Performers and performances

Who needs to hang it up?

Steven Tyler. He's a pain in the ass, Prima Donna, fucking nutjob.

Saw Aerosmith in 2019, and they were pretty much mailing it in. About halfway through the set, Tyler tells the crowd they are "the worst fucking live audience we have ever played for." I guess he doesn't understand you get back what you put in to it. They could take a lesson from Rascal Flatts, who played the following night, outworked Aerosmith 2 to 1, and put on one helluva show. They also got way better reaction from the crowd.

The most interesting thing that ever happened to me was the night before Aerosmith, when REO Speedwagon played. During the break between them and Tim McGraw, I was trying to wade through the crowd, when some guy says to me "Hey! You were just on the stage!" Then he turns to his drunk girlfriend and proceeds to convince her that I was "that guy who was just singing", (Kevin Cronin, we have similar hair, especially when it's dark outside). I couldn't shake them, so I agreed to have my picture taken with her. Which led to someone else, which led to someone else. Finally, I just said that I had a plane to catch and bolted. Drunk people at concerts are an interesting study.

@2much

Woops.

Somehow, someway, my mind thought I typed Janes Addiction there, but obviously I didn't :)

I've seen footage of Mini-KISS... They are ok. I was not at the game, but saw it on YouTube. Mini-KISS played in between innings at Citizens Bank Park in Philly.

"Rage Against the Machine is a band I wish I would have seen. Back in the 80s, they played at my college."

Were you driving a DeLorean? RATM was formed in 1991.

Just thought of some other bands I would have liked to have seen.

The Prodigy. If you ever see live footage of them in Europe . . . wow, holy shit, that would be awesome to be there.

Rage Against the Machine is a band I wish I would have seen.

Back in the 80s, they played at my college. It was close to Thanksgiving and I think I had to leave to go spend it with my wife's family. I should have gone :(

Shit, I forgot about an awesome small show! I was able to see the Red Hot Chili Peppers play a frat party during rush week at UF. It was the 'sock' tour. They basically got naked and played. It was pretty fucked up watching it as a 18 year old.

One of the weirdest free live shows we ever saw was Mini-KISS at the SLO County Fair.

It's just what you would think based on the name of the band.

The most entertaining part was all the KISS fans in makeup taking selfies around the stage, which wasn't very crowded because a lot of people didn't hang around for the whole show.

"Some of the best times I've had were actually just cover bands playing at bars, where everyone knows the songs and dances."

Yep. One of the best I ever saw was a small time hair metal band called Lemansky at Chilcoot Charlie's in Anchorage, late 80s. They did a bunch of original tunes that were... okay. Pedestrian hair tunes.

But they also did a set of hair metal style covers of some classic rock stuff that was amazing. Hanky Panky from Tommy James and the Shondells, Nadine from Chuck Berry, Money (That's What I Want) from Everyone were the highlights. Seriously fun.

@Melvin

I saw NiN with Manson opening for them in 94 in Miami. Manson was an opener then, not a headliner. NiN was watching pure energy.

@Melvin , check out the ( Last Bandoleros ) dear wife does some promotions for them . They toured Europe last summer with Boss Hoss and were on Good Morning America in October.

@Melvin , in the mid 1980s I used to play around town R&R . Every Thursday night at the Satellite lounge they had open mic . I was scheduled to play behind Stevie Ray . I asked to move my name down and then I was behind Roy Head and his band. Today I am a singer song writer for a hobby. There are so many good musicians here . Used to to be a little girl in our west Houston neighborhood always had an old acoustic guitar . She always just banged on the guitar . I don’t think she had a real home . When she graduated from HS she demanded she play a song . Her and that beat up guitar . That was Carolyn Wonderland . One of the best female blues players in the world . She had been touring with John Mayall. She is married to a guy from Saturday night Live . I remember years ago going to meet Billy Joe Shaver in a bar in Houston . I became a friend because he to me was one of the greatest songwriters ever . I remember him telling me about a gig he played in Houston Telephone Road . He came home drunk as hell when about 4:00 AM someone was pounding on his door . He said he looked out and it was the King Elvis with two bottles of gin. Billy Joes son was another Texas great . He was to be the next guitar player for Government Mule / Alman brothers / His son ODed in a hotel in Waco. That is how Derek Trucks came about . He was just a kid from Dallas . But had the blood of the Allman Brothers. At 13 he was on stage with the Allman Brothers.

@Melvin, The Fabulous Thunderbirds, fronted by Stevie Ray’s brother Jimmie opened the show.

The coolest part of the show was after the Thunderbirds finished their set, Stevie Ray came on stage with a dual neck guitar and started playing. A moment later, Jimmie walked up behind him, reached around Stevie Ray and started playing the upper fret while Stevie played the lower.

There are YouTube videos if you would like to check it out.

~Scamp

I would have loved to see Stevie Ray Vaughn! Stevie Ray Vaughn and Angus Young are and always will be the reason why I go get another guitar someday and learn. I had a beginner's guitar, an Aria Pro II. I had to hock the the guitar to help pay for auto repairs for the car I had at the time. :-(

A lot of the 90s bands, I really did not care for. I still would love to see Nine Inch Nails, Stabbing Westward and the one-hit-wonder band The Hunger (pull up on YouTube The Hunger's 'Vanishing Cream' and you'll remember the song.) I like a few songs here and there from Soundgarden, Alice in Chains, Red Hot Chili Peppers and bands from that era and ilk. Of course, everyone likes Nirvana though. Godsmack came out of nowhere with the song 'Whatever' and were instantly marked for destiny. I saw them open for Metallic. I've seen Deftones and Limp Bizkit open for Metallica in 2004 in the now imploded Veterans Stadium in Philly. Never again will I see Deftones! There were fucking horrible! I've seen the 4 M's... Metallica, Motley Crue, Megadeth and Motorhead.

Anthrax... It would be interesting to see them and had the chance to see them in August. But, at the time, I had Covid. I am not a huge fan of rap, but would like to see at least once performed live, 'Bring Da Noise' from Public Enemy and Anthrax.

Re: Live

I never really liked them anyway. This would have been about 1994 and they opened for the Ramones, so I wasn't there to see them. So I guess disappointing isn't the right word, because I don't really care for them in the first place.

I've been to the 930 club in DC where I saw KMFDM and Angelspit. That was something else.

I think rock bands have a pull date. They've played their old hits so long that nothing surprising is ever going to happen on stage (although I did take my kids to see latter day Motley Crue and the Stones and the Crue accidentally lit the stage on fire, so that was fun). This is in direct contrast to blues musicians. B. B. King was just as good in his 80s as he was in his 50s. Etta James stayed great, even from a wheelchair. Buddy Guy is still active, John Lee Hooker was innovative and inspired until the end of his life, etc.

I regret not seeing Stevie Ray Vaughan, Eric Clapton was disappointing (even though he was playing acoustic blues, the same goes for him as old rock bands), Elvis Costello was terrific even in a casino, and the best concert I ever saw (out of hundreds) was Damian Marley and Nas. But the best times I ever had involved dancing to an all-woman AC/DC cover band.

@Melvin

Loudest show I ever saw? B-52s. Nothing was as loud as that. Thinking about it now . . . my ears have PTSD and start to ring.

Shittiest show? The Pretenders. I actually fell asleep in the show.

Funniest thing at a show. I saw the Plasmatics open for Kiss. Wendy O Williams was on some cherry picker device up about 20 feet above the crowd. Someone threw a shoe and hit her in the head. She whined and bitched about it and they ended the show.

Oddest thing happening to me at a show. I was in a band, we opened for Black Flag in a small club. After our set, I was out in the crowd. A girl had her top ripped off and her tits were there to be oggled. I was starting at her tits, and she was pissed and swung at the guy next to me who she thought ripped her shirt off. He ducked. I was mesmerized. I got the punch. To this date . . . worth it :)

Coolest show. This was technically NOT a show, but perhaps it was. One day I was on my skateboard skating in downtown Gainesville Florida. I was just pushing around and there was a guy sitting on the ground with a guitar and an open guitar case. It was some black guy and I thought he was just playing for cash. I sped by and then did a serious ass stop and uturn. I skated back. It was friggin Bo Diddley. I happened to see the square guitar. He played 3 or 4 more songs. It was just ME and him. I emptied my pockets and gave him all the money I had. I think it was like $10. He said I didn't have to and he was just out having fun and practicing. He was a very cool man.

Most surprising show. When I was 16 I took my mom to see the Stray Cats. She liked rockabilly and I was not sure about it. I thought I'd be nice with a present. It was a good show.

We don’t even mess with the big shows anymore . The sound is usually so poor and the crowds don’t appreciate what is going on . Not to brag but I believe Texas has the best Blues , Americana and R&R musicians in the US . Most people have never heard the best out there . But good musicians don’t mean good shows to the masses . One of the couples on SLS was part owner of the #1 promotions company in the US . We used talk about musicians and his favorite saying was bring me a other Beyoncé .

@VABeach ... what did you find disappointing about +LIVE+??

Ive seen them 7 times since 1993. In 2019 when they did the tour with Bush, Bush played like 60 mins and +LIVE+ played 65 mins. I get that since it was billed as a co-headlining tour.

But during a break in the tour, +LIVE+ played a headling show at an area club (9:30 club in DC). They still only played 65 minutes... I was pissed ... I mean they couldbt add a few mire songs to get a normal 90 min set??!!

I can go on and on about bands that I have seen and bands that I wish I could have seen... I am a music snob!

The loudest show I had seen, AC/DC on the Ballbreaker tour, in the now torn down Spectrum arena in Philly. AC/DC filmed the video for Money Talks in that arena many years beforehand.

I had also seen in the Spectrum, Nashville Pussy, Monster Magnet and Marylin Manson on Manson's Mechanical Animals tour.

The shittiest band I had ever seen and helped boo them off stage, Godhead. They were the first and only band to be signed to Marylin Manson's now defunct record label Posthuman Records. Godhead opened for GWAR at the Electric Factory in Philly. GWAR was fucking awesome!

The best sound quality concert and performer I had seen, Billy Joel. A very close second, Elton John. I would have looooooooooooved to see the Dueling Pianos tour the two of them did together!

The first big concert I saw was AC/DC Nov 9, 1990. It blew me away. I drove with a friend to Toronto for it.

Although I saw Iron Maiden in 1991 and 1994, I daresay I enjoyed their 2019 performance even more.

I saw Metallica a few times in the early 90s, Guns N Roses twice, Faith No More, Poison, David Lee Roth, and a shit ton of other hair metal bands, including super cheesy ones like Warrant, Trixter and Firehouse. Possibly the best of those was Cinderella, except Tom Keifer got pissed and chucked his guitar in anger.

I had the good fortune to attend a show in 1994 that started at noon and ran well into the night that had Reverend Horton Heat, You Am I, Marilyn Manson, Pop Will Eat Itself, Soundgarden, and Nine Inch Nails. What's weird is that I barely remember it.

Disappointing performances included Ramones, Live, Our Lady Peace, Testament, Corrosion of Conformity, and a few others I'm not remembering.

Some of the best times I've had were actually just cover bands playing at bars, where everyone knows the songs and dances. The most recent one was Dance with the Dead earlier this year.

One oddball was a band called the Rainbow Butt Monkeys, who later toned down a little, rebranded as Finger Eleven, and had a huge hit with "Paralyzer". For a sense of their old stuff, look up "As far as I can spit".

Roy was pretty awesome but I believe Freddie had a wider range and hearing Dennis in person sing acapella gave me goosebumps with his perfect pitch clarity.

As for women's voices, Anne Wilson of Heart comes to mind among my favorites but I'll have to check out China Forbes.

A funny anecdote, after seeing Linda Rondstadt at Blossom and being blown away by how perfect her voice was live knowing that he has a SEVEN octave range, I read a review the next day in the local paper that said if he (the writer) wanted to hear a perfect voice, he would have preferred to stay home and listen to her albums. SMH

~Scamp

@Rabbit

I prefer female voices over male voices. If you like female voices, I'd recommend listening to anything from Pink Martini where China Forbes sings. IMO, her voice reminds me of Karen Carpenter skills. When Karen sang, it seemed natural and smooth. There was no strain, no pushing to hit anything. China Forbes reminds me of that. She can sing in 5 or 6 languages.

If you want to talk male voices: Roy Orbison still is tops IMO.

I'm more of a classic rock guy and I've been fortunate enough to see most of my favorite bands at least once. Pink Floyd, The Who, Rolling Stones, Queen, Bruce Springsteen...my biggest regret was not seeing Led Zeppelin since John Bonham died before I had the opportunity. One of the most unique shows I ever saw was the Grateful Dead with Bob Dylan and Tom Petty at the Akron Rubber Bowl. I had a contact high for days afterward. lol

In the 80s, I saw Styx live a couple of times and am of the opinion that next to Freddie Mercury, Dennis DeYoung has perhaps the purest singing voice I've ever heard live. On the flip side, I really liked REO Speedwagon but hearing Kevin Cronin live was cringe-worthy.

As an aside, I lived near an amphitheater in Cuyahoga Falls for several years and would go to Blossom Music Center almost weekly to hear artists like Beach Boys, Linda Ronstadt, James Taylor, Jimmie Buffet, Southside Johnny, Cheap Trick, Stevie Nicks, Jackson Browne, 38 Special, Stevie Ray Vaughan and dozens more.

Damn, what a nice stroll down memory lane!

~Scamp

Well having lived in the NE NYC area for many years especially late teens and early 20's I had the opportunity to see many of the late 60's and 70's bands in Madison Garden. The Who, ELP, Moody Blues, Led Zepplin and many more. As I listen to XM radio and occasionally, they will play a live cut from not that many years ago I have come to the conclusion that all of these old rockers should just retire. They sound like crap! I have seen James Taylor a couple of times and he still does pretty good for a guy his age. The other thing that kills me is the amount of money they are demanding to hear these old rockers perform. I guess maybe they figure all the old people that will buy the tickets can't hear worth a crap anyway so it doesn't matter.

As I sit here and watch a video of a band I am starting to reminisce about how I enjoyed seeing them over 20 years ago. It got me thinking, is there a time that you really don't want to see a band anymore as they can not live up to the expectations you have for them, thinking they are today what they were then? Is there a performer that you regret not seeing when you had the opportunity and now they only play casinos and state fairs? Is there a performer that you think should just call it a day?

In 1992 I was fortunate to see The Cure. I have seen recent pictures of Robert Smith. He looks like Susan Boyle now. While I enjoy their music, there is no way I could go see them now.

In 1982 I was fortunate to see the B52s. I had the hots for Kate Pierson. Now that they are in their 70s . . . no, I do not want to see them again.

In 2002 I was fortunate to see the Pet Shop Boys. It was kinda rare for them to tour the US. I am impressed that Neil Tenant's voice has not lost that much. I think it is close to the end for them.

In 1990 I was fortunate to see Ottmar Liebert open for Basia. It was an incredible exhibit of talent. I was fortunate to see him a couple of years ago. Fortunately for him, his skill is the guitar. He does not sing so he can keep going and going :)

When I lived in South Florida, I always wanted to see Rodney Dangerfield. He lived there and would play Sunrise Musical Theater every New Years Eve. Every year, near that time, I would go . . . Hmm, I can go out to a sex club and fuck or go see Rodney . . . I'll see Rodney next year. I regret never seeing him.

Before covid, Mel Brooks was doing a show at the Wynn once a year. Every year I'd say, "I'll catch the next one." I regret not seeing him.

I was never a huge Rush fan. I liked the skillset. I had numerous opportunities to see them and would defer it to a later date. I regret not seeing them play.

I have a friend who plays the trombone and would be part of the local band that Frank Sinatra would use to play at Sunrise Musical Theater. He would offer me tickets to go to the show. I had no desire. Now, I think it would have been cool to see Sinatra once.

So who do you think should hang it up? Who do you regret not seeing?