[Closed] Best (and worst) gig you ever went to

best, alabama 3, town and country, leeds.
worst, elton john, galpharm stadium, huddersfield.
even worse, santana, men stadium, manchester.

ton - as a Wakey lad, did you ever go to Players?

i did mate, downstairs?

Aye. I used to play drums for the Juvies 😳 so practically lived there at one point.

Best - Probably Dr Feelgood @ a random pub in that London 75ish

Worst - Ozzy Osborne [can't remember where]

best, The Clash 78, Out On Parole tour, Torquay Town Hall.
worst, killing Joke about three weeks ago in Exeter. Probably seen worse but they were recent and reminded me never to see old reformed punk bands!!

Worst is easy - Clapton sometime in mid nineties. Just awful.

Best - Radiohead at Meadowbank Stadium

Best - Pink Floyd on their final tour, Earls Court 1995, I think.
Worst - Testament, Bradford St George's Hall, sometime in the late 1980s.

Best - The White Stripes in Glasgow a few years back. Not even that big a fan but that bloke is hands down the best rock performer I've ever seen.
Also Bonnie prince Billy in Edinburgh one time was amazing (seen him a few times and he's hot and cold).

Worst - Seen some shite at festivals over the years. Worst who I actually liked and expected to be good was Pavement in London mid-90s. Didn't seem to have it that night.

Best: Same as the first. The Cult at Manchester Apollo 1985. Or teh Pixies. One of the last gigs before they split up. Oooooooooh -or Kraftwerk at Manchester Velodrome. That were ace!!! 😀

Worst: Probably Kings of Leon at the Apollo. Looked like they really couldn't be arsed being there. The fact we'd seen the Prodigy the night before at the same venue just served to emphasize their meh-ness

mitch, i thought the juvies were a skinhead band?

Best: either Pantera at Plymouth Pavillions roundabouts 1993, or Badly Drawn Boy in one of the domes at the Eden Project last summer.

Worst: mmmm, probably Senser at a 'don't bring in the JSA' demo/free festival in about 1996; after the rather intense rapping bloke had left. Oh, or Saxon circa 1993, whose novelty wore off after about one and a half tunes.

Ton - no love, they were a rockabilly / psychobilly band.

Best: Cold War Kids, Side Room of the Academy, Birmingham.

Worst: Coldplay, Birmingham, NIA.

talking about rockabilly, i saw the stray cats.....they were fantastic.
and can you remember the soliciters? saw them at the jockey, fantastic.

Worst - John Butler Trio at Brixton Academy. The venue was full of very loud Aussies so you could hardly hear the band. And when you could they were poor. We had one beer and left.

Best - Massive Attack in a square in Bristol. Absolutely stunning.

Best - mmm. toughie - i've not been to many, thankfully, they've mostly all been good...

Worst - Jools Holland and his big band at M'cr Apollo - had seen them at their outdoor gigs a couple of times, enjoyed them.
Apollo was just to small for them - too much / too many sounds for the space and, oh, i was with the soon to be ex mrs mm - stood together yet so far apart....

A very random gig memory - Simple Minds at Maine Road.... between acts I pop to the little boys room. As I, ahem, sat and pondered, I could hear a steady increase in the number and volume female voices. A lot of them. I was 100% sure I was in the gents as i'd passed urinals on the way in...
Next thing I know a female face appears over the door.
'ere, will you 'urry up - there's a queue!'

Best: Sisters Of Mercy + New Model Army + Skeletal Family, Huddersfield Town Hall c1983/4
Worst: Gene Loves Jezebel c1987 Bradford Uni. So bad i spent the whole gig playing pool

Best - Pixies at Newcastle Uni, Sugarcubes at newcastle poly, or House of Love at Newcastle Riverside

Or of course any Wedding Present gig ever

Worst - Martin Stephenson and the Daintees. Rubbish, and i got told off for singing along to just about the only song i knew.

Best – possibly Fear Factory on the Demanufacture tour, Iron Maiden in Paris in 1999, Pantera on the Reinventing the Steel tour, or Rammstein. Any Rammstein. It’s the flamethrowers,see.

Worst – I’ve never been to a gig I’ve not enjoyed, but I have seen some truly terrible support and festival acts. Thought Kiss were a bit bobbins at Donington 95, as were Manowar at Dynamo 99. Therapy? have been toss every time I’ve seen them live too, which was always disappointing.

I bow down to anyone who saw The Clash in 77 or 78. They trump anyone else 8)

Best: I think the Stone Roses at Spike Island just for the spectacle of it (rather than the acoustics) and as a 17 year old stone roses nut who had got the bus down from Aberdeen it was pretty amazing. Jah Wobble supporting too (with Gary Clail)
Other than that Curve at The Astoria in 1991 blew me away (standing 2 ft from Toni Halliday was pretty mind blowing in itself).

Worst: Blur at Glastonbury 1994. Got so bored with it all I crowd surfed out and went off to another stage.

Best (atmosphere) - the Levellers at Solfest a few years back
Best (seeing an idol) - Steve Earle at Leeds Grand

Worst, by a mile - Noah and the Whale, Leeds Cockpit. They're a s##t band, I got dragged by my missus and her housemates. The support band couldn't sing in tune never mind in harmony like they were trying to, the main set was dire, and they had to keep the one song anyone knew for the encore, or everyone would have left early...

Best - either Thin Lizzy 1976 or maybe Joe Jackson jumpin jive tour - a great gig

Don't remember any real stinkers

I bow down to anyone who saw The Clash in 77 or 78. They trump anyone else

I saw them @ the Newcastle Mayfair around that time and they were very good indeed, I still think Feelgood were better though 🙂

One of the best - Bruce Springsteen, The River Tour, 84'ish. Wembley Arena. No support, great atmosphere, had the place jumping
One of the worst - Bruce Springsteen, can't rremember the album, 98'ish, SECC. No atmosphere, off tune, just poor. We left before the end and there were a good number of people on their way out.

I saw them @ the Newcastle Mayfair

I remember the day Strummer died I met a bloke in the pub who had seem them in Newcastle (oh dear I must have bored the pants of him extracting his views on his night out 25 years prior)...

Best The Orb
Worst Frank Zappa

Best?

God knows, possibly Faith No More at the International, Here & Now at Band on the Wall, the remnants of the Bonzo Dog band at Bolton last year, Hawkwind (with Simon House, playing the Calvert era stuff) or the Beta Band at the Acadamy.

The worst?

Van Morrison at the Apollo was a grumpy, truculent waste of time.
Saw the Stone Roses support James at a legalise dope benefit at Manchester Uni before they caught on. They were awful.
They did get a lot better over the next twelve months though 😀

Best: Jane's Addiction, any of several shows

Worst: Red Hot Chilli Peppers, Hyde Park (2005?) - only redeeming feature being the support act - James Brown.

+1 for fond (but hazy) memories of Players, Wakefield btw

Best was either Joy Formidable at the O2 last year/year before maybe, tiny gig, but they're such a good noise, that or the Sleigh Bells at Bristol, Sooooooo loud.

worst: Primal Scream 2005 Glastonbury, shit.

Therapy? have been toss every time I’ve seen them live too, which was always disappointing.

Wow, I'm surprised at that. I've seen them a couple of times and they kicked bottom.

Best: Foo Fighters
Worst: U2 at Wembley stadium. Utter sh*te. If I saw Bono in the street, I'd kick him in the balls

Best - Faith No More at Brixton Academy 1992 - proper mad. no more to say.

Worst - St Etienne at Bristol Uni 1996 - zero charisma or stage presence - would have been better listening to the CD at home. A real shame as I really like their music.

Best: King Adora, Oxford Zodiac 2002ish. I'd never even heard of them before they on but they were ace. The clips on Youtube really don't do them justice.
And don't laugh but The Wurzzels are excellent too, they've been at it long enough to know what they're doing. And long enough for one original member to have died...
Worst: Gay Dad, somewhere in London 2002ish. They spent the whole gig up the own backsides.

+1 for Therapy being rubbish, they were contenders for my worst until I remembered RHCP

Husker Du in Stow Hill Labour club in Newport was memorable. FNM at Brixton for that Video.

Worst Crass or the Exploited because of the mindless violence in the crowd.

Meteors beyond bad due to the Wrekin Crew taking over the security and the moron Fenech directing the fighting from the stage.

Too many great ones to pick out a best, I think. The Flaming Lips are always pretty special live, though.

Worst. Hmm, well MGMT in Glasgow a couple of years ago was pretty disappointing, as were Midlake a few months earlier. Plus there was one Tori Amos gig that I recall trying to fall asleep in - and usually I've enjoyed her gigs.

Two many great ones, recently the naked and famous were pretty amazing, although for sheer intensity, will haven at the barfly will take some beating. They were brutal.

Best - Pearl Jam at the Astoria '06
Worst - RHCP at Excel. A soulless venue and far too much guitar ****ery.

Best peter gabriel 2005 ish birmingham or lenny kravitz manchester 1990

Worst rolling stones maine rd 1990 dire hang ur instruments up

Worst is complicated, because it's so tied up in expectations- Chris mentioned MGMT up the page, now they weren't actually all that terrible, mainly they were just as dull as watching paint dry, and I've seen a lot of worse bands... But I thought they'd be good, therefore, terrible gig.

But not as bad as the Chili Peppers at Murrayfield, god's balls that was awful.

And You Will Know Them By The Trail Of Dead at, I think, the Edinburgh Liquid Room in November 2000 was possibly the best show I've ever seen.

But the Killers, of all people, at T in the Park had the best 5 minutes I will ever see, i think- an average gig overall but the finale was kinda gobsmacking. And I don't even like the bloomin Killers.

Best, Lfo at the orbit, morley.
Worst, kraftwerk, tribal gathering, they were so f...ing dull.

Best gig: Probably Napalm Death @ (what was) the Hop and Grape in Manchester around 94/95 - so intense it was ridiculous. Failing that Pantera on their Far beyond driven tou at Manchester Apollo or Korn on their very first UK tour at the Manchester Academy, again around '94 I think??

Worst: Without a shadow of a doubt was a solo Alec Empire gig at Academy three in Manchester - god awful, was like watching one of my all-time heros die on stage. However he quickly redeemed himself around 12 months later as part of Atari Teenage Riot at Moho's Manchester on the reunion tour...close contender for best gig.

[Best – possibly Fear Factory on the Demanufacture tour, Iron Maiden in Paris in 1999, Pantera on the Reinventing the Steel tour, or Rammstein. Any Rammstein. It’s the flamethrowers,see.

Worst – I’ve never been to a gig I’ve not enjoyed, but I have seen some truly terrible support and festival acts. Thought Kiss were a bit bobbins at Donington 95, as were Manowar at Dynamo 99. Therapy? have been toss every time I’ve seen them live too, which was always disappointing]

Was maiden in Paris the early stuff, If it was I there too fantastic concert, I also agree with Kiss being sh*te as well.

So Best, can't decide so here goes
1. Metallica at Download festival (06 I think it was). or
2. Rammstein at the MEN (2007 ish) or
3. Hayseed dixie at Download (2007 )or finally
4.KoRn at Download 2007(in the tent).

worst 1. KISS at Grasspop 2008
2. First hour of Guns n Roses at Download 2006 (went offstage then came back a completely different, fantastic second half - chemical help?)
3. Tool at Download 2006, musically great, but no stage pressance at all, boring, may as well have been listening to the CD at home.

best: weller 2009 and getting into the after show party 😯

worst: Bowie and the glass spider tour 👿

Best - Massive Attack, Westonbirt 2006.
Worst - Oasis, Millenium Stadium 2009.

Best: dinosaur jr. the Venue Embra. Must've been, oh, '88. I went six months without cutting my hair after that. It all kinda made sense after about 15 minutes...

Worst: hmm, difficult to pull one out but I remember being so bored at the Banshees on their Juju tour that I left halfway through.

Sorry, need to change my "worst", just remembered that I had the misfortune of seeing Starsailor a couple of years ago...

Best - another vote for Alabama 3 at any one of several,

Worst - Dragonforce, the Astoria 2008 or 9. They take themselves far too seriously for the music they produce. The support was Turisas, who might be bonkers, but at least everyone has a good time.

Best exploited at duchess in leeds 80's or Motorhead leeds queens hall one of the loudest also the hardons/the stupids at scrumpys in leeds nearly same volume but scrumps was the size of a wardrobe
Worst GONG at pheonix club in chapletown ,even copious amounts of liberty caps didnt cover the dire drivvle.

Best - Clutch at Koko or PJ Harvey at Camp Bestival

Worst - The Strokes in Brixton, we obviously weren't worth their time so we went to the pub.

Best Jesus and Mary Chain - Sheffield Octagon year? 90ish?
was simply blown away - didn't expect to come across live

Worst New Order Bradford 85ish as said above about expectations not together and argued thru the stop start set

best-
Dwarves in king tuts
Rocket from the crpyt in king tuts
demented are go in glasgow barfly(?)

worst
onslaught at the barra's
Had seen them a couple of years before at the venue and they where great but had a new singer for the barra's and he was just mince

I don't know about best, but GWAR in a sleezy nightclub in Vancouver in about (er) 1990 was the most fun.

John Cale playing his piano was pretty awesome, with Martin Phillips from The Chills as support.

Worst was probably Sonic Youth. Sound was terrible, and I was very very drunk, had been sooooo looking forward to it had got a bit over-excited.

P.S forgot for last year at download Twisted Sister they stormed it. And the travesty they only got 30 mins or so , they had to drag dee snyder off the stage.
Same for Clutch,Black stone cherry ,and the cult

best: I cant judge t as I was largely off my tits tbh. 😳

Billy Bragg- he is genuinely a very funny guy and seemed a down to earth decent guy.
Worst: Primal scream so pissed they could not play and they switched the lead guitarists guitar off as he literally could not play in time never mind the actual song ...shocking leeds somewhere 90's???

Stone roses ....trust me kids he cannot hold a note for shit I could not listen for laughing first time they were much better but i was much more off my face

Worst - De La Soul @ Exeter University - abysmally organised & sound problems throughout which meant they only played for 20mins.

Best - The Subways @ Thekla in Bristol

Best Stiff Little Fingers @ Digbeth Civic Hall in Brum late 70's?

Worst The Tourists later to become The Eurythmics @ Brum Odean or Blondie @ same venue.

Dooh

Best - Kid Creole and the Coconuts in Aylesbury 2009 at one of the Friars finale's

Before you laugh, see them.

Best - Every one of the 15 times I've seen AC/DC

Worst - Van Halen @ Castle Donnington 1984. What a let down 🙁

Best: Ramones at Bristol . Marky on drums.
That won't happen again!
Worst ???

Best Mudhoney at the international 2 in Manchester or Soulwax at the student union

worst red hot chili peppers at the Apollo. no effort whatsoever, ignorant, soulless. I wanted my money back

Best - toss up between Razorlight at Sheffield Arena (way better than listening to their albums), or maybe Muse at Nottingham Arena.

Worst - The Darkness at Sheffield Arena. Got dragged along and to top it off we were in seats.

Best: Elbow, SECC last Feb. Being 6 ft from the stage may have helped.

Worst: Being dragged by the misses to see Chris De Burgh, again at the SECC in 92/93 ? Sat there with my arms folded the whole way through.It was PISH ! Blazing row with the misses afterwards for me being a grump.

Worst Support : An Emotional Fish (supporting Simple Minds). Did not recognise a single word the singer mumbled.

Queens of the stone age.. brixton..best

Razorshite... Earls court ..worst, I blame the Mrs for that one though, so mebby..iron maiden.. reading festival.

Blimey you lot are older than me!!

Best - Yazoo, Wolverhampton when they reformed or The Specials the following year in Birmingham

Worst - Can't really say that i have ever been disappointed at a gig that I paid for...where i have sneaked in is a different story.

Best loved all Alarm concerts from 80s through to 2012 that i`ve seen,
Worst U2 Zooropa tour at Leeds 92? so wished i`d seen them 5 years earlier!!

best- can't choose between:

beastie boys/rollins band at newcastle riverside, 1991/2ish
primus at the marquee club, 1991
sepultura/sodom at the marquee club, 1990
dinosaur jr at newcastle riverside, 1988ish
earth crisis/path of resistance/25talife/madball/merauder/crown of thornz at hungry charlie's, syracuse NY in 1997
converge at the attic, manchester in 2002ish
policy of 3 at the 1in12 club, bradford in 1995

worst- i can't really remember. try to block out the rubbish ones. i seem to recall terrorvision in the blandford pub in sunderland one sunday night were pretty horrendous though. prior to them getting signed, it was 50p in and we asked them for our money back.
nirvana at newcastle mayfair also sucked. played for 20 minutes, then spent another 25 smashing all their gear up. waste of money, totally overrated crap.

Best - probably The Prodigy at the Leeds Festival (at the very front - ouch).

Worst - Skunk Anansie headlining Glastonbury on the Sunday (1999?) Kerrap.

Or maybe Electric Six in Leeds or Blur in Wales or AC/DC or Kiss. Loads of great gigs.

Judas Priest were shit last year but Queensryche supporting more than made up for it.

Best , Fields Of The Nephilim, no way I could narrow it down.
Worst, Christian Death at the Astoria . They had a back drop of concentration camps and Valor's little boy in front of the mic saying "I am death" over and over again.
Most of the audience felt the same way as me as a chant soon started of " your daddy's a ****er"!
I felt proud to be English.
Scariest , Laibach in Germany. A backdrop of swastikas made out of axes, drummers in lederhosen and an audience reverting to their stereotype. Only there as the neffies were supporting.

Good - rembrandts in new york

Bad - brooooce on his born in the usa tour 85 Leeds. I want my 3 hours back please

Most memorable for being great;
Dead Kennedys
Birthday Party
Sonic Youth / Pavement
Fugazi
Groove Armada
Death Cult

Very average
Husker Du
Faith No more

God Awful
Black Grape

Mitch - saw the Juvies loads around Wakefield in the 90's and always enjoyed them.

Best- probably Stone Roses at Northampton roadmenders, just after release of debut album,
or maybe Spacemen3 at the then Town and Country club...
also many great nights in King Tuts

worst? no one really stands out, possibly some fat boy slim free thing on brighton beach just cos it was a nightmare with mental overcrowding and sh1t sound

Christ, this is difficult! I don't really know how many bands I've see over the forty one years I've been going to gigs, let alone which was the best! Led Zeppelin at Earl's Court? Elbow every time I've seen them, especially at the O2 last year? Fleetwood Mac at the NEC? Laura Marling the last six or seven times I've seen her?
Faith No More? Curve? Sisters Of Mercy? ZZ Top? Steely Dan?
Certainly the Civil Wars at the O2 Academy, Bristol last month was one of the very, very best I've been to, just a magical experience, seeing a band with a whole room full of people, none of whom had seen them before either, and the band just riding a huge wave of love for what they were doing.
Worst? Ah, not so difficult, there have been one or two that have been a little disappointing, but really only two that were bad. Katastrophy Wife, Kat Bjelland's band after Babes In Toyland, at The Fleece, in Bristol, was really dire, just utterly shambolic. 65daysofstatic, who were headlining when I saw Asobi Seksu, after Asobi's headlining gig got changed to a support; the only gig I've ever walked out on the headline act. Dull, duller, dullest, a formlest racket with no tunes, no vocals, and no redeeming features that I could see.

Revolting Cocks, at one of the Glasgow colleges 90/91 I think.

Best would be The Icicle Works playing on The Royal Iris, a Mersey ferry moored next to HMS Belfast in 1984. All drinks at Liverpool prices and I was stood at the front with one foot on the foldback speakers being asked to make sure no one nicked Iain Mcnabs set list. I still have it somewhere.

The Smiths at The Dome in Brighton in 85 was a pretty close second.

I don't think I can recall anything really disappointing.

best eagles. fleetwood mac. saw smokie last week they were brill.
worst. radio head cant imagine anyone could be worse