A recent online music forum discussed which classic rock bands suck at live performances. I have NOT seen any of these bands, but love a lot of the music. These are the opinions of OTHERS. Do you agree?
1. REO Speedwagon
“REO Speedwagon. I was hyped. It was my first time seeing them, and my live cassette of theirs got worn out in my boombox back in the 80s. Flash forward to 2018 opening up for Def Leppard. Just no. Kevin Cronin and the band sounded bad, plus his banter was cringe.”
2. The Cars
“I’ve heard seeing The Cars live was like watching paint dry.” — “I love The Cars. I went to see them two nights in a row in 1984. They did the same exact show on both nights. The sound was great. But, there was no emotion, no movement.
The only movement on stage was when Elliot Easton would step out for a guitar solo. One night, I was in the front row and tried jumping up and down, waving my arms at Ric Ocasek. All I got was a smile toward the end of the show.”
3. Aerosmith
“I saw Aerosmith live in 86, and it was awful. I’ll never forgive them for that. I was really looking forward to the show.” — “I paid $12 per ticket! To watch Aerosmith come on stage, play three songs very poorly, argue w people booing, and walk off stage. Every other ticket back then was $8, but the wife and I splurged to see them ‘76 or ‘77.”
4. The Black Crowes
“The Black Crowes. I was really looking forward to their show, but they were drugged out, exhausted, or both.” — “The Black Crowes, for my show, just played ballads the entire night and then prolonged them with jam-session solos.”
5. Molly Hatchet
“1983 Molly Hatchet. Danny Jo Brown was back, but Banner Thomas was gone, and Steve Holland was recovering from some kind of an accident. I had seen them in 1981 and was stoked to see them again with DJB at the helm… they put the suck in suck that night.”
6. Fleetwood Mac
“I remember being disappointed in Fleetwood Mac because Stevie went to the side corner of the stage and beat the tambourine on the floor when she wasn’t singing.” — “I’ve seen a number of acts with female lead vocalists where they can’t hit the notes anymore. Stevie Nicks and Debbie Harry were the most notable.”
7. Guns ‘N Roses
“You never knew on any given night if GNR was gonna be arguably the most dynamic live band in the world or a trainwreck of legendary derailment.” — “Saw GNR in 1987, and they sounded like a trainwreck.”
8. Mötley Crüe
“Without a doubt, Mötley Crüe. Just watch any YouTube video of them playing live.” — “I’ve walked right out of two Motley Crue shows. It takes A LOT for me to walk away from live music.. especially from one of my favorite bands.”
9. The Replacements
The Replacements. You either got happy Paul or angry Paul. (or drunk Bob or really drunk Bob). On good nights, no rock band in the world could touch them. On bad nights, a lot of mocking, yelling, stops and starts, ending in storming off the stage early.” — “Can confirm. Saw a few times in Chicago. One time they were so drunk Paul nearly fell off the stage and forgot lyrics.”
10. Van Halen
“1984 Van Halen. It was barely a concert, just David Lee Roth rambling on about nothing. They’d start a song, and he’d quit halfway through to talk about himself more. My god, no wonder they split. The guy is a narcissist to the extreme.”
11. Bon Jovi
“Bon Jovi sounded and looked terrible last time I saw them a few years ago.” — “We saw Bon Jovi last year, and I’ve never been to a worse concert.” Fans argue that back in their hay day they were legit.
12. ZZ Top
“I saw ZZ Top around 1997. I was very excited to see them for the first time. They bored me to tears. The music was great.” — “They may have been good at one point, but by the time I saw ZZ Top 2009ish), they were terrible. It was super low energy, and the vocals were barely intelligible.”
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Elizabeth Ervin is the owner of Sober Healing. She is a freelance writer passionate about opioid recovery and has celebrated breaking free since 09-27-2013. She advocates for mental health awareness and encourages others to embrace healing, recovery, and Jesus.