchestrated noise!
And on a smaller level, looking back at some video from the mid-90's, I was still a drummer, all I can think when I look at those is how in the world did we get paying gigs?
yes - I have the 'live at Wembley' DVD and that is the 'pre-recorded' one (not that I was aware when I bought it 12 odd years ago) but I understand they have since taken the original audio from the concert and re-mastered it on the new DVD version
I've seen some clips from their 1981 'Time' tour on YouTube but the audio / video is not that great
I'd have loved to have seen them live in their heyday
