I Want My Money Back

[GySgtFTL]

Me either!!


I think sometimes the Venue can dictate whether the concert experience will suck or not. Around here we have a venue called "Riverbend".....Jimmy Buffett plays there every year. This place is terrible! Sure it is a pristine outdoor amphitheater on the Ohio River, but the parking is awful, traffic control is bad (the road leading to it is a 2 way street), it is miles from the city (or anything for that matter), and the sound / view is terrible (especially for folks in the back and on the grass{which is fake grass}). Crowd control isn't the best, either, especially in the grass areas.


People are packed into this venue like cattle.........I refuse to ever attend another concert at Riverbend!!!

I saw Aerosmith there in August, 1988 and also Jethro Tull sometime in either'87 or '88. Both were okay as the weather was good.

 

[Aktivator]

Yikes

First off saw the who that tour a few days after that incident in Philly. It was general adm and yeah got pushed around in the beginning but the show was amazing.

Also saw the reformed king crimson discipline tour. Saw it twice and loved every second.

I have a love/hate relationship with general admin I've been to over 500 of them.

Worst shows
1 meshell Ndegeocello - she same on stage played half a song a cell phone rang the person picked up the call and started talking. Meshell got up and walked out. It was a twin bill but I was there to see her.
2. Tricky- Central Park, part of summer poetry music series. Tricky thought it wa just a poetry reading and he thought it was only 15 minutes. When he was told he was to perform also. he said he wasnt prepared. At least that was free.
3. Fiona apple- roseland, NYC. General adm. After waiting in the perfect spot, Right before fiona takes the stage a girl runs infront of me falls down and throws up. Fiona by the second song is freaking out about the monitors and starts cursing at the mike and starts yelling at the press. After a few more songs she walks off . Actually this one I did get my money back as she made the show up at the beacon theater and you could use your ticket stub for a free ticket (ended up 3rd row center seat). Also met one of my closest friends there that nite .

I've got lots more . led Zep 77 would be another!

 

[Khor1255]

A friend of mine found tickets to Ravi Shenkar. I was psyched. He is my favorite act to play Monterey Pop and that is no small feat. We get there and out on the stage walks a skinnier guy who doesn't even really look like Mr Shenkar. I'm thinking 'are my white devil eyes decieving me into not even being able to recognize one of my favorite string players'.
He goes on to describe a breathing meditation exercise for close to 20 minutes. I spend considerable energy not yelling at him to shut up and play the Sitar. We leave feeling cheated out of our $10.

For $10 I guess I should have known.

 

[Big Ears]

^ Ravi Dhankar seems to have disowned those energetic performances to rock audiences and has said in interviews that he did not like them. I once bought a CD, but it was not very good because although he put his name to it, he did not play, he just compiled tracks by other people. I would still be interested to know of an album which captures the spirit of those sixties festival performances (but I don't want a boxed set of the entire festivals).

 

[Khor1255]

This was a different guy altogether. Apparently the name is rather common in India. He has done a ton of music since then but it seems to me traditional ragas aren't really about riffing around so maybe that's why he was a little embarrassed at playing to western sensibilities. That is a wild guess and I really don't know but you can sort of see him experimenting in that performance much to the surprise (and delight) of his accompanying musicians.