OT: Biggest Concert Disappointment

[Saitama]

I've been lucky enough to have really liked all of the concerts I've been to, never had a dud. So I'll join what some of you are doing and talk about an opening act that I had never heard of that blew me away at the time! I went to a Megadeth concert, can't remember what year it was, and the opener was some band I'd never heard of with the fairly odd name, Stone Temple Pilots. Didn't expect much out of them, as I had never heard of them and was really only interested in the Megadeth portion, but ended up absolutely loving the show! I don't know if this was when STP were new to North America or what, but I definitely became a fan on that day.

Actually, while typing this I became curious, so I looked it up. I guess STP were fairly unknown at the time but Dave Mustaine handpicked them to open for them because he believed they were going to be huge. Guess Dave was right! Oh, and apparently is was Feb 12th, 1993.

 

[drumzan]

I’ve got so many stories on good and bad opening acts. The one that always comes to mind was Veruca Salt opening for Bush X at the Winnipeg Arena back in 1997. They blew off the roof they were so awesome. By the time Bush X came on stage, everyone was so tired and the rest of the concert almost seemed irrelevant. LOL

Opening up for Billy Talent, I also saw Metric and Death From Above 1979 back when nobody knew who they were, including me. What a treat that was. Got both their albums immediately after the concerts and have been two of my fav bands since.

 

[buggs]

This isn’t going to be a popular opinion, but the first time Red Hot Chili Peppers played MTS Centre in 2006 was awful. Perhaps it was the seats I had played a part in that...which were nosebleeds beside the stage. But Anthony Kiedis just seemed like he was having a bad day and wasn’t into it. At all. And the opening band The Mars Volta who I had heard good things about leading up to the show might’ve been the worst opening act I’ve ever seen. And I think tix were around $100 for the crappy seats too...which was quite a bit for a concert back then.

I’m a drummer who played in a band for several years. I’ve seen 1000’s of concerts. This was the worst. I think I may have even fell asleep during the concert it was so bad. LOL

Well you're not alone then in having fallen asleep at a concert. I fell asleep in seats in the 200s at the old arena. ZZ Top concert. During the encore.

In my defense I'd pulled an all-nighter for a genetics exam in university (I had another exam that day as well) and went straight from the exam to the show, missing the opener. This would have been around 1985 or so.

 

[Positive]

What was your biggest dissapointment.

For me it was Bob Dylan at the winnipeg Arena in 1988. Didn't address the crowd once. Only played 85 minutes and the opening act was horrible.
Honorable mention to Neil Young in 1984 and Crosby, Still, Nash and Young in 2006.
Huge fan of both of these artists but didn't care for any of these concerts.
Also, Aerosmith was absolutely blown out of the arena by AC/DC in '78 and I was a pretty big Aerosmith fan.

I saw Dylan about 3 years ago when he was last here? Same thing. He went on wearing this white suit, but it really dark so you could barely see him. Didn't touch an instrument, never acknowledged the crowd once, or even introduce the band. Sang a bunch of unrecognizable cover tunes and then walked off the stage without even a wave. Worst concert I'd ever been to.

 

[mondo3]

I’ve got so many stories on good and bad opening acts. The one that always comes to mind was Veruca Salt opening for Bush X at the Winnipeg Arena back in 1997. They blew off the roof they were so awesome. By the time Bush X came on stage, everyone was so tired and the rest of the concert almost seemed irrelevant. LOL

Opening up for Billy Talent, I also saw Metric and Death From Above 1979 back when nobody knew who they were, including me. What a treat that was. Got both their albums immediately after the concerts and have been two of my fav bands since.

Veruca Salt is such an underrated group

 

[Upperdeckjet]

Saw Dwight Yoakam at the old arena many years ago. He was drunk, belligerent, stumbling around the stage for a short set and left without so much as a how do you do.

Very disappointing!

 

[Channelcat]

I've been lucky enough to have really liked all of the concerts I've been to, never had a dud. So I'll join what some of you are doing and talk about an opening act that I had never heard of that blew me away at the time! I went to a Megadeth concert, can't remember what year it was, and the opener was some band I'd never heard of with the fairly odd name, Stone Temple Pilots. Didn't expect much out of them, as I had never heard of them and was really only interested in the Megadeth portion, but ended up absolutely loving the show! I don't know if this was when STP were new to North America or what, but I definitely became a fan on that day.

Actually, while typing this I became curious, so I looked it up. I guess STP were fairly unknown at the time but Dave Mustaine handpicked them to open for them because he believed they were going to be huge. Guess Dave was right! Oh, and apparently is was Feb 12th, 1993.

Saw STP one of their last times through Winnipeg, maybe ten years back. Certainly nothing flashy, just got up and played. I thought it was brilliant.

 

[Chaals18]

I was there for that one. Buddy Guy was good. But I didn't realize how terrible Johnny Lang is. He over sings everything.

I was there too.Buddy Guy was great,especially for 76yrs old. Jonny Lang sucked.I didn't realize he had found the Lord and most songs were gospel tunes sung with a pious smile on his face.Didn't play Lie to me.He was brutal.

I remember hearing about Quiet Riot,I didn't like them.I would have gone to see Kick Axe and then leave too lol

 

[QuietContrarian]

Honestly never been to a bad concert.

Could only tell my least fav. and fav.

 

[Pongs21]

Metallica in Halifax with Coheed and Cambria, Seether and Matt Mays as the openers. I was so excited to see both bands (Metallica and Coheed and Cambria). It was a cold and rainy day (outdoor concert) and if I remember correctly, Coheed and Cambria's bass player was recently arrested for attempting to rob a wallgreens pharmacy and the replacement wasn't great. Lars (drummer for Metallica for those who don't know) either couldn't keep up anymore or was having an off day and as a drummer, it was very disappointing. The whole concert was very underwhelming and the weather amplified it. Seether was good though.

On the other hand - Billy Tallent. Best concert I've ever been to hands down, and I've been to quite a few as a former touring musician and having to get to witness and open for some pretty great bands.

 

[bbking]

Saw a double-bill of Buddy Guy and John Mayell at the Burt in the mid-90’s. It wasn’t a bad concert, but I was expecting a lot more. Buddy Guy particularly seemed dis-interested in being there. They both had recently released albums and had recorded a duet which they each had on their album. I expected that they’d come on together at the end to play a couple songs, with that song being a natural. Nope, no encores. Fortunately, I saw Buddy Guy two more times since, once at the Burt and once at a similar venue in Victoria, and he was amazing both times which made up for it.

 

[drumzan]

Metallica in Halifax with Coheed and Cambria, Seether and Matt Mays as the openers. I was so excited to see both bands (Metallica and Coheed and Cambria). It was a cold and rainy day (outdoor concert) and if I remember correctly, Coheed and Cambria's bass player was recently arrested for attempting to rob a wallgreens pharmacy and the replacement wasn't great. Lars (drummer for Metallica for those who don't know) either couldn't keep up anymore or was having an off day and as a drummer, it was very disappointing. The whole concert was very underwhelming and the weather amplified it. Seether was good though.

On the other hand - Billy Tallent. Best concert I've ever been to hands down, and I've been to quite a few as a former touring musician and having to get to witness and open for some pretty great bands.

Yup - I mentioned earlier I went to see Billy Talent with (two unknown bands at the time) Death From Above 1979 and Metric opening for them at The Burt. That was an incredible concert.

 

[Pongs21]

Yup - I mentioned earlier I went to see Billy Talent with (two unknown bands at the time) Death From Above 1979 and Metric opening for them at The Burt. That was an incredible concert.

Did they start the concert with a giant white sheet covering the stage with insane lighting and silhouettes of the band playing the intro to Devil in a midnight mass behind it, and then rip it down when the singer ran out onto the stage jumping off one of the monitors screaming? Still get goose bumps thinking about it. was amazing. The openers weren't as good as Metric and DFAB, but became of Ill Scarlet afterwards.

 

[Pongs21]

My biggest disappointment at a concert had nothing to do with the bands but my own stupidity It was Alexisonfire and Billy Tallent, my second time seeing both. Alexisonfire my favorite band at the time was opening. Me and my friends thought there would be an opening band before them so were late showing up to the concert thinking we'd catch the beginning of Alexisonfire. While going through security, Alexisonfire finished their set and i completely missed it. They broke up not long after and missed my last chance of ever seeing them.

 

[drumzan]

Did they start the concert with a giant white sheet covering the stage with insane lighting and silhouettes of the band playing the intro to Devil in a midnight mass behind it, and then rip it down when the singer ran out onto the stage jumping off one of the monitors screaming? Still get goose bumps thinking about it. was amazing. The openers weren't as good as Metric and DFAB, but became of Ill Scarlet afterwards.

I remember that. I also saw Billy Talent during Junos week in Winnipeg. Brown Sound from Sum41 came out to play the first song with them.

 

[Al Camino]

Metallica in Halifax with Coheed and Cambria, Seether and Matt Mays as the openers. I was so excited to see both bands (Metallica and Coheed and Cambria). It was a cold and rainy day (outdoor concert) and if I remember correctly, Coheed and Cambria's bass player was recently arrested for attempting to rob a wallgreens pharmacy and the replacement wasn't great. Lars (drummer for Metallica for those who don't know) either couldn't keep up anymore or was having an off day and as a drummer, it was very disappointing. The whole concert was very underwhelming and the weather amplified it. Seether was good though.

On the other hand - Billy Tallent. Best concert I've ever been to hands down, and I've been to quite a few as a former touring musician and having to get to witness and open for some pretty great bands.

That's an interesting lineup. Couldn't figure out why Matt Mays would be there then I saw Halifax and it makes sense. He's always great and I wish he'd tour out here more than he does. Lars has been horrible for years. There are lots of great YouTube clips of his terrible drumming.

 

[Al Camino]

I was there too.Buddy Guy was great,especially for 76yrs old. Jonny Lang sucked.I didn't realize he had found the Lord and most songs were gospel tunes sung with a pious smile on his face.Didn't play Lie to me.He was brutal.

I remember hearing about Quiet Riot,I didn't like them.I would have gone to see Kick Axe and then leave too lol

If I recall he did play Lie to Me but it was some sort of terrible acoustic thing. He sounded and had facial expressions like he trying to sing and take dump at the same time.

 

[GrassyKnoll]

(yes, this is too long, I know! Sorry!)

Men At Work, Winnipeg Arena, October, 1983.

Horrible. Just. Horrible.

For the record, I am NOT a Men At Work fan. But I'm a huge fan of Stevie Ray Vaughan, who was SUPPOSED to be the original opening act (SRV was the ONLY reason I went). Well, SRV & Double Trouble got some heat that year and started to be headliners, and they canceled their opening spot on the Men At Work tour to become headliners. I heard this and tried (oh god how I tried!) to sell my tickets, but no takers. I thought, oh, well, what the he11, I'll go. First bad sign? The (replacement) opening act: a Scottish rockabilly band called The Shakin' Pyramids (guess the promoters were trying to cash in on The Stray Cats' popularity at the time). They SUUUUUUUCKED!!! OMG, they were painful to listen to! But wait, it gets worse! Men At Work hit the stage. Unremarkable and rather ho-hum, but I thought "maybe they'll have a good light show or special effects or something". WRONG! They launched into their big hit "Who Can It Be Now" and the sax player took a TEN minute solo, honking out the same four notes OVER AND OVER again! I was yelling "YOU'RE NOT CHARLIE PARKER! SHUT THE F*** UP!" (not that he could hear me, or even care if he did) I got up and left. Time and money I'll never get back. Sad note: Stevie Ray was supposed to be in David Bowie's band on Bowie's '83 tour (see below), but they had some kind of disagreement and he was replaced by guitarist Earl Slick (he's ok, but no SRV). So I never did ever get to see Stevie Ray Vaughan

Honourable mention: April Wine, at the Winnipeg Arena, October, 1982. Not a big fan; they have a few good tunes, but I could take 'em or leave 'em. Again, I went only for the opening act, which was Johnny Winter. He did show up (unlike SRV), but he might as well have stayed home. Horrible sound mix! Just awful! True, opening acts never usually get a decent mix, plus the ol' barn wasn't exactly Abbey Road in the sound quality department! But the capper was the ridiculously too long drum solo Johnny's drummer took (note to drummers: unless you're Neil Peart, give it a rest, alright?) Then, April Wine came on. Now, I wasn't an old dude like I am now, and I liked my tunes loud, but this was physically, PAINFULLY loud! I felt like someone stuck a running chainsaw into my ears! I left after the first song. Once again, time and money, etc.

And just to show that, as a guitarist (yes, SRV and Johnny should've been your tip-offs!), that I'm not biased against too-long drum solos, a third honourable mention should go to jazz guitarist AL DiMeola (saw him at the Winnipeg Jazz Festival in '94 or '95). I went with a friend who was a big fan of his, who bought me a ticket, thinking I would like it. On his opening number, he also took a ten minute solo, which was just him showing off his flashy chops. Impressive, off-the-charts technique, I'll admit, but it got real boring real quick. Combining that with the sweltering heat inside the Pantages Playhouse on that June night, I said "I'm outta here" and left my friend there, who thought I was crazy for leaving. Life's too short, you know? (not to worry, I paid my friend for the ticket!)


I also think it's interesting when I see people objecting to musicians taking political stances and people saying "stick to music". That tends to only happen if one disagrees with their politics. Funny how nobody objects to Toby Keith getting political. I guess it depends on one's perspective, you know?


And I should end this on a positive note. My top ten all-time favourite concerts (in no particular order):

- Roger Waters (THE MOTHER******G WALL!!!), BellMTS Arena, May, 2013

- Pink Floyd, Winnipeg Stadium, July 1994

- Roger Waters, BellMTS, October, 2017

- Roger Waters, BellMTS, June 2007

- Paul McCartney, Wpg. Stadium, May 1993

- Paul McCartney, IG Field, August, 2013

- David Bowie, Wpg. Stadium, September, 1983

- David Bowie, Wpg. Stadium, August, 1987

- Pat Metheny Group, Pantages Playhouse, October, 1982

- Genesis, Wpg. Arena, February, 1984 (and to prove I can dig drum solos, that night, Phil Collins did a drum duet with back-up drummer Chester Thompson that was AWESOME! Again---> )


And yes, I've saved all my concert ticket stubs throughout the years (even Men At Work's)!

 

[flyingkiwi]

Men At Work are obligatory southern hemisphere BBQ soundtrack fodder.

 

[drumzan]

♫ Who can it be now?

 

[Royale With Cheese]

(yes, this is too long, I know! Sorry!)

Men At Work, Winnipeg Arena, October, 1983.

Horrible. Just. Horrible.

For the record, I am NOT a Men At Work fan. But I'm a huge fan of Stevie Ray Vaughan, who was SUPPOSED to be the original opening act (SRV was the ONLY reason I went). Well, SRV & Double Trouble got some heat that year and started to be headliners, and they canceled their opening spot on the Men At Work tour to become headliners. I heard this and tried (oh god how I tried!) to sell my tickets, but no takers. I thought, oh, well, what the he11, I'll go. First bad sign? The (replacement) opening act: a Scottish rockabilly band called The Shakin' Pyramids (guess the promoters were trying to cash in on The Stray Cats' popularity at the time). They SUUUUUUUCKED!!! OMG, they were painful to listen to.

Funny you mention them. I saw Van Halen in Regina, Sask maybe a year or two before that and the opening act was also The Shakin’ Pyramids.

I thought it was a bizarre choice for an opening act and sure enough the crowd hated them. They were booed mercilessly.

 

[Pongs21]

That's an interesting lineup. Couldn't figure out why Matt Mays would be there then I saw Halifax and it makes sense. He's always great and I wish he'd tour out here more than he does. Lars has been horrible for years. There are lots of great YouTube clips of his terrible drumming.

Seen enough live, It would just make me cringe. I'm a perfectionist when I perform and get really pissed at myself if I make a mistake

 

[drumzan]

I saw The Tea Party at Club Regent last Spring. They were great. The opening act wasn’t “bad” but it was a local Country band. Was just an awful mix in music choices.

 

[GrassyKnoll]

Funny you mention them. I saw Van Halen in Regina, Sask maybe a year or two before that and the opening act was also The Shakin’ Pyramids.

I thought it was a bizarre choice for an opening act and sure enough the crowd hated them. They were booed mercilessly.

Speaking of other lousy opening acts, interesting coincidence you should mention Van Halen. When VH were at the ol' barn in "84 (as some here have mentioned they were at, as was I), VH's opening band was (according to what I heard), some nameless bar band from Maryland (how true that is, I don't know). None the less, they played only four or five songs. Total, I mean TOTAL indifference from the audience. In fact, they got a HUGE cheer (and their ONLY cheer) from the audience when the singer said "thank you, goodnight" and walked off the stage. I felt kinda sorry for them. And also, I couldn't tell that night if Dave could sing or not (the ol' barn's acoustics, again!), but at least Eddie was on that night. His solo spot stole the show. I mean, he's Eddie F*****g Van Halen, fer' crying out loud! One of the greats!

 

[Gnova]

What was your biggest dissapointment.

For me it was Bob Dylan at the winnipeg Arena in 1988. Didn't address the crowd once. Only played 85 minutes and the opening act was horrible.
Honorable mention to Neil Young in 1984 and Crosby, Still, Nash and Young in 2006.
Huge fan of both of these artists but didn't care for any of these concerts.
Also, Aerosmith was absolutely blown out of the arena by AC/DC in '78 and I was a pretty big Aerosmith fan.

I had floor seats for that Dylan show in 88 and really liked it. Acoustics were so bad in the old arena if you weren't on the floor so maybe that was part of it.

Worst show I have been to in a arena or larger setting is definitely Soundgarden sometime in the early 90's.
I was bored senseless and if the ticket hadn't been free I would have been pissed.
I also saw them at Lollapalooza in 92 and they were great so it wasn't the music, just the performance that night.
Maybe the acoustics but I also remember I wasn't a big fan of the latest album they had out (Superunknown) and I had worn out the grooves of Badmotorfinger before seeing them in 92.