THESE FORUMS NOW CLOSED (read only)
Fun Stuff => BAND => Topic started by: gospel on 18 Sep 2008, 10:24
-
Most bands tend to impress me live, especially those I would think would be studio-only bands (i.e. NIN). I even had the pleasure of ease dropping on Lollapalooza--which had quite the indie list. At any rate, sometimes the opposite happens. I was getting into The Walkmen lately, and by all intents and purposes their albums were good. Despite all that, I couldn't listen to them live.
At first I thought it was the small venue or the equipment, but Okkervil rocked the house. It just seemed like the new album wasn't arranged well into the rest of the set, and he didn't quite have a grasp of his own vocal range live. I wasn't the only person who walked out for a smoke break either. He really wasn't working the crowd. It was just "We are the walkmen [song] We are the walkmen, this ..[song]."
QQ
-
Mogwai
-
Godspeed You Black Emperor! and Sigur Rós.
I’ll admit that the first time I saw GYBE!, I was thoroughly impressed. This was between the Slow Riot … EP and Lift Yr. Skinny Fists… releases. But the second time, it dawned on me that they were intensely boring to watch. I love their music, but standing around while a bunch of musicians huddle over their instruments, barely acknowledging the audience, playing one extended crescendo after another for 90 minutes was tedious to the extreme.
Likewise with Sigur Rós, during the ( ) tour. Boring, boring, boring. Their stage presence was non-existent, you couldn't really dance or move to the music, so the show became like a torturous stand. The friend I went with and I both agree, even years later, that it was a thoroughly awful show, memorable most for our intense back pain afterwards.
-
Maybe they got better since you saw them because some friends of mine saw them on the Takk tour and said it was an amazing show. Then, I saw them at Bonnaroo this year; and it was possibly the best night of my life. I have heard of people being disappointed at their shows though.
-
I've seen them three times (once was an acoustic set so I don't think that really counts) and thought they put on a great show. I don't recall finding myself bored for a moment. To be fair, their music since () is much more conducive, with the exception of a few songs, to a live setting. () is not the kind of album I'd necessarily want to see played through live.
-
I've only been disappointed by bands who cancelled their show. I was supposed to see Wax Mannequin last week and was disappointed that he cancelled at the last minute. Same thing happened with Fleet Foxes over the summer.
-
I certainly think that I would've had a better experience with Sigur Rós if I didn't have to stand through the whole show. One of my friends saw them in Boston a day or two before at a seated venue and she had a good time. But at the same time, the band did nothing that helped the situation.
-
At first I thought it was the small venue or the equipment, but Okkervil rocked the house. It just seemed like the new album wasn't arranged well into the rest of the set, and he didn't quite have a grasp of his own vocal range live. I wasn't the only person who walked out for a smoke break either. He really wasn't working the crowd. It was just "We are the walkmen [song] We are the walkmen, this ..[song]."
I am guessing they just had a bad show, because I just saw them on Monday and it was spectacular. Maybe the show you saw was a fluke?
-
Sigur Ros
-
Man, I got tickets to Sigur Ros and I barely listen to them on record. Y'all are making me nervous.
-
I wouldn't worry about it. It's good to see them at least once.
Who am I to talk, I fell asleep during part of their concert...
-
Andrew Bird
-
At first I thought it was the small venue or the equipment, but Okkervil rocked the house. It just seemed like the new album wasn't arranged well into the rest of the set, and he didn't quite have a grasp of his own vocal range live. I wasn't the only person who walked out for a smoke break either. He really wasn't working the crowd. It was just "We are the walkmen [song] We are the walkmen, this ..[song]."
I am guessing they just had a bad show, because I just saw them on Monday and it was spectacular. Maybe the show you saw was a fluke?
I am pretty sure he is talking about The Walkmen. His reference to an entirely separate Okkervil River show was for comparison (i.e., the venue is perfectly capable of hosting an awesome show). Unless The Walkmen are touring with Okkervil River and no one told me!
-
Andrew Bird is ONLY good live I think. His albums and songs are generally pretty ordinary... I mean, he's got his compositional niche, but there aren't enough hooks. Watching him live though, up close with a looper and that violin, is tight.
-
Mogwai
And yah, I heard Andrew Bird is fucking fantastic live. I still really regret not going to watch his set at Coachella 2007. But I really have to disagree with him being "ordinary on record". I think his stuff, especially Armchair Apocrypha, is really pretty and lovely to listen to, and in fact quite distinct!
-
Yeah Andrew Bird is awesome live. Some of his recorded stuff is real good, but live is better.
-
I was forced to sit through a Puddle of Mudd concert. It was awful wrapped in disgusting dipped in shit.
-
I was forced to sit through a Puddle of Mudd concert. It was awful wrapped in disgusting dipped in shit.
But wasn't that kinda what you expected?
-
Guys stop saying Sigur Ros is disappointing. I'm seeing them tonight. =(
-
Muse.
Sure, it's epic, sure it's a stage show.
But it was a heartless display of noise, and my ears are still ringing five years later, and I'm still bitter about it.
Green Day were hugely disappointing (in contrast to blink-182, who I expected to suck but were amazing). It wasn't a gig, it was a stage show, right down to him saying 'remember to always be an individual!'
...a line I'd seen him say on TV, at a gig from the same tour.
...and read about him saying in a Q magazine gig review.
Plus, there was too much audience participation. I love 'King For A Day,' but goddammit that song doesn't need to be eight minutes long. We came here to see YOU sing, mmm'kay?
-
Mogwai
This really disheartens me about the show that I'm driving 5 hours to see in a week
-
Agree on Green Day 100%. I saw them on the Warning tour and they played maybe... 15 songs. Interspersed with "jam sessions," shoutouts to the audience, and the audience participation thing. It took like ten minutes for them to select "band members" and get them up there, so they could play for two seconds. I thought it was just because we were the last stop on the American tour so they decided to make a crap of it, but if they're like that all the time I won't bother seeing them again. But it's also been several years so maybe they grew up by now.
-
LCD Soundsystem are pretty boring on stage.
-
Mogwai
This really disheartens me about the show that I'm driving 5 hours to see in a week
they're amazing, don't fret. I'm seeing them again tonight and its going to rule, I assure you.
-
LCD Soundsystem are pretty boring on stage.
I saw them open for Arcade Fire last year and thought they were pretty good. Maybe not as good as their album, but still fun to watch.
-
LCD Soundsystem are pretty boring on stage.
FIGHT YOU, sir
(I done seen the same tour as benji, and even when a third of the stage wasn't visible to me from far stage right because of sound equipment, they were really fun. Especially James Murphy. Oh boy there goes my man-boner again)
Liars are probably the only band I've seen I regret seeing (and I didn't even go to the show for them). This may be because they played a whole heck of a lot of songs off their "experimental" records that weren't "The Other Side of Mt. Heart Attack," and were therefore terrible songs to begin with, but they were also too over-the-top in their stage mannerisms for me.
-
Agree on Green Day 100%. I saw them on the Warning tour and they played maybe... 15 songs. Interspersed with "jam sessions," shoutouts to the audience, and the audience participation thing. It took like ten minutes for them to select "band members" and get them up there, so they could play for two seconds. I thought it was just because we were the last stop on the American tour so they decided to make a crap of it, but if they're like that all the time I won't bother seeing them again. But it's also been several years so maybe they grew up by now.
You do realise I'm talking about their most recent tour?
But then that was three years ago. Honestly, I'm fascinated by what they have planned for the next album.
-
At first I thought it was the small venue or the equipment, but Okkervil rocked the house. It just seemed like the new album wasn't arranged well into the rest of the set, and he didn't quite have a grasp of his own vocal range live. I wasn't the only person who walked out for a smoke break either. He really wasn't working the crowd. It was just "We are the walkmen [song] We are the walkmen, this ..[song]."
I am guessing they just had a bad show, because I just saw them on Monday and it was spectacular. Maybe the show you saw was a fluke?
I am pretty sure he is talking about The Walkmen. His reference to an entirely separate Okkervil River show was for comparison (i.e., the venue is perfectly capable of hosting an awesome show). Unless The Walkmen are touring with Okkervil River and no one told me!
They were paired together for just one show in Madison.
-
Sigur Rós are amazing live, absolutely brilliant.. I don't know what these guys are talking about, but the three times I've seen them (following ( ), Takk and the new album which I can't spell) both Jonsi, their brass band and everything about the shows were great. At the last show they even had big white orbs behind them that lit up with the music. They were dressed up (feathers in their hair, uniforms, balloon animals in their pants), happy and sociable.. Even though Jonsi spoke mostly Icelandic... Best show of my life.
-
LCD Soundsystem are pretty boring on stage.
FIGHT YOU, sir
(I done seen the same tour as benji, and even when a third of the stage wasn't visible to me from far stage right because of sound equipment, they were really fun. Especially James Murphy. Oh boy there goes my man-boner again)
Maybe I should elaborate a bit here. The first time I saw them was a couple of years ago at a festival, where they had to play at some silly time like 1 pm. It wasn't particularly helpful that they'd partied with the Soulwax guys the night before, resulting in everyone reaching for the OJ every five minutes and them generally having as much charisma as the mud we were standing in. During their gig at another festival last year I was probably too high to remember most of their set, which isn't very helpful either.
-
Mogwai
This really disheartens me about the show that I'm driving 5 hours to see in a week
They were great when I saw them.
INCREDIBLY loud. Astonishingly, unbelievably, earbleedingly loud. And awesome.
-
I don't know from personal experience, but I remember there was a thread on here a while back all about how awful Animal Collective are live.
-
Jason Mraz.
He had great openers who all brought a fantastic show (Bushwalla and Justin Kredible, especially) and pumped up the audience a lot. Tons of energy...but when Jason came on, he seemed out of it and played a lot of his really mellow, slow stuff. It just seemed like he wasn't into the show at all, and from what I had heard, he usually puts on a really upbeat, fun show. I hope that if I go see him again he actually puts effort into it.
-
HEY FUCKS.
SIGUR ROS WAS GOD DAMN MOTHER FUCKING AMAZING.
Quite honestly the best show I've been to in a LONG time.
-
Mogwai
This really disheartens me about the show that I'm driving 5 hours to see in a week
They were great when I saw them.
INCREDIBLY loud. Astonishingly, unbelievably, earbleedingly loud. And awesome.
And now I am quite possibly the most excited i've ever been for a show. Ever.
-
Mogwai is both pretty loud and pretty good live! The loudest show i have been too though, is definitely Justice.
-
I don't know from personal experience, but I remember there was a thread on here a while back all about how awful Animal Collective are live.
Based on the live album I've reviewed, they're fucking appalling.
However, they seem to try and improvise as much as possible at every show so you never get the same show twice, so at least they suck for an admirable reason.
-
The first time I saw Islands... they were pretty lacklustre, but I've seen them twice since then and both of those times were excellent.
Tapes 'n Tapes, Modest Mouse, M83, The Jesus and Mary Chain, Wilco... all disappointing.
Menomena were also mildly disappointing. I expected them to be a lot more fun, but they were good.
-
I saw NIN a couple of weeks ago. The lights were good, but we got a pretty bad setlist and the worst opening band of the tour.
-
I heard Boris is hopping on their tour for a few shows. That's bound to only end awesome.
-
Boris and HEALTH. Not at the same shows, though.
-
The first time I saw Islands... they were pretty lacklustre, but I've seen them twice since then and both of those times were excellent.
They really have come into their own with this album, or maybe since Jamie left. That's not to say that Jamie was holding them back or something, because he was influential in the best songs off Return to the Sea, and he still had a lot to do with the songwriting on Arm's Way, but for some reason they are a more cohesive, tight and all around engaging group now.
-
I've seen Animal Collective live a couple of times, and it's pretty hit and miss. The second time they were pretty awesome and I had a lot of fun and thought they put on a great show in general. The first, however, was not so great. Seeing them live kind of reminds me of watching a David Lynch film: sometimes you just get it and it's great, but others it's more like witnessing something that's supposed to be awesome but actually just feels self-indulgent and far too long winded (the first time I saw them they went on for SO LONG. I'd much rather see a relatively short show and be left wishing for more than have a band overstay their welcome).
Also, I'm going to reiterate the point that Andrew Bird is great live. He's good on record, too, but his live show is pretty outstanding and generally a lot of fun.
-
Andrew Bird was probably the best concert I've ever been to.
As for shite acts, Sunn O))) made me physically ill and it's the only concert I've actually been forced to leave early. Four Tet was exceedingly dull on his Rounds tour (which is a shame, because that album kicked ass). The Jesus and Mary Chain were pretty disappointing. The first time I saw Modest Mouse, they were abhorrent, but they made up for it the second time round.
-
I knew one Andrew Bird song, and he was still GREAT in concert. So much fun, so gooooood.
One of the most disappointing shows ever would have to be Against Me! this year. They were amazing in '05 (seriously amazing), but they just didn't do it for me this year. Plus, I realized I was finally an old fan, and that was alarming. I am always late for bandwagons, and don't want to be a snob, but I was still thinking "you stupid teenagers, don't you understand that you're supposed to freak out to and know the WORDS to 'Reinventing Avl Rose', 'Those Anarcho Punks are Mysterious', and 'Baby, I'm an Anarchist'? Not to songs from the new mediocre album? DON'T YOU CHILDREN UNDERSTAND?'"
Then I wept.
Also, they stopped the show at like 10 PM and the venue turned into an under-21 night club and a bunch of 14 year old started pole dancing. It was sad.
-
The Plot to Blow up the Eiffel Tower.
They were good, but not as good as I was led to believe they were a wild, uncontrollable force of nature onstage. Instead, it was a pretty good hardcore show.
Compared to the most insane shows which were Leftover Crack (who, outside a few songs, I don't really like-they nearly started a riot), and Bane (who have one album I like) and it makes the disappointment that much more sour.
-
Green Day
I saw them on the American Idiot Aussie tour, and despite not really liking the album they were touring for, it was a good show. They managed to play a fair whack of their old stuff, and while they stayed largely on the political stuff everyone seems to be doing it wasn't too overbearing.
Their old stuff is still great, and they're good showmen. I entirely didn't mind the bit where they drag some randoms from the crowd up to play along. I thought it was quite cool.
Except for Simple Plan. Oh God why fucking Simple Plan.
-
GWAR, the fourth time. I don't get to go to a lot of shows because bands I like don't come here. (and I'm too cheap to drive anywhere for music.) GWAR seems to come every year, some times twice but how many times can you watch big foam celebrities get disemboweled.
-
Oh, I know! I went to see Jars of Clay. Yes, yes, I know; but the thing was, they play this sort of bland, introspective soft-rock acoustic guitary sort of music - except during the gig they were acting like BIG AMERICAN ROCKSTARS and telling the audience to JUMP C'MON JUMP all the time and I was, like, maybe if you play something you can actually jump to rather than just strumming an acoustic guitar then we might. So they were disappointing.
-
As for shite acts, Sunn O))) made me physically ill and it's the only concert I've actually been forced to leave early.
That's not their fault though, is it?
You obviously just need to grow a pair.
-
Sigur Ros without Amiina or a brass section are not as compelling live as when with them. The show was still good but it was the weakest of the four times I've seen them by far. Some of the songs just felt lacking. They played a lot of great stuff though. Hafsol was killer, their rendition of Heysatan was beautiful and, of course, Untitled 8 was brilliant as always. I'm not at all sorry I went but on the whole the show didn't meet my expectations.
-
That's not their fault though, is it?
You obviously just need to grow a pair.
Hahahahaha.
Man I was at a Sunn O))) gig too once and the bass was so loud I felt nauseous, even with ear plugs. My whole body was just telling me "dude get the fuck out, you are not made for this stuff". Also the music was terrible live.
At the risk of sounding like an old fart, how are people expecting anything else out of Sunn O)))? I know that albums of straight feedback have points where they feel transcendent...but what would you expect for a live show from a band who puts albums like that out?
-
Honestly, I thought it was like an unspoken rule that you wear brown pants to a Sunn O))) gig.
-
I saw Bright Eyes on the Digital Ash tour. So disappointing.
I only got to see the Faint's last two songs and they kicked the hell out of BE's entire set. Other than that, I've had great luck with shows.
Oh, yeah. I saw Jethro Tull when I was like ten and they were awful.
-
At the risk of sounding like an old fart, how are people expecting anything else out of Sunn O)))? I know that albums of straight feedback have points where they feel transcendent...but what would you expect for a live show from a band who puts albums like that out?
Gotta say, I'm not even a fan of this band, but I know this much. It's like going to see My Bloody Valentine. You take earplugs and a change of underwear.
-
That's not their fault though, is it?
You obviously just need to grow a pair.
Hahahahaha.
Man I was at a Sunn O))) gig too once and the bass was so loud I felt nauseous, even with ear plugs. My whole body was just telling me "dude get the fuck out, you are not made for this stuff". Also the music was terrible live.
What, they were playing music? Shit, I didn't notice. Guess I couldn't hear it through all that noise.
-
Polvo were pretty disappointing. They just sort of half-assed everything and their new drummer showed off way too much
-
At the risk of sounding like an old fart, how are people expecting anything else out of Sunn O)))? I know that albums of straight feedback have points where they feel transcendent...but what would you expect for a live show from a band who puts albums like that out?
Gotta say, I'm not even a fan of this band, but I know this much. It's like going to see My Bloody Valentine. You take earplugs and a change of underwear.
After several years of owning a few albums, I got around to listening to them in the full, and came to the conclusion that it's not for me either. I have Earth 2 and a couple of Khanate albums, which is fine for me.
To digress slightly, I saw Earth open for Pelican.
Earth: Amazing. I would even say beautiful.
Pelican: Really boring.
-
That's not their fault though, is it?
You obviously just need to grow a pair.
No amount of hormone therapy is gonna make me like listening to aircraft taking off for 1.5 hours in an overpacked club. I dug the robes, though.
-
Earth: Amazing. I would even say beautiful.
Pelican: Really boring.
If you are talking about the summer 2007 tour, I thought the exact opposite.
Oops.
-
Aw man,
Mogwai just cancelled their US tour
Fuckin fuck
-
Muse.
Sure, it's epic, sure it's a stage show.
But it was a heartless display of noise, and my ears are still ringing five years later, and I'm still bitter about it.
SHUT YOUR FACE HOLE.
Well anyway I saw them a couple years ago at the Tabernacle in Atlanta and it was about the best show I've evarr seen. But I turned down seeing them the next year because the venue was like a 20,000 basketball arena and that's just not my thing. Sounds like the sound guys f()cked you with the volume. That sucks.
Sorry, about Mogwai. I really had only listened to Young Teams and I just got kind of bored. Maybe because I was actually there with my ex-brother-in-law. That kind of dampened it for me.
-
They were competent enough. There was just no soul to it, it felt so synthesised. I prefer a more intimate gig, and intimacy isn't all about venue size in my book.
-
why hasn't anyone mentioned Dragonforce yet...?
not like i've seen them live or anything, but come on...if there was ever a terrible live band....
But then again i suppose everyone here's a little too musically mature to listen to a band as childish as dragonforce. makes sense i guess.
but i'm just saying. they are AWFUL.
-
In order for a band to disappoint one live, one has to have legitimate expectation that they'll be good live. I don't mind gimmigcky groups like Dragonforce, but I have no expectation whatsoever that they'd be good live.
-
The Red Hot Chilli Peppers at Reading Festival and Slayer (twice) have disappointed me live. The Chillis weren't that bad, I liked the jamming but they played a lot of stuff from Stadium Arcadia that seemed to be filler. Slayer were really disappointing in the way they sounded, and they had a lots of flashing lights (in the daytime!), which annoyed me.
-
Every piece of Chilis live footage I've seen from the last five years, Anthony Kiedis hasn't been able to hold a single damn note.
-
The first time I saw Modest Mouse they were incredibly disappointing, though I saw them again and they were a good deal better. Brock being sober enough to find the microphone might have been the difference there. Also, ...And You Will Know Us By the Trail of the Dead went from jaw droppingly amazing when they were touring beind Source Tags & Code to pretty damn boring the last time I saw them, I was quite disappointed.
-
I saw Modest Mouse open for R.E.M. this last summer. I wasn't all that excited about their recorded stuff; "Missed the Boat" was a fun, pleasant song, but nothing special, and I hadn't listened to any of their other stuff enough to recognize it if I heard it. But DAMN they were terrible live. So much for the subdued indie-pop my limited experience with them led me to expect. Every song was an identical cacophany of over-distorted guitars and atonal and bored-sounding vocals, and every single one ended with a minute and a half of everybody flailing away aimlessly on their instruments, apparently only stopping when their arms got tired. I'm not sure I detected a single actual note in the entire set. And they didn't even have the balls to be enthusiastically atonal, they just seemed like they couldn't be bothered.
-
Capitol Record has had Modest Mouse touring to promote their last record for the past 2 years, they are tired and bored. I'm not surprised you got a bad show out of them.
-
BOOOOOORING BORING BORING STREEEEEET DOGS
BOOOOOOORING BORING BORING STREEEEET DOGS
BOOOOOOORING BORING BORING STREET DOGS AND I WENT HOME EARLY *clap clap clap*
Also, I lost my flat cap and I'm so effing disappointed cos it was my favorite.
-
Aw man,
Mogwai just cancelled their US tour
Fuckin fuck
I'm sitting here hoping that they actually come to Australia in the next ever. And come to Adelaide, because I can't go east to see concerts, too busy.
-
Okkervil River. So disappointing!
.... If by disappointing I mean completely the opposite of disappointing in every way!
-
why hasn't anyone mentioned Dragonforce yet...?
not like i've seen them live or anything, but come on...if there was ever a terrible live band....
But then again i suppose everyone here's a little too musically mature to listen to a band as childish as dragonforce. makes sense i guess.
but i'm just saying. they are AWFUL.
Actually.. I went to see Dragonforce last year with no expectations, and came away thinking "That was pretty damn awesome". They were tight, accurate, well soundchecked and very entertaining, especially considering the poor venue. I don't know what's up with those youtube videos showing them being godawful and not being able to sing and falling over themselves on stage.
I have tickets for their show next month, too.
I've only ever been dissappointed with two shows, I think. One local show with usually mature bands where it seemed like a competition just to make everything louder than everything else, and the Children of Bodom setlist. What they played was fantastic, but what they didn't was sad.
EDIT:
I'm sitting here hoping that they actually come to Australia in the next ever. And come to Adelaide, because I can't go east to see concerts, too busy.
This. Every part of this.
In fact, any post rock in adelaide would be nice.
-
BOOOOOORING BORING BORING STREEEEEET DOGS
Ha, I told you it was not worth it. Told you!
Okkervil River. So disappointing!
.... If by disappointing I mean completely the opposite of disappointing in every way!
Oh man for a second there I thought I was going to have to reach through the tubes and strangle you for blasphemy.
-
One problem with that, Liz. Flatfoot 56 opened and were FANTASTIC. If I hadn't gone, I would've never heard them.
-
I'm sitting here hoping that they actually come to Australia in the next ever. And come to Adelaide, because I can't go east to see concerts, too busy.
This. Every part of this.
In fact, any post rock in adelaide would be nice.
You, good sir, are my new best friend.
-
Here's the show i was at -> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ARQKjNQ2ibo
Imagine that, but louder. Not sure how the recording came out better than it was live, lulz.
Okkervil River. So disappointing!
.... If by disappointing I mean completely the opposite of disappointing in every way!
I was getting my shanking knife all pristine for you...
-
Ah, the power of FARK. Yesterday someone linked a YouTube video of Sigur Rós playing on the same tour as I went to:
svefn-g-englar (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rWR-jJ3v1pk)
This was shot two shows before mine, so it’s essentially the same performance I got. The lights are the same (no backing videos, almost nothing except static color-washes), the guys standing almost completely still for entire songs is the same, the lack of eye contact with the audience is the same.
So, objectively, do you guys think that 90+ minutes of this would make a good show? Have they livened up since?
-
I hate a lack of connection with the audience. A show should be the band welcoming the audience into their music, not just playing away while the audience happens to be there.
-
Stereolab were kind of uninteresting when I went to see them many moons ago, also.
-
Not knowing what I was going to get going into Sigur Ros, I thought they had a middling show. I'm sure if I knew the music I'd have been happier. But they certainly weren't bad. Their stage show was pretty okay. We were transported to a magical faerie isle and treated to the airy sounds of the forest glade.
But if you have any sort of antipathy for that kind of music, yeah, it's gonna suck.
Speaking of lack of stage presence, I went to go see Why? last nite and I was fairly disappointed, for a number of reasons. First and foremost they were playing in a small venue that didn't allow them to move about or anything (the drums were terribly cramped) and the sound was fairly awful. Two, I only had Alopecia, so I only knew half the set, and that half I just couldn't get into. Three,
Yoni looks like Rick Moranis and has NO STAGE PRESENCE. The entire time he had a look on his face like he had stepped in something while getting a call from a hated ex. He made no eye contact. He only interacted with the audience to tell them not to touch the monitors at the edge of the stage.
Last few songs I knew, and I was able to get into (Simeon's Dilemma closed out, which was the Best Choice) but other than that I consider it to be one of the less good shows I've ever seen. The music doesn't matter to me so much as the performance.
-
I hate a lack of connection with the audience. A show should be the band welcoming the audience into their music, not just playing away while the audience happens to be there.
Similarly, I hate when the audience does not welcome the band. I went and saw The Ergs!, Bomb the Music Industry! and Landmines open for Less Than Jake, and almost no one moved during The Ergs! set besides perhaps ten people, and I was thoroughly disappointed about it because they kicked ass and seemed like genuinely great people.
-
Yeah, that's always tough. You have to feel sorry for the more small-time openers. Shit, you have to feel sorry for some of the big-time openers.
-
You ever seen Nick live?
-
I was going to, he was in town last Friday, but I couldn't get anybody to go with me.
-
Kasabian. Too much pre-recorded loops.
-
I was going to, he was in town last Friday, but I couldn't get anybody to go with me.
I saw him on a solo tour with the band that would eventually become Grinderman. They were INSANELY loud, and they didn't even have a guitarist. It was amazing, and I wish I had a recording of that version of 'Henry Lee.'
-
Mogwai
I got to see them a few weeks back. The sound was incredible (thanks, in part, to a huge equipment upgrade/renovation that took place at that theatre last year), but there really wasn't much to look at or experience. I could've gotten the same effect by plugging my computer into my stereo system, turning the volume all the up and, in the process, save myself twenty-five dollars. Plus the bands that were playing with them were easily forgettable.
I don't consider my time wasted, but I guess I was expecting more.
-
I'm disappointed I didn't know Sunset Rubdown was in town last night. Does that count?
-
Not quite, but that is extremely disappointing. Spencer Krug is blatantly amazing.
-
That's not their fault though, is it?
You obviously just need to grow a pair.
Hahahahaha.
Man I was at a Sunn O))) gig too once and the bass was so loud I felt nauseous, even with ear plugs. My whole body was just telling me "dude get the fuck out, you are not made for this stuff". Also the music was terrible live.
Earplugs at Sunn O))) are kinda pointless, considering that unless if you have a good pair they don't block out a lot of low end. Sunn was a gig that totally eclipsed my expectations.
I'd say Isis were disappointing. They were good, but they mostly played stuff off ITAOT :-( were only on for an hour (I mean come on, it's not a terribly physical style of music) and played absolutely nothing off Celestial and Oceanic. Also, they were all a good deal shorter then I expected. Does anyone else find that you're always disappointed by just how small your favourite musical dudes are? (Or perhaps I'm just too damn tall these days).
-
Bear vs. Shark. I really hate to say it, because they're one of my absolute favorite bands, but Marc Paffi is simply inexcusable. Observe:
Bear vs. Shark live (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FC3-9oYPu_k&feature=related)
Sure, the instruments sound like crap because of the shitty video quality and venue. Ok. But seriously, Marc, what the hell? I don't know which is worse: The lyrics he doesn't sing, or the ones he does that sound horrible. And then he trips and has a seizure.
Still a great band, though.
-
Could just be poor sound quality. He does a fine enough job in this (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lnc8Oi5KO5k&feature=related) video. The lyrics aren't any less incomprehensible than normal.
-
I saw Shiny Toy Guns live a year ago and they were alright. It was, for me, a rare situation where the audience ruins the show, and here in Hawaii, our scenecore division doesn't get exposed to a lot of good music, so they shat every time they were looked at by the keyboardist or something.
-
Bear vs. Shark. I really hate to say it, because they're one of my absolute favorite bands, but Marc Paffi is simply inexcusable. Observe:
Bear vs. Shark live (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FC3-9oYPu_k&feature=related)
Sure, the instruments sound like crap because of the shitty video quality and venue. Ok. But seriously, Marc, what the hell? I don't know which is worse: The lyrics he doesn't sing, or the ones he does that sound horrible. And then he trips and has a seizure.
Still a great band, though.
That's not even that bad. The rest of the band is tight as hell. Man, I would give away all my fingers to have seen Bear vs Shark live.
Where are they even? Some indoor skate park?
-
The Matches.
It may just be that this show happened at the Warped Tour, but in my experience it was a let down. I did not even stick around for my favorite song, they depressed me that much. This was agreed with by my peers, so it cannot just be me.
-
Disappointing:
-Freezepop at PAX, aside from the Final Countdown. TI mean the first time, 2007, not the 2008 set where they played the exact same set in the exact same order.
-The Saturday Knights, every time I have had to sit through their crap waiting for a better act to get on stage. I think the first time we booed them off, actually.
-Cat Power was so coked up that here one-woman power show was basically just her, half-conscious in a chair, playing an E flat on a guitar for 40 minutes. [I was only there because she was opening for Sleater-Kinney]
-Modest Mouse back in 2005 [pre-capitol records slavedriving] when the concert was ended at 10PM [outdoors on a frday night.].
-Bob Mould solo. I love Sugar and his solo work, but he didn't have the oomph to keep us interested for 90 minutes.
I have had a few of the reverse, though. Out to see a band, never heard of the opener, liked them enough live to get the CD, and was totally disappointed when I got home. Annuals, Zolof, and that 3-white-girl rap act whose name escapes me.
-
Similarly, I hate when the audience does not welcome the band. I went and saw The Ergs!, Bomb the Music Industry! and Landmines open for Less Than Jake, and almost no one moved during The Ergs! set besides perhaps ten people, and I was thoroughly disappointed about it because they kicked ass and seemed like genuinely great people.
You know I went to see the Horrors while I was in San Francisco (for work) and the audience were of a very flat affect. And I sort of felt bad for the band.
-
Greatest 4000th post ever?
I may siqquote this.
-
man one of the worst live shows that i had looked forward to extremely was Liars. They came on and just seemed to be able to play nearly every note offkey. The music sounded absolutley nothing like the original songs. I love their studio work but i wouldnt waste money to see them live.
-
Wolf and Cub were awful live, albeit because of their equipment. everything as loud to the point of distortion, the sound system that they were playing on really couldn't handle it.
-
I saw Sonic Youth a few years ago, and though I really like a lot of their albums, their obsession with experimental feedback has made seeing them live too much of a chore.
Also, I saw Built to Spill on the recommendation of a friend. The way they arranged their set list was so poor. They played all of the relatively fast paced music at the beginning, and then ended on about 8 really mellow songs in a row. I actually fell asleep standing up. Didn't help that I ended up liking the opening band better (The Prids, check them out, they're pretty awesome).
In general, the most disappointing shows for me tend to be bands that I don't listen to much, but get talked up a lot by my friends.
-
We Versus the Shark. What I expected to be a mostly dance-rock syncopated music fun fest turned out to be an incomprehensible mish-mash of tinny guitars and shouty lyrics. They've definitely changed since their first release. Unfortunately, it was for the worse.
I feel like I've said this before, but oh well:
Q and Not U. What I expected to be the best show of my adult life turned out to be a boring show only made interesting by the keyboard player picking a fight with an audience member and stealing his jacket. They only played two songs I could easily recognize. The rest were lost in anonymity by lack of proper instrumentation or plain laziness. Ultimately, it wasn't the kind of farewell show I expected.
-
I saw Placebo a couple years back and, while I'm not a Placebo 'fan', I do enjoy a lot of their music and thought it'd be pretty fun live. Three songs in I felt physically ill and had to leave.
Seeing Sigur Ros knocked back and forth in here has gotten my curiosity up. I could probably go see them next month for free, but I think I heard like one section of one of their songs ever so I don't know if I'd appreciate it or not. Suggestions?
-
Honestly, I've always felt weird going to see a band live that I don't know very well. I always feel like that's one more real fan who's missing out just because I'm curious about a band.
-
LCD Soundsystem are pretty boring on stage.
Liars are probably the only band I've seen I regret seeing (and I didn't even go to the show for them). This may be because they played a whole heck of a lot of songs off their "experimental" records that weren't "The Other Side of Mt. Heart Attack," and were therefore terrible songs to begin with, but they were also too over-the-top in their stage mannerisms for me.
Radiohead tour? I saw them. I was intrigued. But they had virtually no one watching them. I mean they were mostly outside of the actual area where the seats are (i know it as the 'house' i don't know any other name for it) and just checking out the sw33t merch. But I liked 'em OK.
-
Honestly, I've always felt weird going to see a band live that I don't know very well. I always feel like that's one more real fan who's missing out just because I'm curious about a band.
If it is better then I will be getting in on the guestlist, rather than buying a ticket somebody else could have had.
-
Fair enough then.
-
At the Gates, at their reunion show this summer. No air conditioning on a hot summer night in a packed room, absolutely wretched sound, and a singer who looked waaaaaay too happy to be in a metal band killed the atmosphere completely.
-
At The Gates are Melodic Death Metal, that should say it all, don't expect to be gored by the extreme brutality of them.
-
Some bands that disappointed me this year:
Rage Against the Machine, Big Day Out, Gold Coast - I admit I wasn't expecting much going in. I was pretty much looking for the experience of listening to a good rendition of "Killing In The Name Of" live, and would be satisified with that. Unfortunately the whole gig was pretty mediocre. Zach started out bounding around the stage like he was twenty, and consequently after two songs spent most of the gig crouched over trying to look intense when he clearly was just old and out of breath. No real energy.
Hot Hot Heat, supporting Modest Mouse, Brisbane - Again not a band I was hoping for a lot of talent for necessarily, but surely a fun, energetic gig wasn't too much to ask? Apparently it was. Maybe their songs are just too energetic to play live, but they had no real charisma and the random "instrumental gaps" in the middle of songs that didn't normally have them were pretty lame. Wouldn't want to see them again.
The Presets, St Jerome's Laneway Festival, Brisbane - No real energy. The drummer spent most of his time just fiddling with knobs and very little time actually drumming, and they seemed almost "clean" for the Presets, which is not the vibe you are looking for. Apparently this was due to technical problems, and given the excellent show they put on at Splendour in the Grass, I can believe it.
Does It Offend You Yeah?, Parklife, Brisbane - I'm aware these guys aren't that well liked around here, but I really enjoy the debut album. It's stupid, fun, and great to dance to. Basically I feel like it captures the spirit of '80s pop in a way that few bands can pull off. So I was really looking forward to seeing them live, and they were pretty much the main reason I went to this festival (alongside Soulwax/2 Many DJs and Dizzee Rascal). But they sucked. The set was less than a half hour long, the crowd was terrible (I both had a chick behind me complain I was shoving her, and had someone bump a lit cigarette into me twice), their songs generally were pretty bland and they didn't play either of their best songs ("Epic Last Song" and "Dawn of the Dead" for reference!). Their excuse was that one of the members had broken an arm and so was replaced, but frankly if they were going to put on that shitty of a show without said member, I would have preferred them to cancel.
-
The Presets, St Jerome's Laneway Festival, Brisbane - No real energy. The drummer spent most of his time just fiddling with knobs and very little time actually drumming, and they seemed almost "clean" for the Presets, which is not the vibe you are looking for. Apparently this was due to technical problems, and given the excellent show they put on at Splendour in the Grass, I can believe it.
I was going to say, they were fairly excellent when I saw them opening for Cut Copy last month. Although they did have technical problems there, too, because in the middle of one song the phat beatzz died and it took about five minutes to get the show running again.
-
minus the bear were such miserable showmen that the only reason i stuck around was because they were opening for the braid reunion tour.
-
Does It Offend You Yeah?, Parklife, Brisbane - I'm aware these guys aren't that well liked around here, but I really enjoy the debut album. It's stupid, fun, and great to dance to. Basically I feel like it captures the spirit of '80s pop in a way that few bands can pull off. So I was really looking forward to seeing them live, and they were pretty much the main reason I went to this festival (alongside Soulwax/2 Many DJs and Dizzee Rascal). But they sucked. The set was less than a half hour long, the crowd was terrible (I both had a chick behind me complain I was shoving her, and had someone bump a lit cigarette into me twice), their songs generally were pretty bland and they didn't play either of their best songs ("Epic Last Song" and "Dawn of the Dead" for reference!). Their excuse was that one of the members had broken an arm and so was replaced, but frankly if they were going to put on that shitty of a show without said member, I would have preferred them to cancel.
I saw them open for NIN in August having had absolutely no experience with them whatsoever and I was really surprised about how much effort they put into trying to win over new fans. I could see how they could be really hit or miss depending on the energy, though.
-
At The Gates are Melodic Death Metal, that should say it all, don't expect to be gored by the extreme brutality of them.
Wasn't saying I expected to be gored by their brutality (although to be honest, melodic or no, any band that has lyrics like "Slaughter of the soul/Suicidal final art/Children - born of sin/Tear your soul apart" better be rocking a bit of the brutality oe they're missing the point), but I was expecting a better energy. It's ok for a metal frontman to smile - Akerfeldt smiles all the time and he might as well be the black metal savior come to Earth - but in this case it seemed like a lack of focus.
-
My band has been disappointing me live and in practice of late. I'm pretty sure we are going to have to kill the drummer and feed him to the chihuahuas.
-
I glanced over this thread.
My curiosity caused me to google "freezepop".
I... never again.
-
Does It Offend You Yeah?, Parklife, Brisbane - I'm aware these guys aren't that well liked around here, but I really enjoy the debut album. It's stupid, fun, and great to dance to. Basically I feel like it captures the spirit of '80s pop in a way that few bands can pull off. So I was really looking forward to seeing them live, and they were pretty much the main reason I went to this festival (alongside Soulwax/2 Many DJs and Dizzee Rascal). But they sucked. The set was less than a half hour long, the crowd was terrible (I both had a chick behind me complain I was shoving her, and had someone bump a lit cigarette into me twice), their songs generally were pretty bland and they didn't play either of their best songs ("Epic Last Song" and "Dawn of the Dead" for reference!). Their excuse was that one of the members had broken an arm and so was replaced, but frankly if they were going to put on that shitty of a show without said member, I would have preferred them to cancel.
I saw them open for NIN in August having had absolutely no experience with them whatsoever and I was really surprised about how much effort they put into trying to win over new fans. I could see how they could be really hit or miss depending on the energy, though.
I saw them on a tour in the UK as one of the opening acts for The Cribs and they were probably the best of the 4 acts on the night. Even with the neon-paint wearing glow-stick waving pre-pubescent scenesters crowding around me.