ON THE MARK.

NY IS PISSING OFF A LOT OF PEOPLE.

And I don't mean the NY Yankees either.  I'm still on the Neil Young kick.
Just to prove that I wasn't the only upset concert goer the other night, here are some recent reviews of NY shows.

"In typical fashion, Young, who wore old boots and jeans that made it look like he was dressed to work in the factory, didn’t cater to his fans."

"To all you burned out TRUE NY fans....your losers...that was the worst concert I've ever seen. NY is full of himself.  The show was horrible. I was in the 13th row and almost everyone was sitting there bored out of their minds."

"Dudes, I have followed Young for many years and must now say this was one of the all time worst concerts ever seen by me. Self indulgent is he and will never respect those who know him or follow him."

"How about Ohio, Sugar Mountain, Razor love, something off of Harvest Moon. NY is a bitch. I want my money back!!!!! Talk about arrogant!!! There's 3 hours of my life I'll never get back."

So, keeping with the spirit of things, I now present the 5 WORST concerts I ever attended.

5.  Jefferson Starship, J. Geils Band, Gentle Giant.   Maple Leaf Gardens 1975.   I wanted to hear GG's "The Power and the Glory" and all I got was a hoarse Grace Slick trying to muster up enough chutzpah to sing "White Rabbit".  The sound was horrible and the guy behind me barfed on my coat.  Disaster.

4. Spirit. The El Mocambo Toronto.  1977.  Lead singer Randy California smacked his head on a low beam and knocked himself out 4 songs into the show.  "I Got A Line On You" was fabulous.  "Prelude-Nothing to Hide", "Nature's Way" and then boom.....down goes California.   Show over.  Never saw them again.  Bummer.

3. Red Hot Chili Peppers, Troubador Los Angeles, 1984.   Four guys wearing socks over their penises.  Seriously.  No tattoos, but plenty of 'tude.  Noisy, out of tune, spitting on audience members and themselves.  Left the show early due to a splitting headache.  Never thought they had a chance.   Little did I know.
 
2  Rolling Stones, Skydome, 1989.   This was the Stones second trip to Toronto on the "Steel Wheels" tour. I missed them at the CNE a few months earlier.  Wish I hadn't.  The sound at the Skydome was brutal, the Stones appeared to be burned out.  Mick's voice was awful and the strain of travelling the world seemed to have taken it's toll.  Lacklustre at best.  Everybody leaving that night was disappointed.

1. Metallica/Guns 'N Roses, Olympic Stadium Montreal 1992.  James Hetfield of Metallica burned himself badly halfway through the show and they had to cancel.   Long delay waiting for GNR.  Crowd gets nasty, ugly and is looking for a fight.  GNR comes on and sounds terrible.  Axl claims his throat hurts and they can't hear themselves through the monitors.   GNR leaves the stage after a few songs and the fans riot.  Scary stuff.   Cops can't control mob which turns over cars, smashes windows and acts like the Habs had just won the Stanley Cup (which they did less than a year later, and caused another riot)

Dishonourable mention.  Teenage Head, 1980, Ontario Place.  The Viletones, 1980, Larry's Hideaway.  Sly and the Family Stone, Buffalo Memorial Auditorium, 1975.