What has been the biggest disappointment ? A band or artist you have seen live who for whatever reason you thought were poor.
In 1997 I went to see a double headline show - Elton John and Billy Joel in Glasgow. Billy Joel smashed it. He had gone for a few pints at the famous Horseshoe Bar pre-gig and was on great form. The same could not be said for Elton John who was all style over substance. You know when a performance is so polished, glossy and saccharine it makes you boak ( feel sick ) ?
So people, what has been your most disappointing gig?
Prince, Lloyd Cole & the Commotions, and Sting are the ones that come to mind right now, there are probably others but these 3 were certainly disappointing.
Prince (Wembey Arena 1991) took the piss and arrived 1.30 hours late so we left shortly after he arrived, Lloyd Cole (Nice 1990) looked like he couldn’t give a shit and hoped he was anywhere else but on the stage, and Sting (Antibes 2017) spent every other song pointing the mike towards the crowd for the crowd to sing. Made me cringe!
To be serious, there hasn’t been a gig that I’ve been disappointed by, though there have been some that I haven’t enjoyed, but then I knew I wouldn’t before I went in. All those that I’m a fan of and I’ve wanted to see have all lived up to expectations.
Kiss on the Crazy Nights tour - really lackluster, whereas last year they were fantastic!
Whitesnake on the 1987 tour had really looked forward to seeing them but was bored throughout
I can’t honestly say I’ve been disappointed in a gig I’ve been too.
Technically I suppose I would say Gen Hughes when Fish blew him off the stage in Glasgow, albeit I wasnt there to see Hughes, but his shenanigans with previous Fish gigs re sound problems etc that has been well documented on, as well as his Amercanised style of rock showmanship which I thought was god awful never mind each one of his 5 songs I stayed for before I left all sounded the bloody same.
Great singer other than that pish!
I would say Robbie Williams (but I can’t remember what year)…Obviously not in good shape.he didn’t give a fuck about the crowd…went to see him because I bought the Live in Knebworth dvd and found it absolutely awesome…what a disappointment !
I’ve not really had any major disappointments apart from a couple of Fish cancellations and the pretty awful sound quality last time he played Queen’s Hall.
I do, however, have quite a few I was expecting to not enjoy, but really did:
Rush at the MEN on the R30 tour September 2004. I’m not a huge Rush fan, but my mate had a spare ticket, so I went along. I wasn’t expecting such a fun, celebratory show. I knew very few of their songs, but they’d just released Feedback, so there were plenty of cover versions in the set to add to The Spirit Of Radio, The Trees, the 2112 stuff and Xanadu
Magnum at Manchester Academy2 April 2011 - Again, never been a huge fan (only knew about 25% of the set), and only went to keep my mate company, but they were really good.
Marillion’s 2011 Christmas show at Manchester Academy. I don’t really do post-Fish Marillion and, again, only went to keep the same mate company. Most enjoyable!
The Who at Liverpool Echo Arena April 2017. I was expecting Daltrey’s voice to be absolutely shot, but it was back to its old, powerful, compelling (almost) best. Brilliant show, and a free ticket (from, yes, that same mate again!)
Not exactly disappointing, but enjoyed E.L.O less than I thought I would. Sometimes a gig can be too big, and too spectacular. I completely expected the slick flashiness, but it also felt quite impersonal. - I doubt very much I’d go to any large gigs any more.
Actually…
Pink Floyd at London Docklands Arena in 1989. Nothing wrong with the gig or the performance in any way, but we were too close to the front (about 3 rows back) - the only time I’ve ever been disappointed by this particular problem. It meant we basically missed the spectacular light show, because it’s obviously best viewed from some distance and height - not really designed for maximum enjoyment from row 3
Still…There are worse disappointments to have, I guess
Marillion on the ‘Less is More’ tour. Just because it’s an acoustic show doesn’t mean the band has to sit down throughout ( I have enjoyed other non-Fish Marillion gigs)
