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.

Mine was maybe Bon Jovi in Bristol a few years ago. The pitch was half-empty because people got stuck for hoooours in traffic and it was light for most of the gig so lights etc had no effect. The music all sounded weirdly slow.

All time worst ever band? Wayne County and the Electric Chairs, Reading Festival 1977. And I've seen a LOT of bands!

Best ones were Paul Weller
I saw Paul Weller at King Georges hall in Blackburn in 2015, I think it was. It was dull. The audience was flat and unimpressed. He came back 2 years later and it was a different vibe!

@WeCameToDance oh it wasn't always so...

First time I saw maiden was 198somethingwewontgointo. I got the barrier. Out came Eddie who was a lot less fancy then but still impressively huge and his arm fell off.
Steve Harris was stood in front of me hyper ventilating into his bass with laughter which set me off and in the end Adrian Smith chucked me a bottle of water.

Bloody great night that.

Michael buble was such a let down. So boring!!

Julie Andrews at the 02 - I know she'd had a voice op but she just shouldn't have done the gig. Dolly Parton, also the 02, started great and then went a bit too religious, we got bored, people started leaving. Worst ever was Primal Scream. Can't remember which festival it was but they were smug, rude and couldn't sing a note.

Having seen him live twice, I can say without hesitation Van Morrison. Once a concert that was just him, once at a festival. He just stands there. Sings the songs exactly as they sound on an album. No audience interaction. At all. Not a hello, thanks for coming. In fact, both times he wore a hat and sunglasses and it occurred to me that it could have been anyone up there lip syncing to his songs.

Double bill of Mark Knopfler and Bob Dylan some years ago. Knopfler was doing songs from an album of folk music he was working on, awful stuff and nothing anyone had heard of. Dylan was just dreadful, even his biggest songs were not recognisable

Oasis at Glastonbury. They were t speaking to each other or the crowd. Even the die-hard fans were slating them. We went to
See chemical brothers instead on the other stage.

Worst band ever was whoever supported Nickleback on the Silver Side Up tour. Nickleback were amazing as always, I'll never understand the hate.

Peter Frampton on a Monsters of Rock tour was godawful. Kept trying to make an arena of drunk brits get into his political rants. Nah mate.

Whitesnake supporting Dep Lep. Cov's voice ain't what it was and he just "baby baby baby-d" whilst his band sang. Sad, Iove Whitesnake.

Metallica at Download 2012 were great until all the cringey "Metallica family" bullshit.

Thankfully I've been to hundreds of amazing gigs and can't wait to see Skunk Anansie at the weekend.

Another vote for Bob Dylan, sadly very dissappointing. Didn't even acknowledge or even face the audience

Been to many great gigs but Springsteen is the one that always blows me away

Queens of The Stoneage. Utter utter shite.

Seen a couple of mentions of the Rolling Stones - OH saw them this year and seemed thrilled! He is however a man of simple pleasures

The Dandy Warhol's at the Forum, London. We left soon after they started playing, they improvised too much, one popular song became a guitar solo & lasted about 20 minutes, they were awful

I saw Blondie at Shepherd's Bush Empire in 2004, Debbie Harry's voice was fantastic.

I'm afraid its another vote for Eddie Izzard. Saw him in an improv show along with Steven Frost and some of the other stars of Whose Line is it Anyway, it was totally dire, so much so that many people were walking out at the interval. I think improv show are always hit or miss and what you see on the TV is actually many hours of footage condensed down into the 'funny' bits. In reality, it was hugely boring and unfunny experience. Eddie Izzard was dreadful, random for the sake of randomness.

Celine Dion though, was fantastic live in concert in Edinburgh many years ago. She can actually sing.
Bill Bailey was brilliant live.

Another one for lenny kravitz... Was shouting at the audience for not singing along......Bill Bailey... Just not funny and lastly jess Glynn, she butchered every song I stayed for (could only manage three)

Afraid it's Nickelback for me, school boy 'banter' in between songs or asking if anyone had any weed they wanted to share. The music was souless and very by numbers. Although to be fair I'm not a fan (went as I was desperate to see the support act, Rival Schools) so maybe that made it seem worse!
Sad to read about all the bad rhcp gigs, they were awesome early 90s when I saw them in various places.

So shocked to see oasis mentioned so many times! I've seen them a lot at different stages of their time as a group and every time come away totally blown away! Don't think I've got anyone to add!

I was dragged to see Norman Wisdom over 40 years ago - and I'm still trying not to cringe remembering it

His entire 1 hour act was singing When Irish Eyes Are Smiling while pretending to forget words, tripping up, nudging his piano player, giggling and pulling faces at everyone

It was downright excruciating

Dollar at the Hacienda about 87/88.
Not the right mix at all!

@Tana433 Hue and Cry were ace at Let's Rock over summer! Haven't seen the other two.

Someone else mentioned The Stranglers being disappointing, they were great last time I saw them.

Worst disappointment was probably the Stone Roses - as people have already said, Ian Brown hasn't been able to sing for at least 20 years now. The rest of the band are still great, so it's rather sad.

Worst crowd were for Ed Sheeran at V maybe six years ago. Two notes in and the pre-pubescent shrieking started up and stayed up for the entire set - could literally barely hear Ed's voice behind the screechy singalong. Had to leave for fear of our eardrums. As he was last on that did mean we got out the car park pretty quickly, so silver lining...

Saw Ed Byrne last year, he was coked off his tits and was like an LP played at 45, could barely tell what he was saying.

Very disappointed to hear about Reg D Hunter's current crapness, saw him maybe eight years ago and he was excellent - witty, urbane and without a trace of rapey misogyny.

Agree completely about Van Morrison. Seems to take a perverse pride in totally ignoring the audience. Is happy to take the money though

Lenny Henry- totally self absorbed.
I agree that, sadly,Alison Moyet has no empathy with her audience.
I have been to some great Oasis gigs and Liam alone has also been fabulous.
I ‘accidentally’ saw Wet, Wet, Wet and they were...

Bob Dylan, Manchester sometime - 20 years ago? No respect for his audience. Raced through his songs, clearly keen to get out of there. So was I.

Ian Brown, Blackpool, 90s. I left.

Moral of this story? Don’t see men who can’t sing.

Dylan never fails to disappoint. Still I can never resist giving him another chance.