Anybody been to a bad show?

[John Cash's Suitcase]

Just curious. Not everybody can be 100% all the time. I'm kinda new here, so if this is verboten, do what you gotta do. I post on a stupid auto board that is too thin-skinned to accept any real or imagined criticism. DBT is a fantastic band, but they have had to have some klinkers over the years. Heck, I fail about half the time I'm on my feet, and more when prone!

I've only been to a handful of shows, and all have been great. But I was checking out some YouTube clips and stumbled across a version of one of my favorite songs that was pretty damn sloppy. Bad sound, bad lighting, bad timing and perhaps a little too much Jack D. Of course, hand-held cell phone crap should not ever be considered, but this looked like a real professional shoot. Maybe just an off night?

Anybody been to a "bad" show? Anybody willing to talk about it?

[Clams]

Billy Joel circa 2005.

[Cole Younger]

I personally have never seen anything close to a bad show from the Truckers. Even the show the night after Craig died and I would have more than understood if they had been off their game that night. But they weren't.

There was this one show that took place in Cleveland back in the day. I think they had been grinding the gears pretty hard. Cooley was mad at Patterson about something and tried to hit Him with his guitar during the show. But he was so drunk that he missed and hit the stage and broke the stage. They had to fix the stage during the show. Lol. But don't even know if that could be called a bad show. Sounds pretty entertaining to me. Rock and roll.

[Rocky]

I have seen shows where the guys in the band were probably too drunk and it showed a couple of times but they still kicked ass!

No, I have never seen a bad Truckers show. They bring it all the time. That's one of the reasons I'm such a fan. For 30 fucking dollars the value to rock equation is off the charts.

[Tequila Cowboy]

I personally have never seen anything close to a bad show from the Truckers. Even the show the night after Craig died and I would have more than understood if they had been off their game that night. But they weren't.

There was this one show that took place in Cleveland back in the day. I think they had been grinding the gears pretty hard. Cooley was mad at Patterson about something and tried to hit Him with his guitar during the show. But he was so drunk that he missed and hit the stage and broke the stage. They had to fix the stage during the show. Lol. But don't even know if that could be called a bad show. Sounds pretty entertaining to me. Rock and roll.

That show, the night after Craig passed, is what I would point out as showing both how human and how professional this band is. I could barely think that night and yet they played, and played well. Have there been nights where they might have been a bit off? Yes, that makes them human beings. A bad show? I haven't seen one.

[Zip City]

No bad Truckers shows.

If you put this same topic in "Other Music" and opened it up to all bands, I bet we would have some pretty good stories

[Iowan]

I've never truly seen a bad show, and I've never seen a Truckers show being beneath "pretty good", but I've seen a range in Trucker shows that I didn't really appreciate until after the fact.

My first show was on the original TDU tour, and 2 of the 3 Matt Patton era shows (Dubuque IA in October 2013 and Minneapolis in March 2014) were the best I've seen from DBT, and about anybody for that matter. In hindsight, there was some bloat and tiredness creeping into the latter GGB/TBTD tours that I didn't feel at the time, but seems evident when comparing the Patton era shows to them.

[Cole Younger]

No bad Truckers shows.

If you put this same topic in "Other Music" and opened it up to all bands, I bet we would have some pretty good stories

Agreed. I'll start. David Alan Coe. All three times that I've seen him. What can I say, I'm stubborn. I will not go see him again no matter how cheap it is. Every time I've seen him he was so out of his mind that it was like he didn't even realize there was an audience in the room.

I've seen Bocephus three times. The first two were among the best shows I've ever seen. The third was pretty bad. He clearly was not into it and just went through the motions. I would have preferred that he had just walked out on stage and said, "I don't want to waste y'all's time. I don't feel like playing. I'm goin fishin. Sorry."

[jimmyjack]

"Pretty good" DBT show >>> almost every other band's best show of the tour

Only time I saw a little bit of the bad wood underneath the veneer was right before Shonna left the band. The set was great, everything was awesome, but Shonna seemed lost in her own world (all the more noticeable because Shonna usually smiled and rocked out through the entire set). Not to be "that guy, but I remember telling my wife that it looked like trouble was brewing. That said, I must reiterate - it was still a great show. But of the 21 I've seen, it was the only one I recall as having been anything less than perfect.

[Tequila Cowboy]

No bad Truckers shows.

If you put this same topic in "Other Music" and opened it up to all bands, I bet we would have some pretty good stories

Except that I would throw that back and say I never saw a bad Replacements show either even though some would argue with me if they had been to the same 15-20 or so shows I was back in the day. The ones some would call bad I would call be human as well. The bad Rock & Roll shows I've ever seen have been by performers who either didn't give a shit about themselves or their audience or usually both. The 'Mats once in a while fell into the latter category but the brilliance at other times more than made up for it.

[rlipps]

Blue Cats in Knoxville on 9/8/04. The show as late getting started, band just seemed a little off and encore was cut very short after some douche threw a beer on stage and it splashed up and hit Patterson. Wasn't a terrible show, but I kinda regretted driving 2 hours on a work night after it was over. Flash forward to the following night in Louisville and the band was unbelievable. Still the best DBT I've ever been to, been looking for a recording for over a decade to no avail.

[jimmyjack]

Blue Cats in Knoxville on 9/8/04. The show as late getting started, band just seemed a little off and encore was cut very short after some douche threw a beer on stage and it splashed up and hit Patterson. Wasn't a terrible show, but I kinda regretted driving 2 hours on a work night after it was over. Flash forward to the following night in Louisville and the band was unbelievable. Still the best DBT I've ever been to, been looking for a recording for over a decade to no avail.

Ha, so funny you were at that Knoxville show--I was there, too! That was my third (possibly fourth?) Rock Show. I remember the beer getting thrown and I remember Patterson grabbing the empty can from the asshole that threw it and tossing it onstage behind him. I don't remember it being a lackluster show at all, though. It was the day before my 26th birthday and my then-wife and I met the band afterward. Patterson signed her poster "Good luck down south" (we had just moved to Knoxville the week before). Great memory.

[Duke Silver]

I've seen them 6 or 7 times and have yet to catch them on an off night. Every show has been memorable, some more than others. The least memorable from a musical standpoint was probably when they played with the Felice Brothers in Milwaukee back in 2007 or 2008. We got there late and had to sit in back, under the balcony. Sound was muffled, sight line sucked, and I spent most of the show worrying that Dangerously Drunk, Arm-Swinging Guy in front of us was going to accidentally punch the pregnant lady behind him. Then we drove back to Madison in a blizzard.

edit: I should clarify that when I say "least memorable from a musical standpoint" I'm not disparaging the band. Just saying our seats sucked and I was distracted by other shit, plus the acoustics under the balcony sucked.

[Howlinwolf]

I've seen the Truckers numerous times and I can not ever recall them having an off night or just not giving it all they have.
The only so-called "bad shows" for me are the ones where I have been thown out of clubs, tossed out for fighting and or getting sick from to much booze.

[brett27295]

I've only seen them 24 times but I've never been disappointed. I've seen shows that weren't as good as others, but never something close to "bad". Of all the bands I've seen multiple times DBT and Lee Bains III & The Glory Fires are the only two that consistently put on out-of-this-world outstanding performances.

[Eyes Above It]

Ive seen a couple shows that were mind blowing, some that were really good, and others that were just ok. Never seen a bad one though.

Cleveland in October 2012 was one show that stands out as being kinda meh for me. I thought Cooley looked/sounded tired and you could tell Neff was nearing the end of his rope. Nobody seemed like they wanted to be there except Patterson who did his best to save the show, but overall it was the weakest performance I've seen them do.

Saw a show in August 2009 in Charlotte that was ruined, not by the bands performance but by the drunks standing around me. Made the mistake of bringing my pregnant wife with me that night, and sadly she hasnt been back to the rock show since. Lessons learned I suppose.

[Beaverdam]

I haven't been to as many DBT shows as a lot of you, but I can't recall a bad show, of course some are better than others. Maybe a really long-term fan could answer this question. Perhaps there were some bad shows when the band was morphing from the shell of Adams House Cat to DBT. I'm not sure. Interesting that this discussion cropped up. Last night I was talking with my father-in-law about a rumor that the Stones might play a local music festival (Locken', where DBT, Tom Petty, and the Allman Brothers played last year). My father-in-law who's seen many shows, some in decades in which I was not conceived, said something to the effect of, "Once you've seen DBT, you don't even need to see the Stones!"

[chickenwingpuke]

I have never seen a bad DBT show.

I saw Bob Dylan once, in Blacksburg, VA. That show just downright sucked.

And I've never seen an ugly woman, but I've seen a few who come pretty darn close.

[Tyler]

Perhaps there were some bad shows when the band was morphing from the shell of Adams House Cat to DBT.

It wasn't reallly a morph. AHC broke up in '91, then there was a several year gap.

[Kudzu Guillotine]

Can't say that I've ever seen a bad show myself but when I saw them at the House of Blues in Myrtle Beach right after Jason left, they did seem to a bit off their game. Understandable considering the circumstances. Patty Hurst Shifter, who opened, brought it like nobody's business that night.

[John A Arkansawyer]

The two shows I saw at Tipitina's over Labor Day weekend weren't up to par, in my opinion. Possibly that had to do with Patterson's hand being fucked up. Not bad shows and I'm glad I went, but probably my least favorites of the ones I've seen and have opinions about. There are a few I can't judge, like the night I stood outside a Fayetteville show I couldn't get tickets for, or the time I got to Tulsa not long before the end of the full set, or the Los Angeles show which was in Los Angeles at the end of a long strange trip. Those? Who knows. I sure don't.

[Beebs]

Echoing the consensus:

Some better than others but never an off night. I usually see DBT size bands on a thursday or Sunday do to where I live in relation to bigger markets that get them of Friday and Saturday.

Maybe twice when the band energy doesn't seem quite so ass kicking I've had a little suspicion that they are resting up for or worn out from a bigger show. But the lotion still lands squarely in the basket.

[one belt loop]

I personally have never seen anything close to a bad show from the Truckers. Even the show the night after Craig died and I would have more than understood if they had been off their game that night. But they weren't.

That show, the night after Craig passed, is what I would point out as showing both how human and how professional this band is. I could barely think that night and yet they played, and played well. Have there been nights where they might have been a bit off? Yes, that makes them human beings. A bad show? I haven't seen one.

The fact that they had show at all is the professionalism. What they did with the show....that was art. And therapy. And art therapy. They channeled their grief into one of the most powerful performances I have seen by anyone ever, anywhere.

[phungi]

I saw them once in Athens, it may have been Feb 12, 2015, and they played for only about 2 solid hours, with only a 2-song encore. Patterson kept rambling and telling stories about the songs, and they got into some political debate about who was the biggest cocksucker in Alabama... They played some really old songs instead of those on the new album and Cooley even gave a big "fuck you" to people who negatively rate shows on web sites... people were drunk, smoking, singing every word of every song at the top of their voices...

given that every minute was fucking awesome, I would say that this was about as bad as it gets...

wait, I do recall seeing Billy Joel back in the 90's and it was nothing like this... that show REALLY sucked...

[Rocky]

Last night I was talking with my father-in-law about a rumor that the Stones might play a local music festival (Locken', where DBT, Tom Petty, and the Allman Brothers played last year). My father-in-law who's seen many shows, some in decades in which I was not conceived, said something to the effect of, "Once you've seen DBT, you don't even need to see the Stones!"

Next time you talk to your father-in-law tell him some one he doesn't know on the internet said he was a cool muther fucker. (Edit language if needed.)

I seriously doubt The Rolling Stones are playing in Arrington, Virginia. (Although they have played in Charlottesville so who knows?) I have my tix already so I hope it does happen.

Cheers.

[brett27295]

DBT releated: I once saw a bad Jason Isbell show. It was the fall of 2011 at the Grey Eagle in Asheville. Jason just seemed angry and tired. He stopped the show mid-song several times, including two times during Decoration Day because people were filming him. I didn't have a problem with this as it was well known that Jason wasn't allowing taping or videoing his shows at this time. What made the show bad in my opinion was Jason was clearly going through the motions, the show was fairly short, and he seemed to be in a really shitty mood. In retrospect this was right before he went into rehab so it's certainly possible he was dealing with some issues. I've seen him 6-7 other times and they were all fantastic shows so his track record is pretty damn good.

[Iowan]

DBT releated: I once saw a bad Jason Isbell show. It was the fall of 2011 at the Grey Eagle in Asheville. Jason just seemed angry and tired. He stopped the show mid-song several times, including two times during Decoration Day because people were filming him. I didn't have a problem with this as it was well known that Jason wasn't allowing taping or videoing his shows at this time. What made the show bad in my opinion was Jason was clearly going through the motions, the show was fairly short, and he seemed to be in a really shitty mood. In retrospect this was right before he went into rehab so it's certainly possible he was dealing with some issues. I've seen him 6-7 other times and they were all fantastic shows so his track record is pretty damn good.

I saw him a couple months before the show you're talking about, and honestly thought it was the best show I've seen him do. I've seen him a couple times following "Southeastern", and he seemed to improvise much less and stick to the same songs in both shows. Really, really competent/moving performances, but just a very different experience and it makes me unlikely to go see him until after the next album.

[Barely_Oakely]

DBT releated: I once saw a bad Jason Isbell show. It was the fall of 2011 at the Grey Eagle in Asheville. Jason just seemed angry and tired. He stopped the show mid-song several times, including two times during Decoration Day because people were filming him. I didn't have a problem with this as it was well known that Jason wasn't allowing taping or videoing his shows at this time. What made the show bad in my opinion was Jason was clearly going through the motions, the show was fairly short, and he seemed to be in a really shitty mood. In retrospect this was right before he went into rehab so it's certainly possible he was dealing with some issues. I've seen him 6-7 other times and they were all fantastic shows so his track record is pretty damn good.

I saw him a couple months before the show you're talking about, and honestly thought it was the best show I've seen him do. I've seen him a couple times following "Southeastern", and he seemed to improvise much less and stick to the same songs in both shows. Really, really competent/moving performances, but just a very different experience and it makes me unlikely to go see him until after the next album.

Agreed, the lack of variety kinda kills it for me. I've traveled hundreds of miles to catch DBT two nights in a row in different towns because you know the show will be different each night but with Jason's shows these days it's sorta like once you've seen it you're good.

Can't think of a DBT show that I was disappointed with. I saw them at the Minneapolis Basilica Block Party once and it wasn't exactly inspiring, but my complaints had more to do with how outdoor shows with many acts are run rather than with how the band performed.

[tinnitus photography]

Billy Joel circa <date not important>.

ftfy

[brett27295]

I saw him a couple months before the show you're talking about, and honestly thought it was the best show I've seen him do. I've seen him a couple times following "Southeastern", and he seemed to improvise much less and stick to the same songs in both shows. Really, really competent/moving performances, but just a very different experience and it makes me unlikely to go see him until after the next album.

The best Isbell shows I ever saw was when Browan was in the band & when they were still passing the Jack Daniels around. The reason we even traveled to Asheville to see him again was because the 4 shows we'd seen previously were just utterly fantastic. The Grey Eagle was just a bad night. I'm glad he's clean, healthy, & happy but I miss those old days when he was playing dirty rock n' roll shows while slugging whiskey. For me the shows haven't been the same since he put the Jack Daniels down & picked up the acoustic. But I'm just being selfish, things are a million times better for him now.