When do you give up and decide a concert is too awful to endure any longer?

[bbernardini]

A long time ago, my wife and I went to see Dave Matthews in Hershey. (She was a fan, I wasn't, and continue to not be.) We ended up leaving about halfway through for several reasons:

1. The concert was BORING. I know, what should I expect from a DMB show, right? :) Even my wife thought so.

2. The sound mix was terrible. We weren't in a "sweet spot", but it shouldn't have been as bad as it was.

3. The crowd was mostly drunk obnoxious teenagers. I believe there was quite a few arrests after the show that night.


Other than that, I don't think I've ever left a concert because I thought it was bad. My wife, on the other hand, did leave the Negativland show we went to during the intermission. Not exactly her cup of tea.

[flvegan]

1. When it's one of those "festival" types and the headliners suck.

I went to one a few years ago to see The Used and NoFX. I left during Disturbed and before Snoop and whatever the top billed craptacular band was.

[Iggo]

9. Ha! See reply #8. (n/t)

[no name no slogan]

2. Whenever Trey Anastasio or Bob Weir walks on stage

:hide:

[driver8]

39. Ha Ha -- I would have to agree!! n/t

[GCP]

3. We walked out on Pink Floyd once

It just seemed like they were sleep-walking through the set, then they went off for a tea-break and that was the last straw for us.

[charlie and algernon]

4. when the band has a dramatically different sound than the last time you saw them

I had seen this celtic rock band twice before and they were incredible, high energy, great shows. So naturally when I saw they'd be back at this feestival two summers ago, I went to see them again. Well let's just say that if your lead singer is unavailable, cancel your show. it was just awful. they started off like it would be the same high octaine show, but then the intro lasted a bit too long, it seemed to be taking them quite a bit longer to get going. What started off as a packed house soon started to clear the longer they dragged out the intro or whatever the hell they were doing. Eventually we just left too.

So let this be a lesson, if your lead singer is out and the guitarist has never sung before, CANCEL YOUR SHOW!!!

[Forkboy]

5. I never have, but was mighty tempted by The Cars/Wang Chung show.

Ozzy pretty much sucked big quantities of ass, too.

[GOPisEvil]

14. Oh jeez, The Cars were the most boring live band ever.

I could have saved money by just getting stoned while listening to them on my stereo. It would have had the same level of band/crowd interaction.

[Forkboy]

17. I thought they were just cardboard cutouts and the music was being piped in.

I swear that I never saw a single member actually move. :)

[Pacifist Patriot]

30. My husband has said the exact same thing.

[Moondog]

6. Once it hits you that it sucks.

Anything later is a waste of your time, and turns you into an enabler.

[mitchum]

7. If the singer hasn't announced he is going to rock me in particular...

within the first 10 minutes.
Don't they know who I am?

[Iggo]

8. I walked out on Van Halen at US 83.

To be fair, it had been a looooong day: Quiet Riot, Motley Crue, Ozzy, Priest, Scorps, Triumph and finally Van Halen. If I hadn't been so tired, I probably would've put up with David Lee Roth's bullshit for the entire set. (It wasn't until several days later when I found out that his being a complete dick was actually part of the show...lol.)

[bbernardini]

11. Was that the show where he said something about all the arrests, and made fun of The Clash? nt

[Iggo]

18. Not sure. I left real early in the set.

He was staggering around swigging a bottle of Jack, slurring his words, "forgetting" lyrics. Finally he kept going on about this couple in the front row and how he "f****d your girlfriend."

I was all, "Seriously? What a fuking pro. That's it. I'm outa here." Later when I told my friends why I left, they said he always does that. All part of the show.

Anyway, no big. I wasn't there to see Van Halen. They were kind of miscast. Hell, Triumph barely qualified. It was Heavy Metal Day, man. Come on...

[Sebastian Doyle]

24. Yeah, that would be the one

To be fair, I loved the Clash, but they were being whiny asses about that whole thing. Of course it turned out to be their last show, (that "Cut the Crap" tour didn't count) so clearly the problems were more internal within the Clash than anything to do with the US Festival itself.


But back to the mighty Van Halen, I thought it was a great performance, even though the entire band had clearly been partying all day.........

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZbdMvOwf22M

[VenusRising]

10. My friends and I left during Smashing Pumpkins at Lollapalooza 1994.

The first part of the show was awesome. Then it started to rain, and it rained for a about an hour. Everything was wet and muddy. Once it stopped raining everything was awesome again. People were buying lots of shirts and stuff at the vendors just to get dry clothes. When it was time for the Smashing Pumpkins the mood of the event turned. The sound was a giant wall of distortion. You couldn't hear anything they were playing or singing. After being rained on, muddy, and had a 3 hour drive home. We decided to leave. We knew we saw the best acts of the day, so we were more than satisfied with our concert experience.

[bbernardini]

12. That wasn't in Philadelphia, was it?

Sounds pretty similar to my Lollapalooza '94 experience, except we stayed until the very end.

[VenusRising]

16. No, it was in Dallas.

It was a great lineup, though.

[SoxFan]

13. "Ladies and Gentlemen, please welcome NICKELBACK!!!"

[JVS]

26. NOOOOOOOOOOO

[Pacifist Patriot]

31. ROTFL!

Someone had to say it.

[madinmaryland]

15. Amazingly I made it through a horrific Rush concert.

Of course I was so stoned it didn't really matter.

[Orsino]

19. For me, it was when Nugent started the crowd chanting, "Janet Reno is a dirty whore."

We left until it was time for KISS to come on.

[quakerboy]

20. When the Enya Covers start

Or when wrinkly old men start pumping their crotches at you as if they think you are their long lost Urologist(a la Van Halen 08)

[tigereye]

21. ah, it's more fun to just stay and give em crap, if it's a small show...

Once we threw ice at a sexist band, and once we heckled Fuzzbox. Remember them? We were convinced that they were lip-synching, and as female band folk who played our own instruments, we just weren't having it.

[dana_b]

22. when I start thinking about what I would rather be doing

at home, or anywhere for that matter.

[Manifestor_of_Light]

23. when the opening act is intolerably sucky.

Many years ago, at an auditorium, I saw Rusty Weir. He was baaad shitkick. I don't like shitkick anyway.

Well, it turned out that I didn't stay for the other guy, because I didn't know who he was.

Jimmy Buffett, circa 1974.

[Systematic Chaos]

25. I've never walked out on a concert, but came close during one opening act.

Long story short: Went to see the Moody Blues at the Aladdin Theater for the Performing Arts here in Vegas back in 1987 (I think) for their "Sur le Mer" tour. The opening act was Glass Tiger, whom I didn't know a whole lot about.

I'll generally sit through damn near anything if it means I get to see a band I love afterwards, but something went horribly wrong while Glass Tiger was playing that made me think I might go into cardiac arrest, and about 200 people sitting in seats near mine as well. The sound was loud, but nice. Our seats were 5th row but on the extreme right side of the arena, so the wall of speakers for the right channel was literally only 20 feet away. Glass Tiger's playing, everything's fine. THEN, some son of a bitch decides to crank up the bass from those speakers by I would swear at least 8-10 db. I mean, it felt like the very air I was trying to breathe was attempting to shake its way into my lungs, and even my vision went totally bouncy to the thrum of the bass. It only lasted for a minute or so, and then either the song ended or someone fixed the problem. I don't remember now. All I do know is that once the Moodies were on it was like that whole Glass Tiger nightmare had never happened.

[LanternWaste]

38. I'd sit through rap or even country for the Moody Blues...

I'd sit through rap or even country for the Moody Blues. I've never had the opportunity to see them in concert, and they're the only band on my Must-See-Once-In-My-Lifetime list that I've yet to check off.

I'm envious... despite the Blown Glass Tiger opener. :P

[TommyO]

27. Many years ago we saw Howard Jones, with Midge Ure opening

at the Garden State Arts Center (that's what it was called at the time, and what it will still be known as in my heart).

Midge Ure was fantastic.

Howard Jones, not so much and we walked out about 30 minutes into his show.

That said, I continue to like Howard's music from that era, I just couldn't stomach him live.

[bbernardini]

32. Have you tried his live acoustic album?

"Live Acoustic America". Just him and a piano, along with a percussionist/backing vocalist.

[TommyO]

36. No, but I just downloaded Nik Kershaw's newest

Seeing him and Paul Young in Philadelphia was a lot of fun! Definite a concert that I didn't walk out on


Edited. Damn, you made me spend another $7.99! I listened to some samples, and it's downloading now.

[cherish44]

28. When they break out the accordian it's time to GTFO

By the way I've got Weird Al tickets for sale.....CHEAP!

[bbernardini]

33. Except at a Bruce Hornsby concert. Then it's time for pretty girls to storm the stage. nt

[Pacifist Patriot]

29. OMG! Does this count as my first inspiration for a copycat thread?

I don't think I've ever walked out of a concert. I can't recall going to one I wasn't 110% excited about going to in the first place so that may be why.

[peacefreak]

34. the only concert I ever walked out on was

The Eagles (when they were still wearing feathers) & Linda Ronstadt. Linda couldn't carry a tune in a bucket that night & the Eagles plain sucked. I think there was way too much coke backstage that night.

[Justyce]

35. When my ears nearly started bleeding from Soul Motor's "music", we made

a run for outside, as did half the crowd until the main act came on. :scared:

[LanternWaste]

37. As soon as I realize that the band...

As soon as I realize that the band was formed after 1983. :evilgrin: