930 Forums
=> GENERAL DISCUSSION => Topic started by: atomicfront on May 28, 2010, 11:05:54 am
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Best and worst shows at new and old club:
Worst at old club:
Replacements (Let it be tour late 84 or early 85) - Most of the songs were unrecognizable. "I will dare" was so bad that I left half way through it. Week later I saw a band playing an electified wash board and electrified accoustic guitar do a perfect version at DC Space
Flipper - Basically them tuning their guitars over and over. And the crowd chanting "6 bucks! 6 Bucks!" - the price of admission
The Fall (1985) - Playing basically all new songs. Throwing their equipment around. Saying everytime they come here the place is always a disaster and saying they would never play the club again. Which turned out to be a lie.
Best at old Club
Jesus and Mary Chain 1985 - First DC show. They were known for putting on bad shows at the time but this one was perfect. With Bobby Gillepsie on drums (primal scream frontman)
Minutemen - I really wasnt into their music but they put on a great show and the crowd was having fun slam dancing even all the girls. Lead singer dude gave me an "US out of central America" bumpersticker.
Worst at new club
Sisters of Mercy - most recent appearance at the club. They sounded awful. There was so much fog you couldn't see the band.
Best at the new Club
Dresden Dolls - this band is great every time I see them.
Pulp
Best at WUST pre- 930 days-
Oasis
Suede/Cranberries
Dead Kenedys
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I will only add that my biggest 930 Club disappointment was heading down to the old club in '86 to see the Replacements and finding out the show had been cancelled because Westerberg had allegedly broken his wrist in NYC a day or 2 earlier as a result of a stage dive. I thought I had later heard that the story was complete bullshit. Either way.....I never ended up seeing the original line-up.
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This gives me another chance to tell my "worst show at the club ever" story.
Around 1997, a buddy of mine got tickets to the 930 edition of the "MGD Blind Date" shows that were going on at the time where you'd get to see some huge act play in a small venue. There were all sorts of rumors as to who it was going to be from Smashing Pumpkins to Foo Fighters to the Stones (who were just getting ready to start a tour).
We sat through some opener and the DJ from DC101 comes out and says "Get ready DC! Here they are! Seven Mary Three!!!!" Ugh. We left after 2 or 3 songs - at least it was free.
To this day I still believe there was a real headliner who backed out at the last second and they scrounged up these guys as a replacement. No one from the club has ever confirmed it of course.
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I haven't lived here very long (since 2005), but here are mine:
Best - Iggy and the Stooges, hands down.
Worst - The Patterson Hoodless Drive-By Truckers (Opening band played for over 90 minutes, putting the show way off schedule, then the Truckers were a train wreck that night).
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Wow, great thread.
Worst old club:
It wasn't the worst show I've ever seen, but the The Orb played and I think it was one of the times where they could have benefitted from a bigger venue. It was claustrophic and you couldn't see a thing.
Best old club:
The Jesus Lizard
Honorable Mentions:
Teenage Fanclub w/Yo La Tengo, Helmet w/Jawbox, Charlatans UK, Carter U.S.M.
Most Memorable:
Paw...they set their drums on fire and Grant (or was it Peter?) Fitch would put his guitar down to crowd surf. It was insane. Same thing with Pop Will Eat Itself. It was like the club turned into a giant blender of bodies, sweat, and beer.
Worst new club:
Zero 7 (from about 4 years ago...that sucked beyond words)
Best new club:
Social D (November 2001)
I've seen some great shows, but Mike Ness was in top form this night. It just stands out as being one of those incredible evenings that I'll never forget.
Honorable mentions:
the Chemical Brothers, Kraftwerk, Face to Face, Foo Fighters w/Supergrass, Elliott Smith, Catherine Wheel, PJ Harvey, Air, Queens of the Stone Age, Echo & the Bunnymen, Dismemberment Plan w/Death Cab, Bob Mould, X, Belle & Sebastian, Peaches, Fischerspooner
Most Memorable:
Aphex Twin...bar none
Pre-9:30 Club (when it was WUST):
Stone Roses, Smashing Pumpkins w/Swervedriver
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worse:
- stereolab - 2006? i had really high expectations for the show, and it just blew. sound was bad, band lacked energy.
- zero 7: great show, except when Sia took the stage. she killed it for me.
i'm sure i'm forgetting some.
best:
i've been to a LOT of shows over the past 5 years, and many have been awesome, but i think iggy and the stooges in 2007 stands out as the most mind-blowing.
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Most Memorable:
Paw...they set their drums on fire and Grant (or was it Peter?) Fitch would put his guitar down to crowd surf. It was insane. Same thing with Pop Will Eat Itself. It was like the club turned into a giant blender of bodies, sweat, and beer.
What year was Pop will eat itself. I remember going to a show that was supposed to be Pop will eat itself/Gaye Bykers on Acid. But PWEI cancelled so ended up heading home.
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Best at old club - Bad Brains
Worst at old club...having a hard time on this one.
Best at new club - Stooges, Nick Cave, Spirtualized. Every time they've ever played for the latter 2.
Worst at new club - Bad Brains.
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I only went to the new club, but the worst show was The National. Maybe I just wasn't into it....which I wasnt, but it seemed like the crowd was staring at a painting. Such a painful show to suffer through. It should have been seated because there was nothing else to do but stare at that boring god damn band.
Best show? I loved the last YYYs show, QOTSA in 2005 was amazing, Justice in 2008 was amazing, The Raconteurs on both nights were absolutely amazing, The Presets and Cut/Copy was a great show. I cant think of more, but Ive had amazing times at 930. The new one.
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The Vines at new club (do I recall the right band name? I always forget...Redsock was there he may recall...there was a thread about worst at new club a couple of years ago. Many of us listed them.)
They either opened for someone or it was a triple bill. Nothing to do w/ the club or sound, the band just plain sucked that night.
I think the most hilarious is Ryan Adams' RNR show. You'll just have to ask someone on Monday.
JSBX on NYE w/ Cibo Matto (and Jesus Lizard, right?) was my first and one of my favorites at the new club - great performances and a fun night. '97
(I would like the framed commemorative poster willed to me, please, Seth.;))
I am also partial to the Dylan show at the new club - intimate space to hear him, everyone was so excited too.
My one and only show at the old 930 was Dillon Fence. But, somehow, in one night, I remember everything. (the pole, the phone booth - there was one right? Noticed the smell...and somehow can still remember, even if you only think of it. I know I sat on some car seats, unless I'm making this up. I was, uh, young that night. So fun.)
Despite them being somewhat Top 40 [now], Snow Patrol's first show (at new), was great. Lots of forumites were there and maybe about 65 people total? Blew a speaker and just put on a great rock show.
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The Verve in July 95 at the old club was amazing. I actually stumbled on a real rough recording of that show and it confirmed what an amazing night it was
Somehow got roped into seeing The Dude of Life a year or two later and it was by far the worst
As for the new one, the ones that stand out are Guided By Voices when Universal Cycles came out, the Datsuns for rocking a ~100-head crowd like it was Giants Stadium, Doves w/ Strokes opening, and Secret Machines after their second album.
I think Spoon might be the worst I've seen at the new one. Was almost loony at how boring they were.
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I only went to the new club, but the worst show was The National.
yeah, that was another dismal show. i spent it with brennser wondering how a band who gave us such brilliant albums could be so boring on stage.
oh, i got another one: the arctic monkeys blew chunks. y'all know me, i'm a concert addict. the arctic monkeys are the first band, ever, to make me say "i'd never go see them again". they somehow managed to be both pretentious and boring. if you're going to throw around that much attitude, you better have the performance to back it up. they didn't.
if we're going to throw out honorable mentions, how about: polyphonic spree, pink (yes, seriously), EITS, hot chip (all three shows), zz top, ben gibbard acoustic.
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:) Thanks 930 for our modify button.
Monkey and kitten, sweetie for you: (http://www.hemmy.net/images/animals/animalfriendship05.jpg)
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The best shows I have seen at the new club (I was a wee child in Louisiana for the old clubs run):
Polyphonic Spree for the Fragile Army tour (simply magical)
Low for Drums and Guns tour (small crowd, awesome sound and vibe)
Scissor Sisters for Ta Dah tour (just a whole lot of fun)
There are a bunch more, but those are the top three that jump out to me.
As for worst, I cant really think of any that were horrible.
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yeah, i caught that as soon as i hit "post" :)
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I had forgotten about the Bad Brains shows from election night in '08 until someone mentioned it. That is definitely the worst show for me.
HR didn't seem to even exist in the same time/space continuum as the band or anyone else.
I agree that Nick Cave and Spiritualized are contenders for best show.
Another one that sticks out for me as one of the best is the first of the recent Pogues tours in March of '06. It was the first date of their US tour, so the first US show with Shane in 18 years, and it was a late show and the band came on at midnight or 1 AM.
The "Fairytale of New York" encore with Shane waltzing with the woman he duetted with while fake snow fell from the ceiling is a moment I will never forget.
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Best at new location: Iggy and the Stooges or Arcade Fire (It looks silly to even type that, but that Arcade Fire show was really perfect. Maybe I was just really into it, so it could have just been perfect timing.)
Worst at new location: Kevin Drew with Broken Social Scene -
It might have been a decent show, but I didn't enjoy it at all.
Best on F St. - Feelies in 86, I guess? The Good Earth tour. One of my all-time favorite shows
Worst on F St. - Let's Active and Salem 66. I wanted to like it, but not much fun. Still love "Every Word Means No", though.
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Worst at new location: Kevin Drew with Broken Social Scene -
It might have been a decent show, but I didn't enjoy it at all.
Worst on F St. - Let's Active and Salem 66. I wanted to like it, but not much fun. Still love "Every Word Means No", though.
I was at the Let's Active and Salem 66 show and loved Let's Active's set.
Broken Social Scene at Merriweather with Belle and Sebastian was amazing. But the new shows without the girls are pretty awful
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Worst at new location: Kevin Drew with Broken Social Scene -
It might have been a decent show, but I didn't enjoy it at all.
Worst on F St. - Let's Active and Salem 66. I wanted to like it, but not much fun. Still love "Every Word Means No", though.
Maybe it was just me, on both counts for worst shows. I am usually a pretty easy mark live if I like the band on disc (or vinyl, as it were).
I was at the Let's Active and Salem 66 show and loved Let's Active's set.
Broken Social Scene at Merriweather with Belle and Sebastian was amazing. But the new shows without the girls are pretty awful
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I only went to the new club, but the worst show was The National.
oh, i got another one: the arctic monkeys blew chunks. y'all know me, i'm a concert addict. the arctic monkeys are the first band, ever, to make me say "i'd never go see them again". they somehow managed to be both pretentious and boring. if you're going to throw around that much attitude, you better have the performance to back it up. they didn't.
When did you see them? I've seen them 3 times, and I was never really taken aback by them they sort of just performed their songs and said shit in their indecipherable accents. But the last show the did at 930 was monstrous, they actually rocked.
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I thought the first Arctic Monkey show was great, right after the debut came out. More than anything, I thought they sounded amazing. Saw them again after the second album came out and thought it was pretty blah. The end.
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Anyone see The Prodigy last year? Now that show was awesome ;D
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Old Club
Best: Fugazi 1/3/91 . . . right band, right time, right place, great show
Worst: random 3 Bands for 3 Bucks . . .still a good time
New Club
Best: Its a cop out answer, but in general 2001 stands out . . . Guided By Voices, Spiritualized, Fugazi, Joe Strummer, The Strokes, Sigur Ros, Built to Spill, Richard Ashcroft, BRMC . . .whoever I'm forgetting
Worst: The Vines 2002 . . .gave Asberger's a bad name!
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Weird, I didn't think that Vines show was too bad. Seem to remember the opener being good but can't remember who it was.
The first Polyphonic show at the club was amazing.
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Id rather see flipper tune their guitars for 6 dollars then half the shit mentioned in this thread
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When did you see them? I've seen them 3 times, and I was never really taken aback by them they sort of just performed their songs and said shit in their indecipherable accents. But the last show the did at 930 was monstrous, they actually rocked.
just went through the stub collection: it was may'07, so just after the second album.
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Best at the old club was Jeff Buckley
Worst at the old club was LUscious Jackson for bitching me out from the bandstand
Best at the new club is too tough but the most important show I saw at the new club- for a variety of reasons- was Johnny Cash
Worst at the new club...shit I just don't remember. Gwar wasn't my bag but I wouldn't say it was bad...Now its coming back to me: TOSCA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! What a disappointment...ALso Jeff Tweedy was a blathering mess...
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Worst: The Vines 2002 . . .gave Asberger's a bad name!
Yes! - that's what she said!
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Never got to see a show at the old club.
New Club
Best: Iggy and the Stooges, The Cramps, Sonic Youth last year, Sleater-Kinney's last DC show (until they reunite), and X
Worst: Guttermouth, Bad Brains Election Night 2008
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Old Club
Best: King's X in summer '91 when they were musically at the top of their game touring on their 3rd album (which was the last one worth a shit) with then 16 year old guitar prodigy Eric Gales opening.
Worst: C.O.C. Summer '90? Went to see Mind Over Four but stuck around for C.O.C. this was the time period between them playing hardcore and going full on lame buttrocker, the first 2-3 minutes sounded like a huge distorted fart and I said fuck this and split.
New Club
Best: The Stooges by a mile.
Worst: Bad Brains election day show by even more than that.
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Best at F St Location: Jane's Addiction 12/15/88
Worst at F St: Counting Crows 1/19/94
Best at V St location: Tie: Radiohead / Teenage Fanclub 8/12/97
Bryan Ferry Orchestra 11/3/99
Worst at V St: Sugar Ray 7/30/97
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I also haven't been visiting the club as long as some of you folk.
BEST: Cat Power (Feb. 2009) or Spiritualized (July 2008). I know the Cat Power show caught a lot of flack on here, but I was up close enough to see everything, and I thought the dark atmosphere lent a lot to an ethereal quality. Chan sounded awesome and I'm a big fan of the Jukebox-era persona. "The Moon" and "Ramblin' (Wo)man" blew me away.
WORST: I don't know if I have one. I didn't really want to see Hanson in 2007 (my wife dragged me there), but they sounded fine. Helmet sounded pretty bad in 2004 but that's no surprise. BRMC was too damn loud last month. Squeeze last year was just OK.
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Easy. Worst: Dave Navarro played a solo concert in 2001. He was on stage for about 30 minutes straining to remain in key when finally he announced "Guys, I just don't have it tonight" and walked off stage. End of show.
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Best new club:
Social D (November 2001)
I've seen some great shows, but Mike Ness was in top form this night. It just stands out as being one of those incredible evenings that I'll never forget.
Agreed. I was dating a crazy girl at that period of my life and she walked out of that show with my jacket, keys, wallet and phone, but I DIDN'T CARE ONE BIT.
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I recall for some of you Badly Drawn Boy was the worst show at the new club...? I'm trying to recall...
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Weird, I didn't think that Vines show was too bad. Seem to remember the opener being good but can't remember who it was.
I thought it was The Vines who opened for someone else, but now I think, was it Jet who opened for The Vines?
*edit* just looked it up - yep, Jet opened for Vines (in 2004, anyway). Those f'ers smoked a carton of cigarettes in about five minutes in the upstairs bar after their set, while acting aloof to the ladies who approached them. Damn annoying night overall.
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Tied for worst show I saw at the new club: Happy Mondays and Tragically Hip (both last year)
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Best at F St Location: Jane's Addiction 12/15/88
Worst at F St: Counting Crows 1/19/94
Best at V St location: Tie: Radiohead / Teenage Fanclub 8/12/97
Bryan Ferry Orchestra 11/3/99
Worst at V St: Sugar Ray 7/30/97
Saw Janes at that show, it was a great one. Not sure if it was the best though, but then again I never caught a bad show at the old club.
Think that the best at the old club might have been the Orb. Live drummer and bassist, triphonic (the mono house PA and the stereo back speakers). Otherwise, maybe Husker Du when Bob looked at the video woman all night, or the many Butthole Surfers shows.
New club? Worst is easy. Dispatch. The advantage of working occasionally you see bands you otherwise would miss. THese guys at the time were a MySpace sensation, and they didn't have the chops to pull it off live. THey flubbed notes left and right, no continuity, just bad.
Best, gack so many, the last Spiritualized (HE SMASHED HIS GUITAR!!!!), Sigur Ros (THe drummer is the secret weapon), Love and Rockets, or the Chemical Brothers (Just wow).
More too, but if I said them all I would be here all night.
Crap, Superdrag when GUided couldn't make it, they were amazing.
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Tied for worst show I saw at the new club: Happy Mondays and Tragically Hip (both last year)
I guess that I was so willing to give the Happy Mondays a ton of extra rope that I was still quite happy. One friend puts it top 10.
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I recall for some of you Badly Drawn Boy was the worst show at the new club...? I'm trying to recall...
I saw Badly Drawn Boy at the new club but it wasn't terrible. Just ok. I think I did leave before the end of the set.
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beck was dissapointing....l and r were great as were the warhols openin for them
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I was way too young for the old club.
Best current club show: The Cramps with Shortstack and the Gore Gore Girls fall 2004
Worst: Adema w/ Powerman 5000 and Spineshank summer 2003
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I was way too young for the old club.
Best current club show: The Cramps with Shortstack and the Gore Gore Girls fall 2004
Was that with all the big circles hanging from the ceiling from the early show with Nancy Sinatra or a different time?
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I cannot remember that detail. Maybe. It was the only time I saw The Cramps and I think it was actually the last time they ever played DC.
I do remember Lux raving about how DC has the best crack (while his upper lip looked burnt brown) and Poison Ivy looked pissed off. Great show!
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I cannot remember that detail. Maybe. It was the only time I saw The Cramps and I think it was actually the last time they ever played DC.
I do remember Lux raving about how DC has the best crack (while his upper lip looked burnt brown) and Poison Ivy looked pissed off. Great show!
I remember that show. Lux was chugging on a Merlot the whole night. He still remains in my top 5 greatest frontmen I've ever seen. That was indeed the last time they ever played DC. What a great show.
And that was not the show following Nancy Sinatra. I remember because I was pissed I had to miss that late show. Luckily, they came back and I got to see them.
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i have a new worse show at the club: passion pit last night. i bought tickets for someone who bailed on me, but i thought to myself "they're paid for so i might as well go check out the show". i want my evening back. tokyo police club were alright. passion pit oscillated between boring and awful. i cannot understand how that crowd was so in to them. the encore was executed horribly: they unsuccessfully communicated that they were leaving the stage, the crowd didn't know what was going on so they didn't really start cheering for them to come back, and they returned a minute later to only a small uptick in crowd appreciation. ENCORE FAIL. i lasted until the encore only because of my crackberry: in a bout of optimism, i told myself it had to get better so i caught up on e-mail. the minute of (relative) silence brought back to my surroundings, at which point i realized i should have left 2 minutes into the 50-minute main set.
one good thing i will say about the show was that the crowd was possibly the most attractive one i've ever seen at the club. lots of cuties in sundresses, shorts, tight tank-tops, etc. almost like being on a college campus. didn't make up for the performance on stage tho.
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