Spinoff: Bands you regret seeing live

[Mephistopheles Janx]

In 2015 I had the distinct displeasure of seeing Blues Traveler at Red Rocks for 4th of July. I'd loved Blues Traveler since I was a teenager and the song Hook came out. I loved the album Four. I loved their sister band the Spin Doctors.

Hanson was the opening act. They were garbage just as one might anticipate.

Guster was the middle act and they were FANTASTIC.

Then Blues Traveler hit the stage and I was ready to be 14 again. Instead, the dude forgot a shit ton of lyrics, was constantly out of breath, and to make matters worse... he brought out Rome from "Sublime with Rome" (an abomination before God and man) and STARTED DOING SUBLIME COVERS.

**** John Popper and **** Rome.

[Easy 6]

Originally Posted by htismaqe

Yeah not only is he not what you think, he’s actually not a very good guitar player at all. Certainly not for the fame and adoration he’s received.

Originally Posted by DaneMcCloud

Well, that was always John Kalodner's deal, who convinced Aerosmith to reform and sign with Geffen, that perpetrated the "Joe Perry is a Guitar God" image in the 80's.

Perry puts on a show but Brad Whitford is the man in Aerosmith. The last time I saw them was around 2008 on a dual bill with Lenny Kravitz (who was freaking unbelievable). Brad looked like a typical grandfather going to church on Sunday: Nice slacks, button down shirt and a sports coat.

Perry looked like a rock star but was buried in the mix.

Great info, thanks for the schooling guys

[DaneMcCloud]

Originally Posted by Halfcan

I saw Aerosmith from the 5th row on the Done With Mirrors tour. Perry was doing his own "project" at the time. The band was tight and sounded great. (Jimmy Crespo) or something like that, filled in for Perry and played well. Steven had his own issues, but really sounded good for this show at least

Jimmy Crespo and Rick Dufay played on Rock In A Hard Place and the subsequent tours until they all reunited for Done With Mirrors in 1985.

[htismaqe]

Originally Posted by DaneMcCloud

Well, that was always John Kalodner's deal, who convinced Aerosmith to reform and sign with Geffen, that perpetrated the "Joe Perry is a Guitar God" image in the 80's.

Perry puts on a show but Brad Whitford is the man in Aerosmith. The last time I saw them was around 2008 on a dual bill with Lenny Kravitz (who was freaking unbelievable). Brad looked like a typical grandfather going to church on Sunday: Nice slacks, button down shirt and a sports coat.

Perry looked like a rock star but was buried in the mix.

Lenny Kravitz would be a good show. The dude just has “it”. The rock edge, the funk soul hooks, and the showmanship. He’s the total package.

[DaneMcCloud]

Originally Posted by htismaqe

Lenny Kravitz would be a good show. The dude just has “it”. The rock edge, the funk soul hooks, and the showmanship. He’s the total package.

His shows are freaking awesome, from the lights to the solos performed by each of his band members, to the sound and especially Lenny.

Lenny would go out on the floor while singing, playing guitar and dancing, surrounded by the crowd, and never missed a note or a beat.

He's definitely one of those artists whose records aren't even close to his live performances.

[htismaqe]

Originally Posted by DaneMcCloud

His shows are freaking awesome, from the lights to the solos performed by each of his band members, to the sound and especially Lenny.

Lenny would go out on the floor while singing, playing guitar and dancing, surrounded by the crowd, and never missed a note or a beat.

He's definitely one of those artists whose records aren't even close to his live performances.

Yep. He’s definitely a rare breed.

[EPodolak]

Originally Posted by DaneMcCloud

Joe Perry didn't play any of the guitar solos and many of the guitar parts on the first couple of Aerosmith records. They were actually recorded by Dick Wagner and Steve Hunter of Alice Cooper's band.

In terms of songs, Steven Tyler wrote the bulk of their early 70's songs, with Tom Hamilton, Whitford and Perry contributing during their mid-to-late 70's albums. Once they signed with Geffen, nearly all of their songs were either co-writes with outside successful songwriters (Desmond Child, Mark Hudson, etc) or just written outright by outside writers.

In terms of Joe, yeah, he wrote a couple of classic riffs but speaking strictly as a guitarist, he's several rungs below Brad Whitford, the guy that played all of the killer guitar solos on those later records. Brad Whitford never had the marketability of Perry.

I heard Whitford tell that story on TV just last week. There were riffs that neither Perry or Brad could nail, so they called in reinforcements. Train Kept a Rollin' was his example song.

Coincidentally, the closest thing I have to a regrettable concert was the Kinks in Houston, around 1980, and the opening act was the Joe Perry Project, post Aerosmith. I went as an Aerosmith fan, but neither band ending up having much appeal for me.

[Coochie liquor]

Stone Temple Pilots about 12 years ago. Didn’t really want to see the opening bands (but sat through them) then after they had everyone drunk and had already bought their merch, and about 40 min after they were supposed to start..... sorry to inform you that STP won’t be able to make it tonight. It’s like the whole crowd already knew what was coming 30 min before they announced it, but we all stuck around just in case. So yeah, that sucked!!

[Coochie liquor]

Originally Posted by scho63

Rod Stewart - he was sick and sucked balls with only 1/2 a concert

ZZ Top - they basically stood all night in one spot playing their songs and little act or banter. Almost sounded recorded. Sucked and was shocked how bad.

Bruce Springsteen - Yeah I know this is sacrilege coming from a Jersey guy but the concert I went to with my ex-GF she got seats so far away I was only 15 feet from the Porta-Potties and 1,000 yards away from the stage. Only saw a screen of the concert and he even looked like a flea on that screen too. Also standing for 4 hours in 90 degree heat with humidity in Giants Stadium in the Meadowlands sucks about as bad as getting shot and dumped in the swamp by Clemenza.

Never been a Springsteen fan, but I always heard he doesn’t play his hits and always plays some songs nobody has heard for 20 plus years. Was that the case when you saw him?

[Coochie liquor]

Wow I almost forgot about seeing Janes Addiction and NIN. First NIN never played one of their big songs. They played a bunch of instrumental stuff and new stuff nobody seemed to be into. The light show was pretty killer though, looked like the stage was on Fire a few times. They just sucked to me, then JA came out and I had to look at Perry in a ****ing speedo and knee high boots for 90 minutes. Music wasn’t bad, and they were exponentially better than NIN, but damn man, put some ****ing clothes on.

[PurpleJesus28]

Originally Posted by Coochie liquor

Wow I almost forgot about seeing Janes Addiction and NIN. First NIN never played one of their big songs. They played a bunch of instrumental stuff and new stuff nobody seemed to be into. The light show was pretty killer though, looked like the stage was on Fire a few times. They just sucked to me, then JA came out and I had to look at Perry in a ****ing speedo and knee high boots for 90 minutes. Music wasn’t bad, and they were exponentially better than NIN, but damn man, put some ****ing clothes on.

Was that the show in KC ? I went to that one,but wasnt very close to the stage so i don't remember what anybody was wearing.I remember NIN played Head Like a Hole which is kind of a hit but cant remember much else that they played,other than they do have a pretty cool screen setup behind them.

[DaneMcCloud]

Originally Posted by Easy 6

Great info, thanks for the schooling guys

No worries but seriously Dude, the stuff I know would ruin so many songs, albums and bands for 99.99% of everyone out there that's into guitar driven rock music (and really, popular music in general) so I don't really share much these days.

My wife, who's been a HUGE Duran Duran fan her entire life, along with being a music lover in general, asked me to stop sharing info way back in 1998 because it was "ruining" music for her.

[Frazod]

Originally Posted by DaneMcCloud

No worries but seriously Dude, the stuff I know would ruin so many songs, albums and bands for 99.99% of everyone out there that's into guitar driven rock music (and really, popular music in general) so I don't really share much these days.

My wife, who's been a HUGE Duran Duran fan her entire life, along with being a music lover in general, asked me to stop sharing info way back in 1998 because it was "ruining" music for her.

I loathe Duran Duran, so feel free to dish the dirt.

[DaneMcCloud]

Originally Posted by Frazod

I loathe Duran Duran, so feel free to dish the dirt.

That makes both of us!

I don't have any dirt on that band in particular, just that my wife is one of those people that's so into the bands she loves that back in the day, she'd fly all over the country and world to see them. I'm talking London, France, Italy, Chicago, New York - she'd go to half of Duran Duran's concert tours back in the day.

I've never been into a band like that before. I saw Van Halen twice with Roth in 1984 and twice with Sammy (once in 1986 and again in 2004) but outside of a few guitar guys like Satriani and Eric Johnson, both of whom I've seen three times over the past 35 years, once is generally enough.

[DaneMcCloud]

Oh, here's a good one: David Lee Roth, who was famous for being a fantastic entertainer, never wrote a single word of any joke or story he ever said or told onstage.

His jokes and stories were written by a woman, who's had a super successful career at ESPN and Comedy Central (among other networks and programs) and is married to a super successful TV writer/producer. They're still friends with Dave and she wrote his banter for the last Van Halen tour.

We were hanging out just before Van Halen finished up their last world tour at the Hollywood Bowl and I said "I guess I should probably see Van Halen because it's the last time I'll likely have a chance".

Her response? "Don't. Even Dave will tell you that they are DONE. But if you want backstage passes, I'll hook you up".

I decided it would be better to keep my 80's memories intact.

[Frazod]

Originally Posted by DaneMcCloud

That makes both of us!

I don't have any dirt on that band in particular, just that my wife is one of those people that's so into the bands she loves that back in the day, she'd fly all over the country and world to see them. I'm talking London, France, Italy, Chicago, New York - she'd go to half of Duran Duran's concert tours back in the day.

I've never been into a band like that before. I saw Van Halen twice with Roth in 1984 and twice with Sammy (once in 1986 and again in 2004) but outside of a few guitar guys like Satriani and Eric Johnson, both of whom I've seen three times over the past 45 years, once is generally enough.

My oldest surviving friend is married to a woman who is also a huge Duran Duran fan that has chased them all over the country and seen them countless times. She's also been a complete bitch to me as long as I've known her. I certainly never liked Duran Duran anyway, but I think I mainly hate them because of her.

There aren't many groups I've seen multiple times, but a few. As I've gotten older I really don't like concerts all that much. The bands I see are all from the 70s and 80s, and I get sick of being surrounded by drunk assholes bellowing out the lyrics so loud that I can't hear the singers on the stage. Yes, you know the words. Congratulations. The songs were written 40 years ago; everybody knows the ****ing words. Shut the hell up and listen to them. I prefer the theater now. People stay in their seats and keep their mouths shut.