Most surprisingly good or surprisingly bad concerts?

[bill5]

"Surprisingly" meaning not a concert that was good and you'd expected it to be good. I've fortunately had many of those. Surprisingly bad should speak for itself.

 

 

Good is easy for me: Stevie Ray Vaughn. But that was mostly because I was only casually familiar with him. He opened for REO Speedwagon and holy #### he blew the doors off of the place. I would have been fine with REO going home and him playing the whole time. (REO was great too, but never follow an act better than you) 

 

Bad there are unfortunately more options...

 

- Boston, who performed OK but the sound system was TERRIBLE

- Pat Metheny, who had a good sound system and played great (I doubt he could play poorly if he tried), but he played just a few songs with really - REALLY - long solos, getting into this avant-garde kind of thing which ieft me just flat pissed. Cmon Pat, we aren't all on that level or even want to be. I knew most of his stuff at the time and recognized one song. (Worse still, it was a first date concert with a really cute girl who wasn't really into jazz and I'd assured her she'd like this. ugh.) 

- Spyrogyra the first time I saw them. Pat Metheny comments all apply here too.

- Marshall Tucker Band - in fairness this was maybe 20 yrs ago, long after almost everyone except the lead singer were gone - but they were OK, it was the lead singer who looked and sounded like he'd been on a 3-day drinking binge and just crawled out of a dumpster.

 

 

 

[RABid]

Good - Rod Stewart 1977-78. I didn’t want to go but ended up enjoying it. He was clearly a seasoned performer.

Bad - ELP 1977-78. The group I wanted to see. Such a boring concert.

Bad sound - Could have been a good concert but worst sound ever. Way too loud for a small auditorium and the horns overpowered the speakers to the point that everything sounded like it was played on 12 strings. I kept waiting for someone to fire the soundman and take over but it never happened.

 

[bill5]

If I had a nickel for every sound guy who IMO did not know what they were doing......

[Anderton]

Procol Harum and the Association (yes, really) gave two of the most memorable concerts I ever saw.

 

Hendrix, Miles Davis, and the Who weren't bad either, haha

[bill5]

And you were surprised by that?    

[o0Ampy0o]

Marshall Tucker Band surprisingly bad: In the 80's. Among the list of problems they had a guy using a slide with an electric guitar instead of pedal steel. There were two lead singers back in the day. Toy Caldwell had passed away (Can't You See), he had a very distinct lead guitar playing style and tone that occupied his own space in the Southern Rock spectrum while being in the Southern Rock genre, irreplaceable. Doug Gray the guy who hit the highs  (Take The Highway, Heard It In A Love Song) had lost the highs, no pun intended, and could only croak out deep burps. It was an outdoors venue and I had thought the wind was blowing the sound away at first. I ran into a friend walking out of the concert and his comments made me realize he had lost his voice and there just wasn't anything audible coming from him when he attempted the highs.

 

Eddie Rabbit surprisingly good: I was impressed with how good the sound was. But his backing band started off with an instrumental before he took the stage to give the sound crew a chance to dial in the acoustics with a crowd present. They were amazing. The song they did began with keyboards. It wasn't some classical solo piece that might impress people who never listened to it and considered every classical song the same song "man that dude is good he can play classical music." This was a little noodling that developed into a rhythm and gradually the band joined in one by one and it was as good as any song I had ever heard. It was Eddie Rabbit's band but this song was jazz/rock. I was not into Country and was there for my girlfriend. I can always find something to enjoy in any music. But I enjoyed everything Eddie Rabbit did that day. He was enjoyable as a stage performer as well. Quite the entertainer. Not that he was flashy or anything. He just was present in mind, confident, a seasoned pro, and engaged with the audience.

 

Peter Frampton "Never follow a better band" I saw him before that big Frampton Comes Alive album was released. Poor Dave Mason followed him. People had not quieted down after Frampton finished his encore. When Mason came out the crowd booed and threw things at him on stage. I had seen him before. He was good. He changed his set list and started with all of his best material. It did not help.

 

Peter Gabriel I expected good and experienced greatness:  What a showman. He addressed the audience as though he was addressing an intimate gathering of guests at his home. An authentic/genuine man of substance as his lyrics and the quality of his compositions have demonstrated. It was unfortunate for Genesis but fortunate for the world and Phil Collins that he went solo. As much as I thought of his era of Genesis and did not think he would see commercial success as a soloist, he has had much more he would not have been able to put on the table because all of the other band members in Genesis had something strong to say. He has had a significant role redefining how eclectic music can be a commercial success.

 

Most recent concert was Smokey Robinson, another expected good but got great. He still can sing. He does such a soulful version of Ooh Baby Baby. Just gives it everything he has and he has done this his entire career. Probably has performed that song 3000+ times, just a quick guess. Probably more. 55 years of touring every couple of years (25 tours, 150 shows a year = 3750 give or take tours and number of shows so probably more).

 

 

 

 

[mcgoo]

4 concerts that blew me away when I want expecting it all happen to be ones where a buddy had to twist my arm into going. So glad they did...

 

Ringo's All Star Band

Alice Cooper

Deep Purple

Sarah Mclaughlin

 

All 4 of those were some of the best shows I've ever seen / heard. 

[ToddP]

Saw Muse. Expected great, got great! Evanessence opened, they were great too. Didn't look like an opening act at all. They would have blown away most headliners if Muse wasn't the headliner. 

A few years ago I saw Post Modern Jukebox when they first started their touring. It was a small venue on the strip. One of the funnest shows I have ever seen. Good players, multiple soloists, tap dancing, juggling... quite a show! 

[hurricane hugo]

Culture Club, 2000. Took my best friend who'd seen them back in the '80s. Was never a fan myself, but she really wanted to go and the Human League and Howard Jones were the openers, so I had no problem buying tickets for that. Those two acts were both killer, so I was more than satisfied before CC came on. They hit that stage with unbelievable power; I literally could not believe what I was seeing and hearing. All those songs that sounded weak on record sounded like a synchronized herd of kaiju live. Total powerhouse performance; when they came back 2 years later, I went to see them.

[Anderton]

On 7/9/2023 at 7:07 PM, bill5 said:

And you were surprised by that?    

 

That's a fair question, actually. What surprised me the most about Procol Harum was Gary Brooker's voice. It sounded exactly like the records. I pictured his recording sessions as someone putting a mic in front of him, recording one take, and then everyone going home. I don't know if that's how it was, but the band's musicianship and power was extraordinary.

 

I had always thought of the Association as a lightweight pop group, but their musicianship was impressive as hell. 

 

What was surprising about Hendrix was that the sound was so much fuller an d grander than the albums. 

 

At the time, Miles Davis had a reputation of turning his back on the audience and not really caring. Well, he turned his back on the audience because he was directing a first-class band! Particularly the Michael Henderson/Jack DeJohnette rhythm section. And when he wanted to play a solo, he played a solo. Super-cohesive and inspired. I didn't know what to expect, I always liked Davis's recordings, but didn't know if he could pull it off live. Could he ever.

 

The Who - well yeah, that probably wasn't a surprise

 

 

[Lou Gehrig Charles]

I saw the Drive-By Truckers at Chicago's Vic Theater in about 2006....  I probably would have enjoyed it had I known some (any) of the material, but I didn't.  That plus the fact they were totally deafening.  It was as if they'd brought a sound system suitable for an outdoor arena show to the much smaller theater venue.  I've seen my share of very loud bands but this one stands out for its extreme volume which seems just odd for a southern rock kind of band.  

[Stokely]

Racking my brain, but I think I've only seen one "big" concert in over 20 years (Tool).  U2 was in the 90s before that.   Only a few of what I'd call "small" concerts in that time, Medeski Martin and Wood being two of these.

The only "bad" concert I can recall was Genesis in a stadium.  Not that Genesis was bad, but I wouldn't be able to confirm or deny that.  They were tiny ants on stage so I watched the video, and sound was off and on as the wind gusts blew.  Made a note to never go see a stadium show again unless I knew I could get seating in front.  It's still amazing to have that many people in one spot cheering.

At this point, I just have little motivation to go see shows.  The prevalence of tracks is one, not the only reason.  Muse might be the only big act I'd watch, tracks notwithstanding.   I would like to go see Snarky Puppy and I still enjoy local performers that actually play and sing without karaoke.

[KenElevenShadows]

SURPRISINGLY GOOD: 

Fleetwood Mac in 2014 or whenever it was. Christine McVie had re-joined after a 19-year absence, reforming the classic mid-1970s band. I saw them at the newly redone Forum in Ingleewood. I expected them to be good, of course. But I was floored by how great they sounded and how engaging and charismatic they were.

 

SURPRISINGLY BAD:

I can't think of anyone who surprised me as being surprisingly bad in person. However, I did see a live video of a relatively recent concert by Living Colour. I've never really liked them, and already thought they weren't that great when I saw them perform with Guns N Roses and Rolling Stones in the late 1980s. However, I was stunned by how amusical and unmemorable they were, how bad the guitar playing was, how out of time and amusical it was, and how awful the tone was. The rhythm section seemed to be spot on, but just didn't engage me at all. The vocals sounded horrible.

 

In person, well, I suppose this doesn't count. This girl in high school really wanted to go to Foreigner, so despite not being totally into the band, I went. I mean, I liked some of their songs alright, so why not have some fun and hang out with her? So at some point during the show and she gives me a slap on the shoulder, screaming, "ISN'T THIS GREEEEAAAAT?" She woke me up by doing that. So I suppose that wasn't a good sign. That's the only concert where I've fallen asleep. They sounded okay, so I can't truly say they were "surprisingly bad".

[ToddP]

The most surprisingly bad one I saw was years ago when Van Halen had the lead singer from Extreme as their frontman. I couldn't even tell what songs they were playing it was so bad. I got the tickets free though, because at that time word was out I guess and the venue wasn't even half full. I felt bad for them, honestly. 

[Notes_Norton]

I don't go to pop concerts, because they are almost always held when I have a gig. (And if I don't have a gig, I can't afford them <grin>.)

 

Symphonies are usually held on Sunday, Monday, or Tuesday evenings so I go to see the world's great orchestras if they are playing a piece that I like.

 

Two surprises from long ago:

 

Right after 9-11, I went to a concert by the Moscow Symphony Orchestra. We were still all in shock from the Trade Towers and the other hijacked plane crashes. It was not on the program, and unlike sports events, it's never played, but they opened with The Star Spangled Banner. Everyone stood up, and there were tears in plenty of eyes. The rest of the concert was also excellent.

 

Years later, after the Jews and Arabs were bombing each other, I attended a concert by the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra. There were security people with curly wires in their ears and sunglasses on all over the place. Two of them were standing on stage, one on each side of the orchestra, looking out at the audience. The orchestra was probably very nervous because the music was played with almost no enthusiasm. One of the worst symphony concerts by a major orchestra that I've ever attended. But I certainly don't hold it against them. I would probably be preoccupied if I were in the audience.

 

Notes ♫

[SamuelBLupowitz]

I'm going to re-share this from a similar thread over at the Keyboard Corner, because I just love telling this story.

 

My #1 "surprisingly good" show was Weird Al Yankovic. I'd been a casual fan for years (because what's not to like about Weird Al?) but not a diehard or anything. But the summer of 2010, I was home on break from college, and the local newspaper was doing a mail-in sweepstakes for free tickets to see Weird Al at the theater downtown. First prize was two front row tickets and a meet-and-greet. Second prize was two second row tickets and a meet-and-greet; this went all the way back to about the tenth row. I thought to myself, "how many people who read the newspaper in Reading, PA are going to actually bother to mail in for tickets to a Weird Al concert?"

 

So I wound up in the fifth or sixth row with a buddy, and let me tell you: I never would have gone to that show if I had to buy the tickets, but after seeing Al once, I will go see him any time he comes around. He sings like an angel, he plays the hell out of the accordion, his band is absolute fire, and they put on SUCH a performance (costumes! acrobatics! video screens!). After the show, we did get a quick hello and photo op with Al, who is very polite but very quiet and shy. My friend did wind up talking shop with Al's longtime guitarist, Jim West, for about half an hour. What a great night!

 

[analogika]

I'm not sure if this qualifies as "surprisingly good", but the mention of 9/11 triggered the memory: 

 

We drove eight hours across Germany on Sept. 11, 2001, to see Björk — with orchestra, inuit choir, and Mathmos doing the electronics. (Incidentally the most expensive concert ticket I'd ever bought until then.) 

No smartphones, and the radio was occupied the entire distance by music — until we arrived, and by chance got a brief snippet of news programme about two hours after the attack. 

 

The concert did go on, and boy, was it ever memorable. 

[Nowarezman]

Surprisingly bad.  Well, it wasn't "bad" as far as it went.  But it was really bad in just how far it didn't go.  To explain:

 

Clapton's Crossroads at the Cotton Bowl in Dallas, on a very, very hot day in June, 2004.  Great, great time, so many great players, but my 14-year old son and I were totally beat with the 100 degree heat after some 10 hours on those unshaded metal bleachers.  Finally the sun got low, a breeze wafted in, and off to the NW you could see a late-day heat-induced thunderhead slowly rolling Dallas-way from far off.  No matter - the breeze felt great, and best of all, Jeff Beck was up next, one of the last acts.  He played a fantastic solo version of Cause We've Ended as Lovers.  Heaven!  Then we're surprised by a lightening flash and somehow the big thunderhead is startlingly near.  Jeff Beck walks off after the one tune, over and out. 

 

That was the "bad".  Luckily, the last band was, appropriately, ZZ Top, and they strolled out with their beards and giant fuzzy dice and all, oblivious to the looming storm and played the concert home in perfect style, their full set.  The thunderhead just slowly wafted away harmlessly in the cooling night air.    

nat

 

[Nowarezman]

On 7/8/2023 at 10:38 PM, bill5 said:

Good is easy for me: Stevie Ray Vaughn. But that was mostly because I was only casually familiar with him. He opened for REO Speedwagon and holy #### he blew the doors off of the place. I would have been fine with REO going home and him playing the whole time. (REO was great too, but never follow an act better than you) 

 

I lived in Austin while SRV was coming up.  He played pretty frequently around town - I had heard a song or three on the radio and was pretty meh about him.  His cover of Voodoo Child I thought was just a typical cover that couldn't touch the original - why bother?  It was years and years until I saw him live - then I got it.  Live, he just attacks that Strat - how does he not break half the strings every song?  It's that sheer blues intensity that I never got off the recordings.  Hendrix is a transcendent sort of stylist - opulent and flamboyant and all sex-magic-sensual-ecstatic-fantastic.  SRV is just digging deep down in the dirt - hot, sweaty, working-hard-for-your-pay blazing blues all day long.  

 

nat