Have you ever been to a concert that made you lose interest in a band?

[jff]

I don't mean this as a "Talk Sh!t about bands" thread.  But the reality is that sometimes a concert is so disappointing, for any number of reasons, that you give up on the band.  I'm curious about your experiences with this, and I'll start off by sharing one of mine:

 

Friday night I went to see Dr. Dog.  I got into them when their album We All Belong came out.  The best songs on that one, in my opinion, can stand strong against anyone's best songs.  I didn't follow their career after that closely all, but I would occasionally hear a newer song that I really liked, so I figured they were still doing Beatlesque pop, or whatever it is they do that originally appealed to me.

 

They played zero songs from We All Belong, and much of what they did play, particularly the bass player's songs, were repetitive vamps that never went anywhere. For example, one of the songs was just "What does it take to be lonesome?  Nothing at all."  Repeat that for five minutes and that's the whole song.  Another was "Whoa Nellie, Whoa Nellie" over and over.  Another was just an excuse for the keyboard player to come out and play slide guitar over a repeating riff.  And those were front-loaded into the set.  I don't get it.  They have  terrific songs like "Where Did the Time Go", and some of the songs on their new album, which they did play and which were good.  But their set was mostly songs like those other two or three. 

 

I was pretty disappointed and bored. I realize it gets harder to fit in songs from every album once you've been a band for a while, but Wilco has the same number of albums (or more if you count the Mermaid Ave stuff, which they do perform in concert) and they manage to pull it off.

 

So, I'm tapping out.

 

[winterland121072]

It may be blasphemy to say this here, but the last several Wilco shows have been pretty bland. It's led me to lose interest in them as a band. Each live song seems so rehearsed and there is nothing left to improvise. I don't know. Maybe I listened to them too much.

 

Tweedy always seems to know when to reinvent himself and his band. Maybe the time is coming for another reinvent?

[uncool2pillow]

Many years ago I saw a Jay Farrar solo show that nearly did this for me. I saw Son Volt about a year ago and it was a much better experience.

[u2roolz]

Pete Yorn - My friend & I went to catch him at one of the Boston clubs in 2002. He had no stage presence & was boring. Probably better off just playing the album at home. I really enjoyed the album that was out at the time. The name escapes me & I don't think I ever purchased his follow up or followed his career since that show. The Music blew him out of the water as openers. I'm not sure what happened to them either.

 

Edit: hahaha. Wow! I just remembered that I got Pete Yorn as an opener for R.E.M. on their 2003 tour. I remember being pissed that I missed Wilco as an opener by a few shows. I had just seen Wilco for the first time in Boston in June 2003 & I was dying to see them again. Yorn!!!

[jff]

It may be blasphemy to say this here, but the last several Wilco shows have been pretty bland. It's led me to lose interest in them as a band. Each live song seems so rehearsed and there is nothing left to improvise. I don't know. Maybe I listened to them too much.

 

Tweedy always seems to know when to reinvent himself and his band. Maybe the time is coming for another reinvent?

 

That's too bad.  I haven't seen them since the first run of Star Wars shows, which I thought was terrific, but yeah, they've been a consistent lineup for quite a long time now.  Maybe it is time for a reinvent.  With Nels's career doing really well, I wouldn't be surprised if he decided to move on and concentrate on that.

[Shug]

I saw Tom Petty a bunch, going back to 1985, all through the years when they were just a straight up 5 piece rock 'n' roll band with a bunch of songs of subtle genius that spoke to experiences almost everyone in America has.  I kept seeing them when they added a new guy multi-instrumentalist to fill in the sound for all those Full Moon Fever songs.  By the time of the tour for Into The Great Wide Open in 1991 I think,  I had seen the top hat schtick for Don't Come Around Here No More every single time I saw them.  They got so far away from their stripped down rock 'n' roll roots with the goofy Keebler elf tree stage set up, the roadies in masks running around chasing Tom while a strobe light flashed and taking the top hat out of the trunk and all that shit.  I was fuckin' done.  You can see this on the VHS they released, Take The Highway Live, which never got put on DVD.  Its the very show I was at in Oakland.

 

But just when I gave up on Petty, he reinvented himself with the genius of Wildflowers and all was good again for another 15 years or so.

[PopTodd]

I believe that I was beginning to lose interest in them already, but when I went to see Red Hot Chili Peppers back in '91, I was expecting so much. Their show were legendary at that point, and I expected another legendary show.

It wasn't.

In fact, it was fair to middling at best.

Never thought of them the same way after that.

[NoJ]

The one and only Wilco show I saw in 2005 dampened my enthusiasm for them ever since. I much prefer the post Jay, pre Nels period. Ok, now that I've said it, please don't ban me, thanks! 

[calvino]

I guess the Stones would be one -- haven't paid for ticket in 20 years or so.  With the extremely stale set lists and ticket costs, it is not worth it. 

 

Since 2007 or so, I always say I am done with Dylan - not because of a particular bad show or anything,  but more because the shows started to sound the same musically. But I have probably have seen him 6 times, since.

Though the last time was in Nov, 2014. I think this gap is my longest,  dating back to 97, so maybe I am really done.

[sonicshoulder]

Dylan at a large outdoor venue. We wanted to leave so bad but my guilt kept us there. It was terrible. Garbled Yiddish 

[calvino]

Yeah - I pass when Dylan plays an arena or a large venue -- his voice gets lost easily. Though I did see a couple of minor league ball park shows where it sounded pretty great on the field. 

[lost highway]

When I was writing music reviews for my college paper I was slipped a promo copy of Kingsbury Manx, out on Yep Roc. I listened and read the liner notes. Great mellow psychedelic folk rock, then I see it was produced by Wilco's own Mikael Jorgensen. Awesome!

 

Then they were playing a favorite venue/bar in town. My girlfriend at the time and I showed up and saw some dudes hanging around the merch table. It was some of the guys in the band who were clearly bored and super friendly. Loved talking to me about music, their's, Wilco's, others. This was to be a great night.

 

Then they played and it was boring as fuck.

[nalafej]

Too many times. Thankfully it mostly works the other way where a great live performance turns me on to the band.

 

Live performances turned me off:

 

Spoon - about 10 years ago based on 2 boring performance. Finally gave them a chance again last year and it was wonderful.

The XX

Red Hot Chili Peppers

Ty Segall

Kurt Vile

San Fermin

Chris Robinson Brotherhood

Big Thief

[chuckrh]

tears for fears a few years ago. luv their records. the show was at a local winery & tickets expensive. really bad opening act & then a very long break. tears barely played an hour & had sound issues most of the show. no encore.

[Yaz Rock]

Leftover Salmon. I loved that album Euphoria when I was in college, I played it so many times. Finally went to see them at Bowery Ballroom in the early 2000s. Literally ten people were in the room during the opening act. Very awkward. Somehow the room filled up between the end of the opening act and LS, who didn't go on until very late, well past 11pm. I had to leave early to catch that last Metro-North train home, so it is one of the very rare shows I did not see all the way through. Which was fine. I think they only did one song that I recognized from Euphoria. Drew Emmitt's stuff was somewhat redeeming but Vince Herman was just gibberish. I had no idea how much they were a jam/improv band. Just not my cup of tea.

I saw Gary Louris solo a few years ago. The new material just wasn't in the same ballpark as the old classics. Real slit-you-wrist stuff too. Put the nail in the coffin of my interest in seeing GL and/or Jayhawks live again.

[TCP]

I saw Pete Yorn live once and I can agree with u2roolz. That was 2003 and I don't think I've listened to Pete Yorn since. Just boring. 

 

Is this the most people have talked about Pete Yorn in 15 years?!

[jff]

I saw the Strokes right after their first album blew up.  They took almost two hours after the openers were done to get on stage.  That really pissed me off, but I figured maybe there was a reasonable explanation and cut them some slack.  Then I saw them a second time, maybe a year later, and they pulled the same shit.  That was it for me.  I will never be interested in anything any member of that band does ever again.

[uncool2pillow]

I saw Pete Yorn live once and I can agree with u2roolz. That was 2003 and I don't think I've listened to Pete Yorn since. Just boring. 

 

Is this the most people have talked about Pete Yorn in 15 years?!

I saw Pete Yorn open for someone. Pretty sure it was Alejandro Escovedo. One of his LPs used to be on regular rotation for me around the turn of the century, so I was a bit excited. Bored me to tears too.

[winterland121072]

Loved Kurt Vile live...

[Lammycat]

Leftover Salmon. I loved that album Euphoria when I was in college, I played it so many times. Finally went to see them at Bowery Ballroom in the early 2000s. Literally ten people were in the room during the opening act. Very awkward. Somehow the room filled up between the end of the opening act and LS, who didn't go on until very late, well past 11pm. I had to leave early to catch that last Metro-North train home, so it is one of the very rare shows I did not see all the way through. Which was fine. I think they only did one song that I recognized from Euphoria. Drew Emmitt's stuff was somewhat redeeming but Vince Herman was just gibberish. I had no idea how much they were a jam/improv band. Just not my cup of tea.

 

 

Having seen them a ton (former locals), I'd shy away from calling them jam/improv band, though they certainly have that in their veins. Thdey are pretty loose, live, but still have the Bluegrass/Roots backbone, imo. Saw them open for Phil Lesh and his band a couple weeks ago at Red Rocks and they were still fun. They've got a new album out and are touring for the first time in a spell, too.

 

Curious about the "Vince Herman was just gibberish" comment, though...

[Yaz Rock]

As in, Drew Emmitt's songs were songs with genuine lyrics and structure. Herman seemed to be making his songs up as he went along. At one point it seemed he was just throwing random syllables out there.

[tinnitus photography]

 

Live performances turned me off:

 

 

Ty Segall

 

 

 

 

Wait, what?

 

 

Did his audience bum you out? That I can see. But his performance or his band? GTFO.

[nalafej]

Wait, what?

 

 

Did his audience bum you out? That I can see. But his performance or his band? GTFO.

 

I should give him another shot. I've seen him twice in the last six months. I love the last 2-3 albums - not as familiar with previous material.

 

beefs:

1) You can't see him play the guitar - he sets himself up on stage so that his guitar playing is done towards the other side of the stage/drummer. He's an amazing guitar player- I want to see that.

2) The setlist has no flow.

 

I should give him another shot.

[tinnitus photography]

maybe i'm bitter because he rarely ever seems to play Boston. not counting Fuzz, he's played here twice in the last 8 years. he's probably played NYC 15 times in that same period. 

 

edit - if setlist.fm can be trusted, the count is 22 times.

[jff]

maybe i'm bitter because he rarely ever seems to play Boston. not counting Fuzz, he's played here twice in the last 8 years. he's probably played NYC 15 times in that same period. 

 

edit - if setlist.fm can be trusted, the count is 22 times.

 

That's bizarre.  He plays Atlanta at least once every year, and Atlanta gets skipped by lots of bands since (this is my assumption) we're not as close to neighboring cities as most of the NE is, making touring a bit harder and more expensive.  I wonder if there's a reason he skips Boston.