Worst Trainwreck You Have Seen Live

HughFreakingDillon · April 2022

agreed 100% about mudhoney. left our seats to hang out in the beer lines until PJ came on.

PJ_Soul · April 2022

Soundgarden at the Queen E.

The sound was beyond shit, Chris was in a shitty mood, the crowd was shitty, and the stage curtains were malfunctioning, so they opened and closed over the backdrop screen for the entire concert.

It was truly a shit show!

Mudhoney opening for PJ in Missoula 2012. It was so loud it literally made me sick to my stomach. A lot of people had to leave the stadium for their set. They were also a trainwreck opening for PJ in Vancouver 2013. Mark Arm was acting like a weirdo, but not in a good way. It was super awkward.

Vince Neil at a casino nearby, LOL. We went because we got free tickets and it was close to home. The crowd was so wasted, and Vince was also so wasted, and he sucked, so the drunk-ass crowd started throwing drinks at him, and he started hurling beer bottles back at us, and then he told us all to go fuck ourselves, and marched off the stage and never came back, HAHAHAHAHA.

tempo_n_groove · April 2022

HughFreakingDillon said:

agreed 100% about mudhoney. left our seats to hang out in the beer lines until PJ came on.

I'll third Mudhoney. They toured w PJ in 13? Well whatever that was I remember them sounding off? But yeah, that was just how they sounded.

PJ_Soul · April 2022

tempo_n_groove said:

HughFreakingDillon said:

agreed 100% about mudhoney. left our seats to hang out in the beer lines until PJ came on.

I'll third Mudhoney. They toured w PJ in 13? Well whatever that was I remember them sounding off? But yeah, that was just how they sounded.

I think they only did the west coast shows in 2013. The rest of the tour had no opener. I was SO bummed when I heard the news, lol.

OnWis97 · April 2022

iOnlyownMymind said:

OnWis97 said:

brianlux said:

I must be the luckiest music fan on earth. I've never seen a show that I thought was a train wreck, never a truly awful show, never one I walked away from feeling cheated. Like my Pop once said, "I'm a lucky Lux!"

Same. I've seen a couple of mediocre performers but nobody that was a true train wreck. The only thing I've ever left early was when the Mars Volta was the first of two openers for the RHCP. We went into the concourse for the duration because it was unbelievably loud...I hadn't heard of them so I didn't know any songs. But that's not quite the same thing.

Was that the Excel Energy Center show on the Stadium Arcadium tour? I was at that show. They were loud, the lead singer went out in the crowd and was grabbing random people's beers and throwing them in the air and then chucked a giant trash can at the back of the floor, haha. I liked the set though but most didn't appear into it at all. RHCP was good as was the jam at the end with the Mars Volta guitarist.

Albany, NY. It was in 2003 or 2004.

I had not even heard of Mars Volta. I later found out that some people on this forum liked them...I probably should listen to some studio songs, but I really did not get a good feeling from that experience.

iammine16 · April 2022

PJ_Soul said:

Soundgarden at the Queen E.
The sound was beyond shit, Chris was in a shitty mood, the crowd was shitty, and the stage curtains were malfunctioning, so they opened and closed over the backdrop screen for the entire concert. It was truly a shit show!

Mudhoney opening for PJ in Missoula 2012. It was so loud it literally made me sick to my stomach. A lot of people had to leave the stadium for their set. They were also a trainwreck opening for PJ in Vancouver 2013. Mark Arm was acting like a weirdo, but not in a good way. It was super awkward.

Vince Neil at a casino nearby, LOL. We went because we got free tickets and it was close to home. The crowd was so wasted, and Vince was also so wasted, and he sucked, so the drunk-ass crowd started throwing drinks at him, and he started hurling beer bottles back at us, and then he told us all to go fuck ourselves, and marched off the stage and never came back, HAHAHAHAHA.

That Soundgarden show was definitely a train wreck. My ears still hurt from the awful sound lol. I don't fully remember Chris being in a shitty mood, but I definitely remember Ben being in an horrible mood. Easily the biggest anticipation to let down for a concert for me. The only good thing was meeting Matt Cameron after the show and getting my King Animal vinyl signed by him. Oh and the poster was awesome too!

Zod · April 2022

PJ_Soul said:

Soundgarden at the Queen E.
The sound was beyond shit, Chris was in a shitty mood, the crowd was shitty, and the stage curtains were malfunctioning, so they opened and closed over the backdrop screen for the entire concert. It was truly a shit show!

Mudhoney opening for PJ in Missoula 2012. It was so loud it literally made me sick to my stomach. A lot of people had to leave the stadium for their set. They were also a trainwreck opening for PJ in Vancouver 2013. Mark Arm was acting like a weirdo, but not in a good way. It was super awkward.

Vince Neil at a casino nearby, LOL. We went because we got free tickets and it was close to home. The crowd was so wasted, and Vince was also so wasted, and he sucked, so the drunk-ass crowd started throwing drinks at him, and he started hurling beer bottles back at us, and then he told us all to go fuck ourselves, and marched off the stage and never came back, HAHAHAHAHA.

Are you talking about the Soundgarden show in 2013? I think that's the last time I ever saw Soundgarden. I thought the show was solid, but the audio quality was the shits. I found an audience recording of it later on and thought it sounded way better than I remembered it. Out of all the times I saw soundgarden, it's my least favourite, but I didn't feel it was a trainwreck... just not a great show. No idea what was up with the audio. Maybe the band was frustrated with it. I do have a variant of the concert poster from that show up in my house.

I guess I did only see 2 soundgarden during the reunited era. The one at the Gorge in 2011 was infinitely better

tempo_n_groove · April 2022

PJ_Soul said:

tempo_n_groove said:

HughFreakingDillon said:

agreed 100% about mudhoney. left our seats to hang out in the beer lines until PJ came on.

I'll third Mudhoney. They toured w PJ in 13? Well whatever that was I remember them sounding off? But yeah, that was just how they sounded.

I think they only did the west coast shows in 2013. The rest of the tour had no opener. I was SO bummed when I heard the news, lol.

I was at Seattle 13 so that makes sense.

brianlux · April 2022

eddiec said:

Yusuf Islam aka Cat Stevens- Dublin 2009

I went to see his 1st show back since his decision to quit performing in the '70's. It was sold out and tickets were expensive. He opened with a few new songs that were okay, but everybody was there for his classics, obviously.

Then he leaves the stage for the 2nd part of the show- what he kept telling the audience was a 'surprise'. This was supposed to be a preview of a new musical he had conceived that was going to open in London. It was a full blown musical of his most famous songs with loads of actors and a full stage design- set to a theme of some kid struggling in life, and it went on FOREVER. In this musical portion were all his best tunes being sung by actors. I actually felt bad for them. The audience completely turned. The whistles and boos were nearly drowning them out and people were streaming for the exits. A song would end and you were just praying it was over, but the actors would come back onstage and start singing songs like Wild World. The audience was losing its mind, literally standing up and screaming at the actors. The whole thing was just so embarrassing, I don't know what Cat was thinking.

He came back onstage for the 3rd part and started with another new song he had recently written. More boos. Then he played a few classics which settled everybody down, but the damage had been done. I've never been so uncomfortable at a show in my life. I'd say about half the audience had left before he returned for the 3rd part. He apologised at the end.

After the Dublin show, he was set to perform a few more shows in the UK. At least for those shows he rejigged the entire thing and shortened the musical part- putting it first if I remember.

I've only seen one performance ever where the artist was booed (Dino Valenti, which I wrote about above). To my way of thinking, booing an artist is one of the more shameful characteristics of people. Even if the artist were intentionally antagonizing an audience (something I've never experienced) I would still not boo. That kind of behavior says more about the people booing than it does the artist, especially when the performer had no antagonizing intent toward the audience. Just another reminder of how disgusting humans can be.

brianlux · April 2022

PJ_Soul said:

Soundgarden at the Queen E.
The sound was beyond shit, Chris was in a shitty mood, the crowd was shitty, and the stage curtains were malfunctioning, so they opened and closed over the backdrop screen for the entire concert. It was truly a shit show!

Mudhoney opening for PJ in Missoula 2012. It was so loud it literally made me sick to my stomach. A lot of people had to leave the stadium for their set. They were also a trainwreck opening for PJ in Vancouver 2013. Mark Arm was acting like a weirdo, but not in a good way. It was super awkward.

Vince Neil at a casino nearby, LOL. We went because we got free tickets and it was close to home. The crowd was so wasted, and Vince was also so wasted, and he sucked, so the drunk-ass crowd started throwing drinks at him, and he started hurling beer bottles back at us, and then he told us all to go fuck ourselves, and marched off the stage and never came back, HAHAHAHAHA.

Mudhoney, Missoula! I get the shakes thinking about it! I was terrified before that show because I had not been to a large/loud venue in the years following my hearing getting trashed by a loud combustion of gasses in 1993. I knew seeing just PJ alone would put my ears through hell so I stayed outside and listened to Mudhoney from in front of the venue. Even at a distance, the sound level was terrifying! But I did go in to see PJ and they were loud, even with my wearing ear plugs AND ear muffs, but damn, what a fine show! It ranks up there with one of the very best shows I've ever seen, including seeing Jimi Hendrix and The Who in 1968. My ears hurt and rang worse than ever for days afterward, but the glow of that great show has stayed with me ever since!

HughFreakingDillon · April 2022

I know what you are saying Brian. I have only booed, albeit jokingly, at Billy Corgan, as he and the Pumpkins have been here 3 times, and two of those times he antagonized the audience by joking about the Winnipeg Jets leaving for Phoenix (by the third show, the Jets had returned).

That being said, if an audience is expected/allowed to express their pleasure at a show by clapping at the artist, should the audience not also be allowed to express their displeasure? I'd obviously feel bad for the actors hired for the above; not at all their fault. But when a crowd pays good money to see an artist after that long, should there not be some sort of expectation? or is the audience just supposed to lap up whatever drivel the performer may decide to perform? I saw Eric Clapton in 2007. He had, to my knowledge, never been to Winnipeg before. And he largely ignored his hits. The show sucked ass. He allowed his ego to take over and play a bunch of shit no one knew. I don't recall anyone booing, but every single person was sitting the entire show. I'd never seen that at a rock show before.

I suppose it depends also how the show was promoted. If there was no prior notice of this "musical", I'd have been pissed too.

eddiec · April 2022

brianlux said:

eddiec said:

Yusuf Islam aka Cat Stevens- Dublin 2009

I went to see his 1st show back since his decision to quit performing in the '70's. It was sold out and tickets were expensive. He opened with a few new songs that were okay, but everybody was there for his classics, obviously.

Then he leaves the stage for the 2nd part of the show- what he kept telling the audience was a 'surprise'. This was supposed to be a preview of a new musical he had conceived that was going to open in London. It was a full blown musical of his most famous songs with loads of actors and a full stage design- set to a theme of some kid struggling in life, and it went on FOREVER. In this musical portion were all his best tunes being sung by actors. I actually felt bad for them. The audience completely turned. The whistles and boos were nearly drowning them out and people were streaming for the exits. A song would end and you were just praying it was over, but the actors would come back onstage and start singing songs like Wild World. The audience was losing its mind, literally standing up and screaming at the actors. The whole thing was just so embarrassing, I don't know what Cat was thinking.

He came back onstage for the 3rd part and started with another new song he had recently written. More boos. Then he played a few classics which settled everybody down, but the damage had been done. I've never been so uncomfortable at a show in my life. I'd say about half the audience had left before he returned for the 3rd part. He apologised at the end.

After the Dublin show, he was set to perform a few more shows in the UK. At least for those shows he rejigged the entire thing and shortened the musical part- putting it first if I remember.

I've only seen one performance ever where the artist was booed (Dino Valenti, which I wrote about above). To my way of thinking, booing an artist is one of the more shameful characteristics of people. Even if the artist were intentionally antagonizing an audience (something I've never experienced) I would still not boo. That kind of behavior says more about the people booing than it does the artist, especially when the performer had no antagonizing intent toward the audience. Just another reminder of how disgusting humans can be.

Yeah, it was very uncomfortable seeing the audience turn like that. A few days after, a famous radio talk show host (Gerry Ryan) lambasted the Irish crowd on his show.

I just found this article:

'A 40-minute interlude promoting Moonshadow, a new West End musical based on his songs, provoked their ire. Though he flagged it in interviews ahead of the concert, many just wanted to hear old Cat Stevens material.

Radio presenter Gerry Ryan, who was there, said he had never seen such a “level of hate and bile and viciousness” from an Irish audience. He heard one fan shout at the singer: “play Peace Train, you f***ing b******”.

He said he met Yusuf after the show and the singer was “utterly shocked” and his family, who were in the audience, were traumatised by what had happened. “I really felt so incredibly ashamed,” Ryan added.

One caller to Ryan’s 2FM show blamed the recession for the vitriol directed at the singer.

“The problem is that there is such a level of aggression at the moment in the country and this was just a catalyst,” she said. Another caller blamed the booing on “brain-dead yobbos”.' https://www.irishtimes.com/news/yusuf-jeered-by-fans-at-comeback-concert-1.772917

JOEJOEJOE · April 2022

JOEJOEJOE said:

I saw The Lemonheads this past Sunday. They performed the entire "It's a Shame About Ray" album, which is an incredible record.

However, Evan Dando is so far gone that it was difficult to tell what song was what! Don't know if it due to mental illness or drugs, but he was way out of sorts. If possible, I hope he gets help!

The last trainwreck show I saw was the Pogues in 2009. Shane McGowan was barely able to sing or stand-up by the end of the show!

Looks like the Lemonheads have been pulled from the bill at Jawbreaker shows in 3 cities......I hope Evan Dando is ok!

steveddievedder · April 2022

What a great thread. Agree with some of the folks earlier about Kings Of Leon, one of the most boring / awful shows I have ever seen.

Biggest train wreck for me was Oasis in Glasgow in 97 I think - half way through the show someone threw a bottle which hit someone in the band, who then all walked off and never returned. Crowd started off pretty bemused but when it became clear the band were not coming back out it became a bit of a riot and the place was wrecked, police had to be called in and it was not a nice place to be at all.

static111 · April 2022

2-feign-reluctance said:

tempo_n_groove said:

2015 or 16 Headliner Bob Dylan. Before them we had Ryan Bingham, Wilco and Beck as openers so it was a good show.

When Dylan sang, or lack thereof, the crowd left in droves.

His voice was hoarse and monotone.

Apparently when he’s on, he’s like really on. But yeah, it’s super rough hearing anything he’s done after the Travelling Wilburys.

I've seen Bob more times than I've seen PJ, 20+, since 1999... Of those shows at least half were incredibly amazing and as good or better than any PJ or Neil Young show I have ever attended...the rest were just hard to attend. Saw him at the end of March and it was interesting because all of the material from the new album was A+ but the couple of classics they played were what I would call uninspired at best, usually it has been all or none with Bob. That said, see him if you can, it might be the best show you've ever seen, but then again it might be amongst the worst.

brianlux · April 2022

HughFreakingDillon said:

I know what you are saying Brian. I have only booed, albeit jokingly, at Billy Corgan, as he and the Pumpkins have been here 3 times, and two of those times he antagonized the audience by joking about the Winnipeg Jets leaving for Phoenix (by the third show, the Jets had returned).

That being said, if an audience is expected/allowed to express their pleasure at a show by clapping at the artist, should the audience not also be allowed to express their displeasure? I'd obviously feel bad for the actors hired for the above; not at all their fault. But when a crowd pays good money to see an artist after that long, should there not be some sort of expectation? or is the audience just supposed to lap up whatever drivel the performer may decide to perform? I saw Eric Clapton in 2007. He had, to my knowledge, never been to Winnipeg before. And he largely ignored his hits. The show sucked ass. He allowed his ego to take over and play a bunch of shit no one knew. I don't recall anyone booing, but every single person was sitting the entire show. I'd never seen that at a rock show before.

I suppose it depends also how the show was promoted. If there was no prior notice of this "musical", I'd have been pissed too.

Allowed? Yes, absolutely. But to my way of thinking, unless the artist has intentionally provoked the audience, I would say booing lowers the audience as much as anything.

There would only be one exception for me, and because he is no longer with us, it would not be possible for me to do it. I wish I could. That artist is Lou Reed. I would have "booed" Lou big time:

LOUUUUUUUU!!! LOUUUUUUUUU!!! LOUUUUUUUUU!!!

Loujoe · April 2022

Hi

Loujoe · April 2022

Like when Boom comes out at PJ. I always dropped the BOOOOOOOOOOOM! Never a boooo.

tempo_n_groove · April 2022

steveddievedder said:

What a great thread. Agree with some of the folks earlier about Kings Of Leon, one of the most boring / awful shows I have ever seen.

Biggest train wreck for me was Oasis in Glasgow in 97 I think - half way through the show someone threw a bottle which hit someone in the band, who then all walked off and never returned. Crowd started off pretty bemused but when it became clear the band were not coming back out it became a bit of a riot and the place was wrecked, police had to be called in and it was not a nice place to be at all.

I have never understood gong to a show and paying for a ticket to the band you wanted to see and then throwing something at one of them.

That person should have been identified and tossed but in 97 things like that didn't happen.

steveddievedder · April 2022

tempo_n_groove said:

I have never understood gong to a show and paying for a ticket to the band you wanted to see and then throwing something at one of them.

That person should have been identified and tossed but in 97 things like that didn't happen.

Exactly, and doing that would have made the band heroes for standing up to whoever it was and carrying on the gig for everyone else.

Worst Trainwreck You Have Seen Live

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