Live Bands that sucked or rocked

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Have you ever gone to see a band that you thought was going to rock and they just sucked? Or, a band that you thought would totally stink on ice, but they rocked?

― cw28 (cw28), Wednesday, 28 April 2004 16:06 (twenty-two years ago)

I'll start.

I was very dissapointed when I saw aerosmith in 1993 on their get a grip tour. I was expecting to be blown away. I was mildly entertained at best.

I was totally psyched to see KMFDM on their NIHIL tour in the mid 90's. They just played the album NIHIL verbatum. No "godlike" no "light" -- I was very dissapointed and left after about 6 songs.

I wasn't too excited about seeing Marilyn Manson on their "Antischrist SuperStar tour." But it was one of the best shows I've seen to this day. Ironically, I was psyched to see them on their "Mechanical Animals" Tour and I was not impressed. Just an overblown ego-fest for Mr. Manson.

I saw Cinderella in '95 and didn't know what to expect. Turned out to be one of THE BEST live rock and roll shows I have ever seen, hands down. Totally professional and cool. Saw them again a couple of years later with dokken, slaughter, and poison. They stole the show in my opinion.

― cw28 (cw28), Wednesday, 28 April 2004 16:12 (twenty-two years ago)

Cornershop - Shit sandwich live
Black Keys - rocked

― Chris 'The Velvet Bingo' V (Chris V), Wednesday, 28 April 2004 16:17 (twenty-two years ago)

The Fall - Mark E. Smith is the living dead at this point.
The Kills - quite good live.

― dieblucasdie (dieblucasdie), Wednesday, 28 April 2004 16:30 (twenty-two years ago)

all my favourite bands to see live are tiny little Canadian acts that nobody really cares about but me.

― The Huckle-Buck (Horace Mann), Wednesday, 28 April 2004 16:47 (twenty-two years ago)

icky, icky Black Keys

― Donna Brown (Donna Brown), Wednesday, 28 April 2004 16:48 (twenty-two years ago)

Totally disagree re: Cornershop, they're much better live than on record.
I was disappointed when seeing Sonic Youth for the first time in 2002. They definitely didn't suck, but it was a bit of a letdown.

― Barry Bruner (Barry Bruner), Wednesday, 28 April 2004 16:56 (twenty-two years ago)

The Fall/The Kills: for me, the exact opposite of what dieblucasdie said, curiously enough.

― Collardio Gelatinous (collardio), Wednesday, 28 April 2004 16:56 (twenty-two years ago)

In spite (or maybe because?) of the fact that I agree with the statement re MES in particular.

― Collardio Gelatinous (collardio), Wednesday, 28 April 2004 16:59 (twenty-two years ago)

yeah the band was tight when i saw them, but MES was half-asleep

― dieblucasdie (dieblucasdie), Wednesday, 28 April 2004 17:02 (twenty-two years ago)

Ever notice how supposedly prime-era Fugazi records (the stuff between the EP and Red Medicine) sounds incredibly tedious and flat? Well turns out they were amazing live. Same goes for the Ex, times four.

― Ian Christe (Ian Christe), Wednesday, 28 April 2004 17:09 (twenty-two years ago)

Thought would "rock" (or at least be good) but sucked:

Greg Ginn, Half Japanese

Surprised me the other direction:

Siouxsie and The Banshees (late '80's), Bad Manners

― Nom De Plume (Nom De Plume), Wednesday, 28 April 2004 17:22 (twenty-two years ago)

The answer to both categories is Yo La Tengo.

― mike a, Wednesday, 28 April 2004 19:55 (twenty-two years ago)

After hearing the Walkmen's 'Everyone Who Pretended To Like Me' album, I didn't have high hopes for them, but saw them in DC at the Black Cat and was impressed. They put on a great show.

I was really looking forward to seeing Brendan Benson live after Lapalco came out, but he tried to play the entire album 'hard rock' style, including the mellower songs, and it came off totally weak.

― webcrack (music=crack), Wednesday, 28 April 2004 20:00 (twenty-two years ago)

The answer to both categories may also be Archers of Loaf.

― mookieproof (mookieproof), Wednesday, 28 April 2004 20:02 (twenty-two years ago)

Ian Svenonius' post-Ulysses bands near fail to disappoint live.
I dismissed Stereolab as shopping music until being slammed by their blistering live set.

― sexyDancer, Wednesday, 28 April 2004 20:09 (twenty-two years ago)

They shoulda rocked, but sucked instead:
- The Jesus & Mary Chain (Darklands tour). Utterly yawnsome.
- Siouxsie & the Banshees (the "Seven Year Itch" tour) -- shambolic and marred by terrible sound, which admittedly wasn't their fault.
- Guns'n'Roses (on their dual tour with Metallica - Giants Stadium `92). Sure, they were alright, but after Metallica, Matt Sorum's drums sounded like a fuckin' Casio. Also, Axl had more costume changes than a Cher show. Boo. Metallica owned that evening.

They shoulda sucked, but rocked instead:
- Weezer (promoting their first album, opening for Lush. Rocked much harder than the album would have had you believe).

― Alex in NYC (vassifer), Wednesday, 28 April 2004 20:16 (twenty-two years ago)

Loved Sonic Youth live. LOVED.

Beck was a mid-size venue revelation circa Odelay; rotten and overblown arena has-been by Midnite Vultures.

Once saw Jane's Addiction in a tiny Bristol club and it turned violent. People started slugging a bit in the pit and Perry began egging them on. Folks were leaving bloody.

― Evanston Wade (EWW), Wednesday, 28 April 2004 20:18 (twenty-two years ago)

Shoulda sucked but rocked:

THEY MIGHT BE GIANTS. The version of "Why Does the Sun Shine?" they do live is really totally fucking SMOKING. They put on one of the most entertaining live shows I've ever been to.

― nickalicious (nickalicious), Wednesday, 28 April 2004 20:21 (twenty-two years ago)

Oh cripesity! Sonic Youth were one of the DULLEST LIVE BANDS I'VE EVER SEEN IN MY ENTIRE THIRTY-SIX YEARS! Seen'em three times. Contrary to popular opinion, my mouth wasn't large enough to accomodate the yawns they inspired.

― Alex in NYC (vassifer), Wednesday, 28 April 2004 20:25 (twenty-two years ago)

Ah, pickle juice! Sonic Youth rocked and Thurston Moore's guitar alone sounded like manna from heaven.

― Evanston Wade (EWW), Wednesday, 28 April 2004 20:32 (twenty-two years ago)

Sucked:
Deftones. They are so bad live that it's nearly guffaw-inducing.
Chino Moreno must have to do a hundred takes for each studio track;
he really can't sing at all.

― Squirrel_Police (Squirrel_Police), Wednesday, 28 April 2004 20:43 (twenty-two years ago)

1995: Sonic Youth very grbt live (Lollapalooza headliner)
2002: Sonic youth very mediocre/ boring (small theatre)
Maybe this should just be a does SY suck or not live thread...

― Jaromil (Jaromil), Thursday, 29 April 2004 01:26 (twenty-two years ago)

Rocked:
Blur (circa 1996 - went in with low expectations, was blown away)
Bis (hated on them 'til I saw them, then was won over)
Christmas
Killdozer

Sucked:
* Palace
* Jesus & Mary Chain (acoustic set at Fez just after they signed to Sub Pop - one of the worst shows I've ever seen)
* Portishead
* The last Husker Du tour where they played the entire Warehouse album song-for-song

― mike a, Thursday, 29 April 2004 14:03 (twenty-two years ago)

I saw Sonic Youth, supporting J&MC at the Hammersmith Palais, back in the days of Psychocandy.

I remember watching SY, my impression was "Who like this?"

― mark grout (mark grout), Thursday, 29 April 2004 14:08 (twenty-two years ago)

Blur (circa 1996 - went in with low expectations, was blown away)

ditto (same tour too). sometimes it's hard to admit that Albarn and Co. were one of my fave live experiences ever, but there you go.

― Aaron A., Thursday, 29 April 2004 14:21 (twenty-two years ago)

Shoulda sucked but rocked: Bow Wow Wow's reunion tour tore the roof off. I stumbled out of there going "WHAT just happened?"

― Douglas (Douglas), Thursday, 29 April 2004 14:24 (twenty-two years ago)

Trans Am are the most recent contenders for this category. Not a lot of fun. Also JAMC, but this was in 1998 so I wasn't exactly shocked or anything

― DJ Mencap (DJ Mencap), Thursday, 29 April 2004 14:39 (twenty-two years ago)

I saw Trans-Am with the Champs a couple years ago...they both sucked so hard.

― ddb, Thursday, 29 April 2004 14:42 (twenty-two years ago)

Agree: Sonic Youth at one time were uqite good live... through the years, however, got pretty boring and downright irritating.
In my lifetime I can say these bands rocked live:
Kiss, Judas Priest, UFO, AC/DC; Slickee Boys, Dead Kennedys, Scream, Minor Threat, Blue Oyster Cult, Crack the Sky, Max Webster, Bad Brains, Iggy Pop, the Ramones, Rush, Savoy Brown, Queen, Motorhead, Frightwig, Ruppert Chapelle, Butthole Surfers, Reptile House, Serial Killers (from Philadephia), Pussy Galore, Grateful Dead, Marginal Man, Gravity Creeps, Black Market Baby, Descendents, Black Flag

In my lifetime I can say that I have seen these bands blow wet farts:
Aerosmith, Flipper, Dig Dat Hole, GG Allin, Del Fuegos, Jesus and Mary Chain, Meat Puppets, Lounge Lizards

― Pinche Pendejo (Pinche Pendejo), Thursday, 29 April 2004 15:08 (twenty-two years ago)

Wow. Dig Dat Hole!!!!I

― Alex in NYC (vassifer), Thursday, 29 April 2004 15:14 (twenty-two years ago)

WE DIDN'T BLOW, PINCHE, YOU JUST CAUGHT US ON A BAD NIGHT!

http://www.thepolywog.com/copshootcop/digdathole/images/promo.dig.jpgm

― Dig Dat Hole (vassifer), Thursday, 29 April 2004 15:16 (twenty-two years ago)

Wow. Dig Dat Hole!!!!I
The Dig Dat Hole I saw had Darin in it. They played DC Space and were less than righteous.

― Pinche Pendejo (Pinche Pendejo), Thursday, 29 April 2004 15:20 (twenty-two years ago)

Darin....later of the BlackSnakes...(with Richard Kern and Jack Natz)!.

― Alex in NYC (vassifer), Thursday, 29 April 2004 15:23 (twenty-two years ago)

I was blown away by a show of no promise whatsoever: Canadian blues-boogie institution David Wilcox. The fact that it was an outside show on a fine July night helped, as did the fact that we missed the other two bands (more nondescript Canucks) on the bill.

Disappointing: Motorhead in '95, plagued by a drummer too wasted and/or incompetent to avoid losing the beat repeatedly. Although, to be fair, the terrible sound in the venue (aptly called The Warehouse) did him no favours.

Single greatest concert ever, for which I had reasonably high hopes: Shonen Knife!

― Myonga Von Bontee (Myonga Von Bontee), Thursday, 29 April 2004 15:28 (twenty-two years ago)

Yeah... that Darin, though I remember Black Snakes coming first since DDH had come to DC after I left NYC and BS had broken up by then... Kern had gone to SF, Natz was couch surfing and apartment squatting while Darin took up living with his Eurasian groupie girlfriend from Harlem... troubled times but they still have a place in my heart.

― Pinche Pendejo (Pinche Pendejo), Thursday, 29 April 2004 15:34 (twenty-two years ago)

Another vote against Sonic Youth. Even on the Sister tour, even from five feet away in a gym at Rutgers...blah. (Loved the album though).

Also terrible: the Ramones (in a different gym, late in their career).

Moral: don't go to shows held in college gyms?

Surprisingly great: The Upper Crust

― dlp9001, Thursday, 29 April 2004 15:36 (twenty-two years ago)

Smog can be both.

― hstencil (hstencil), Thursday, 29 April 2004 15:39 (twenty-two years ago)

Natz is playing in Lubricated Goat these days.

― Alex in NYC (vassifer), Thursday, 29 April 2004 15:39 (twenty-two years ago)

Last time I saw Sloan they blew hard; they played one song that was great (I can't remember which one), Patrick ripped a kicking guitar solo, and the rest of the show was garbage. I usually dig their live show.

― webcrack (music=crack), Thursday, 29 April 2004 15:54 (twenty-two years ago)

GREBT:
Lightning Bolt, Fugazi, Arab on Radar, Jesus Lizard, Comets on Fire, Jackie O Motherfucker, Orchid, Halo Perfecto, White Mice, Hale Zukas

― Ian Johnson (orion), Thursday, 29 April 2004 15:57 (twenty-two years ago)

Holy shit, I was AT this show, probably standing not far from dlp9001. I remember it being incredible.

― mike a, Thursday, 29 April 2004 15:58 (twenty-two years ago)

(the "Sonic Youth in a Rutgers gym" show, that is)

― mike a, Thursday, 29 April 2004 15:59 (twenty-two years ago)

Cat Power is terrible live, compounded by the fact that her bisexual fans are staring at her and swooning.

The best concert I ever saw was Bob Dylan, and the worst concert I ever saw was Bob Dylan.

― shookout (shookout), Thursday, 29 April 2004 16:25 (twenty-two years ago)

Cat Power is terrible live...

Cat Power is terrible. Period 0

― Alex in NYC (vassifer), Thursday, 29 April 2004 16:50 (twenty-two years ago)

Cat Power live, as previously discussed, be mad wack, as are Palace, yecch

― Donna Brown (Donna Brown), Thursday, 29 April 2004 19:09 (twenty-two years ago)

Palace was good two times I saw 'em: at a Derby house party in Louisville in 1994 (only the first 7" had been released) and at Tramps in '98 (Anoanoamonananananan or whatever it's called was the backing band).

― hstencil (hstencil), Thursday, 29 April 2004 19:11 (twenty-two years ago)

I saw the distillers on monday thinking they would be at least decent; but alas, they fucking suck.

― bill stevens (bscrubbins), Thursday, 29 April 2004 19:15 (twenty-two years ago)

Air live is a yawn fest .

― Jay Vee (Manon_70), Thursday, 29 April 2004 19:16 (twenty-two years ago)

I saw Public Image Ltd. three times. The first time at the Palladium, promoting the Laswell Album (with McGeoch and Lu Edmonds) was FANTASTIC! Seeing them later on the tours for 9 and That What Is Not, however, were singularly depressing. Lydon's once rivetting snarl reduced to a shallow pantomime...backed by sessioneers. Tragic

Cornershop were crushingly dull. Porno for Pyros weren't an eighth as good as they perceived themselves to be. I saw New Order once...and they were quite sadly not much fun

― Alex in NYC (vassifer), Thursday, 29 April 2004 19:17 (twenty-two years ago)

I saw a good Cat Power show once. "Rocked" is hardly the word for it, though.

― mookieproof (mookieproof), Thursday, 29 April 2004 19:51 (twenty-two years ago)

I'll second the yawn-fest vote for Air. Also, avoid seeing Arab Strap if at all possible.

― webcrack (music=crack), Thursday, 29 April 2004 20:48 (twenty-two years ago)

ROCKED -

Ramones 1982, CT
Iron Maiden opening for Judas Priest 1983, Philly
RHCP 1987, Living Room, Providence
Faith No More, same as RHCP
KODO Drummers 1987, Boston PHENOMENAL!!
The Zulus 1988, Cambridge MA PURE ROCK MAYHEM/BLISS
RHCP 1989, The Channel, Boston UNBELIEVABLY ROCKING!
Jane's Addiction 1989, Fitchburg MA
NIN 1990, Lollapalooza, Great Woods BLEW EVERYONE ELSE OFF THE PLANET!
Uncle Tupelo 1991, Middle East, Cambridge MA
Chris Tofield 2002, Billy Wilson's, Norwich CT (this guy can play the blues!)
Wilco 2002, Lupos, Providence

SUCKED -

The Cars 1982, New Haven CT (Wang Chung opened and in comparsion seemed like rock gods)
Love & Rockets 1988? Boston (should have seen it coming)
Van Morrison 1988? Boston
Eric Clapton 1987 Providence
The Cure 1990 Worcester MA
Jane's Addiction 1990, Lollapalooza, Great Woods

― Davlo (Davlo), Friday, 30 April 2004 00:14 (twenty-two years ago)

Huck, I care about tiny, little Canadian bands.

― BanjoMania (Brilhante), Friday, 30 April 2004 00:57 (twenty-two years ago)

Yeah, the Cars were a dreadfully dull live band.

― Alex in NYC (vassifer), Friday, 30 April 2004 00:59 (twenty-two years ago)

My description of the Cars in concert; take life size cardboard cutouts of the band members, put them on stage, play the album. That's what it was like.

― Davlo (Davlo), Friday, 30 April 2004 02:39 (twenty-two years ago)

Blue Oyster Cult a couple years ago. Pushing-fifty past-their-prime MOR dinosaur band just BLOWS ALL OTHER LIVE ACTS I'VE EVER SEEN OUT OF THE WATER. Their guitarist should be hailed as a virtuoso guitar GOD. Beats me why he isn't.

― Mr. Snrub (Mr. Snrub), Friday, 30 April 2004 03:05 (twenty-two years ago)

overshadowed by cowbell

― Donna Brown (Donna Brown), Friday, 30 April 2004 03:13 (twenty-two years ago)

I've got a fever....

― Evanston Wade (EWW), Friday, 30 April 2004 03:16 (twenty-two years ago)

Was blown away by a freaking WOLGANG AMBROS gig that I was unwillingly dragged to a couple of years ago; was bored near to tears by a Peter Gabriel show on the Secret World tour to which I was also dragged but for which I had very high hopes.

― Colin Meeder (Mert), Friday, 30 April 2004 07:10 (twenty-two years ago)

Never before have my expectations so utterly failed to have been met as they were on wednesday night while watching Wire at the Venue in Edinburgh. I saw them at Shellac's ATP a couple of year's ago and they the highlight of the weekend and one of the best things I've ever seen.

This time, not only were they about 40 mins late (there was a bunch of other stuff going on upstairs which we could have been watching) the sound was terrible (someone descibed it as minor threat through a distiortion pedal) and they played loads of old songs and hardly any new ones. Contrary to what appears to be the accepted wisdom, I think old wire songs are shit and I think the new ones are amazing. It was kind of ok if you put your fingers in your ears. Plus they look like extras from Eastenders 10 years ago.

― hmmm (hmmm), Friday, 30 April 2004 07:41 (twenty-two years ago)

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