AIBU to ask who is the worst performer/group you've seen live?

[Weston14]

Following on from a (very late-to-the-party) discussion about this year's Glasto with some friends over dinner tonight, where we all decided Lauryn Hill was an absolute let down, who is the worst performer or group you've ever seen live? Especially thinking of people you really liked who let you down here, not just "was dragged to see Take That with DSis and they were shite"

If you're not much of a music fan I suppose this stretches to comedians, actors, poets...anyone who gets up on stage and does a turn.

Bob Geldof at Carfest which is always billed as a family festival,he kept on about his designer clothes and you lot dressed in fucking Primark. He couldn't sing either.

Paul Young at a festival a couple of years ago, took him 2 songs to work out where the front of the stage was he was that drunk, forgot the words to most of the songs, not sure if anyone else was there by the end of his set, most of us were crammed into the second stage watching the end of a Motown tribute band wishing we'd been there from the start.

The Dandy Warhols in Sydney on 2001, they were at the peak of their popularity. They were so awful that people started booing them, to the point where they stopped halfway through their song Godless to ask the audience what we wanted them to do. "Stop being shit" was one of the responses i remember hearing. And this was at their own gig, not a festival, so everyone there wanted to see them.

Then saw them at a festival the following year in Dublin. Again dreadful, they finished and left the stage only to reappear a couple of minutes later saying something about being told they had another 15 mins left in their slot so they slugged through a couple more songs before being booed off at the correct finishing time.

A couple of years later i read an interview with them where they acknowledged they were bad live and had improved things. Subsequently saw them at a festival in Sydney and they were much better, i even enjoyed it

That’s a shame about the Dandy Warhols. I like them. Never seen them live.

That’s a shame about the Dandy Warhols. I like them. Never seen them live
They were good when I saw them at the Academy in Manchester.

@Tana433 I went to see Jason Donovan on one of his comeback tours in I think the very late 90s or early 2000 possibly. We went in a "this is ironic, we are cool students and shall laugh at him" frame of mind. Oh my god. He was brilliant. This is a small nightclub gig so he could have phoned it in, but he just had a great time. I was instantly 10 years old again and screaming. I knew ALL the words to his songs somehow. I loved it.

I accidently saw Hazel Dean once. It was so bad I've never forgotten.

@SistersOfPercy re Fall Out Boy, I’ve seen them twice and they were amazing both times! Once was at Reading Festival where I managed to push my way to the front on account of being surrounded by 16 year olds.

Where did you see them?

Saw KT Tunstall at a festival and it wasn’t great. Acoustics meant you couldn’t hear her at all just he beat of the drum

YouTheCat - Feeder are great! Also saw them with not much expectation but one of the best gigs I’ve been too. Also seen Depeche Mode 3 times RockinHippy now - appreciate they might have been sh@t very early on but they’ve been great live everytime I’ve seen them! Tori Amos on the other hand, absolutely dire!

I saw Motorhead once, way back when, at an Isle of Man TT.

I hope Lemmy could tell which songs he was singing because no other fucker could.

@ShirleyPhallus and @SistersOfPercy I’ve seen FoB several times (three I think, two being Reading Festival). Excellent every time :) On the notable occasion at Reading where the lead singer of PATD for bottled and knocked out on stage before he’d sung a note, they got the crowd to throw their missiles at each other which was...interesting.

I saw Van Morrison at Glastonbury and he was great. Saw him soon after at Cardiff and he was awful. I stayed until the end because I thought he would improve, he didn’t. Lots of bored mumbling under a hat.

@managedmis what on earth could Michael Flatley have done? Did he fall over?

I'm going to see Eddie Izzard in October in a smallish venue so I hope he's good as he's been on my bucket list for years.

We finally saw him at the NIA in 2013. Quite aside from it taking 35 minutes sitting in the car to leave the gig, it wasn't that good.

I'm old enough to remember the "Comedy is the new rock'n'roll" hype of the 90s (Newman and Baddiel selling out Wembley Arena and appearing on the cover of NME) ...

I saw The Corrs at a big London charity concert in the late 90s. I wasn’t really a fan, but thought at least they would be good performers as I thought they were ‘proper’ musicians. Not the case - they were hopelessly out of tune. Terrible.

I have also had the misfortune of seeing Frankie Boyle. Had high expectations, but he was dreadful. Didn’t read the audience at all, resulting in some very awkward silences.

Autumncrow, I can't tell what songs Motorhead are singing even when I'm listening to the album; Sadly dh big fan. Me I hear scary man shouting the same words over and over again.

Worst performer, Billy Bragg. Kept droning on about 'Drop the debt'' As someone behind me said at least when he's singing, he's not talking.

Milton Jones

Not funny

@ShirleyPhallus One was Leeds festival I think, with Panic coming before. The second time was in their own right in Manchester.

Jason Donovan at my graduation ball in 2001. I reckon he was at peak alcohol/drufs/self-loathing stage. He was rude, pissed and couldn't give a flying fuck.

Whigfield on the other hand, was fabulous

The worst thing I've ever seen at the theatre was The Snowman stage show. I took a school trip so couldn't walk out! It was so bad, I was embarrassed for the performers. Several dancers were overweight and couldn't get off the floor, the choreography was very, very basic and poorly executed, the awful music was just the film soundtrack repeated over and over. One poor student of mine had to go back the next day with his gran and watch it again!!

*Kings of Leon in Hyde Park. Dialing it in big time. Just couldn't be arsed.

I can't really listen to their music now as that night pissed me off so much. It was so bad that people were leaving early.*

I wonder if we were at the same gig?! I was a huge HUGE fan - had supported them since their debut EP - and felt so jealous when friends raved about them live as circumstance had, up until then, prevented me from going to see them too. I was massively disappointed and I still can't listen to their music now either.

I'm in two minds about this one: Ray LaMontagne at the Royal Albert Hall. Was at his "Trouble" peak and the tickets cost a small fortune. For some reason he stood sideways at his microphone which meant that, in the round, he had his back to half the audience.

After around 20-30 minutes, some very nasty heckling began from the boxes (I assume very expensive seats): "I didn't pay hundreds of quid to see the back of your head, mate!" and "Face front, you fucking tosser!" He obviously heard these comments but didn't acknowledge them at all. The atmosphere was awful. So, so uncomfortable to watch.

Oh but Amy Winehouse touring her first album was FABULOUS. It's sad to know what she was capable of before it all went wrong for her.

In contrast, Dean Friedman who I went to see because I confused him with someone else, was excellent.

Not really my type of music, but he is great on stage, played unaccompanied, did requests, engaged with his audience. Apparently he has a fiercely loyal fan base.

Also yes to Reginald D Hunter be the worst ever live comedian, and I've seen some corkers in my time. His weird sexist Australian support act was crap, too, but we weren't paying the megabucks to see that guy. We were expecting a funny, droll Reginald - instead we got an embittered, awkward, stumbling slice of tedium pie.

Vile, nasty misogyny from the pair of them. Must have been a barrel of laughs in their tour bus of an evening.

Another vote for Dylan - saw him at Benicassim years ago and it was just so very sad. He was awful. I love his music and I was so disappointed.

Also Kelly Osborne at Knebworth one year. Poor lass was completely flat.