Biggest concert “miss”, biggest concert “letdown”?

[bbb]

5 hours ago, Success said:

It was way back - "Born in the USA" tour @ the Carrier Dome.  I think around '88?

 

It was just too long. He's a great performer/musician and the band was fantastic, but it went about 2 hours over for me.  

 

That would have been '85.  I've seen him 27 times, and there have only been 2-3 times where I felt like I had enough early................Most of the time, I just don't want it to end. 

[Success]

13 minutes ago, bbb said:

 

That would have been '85.  I've seen him 27 times, and there have only been 2-3 times where I felt like I had enough early................Most of the time, I just don't want it to end. 

Of course.  It was my soph year on college - '85.  

 

That's just my own thing when it comes to shows.  My 1st record was the Beatles live at the Hollywood Bowl, which I think came in at 45 minutes. I just like shows that are tight & to the point.

 

The 3-4 hour show is Bruce's thing, and always has been.  Most fans love it.  27 times is incredible.  

 

Just curious....what's your favorite record?

[Just Jack]

Missed - I got two. Peter Gabriel in 1994. He played in Rochester in the spring and I didn't find out about the show till the day after. Then he played at Woodstock that summer. But I didn't know when he was playing. I had considered leaving work Saturday, driving down there and taking a chance he hadn't played yet. I would have worked out since he was the last act on Sunday. Then that September his WOMAD festival was at Saratoga Springs. It couldn't find anyone that wanted to go with me, so I didn't go. 

Second was the last Tragically Hip show in Kingston. I found out there were still single seats available the day of the concert. Decided being able to see it on YouTube was probably the better way to see it. 

 

Regret - Sheryl Crow - I'd seen an show on MTV a few weeks prior, something like MTV Unplugged, but it wasn't that. Her concert was word for word, that same show, right down to the banter with the audience. 

Edited April 26, 2020 by Just Jack

[Wacka]

Had a chance to see Pat Benetar at Stage One (Harvey one Corky’s bar on main St. ). Was a few months before she hit the charts in 79.  I thought she was punk  so I said no. 

[RaoulDuke79]

I didn't pass on it, but I was supposed to see Rage Against the Machine,  Beastie Boys, and Stone Temple Piolts on the Rhyme and Reason Tour in '06, but it was canceled when Mike D wrecked is bicycle. Really sucks looking back on it now that 2 of the 3 bands have members that are now deceased. 

[4_kidd_4]

On 4/24/2020 at 10:50 AM, Success said:

Great topic!  I'm an old timer, so here goes:

 

1) Led Zeppelin.  I was pretty young and it would have been my 1st show - I got a little scared about it because of the occult stuff I had heard about Jimmy Page & just how heavy they were at the time.  That would have been an amazing 1st show, though (my real 1st show ended up being REO Speedwagon a year later - a fun show, but really, by comparison...)

 

2) This is sacrilege, because I absolutely love this man's music, but Springsteen was a disappointment for me.   I like a nice, tight show that leaves me wanting a little more. I wanted no more at all after seeing Bruce.  Almost 4 hours. It felt endless, and just wore me out.

 

Nirvana would have been a great one for sure. I watched a concert of theirs recently on TV, and the energy was off the charts.  

 

 

Answer 1 might be the most wholesome/emotional roller coaster answer ever. I love that you were spooked by the Zeppelin rumors, and I have to laugh that the “consolation” first show was instead  REO Speedwagon. That’s too damn funny!

 

2, I’m not a Springsteen fan, I dig a handful of his stuff, but I do appreciate that he lays out so much for his fans in his live shows. I’m the same as you though, tight show, keep things moving.

 

Was it “Nirvana Live at the Paramount”?  I happened to catch that myself for the first time just a few years ago, and wow. You can feel it in your living room.  

 

Nirvana is a group that I think I appreciated more later on.  I liked them a lot in their moment, but  at the time was always just a bit skeptical of how dark and angsty Kurt  Cobain was. Like, was it genuine or just putting that mood forward to sell music? Well, his awful, sad suicide pretty much answered that. 

 

Then I caught the Paramount show late one night, and whoa. 100% real. And then I was even more sad that I missed them when I had the chance.

 

 

[D. L. Hot-Flamethrower]

1. Never saw Led Zeppelin and was pretty young when the opportunity presented itself.

 

2. Any concert in the Carrier Dome, worst acoustics ever back in the day.

[Success]

5 hours ago, 4_kidd_4 said:

 

Answer 1 might be the most wholesome/emotional roller coaster answer ever. I love that you were spooked by the Zeppelin rumors, and I have to laugh that the “consolation” first show was instead  REO Speedwagon. That’s too damn funny!

 

2, I’m not a Springsteen fan, I dig a handful of his stuff, but I do appreciate that he lays out so much for his fans in his live shows. I’m the same as you though, tight show, keep things moving.

 

Was it “Nirvana Live at the Paramount”?  I happened to catch that myself for the first time just a few years ago, and wow. You can feel it in your living room.  

 

Nirvana is a group that I think I appreciated more later on.  I liked them a lot in their moment, but  at the time was always just a bit skeptical of how dark and angsty Kurt  Cobain was. Like, was it genuine or just putting that mood forward to sell music? Well, his awful, sad suicide pretty much answered that. 

 

Then I caught the Paramount show late one night, and whoa. 100% real. And then I was even more sad that I missed them when I had the chance.

 

 

LOL - I still remember the Zeppelin opportunity vividly. I was in 5th grade.  That was back when there was no internet and we only had 3 TV channels - most rock stars had much more mystery about them. I remember thinking Zep was from another planet or something.  It was exciting to have a chance to go, but intimidating...the fear part of it got the best of me!  

 

The Paramount rings a bell w/ the Nirvana show I saw on TV;  I didn't catch the venue, though. The stage was really sparse, just the 3 guys (and one dancer on the side over by Kurt - she might have been a fan), and there was a sort of eerie reddish light over the whole stage. No light show, no frills.  Just pure rock & energy.  Grohl is such a powerful drummer, and Kurt had a real presence.  I loved how raw it was.  It felt like a punk show - unscripted, and like anything could happen. And they just sounded great.

 

That was a sad loss.  I'm sure there was a lot of great music that was still to come if he had made it through that.

 

 

[Fr. Jerk]

A. Mobb Deep

 

B. Raekwon

[Gugny]

5 hours ago, 4_kidd_4 said:

 

Answer 1 might be the most wholesome/emotional roller coaster answer ever. I love that you were spooked by the Zeppelin rumors, and I have to laugh that the “consolation” first show was instead  REO Speedwagon. That’s too damn funny!

 

2, I’m not a Springsteen fan, I dig a handful of his stuff, but I do appreciate that he lays out so much for his fans in his live shows. I’m the same as you though, tight show, keep things moving.

 

Was it “Nirvana Live at the Paramount”?  I happened to catch that myself for the first time just a few years ago, and wow. You can feel it in your living room.  

 

Nirvana is a group that I think I appreciated more later on.  I liked them a lot in their moment, but  at the time was always just a bit skeptical of how dark and angsty Kurt  Cobain was. Like, was it genuine or just putting that mood forward to sell music? Well, his awful, sad suicide pretty much answered that. 

 

Then I caught the Paramount show late one night, and whoa. 100% real. And then I was even more sad that I missed them when I had the chance.

 

 

 

When my son first started playing guitar, he was in the middle of a huge Nirvana phase.  We've watched that Paramount show about a hundred friggin times.  Never gets old.  I remain a huge fan and wish I'd had the chance to have seen them.

[bbb]

20 hours ago, Success said:

Of course.  It was my soph year on college - '85.  

 

That's just my own thing when it comes to shows.  My 1st record was the Beatles live at the Hollywood Bowl, which I think came in at 45 minutes. I just like shows that are tight & to the point.

 

The 3-4 hour show is Bruce's thing, and always has been.  Most fans love it.  27 times is incredible.  

 

Just curious....what's your favorite record?

 

One of my first records was also Beatles at the Hollywood Bowl.  That was a great album! 

 

Put me down for loving it.

 

It's hard not to go with the masterpiece of Born To Run - 8 great songs..................But, I'd say my favorite is The River, since it was when I was finally totally on board with Bruce and my first Bruce show.  20 songs - about half party rockers and half great ballads.  

[Johnny Hammersticks]

Missed: In the early 2000s a group of us bought tickets to Rage Against the Machine and Beastie Boys in Toronto.  At the time two of my favorite bands.  I can’t remember what happened exactly, but the show got cancelled just a week or two before.  I was soooooo bummed out.

 

Regret:  I brought my wife to see Counting Crows at SPAC for her birthday a couple summers ago.  Not a huge fan, but I like one or two of their more popular songs.  Wife’s favorite band, so I decided to “take one for the team.”  It was absolutely the worst show I have ever witnessed, and I like all types of music.  I could have taken a nap during the concert.

[Just Jack]

2 hours ago, Johnny Hammersticks said:

Regret:  I brought my wife to see Counting Crows at SPAC for her birthday a couple summers ago.  Not a huge fan, but I like one or two of their more popular songs.  Wife’s favorite band, so I decided to “take one for the team.”  It was absolutely the worst show I have ever witnessed, and I like all types of music.  I could have taken a nap during the concert.

 

That's probably the same year my wife and her siblings saw them at Lakeview. She had the same thoughts, it was a bad concert. No energy, it was more like an acoustic set than a rock band. 

[MarkyMannn]

Missed.  Led Zep.  Plants son died and they never played again

 

Worst.  Trace Adkins.  Plays 2 songs, says tomorrows concert is 400 miles away and tonight to end shortly.  Plays 2 more and quits.

[The Poojer]

probably my biggest miss was of my own doing.  Steve Martin on his "let's get small" was playing the NYS fair and i had tickets, then i went and got myself grounded and my parents made me give my tickets to my sister.  It killed me that i had to miss it.  She repaid the favor a year or two later when she got grounded and had to give her REO "High Infidelity" tickets to me, that concert sold out in like a half hour, in the late 70's no less

[The Avenger]

Regret 1 - spent the summer working for Mercury records and pretty much being able to see any show in town for free by calling contacts at other labels. A friend of mine from Epic calls and invites me out - one of their new acts is in town and he is supposed to take them around and entertain them. I pass because I'd been to shows the previous 3 nights. The band: Pearl Jam

 

Regret 2 - Doing college radio I had the opportunity to interview lots of bands. One summer I worked it out to interview Ronnie James Dio when he was coming to the old Darien Lake Amphitheater. I was so psyched - I have always been a Dio fan and had always wanted to meet him. Before I leave for the show I get a call from his wife and manager, Wendy saying due to thunderstorms the show is cancelled and Ronnie can't even do the interview because they are leaving early to get to the next show - I was completely heartbroken.

 

Biggest Letdown - Saw Soundgarden in NYC in 1994 - the night of the OJ chase because Chris Cornell came out on stage to say that the cops were chasing OJ. Venue was the Lexington Ave Armory in Manhattan - the worst place I have ever been to for a show. Not only was the temp inside about 110 degrees, but the acoustics sucked the sound up into the ceiling. The band was playing and you literally could not tell what song they were playing - awful. Village Voice review of the show was titled "Soundgarden Seen But Not Heard at Armory" - that summed it all up.

Edited April 28, 2020 by The Avenger

[frostbitmic]

Almost had a chance to see Black Sabbath but they kicked Ozzy out of the band a few days before and cancelled the show. Almost got to see Led Zeppelin but Bonham died and that was that.

 

Worst I ever saw was Genesis in 1976. Phil Collins had recently replaced Peter Gabriel singing and sucked and the night before they played in Rochester their truck carrying their laser show rolled on the thruway and destroyed all of that.

[Shamrock]

Really wanted to see Geoff Tate in January. Had tickets. Sadly needed more surgery for my Prostate Ca. (Have had 3 this year, March’s end). Venue was good in accomodating me. Have a Dr mate who was going to come with me. Unfortunately got the nope from the hospital Dr’s. (Hoping to get all clear Tuesday).

 

Still recall missing Megadeth way back as a kid in the 90’s when they cancelled, I think Mustaine went into rehab. Metallica cancelled last October with Hetfield going into rehab!
 

Last Summer went to Download metal concert. Worse band was Alice in Chains. They came in after Aerodrome (from my home town) Anthrax and Behemoth and before Judas Priest and Slayer. They just sucked live,  surrounded by speed metal/ thrash and rock. 

[apuszczalowski]

Regret was probably The Tragically Hip at 'Butlers Barricks' in Niagara on the Lake. It was one of the first summer concerts held at the Fort (Dallas Green/City and Colour and another band had played since. I had bought a bunch of tickets to go and everyone that was supposed to go with me backed out (Friends wife was pregnant, so was mine, and my brother wasn't really interested). Ended up selling them at a loss. Never had a chance to see them play live

 

Miss was probably part of a show. I was at a festival show they used to do for a radio station north of Toronto, one of the bands that day was Jerry Cantrell from Alice in Chains when he did his solo tour. He walked off after few few songs. It was a hot July day,he had equipment issues after he had to go on early cause Sevendust who were supposed to go on before had a delay at the border so they decided to get Jerry to go on early in their place. Played. Couple songs with technical issues, complained that his equipment was melting  in the heat, swore a few times and refered to Sevendust as 'Seven*****' before ending a tantrum by storming off the stage. Sevendust came on later and were great.

 

It may have been the same show, but I remember I was at a festival show were Cake was one of the later bands to play. Wasn't a huge fan of them but thought a couple of their songs were ok. The came out to play, were really cocky and full of themselves, people started throwing water bottles at the stage and they stormed off before finishing their set.