Badmovies.org Forum

Hey music lovers!
Have you ever loved the music of a band and then seen them live in concert or watched a live performance on tv, and they just didn't bring their A-game.. or even B-game.  This might be an isolated incident in which they sucked, or maybe they just aren't good live and go through the motions/change the lyrics around/act like jerks/etc. 

I've seen some concerts on tv of Steve Miller, and I thought he was awful.. not his music by any means, but his vocal performance.  Way off.

What examples can YOU think of?

Worst/most disappointing I've ever seen was The Cult, opening for Metallica in 1989. I was a big time Metallica fanboy at the time and I also dug the Cult's then-current Sonic Temple album so I was psyched for a killer show from both bands. Unfortunately it was not to be. The Cult's performance was abysmal. Ian Astbury was apparently drunk as a skunk cuz he kept blowing lyrics, stumbling around the stage, and looking confused. Eventually he just laid down on the drum riser and mumbled into the mike while the band played around him.

I learned later that I caught The Cult on the tail end of their run with Metallica and by that point they'd gotten so tired of being mercilessly hazed by the Metallica audience that they'd simply given up trying. I was there to see BOTH bands but I guess I must have been in the minority.

I still dig The Cult, I own almost all of their albums, but I never bothered to see'em live again.

Well, I saw the Pogues once and Shane MacGowan was too drunk to perform... but everyone pretty much expected that and had a good time anyway.

This might sound wrong to the big music lovers on the board, but.....just about any band for me.  Its not that they weren't bringing their A-game or not trying, its just that I prefer the studio recordings to the live version.  I like the level of polish, clarity,  and the bells and whistles you can put in a recording that you really don't get during the live events.  Granted-I've heard songs that over did it with things like auto tune, but then again, I'm just not a concert goer.

I agree in most cases. Anything that involves a lot of production usually doesn't translate well live. And concerts generally go on way to long for my taste. I do like to see jazz live, though.

TRHCP are clearly a studio-polished group. I heard them live, they sounded like some garage band, and I think they knew it because they spent the concert running around acting nuts instead of putting much effort into the music. Their albums have some great songs, but at least the one time I saw them, they sucked.

Green Day acted like total a***oles, to be frank, and I read an interview with Billie Joe Armstrong where he said he hates doing shows in red states. I think that showed loud and clear.

The one time I saw NIN (opening for Bowie in '95) I was surprised at how half-assed Trent Reznor's performance was, and it was in his home town too. He kept glaring at the crowd like he wanted to be anyplace else, and then throwing down the mic time and time again, and a roadie would rush out and pick it up for him. (Bowie was the real attraction and gave us a concert worth ten times what we paid.)

Liz Phair, my 2003 girl crush also didn't sound so good in person because her voice is thin and kind of weak. She did better, I think, in a smaller venues than the one we saw her in: her best-ever work was always in Chicago indie clubs. Hey, she gave me a hug after the concert and seemed like a nice person, that was cool.

The Smashing Pumpkins always gave a good show, but the last time I heard them in the '90s (before my ill-fated effort to see them last year...) I was left with the strong impression that they were all desperately burnt out on what they were doing, and Billy in particular was phoning his vocals in from someplace other than his physical body.  D'arcy looked like she was ready to fall over she was so lethargic. (She's since discussed her heroin addiction during that time.)

Off topic a little, silly as I feel to say this, credit where it's due, and years ago I took my cousin's daughter to see Ashley Simpson during Ashley Simpson's brief popularity, and I have to say, the girl wasn't lip-syncing that night, and she seemed to be trying hard to give the kids their money's worth. I found new respect for her.

MegaDeth has always been a bit disappointing live for me. Alanis Morrisette was also pretty poor when I saw her. I think the most disappointing band I've seen live though were Iron Maiden. I love Bruce Dickenson's voice but he just didn't seem to have much charisma as a live performer. When I saw them fronted by Blaze Bailey I thought they were a much better live act.

Saw DAVID BOWIE on his Glass Spider Tour in the late 1980s... an interesting and somewhat memorable show for SQUEEZE the opening act (they were great) the giant inflatable spider, and BOWIE descending on a wire, like he was on a spider's thread, to the stage.  His performance was not memorable. 

Saw CULTURE CLUB probably in 1984 at the once called Brendan Byrne Arena.  BOY GEORGE had a thin, barely audible voice which I think he had strained during that tour.  Not good. 

And yes, I saw MARKY MARK at some ballroom in NYC.  Lousy show. 

I saw Willie Nelson on a triple bill (with John Mellencamp and Bob Dylan) and it was like he was sleepwalking through his set. After 40 years on the road playing the same songs he's earned it, though.

I once saw The Moody Blues in concert - not live, but on a DVD - and I went  :buggedout: - they really didn't sound the same. Probably due to what Rev Powell said about a lot of production not sounding good live.

I still like the Moodies though.  :smile:

I gotta say, so far, every concert I've been to has been phenomenal.  I mean, some bands didn't play certain songs I wanted to hear, but otherwise they played great.