worst ever festival sets

[Quark]

13 minutes ago, the_arsonist said:

I remember this and my God what utter shite, gets my vote. Played so much from Stadium Arcadium (which way mainly toss) and so many pointless jams. Put me off them so much

It's a shame because when they're on form they can be blistering live. Saw them on the SA tour in 2007ish and they were absolute dross. Reading '99 and Benicassim '17 they were amazing.

[matichin]

6 minutes ago, jump said:

Slowthai was the worst support act I've ever seen, it was last year with Slaves. He threw up on stage multiple times, started throwing his shoes at the crowd, kept shouting"Fuck Theresa May" & "Fuck your Mum" etc. Tbh if I ever see him again he'd be a let down if he didn't do all that.

That sounds at least eventful - on West Holts it was just shouting, stopping, a bit of music, shouting, stopping. Would have walked off earlier but was face deep in that African food stall and Lizzo was on after.

[pahqman]

Shaggy on West Holts in 2017 was pretty damn crap...

If I recall correctly he did like 45 seconds of Mr Boombastic super early on, two partial versions of It Wasn't Me and played a shed load of ~8 second clips of rap songs from the late 90's early 2000's all while claiming to be the man the whole time...

[mouserat]

I tried ranking every Glastonbury set I've seen to shake off the post-festival blues earlier this year, bottom few were:

The Other Tribe, Rabbit Hole, 2013 - 45 mins in and they were still soundchecking, don't really remember if/when they ever got playing

Crystal Castles, John Peel, also 2013 - Bit harsh to criticise this because Alice Glass was ill and had wanted to cancel. Plus, you know, there are the other reasons for her to be feeling like shit...

Orchestra of Syrian Musicians, Pyramid, 2016 - Not their fault, whoever I saw first after getting the Brexit news was going to struggle to be memorable

ELO, Pyramid, 2016 - Expected more than what I got, whole thing felt a bit forced. Just not my cup of tea to be honest.

Looking at those, it's interesting how few are actual unmitigated disasters. Even sets which have been a bit meh have usually had a couple of good moments.

[TheGoodWillOut]

Shakespeares Sister ‘92  never ever ever have I heard a screech like it

also same year, Catherine Wheel I think it was, late onto the other stage due to technical issues, 1/2 way through second song, equipment blew and had to go off 

Edited October 10, 2019 by TheGoodWillOut

[Hotchilidog]

1 hour ago, Cooter said:

Well said. We too noticed the AoS and Overkill remix, it actually didn't sound too bad but obviously wasn't meant to happen. Poor old Lem, outstanding amongst the greatest musicians and bassists ever.

Out of upvotes, but I could not agree more. Very well said.

[Hotchilidog]

53 minutes ago, matichin said:

Just remembered that last year I saw half of Slowthai's set, that seemed to be 30 mins of him starting and track, shouting and then stopping after 30 seconds to talk to the crowd. Not a fan anyway, but thought i'd give him a chance to show what they hype was all about. Seemed utterly tedious. Still don't get it.

Also saw some of Kanye's set whenever it was. The ego of that man...

You have just reminded me of the Slowthai set, which I did watch waiting for Lizzo. I clearly am not the ideal demographic for him but I had real trouble connecting the chattering classes hype about him, with what appeared to be a really incomprehensible, incoherent set. Apparently he is the voice of a generation with important things to say, all I saw was a young man in his pants shouting about getting off his head. Still each to their own and all that.

[PDAD]

4 hours ago, matichin said:

Think the worst act i've ever seen at a festival is probably BRMC. I quite liked their album at the time, but Reading 2002 is the only live performance where I've fallen asleep while watching a band. Standing up too. Very very very boring.

 

I experienced sleeping standing up during Manic Street Preachers at Latitude '15. Even with a nap, the hour still dragged. 

[BOBBY_FIRMINO]

Black Rebel Motorcycle Club were pretty woeful at Mad Cool the other year. I know they were never the Jackson 5 but it was the most lethargic thing I've ever experienced 

[The Toad.]

U fucking 2. 

[CaledonianGonzo]

Slowthai slapped. A total hoot.

[matichin]

2 minutes ago, CaledonianGonzo said:

Slowthai slapped. A total hoot.

Is this a positive review? What was so great about it? I was watching people go crazy and try to start dancing every now and then, but then realise there was no chance to get into any of the tracks. The only bit that looked half interesting was the massive circle he spent 5 mins demanding appear, which was admittedly impressive. 

[Smeble]

People don’t seem to be able to differentiate between them not like a set and it being bad. ELO was not bad, it just lacked any intimacy, musically they were spot on and down the front it was awesome. They just didn’t get the crowd on side. Bad it was not.

[maelzoid]

1 hour ago, scho said:

U2. I was so disappointed after waiting 2 years to see them at the festival.

I really don't get this. I thought U2 were superb.

I get that some people (not necessarily you) think Bono's a tax-dodging twat, but if that's a problem, don't go and see U2.

[giantkatestacks]

Tinie Tempah while waiting for Prince at Hop Farm. I have no words for it.

[pentura]

The Who, 2015. Absolutely dreadful. Sounded like two grandads doing Who covers. And not good ones at that. Left after about 30 mins and caught the last half of Ryan Adams at the Park and he was great

[Quark]

58 minutes ago, mouserat said:

The Other Tribe, Rabbit Hole, 2013 - 45 mins in and they were still soundchecking, don't really remember if/when they ever got playing

Dragged some mates along to see 3 Daft Monkeys years ago on the Thursday. Really not their cup of tea at all, especially as one of them started coming up just before we got in the tent.

10 minutes in he goes "this is shit, these guys can even fucking play it's just noise"

"They're soundchecking pal...."

[Hotchilidog]

14 minutes ago, maelzoid said:

I really don't get this. I thought U2 were superb.

I get that some people (not necessarily you) think Bono's a tax-dodging twat, but if that's a problem, don't go and see U2.

I agree. I thought it was good to see U2 out of their comfort zone playing to a crowd that may not have universally been on their side. I enjoyed that one too, but then I like them. Also had a flipping good night out after, that was indeed a beautiful (if very wet) day.

[Chubby Dude in a Tiny Car]

12 minutes ago, maelzoid said:

I really don't get this. I thought U2 were superb.

I get that some people (not necessarily you) think Bono's a tax-dodging twat, but if that's a problem, don't go and see U2.

i DO think that Bono is a twat, so i was never going to enjoy them - but my wife loves U2 and was so excited to be seeing them on the farm, and her thoughts were that the show was a huge dissapointment.

didn't Bono blame wearing the "wrong shoes" in the rain that night for what he himself described as a disappointing performance?

(i actually have no idea if i really read that somewhere or its just some crap i imagined...)

[swelsbyuk]

Lana Del Rey at Latitude Festival earlier this year. Scheduled 90 minute set. She played for 70, ten of which was her chatting to fans at the front, signing albums, accepting presents etc.

The strange thing was, all the pressies etc took place twenty minutes into her set while the rest of the crowd just looked on bemused.

She then sang out of tune for the remaining 60 mins. I'm not sure why we hung around, but many didn't - by the end of her set at least a third of the audience had left.

[matichin]

17 minutes ago, Chubby Dude in a Tiny Car said:

i DO think that Bono is a twat, so i was never going to enjoy them - but my wife loves U2 and was so excited to be seeing them on the farm, and her thoughts were that the show was a huge dissapointment.

didn't Bono blame wearing the "wrong shoes" in the rain that night for what he himself described as a disappointing performance?

(i actually have no idea if i really read that somewhere or its just some crap i imagined...)

To be fair, the rain that night was horrendous. We were in the park fully waterproofed up dancing to Caribou, which was glorious, but the idea of just standing in the churn of the Pyramid in it, no thanks. As Bono cancelled the year before by doing his back in, not surprising he didn't want to break himself again live on stage.

[giantkatestacks]

Primal Scream before the Stones was pretty memorable as well for all of the wrong reasons. Basically sets where you are all waiting for someone else and the performer before can't deal with that and throws a wobbly.

[windy_miller]

2 minutes ago, giantkatestacks said:

Primal Scream before the Stones was pretty memorable as well for all of the wrong reasons. Basically sets where you are all waiting for someone else and the performer before can't deal with that and throws a wobbly.

See also: Morrissey before U2 in 2011.  Although I did enjoy his set he really didn't seem happy about subbing to U2.

[shuttlep]

The Cure

 

my worst ever set. just couldn't get in the groove. didn't know any songs, didn't play love cats.  I fell asleep. Just not my cup of tea. maybe perfect for a super fan, but for some one who knows 1 song and couldn't get in to the vibe. not for me 

[HoTWire]

Kings Of Leon at Reading 2009 ... went over after Faith No More had finished, went from one of the best gigs I've ever been to, to one of the worst things I've ever seen on stage, and I was there for Stone Roses in 1996 (also appalling shite)

Worst thing I've heard at Glastonbury is Kate Tempest yelling her GCSE homework from the West Holts stage.