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.

except a medium at my local community centre- I walked out in the interval. He couldn't get the audience to own up to knowing anyone he 'contacted', so embarrassing

I have a mental picture of this, and it's really making me laugh!

I've got to defend Bowling for Soup. I've seen them about 5 times and they were fantastic - really engaged with the audience, really funny, sound great live and such lovely people too. Usually enjoy the support bands as well - it was the Bloodhound Gang one year. Now that was an experience...

Having said that, it's been a good few years since I last saw them live, and I know Jaret hasn't been in the best of health. It will be very sad if they have started to slide.

The Smashing Pumpkins. Billy Corgan can't sing at all and spent the show throwing water bottles at the crowd. Absolute asshat.

On the same note the Foo Fighters played the same festival and were awesome.

Heather Small, turned up 2hrs late and was extremely rude. She thought herself something special but she was awful. We left. However Chesney Hawkes was amazing.

Saw The Lightning Seeds at the Edinburgh Venue in about 93/94 and they were shit. Didn't come on stage until 11pm (and it was midweek!), no interaction with audience and it was before most of their big hits so only knew a couple of songs. Cast, the support act, were amazing though!

I second Crowded House being rubbish, about 10 years ago.

On the other hand saw Garbage at the Usher Hall in Edinburgh a few years ago and they were amazing. Maybe as it was their home crowd? Deacon Blue, OMD, Pretenders and The Feeling all fab too.

Pearl Jam in Manchester. We couldn’t get tickets for Glasgow so went to the MEN Arena; the sound was awful and band were arguing with one another and played all their b sides and obscure (not brilliant) tracks. The bootleg of the Glasgow concert was brilliant

Kylie. 2 songs and 10m to change outfit and repeat ad Infinitum. Booooring!

Elton John in the 80s. Thought it’d be amazing and flamboyant. Was totally boring. He just sat at piano and bashed out the songs - no interaction or high jinx.

David O Doherty! Forgot about him - he was bloody brilliant! Genuinely hilarious.

James Acaster also brilliant.

Dylan Moran seemed terrified through the whole thing. Liked it but don’t really remember any of it - it just felt a bit uncomfortable.

Michael Jackson for me too.
He probably only sang about 8 songs.
They just went on and on and on.........
Total crap.

Jimmy Carr wasn't great either.

Worst was UB40 at the Manchester Apollo in the early 80's. Strange cos when I've seen them on tv and Youtube etc they do sound good live. Also, this isn't about their performance but went to see Metallica this year at the Etihad stadium and the sound was so bad I rang the stadium to complain next morning. It was such bad reverb from the speakers (we were near the front) that I actually couldn't hear James sing or make out the guitars, just thudding, booming and distortion. Yet on Youtube videos Ive watched that people took that night it sounds good. The stadium blamed Livenations speakers and said they had a long list of complaining emails to get through about the issue.

As an aside, what does 'dialling it in' mean?!

The Proclaimers, they just stood there, as if they'd been stuffed. And Maddy Prior, was very disappointing.

Best concerts, Queen, Michael jackson, Genesis and seen the Eagles 3 times excellent every time. Will always go to 10cc concerts sing all the old songs (I know all thd words) chat to audience always a good night.

Rod Stewart in his leopardskin leggings era at Wembley. He was awful, tuneless and self obsessed.
Just like Kenny Everett's send up of him really. Luckily I went as a last minute favour to a friend so didn't have to pay.

Have seen Van Morrison a few times. There's no interaction, he seems uncomfortable with the attention and is very grumpy. That said I still love his voice and music so would watch him again just for that.

The best performances would have to be Spandau, Squeeze, Nizlopi and Queen (post-Freddie sadly but with the amazing Adam Lambert). Squeeze are just joyful to watch, loads of interaction and play all the songs you want to hear.

Nizlopi were so much more than the JCB song - they started their set in the audience right next to me. Beautiful voices and a lovely warm vibe. Adam Lambert had the charisma and voice to pull off Freddie's songs so well. Not an impersonation in any sense but still true to the original. Brian May's solo went on forever though and was deadly boring. Spandau were always great value, fun, hit after hit and Tony Hadley could sing a nursery rhymes and make it sound good.

i liked crowded house.

Paul McCartney at the 2012 open ceremony was utterly dire. I was in the back row and I guess sound could distort be he sounded dreadful...

The Cheeky Girls

Bloody hell, Cuppa - are those two ugly transylvanian trollops still doing the rounds?

They were shite even in their - well, "prime" isn't the word - perhaps "least worst" would be more accurate.

I think dialling it in comes from the days of radio plays when the performer couldn't be bothered to come to the studio and just did their lines over the phone. So it means "half arsed."

(Jillian Michael's is always saying 'Don't phone this in!" on the 30 Day Shred so I had to ask this on another thread.)

I must have got lucky cos Oasis were amazing every time I saw them (from mid 90s to when they split) and saw RHCP a couple of times at Festivals and they were good.
Worst was Kevin Rowland at Reading in 99 or 2000. He came onstage in a dress and stockings and sang The Greatest Love of All. He got hammered with piss bottles, just wasn't the right crowd and was incredibly uncomfortable. I felt awful for him.

Phoning it in - can’t be arsed to turn up.

All Saints back in the late 90's.

(Yet) another vote for Oasis - well, Liam actually. Saw them in Brisbane in early 1998. Liam had just been done for thumping someone and was stupidly moody and tuneless. Finally, he decided he'd had enough and flounced off, at which point Noel took over vocals and everything improved markedly.

Oh - and there was a cane toad down the venue's women's toilet, which was disturbing...

696 posts and no one mentions Black Sabbath with Ian Gillan on vocals in 1983 ?

Saw them at Reading and they were dire. However the memory is saved by seeing Thin Lizzy - who still rank as one of the better live acts I've seen.

Lil kim, really awful live I thought shed kick ass

worst concert i ever heard was rod stewart recently ....never saw it, was laying in bed and could hear the warbling from there....dont know why anyone would pay money to see him screeching like that....im almost miffed i cant ask for my money back lol