It’s the comeback tour millions of fans were waiting for.
But Whitney Houston’s latest concerts have far from lived up to the hype, and some fans, who paid up to $200 for the privilege of being able to see the diva perform in Australia, have been left angry and disappointed by what they describe as the “worst concerts ever”.
““She couldn’t entertain a dead rat to be honest,” was the verdict of one concert-goer after the first lacklustre show in Brisbane. And the reception for her second concert in Sydney wasn’t much better… People who attended said Whitney struggled to hit the high notes in performances of her biggest hits, including ‘I Will Always Love You’.
But not everyone shares such a scathing view of the performances. Whitney Houston’s publicist insists the tour is “going great”.
Have you ever been let down by a gig? We on the World Today team have been comparing our own most disappointing experiences: there was the time that David witnessed a worse-for-wear Nina Simone at Ronnie Scott’s. Mike’s worst experience was when he went to see Air — two blokes sitting behind a keyboard for 45 minutes couldn’t quite hold his attention! I (Emma) saw Cat Power in London a few years ago – she was known then for suffering from severe stage fright. She couldn’t complete any of her songs properly and, when she went over her allotted concert time, muzak was played loudly over the speakers to try and force her off the stage… truly humiliating! So, what’s the worst concert you’ve ever been to? Let us know and tune in to the World Today on Sunday from 0700-0900 GMT for more cringeworthy concert stories!
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I saw a triple ticket at Pine Knob outdoor venue in Suburban Detroit a few years back. Bootsie Collins was playing bass with the New Vanilla Fudge and they were fantastic. Ray Manzarek took the stage by himself (no DOORS) and played electric piano and told some short stories from the good old days and was thoroughly entertaining. Then came the “Big Act” of the show – Jefferson Starship were on last. You sort of expect with that many musicians on stage it might take a song or so to get the mix just right but it just got worse and worse. Diane Mangano was so frustrated she nearly broke her foot trying to kick a slant monitor over the edge of the stage or at least make it stop squealing in her ears. Finally the band stopped playing and the audiance was treated to a ten minute tirade of verbal abuse directed at the sound operator. We sure didn’t have any problems hearing that but it certainly wasn’t what we paid for. I thought back to having heard the beautiful, talented, humble Nana Mouskouri and her Flechette girls live many years back and came to the conclusion that what passes for entertainment sure has gone straight to hell in the intervening time and even at 75 and now retired her voice is far better than 98 percent of anything I’m currently hearing on the radio and it’s a damn shame we can no longer enjoy her live..
when Belinda Carlisle had a gig locally I’d heard a couple of her singles so I thought she would be good but listening to a single with all the tricks the mixers can do and listening to her live,you would think it was two different people
May be, her concerted future efforts will get you a better concert; but, you may have to pay more. There’s always a next time to have good time; but don’t rue, if you still don’t happen to have a good deal, and also lament that Whitney had a good time and last laugh at your cost !!!
Worst concert ever: when you pay $170 each for The Police in MSG, NYC, but it happens to be Halloween and not only are they dressed as clowns but, they rattle off the playlist like it were a list of names, AND the audience behaves like pigs. Making a quick buck’s all they were, a total disgrace for some of the world’s top musicians.
Does theses count? One was trying to get into Ronnie Scott’s. For non-members, the cover was 50 quid. For members, 5. I don’t think so.
The second time was the Blue Note in Tokyo. David Sanborn. Sounds great. Tickets were 17,000 yen (roughly US$170). Sanborn’s cool. But NOBODY’s worth $170. or above. Including Whitney.
There are way too many too mentioned….(with-holding names) But, saw the Whitney video that was provided and, its’ seems it was a horrible concert.
(Dennis Junior)
Monsters of Rock, when I was a teenager. Definitely did not live up to the hype.
Leo Kotke and Jesse Colin Young at the Hult Center in Eugene, Oregon. Kotke opened the show and was clearly drunk. Young was the headliner, but when the curtain opened it was just him with a guitar and one guy on a keyboard sounding like a lounge act. Most of the audience got up and walked out en masse.
Dire Straits, Halifax , Nova Scotia, Canada.
Over policed, no alcohol and the band was bored. It was a church outing. Now sit down and listen children, behave and give us your money. Have fun?