Worst Performance I Ever Heard

Subject: RE: Worst Performance I Ever Heard
From: GUEST,Gerry
Date: 22 Jul 04 - 09:55 PM

I've heard some bad performances from some pretty good people,
but I'm not keen to drag them through the mud(cat) for the one bad show.

I've heard some performances that I didn't enjoy at all but where I can
only blame myself for not keeping up with the performer. About the only
time I've ever walked out on a concert was one that Bonnie Raitt gave,
probably in the early 1980s. I was expecting folk, but I guess she had
gone over to rock many years before, and my then-date/now-wife
and I just found it too loud for our taste and left.

I went to a Mary Black concert expecting folk & got pop instead and
didn't enjoy it a bit. I wasn't the only one in the audience who didn't
know she had changed directions - about 6 songs into the proceedings,
someone yelled out, "Sing something Irish!" Well, maybe he and I were
the only ones not keeping up, everyone else seemed to be having a
good time.

One more little story. The first time I saw James Keelaghan he was
playing in a venue that was much too large for the turnout. Having
the audience scattered about in little clumps here and there did
nothing for the atmosphere of the performance, but what was worse
was that the sound guy was unabe to get rid of an extremely annoying
buzzing sound. No one was enjoying that concert, Keelaghan probably
least of all. Someone yelled out, "play acoustic!" but Keelaghan
ignored him, hoping the sound guy would be able to fix the problem.
Finally Keelaghan gave up and said he would play acoustic if we
would all move in closer. We did, he did, and the rest of the evening
was sensational.

Subject: RE: Worst Performance I Ever Heard
From: Little Brother
Date: 22 Jul 04 - 09:47 PM

Hey Rodney, are you still with the Kentucky Playboys and where can I catch your act. Has your group ever won any IBMA awards?

Subject: RE: Worst Performance I Ever Heard
From: The Fooles Troupe
Date: 22 Jul 04 - 07:03 PM

I doubt if the "GUEST" was the real thing - we have lots of Clowns on the Cat who think it amusing to pretend in that fashion, Sol.

Subject: RE: Worst Performance I Ever Heard
From: Rapparee
Date: 22 Jul 04 - 06:53 PM

In college we would have groups that were "in between" (Chicago and St. Louis, for instance) come play. There was the Mitchell Trio (with someone named John Denver), Judy Collins, and others. All but one gave us the same quality of performance and attention they would have given a New York audience -- true performers and troupers.

The other one (and I think I've deliberately forgotten the group), they, well, they stunk. It was like attending the first practice of a group of musicians brought together by someone who said, "You guys ought to get together sometime." One fell off the stage, a guitar string broke and wasn't replaced (!), about half of their sound equipment worked, and they didn't tune to each other.

Subject: RE: Worst Performance I Ever Heard
From: Rabbi-Sol
Date: 22 Jul 04 - 06:38 PM

Rodney, I hope the Musical skills of the Kentucky Playboys have improved greatly in the last 25 years. You certainly had enough time to practice. By the way, Silver Wings was written by Merle Haggard, and yes, I admit I can not write music as well as he does. But your 8 or 9 renditions of the song that night did not do him justice. I certainly did not have to pay $10 to hear it done that many times.
I have been involved in Bluegrass & Folk music for the past 30 years, and have been involved in booking talent for certain venues. I certainly know how to tell the good from the bad. All I can say is that the skill of your performance that night at Lake Malone, matched the proficiency of your spelling in your personally insulting post to me on this forum. The good folks in Dunmor, Kentucky deserve a lot better. SOL ZELLER

Subject: RE: Worst Performance I Ever Heard
From: Little Hawk
Date: 22 Jul 04 - 06:34 PM

That may stand as the worst Bob Dylan performance of all time.   Fortunately he's been quite good every time I've seen him.

Subject: RE: Worst Performance I Ever Heard
From: TheBigPinkLad
Date: 22 Jul 04 - 05:22 PM

I don't think people were looking for it. Just the opposite in fact. I have the distiction of being one of the people subjected to Bob Dylan on the Isle of Wight ...

Subject: RE: Worst Performance I Ever Heard
From: Once Famous
Date: 22 Jul 04 - 05:19 PM

How about entertainment that is easy to laugh at?

Subject: RE: Worst Performance I Ever Heard
From: Ed.
Date: 22 Jul 04 - 05:07 PM

What purpose is served by looking for 'the worst' in other people?

Subject: RE: Worst Performance I Ever Heard
From: GUEST,Rodney "Turtle" Schelle
Date: 22 Jul 04 - 04:44 PM

They are farther apart then your ass and yer corn hole Martin Gibson!

Subject: RE: Worst Performance I Ever Heard
From: Bert
Date: 22 Jul 04 - 04:31 PM

If you really want to hear BAD join a songwriter's club.

Subject: RE: Worst Performance I Ever Heard
From: Georgiansilver
Date: 22 Jul 04 - 04:30 PM

Little Hawk.. a chorus of castrated alligators sounds very similar to a chorus of castrated crocodiles..Hope that helps. Be Blessed

Subject: RE: Worst Performance I Ever Heard
From: Once Famous
Date: 22 Jul 04 - 04:22 PM

Hey, Guest Rodney whatever,

How far apart are your eyes?

Subject: RE: Worst Performance I Ever Heard
From: GUEST,Rodney "Turtle" Schelle
Date: 22 Jul 04 - 04:14 PM

As a lifetime member of the Kentucky Playboys I wish to register a protest agaisnt Rabbi-Sol fer tarnshing our repitations! We can sing way better than he can and we can play him right offen the stage any time we wants to! Rabbi-Sol is a feminate fony and he can go stick his head up a skunk's ass as far as we-all are concerned! Silver Wings is a killer song. If Rabbi-Sol could write even half as good a song as Silver Wings I would bend down and kiss his lily white feminate hand but he can't. He couldn't write a good song iffen his life depeneded on it. Folks in Dunmor don't need to hear from you Rabbi!

p.s. We did Silver Wings 9 times! You cain't even count.

Subject: RE: Worst Performance I Ever Heard
From: Big Mick
Date: 22 Jul 04 - 04:01 PM

Bar none, it was Shane McGowan with the Popes at the first US held Guinness Fleadh on Randal's Island in NYC. The man was so drunk and out of it he fell off stage. I am told he soiled himself. I had waited several hours for this and was completely disgusted that he would treat his audience this way.

Mick

Subject: RE: Worst Performance I Ever Heard
From: Little Hawk
Date: 22 Jul 04 - 04:01 PM

Actually, I've always kind of wondered what a castrated alligator's singing would sound like...not to mention a whole chorus of castrated alligators.

Subject: RE: Worst Performance I Ever Heard
From: SINSULL
Date: 22 Jul 04 - 03:42 PM

Sounds as if you behaved pretty badly, Sol. Why not just leave and allow the audience to enjoy themselves?

Subject: RE: Worst Performance I Ever Heard
From: Little Hawk
Date: 22 Jul 04 - 03:42 PM

That sounds just unforgettable, Rabbi! I only wish I had been there to witness it. It sounds like one of those stories Spaw used to make up about Paw and Cletus. Damn shame the movie industry hasn't found those guys. They would be perfect for a musical scene or two in the deep south. Maybe if they did a remake of "Deliverance" they could work those guys into a scene?

The worst performance I ever saw was Kris Kristofferson at the Riverboat in Toronto. He was so hung over that he basically couldn't perform. After several false starts and wretchedly bad attempts at doing his songs he apologized to the audience and said he'd refund everyone's money and pick up the tab and they could come back another night...which he did. I went again on the subsequent night, and he performed just fine.

I've also seen some high school rock bands that were stunningly awful.

Subject: Worst Performance I Ever Heard
From: Rabbi-Sol
Date: 22 Jul 04 - 03:35 PM

I am wondering if some of you can share with us the worst performance you ever heard. Mine took place about 25 years ago in a place called Dunmor, Kentucky at Lake Malone State Park. The name of the group was The Kentucky Playboys who billed themselves as a combination Blugrass & Country Western group. Besides singing completely out of tune & sounding like a bunch of castrated alligators, their instrumentation was completely out of synch with each other. They would forget the words to their songs and have to stop them in the middle. There was only one song that they really knew the words to was called "Silver Wings" and they must have repeated that song at least 8 times during the 3 hour performance. One member of the band was called "the Albino" and another was called "Charlie the Little Indian Boy". There were 3 others who I do not remember and would rather forget. There were 2 guitars, a bass, a banjo,and a fiddle. The audience down there was probably not used to hearing anything better, because they applauded constantly and could not figure out why we were laughing our sides off. SOL ZELLER