Who was/is the worst live band ever?

[puppyonacid]

Just something that has crossed my mind.

I see polls etc about amazing live bands. And I guess it is a matter of opinion but bands like our beloved DT, Queen and Floyd have that sort of reputation for being great bands live. And even if you're not turned on by these bands in a live environment, it'd be hard to argue that they are terrible live.

So what makes a terrible live band? I'm not talking about the worst gig you've ever been to. Even the greatest of the great will have gigs that they'd rather forget. I mean a band that actually makes a decent record but for some reason just cannot cut it live.

I remember back in the 90's there was a band called the Boo Radleys. Not my kind of thing really but they didn't sound awful if you were in to that sort of music. But they quickly gained a reputation for being a terrible live band; so much so that they were given the nickname "the Do badlys".

I actually can't think of a band that has always been consistantly terrible live. I suppose any band like that won't be around for long. But I could be wrong.

Thoughts?

[ariich]

Dragonforce perhaps? Although I saw them live many years ago and they put on a really fun show that sounded pretty good, but when listening to recordings they do sound hilariously bad in terms of the number of mistakes and amount of really sloppy playing.

[puppyonacid]

But you had fun at the show? So does that make it ok? Honest question.

I saw a vid of Living Colour playing live on YT and I wasn't really impressed. Loads of energy but I thought it sounded poop. But, the audience were really in to it and I figured that I would have probably loved it had I been there as it was a very energetic performance. It's probably a highly subjective question. I'm just curious as to what makes a band a "bad" live band and are there any famous examples?

[rumborak]

To answer the question of what makes a terrible band, it's one that plays consistently past their limit of skill. So, they've practiced for months to not fall apart during the gig, but it still feels like a ride in a 1965 Volkswagen that's held together by rust.

I have to be honest and say that my last band (the DT tribute band) wasn't all that good live. I think it's partially because we were playing such challenging stuff that we had little time to present a unified experience. Our singer hopping around like a kid during recess probably didn't exactly help either

[puppyonacid]

Excellent analogy.

But can you give me an example?

[rumborak]

Ninja edited my post

[rumborak]

Additionally there's also whole genres that just don't translate to a live experience. Rap artists being the prime example. Electronic music too, because it's either computers doing the work, or watching some guy stand behind a keyboard. One of my worst live concerts I've been to was Pet Shop Boys. Loved the music, but live it was terrible.

[YtseBitsySpider]

Shockingly the two worst concerts I've ever seen were by bands who both are amazing studio and live, yet for some reason THAT night.....they were just awful.

Rush. Saw them at the end of....I don't know what tour. They essentially played their greatest hits disc, with drum solo verbatim. I could have stayed home and listened to the cd. It was flat, uninspired and then it ended. I wouldn't see them again if I had free tickets.

Pear Jam. A dingy dumpy arena, that flooded, lead singer was drunk on stage, sat on a chair the whole show, slurred his way through about ten songs and left.
I wouldn't see them again if you paid me.

[Scorpion]

Good point. I haven't been to a show, but from what I've seen on YouTube and what others have told me, electronic stuff doesn't really translate all that well. A good friend of mine was very, very disappointed by Depeche Mode, for instance.

[ariich]

But you had fun at the show? So does that make it ok? Honest question.

Indeed, I did find it quite fun, and so in terms of the live experience I wouldn't say they are terrible at all. But that was when I was much younger and just jumped into things like that - I think my approach to gigs now would probably mean I enjoyed it a fair bit less.

Additionally there's also whole genres that just don't translate to a live experience. Rap artists being the prime example. Electronic music too, because it's either computers doing the work, or watching some guy stand behind a keyboard. One of my worst live concerts I've been to was Pet Shop Boys. Loved the music, but live it was terrible.

Very true. I'm not sure I'd say that's limited to genres in general, but certainly different styles, instrumentation, etc can all affect how convincing the live experience is and can possibly be by it's inerent nature. For example, Shpongle are an electronic band, but they do still use acoustic sounds, so live they have loads of guest musicians, plus acrobats, dancers etc. so the whole experience is pretty incredible.

[The Curious Orange]

Worst Band Ever? Easy - The Black Eyed Peas.

[Perpetual Change]

Yeah Jay Z is the only good live rap I've seen. He's just so commanding on stage. No other live rap I've seen has been very good.

[countoftuscany42]

But you had fun at the show? So does that make it ok? Honest question.

I saw a vid of Living Colour playing live on YT and I wasn't really impressed. Loads of energy but I thought it sounded poop. But, the audience were really in to it and I figured that I would have probably loved it had I been there as it was a very energetic performance. It's probably a highly subjective question. I'm just curious as to what makes a band a "bad" live band and are there any famous examples?

I just saw them about a month ago in SF and i thought they were excellent.  lots of energy, excellent performance and tons of audience interaction.  but if it was an older performance perhaps they werent at their best that night

[lonestar]

Not sure about worst, but two I saw that got fucking schooled be who they were playing with....

Black and Blue-opened up for Triumph, never stood a chance.

Night Rangers a New Years eve show with Eric Martin and Eddie Money as the openers. Martin got the crowd rolling, Eddie Money brought the fucking house down. There was nothing left for Night Ranger, they played a lifeless, predictable show to an audience that had already shot their wad.

[Jaq]

The problem with answering this question-which is why a lot of people are giving answers that are more "band on an off night" and less "historically a bad live band" is that most really BAD live bands don't last very long. Successful bands wind up finding at least a level of competence and energy to keep going; really bad live bands don't. I honestly can say other than some local openers for national acts, I've never seen a band that was really BAD live, just some ordinary ones.

[Perpetual Change]

The problem with answering this question-which is why a lot of people are giving answers that are more "band on an off night" and less "historically a bad live band" is that most really BAD live bands don't last very long. Successful bands wind up finding at least a level of competence and energy to keep going; really bad live bands don't. I honestly can say other than some local openers for national acts, I've never seen a band that was really BAD live, just some ordinary ones.

Ah, interesting distinction there! Here's some generally horrible live bands:

-The Mars Volta had been pretty bad since dummer no. 2, and maybe even before that, consistently failing to impress casual fans or new listeners in the audience with their sloppy play, long jam detours that go nowhere, and painfully wailing vocals. I've heard some fans come away happy from TMV shows, but seems like only people who really, really like them can enjoy their live performance.

-People started bitching about Bob Dylan shows in 1976, and have never stopped. First, it was just because Dylan couldn't commit to playing all of his songs exactly as they'd been recorded in the studio. Then, it was because Dylan couldn't commit to playing ANY of his songs as they'd been recorded in the studio. Now, it's because Dylan, age 71, plays almost EVERY song as a 12 bar blues, and sounds like the wolfman. And he does not interact with the crowd at all. Of course, if you absolutely adore Dylan, you are going to happy to see him no matter what, but I'd suspect most who go to check him out don't come back for a second round next time. Really it's just amazing that he still tours as frequently as he does.

-In line with the above, I've heard Neil Young is a malevolent old troll on stage too now.

-I saw Taking Back Sunday in 2006 and they were awful. The singer sounded like he was pinching his nose while singing, and obnoxiously loud pre-recorded backing vocals were being piped through. I wasn't a fan anyway, so I'm not sure if it was just a bad night or whatever, but if every night was like the one I saw them on, then that means they belong in the awful category.

-Also, maybe this doesn't qualify, but last I checked Rivers Cuomo of Weezer still can't sing in key. Though people who've stuck with Weezer through all the garbage they released after (and maybe including) "Green" seem not to care at all.

[TAC]

The absolute worst was Jesse Camp, a former MTV vjay, and his band opened for Alice Cooper at the Trump Marina in Atlantic City in 1996. What a fucking joke!

Other than that, Faster Pussycat(Alice Cooper, Boston Garden 1987) and Savatage (Dio/Megadeth, Providence Civic Center, 1987) put on absolutely dreadful opening sets.

[rumborak]

Regarding Dylan, yeah, he's terrible live. I went with a gf of mine (even though I implored her to find a person who likes Dylan to go with her). The guy is shot, no better way to put it. They give him a keyboard to play on, but it's probably not even connected, it certainly never appeared in the mix. So, the guest musicians do the show!b and the vocals are barely audible so that you're reminded of the song, but don't hear how the guy sounds like a post-10 Johnny Walker shots singer.

[King Postwhore]

Mountain opening for Triumph. It made me hate Leslie West like no other before.

[lonestar]

Mountain opening for Triumph. It made me hate Leslie West like no other before.

That's two for bands opening up for Triumph, I think that speaks more to the fact that Triumph fucking slayed live.

[PuffyPat]

-The Mars Volta had been pretty bad since dummer no. 2, and maybe even before that, consistently failing to impress casual fans or new listeners in the audience with their sloppy play, long jam detours that go nowhere, and painfully wailing vocals. I've heard some fans come away happy from TMV shows, but seems like only people who really, really like them can enjoy their live performance.

The thing about TMV is that yes, a lot of their shows were not that great, but when they were clicking, they slayed. The problem was that it was like 1 in every 3 or 4 shows. Not a very good average.

[Ħ]

Uhhhh Dream Theater. Duh.

[Mladen]

-Also, maybe this doesn't qualify, but last I checked Rivers Cuomo of Weezer still can't sing in key. Though people who've stuck with Weezer through all the garbage they released after (and maybe including) "Green" seem not to care at all.

That's a shame, but I'd probably still go for it if I had a chance. I love Weezer, even some of the stuff after Green, especially Maladroit. There were some fun songs on the last couple of albums as well.

I never watched a band that I thought was terrible. There were a couple I didn't enjoy at all, like Lauren Harris opening for Maiden.

[PowerSlave]

Yeah, Lauren Harris wasn't very good on that tour. However, I do have to give her props for opening her set with an old UFO song (natural thing) at the show that I seen. Her bass player looked and acted like a Nikki Sixx clone and her guitar player looked and acted like a Zack Wilde clone only with a SG instead of a Les Paul.

The worst live band I've ever seen was an opening act for Fates Warning on their APSOG tour. I seen them at the Alrosa Villa in Columbus, Ohio and there were 3 opening acts. One of them was some band called "Jimmy's Chicken Shack"(as far as I can remember). Another was a local Columbus band called Saddle Back Shark and the other was the band that I'm thinking of, but I can't remember their name. Also, I might be mixing this show up in my mind with another show that I've seen there over the years. Possibly Ace Frehley. I've been to that place more times than I can count over the years.

They were playing some kind of Blue Oyster Cult type of 70's acid rock stuff and it was horrible at best. I hate to bust on anybody that's willing to put on a live show. I've been in their shoes before and I know how things can go bad in a hurry during a gig, but these guys were truly bad.

[MrBoom_shack-a-lack]

Uhhhh Dream Theater. Duh.

MP dropping his sticks was spot on! 

[Perpetual Change]

Regarding Dylan, yeah, he's terrible live. I went with a gf of mine (even though I implored her to find a person who likes Dylan to go with her). The guy is shot, no better way to put it. They give him a keyboard to play on, but it's probably not even connected, it certainly never appeared in the mix. So, the guest musicians do the show!b and the vocals are barely audible so that you're reminded of the song, but don't hear how the guy sounds like a post-10 Johnny Walker shots singer.

Haha, well, as far as the keyboard goes, I've seen him twice, and that thing is definitely plugged in, 'cause you can hear him clunking away at the wrong notes.

As for the band, they're not really guest musicians. They're the same band on his latest records. Really, at this  juncture, it's just amazing how much he actually tours, and how people still come out to see him. The guy toured for like six months straight last year, is gearing up for another huge tour this summer.

As far as the band kinda putting on the show, really, it's always been that way with Dylan, even since the late 60's from what I can tell. Ever since Dylan ditched the acoustic/harmonica thing, the live show has been all about what *type* of band performs which type of arrangements. He's always been more of the creative director who doesn't like to be the center of attention on stage.

That said, he can still play and sing at a passable level when he wants to. Case and point, the White House thing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k2sYIIjS-cQ

[Rattlehead]

I've heard that System of a Down is pretty terrible live. I've never actually seen them live but I've watched some live footage and it was downright awful. I'm not sure if they were having a bad day, but man their vocalists were beyond terrible in the videos I watched.

[chknptpie]

One of the worst shows I ever saw was the Violent Femmes. Played one and a half terrible sounding songs, got pissed about a water bottle and walked off stage.

[Rattlehead]

I've heard that System of a Down is pretty terrible live. I've never actually seen them live but I've watched some live footage and it was downright awful. I'm not sure if they were having a bad day, but man their vocalists were beyond terrible in the videos I watched.

Out of curiosity I looked up some more of their live music on youtube and it was actually pretty decent so I take that back  I guess I just happened to see a video of one of their weaker performances a while back.

[black_biff_stadler]

Rattlehead likes to push the weak around.

[ZKX-2099]

I saw the band Nevermore open for Opeth a few years back. Lifeless show. The singer fell down... I don't think he was sober at the time.

[millahh]

 Motley Crue would be a decent contender here, largely because you realize that Vince can neither sing nor remember the words to anything.

[Dark Castle]

But the rest of the band are pretty tight.

[millahh]

But the rest of the band are pretty tight.

Yeah, it's kind of jarring...in some ways it's worse, because you can tell how good it could be if Vince were somewhere near competent.

[73109]

I feel the need to defend Pearl Jam here. I saw them three times and they were astounding each one. If I could only see one band live for the rest of my life, it will be Pearl Jam. If someone created a thread asking for the best live bands as opposed to the worst, PJ would be on the top of my list.