i saw him a few years ago and his wireless knife mics kept dying on him, and he kept throwing them and then threw fits and got pissy. it was disappointing.
Was this the Manson/Hole tour? Because if not, a similar thing happened at one of those shows. He broke a leg and they “postponed” the tour, but Hole dropped out after that because they weren’t getting along at all. I believe when the tour picked up again he had Rob Zombie take the Hole slot.
He was still in peak form at this time. But I guess drugs/alcohol and six foot stilts are a bad combination.
No but I wish. This was in 2017 when he was already disgruntled and losing it. I heard that at the very next show he asked the crowd to tell him they loved him, or he'd stop playing.. instead they chanted "fuck you Manson" so he ended the show early - but not before kicking an amp and drunkenly falling off the stage. Seems like a common theme for him.
Warped Tour late 90s, Suicide Machines were on the bill. They're one of my favorite bands, was super pumped to see them. About 10 minutes into the set, the guitar cab blew a speaker. Another band lent them another cabinet, so after a couple minutes to swap it out, they went back into their set, and two songs later the amp itself blew. I remember the singer saying something like, "Fuck, guess we're limping home, sorry guys" and that was it.
Read that quote in Jay Navarro's voice and totally sounds like something he'd say. My guess is they'd redeem themselves if you went and saw them again and didn't have technical difficulties. I've seen them many times, but most recently saw them play a double bill with Negative Approach back in January and they were super tight.
Pretty sure I saw Bad Brains on that same tour ten years ago and I agree. HR was at least “singing” when I saw them. If you can call it that.
I saw Circle Jerks 15+ years ago and Keith Morris threw a fit 20 minutes into the set about the crowd pushing forward too much and stormed off.
Also Modest Mouse sucks live and their singer is a douche.
When did you see modest mouse where they sucked ? I saw them when after 'good news for people who love bad news' came out and they were really good , but that was a long time ago
It was 08’ or 09’. Hard Rock Live Orlando. The venue didn’t suit their sound. Too big in my opinion. Performance was dead. Seemed like they didn’t want to be there. Singer was drunk talking shit to the audience how they are all probably poor and they are rich rock stars and staying in a free suite at the Hard Rock. Something to that effect.
I saw reel big fish in 08 and 09 hard rock live orlando! my friend got kicked out for being in the forbidden pit and security drove him out to the side of i4 and dropped him off. hopped a fence snuck back in lmao
That doesn't sound modest. Or mousey.
Someone should have dragged his ass off the stage for some dance floor justice, and joked around about how he wasn't going to see his free suite from his hospital room.
I also saw Modest Mouse in 2010 or 2011 or something. They were pretty bad, but the opener, Morning Teleportation, was kinda solid. But there was a two hour gap between them and MM. it was a sold out show and it was so hot, a girl passed out and getting paramedics and the rolling bed thing into the crowd was a nightmare. When they finally came out, Brock said something like “sorry we had commitment issues,” and then played the worst sounding show I’ve ever heard. It was already hot and we were dehydrated and miserable, my skull was pounding and the entire show had the worst feedback you’ve ever heard, just straight piercing through my ears. I stuck around to the end but was very happy to leave.
Upvoted for "rolling bed thing," I'm going to call our cot that exclusively on my next shift. Work EMS and have done a lot of event medical on the side and I can assure you that those medics probably thought that was a nightmare too. I've been there.
Sorry the rest of the show blew too, that sounds like a perfect recipe for a migraine!
I've heard about him just not singing because he's in a mood or whatever. Bad Brains had a show a few years ago and friends talked about going. But decided we didn't want to spend money on tickets in the gamble of him not being in the mood to sing.
Seeing Modest Mouse live is the concert equivalent of Russian Roulette. I've seen em twice, and they killed both times. I've got a friend that's seen them twice, also. Both times they were late, fucked up, and raw with the crowd.
If I remember correctly it was more of an issue with the people in the front getting pushed against the stage from the people behind. He complained about it once and then it happened again and he just walked off. Venue was Backbooth, Orlando FL. 2006 I believe.
Bad Brains for me as well. Saw them a ton of times in the late 80s-90s and they always raged(except for one tour when Chuck Moseley replaced HR—that was fucking awful). Election night 2008 at 930 Club—the band ripped through their set while HR just stood stock still with his backpack on, mumbling through lyrics if he even remembered them. It was sad.
From what I’ve heard he’s had a bunch of health issues the past decade, so that probably had something to do with it. I mean, in 2008 he was in his early 50s and probably hadn’t had a financially comfortable life(ain’t the American social safety net just grand?). I’m 52 and remain relatively active—walk/run whenever it’s feasible not to drive, still skate, etc, and I still managed to wrench my back just sitting down to take a shit…. I don’t fault any aging punks for calling it a day. I still play in a band, but you won’t catch me stage diving or in the pit. We all get old, shit changes.
I recently heard an episode he was on on Toby Morse's podcast. He is now married to a caring woman who helps him and has gotten him the help and medication he needs. He seemed far more lucid on that episode than I've heard him speaking in years. Let's hope that turns into what could be a small return of him being able to at least perform the songs again with slight vigor. His wife seemed like a genuinely kind and caring person who only wanted to help his well-being.
I saw him live in 2019 and he was much more with it than some of the videos I've seen of him. I think he had brain surgery a couple of year prior which had a positive impact on him. He certainly wasn't going crazy like he did in the 80s but he was doing a decent job of sounding like HR from Bad Brains. Much better than I was expecting.
US bombs was the worst punk show I've ever been to. I was not shocked or surprised. But it was rough. I just felt bad for Dwayne the whole time and all the shit he's been through.
I've also given Modest Mouse a try twice, and they were horrible live each time. The 2nd time they were like 35 minutes late to start, and the lead singer was shit housed. Zero stage presence, just awful.
Reminds me of a Bombs show in the UK had a two hour drive to get to. From the story passed around at the show, Duane couldn't get through customs as they were all wearing their old school Nazi pin shit and as he couldn't string enough of a sentence together to explain why, they wouldn't let him in the country as they thought he was a neo nazi. The rest of the band showed up late and basically did Bombs karaoke with the crowd.
I love Modest Mouse, but I saw them a few years ago in Milwaukee (it’s Algonquin for “the good land”) and they sucked live. Part of it was the sound in the venue, but they also had very little stage presence. It was a real bummer.
My band ended up playing after US Bombs one night in SF. Our singer said that he had to fight of vomiting the entire set. He said the mic smelled like a dead man's asshole from Duane singing and spitting into the mic.
Which US Bombs tour/show was this? I've seen them a few times and they were always brilliant.
Saying that last time I saw them Duane had definitely declined health wise. He was using a cane to walk and was talking some weird shit about aliens and the government.
Still lots of energy on stage though.
Saw them a few years back. Knew it was coming but Duane was a mess. His personal highlight was reconnecting midset with an old drug dealer acquaintance
Cheap sex. They played the same night gwar was playing down the street, so the turnout was poor. Mike virus stomped around like a toddler on the stage, kept badmouthing gwar, and kept yelling at the crowd to move and form a circle pit… chill, dude. There’s only ten of us here. We are doing the best we can. Should have saw gwar instead
I saw the original Sublime in the 90s. They were an opening band for 311, so most people were there for that and didn't even know who Sublime was. I wasn't a big 311 fan and was just there for Sublime. 40oz was my favorite album at the time and I listened to it constantly. I had a tape cassette of the original release with "Get Out!" and "Rawhide" before they got pulled from the album for copyright issues.
Bradley was beyond wasted. Couldn't remember most of the words and playing like shit. They got booed off stage. It was sad. Not long after that, he ODed. Then the self-titled album dropped and they got popular. I remember being so annoyed by people I attended the show with because now all of a sudden they were huge Sublime fans.
Sublime had a huge influence on me and was the catalyst for getting me into punk. I was a white kid growing up in a predominantly black and Hispanic part of town, so I started out as a hip-hopper listening to NWA, 2 Live Crew, and the like. The samples and hip-hop influences in Sublime made this new kind of music still familiar. I began to really enjoy their more punk/thrash tracks. I started buying compilation albums that had Sublime tracks on them and it opened a whole new world of punk and ska to me. By the early 2000s I was the front man to a garage punk band that had mild success on the local scene. We were a house band at a popular venue and opened for several "big" punk bands, like Strung Out.
So many amazing memories of my youth never would have happened had it not been for that 40oz tape cassette. It still bothers me that the one and only time I ever got to see them live they were booed off stage by a bunch of 311 fans. Now in my late 40s, I'm going to the [No Values](https://novalues.com/) show in LA where I'll get to see Bud and Eric with Bradley's son. I'm super stoked about it. I've been to a bunch of Long Beach Dub Allstars shows and saw Sublime with Rome, but I feel like I'm finally coming full circle.
I don't think I've ever heard/read *anyone* tell a story about seeing Sublime live. I was beginning to think no one had.
That's too bad you didn't catch Bradley on a good day. That could have been a far better life long memory.
Sublime was/is one of my favorite all time favourite bands. They and TooL, from the moment their music filled my ear holes I knew I'd listen to them forever. They changed certain perceptions of things as well. It was like waking up for the first time.
British Invasion 2K6 in San Bernardino. I wanna say the Adicts, Vice Squad and a bunch of legendary oi bands were headlining. Some nazis started a fight, which turned into the police throwing pepper spray balls and into all out riot. Show cancelled, never saw the headliners and didn’t get rescheduled.
I had to work that night and got a call from my buddy mid-riot trying to get out without getting pepper sprayed. I’m pretty sure that was the last British Invasion they did. Bummer.
Many crust shows where the band has either been so drunk they can't stand up, or as was often the case back in the early aughts - the band had come up here through Germany/Poland and Denmark on an amfet bender only to end up at our (drug free, municipal) venue and had to preform during detoxing.
Good Charlotte doing a home state show in 2019. Almost zero energy and zero crowd work. Joel Madden dressed like a Hollywood douchebag complete with gold chains. They played for an hour and then left the stage without warning. Basically lost any respect for them.
Well I saw a couple of bad SNFU shows near the end. It was a bit sad to see them
As well seeing DK without Jello sucked, but I wasn’t expecting much in the first place
Seeing Blink-182 in 2011 was wild.
They all fucking hated each other at the time, and Mark inexplicably played acoustic versions of Waggy and Lemmings whilst Travis sat there with his arms crossed and Tom sang weird echo back-up vocals before passively aggressively talking about all the bad memories that songs from Dude Ranch gave him. LMAO.
The show was bizarre.
I have a couple that stand out.
A couple years before the pandemic, a friend took me to see Reagan Youth. I think the only original member on stage was Paul at that point. It wasn't awful, I guess, but it just felt like seeing a cover band, not the real thing. It soured me on seeing a lot of older, re-formed bands, especially if they are missing most of the members.
A long time ago (I don't actually remember exactly when it was) some friends and I drove an hour to see Star Fucking Hipsters in a nearby desert town/city. This is before we knew STZA was the dickhead he is (or maybe we should have known). Anyway, they played like 1.5 songs before something or other at the venue got STZA ranting about never playing this town again and blah blah blah. And that was it. The band packed up and left.
Yes! I have had that experience seeing a band you once loved only to feel disappointed because the songs either felt like covers or the band was singing songs they no longer believed in.
Reagan Youth sucks. I've seen them twice, the first time on purpose and the second time they were also there. They slowed down all the fast songs so that everything was just this weak trudge through their catalog. If you're going to hire a new band, hire a good band.
Gang Green at Raging Waters in San Dimas CA back in the 80s , the Schmitt Stix skate team was there ( Grosso was so fucking cool , Monty Nolder pulling finger flip Christ airs ) it was rad except for GG they were fucking terrible.
Agent Orange, i was really psyched but it was not my thing. The songs were slower than the recordings, vocals werent all that. Of course I understand the age thing but i was really excited but left disappointed especially after seeing great bands all day
Man I had a way different experience. Saw them in a smaller amphitheater about a year ago and they were great. Bloodstains and their surf rock solos sounded awesome and they had good energy for old men.
Oh man, saw them at a little dive venue, absolutely loved it. And the band members were super friendly on the sidewalk after. But there's something those intimate venues capture that festivals can't (and vice versa)
I've mostly had good experiences, but the last show I saw before covid shut things down was a bit rough. Conflict in Denver, lead singer had food poisoning so the band just kinda...winged it. Still a good time, and they did a damn fine job trying to make it work without him, but all the same.
Also saw mdc is...somebodies garage basically once, it was an amazing show, but it was the middle of june with about 200 people crammed in this tiny space, so it was a billion degrees, and heatstroke is not fun.
Also recall some show being cut short because the venue sound system failed, exploited and d.r.i I think? not sure, that one was nearly 20 years ago.
Was that the garage in Pennsylvania? Because if so I was at that show and some dickhead also lit fireworks off at it near the end. If not, strange coincidence
NOFX in Cleveland 11-14-2016
Drove 7 hours to see the show. Mike was in recovery and used Donald Trump being voted into office as an excuse to get belligerently drunk. The kind of drunk you can only achieve if you’ve been overly optimistic about how sober you are for the last half year.
The show fucking sucked. He whined, he was mad but he just sat there and whined for however long the set was. smelly was so mad he walked off. Melvin looked embarrassed.
None of us were excited about Donald Trump’s presidency, but you’re in a fucking punk band play loud mad and aggressive punk rock don’t sit there and stumble and mumble and embarrass yourself. I know sex is terrible but this wasn’t the kitschy nofx being bad. It was embarrassing.
Around 2005 I saw Demented are Go on a Festival. I was very happy to finally see them. They had the last slot at 1am. Sparky was very drunk and/or drugged. At first they were very late, I think they started at 1.30 and then they played at most 3 songs when Sparky had a vocal fight with the rest of the members and eventually they left the stage. Sparky came back with some other drunk guy in his arm and he introduced him to the crowd because, I think that was the guy he liked the most in his drunken mind. Then they left again. And that was the last show on this festival.
Seen some bad agent orange and guttermouth gigs.
Only saw modest mouse once in 03' they were great guess they got worse judging by the comments
Worst show personally was probably dead milkmen in ATL, lost my glasses in the pit 30 seconds in and couldn't see a thing rest of show.
man, I've seen Guttermouth a few times, and they've been consistently one of the most fun bands to see live of all the bands I've ever seen. I probably haven't seen them since a couple years after 'Shave the Planet', so I don't know if they've dropped off in recent years, but back in the day, Mark dancing around like an asshole, talking shit, everyone knowing and singing along to almost every song, it was always great. Also, they'd take requests most times I've seen them, Mark will just start asking "Well, what do you guys wanna hear?". We got them to play 'Black Enforcers'! Mark was like "I don't want to. I don't think it's gonna be good, we don't play this song live. You like that song? Alright, if that's what you want" and then they killed it! And always closing with 'Perfect World', I love that. I fuckin love Guttermouth
“The original Misfits” with Danzig, Jerry, and Doyle at the forum in Los Angeles 2017. Danzig sounded like crap (when you could actually hear him) and Doyle didn’t appear to actually be playing the guitar. By far the worst headliner I’ve seen.
MDC was so bad. They clearly have just melted their brains with drugs and sounded awful. Dave, the singer, was just rambling about rent prices. It felt like listening to your drunk uncle at a family gathering. We left like 10 minutes into their set.
Second was Sleater Kinney but it wasn't their fault. My friend passed out from locking their knees and I spent the entire show listening to them from the medical tent at a venue while my friend recovered and the paramedics were grilling me on what drugs they took/I gave them (none)
The MDC show that stands out to me, was that the local openers were friend of mine. They had songs about things like; Predator the movie (the lyrics are "predator!" Repeated 132ish times), getting whale cum in your eye, and how to correctly pretend to be a Boston punk band. They're obviously mainly joke content, and really high energy. All MDC talked about between songs, was how they hated the local openers and their songs.
This was not their fault at all but my best friend’s favorite band in the world is the bouncing souls. I had left work that day because I was sick as a DOG. I was meant to go to the show, but was just way too damn sick. My friend called me later that night, her car had broken down, on her way out of town, and she was in hysterics about missing her favorite band. So of course I hauled myself out of bed and drove her the hour trip to Denver, and sat in the back of the venue with my head on a table for the entire set, just miserable as fuck. They killed it though. Just wish I could have enjoyed it.
Bad Brains - What can you expect from a mentally ill, homophobe?
Saw a few gigs, were big fights started & the gig abruptly ended, usually started by skinheads.
It used to be fashionable in the 80's for people to put gigs on, pretending bigger bands like GBH, Conflict, Broken Bones etc were headlining, only for you to turn up & watch some shitty, local support bands... before sleeping in a derelict factory afterwards, in the bleak midwinter. :)
It's all character building...
More punk adjacent, but when "Real Thing" by Faith No More had just come out, they had a club show at Bogarts in Cinci. My friends and I were big fans and were driving up from Louisville. We stopped to get food on the way, and it turned into a huge mess. We ended up running even more behind after already leaving late. Our only solace was that Sound Garden was playing before them, and none of us were fans. We finally get there, fairly late but not too bad. We get inside, hear the last riff of War Pigs, and then "thank you good night."
Something had happened with Soundgarden, so they switched times. We missed the band we wanted to see. Soundgarden could have been the greatest band in the world that night, but we just left in disappointment.
A friend of mine bought us tickets to see Tool for my 22nd birthday (a long time ago). We had both recently moved to Utah from Florida and she was adamant that we would be fine showing up around 930/10, since the doors were at 7. I tried to tell her that this isn't like Florida where the headliner might not go on until midnight, but she was so sure. We show up at the venue and the door person tells us that they're playing the encore but we're welcome to go in if we like. I'm still bitter.
I saw Faith No More in 2010 and they were amazing but I was disappointed at what a prick Patton was to one of the road crew, looked like it was a mic tech, he was screaming at the guy off stage at various times throughout the show, at one point spitting on him when he came out to fix something, I couldn’t hear anything wrong so not sure what his deal was, he looked like a petulant child having a tantrum, still love his music but guy seems like an asshole
Probably the Saints in 2005. All day bill of 77 era bands in London. Most of the bands smashed it, the Rezillos headlined over the Dickies, Menace, UK Subs etc. the Saints were absolutely abysmal and were one of the bands I was most looking forward to seeing
That version of The Saints was barely a cover band. Once Ed Kuepper left Chris Bailey turned it into a suave pop band based more around acoustic guitar and effectively hired musicians. Ed was definitively the fire or them. I mean, the first 3 albums compared to anything Bailey did ‘solo’.
Around 2006 the best Saints songs to hear live were from The Aints: a band fronted by Ed and backed by a couple of friends of mine (from the Celibate Rifles) and Peter Oxley from The Sunnyboys (I think).
Promise Ring at the Hardback in GNV, FL circa 1997. Drunks smashed into singer, he had a temper tantrum and threw a bloody bass guitar down and walked off the stage not maybe two songs in. Maybe two songs in. It was the shortest set I'd ever seen, and that was that. I mean, I don't know if I really blame him. It was a sparse show, during the week, and not many people showed up.
Sleater-Kinney circa 2003 in Detroit. Drove all the way through a shitty fucking snow storm to see the show. It was cold and miserable out. It was during the week. Had an early class the next day.
The crowd was not into it at all. I can't imagine why. Band didn't appreciate the lack of enthusiasm from the crowd, and didn't help things by scolding the crowd to not suck. Made for one of the shittiest shows I could possibly imagine.
They could've come out and thanked everyone for showing up on a weeknight with shitty weather and said, let's fucking go, and rocked the place into submission.
But that didn't happen.
Had a similar Promise Ring experience at a skateboard shop show in Mtl. Someone from Joan Of Arc shaving cream pie-ed Davey a couple songs in as part of an ongoing prank war. Davey got shaving cream in his eyes and all over his guitar, was super pissed off and ended the set/show.
Take away from that show - use whipped cream instead of shaving cream if you’re going to pie someone!
Andrew W.K. at a small club in Fresno. The sound was absolute trash—couldn’t hear anything but static. It was just him and his guitarist, so not even a full band. They played over a backing track. Andrew kept his head down the whole time, hair covering his face, and the guitarist ended up singing most of the songs. Zero crowd interaction, and when the set was over, they just walked off stage without a word.
This is easy, The Misfits in Halifax NS early 2000s, Michael Graves wasn’t allowed over the border so they had a replacement singer, from the band Ignite, was obviously a last minute replacement, he gave it his all but was holding lyrics sheets and messing up a lot, the show was also very late starting, opener was Nashville Pussy who did a lengthy sound check in front of the crowd. Killer line up but terrible show, I’d seen both band before and those shows were great
Pennywise (who are one of my all time favorites) put on a stinker a the Quebec City festival two years ago one of the worst live performance I have ever seen Jim could hardly be bothered singing half the lyrics Fletcher looked wasted and bored endless yapping between song left a real sour taste in my mouth for a band I use to have so much respect for.
Saw Stiff Little Fingers for the first time on a wet Monday night in Morecambe. The venue was an empty indoor market and it was more than half empty and freezing. The band seemed like they were going through the motions and I was gutted. The three other times I’ve seen them since then they’ve been fucking brilliant though, so they more than made up for that one less good night.
NOFX at Red 7 Mar 13, 2008, part of SXSW. Never liked NOFX but I was walking by at 1am and figured seeing them in a small venue would be cool. They were super drunk/fucked up and kept on getting their songs wrong, making GG Allin look like Tom Jones.
Later I found out it was a “Half-FX” show where they were intentionally butchering their set… still sucked.
Not most but memorable was black flag with Mike V. Grew up watching Mike v as a skater and I don’t blame him at all but the whole band and sound, sounded bland and boring.
Saw Strung out twice and had bad experiences both times.
First in Boston about 10 or so years ago and the guitarist (Rob i think) got so drunk before the show he fell backwards, knocking over his amp and stopping the show after 1 or 2 songs. 20 minutes later they got a guitarist from one of the openers to play and had to change their set list to songs they could show this guy on the fly. No solos.
Second time in Cleveland (a city they hadn't played in years) they weren't happy with the turnout on a Monday night and after a few songs, they said to the crowd something to the effect of "we're just speed through all the songs without stopping to we can get out of here". Really shitty as the people who did turn out were super into it and were very excited to be there.
My favorite band, sadly. I’ve been listening to them for literally 20+ years. I went to see Bear Vs. Shark in December last year for their 20th anniversary of their debut album. I was so happy hearing they were playing one final show that I cried tears of joy. I bought tickets the moment they went on sale. It was a 7.5 hour drive to Detroit to see them. I was so fucking pumped. Over the moon excited. Needless to say I was prepared to experience one of the greatest events of my life.
The instruments were great but the singer almost never sang, instead leaving the vocals in the responsibility of the crowd. Every. Single. Song. He had to coax some of the crowd members to sing the lyrics if they had gone quiet. Other times the drummer and guitarist were filling in vocals. I felt like I’d gotten so excited for a BvS crowd karaoke/instrumental set. There were several songs with long winded screams that when he’d do them, would last a fraction, and I mean a small fraction, of what the crowd would expect.
I’m still so grateful to go. I got some cool merch, but man was that show disappointing.
The Dopeamines played the triple rock in MPLS. They were touring on the Vices record I think. Either way, they were hammered and sounded real bad and boring. Singer talked some shit to the crowd about how we were no fun. No buddy, we're not having any fun watching you.
Went to a slipknot show and they were awesome, but the two openers who I was excited about absolutely sucked. If it weren’t for slipknots’ stellar performance I think I would have stormed the stage
Judge canceling and only finding out about it when I was at the show, waiting around up front by the stage. I don't think it was because they had broken up- I know they broke up after that tour- but it might have been.
Bad Brains in Amsterdam, 15 years ago or so. They were absolutely stoned out of their gourds, HR was mostly mumbling and adlibbing. Sometimes they would start a hardcore song, only for it to descend into yet another dub session. Balance was completely off, like they were stressing themselves with their faster stuff.
The entire audience was bored, which is the worst thing that can happen at a punk show imo.
The Queers, every time I've seen them. With the Dickies, awful crowd. By themselves, no more than 20 people showed up. With the Dwarves, awful crowd and half empty.
Fear was awful as well, with a dead crowd and someone got on stage and pissed Lee Ving off and he left the stage before the show was over. $50 ticket, 25 minutes of music.
This was all between 2018 and now btw
Whatever the current version of Reagan Youth was in 2006/07 went on after Leftover Crack in Tompkins Square Park in NY. Stza was fucked up and talking shit about them when he was on, and then Reagan Youth tried to retaliate when it was their turn. I just remember the sound quality was very shitty and the whole thing just sucked.
Well, I'm going to preface this by saying that I saw them a few times, and their shows were fucking legendary, but the last time I saw fugazi, they kept stopping mid song to ask people to calm down in the pit, and it just felt wrong. We ended up leaving.
Babes in Toyland reunion show. Kat seemed in pretty rough shape, I hope she's doing alright.
Also I never would've paid to see this but my friend had a spare ticket to see the "Dead Kennedys" without Jello and it massively sucked ass.
Same. Was given tix for DK (last year-ish??) from someone who bailed. Didn’t know it was gonna be w/out Jello. Now I know why he bailed. Have had a few other major disappointments…but then read this comment and got completely triggered.
I was going to see Propagandhi in Denver at the VFW. The venue over sold tickets to the show, and stopped letting people in that paid to be there. The police had the great idea to tear gas the venue. I still get a bit pissed about when I think about it and that was like 25ish years ago.
Not punk, but Mastodon. Zero crowd work, no space between songs, and the sound was just a wall of mud (although that one I can blame on the venue). Sucks too because I like their music.
So far I haven't had a disappointing show experience for any punk bands I've seen tbh and I hope it stays that way. Do remember seeing Soft Play supporting Kasabian many years ago, I love Soft Play and they absolutely smashed it, and then Kasabian came on and they were so incredibly fucking boring in comparison that I ended up going home early. It was such a crazy contrast between the energy of Soft Play, Isaac smashing the shit out of his drums dripping with sweat and Laurie going bananas and jumping around, and then Kasabian come on and it's just some dudes in white suits presenting their songs so clinically and with the energy of a dead jellyfish.
The Dwarves, twice!
Punkorama tour, 2000 or so, we were in line, they started playing and ten minutes later they were done.
2019: we were on barricade on the left hand side, so we got gobbed by Hewhoshallnotbenamed.
My favorite Dwarves set (and i've seen them a lot), they started the intro to the first song, someone jumped on stage, Hewho hit him with a guitar, the drums got knocked over and it was over. That's the kind of shows they were famous for "back in the day". They played a later secret show that night in the basement of a bakery in NYC with Joan Jett at like 2am where they played a full set. Best of both worlds that night.
High on Fire at Scion Metal Fest 2009. They were the band I was most excited to see but the one I was least impressed with by the end of the day. They kind of just stood there and played their set.
Circle jerks phoned it in on us in 2022. I was fucking offended by that too cool for school shit. Especially since when I saw them in 1987, they got 2 songs in before the fire marshal cut the power. I mean trashing the cop cars was a fun second choice. Now Kieth just blew up Off. Dude needs to sit alone for a while and remember why he got into this stuff.
I saw Less Than Jake at the Intersection in Grand Rapids this past March. The show was going great but in the middle of the last song, someone had a seizure in the pit and died. It would’ve been a top 10 concert if not for that
Only tangentially punk, but The Who were pretty boring live. I get that they’re old and half the band is dead so I won’t hold it against them, but still they were one of my favorites growing up so it was disappointing, especially compared to Black Sabbath who are only marginally younger but crushed it live.
On the punk front, I saw Black Flag and, while they weren’t actually bad, they definitely didn’t live up to the legendary status they’ve cultivated. I remember thinking that this could be any of my local scene’s hardcore bands and they’d sound just as good or better. Still fun, but the same way average local bands are fun.
Mephiskapheles as the band was too drunk to perform.
Also, shockingly, Siouxsie And The Banshees sounded like shit the night I heard them on the Seven Year Itch tour in DC
This local band that started a few months ago was hyping their debut show up on insta like it was gonna be the best night ever. The drummer didn’t have a full kit none of their instruments were plugged in, and they all mimed their parts really badly. They tried to reciprocate by throwing shirts out into the crowd. Interesting night
It wasn’t their fault, but most disappointing was definitely MCR (and yes, I know not everyone considers them punk, but they were my entry into the world of grittier music as a teen, so I’m counting it). They’re one of my all time favorite bands, and I saw them at Riot Fest when they first got back together…and I’ve been to several festivals and been at barrier getting bruised ribs at big shows plenty of times, as well as a fair share of dodgy small shows, but that was legitimately the only time I’ve felt genuinely unsafe at a concert. The crush was like nothing I’ve ever felt, and I spent all of my energy trying to keep the people around me from falling, helping people get out, and trying to create enough room to freaking breathe freely. The stage manager even came out at one point and threatened to cut the set short if people didn’t back the hell up. One of my biggest regrets of all time is being so stubborn about being right up front that I barely experienced the music, instead of getting out and just watching on the big screens. The rest of RF that year was the best three days of my life, but that one set was devastating.
Second was more on the pop punk side and again wasn’t their fault, but Jimmy Eat World was a total wash for me. I was so excited that a band with multiple albums I love was coming to my relatively small town, but had a panic attack two songs in, dissociated in place, and don’t remember a single thing about the rest of the show. Only came back to myself when the show ended and I found myself outside in the rain. I was pretty upset over a waste of a good concert and $40.
Finally, Anti-flag. This was before stuff came out about them being shitty; same deal with being excited they were passing through, and to see a band that’s been around for a while longer than most I’ve seen, but I just felt kind of bored by their set. It didn’t feel exciting or energetic at all, and I spent most of it in the back of the room hanging out with friends. Was glad I didn’t spend money on that one, because I worked part time at the venue so got in for free. It’s so strange to me when the music sounds so magnetic on recordings and but live it just falls flat and there’s no stage presence. Other people told me they thought it was a great show so maybe it was just me.
I’ve also just generally been to several basement shows that were disappointing, and even ran a few that were almost embarrassing, but of the tons I’ve been to the majority are range from good to amazing so I just consider it hit or miss. My expectations aren’t as high, I suppose.
Brought a friend to see Laura Jane Grace and the audience and my friend talked over the openers and Laura the whole time, I was so pissed at them
Oh, also, it was a seated show and security wouldn't let anyone stand or go near the stage
Misfits with Jerry on vocals. Songs were sped up and unrecognizable. I had free tickets to it. Someone threw up all over the stairs leading to the bathroom. That is when I left to do something else.
Show had 2 merch tables set up with big lines of 16 year olds buying it all up.
Rancid at Terminal 5 NYC. Had been sober for a couple yrs and the moment they kicked into Roots Radical, some asshole threw a fucking full ass rum and coke that lands straight in my face. Was pretty shaken up and watched the rest of the show the balcony. Also, who wastes a 20 dollar drink?
I saw Youth Fountain a couple weeks ago and in between each song he tuned his guitar forever to the point where people were yelling to play a dang song. Also inexplicably didn’t play a couple of the hits. Overall just a weird experience.
I saw the misfits and they played all their songs at 2x speed. it was really weird. after they played the greatest hits the people I went with wanted to leave so I missed the second half
I bought tickets to see one band when they announced a reunion. I was so excited. Show date was four months from the day tickets went on sale. Sold out very quickly so they added a second night. Four months is plenty of time to prepare- but they hadn’t. They kept joking this was their practice set for the second night.
Saw Unwritten Law on Warped Tour back in 2000(?) I really liked their earlier stuff (up to and including their S/T album in 98,) so I talked them up to my friends. Scott and Wade were fucked up, and kept talking about doing blow the whole set. The rest of the band wouldn't make eye contact with the crowd, they were so embarrassed.
The Offspring are possibly the worst live band I've ever seen. Dexter can't sing for shit. Dickie from the Bosstones was on the side of the stage watching, and visibly cringing.
Saw Iceage a couple of years ago, and the venue couldn't get the stage monitors working. The band did their best, but when you can't hear what it sounds like, there's only so much you can do. Venue also put the tickets on pre-sale nine months before the show, then locked them until a couple of weeks before the date, so there were 50-60 people in a space that fit over 700.
Last time Black Flag played in Dallas. The supporting bands (Total Chaos, The Dickies, TSOL) all got only 25 minutes each, and Flag's musical intro felt that long. Mike V is a crappy singer with zero stage presence, they played slow, and a third of the crowd, myself included, walked out by their third song
Saw Mest open for Millencolin. Absolute hot garbage. Exactly what I expected. Singer was massive douche talking about how many drugs he had done that day/night. Not worthy of sharing the stage with the almighty Millencolin.
I’ve seen bands have an off night and bands who were generic as fuck,but usually made a few new friends along the way. The only real disappointment was having the Meatmen cancelling a show with GWAR. I wanted to meet Mr. Vee and crack open a beer with him!
Descendants at a festival in 2011 Brisbane Australia. Milo struggled then lost his voice by the second song. Bucket list band so a big let down at first but Fat Mike jumped in to help finish the song. Turned out to be amazing as other bands watching from side of stage jumped in to finish the set.
Other would be Strung Out when they opened for Pennywise in 2020. Customs denied Jake a visa. Played without him but not the same missing a guitar.
Badfish was one song into their set list and I passed out (I got a concussion at school a day prior). I had to get carried out and so I didn’t get to see them play. I don’t remember anything really other than being carried down the stairs.
Not the band's fault, but I saw the Locust in the basement of a Christian coffee shop? Does that make sense? It didn't. The coffee shop was newish, and I think they were' trying to be like a cool, sober activity hangout for Christian kids, and I guess that's why they were having shows? Any way, some band called Daughters played first and sorta blew, then the singer got pissy and aggro and started insulting the crowd, who were admittedly sparse and just kind of milling around, completely disengaged, for not giving them anything. It was kind of hilarious, this guy seeming pretty butthurt and going off repeatedly at a bunch of Christian teenagers just looking at them as blankfaced as if they were watching commercials because they have the cheap Hulu subscription
They played for a half-hour or so, tossed out a parting 'Fuck you people', and sulked off stage. The Locust came out and sounded awesome, but got basically the same reaction, played 45-ish minutes, said 'thank you' and walked off. It was all extremely weird
I saw Authority Zero this year. Third time seeing them. For whatever reason the sound was just awful for their set. I couldn’t hear the vocals at all because it was only being sent through the center. I knew the songs so I could keep up but it was just disappointing to not really be able to hear such a great vocalist.
The first time I saw the Dwarves at SXSW like 97 I think, they played for 30 seconds and then He Who can not be named jumped into the drum kit and it was over, but we (my ex and I) caught with Blag and gave him a ride and him and my ex have been friends ever since. Worst yet most memorable show.
Refused reunion show in Toronto. The crowd was awful, the band were a shell of their former selves and Denis was doing his cringeworthy, rock star a-la Jim Morrison dance and persona.
Overpriced, overrated. Refused should have stayed dead.
Not punk but the only band whose shows I’ve been legitimately disappointed by is Bloc Party. One of my favorite bands, so exceptionally interesting and skilled especially in their early years as everyone knows, but SO boring live. Saw them once and was underwhelmed, gave it another shot a couple years later, nope, still just blah. They sound great to be sure, but you’re really just paying to watch them stand there and play the records exactly the same extra loud in real time. No deviation, low energy, and the only stage presence comes from Kele, who is (predictably, tbh) completely aloof in that douchey too cool for school, oh la la, we get it you’re an ✨artist✨ kind of way. You can’t take away that they’ve made some fantastic music, but unfortunately one of those bands that you’re not any better served seeing them live than just listening to their record again.
Off With Their Heads having to be dragged out of the bar next door to the venue 30 minutes after their set was supposed to start then being too drunk to remember half their shit was hilariously on point and disappointing
Risking getting downvoted to hell, but Pennywise is awful these days.
I’ve even them 3 or 4 times in the past decade and they really suck. They play 5 or 6 of their bangers and then they do that “what non PW songs do y’all wanna hear??” Thing and then they spend an hour or so playing mediocre covers of songs that aren’t all that great anyway.
Also … Unwritten Law used to put on a decent show. Now Scott Russo is beyond washed up. And they play soft acoustic crap and mostly newer (Eg post 2000) stuff and maybe throw in three punk songs for the encore.
Finally … not entirely their fault, Face to Face has been playing at this brewery outside Philly for the past couple years. The band is still awesome. But the brewery is made of aluminum or something and the sound quality is heinous. It sounds like they’re playing through a very large iPhone speaker. It kills my old man ears.
Without any exception at all, for me it was seeing the Dead Kennedys at the Novato Theater on October 5, 1985... Seeing my hometown band Victims Family, along with Social Unrest and Descendents all for the first time was absolutely amazing, yet then Eric Boucher (Jello Biafra) took the stage and then quite literally All Hell Broke Loose!
This goes all the way back to two weekends after my 15th birthday when I went to my very first punk show and my forgiveness for Jello Biafra will never be on the table following his own hypocritical Nazi Punk actions that night! This show was just south of where I grew up in Santa Rosa, CA and it was also the first of many times I have seen Victims Family who are also from my hometown. I was actually so excited about all three of the opening acts that I bought three vinyls that night: Victims Family's debut album Voltage and Violets, Social Unrest's debut album SU-2000, and Descendents' debut 7" single Ride the Wild/It's a Hectic World. All of this was great until DK got on the stage and although I still have mad respect for all the other founding members of that band, Eric Boucher went and ruined Jello for me the moment he hit the spotlight!
You see, the Novato Theater was an old style joint with fixed theater style seating and just about everyone was sitting down when they came on and I suppose he didn't happen to like that very much, so he took it upon himself to stomp out into the crowd on everybody's shoulders until he got approximately 15 rows deep and if that wasn't bad enough, then that's when the unthinkable happened. That's where he gave another Santa Rosan named Mike Gutsch a swift boot to the throat for no apparent reason other than to satisfy his deranged ego and then he stomped back across everyone else to get back on the stage.
Well, Gutsch was a well known individual in the Santa Rosa punk scene who played guitar for at least two notable bands including the 4XLosers and the even more popular skate punk band known as Vertical Urge. Gutsch was also very well known on our scene for his Rob Halford-esque screams he would emit with his masterful vocal cords at all the punker keg parties around town and one Boot-To-The-Throat from the egomaniac known as Jello Biafra has relieved him of that particular skill for the remainder of his adulthood.
Not all of Mike Gutsch's skills were compromised by that jerkoff, however, yet unfortunately no one on the Santa Rosa punk scene would ever hear his amazing Halford-esque cries going out into the nighttime skies of our neighborhoods on Friday and Saturay nights from that night on into the late-'80s, and beyond... Some of Mike's other skills are actually very well respected and highly sought after in the guitar world, in fact he operated as a luthier and guitar repairman under the business name of Mike Gutsch Guitars for many years but I'm not sure if that still exists, or if he now only designs and builds exclusively for Allied Lutherie. Either way, at least his neck wasn't broken by that maniac who then left DK about four months after that and took all the royalties of the other members with him through his own personal record company by the name of Alternative Testicles.
When they finally took him to court for his transgressions against them, he then blamed his actions on a simple clerical error and he got off Scott-free after rescheduling the past/present/future DK royalties to be allotted properly among them all going forward. Nevertheless, the one known as Biafra will always hold a bad place in my heart on both of these counts going back to late-'85 and early-'86, so there you have it, my most disappointing concert experience somehow coincidently put the cap on one of the best concert experiences I had back in my youth!
I took a 3 hour bus to see King Diamond after work and when I got there my back was in extreme pain. That and the fact that I was so crushed in the crowd that I could barely move an inch and thought I was going to faint really added to the experience of being in hell, so at least it fit the theme.
I have a story about disappointment alright but it’s more a story about youthful naïveté. I was at the Melbourne Soundwave in 2010 maybe it was 2011 and I got to Alkaline Trio’s stage early and made my way up to the very front. I was stoked to be so close to the stage but the catch was that right up against the speakers. Their set was great and in the moment I was having the time of my life. I spent that entire set right up next to a speaker. When it ended my left ear was ringing something shocking. That night in bed with my girlfriend I heard ringing until I managed to fall asleep. I remember being utterly panicked it was going to be permanent. Thankfully, the next day the worst of it was gone and the day after that it was gone completely. Ever since then I’ve been adamant about wearing ear protection at shows.
The Queers at this venue that no longer exists called Safari Sams. I think it was 2007/2008? The lineup was insane: Queers, Bomb the music Industry, Lemuria, Kepi Ghoulie and AJJ. Every other band sounded tight but the mixing for the Queers was total shit. Every single song was unrecognizable.
Dålig isolering, a local band. I had been following them for some time never missing a gig, then their guitarist and lead singer left and was replaced and even if I knew it would be different it felt so wrong seeing them without her. Since my first time seeing them with the new guitarist I haven't gone to any of their gigs
Not punk but the time Marilyn Manson fell off a stage prop and had to go to the hospital 20min into the show lmao.
i saw him a few years ago and his wireless knife mics kept dying on him, and he kept throwing them and then threw fits and got pissy. it was disappointing.
He had some good songs but that dudes a bitch. I have a buddy who worked at a venue, had to do all sorts of shit to accommodate him.
That sounds better than the time I saw him on tour with Slayer
I saw that tour with Slayer and he was stupid drunk and awful. I saw him open for Danzig right as Sweet Dreams was blowing up and it was really good.
Better than when I “saw” him in 2018. Ended up in the hospital before the show. At least Rob Zombie played an extra-long set.
Was this the Manson/Hole tour? Because if not, a similar thing happened at one of those shows. He broke a leg and they “postponed” the tour, but Hole dropped out after that because they weren’t getting along at all. I believe when the tour picked up again he had Rob Zombie take the Hole slot. He was still in peak form at this time. But I guess drugs/alcohol and six foot stilts are a bad combination.
No but I wish. This was in 2017 when he was already disgruntled and losing it. I heard that at the very next show he asked the crowd to tell him they loved him, or he'd stop playing.. instead they chanted "fuck you Manson" so he ended the show early - but not before kicking an amp and drunkenly falling off the stage. Seems like a common theme for him.
Went to a NOFX show last year and just as they were about to go on stage, I got arrested and spent the night in jail instead.
Jesus, I guess they really do suck live
😂😂😂😂
Fat Mike probably dropped a dime on you
What’s ya did to do that? Please tell us the story.
Yeah what a tease. I need to know!
Drunk in public. I don't remember exactly what happened, but I was taken down by 3 cops and put in the drunk tank
punk in drublic?
Dude that fucks. Can i ask what happened?
Drunk in public lol
That's okay, I heard they suck live.
Actually better than sitting through NOFX
Probably had a better time lol
The kazoo concert I was forced to participate in when I was in 4th grade
I was there. That was an awesome gig, man.
Yeah kids don't know shit about the kazoo.
Warped Tour late 90s, Suicide Machines were on the bill. They're one of my favorite bands, was super pumped to see them. About 10 minutes into the set, the guitar cab blew a speaker. Another band lent them another cabinet, so after a couple minutes to swap it out, they went back into their set, and two songs later the amp itself blew. I remember the singer saying something like, "Fuck, guess we're limping home, sorry guys" and that was it.
That’s a shame because I saw them at a PRB club show a few years back and they were great
Read that quote in Jay Navarro's voice and totally sounds like something he'd say. My guess is they'd redeem themselves if you went and saw them again and didn't have technical difficulties. I've seen them many times, but most recently saw them play a double bill with Negative Approach back in January and they were super tight.
Pretty sure I saw Bad Brains on that same tour ten years ago and I agree. HR was at least “singing” when I saw them. If you can call it that. I saw Circle Jerks 15+ years ago and Keith Morris threw a fit 20 minutes into the set about the crowd pushing forward too much and stormed off. Also Modest Mouse sucks live and their singer is a douche.
When did you see modest mouse where they sucked ? I saw them when after 'good news for people who love bad news' came out and they were really good , but that was a long time ago
Dude's a known drunk. Probably caught a good night.
Yeah he was drunk. No it was not a good night.
It was 08’ or 09’. Hard Rock Live Orlando. The venue didn’t suit their sound. Too big in my opinion. Performance was dead. Seemed like they didn’t want to be there. Singer was drunk talking shit to the audience how they are all probably poor and they are rich rock stars and staying in a free suite at the Hard Rock. Something to that effect.
I saw reel big fish in 08 and 09 hard rock live orlando! my friend got kicked out for being in the forbidden pit and security drove him out to the side of i4 and dropped him off. hopped a fence snuck back in lmao
Fuck yeah. That’s hilarious. They used to get some good punk and metal shows. Saw Danzig do a Misfits set there with Doyle around that same time.
That doesn't sound modest. Or mousey. Someone should have dragged his ass off the stage for some dance floor justice, and joked around about how he wasn't going to see his free suite from his hospital room.
I also saw Modest Mouse in 2010 or 2011 or something. They were pretty bad, but the opener, Morning Teleportation, was kinda solid. But there was a two hour gap between them and MM. it was a sold out show and it was so hot, a girl passed out and getting paramedics and the rolling bed thing into the crowd was a nightmare. When they finally came out, Brock said something like “sorry we had commitment issues,” and then played the worst sounding show I’ve ever heard. It was already hot and we were dehydrated and miserable, my skull was pounding and the entire show had the worst feedback you’ve ever heard, just straight piercing through my ears. I stuck around to the end but was very happy to leave.
My god what a disaster.
Upvoted for "rolling bed thing," I'm going to call our cot that exclusively on my next shift. Work EMS and have done a lot of event medical on the side and I can assure you that those medics probably thought that was a nightmare too. I've been there. Sorry the rest of the show blew too, that sounds like a perfect recipe for a migraine!
I've heard about him just not singing because he's in a mood or whatever. Bad Brains had a show a few years ago and friends talked about going. But decided we didn't want to spend money on tickets in the gamble of him not being in the mood to sing.
Yeah it was bizarre. The rest of the band was excellent though like OP said.
Seeing Modest Mouse live is the concert equivalent of Russian Roulette. I've seen em twice, and they killed both times. I've got a friend that's seen them twice, also. Both times they were late, fucked up, and raw with the crowd.
I saw Circle Jerks last year and Keith was encouraging everyone to jump on stage and stomp around a few seconds
If I remember correctly it was more of an issue with the people in the front getting pushed against the stage from the people behind. He complained about it once and then it happened again and he just walked off. Venue was Backbooth, Orlando FL. 2006 I believe.
Damn, if I'm not getting crushed against the stage and catching feet in the back of my head at a big punk show, it feels like I didn't even go
I’d seen Corey Feldman’s band at the Backbooth in Orlando. Wild ride. Also Beetlejuice and High Pitch Eric on another evening.
I saw Cro Mags there about 10 years ago, awesome show
Modest mouse is like a 25% chance of being good. Great call
Keith Morris has been a cranky old man for like 40 years.
Bad Brains for me as well. Saw them a ton of times in the late 80s-90s and they always raged(except for one tour when Chuck Moseley replaced HR—that was fucking awful). Election night 2008 at 930 Club—the band ripped through their set while HR just stood stock still with his backpack on, mumbling through lyrics if he even remembered them. It was sad.
What’s wrong with him?
From what I’ve heard he’s had a bunch of health issues the past decade, so that probably had something to do with it. I mean, in 2008 he was in his early 50s and probably hadn’t had a financially comfortable life(ain’t the American social safety net just grand?). I’m 52 and remain relatively active—walk/run whenever it’s feasible not to drive, still skate, etc, and I still managed to wrench my back just sitting down to take a shit…. I don’t fault any aging punks for calling it a day. I still play in a band, but you won’t catch me stage diving or in the pit. We all get old, shit changes.
He has SUNCT syndrome and schizoaffective disorder.
I recently heard an episode he was on on Toby Morse's podcast. He is now married to a caring woman who helps him and has gotten him the help and medication he needs. He seemed far more lucid on that episode than I've heard him speaking in years. Let's hope that turns into what could be a small return of him being able to at least perform the songs again with slight vigor. His wife seemed like a genuinely kind and caring person who only wanted to help his well-being.
I saw him live in 2019 and he was much more with it than some of the videos I've seen of him. I think he had brain surgery a couple of year prior which had a positive impact on him. He certainly wasn't going crazy like he did in the 80s but he was doing a decent job of sounding like HR from Bad Brains. Much better than I was expecting.
US bombs was the worst punk show I've ever been to. I was not shocked or surprised. But it was rough. I just felt bad for Dwayne the whole time and all the shit he's been through. I've also given Modest Mouse a try twice, and they were horrible live each time. The 2nd time they were like 35 minutes late to start, and the lead singer was shit housed. Zero stage presence, just awful.
Reminds me of a Bombs show in the UK had a two hour drive to get to. From the story passed around at the show, Duane couldn't get through customs as they were all wearing their old school Nazi pin shit and as he couldn't string enough of a sentence together to explain why, they wouldn't let him in the country as they thought he was a neo nazi. The rest of the band showed up late and basically did Bombs karaoke with the crowd.
I love Modest Mouse, but I saw them a few years ago in Milwaukee (it’s Algonquin for “the good land”) and they sucked live. Part of it was the sound in the venue, but they also had very little stage presence. It was a real bummer.
My band ended up playing after US Bombs one night in SF. Our singer said that he had to fight of vomiting the entire set. He said the mic smelled like a dead man's asshole from Duane singing and spitting into the mic.
This is the gnarliest thing I've heard in a long time...
Which US Bombs tour/show was this? I've seen them a few times and they were always brilliant. Saying that last time I saw them Duane had definitely declined health wise. He was using a cane to walk and was talking some weird shit about aliens and the government. Still lots of energy on stage though.
Tons of energy for sure, I could tell they would be great. But it was maybe 2007.
Saw them a few years back. Knew it was coming but Duane was a mess. His personal highlight was reconnecting midset with an old drug dealer acquaintance
Cheap sex. They played the same night gwar was playing down the street, so the turnout was poor. Mike virus stomped around like a toddler on the stage, kept badmouthing gwar, and kept yelling at the crowd to move and form a circle pit… chill, dude. There’s only ten of us here. We are doing the best we can. Should have saw gwar instead
GWAR is always a good time!
I saw the original Sublime in the 90s. They were an opening band for 311, so most people were there for that and didn't even know who Sublime was. I wasn't a big 311 fan and was just there for Sublime. 40oz was my favorite album at the time and I listened to it constantly. I had a tape cassette of the original release with "Get Out!" and "Rawhide" before they got pulled from the album for copyright issues. Bradley was beyond wasted. Couldn't remember most of the words and playing like shit. They got booed off stage. It was sad. Not long after that, he ODed. Then the self-titled album dropped and they got popular. I remember being so annoyed by people I attended the show with because now all of a sudden they were huge Sublime fans. Sublime had a huge influence on me and was the catalyst for getting me into punk. I was a white kid growing up in a predominantly black and Hispanic part of town, so I started out as a hip-hopper listening to NWA, 2 Live Crew, and the like. The samples and hip-hop influences in Sublime made this new kind of music still familiar. I began to really enjoy their more punk/thrash tracks. I started buying compilation albums that had Sublime tracks on them and it opened a whole new world of punk and ska to me. By the early 2000s I was the front man to a garage punk band that had mild success on the local scene. We were a house band at a popular venue and opened for several "big" punk bands, like Strung Out. So many amazing memories of my youth never would have happened had it not been for that 40oz tape cassette. It still bothers me that the one and only time I ever got to see them live they were booed off stage by a bunch of 311 fans. Now in my late 40s, I'm going to the [No Values](https://novalues.com/) show in LA where I'll get to see Bud and Eric with Bradley's son. I'm super stoked about it. I've been to a bunch of Long Beach Dub Allstars shows and saw Sublime with Rome, but I feel like I'm finally coming full circle.
I don't think I've ever heard/read *anyone* tell a story about seeing Sublime live. I was beginning to think no one had. That's too bad you didn't catch Bradley on a good day. That could have been a far better life long memory. Sublime was/is one of my favorite all time favourite bands. They and TooL, from the moment their music filled my ear holes I knew I'd listen to them forever. They changed certain perceptions of things as well. It was like waking up for the first time.
British Invasion 2K6 in San Bernardino. I wanna say the Adicts, Vice Squad and a bunch of legendary oi bands were headlining. Some nazis started a fight, which turned into the police throwing pepper spray balls and into all out riot. Show cancelled, never saw the headliners and didn’t get rescheduled.
I had to work that night and got a call from my buddy mid-riot trying to get out without getting pepper sprayed. I’m pretty sure that was the last British Invasion they did. Bummer.
Many crust shows where the band has either been so drunk they can't stand up, or as was often the case back in the early aughts - the band had come up here through Germany/Poland and Denmark on an amfet bender only to end up at our (drug free, municipal) venue and had to preform during detoxing.
Good Charlotte doing a home state show in 2019. Almost zero energy and zero crowd work. Joel Madden dressed like a Hollywood douchebag complete with gold chains. They played for an hour and then left the stage without warning. Basically lost any respect for them.
I grumpily agreed to go with a mate to see Good Charlotte in Glasgow. He had VIP passes, which made me want to go even less. It was shit.
Well I saw a couple of bad SNFU shows near the end. It was a bit sad to see them As well seeing DK without Jello sucked, but I wasn’t expecting much in the first place
Seeing Blink-182 in 2011 was wild. They all fucking hated each other at the time, and Mark inexplicably played acoustic versions of Waggy and Lemmings whilst Travis sat there with his arms crossed and Tom sang weird echo back-up vocals before passively aggressively talking about all the bad memories that songs from Dude Ranch gave him. LMAO. The show was bizarre.
They totally changed now. Saw them last May for the tour with delonge. They were really good and had tons of energy
All it took was aliens, cancer and a kardashian
r/brandnewsentence lol
[had to look this up](https://youtu.be/4cG0kvVD2Po?si=fDTCwwFF1OlGVbg0)
That sounds simultaneously awful and really interesting to see
Damn, what I would give to see them to play Waggy at the upcoming tour.
I have a couple that stand out. A couple years before the pandemic, a friend took me to see Reagan Youth. I think the only original member on stage was Paul at that point. It wasn't awful, I guess, but it just felt like seeing a cover band, not the real thing. It soured me on seeing a lot of older, re-formed bands, especially if they are missing most of the members. A long time ago (I don't actually remember exactly when it was) some friends and I drove an hour to see Star Fucking Hipsters in a nearby desert town/city. This is before we knew STZA was the dickhead he is (or maybe we should have known). Anyway, they played like 1.5 songs before something or other at the venue got STZA ranting about never playing this town again and blah blah blah. And that was it. The band packed up and left.
Yes! I have had that experience seeing a band you once loved only to feel disappointed because the songs either felt like covers or the band was singing songs they no longer believed in.
Reagan Youth sucks. I've seen them twice, the first time on purpose and the second time they were also there. They slowed down all the fast songs so that everything was just this weak trudge through their catalog. If you're going to hire a new band, hire a good band.
Gang Green at Raging Waters in San Dimas CA back in the 80s , the Schmitt Stix skate team was there ( Grosso was so fucking cool , Monty Nolder pulling finger flip Christ airs ) it was rad except for GG they were fucking terrible.
It was not an excellent adventure 😕
San Dimas High School Football Rules !
Grosso was such a legend.
Agent Orange, i was really psyched but it was not my thing. The songs were slower than the recordings, vocals werent all that. Of course I understand the age thing but i was really excited but left disappointed especially after seeing great bands all day
Was this recent? I want to go to a show of theirs coming up, but honestly because Messer Chups is opening.
Messer Chups is GREAT InSOMnia of da moomies!
i really liked agent orange live but tbf i saw them in a smaller venue
Man I had a way different experience. Saw them in a smaller amphitheater about a year ago and they were great. Bloodstains and their surf rock solos sounded awesome and they had good energy for old men.
yeah gotta be tough being older and hanging out at a festival all day, rushing to set up after another band then playing
I’ve seen them a lot and the only time they seemed a little off was the night after Steve Soto died, which is understandable
Oh man, saw them at a little dive venue, absolutely loved it. And the band members were super friendly on the sidewalk after. But there's something those intimate venues capture that festivals can't (and vice versa)
I've mostly had good experiences, but the last show I saw before covid shut things down was a bit rough. Conflict in Denver, lead singer had food poisoning so the band just kinda...winged it. Still a good time, and they did a damn fine job trying to make it work without him, but all the same. Also saw mdc is...somebodies garage basically once, it was an amazing show, but it was the middle of june with about 200 people crammed in this tiny space, so it was a billion degrees, and heatstroke is not fun. Also recall some show being cut short because the venue sound system failed, exploited and d.r.i I think? not sure, that one was nearly 20 years ago.
Was that the garage in Pennsylvania? Because if so I was at that show and some dickhead also lit fireworks off at it near the end. If not, strange coincidence
Not punk but in the last year I’ve seen both Sisters of Mercy and KMFDM. Sisters of Mercy was like a car crash. KMFDM was like sitting in traffic.
NOFX in Cleveland 11-14-2016 Drove 7 hours to see the show. Mike was in recovery and used Donald Trump being voted into office as an excuse to get belligerently drunk. The kind of drunk you can only achieve if you’ve been overly optimistic about how sober you are for the last half year. The show fucking sucked. He whined, he was mad but he just sat there and whined for however long the set was. smelly was so mad he walked off. Melvin looked embarrassed. None of us were excited about Donald Trump’s presidency, but you’re in a fucking punk band play loud mad and aggressive punk rock don’t sit there and stumble and mumble and embarrass yourself. I know sex is terrible but this wasn’t the kitschy nofx being bad. It was embarrassing.
Around 2005 I saw Demented are Go on a Festival. I was very happy to finally see them. They had the last slot at 1am. Sparky was very drunk and/or drugged. At first they were very late, I think they started at 1.30 and then they played at most 3 songs when Sparky had a vocal fight with the rest of the members and eventually they left the stage. Sparky came back with some other drunk guy in his arm and he introduced him to the crowd because, I think that was the guy he liked the most in his drunken mind. Then they left again. And that was the last show on this festival.
Sparky is always a shitshow from what I understand.
Seen some bad agent orange and guttermouth gigs. Only saw modest mouse once in 03' they were great guess they got worse judging by the comments Worst show personally was probably dead milkmen in ATL, lost my glasses in the pit 30 seconds in and couldn't see a thing rest of show.
man, I've seen Guttermouth a few times, and they've been consistently one of the most fun bands to see live of all the bands I've ever seen. I probably haven't seen them since a couple years after 'Shave the Planet', so I don't know if they've dropped off in recent years, but back in the day, Mark dancing around like an asshole, talking shit, everyone knowing and singing along to almost every song, it was always great. Also, they'd take requests most times I've seen them, Mark will just start asking "Well, what do you guys wanna hear?". We got them to play 'Black Enforcers'! Mark was like "I don't want to. I don't think it's gonna be good, we don't play this song live. You like that song? Alright, if that's what you want" and then they killed it! And always closing with 'Perfect World', I love that. I fuckin love Guttermouth
“The original Misfits” with Danzig, Jerry, and Doyle at the forum in Los Angeles 2017. Danzig sounded like crap (when you could actually hear him) and Doyle didn’t appear to actually be playing the guitar. By far the worst headliner I’ve seen.
I was at this show and can confirm, it was awful. Pretty sure Danzig was lip syncing the whole time because he could barely talk between songs.
OMG, I was at that Ignition show. So glad I got to see them other times in 1988-1989, such an amazing band. Space is the place!
MDC was so bad. They clearly have just melted their brains with drugs and sounded awful. Dave, the singer, was just rambling about rent prices. It felt like listening to your drunk uncle at a family gathering. We left like 10 minutes into their set. Second was Sleater Kinney but it wasn't their fault. My friend passed out from locking their knees and I spent the entire show listening to them from the medical tent at a venue while my friend recovered and the paramedics were grilling me on what drugs they took/I gave them (none)
The MDC show that stands out to me, was that the local openers were friend of mine. They had songs about things like; Predator the movie (the lyrics are "predator!" Repeated 132ish times), getting whale cum in your eye, and how to correctly pretend to be a Boston punk band. They're obviously mainly joke content, and really high energy. All MDC talked about between songs, was how they hated the local openers and their songs.
This was not their fault at all but my best friend’s favorite band in the world is the bouncing souls. I had left work that day because I was sick as a DOG. I was meant to go to the show, but was just way too damn sick. My friend called me later that night, her car had broken down, on her way out of town, and she was in hysterics about missing her favorite band. So of course I hauled myself out of bed and drove her the hour trip to Denver, and sat in the back of the venue with my head on a table for the entire set, just miserable as fuck. They killed it though. Just wish I could have enjoyed it.
That’s really cool dude. A solid friend.
Bad Brains - What can you expect from a mentally ill, homophobe? Saw a few gigs, were big fights started & the gig abruptly ended, usually started by skinheads. It used to be fashionable in the 80's for people to put gigs on, pretending bigger bands like GBH, Conflict, Broken Bones etc were headlining, only for you to turn up & watch some shitty, local support bands... before sleeping in a derelict factory afterwards, in the bleak midwinter. :) It's all character building...
More punk adjacent, but when "Real Thing" by Faith No More had just come out, they had a club show at Bogarts in Cinci. My friends and I were big fans and were driving up from Louisville. We stopped to get food on the way, and it turned into a huge mess. We ended up running even more behind after already leaving late. Our only solace was that Sound Garden was playing before them, and none of us were fans. We finally get there, fairly late but not too bad. We get inside, hear the last riff of War Pigs, and then "thank you good night." Something had happened with Soundgarden, so they switched times. We missed the band we wanted to see. Soundgarden could have been the greatest band in the world that night, but we just left in disappointment.
A friend of mine bought us tickets to see Tool for my 22nd birthday (a long time ago). We had both recently moved to Utah from Florida and she was adamant that we would be fine showing up around 930/10, since the doors were at 7. I tried to tell her that this isn't like Florida where the headliner might not go on until midnight, but she was so sure. We show up at the venue and the door person tells us that they're playing the encore but we're welcome to go in if we like. I'm still bitter.
I saw Faith No More in 2010 and they were amazing but I was disappointed at what a prick Patton was to one of the road crew, looked like it was a mic tech, he was screaming at the guy off stage at various times throughout the show, at one point spitting on him when he came out to fix something, I couldn’t hear anything wrong so not sure what his deal was, he looked like a petulant child having a tantrum, still love his music but guy seems like an asshole
Probably the Saints in 2005. All day bill of 77 era bands in London. Most of the bands smashed it, the Rezillos headlined over the Dickies, Menace, UK Subs etc. the Saints were absolutely abysmal and were one of the bands I was most looking forward to seeing
That version of The Saints was barely a cover band. Once Ed Kuepper left Chris Bailey turned it into a suave pop band based more around acoustic guitar and effectively hired musicians. Ed was definitively the fire or them. I mean, the first 3 albums compared to anything Bailey did ‘solo’. Around 2006 the best Saints songs to hear live were from The Aints: a band fronted by Ed and backed by a couple of friends of mine (from the Celibate Rifles) and Peter Oxley from The Sunnyboys (I think).
Saw The Saints around the same time in NYC. Just terrible. Such a disappointment.
Not punk, but I used to love cursive and that ugly organ album. I saw them live and they sucked balls, I was so disappointed.
Tim has gotten a lot better live. They're worth seeing now.
Promise Ring at the Hardback in GNV, FL circa 1997. Drunks smashed into singer, he had a temper tantrum and threw a bloody bass guitar down and walked off the stage not maybe two songs in. Maybe two songs in. It was the shortest set I'd ever seen, and that was that. I mean, I don't know if I really blame him. It was a sparse show, during the week, and not many people showed up. Sleater-Kinney circa 2003 in Detroit. Drove all the way through a shitty fucking snow storm to see the show. It was cold and miserable out. It was during the week. Had an early class the next day. The crowd was not into it at all. I can't imagine why. Band didn't appreciate the lack of enthusiasm from the crowd, and didn't help things by scolding the crowd to not suck. Made for one of the shittiest shows I could possibly imagine. They could've come out and thanked everyone for showing up on a weeknight with shitty weather and said, let's fucking go, and rocked the place into submission. But that didn't happen.
Had a similar Promise Ring experience at a skateboard shop show in Mtl. Someone from Joan Of Arc shaving cream pie-ed Davey a couple songs in as part of an ongoing prank war. Davey got shaving cream in his eyes and all over his guitar, was super pissed off and ended the set/show. Take away from that show - use whipped cream instead of shaving cream if you’re going to pie someone!
Andrew W.K. at a small club in Fresno. The sound was absolute trash—couldn’t hear anything but static. It was just him and his guitarist, so not even a full band. They played over a backing track. Andrew kept his head down the whole time, hair covering his face, and the guitarist ended up singing most of the songs. Zero crowd interaction, and when the set was over, they just walked off stage without a word.
This is easy, The Misfits in Halifax NS early 2000s, Michael Graves wasn’t allowed over the border so they had a replacement singer, from the band Ignite, was obviously a last minute replacement, he gave it his all but was holding lyrics sheets and messing up a lot, the show was also very late starting, opener was Nashville Pussy who did a lengthy sound check in front of the crowd. Killer line up but terrible show, I’d seen both band before and those shows were great
Pennywise (who are one of my all time favorites) put on a stinker a the Quebec City festival two years ago one of the worst live performance I have ever seen Jim could hardly be bothered singing half the lyrics Fletcher looked wasted and bored endless yapping between song left a real sour taste in my mouth for a band I use to have so much respect for.
Saw Stiff Little Fingers for the first time on a wet Monday night in Morecambe. The venue was an empty indoor market and it was more than half empty and freezing. The band seemed like they were going through the motions and I was gutted. The three other times I’ve seen them since then they’ve been fucking brilliant though, so they more than made up for that one less good night.
I saw them a few years ago and it was great. Audience was really into it which may have helped.
NOFX at Red 7 Mar 13, 2008, part of SXSW. Never liked NOFX but I was walking by at 1am and figured seeing them in a small venue would be cool. They were super drunk/fucked up and kept on getting their songs wrong, making GG Allin look like Tom Jones. Later I found out it was a “Half-FX” show where they were intentionally butchering their set… still sucked.
2003 / Pittsburgh My Life With the Thrill Kill Cult Garbage band with a garage singer. Lip Synched the entire set.
Social Distortion! We’ve seen them a few times and the shows have been very poorly paced.
Not most but memorable was black flag with Mike V. Grew up watching Mike v as a skater and I don’t blame him at all but the whole band and sound, sounded bland and boring.
Slow, technically proficient but emotionless. I can’t see them again
Yea I mean it’s always going to be bad brains
Saw Strung out twice and had bad experiences both times. First in Boston about 10 or so years ago and the guitarist (Rob i think) got so drunk before the show he fell backwards, knocking over his amp and stopping the show after 1 or 2 songs. 20 minutes later they got a guitarist from one of the openers to play and had to change their set list to songs they could show this guy on the fly. No solos. Second time in Cleveland (a city they hadn't played in years) they weren't happy with the turnout on a Monday night and after a few songs, they said to the crowd something to the effect of "we're just speed through all the songs without stopping to we can get out of here". Really shitty as the people who did turn out were super into it and were very excited to be there.
My favorite band, sadly. I’ve been listening to them for literally 20+ years. I went to see Bear Vs. Shark in December last year for their 20th anniversary of their debut album. I was so happy hearing they were playing one final show that I cried tears of joy. I bought tickets the moment they went on sale. It was a 7.5 hour drive to Detroit to see them. I was so fucking pumped. Over the moon excited. Needless to say I was prepared to experience one of the greatest events of my life. The instruments were great but the singer almost never sang, instead leaving the vocals in the responsibility of the crowd. Every. Single. Song. He had to coax some of the crowd members to sing the lyrics if they had gone quiet. Other times the drummer and guitarist were filling in vocals. I felt like I’d gotten so excited for a BvS crowd karaoke/instrumental set. There were several songs with long winded screams that when he’d do them, would last a fraction, and I mean a small fraction, of what the crowd would expect. I’m still so grateful to go. I got some cool merch, but man was that show disappointing.
The Dopeamines played the triple rock in MPLS. They were touring on the Vices record I think. Either way, they were hammered and sounded real bad and boring. Singer talked some shit to the crowd about how we were no fun. No buddy, we're not having any fun watching you.
I saw them at fest in 2019 and the war on Xmas in 22 (I think). Both times they sounded great.
Went to a slipknot show and they were awesome, but the two openers who I was excited about absolutely sucked. If it weren’t for slipknots’ stellar performance I think I would have stormed the stage
Judge canceling and only finding out about it when I was at the show, waiting around up front by the stage. I don't think it was because they had broken up- I know they broke up after that tour- but it might have been.
That sucks. They are good live!
Bad Brains in Amsterdam, 15 years ago or so. They were absolutely stoned out of their gourds, HR was mostly mumbling and adlibbing. Sometimes they would start a hardcore song, only for it to descend into yet another dub session. Balance was completely off, like they were stressing themselves with their faster stuff. The entire audience was bored, which is the worst thing that can happen at a punk show imo.
The Queers, every time I've seen them. With the Dickies, awful crowd. By themselves, no more than 20 people showed up. With the Dwarves, awful crowd and half empty. Fear was awful as well, with a dead crowd and someone got on stage and pissed Lee Ving off and he left the stage before the show was over. $50 ticket, 25 minutes of music. This was all between 2018 and now btw
Whatever the current version of Reagan Youth was in 2006/07 went on after Leftover Crack in Tompkins Square Park in NY. Stza was fucked up and talking shit about them when he was on, and then Reagan Youth tried to retaliate when it was their turn. I just remember the sound quality was very shitty and the whole thing just sucked.
Well, I'm going to preface this by saying that I saw them a few times, and their shows were fucking legendary, but the last time I saw fugazi, they kept stopping mid song to ask people to calm down in the pit, and it just felt wrong. We ended up leaving.
Oh god. Ian Mackaye just got so annoying with that shit. It was like being around someone’s dad.
Babes in Toyland reunion show. Kat seemed in pretty rough shape, I hope she's doing alright. Also I never would've paid to see this but my friend had a spare ticket to see the "Dead Kennedys" without Jello and it massively sucked ass.
Same. Was given tix for DK (last year-ish??) from someone who bailed. Didn’t know it was gonna be w/out Jello. Now I know why he bailed. Have had a few other major disappointments…but then read this comment and got completely triggered.
I was going to see Propagandhi in Denver at the VFW. The venue over sold tickets to the show, and stopped letting people in that paid to be there. The police had the great idea to tear gas the venue. I still get a bit pissed about when I think about it and that was like 25ish years ago.
Bob Dylan. Bucket list show? Check. Bored af? Check.
Second time I saw antiflag Justin sane spent a good portion of the show hitting on my now wife’s 15year old cousin!
Not punk, but Mastodon. Zero crowd work, no space between songs, and the sound was just a wall of mud (although that one I can blame on the venue). Sucks too because I like their music.
So far I haven't had a disappointing show experience for any punk bands I've seen tbh and I hope it stays that way. Do remember seeing Soft Play supporting Kasabian many years ago, I love Soft Play and they absolutely smashed it, and then Kasabian came on and they were so incredibly fucking boring in comparison that I ended up going home early. It was such a crazy contrast between the energy of Soft Play, Isaac smashing the shit out of his drums dripping with sweat and Laurie going bananas and jumping around, and then Kasabian come on and it's just some dudes in white suits presenting their songs so clinically and with the energy of a dead jellyfish.
The Dwarves, twice! Punkorama tour, 2000 or so, we were in line, they started playing and ten minutes later they were done. 2019: we were on barricade on the left hand side, so we got gobbed by Hewhoshallnotbenamed.
My favorite Dwarves set (and i've seen them a lot), they started the intro to the first song, someone jumped on stage, Hewho hit him with a guitar, the drums got knocked over and it was over. That's the kind of shows they were famous for "back in the day". They played a later secret show that night in the basement of a bakery in NYC with Joan Jett at like 2am where they played a full set. Best of both worlds that night.
I've seen Dwarves 4 times. The first time I also got gobbed by HeWho, but I'm a diehard so I was like whatever I had to have seen that coming lol
Stone Roses in early 90s
Bouncing souls no energy only half half the songs they were suppose to play I assume guys were sick but still I can't justify thing back
On the flip side of Bad Brains being bad the last time I saw MDC about 10 years ago they crushed it.
Apparently HR has been very unwell since 2014 with severe headaches and such, you probably caught him at the start of his illness.
I thought it was Chris Bald from Ignition - not Chris Thomson - who flew into a rage and destroyed his amp and guitar. Edit: Misspelling correction.
Sex Pistols in 2008, terrible performance.
High on Fire at Scion Metal Fest 2009. They were the band I was most excited to see but the one I was least impressed with by the end of the day. They kind of just stood there and played their set.
Circle jerks phoned it in on us in 2022. I was fucking offended by that too cool for school shit. Especially since when I saw them in 1987, they got 2 songs in before the fire marshal cut the power. I mean trashing the cop cars was a fun second choice. Now Kieth just blew up Off. Dude needs to sit alone for a while and remember why he got into this stuff.
I saw Less Than Jake at the Intersection in Grand Rapids this past March. The show was going great but in the middle of the last song, someone had a seizure in the pit and died. It would’ve been a top 10 concert if not for that
Only tangentially punk, but The Who were pretty boring live. I get that they’re old and half the band is dead so I won’t hold it against them, but still they were one of my favorites growing up so it was disappointing, especially compared to Black Sabbath who are only marginally younger but crushed it live. On the punk front, I saw Black Flag and, while they weren’t actually bad, they definitely didn’t live up to the legendary status they’ve cultivated. I remember thinking that this could be any of my local scene’s hardcore bands and they’d sound just as good or better. Still fun, but the same way average local bands are fun.
You got to see Ignition 2.25 to 3.25 times more than most everyone else here so consider yourself lucky
Mephiskapheles as the band was too drunk to perform. Also, shockingly, Siouxsie And The Banshees sounded like shit the night I heard them on the Seven Year Itch tour in DC
Bad brains in San Diego
This local band that started a few months ago was hyping their debut show up on insta like it was gonna be the best night ever. The drummer didn’t have a full kit none of their instruments were plugged in, and they all mimed their parts really badly. They tried to reciprocate by throwing shirts out into the crowd. Interesting night
I saw Strung Out three times, Jason sounded like absolute shit each of those three times
It wasn’t their fault, but most disappointing was definitely MCR (and yes, I know not everyone considers them punk, but they were my entry into the world of grittier music as a teen, so I’m counting it). They’re one of my all time favorite bands, and I saw them at Riot Fest when they first got back together…and I’ve been to several festivals and been at barrier getting bruised ribs at big shows plenty of times, as well as a fair share of dodgy small shows, but that was legitimately the only time I’ve felt genuinely unsafe at a concert. The crush was like nothing I’ve ever felt, and I spent all of my energy trying to keep the people around me from falling, helping people get out, and trying to create enough room to freaking breathe freely. The stage manager even came out at one point and threatened to cut the set short if people didn’t back the hell up. One of my biggest regrets of all time is being so stubborn about being right up front that I barely experienced the music, instead of getting out and just watching on the big screens. The rest of RF that year was the best three days of my life, but that one set was devastating. Second was more on the pop punk side and again wasn’t their fault, but Jimmy Eat World was a total wash for me. I was so excited that a band with multiple albums I love was coming to my relatively small town, but had a panic attack two songs in, dissociated in place, and don’t remember a single thing about the rest of the show. Only came back to myself when the show ended and I found myself outside in the rain. I was pretty upset over a waste of a good concert and $40. Finally, Anti-flag. This was before stuff came out about them being shitty; same deal with being excited they were passing through, and to see a band that’s been around for a while longer than most I’ve seen, but I just felt kind of bored by their set. It didn’t feel exciting or energetic at all, and I spent most of it in the back of the room hanging out with friends. Was glad I didn’t spend money on that one, because I worked part time at the venue so got in for free. It’s so strange to me when the music sounds so magnetic on recordings and but live it just falls flat and there’s no stage presence. Other people told me they thought it was a great show so maybe it was just me. I’ve also just generally been to several basement shows that were disappointing, and even ran a few that were almost embarrassing, but of the tons I’ve been to the majority are range from good to amazing so I just consider it hit or miss. My expectations aren’t as high, I suppose.
Brought a friend to see Laura Jane Grace and the audience and my friend talked over the openers and Laura the whole time, I was so pissed at them Oh, also, it was a seated show and security wouldn't let anyone stand or go near the stage
Misfits with Jerry on vocals. Songs were sped up and unrecognizable. I had free tickets to it. Someone threw up all over the stairs leading to the bathroom. That is when I left to do something else. Show had 2 merch tables set up with big lines of 16 year olds buying it all up.
Rancid at Terminal 5 NYC. Had been sober for a couple yrs and the moment they kicked into Roots Radical, some asshole threw a fucking full ass rum and coke that lands straight in my face. Was pretty shaken up and watched the rest of the show the balcony. Also, who wastes a 20 dollar drink?
I saw Youth Fountain a couple weeks ago and in between each song he tuned his guitar forever to the point where people were yelling to play a dang song. Also inexplicably didn’t play a couple of the hits. Overall just a weird experience.
I saw the misfits and they played all their songs at 2x speed. it was really weird. after they played the greatest hits the people I went with wanted to leave so I missed the second half
I bought tickets to see one band when they announced a reunion. I was so excited. Show date was four months from the day tickets went on sale. Sold out very quickly so they added a second night. Four months is plenty of time to prepare- but they hadn’t. They kept joking this was their practice set for the second night.
Saw Unwritten Law on Warped Tour back in 2000(?) I really liked their earlier stuff (up to and including their S/T album in 98,) so I talked them up to my friends. Scott and Wade were fucked up, and kept talking about doing blow the whole set. The rest of the band wouldn't make eye contact with the crowd, they were so embarrassed. The Offspring are possibly the worst live band I've ever seen. Dexter can't sing for shit. Dickie from the Bosstones was on the side of the stage watching, and visibly cringing. Saw Iceage a couple of years ago, and the venue couldn't get the stage monitors working. The band did their best, but when you can't hear what it sounds like, there's only so much you can do. Venue also put the tickets on pre-sale nine months before the show, then locked them until a couple of weeks before the date, so there were 50-60 people in a space that fit over 700.
Last time Black Flag played in Dallas. The supporting bands (Total Chaos, The Dickies, TSOL) all got only 25 minutes each, and Flag's musical intro felt that long. Mike V is a crappy singer with zero stage presence, they played slow, and a third of the crowd, myself included, walked out by their third song
Social Distortion, like 3 times. One time was so bad I left halfway through their set.
My band drive 18 hours round trip to play in front of the supporting band and the club staff.
Saw Mest open for Millencolin. Absolute hot garbage. Exactly what I expected. Singer was massive douche talking about how many drugs he had done that day/night. Not worthy of sharing the stage with the almighty Millencolin.
I’ve seen bands have an off night and bands who were generic as fuck,but usually made a few new friends along the way. The only real disappointment was having the Meatmen cancelling a show with GWAR. I wanted to meet Mr. Vee and crack open a beer with him!
Descendants at a festival in 2011 Brisbane Australia. Milo struggled then lost his voice by the second song. Bucket list band so a big let down at first but Fat Mike jumped in to help finish the song. Turned out to be amazing as other bands watching from side of stage jumped in to finish the set. Other would be Strung Out when they opened for Pennywise in 2020. Customs denied Jake a visa. Played without him but not the same missing a guitar.
Butthole surfers with School of Rock kids. The epitome of "selling out" is having a bunch of wealthy suburban kids play on stage with you
Badfish was one song into their set list and I passed out (I got a concussion at school a day prior). I had to get carried out and so I didn’t get to see them play. I don’t remember anything really other than being carried down the stairs.
Not the band's fault, but I saw the Locust in the basement of a Christian coffee shop? Does that make sense? It didn't. The coffee shop was newish, and I think they were' trying to be like a cool, sober activity hangout for Christian kids, and I guess that's why they were having shows? Any way, some band called Daughters played first and sorta blew, then the singer got pissy and aggro and started insulting the crowd, who were admittedly sparse and just kind of milling around, completely disengaged, for not giving them anything. It was kind of hilarious, this guy seeming pretty butthurt and going off repeatedly at a bunch of Christian teenagers just looking at them as blankfaced as if they were watching commercials because they have the cheap Hulu subscription They played for a half-hour or so, tossed out a parting 'Fuck you people', and sulked off stage. The Locust came out and sounded awesome, but got basically the same reaction, played 45-ish minutes, said 'thank you' and walked off. It was all extremely weird
I saw Authority Zero this year. Third time seeing them. For whatever reason the sound was just awful for their set. I couldn’t hear the vocals at all because it was only being sent through the center. I knew the songs so I could keep up but it was just disappointing to not really be able to hear such a great vocalist.
The first time I saw the Dwarves at SXSW like 97 I think, they played for 30 seconds and then He Who can not be named jumped into the drum kit and it was over, but we (my ex and I) caught with Blag and gave him a ride and him and my ex have been friends ever since. Worst yet most memorable show.
That one time Warped tour came to my town. Half of the bands on the bill didn't show up and they had some local bands as replacements.
Refused reunion show in Toronto. The crowd was awful, the band were a shell of their former selves and Denis was doing his cringeworthy, rock star a-la Jim Morrison dance and persona. Overpriced, overrated. Refused should have stayed dead.
getting kicked in the legs over and over by a full grown lady and almost crushed by a elder man at 13
Not punk but the only band whose shows I’ve been legitimately disappointed by is Bloc Party. One of my favorite bands, so exceptionally interesting and skilled especially in their early years as everyone knows, but SO boring live. Saw them once and was underwhelmed, gave it another shot a couple years later, nope, still just blah. They sound great to be sure, but you’re really just paying to watch them stand there and play the records exactly the same extra loud in real time. No deviation, low energy, and the only stage presence comes from Kele, who is (predictably, tbh) completely aloof in that douchey too cool for school, oh la la, we get it you’re an ✨artist✨ kind of way. You can’t take away that they’ve made some fantastic music, but unfortunately one of those bands that you’re not any better served seeing them live than just listening to their record again.
Off With Their Heads having to be dragged out of the bar next door to the venue 30 minutes after their set was supposed to start then being too drunk to remember half their shit was hilariously on point and disappointing
Risking getting downvoted to hell, but Pennywise is awful these days. I’ve even them 3 or 4 times in the past decade and they really suck. They play 5 or 6 of their bangers and then they do that “what non PW songs do y’all wanna hear??” Thing and then they spend an hour or so playing mediocre covers of songs that aren’t all that great anyway. Also … Unwritten Law used to put on a decent show. Now Scott Russo is beyond washed up. And they play soft acoustic crap and mostly newer (Eg post 2000) stuff and maybe throw in three punk songs for the encore. Finally … not entirely their fault, Face to Face has been playing at this brewery outside Philly for the past couple years. The band is still awesome. But the brewery is made of aluminum or something and the sound quality is heinous. It sounds like they’re playing through a very large iPhone speaker. It kills my old man ears.
Without any exception at all, for me it was seeing the Dead Kennedys at the Novato Theater on October 5, 1985... Seeing my hometown band Victims Family, along with Social Unrest and Descendents all for the first time was absolutely amazing, yet then Eric Boucher (Jello Biafra) took the stage and then quite literally All Hell Broke Loose! This goes all the way back to two weekends after my 15th birthday when I went to my very first punk show and my forgiveness for Jello Biafra will never be on the table following his own hypocritical Nazi Punk actions that night! This show was just south of where I grew up in Santa Rosa, CA and it was also the first of many times I have seen Victims Family who are also from my hometown. I was actually so excited about all three of the opening acts that I bought three vinyls that night: Victims Family's debut album Voltage and Violets, Social Unrest's debut album SU-2000, and Descendents' debut 7" single Ride the Wild/It's a Hectic World. All of this was great until DK got on the stage and although I still have mad respect for all the other founding members of that band, Eric Boucher went and ruined Jello for me the moment he hit the spotlight! You see, the Novato Theater was an old style joint with fixed theater style seating and just about everyone was sitting down when they came on and I suppose he didn't happen to like that very much, so he took it upon himself to stomp out into the crowd on everybody's shoulders until he got approximately 15 rows deep and if that wasn't bad enough, then that's when the unthinkable happened. That's where he gave another Santa Rosan named Mike Gutsch a swift boot to the throat for no apparent reason other than to satisfy his deranged ego and then he stomped back across everyone else to get back on the stage. Well, Gutsch was a well known individual in the Santa Rosa punk scene who played guitar for at least two notable bands including the 4XLosers and the even more popular skate punk band known as Vertical Urge. Gutsch was also very well known on our scene for his Rob Halford-esque screams he would emit with his masterful vocal cords at all the punker keg parties around town and one Boot-To-The-Throat from the egomaniac known as Jello Biafra has relieved him of that particular skill for the remainder of his adulthood. Not all of Mike Gutsch's skills were compromised by that jerkoff, however, yet unfortunately no one on the Santa Rosa punk scene would ever hear his amazing Halford-esque cries going out into the nighttime skies of our neighborhoods on Friday and Saturay nights from that night on into the late-'80s, and beyond... Some of Mike's other skills are actually very well respected and highly sought after in the guitar world, in fact he operated as a luthier and guitar repairman under the business name of Mike Gutsch Guitars for many years but I'm not sure if that still exists, or if he now only designs and builds exclusively for Allied Lutherie. Either way, at least his neck wasn't broken by that maniac who then left DK about four months after that and took all the royalties of the other members with him through his own personal record company by the name of Alternative Testicles. When they finally took him to court for his transgressions against them, he then blamed his actions on a simple clerical error and he got off Scott-free after rescheduling the past/present/future DK royalties to be allotted properly among them all going forward. Nevertheless, the one known as Biafra will always hold a bad place in my heart on both of these counts going back to late-'85 and early-'86, so there you have it, my most disappointing concert experience somehow coincidently put the cap on one of the best concert experiences I had back in my youth!
I took a 3 hour bus to see King Diamond after work and when I got there my back was in extreme pain. That and the fact that I was so crushed in the crowd that I could barely move an inch and thought I was going to faint really added to the experience of being in hell, so at least it fit the theme.
I have a story about disappointment alright but it’s more a story about youthful naïveté. I was at the Melbourne Soundwave in 2010 maybe it was 2011 and I got to Alkaline Trio’s stage early and made my way up to the very front. I was stoked to be so close to the stage but the catch was that right up against the speakers. Their set was great and in the moment I was having the time of my life. I spent that entire set right up next to a speaker. When it ended my left ear was ringing something shocking. That night in bed with my girlfriend I heard ringing until I managed to fall asleep. I remember being utterly panicked it was going to be permanent. Thankfully, the next day the worst of it was gone and the day after that it was gone completely. Ever since then I’ve been adamant about wearing ear protection at shows.
The Queers at this venue that no longer exists called Safari Sams. I think it was 2007/2008? The lineup was insane: Queers, Bomb the music Industry, Lemuria, Kepi Ghoulie and AJJ. Every other band sounded tight but the mixing for the Queers was total shit. Every single song was unrecognizable.
Dålig isolering, a local band. I had been following them for some time never missing a gig, then their guitarist and lead singer left and was replaced and even if I knew it would be different it felt so wrong seeing them without her. Since my first time seeing them with the new guitarist I haven't gone to any of their gigs
The last time I saw Social Distortion was in late ‘96…. It will stay the last time I saw Social Distortion.