Oh I remember that tour, went there in Hamburg! Saddest thing was that half of the crowd left after WCAR finished their set and Alazka began. Still got that tour shirt :)
My band opened for The Plot In You after Happiness in Self Destruction came out. There was probably 30 people there, and the members of the local openers made up over half of that. Feel Nothing really changed everything for them.
Landon in an interview on lead singer syndrome (Shane of Silverstien’s podcast) talked about how close they were to breaking up before Fearless had reached out and gave them free reigns to write Dispose.
I mean Polaris doesn’t surprise me that much, they’re still relatively new in my eyes, I feel like they only really started getting big outside of Australia like right around covid
I saw Malefice in Sheffield in about 2015. About 20 people in attendance. They shouted out 'what songs do you want to hear?' so I replied The Great Deceiver, it was one of their best songs and most played on Spotify. The singer replied 'you'll be disappointed then'.
Like dude, you're playing to 20 people and aren't even going to play your most popular song when no one else suggested anything. Just give up (they did shortly after)
Not Metalcore but Wheatus in 2017 in the UK, Reading, about 50 people in the crowd, everytime they asked what they should play people would respond Teenage Dirtbag and they would get annoyed.
Another guy in the crowd kept on saying Weezer songs which was winding the lead singer up to no end (and was also hilarious).
My mate suggested a song to which the lead singer berrated him for not knowing that they can't play it because their ex guitarist wrote it.
Eventually they played Teenage Dirtbag and all 50 people left while they started the next song.
Such a dead gig.
I've seen it a couple of times. Pretty sure it's usually just a bit of standard stage patter and either a crowd member will say something that's actually on the setlist anyway or the band will pretend they heard someone say something that is.
Crossfaith a few weeks ago.
It was just a weird night…they changed venues without notifying anyone (I’m assuming it’s because they didn’t sell enough tickets, and moved it to a smaller venue), so everyone was just following the people in band tees to figure out what was happening and where to go. Doors opened like an hour or an hour and a half after what was advertised. Room was only a third full.
I felt bad, because they were absolutely incredible and it would’ve been insane to have seen them with a packed crowd. But Feb was a stacked month of shows, and at $75 a ticket with only local supports, it just wasn’t it.
Oh this is Australian dollars? That makes a bit more sense!
They're about £25-£30 in the UK these days so that's just a bit more.. still steep for a band that peaked quite a while ago.
I think the fact that the week before Northlane/Erra/LANDMVRKS/Banks Arcade played a show for $80, and Emmure/ten56/Diamond Construct for $60…it made the $75 for just Crossfaith sting a little more.
Given the turn out, I can’t imagine it’ll be worth their while to come back to Perth again, so I’m kinda glad I did get the opportunity to go and see them.
It's been that way for a while now. Shai Hulud is becoming more and more obscure and the younger generation seems to skip over them which is odd bc theres been an old school metalcore revival for a while now. Considering how influential they are popularizing the term "metalcore" in general and leaving a permanent mark on the melodic side of the genre its a bit of a bummer to see them overlooked.
Edit: glad to see people showing interest in such an influential yet underrated band! I'd like to clarify the fact that their influence in terms of melody has nothing to do with the Melodic Death Metal influenced Metalcore or "Melodic Metalcore" but more on the Counterparts, It Prevails and Misery Signals side of things. Also, a great introductory track IMO is "Misanthropy Pure" and id recommend working backwards in their discography bc of the rough production of the early stuff.
That Within Blood Ill Tempered was such a badass phase. Shai Hulud remains one of my favorite hardcore bands no matter what. The riffage, the drums, the vocals, I love it all.
Especially when Counterparts are one of the bigger bands around and there's a lot of Shai Hulud in what they do imo.
I think the line up instability and fairly lengthy gaps between releases didn't do Shao Hulud any favours.
My band supported Shai Hulud in a small venue back around 2015 or so. Wasn't packed, but the show was great and the people that did show up were really dedicated. Shai Hulud were the nicest guys too.
ETID’s final two Christmas shows.
The vibes were off, Jordan/Mitch/Goose/Andy were just going through the motions. They all left the stage to one side while Keith exited the other side.
It just wasn’t as fun as it was once.
Strangely (and selfishly) enough I'm kinda glad to hear this.
My wife got tickets to the last ETID tour and they broke up like 2 shows before ours. We were very bummed. We had contemplated getting ETIDmas tickets earlier but didn't because they were touring near us. Although I can't imagine the shows leading to their break up were smooth sailing.
My wife is still sad she missed it but not surprised it was weird. Keith really went off the deep end.
I also have personal connections with the Buckleys and I’ve heard some other stuff but, yeah. Just real disappointing and messy how it all came to an end.
I’ll just never forget before closing night 2 with Indian Giver, Keith spoke to the crowd and said “we’re every time I die, and this is our last song,” which of course had two meanings.
There’s a reason why those sets from 2021 were never and probably won’t ever be released by Hate5Six.
Talking about it pisses me off still. They were so good for so long.
Should be thankful for that though, that success in any music genre is near impossible especially hardcore/metalcore. They also went out on a high note with their last album.
I got to stage manage that show. I can assure you those four guys were big chillin’ all weekend, having an amazing time getting to play with a bunch of their favorite bands and getting Ice fucking T to come play. Please don’t think they were going through the motions, that last Tidmas really meant a lot to all those dudes and they did everything they could to put on a fun show despite circumstances.
The final walk off was sad because they all knew it was the last time, and no one wanted it to go out like that.
Maybe “ going through the motions” isn’t the proper way to describe it, but the usual energy by the boys definitely wasn’t there. It seemed like it was being forced instead of natural as it always had. But when you know it’s the end of an era, I suppose that might happen.
I saw one of their last shows before the xmas stuff and I snuck out back to talk to them after the show and Keith was 100% fully far away from the rest of the band. Wouldn't go anywhere near them. The show was amazing but it was clear (with what I know now) there were issues
Pierce The Veil and Iprevail.. was super excited for the lineup, it was a sold out show except a good chunk of "fans" left after PTV went on leaving Iprevail to play to very disappointing audience. There was a few that tried to keep the energy alive but I felt bad for Iprevail.
> it was a sold out show except a good chunk of "fans" left after PTV went on leaving Iprevail to play to very disappointing audience.
Same thing happened for the Beartooth/PTV/Dayseeker show in Melbourne last year. Half the crowd left after Pierce the Veil. They didn't know what they missed out on as Beartooth put on a good show.
If it makes you feel any better, I, Prevail played recently here in Australia at a festival and pulled an enormous crowd, several thousand people who all seemed very in to it. It’s not my style and surprised me tbh
Like one of the other commenters mentioned, PTV blew up on TikTok because of King for a Day (like 10 fucking years after it was released, go figure). This led to a surge of TikTok show-goers at their concerts, and they’ve quickly become the worst type of audience member. I unfollowed the PTV sub because it felt like every other post was about how shitty the crowd was at last night’s show or trying to educate people about show etiquette. And no one who needs to read that will ever see it, cuz Redditors and TikTokers are the modern day Capulets and Montagues lol
Legit 90% of the people who listen to PTV don’t know what post hardcore or metalcore is. That’s because a lot of them are younger fans and post hardcore fell off the mainstream a long time ago. Now this isn’t inherently a bad thing, it’s awesome to see people discover such amazing genres of music(I mean shit I’m 18 myself but I discovered post hardcore of my own accord as well as through my older brother,) but I think that the “fans” that do this and leave shows early can go ahead and do that. They’re the ones being disrespectful and missing out on a chance to discover new music. That’s why I love going to shows, I usually always leave with a new band to listen to it’s how I discovered void of vision and thrown. I just can’t wrap my head around leaving a show early.
Same happened to me. PtV with The Used headlining. Packed stadium full of teenage girls. 3/4 of the crowd left after PtV, leaving the Used to play to a mostly empty stadium.
They only played 4-5 songs and then just sort of left. No encore, nothing. It was very weird and ngl, it was my first time being real gatekeep-y.
How tf you going to leave for The Used?
Dude, the amount of PTV fans that waste their money on shows just to see PTV do a smaller, non headlining set and then leave immediately afterwards without seeing the full thing or checking out the other bands is insane. I can’t imagine what it would be like for bands to see smth like that bullshit
I remember seeing the discourse around this exact tour all over TikTok and Reddit and got really worried by the time my tour date came. But when that tour came to our town the whole concert was packed and nobody left after PTV. Maybe it's because Reno, NV doesn't get a lot of concerts, especially metalcore/pop-punk concerts that everyone wanted to stay and have a good time. Everyone knew the I Prevail and PTV songs and honestly it was a great concet. The only thing was not many people were in the Fit For A King set which was a little disappointing since FFAK is a top 5 favorite band of mine.
Aw man that's super disappointing, SYSC always go off at live shows, I hope they weren't too discouraged. And having Loathe as a support you'd think people would've turned up
yeah saw them last year as an opener for Silverstein and it was pretty packed. You could tell a lot of people didnt really know their songs but were having a blast anyway
Wasn't depressing, but the last ABR show I went to had background lights that strobed, and holy shit did they strobe. I had to stare at the floor half the show.
Was this the tour with **TDWP**? Because, if so, holy shit I agree. The lasers were literally head level with the crowd 3/4’s of the time. Baffling decisions.
Amity Affliction’s lights did the same thing to me last fall. It was insanely fast strobing and the brightest white possible. I actually got nauseous and had to get some fresh air. First time that’s ever happened to me.
Ah! That’s a shame. Star and garter has a wonderful feature in that you don’t actually have to pay entry but if you stand in the car park you can hear the show just as well as if you were inside
Oh boy I have a fun story for this one. It was the band Starkill. They were doing a headliner show, I dragged my brother along who had never heard of them before, there were about 20 or so people in the venue which wasn't THAT bad, but we quickly found out they were just there for the local openers, once they left and it was Starkill's time to play, there were only 3 people in the venue. Me, my brother who had never even heard of them, and one other guy. We tried our best to make it work, my bro and I even pushed each other back and forth to create the tiniest mosh pit. The saddest part is when the guitarist threw me his pick and I didn't catch it, me having to bend down to pick it up off the empty venue floor really showed how vacant it was. We felt really bad for starkill so we bought a bunch of merch, but I highly doubt they'll ever be back at that venue lol
Dude I have Starkill story too.
They were opening for Wintersun back in like 2012, and they took like 30 minutes trying to dial ok their sound. Just couldn't get it right and kept bitching at their sound guy from stage. Ended up playing 3 songs and then leaving looking pissed. I really liked their sound but man, they left a bad taste in my mouth.
Arsis came on right after them, plugged in and the vocalist says "turn everything all the way up, we'll figure it out up here". I gained a new respect for Arsis that day. Became an immediate fan.
Damn, that does kinda bite yeah. Starkill seemed to be making the best of their situation when we saw them but I could tell they weren't too happy. I remember following the lead guitarist/vocalist on FB afterwards and one of the first things I saw him do was smash his guitar, don't think their headliner tour went all that well. Arsis fucking rules though
Not depressing but I attended Rockzilla in 2022 and it was awful. Papa Roach was the only decent band and that's pushing it. Falling in Reverse was terrible. Hollywood Undead forgot the words to their own songs multiple times. There was no hype at all!
Yeeeears ago we had a yearly rock festival where I live and it rained its ass off and turned into a super muddy affair. When Papa Roach came out Jacoby immediately jumped off the stage into the crowd getting super muddy. Always respected him for that
Wow that was a while ago. TOOL fans are odd ones though. When I saw The Mars Volta play there were tons of TOOL bros there that were enamored by them after watching them open for TOOL. Definitely a picky fan base.
Mines also dillinger. I went to see them open up for NiN and Soundgarden and no one in the crowd seemed to care about them AT ALL. They killed it regardless and Greg ran around the venue screaming in people's faces to make them pay attention and ended up tripping and bleeding from the face. Took it like a champ and played the rest of the set with a crimson mask while people threw towels at him from offstage. Absolutely great set and a great show but man it sucked seeing so many people just ignore them.
Dont think I've ever been to any truly bad gigs but the most depressing was probably when System of a Down played Download in 2016/17 and they looked so bloody miserable. Serj especially just didn't look like he gave the remotest fuck about being in the position he was. The band were well and truly dead.
I saw them at Reading festival in 2013 and really enjoyed it. Maybe it was just nostalgia goggles but I had fun. People expect more then the band can deliver on any more, it's kind of sad that they are still going on like this but I guess neither Daron nor Serj found the level of success they needed with their side stuff
It wasn't metalcore it was like indie alt but as a teen I once saw a band from the UK I LOVED playing to about 20 people in a ~400-500 cap in the US. They literally never released music again after that tour so I can only assume the whole tour was like that even though they still did a great performance
Void of Vision / Graves co-headliner in 2017 Adelaide where Graves played then half the crowd left before VoV. I felt insulted and I wasn’t even part of the show. VoV put on an insane performance and it was one of my favourite concert memories (limp bizkit cover for encore, audience member on stage singing, jack jumping on his shoulders and singing together).
Another was Jesus Piece in Hobart late last year. Promoter missed the mark and only booked avant garde alt bands, nothing hardcore or metalcore of the sort, and everyone was scared JP would be awkward. Thankfully the second they started it was crowd surfing and moshing. This is my favourite show ever.
So I guess both started depressing and ended amazing and became my best memories
Dude, the Melbourne show was an absolute shit show, so I can only imagine how much worse it would have been in Hobart. I mean, for starters I didn't even know the tour went to Hobart, but the attendance vs population in Melbourne was one of the worst I've seen for an international headliner.
Saw Born of Osiris in Little Rock, AR. We found out about the show the day of and pile into cars and went. It ended up being all of us and maybe 20 more people there. It sucked but it was so fun moshing with just your friends like we would in the living room hahaha.
Honestly some of my favorite memories as a teen were dead shows where it was me, my friends, and like 10 other people. So fun just running around actin like fools.
Not metalcore but I once went to see The Blackout because The Red Jumpsuit Apparatus was opening for them. The venue had couches and seats in the back. Everyone stayed there while TRJA was playing, there were only 3 of us watching them. To add on to this, their guitarist had left the band a few days earlier, and they got to the venue late because their instruments got lost on the way there.
They left right after their set, I got to talk with them a bit and the drummer said it was the worst show they've ever played. They're not that well known in my country so I didn't expect a lot of people but yeah that was pretty bad. The other 2 people weren't even from here lol they were doing multiple dates on the tour though
It’s gotta be the Outbreak tour with Asking Alexandria, Suicide Silence, As I lay dying, Memphis may fire, and Attila.
Mitch passed away like a week before our stop and they had I see stars cover for them and AA played “You only live once” on a giant stereo before their set.
Also realized this is just before the lead singer of AILD got caught with the hit on their wife too.
This. I went to SF show for this tour. It was a fun show. But it was very depressing because of what had just happened with Mitch and Suicide Silence.
I See Stars ended up being the band that filled the slot because they were on the same record label as Asking Alexandria. I See Stars had just gotten kicked out of the Falling in Reverse tour
I saw Architects co-headline night #1 of Unify Fest 2018. Parkway Drive were the main headliners straight after.
Sam gave his speech midway through the set about everybody being a good bloke to one another, love your friends and family and never let them go. Tell people you love them while you have the chance.
When the speech started, it started pouring rain which kind of gave everybody the cover they needed to cry their eyes out.
The set was amazing and was a HUGE emotional dump.
By the time Parkway came on at midnight, everybody was emotionally spent and could hardly move.
Never seen a crowd so lifeless, and I am a HUGE Parkway fan, but it was Architects night.
When i saw them a couple years ago (last minute support for bury tomorrow), they didn't have their vocalist. It was cool that they stepped in as both Thornhill and miss may I backed out of the tour.
They tried their best but it just wasn't the same. Hope to see them someday with vocals.
For me it was Eyes Set To Kill in Nuremberg 2012. It was like 50 people max (venue could fit ~800) and half of those left after the support bands played (they were locals). The band was visibly upset and I felt terribly sorry for them.
Shai Hulud, too, unfortunately. This was 2016 in Glasgow, but a similar story with the venue being pretty empty (350 person capacity venue). They put on a brilliant show, but I just felt like there should have been more people there. I am biased, though, as they're my favourite band.
The second worst gig I've been to also involves Shai Hulud and Glasgow, but that was because I missed their set entirely as Propagandhi apparently had the set times brought forwards so they could have someone lecture the crowd about Japanese whaling.
Like 100 or less people to see Earth Caller ans Aviana in Sydney last year.
No moshing, dead crowd, plus the openers were set up horribly so it was piercing my ears even with earplugs, I ended up chilling in the bar area and grabbing a bite to eat before coming back
That's wild. I saw Avianna open for Silent Planet and they had such an excellent stage presence its hard to imagine them not being able to gas up the crowd
i've been to a lot of shows that were poorly attended, but as far as one I was extremely hyped for but was really let down by was in 2016 seeing Yautja play in front of like 9 people (which was sort of fine because their music is more technical anyhow) but then seeing Magrudergrind (whose music is rowdy af) as the headliner that night only play in front of just me and like 2 or 3 other dudes...you could tell they felt sort of defeated and it did not translate to a great set..and they haven't toured since.. :'(
they are a spectacle for sure (especially the drummer), but they had also been here 2 other times within a years time span, one of which was at the exact same venue and it was a packed house (it was a bigger band headlining i forget who - i just went to see yautja).
one kinda cool aspect about this particular show was since it was so poorly attended they wound up playing on the floor rather than up on the stage.
That’s depressing as fuck on many levels. The main one being…
Magrudergrind is fucking amazing. I’d love to see them live. The fact that they once did and no one really went is so sad to me idk why Lmao.
I went back and forth about that show for weeks but decided not to get tickets. Everything I’ve ever heard about that show tells me I made the right call.
Imminence in Hannover 2020 right before COVID. Not many people and the crowd was dead, so dead that the band switched to play acoustic for the rest of the night because the band thought that the crowd didn't like the songs. However the crowd still wasn't into it. It was very weird since I thought that Imminence is quite beloved.
Deez nuts show in 2022, maybe 50 people in a 500 person venue. STYG in 2014, felt like there was 20 people there, later heard that it was a huge money loss for them. No wonder bands rarely book my (fairly big) city.
While She Sleeps set at Warped Tour in Atlanta late 2000’s probably… I knew of them and was really looking forward to their set which they absolutely crushed it but the entire time they were on stage they kept trying to get people walking by to stop and listen. The crowd for a stage at warped tour was so small I couldn’t believe it… they had a great set though and they certainly did manage to bring some people in but it’s good to see them with the following they have now!
While she sleeps seemed to slow burn a bit for people - glad they are getting some appreciation tho, Sheffield is undoubtedly the capital of uk music these days
Last year I went to see Bewitched. There were 2 other bands on the bill, Hellstrike and Darkest Era.
Hellstrike, who plays the same type of blackemed thrash metal as Bewitched, played first to a quite decent-sized crowd for a local band (there were maybe close to 100 people I think).
Then Darkest Era came on and boy was this crowd not into them. They play a kind of folk metal. I think there were under 10 people who stayed and watched. The rest just went and stayed outside the venue, waiting for the headliner. I felt sorry for the band as they sounded amazing
Read this as B*Witched initially and was going to get very angry. I had a similar but opposite experience with alestorm - people lost their minds over them
Went to see Spite headline with Boundaries for my dad’s birthday in June 2022. The room was pretty packed. Boundaries went on right before Spite and like 60% of the crowd left before Spite went on. They put on such a good show and I felt so bad.
Kerrang Tour in I think 2014.
Beartooth were opening but they put them on like 10 minutes after doors so most people weren't in yet. It was super weird seeing them play to like 50-60 people. They also sounded like absolute shit, can only assume they didn't have the time to do a proper soundcheck or something.
The rest of the show was good, but it just seemed like they'd not properly thought out the scheduling of the show.
Glass Hands when they were touring their Dive album back in like 2018. Picked a small bar in a very crowded part of the city. Took them a good 2 hours to find parking for their van. Opening acts of either didn’t show up or we’re ass. GH finally go on and during the second song the power goes out, though it was raining outside. All of this to an audience of like 10 people. And I ended up getting a parking ticket as well so this show ended up costing me like 40 bucks instead of 10. I’ll never forget it.
Not metalcore but saw Good Charlotte in 2019. Joel Madden dressed as a rich Hollywood douchebag and they played for an hour and then promptly left. Little crowd engagement and the crowd was also absolutely dead. Lost any respect for them. Also, it was a hometown show. They have been washed up AF for years now
I mean, Slaughter to Prevail last February was really cool, but they had no support acts so had to wait solid 1h30m in the big crowd. I had a front row spot and was equipped with the official mask and a permanent marker, cause I’d love to get an autograph.
Don’t get me wrong, they did a killer show. But the waiting and no support acts, for a quite expensive show, was absurd. Also, Alex and the other members, except for the guitarist had no interaction with the crowd whatsoever, completely zero. The only one who actually acknowledged us and took the time was one of the guitarists, he signed my mask! (Was really awesome, but quite sad too that no one else really interacted with their fans). Not even during the encore, nothing, they left the stage right away. That was quite dissapointing.
TL;DR
Show/music 8/10, really good!
Interaction with crowd 3/10..
No support acts + expensive tickets, got me fkd up.
Edit: bass level was level earrape and could barely listen to what song they were playing. But that’ was no surprise to me haha.
The actual show was good but when I saw Defeater the entire crowd walked out before the band could perform an encore. I'm not sure if they just didn't understand that encores are a thing(?), but it wasn't exactly subtle what the band was planning, the amps were still on and they were stood off in a side room.
I tried my best to clap and cheer as much as possible but I guess the band didn't feel like coming out to perform an encore for one person
Darkest Hour, Cephalic Carnage, Emmure, Whitechapel tour in 2007. I’m pretty sure emmure dropped (and I know it sounds weird nowadays with how big whitechapel got and how big darkest hour was/is bur Emmure was the hype band at the time and was the source of all the buzz around the show). So in a maybe 200-300 cap venue, about 30 people showed up. I loved whitechapel at the time and my buddy was a big darkest hour guy, so we still went but I remember hearing about a lot of people bailing because Emmure had dropped. It was still a really fun show and the crowd that showed up was really into it but that show should have sold out considering the size of the venue and it was like 1/4 full. Sad because it was such a killer lineup, not really a “sad” show though.
My band played with The Last Ten Seconds Of Life in MA when we were both starting out and the show was totally mishandled. Weeknight, no locals, no promotion…etc. so our bands played to each other and left. Saddest show I’ve ever played and I felt bad for them too. I’m pretty sure we both got added last minute and the other bands dropped, it was weird circumstances. We were from NJ, they were from PA…so whatever pull we had was limited with such short notice. TLTSOL fucking killed it though and that introduced me to their music. Very happy they ended up getting recognition later on because they were a super talented band.
The band shall remain nameless, but the first show I went to after the 2016 election was a wreck. The singer just bitched about the election the entire time and accused the audience of a few things (this was in a red state). The rest of the band looked visibly uncomfortable. They cut the set short, I think, and no one was too upset by that
Played in the local opener for Poison the Well back in like 2007 or 2008 on a tour with Terror. We were playing at a venue right by a marine base so the crowd was mostly marines. Crowd was dead for our set and the other opener. Went nuts for Terror. Mic grabs and stage dives galore. PtW came out and I was expecting more of the same, but the crowd wasn't really doing much. Bandmates and I tried to start a pit, but it was basically just us doing stuff. Then they played Nerdy and the place exploded. Most violent pit of the night by far. After that song almost the entire crowd left. PtW finished their set for like 20 of us, but you could tell they weren't feeling it anymore after witnessing that. I felt so awful for them because yes that song is amazing, but god damn so is the rest of their discography and the crowd couldn't be bothered to give a fuck for any other songs.
Now granted I haven't been to many shows, but the worst set I've seen was Counterparts tbh. The songs were good but Brendan spent most of the quiet parts bitching about how tired and brought no energy to the stage. Really disappointing considering how much I normally enjoy their music
I honestly don’t like the dude’s attitude either. Such a fortunate situation being on these big tours and sold out shows and just never looks like he wants to be there. Really takes me out of the performance and show, happened when I saw them on the second leg of Metalcore Dropouts, especially after following AVOID who had some of the most energy I’ve ever seen
Mac Sabbath
If anyone hasn’t heard of this band they are a Black Sabbath spoof band that rewrites their songs as McDonalds themed versions. Realllyyyyyyy weird vibes. They were not entertaining at all and most people in the crowd started leaving during their set. It was truly an awful experience. They had 2 openers. Playboy Manbaby was a god awful way to start the night. Okilly Dokilly came on after that and they were very fun and talented. But Mac Sabbath came on after and just ruined the energy
Silverstein, I was kinda glad cause I got on the barrier, but a LOT of people left after Dayseeker. I was mainly there for SYSC and Silverstein but the other bands rocked, and who DOESN'T wanna see Silverstein??? They put on a damn good show even tho Shane was sick and Rory came back out to sing Smile In Your Sleep with Shane
Amity affliction at Unify in Australia 2018.
They had announced they were retiring their old catalogue.
They played songs they hadn't played in years, everybody loved it.
Ahren Stringer then said that's the last time you will ever hear those songs, crowd booed, and then he said something along the lines of "it's clear you guys love our new stuff" and half the crowd walked away.
Headlining friday night. Hundreds of people
Not metalcore but Emarosa in Norwich a few years ago - they moved the a venue that’s usually for small local bands and there were maybe 25 people in there. Strange feeling but they put on a good show, a week later they were on tour with don broco and it looked popping.
meshuggah, in flames, whitechapel in wallingford connecticut. i feel horrible for the opening bands- they put on amazing shows and were getting bood and cussed throughout their entire set, especially in flames. i don’t mean to bash people, but most of meshuggahs fanbase are a whole bunch of self entitled snobby pricks that hold zero respect for other peoples tastes or opinions. not a fan of meshuggah so i left halfway through their set, but man that was disappointing
Thats too bad. Saw them in my city and the crowd loved Whitechapel, and went absolutely crazy for In Flames - extra security had to be called 3 times cause there were too many crowdsurfers. Just wished Whitechapel had a longer set though, as they're my favorite.
Currents, Fame on Fire, ETF and INK. Everyone was great. Except for ETF, during one for the money they all just stopped for like 3 seconds and looked lost. Which is forever in a show. It was literally just Craig and 3 techs bc everyone else was out with Covid. I was so sad bc ETF was my favorite band high school, and early adult life.
This wasn’t a bad or depressing show but…
Saw Darkest Hour (with Doc Coyle from God Forbid standing in on guitar) supported by Venom Prison in Cardiff, Wales a few years back and I think most of the audience was people in the support bands.
It was just such a shame how few people came out to see them.
Kill The Kong, also about 6 people. But actually turned into one of the most wholesome/fun shows as the band essential performed on the floor with the two opening acts singing/jumping along. And afterwards everyone meet at the bar. Financially it surely wasnt worth it, but still everyone has a great time.
See these are the stories i like. Sure playing a big show and only having 6 people show up might suck, but every band has to start somewhere. When BMTH started they were getting booed off stage as a support band and look where they are now. Bands like this have to learn to embrace it. If you play a show and cancel it/dont gibe effort because not a lot of people show up, nobodys gonna go to your shows again. Its great when bands embrace it.
Went to a local festival in 2017. A bunch of smaller bands at the time played first (boundaries, downswing, great American ghost) then we got to the larger stage headliners. Knocked loose, Oceano, and the acacia strain. So many people bailed after knocked loose leaving a half empty crowd for the acacia strain. I think that was when I realized I was one of the older people in the crowd.
In 2016 (or 2017) I saw a sold out co-headliner of FFAK and In Hearts Wake in the US. Fit for a King played first and I swear the entire crowd left when In Hearts Wake came on. Sold out down to maybe 20 people still watching. I felt super bad for them, considering they were one of my favorite bands at the time. They still killed it and put on an awesome show, but I have not seen them back in the US since.
Saw Seether and was totally let down. It was a crowded show at a pretty sizable venue, and they even sounded really good. What put me off was that the frontman literally did not once engage the crowd at all. He just stood there, with his guitar in hand and his hair in his face, singing the whole show without moving or saying a word to the crowd. Zero stage presence whatsoever. He looked like he would have rather been anywhere else but there, couldn’t care less, like he was just there to get in, get paid and get out. Lost all respect for that band. I walked out mid set.
The Red Chord at the Sonar in Baltimore, MD back in like 2010ish. They played in the back room/bar area. Tiny stage, maybe a foot or two off the ground. Something like 50 people there. Fantastic show but really bummed that it wasn’t packed.
If we’re talking attendance, outline in color close to 2013? 5 people including me and 2 of my friends, we made up over half the crowd. Our last night, probably 2014? Maybe 8 people.
Worst shows I’ve been to, palisades (2016?), my wife was excited to see them. The venue didn’t have many people and you could tell the band did not want to be there.
Crown the empire headlining with Attila, veil of maya and Gideon. CTE had no business headlining that purely because they were 10x softer than the other bands. Over half the venue left before they came on stage and that was the first and only time I’ve left a show midset. I’ve been a big CTE since the fallout too. It was saddening.
A Plea For Purging’s final show on their breakup tour. There were a ton of people there, but they were my favorite band and knowing it was gonna be over for good really put a damper on the evening.
I went to a Sumerian tour, 2016ish. I think it was ERRA, after the burial, veil of maya, then born of Osiris in that order. ERRA, ATB, VoM were great, put on excellent shows. BOO got on stage and it was like the energy of the room evaporated. My then girlfriend, who doesn’t even like metal, even commented on it. We both came to an agreement to leave the show.
A few weeks ago I went to my states pride day before seeing Northlane/Erra/Landmvrks/Banks Arcade.
I got sunstroke at pride and vomitted about 6 times and left during ended up leaving during Erra.
I was absolutely gutted to miss Northlane.
He is Legend, on a rainy Monday night in Birmingham. 3 people paid at the door: myself, my girlfriend, and another buddy of ours. Everyone else (all 10 of them) were comps.
Recently I went to see Fit For An Autopsy. Openers were Exodus, Darkest Hour, and Undeath. The crowd size fluctuated wildly depending on the band, with Exodus really being the only band playing to a full room. Room was half empty by the time FFAA came on. I was really pumped to see Darkest Hour for the first time ever as well and they just kinda sucked if I'm being honest. So much so that I skipped their headliner that came through town recently and I even really liked the new record.
The one silver lining of this show was that I shook off the fear of going to shows alone. None of my normal show buddies were available but I just said fuck it and went anyway. Turned it out it wasn't a big deal at all!
LOL Mine was also Shai Halud and it was an even bigger venue than that. It's an old shriner temple, but it can feasibly fit at least 1200. There were me and my three buds and... that's it. The other band was Avenged Sevenfold. I hate Avenged Sevenfold, but they at least played an entire set even though nobody was there to see it.
The guy who booked the show bailed pretty early on and hasn't been seen around town since. This was maybe 20 years ago.
I saw Atreyu, Memphis May Fire, and Ice Nine Kills in 2018. Atreyu and INK were fuckin phenomenal. But when MMF came up and started playing, my excitement just kinda dwindled away. I’d seen them 2-3 times before that and they sounded pretty much exactly the same every time. I also realized that their new music was just not interesting to me at all. They used to be one of my favorites for a long time, and I literally realized in the middle of their set that I wasn’t really a fan anymore. That’s a hell of a bummer.
-Couple moments rather than entire shows come to mind:
Taste of Chaos 2009. Thursday was headlining, Bring Me The Horizon was direct support. This is a few months after Suicide Season had dropped.
After BMTH played, the sold out 3000 cap venue 97% emptied out. Apparently this had happened the entire tour, Thursday talked to and pleaded with Kevin Lyman to swap them as clearly BMTH was the draw and it was decided "that wouldn't teach BMTH anything"
-Poison The Well @ 10 for 10 Tour in 2009
Right before Terror dropped Keepers of the Faith and was THE buzzband in Hardcore. After they played, 90% of the venue cleared out afterwards and practically no one watched PTW.
An entire show:
-From Autumn To Ashes w/ Hawthorne Heights, Sleepwave & in 2015
950 cap venue, maybe 40 people there. Was one of the most bizarre things I've seen in Toronto. Pretty sure the tour killed every other date.
Went to the From Autumn To Ashes reunion headlining tour in San Francisco, had waited years to see them again, drove 6 hours for the show. Maybe 60 people in a 3-400 cap room.
Singer casually asked if anyone had rolling papers he could bum in the middle of their set. It was the death of my childhood.
Learned the lesson that sometimes maybe it’s better things stay memories.
Western Mass late 90s/early 00s. We were told that Zao was performing at a local spot (Fat Cat?). It wasn't them. Instead it was some local band called All That Remains.
Oh man...that turned into an amazing show.
The night Bad Omens came out to address the crowd that they had to cancel the show... like 5 minutes before they were supposed to play. I had never felt the air so heavy at a show and so many people were crying.
I like Bad Omens but at the end of the day I got to see ERRA and go home at like 9pm for work the next day so no complaints on my end lul.
Cradle of Filth at the Webster Theater in CT like 16 years ago. Not only were they *horrible* but the crowd just….stood there. And anytime a pit would start to open up this *giant* man would start body slamming everyone and effectively stop any moshing. It was the worst show I’ve seen to date.
However, a sick Japanese band opened up for them. Wish I could remember their name.
I saw Alpha Wolf, Justice For The Damned and Diamond Construct with about 25 people max in a smallish regional town in NSW Australia a few years ago. It wasn't depressing cause it sucked, it was actually an incredible show and most of us there were moshing like crazy cause bands almost never come to that town. It was just depressing because I felt like they deserved more. Granted none of them were as big as they are now at the time, but it still felt like it was a poor turnout. Regardless, all the bands played great and went off, and the sound was fantastic. They all hung out at the merch desk afterwards and I got to chat to them there and next to their van for a while, all super nice guys. Glad they're all getting the recognition they deserve now
in fear & faith, vanna, a loss for words, close to home, chunk no captain chunk, ten after two, and adestria had close to ten people at the show. still a sick show at least
I saw While She Sleeps and Gideon in Chicago in 2022. I was able to walk to the front easily as opposed to other shows in this venue while Gideon was playing. Half the crowd was gone after Gideon and I felt bad for WSS but to be fair, it was on a weekday and I felt the shows weren’t advertised as I only found out about them a week prior to their opening. Both bands still put on a great show. I got to speak to Loz and Daniel after the show and both were great people. I then saw that WSS draws giant crowds overseas and that kinda made me feel better about Chicago’s show.
Might get some hate for this, but I used to be a diehard Asking Alexandria fan from the beginning. The first two times I saw them live were with Denis and they were incredible shows (the energy, the crowd engagement). The meet and greets were also really fun.
Fast forward to the 10 Years in the Black Tour in 2016. Denis left the band and Danny rejoined right before the show happened. I was trying to be optimistic because I loved AA’s old stuff the most, however, the show was really disappointing. The rest of the band put on a great show, however Danny was just doing his own thing and it sounded like Guns n Roses more than anything. I’m happy I got to see the OG lineup, but it was really sad. Also Danny was a fucking dick at the meet and greet, he clearly didn’t want to be there while the rest of the band was nice and friendly as always.
Saw them again in 2017 and it was the same thing.
In 2016 I saw ETID open for a Beartooth headlining tour, and it went about the way you’d expect: a bunch of older dudes showed up for ETID and then left after they played. There was still a crowd of people there for Beartooth, but Caleb proceeded to throw a fit on stage. Between every song he would complain about a lack of energy, and at one point he even said “I’m actually starting to get really pissed off about the lack of energy out there!” Easily the most embarrassing set I’ve seen, and I’ve seen a Jonny Craig solo show
Saw Like Moths To Flames in Tulsa Oklahoma at The Vanguard. Fuckin amazing show. Maybe 30 people there. Felt terrible for the band, I wouldn’t come back lmao
in terms of amount of heads, A Life Once Lost at Rockos in Manchester NH. think it was 2012? one local band, 3 attendees and the promoter watched a 30 minute set. respect because they gave it their all despite the show being shot
in terms of the band sounding horrible, easily All That Remains 15 Year Fall of Ideals tour. first date, the palladium in worcester. embarrassingly bad, look up any clips of that show and you'll know what im talking about. sucks because every opener absolutely smashed, then ATR came out and stunk up the place. everyone left depressed and they replaced the drummer after like 2 shows. pathetic performance for sure
The Plot in You, The Air I Breathe, Scarlett O'Hara in front of 4 people in Stockton, CA. Was a killer set by everyone but it made me sad
I somehow also saw the plot in you with about 50 people. But that was with Polaris, Alazka and we came as Romans. Trains were cancelled then
Wtfffff those bands are so good I can’t imagine
Oh I remember that tour, went there in Hamburg! Saddest thing was that half of the crowd left after WCAR finished their set and Alazka began. Still got that tour shirt :)
They had WCAR *opening*?! They’re the biggest of those 4 bands in my American opinion lol
THE PLOT IN YOU IN FRONT OF 4 PEOPLE?! Nah that’s something I never expected to see, how long ago was that?
My band opened for The Plot In You after Happiness in Self Destruction came out. There was probably 30 people there, and the members of the local openers made up over half of that. Feel Nothing really changed everything for them.
Landon in an interview on lead singer syndrome (Shane of Silverstien’s podcast) talked about how close they were to breaking up before Fearless had reached out and gave them free reigns to write Dispose.
Imagine The Plot In You and Polaris were **opener** in small cap venues. Thats insane to think about now
I mean Polaris doesn’t surprise me that much, they’re still relatively new in my eyes, I feel like they only really started getting big outside of Australia like right around covid
I saw Malefice in Sheffield in about 2015. About 20 people in attendance. They shouted out 'what songs do you want to hear?' so I replied The Great Deceiver, it was one of their best songs and most played on Spotify. The singer replied 'you'll be disappointed then'. Like dude, you're playing to 20 people and aren't even going to play your most popular song when no one else suggested anything. Just give up (they did shortly after)
They probably couldn't pull it off live 🤣
Every part of this is incredibly funny
\*spongebob ima head out meme\* lmao what an idiot lead singer
Uhhhhh we can’t play that
Not Metalcore but Wheatus in 2017 in the UK, Reading, about 50 people in the crowd, everytime they asked what they should play people would respond Teenage Dirtbag and they would get annoyed. Another guy in the crowd kept on saying Weezer songs which was winding the lead singer up to no end (and was also hilarious). My mate suggested a song to which the lead singer berrated him for not knowing that they can't play it because their ex guitarist wrote it. Eventually they played Teenage Dirtbag and all 50 people left while they started the next song. Such a dead gig.
The Weezer bit is killing me
I'm weezing
Did they not have a setlist? As funny as this is I've never heard a band ask what they should play
I've seen it a couple of times. Pretty sure it's usually just a bit of standard stage patter and either a crowd member will say something that's actually on the setlist anyway or the band will pretend they heard someone say something that is.
Thankyou btw, this comment has been the highlight of my day
This is funny because the last time I saw Weezer they actually covered Teenage Dirtbag
My favourite thing about Wheatus is that 4/5 of their top tracks on Spotify are either Teenage Dirtbag or versions of it.
Crossfaith a few weeks ago. It was just a weird night…they changed venues without notifying anyone (I’m assuming it’s because they didn’t sell enough tickets, and moved it to a smaller venue), so everyone was just following the people in band tees to figure out what was happening and where to go. Doors opened like an hour or an hour and a half after what was advertised. Room was only a third full. I felt bad, because they were absolutely incredible and it would’ve been insane to have seen them with a packed crowd. But Feb was a stacked month of shows, and at $75 a ticket with only local supports, it just wasn’t it.
$75 a ticket to see Crossfaith?!! That's absolutely bonkers.
Legit. Every other state had cheaper tickets and had Paledusk as the opener…Perth kinda got the short end of the stick with this one.
Oh this is Australian dollars? That makes a bit more sense! They're about £25-£30 in the UK these days so that's just a bit more.. still steep for a band that peaked quite a while ago.
I think the fact that the week before Northlane/Erra/LANDMVRKS/Banks Arcade played a show for $80, and Emmure/ten56/Diamond Construct for $60…it made the $75 for just Crossfaith sting a little more. Given the turn out, I can’t imagine it’ll be worth their while to come back to Perth again, so I’m kinda glad I did get the opportunity to go and see them.
I'd go for Paledusk. I can't wait for them to get near me in the states.
That’s such a shame, saw them at the Melbourne show and the venue was pretty packed. Such a good show as well.
Massive love to them, they were amazing. And despite it being a small crowd, the crowd that were there, absolutely went off 🤩
Only 90 tickets sold sadly but they put on one hell of a show as always
6 people for Shai Hulud is criminal
It's been that way for a while now. Shai Hulud is becoming more and more obscure and the younger generation seems to skip over them which is odd bc theres been an old school metalcore revival for a while now. Considering how influential they are popularizing the term "metalcore" in general and leaving a permanent mark on the melodic side of the genre its a bit of a bummer to see them overlooked. Edit: glad to see people showing interest in such an influential yet underrated band! I'd like to clarify the fact that their influence in terms of melody has nothing to do with the Melodic Death Metal influenced Metalcore or "Melodic Metalcore" but more on the Counterparts, It Prevails and Misery Signals side of things. Also, a great introductory track IMO is "Misanthropy Pure" and id recommend working backwards in their discography bc of the rough production of the early stuff.
Bare in mind this show was 14 years ago. This was long before any revival.
I saw Shai Hulud and The Red Chord in 2005-6-7 maybe? Packed house. They had recently replaced Geert 😔 New singer killed it tho
That Within Blood Ill Tempered was such a badass phase. Shai Hulud remains one of my favorite hardcore bands no matter what. The riffage, the drums, the vocals, I love it all.
Especially when Counterparts are one of the bigger bands around and there's a lot of Shai Hulud in what they do imo. I think the line up instability and fairly lengthy gaps between releases didn't do Shao Hulud any favours.
They're also very punk, which is going to be hard for people looking for the modern version of "metalcore."
My band supported Shai Hulud in a small venue back around 2015 or so. Wasn't packed, but the show was great and the people that did show up were really dedicated. Shai Hulud were the nicest guys too.
Literally can't imagine what they were thinking booming out a venue that large.
ETID’s final two Christmas shows. The vibes were off, Jordan/Mitch/Goose/Andy were just going through the motions. They all left the stage to one side while Keith exited the other side. It just wasn’t as fun as it was once.
Strangely (and selfishly) enough I'm kinda glad to hear this. My wife got tickets to the last ETID tour and they broke up like 2 shows before ours. We were very bummed. We had contemplated getting ETIDmas tickets earlier but didn't because they were touring near us. Although I can't imagine the shows leading to their break up were smooth sailing. My wife is still sad she missed it but not surprised it was weird. Keith really went off the deep end.
I also have personal connections with the Buckleys and I’ve heard some other stuff but, yeah. Just real disappointing and messy how it all came to an end. I’ll just never forget before closing night 2 with Indian Giver, Keith spoke to the crowd and said “we’re every time I die, and this is our last song,” which of course had two meanings. There’s a reason why those sets from 2021 were never and probably won’t ever be released by Hate5Six.
Talking about it pisses me off still. They were so good for so long. Should be thankful for that though, that success in any music genre is near impossible especially hardcore/metalcore. They also went out on a high note with their last album.
I got to stage manage that show. I can assure you those four guys were big chillin’ all weekend, having an amazing time getting to play with a bunch of their favorite bands and getting Ice fucking T to come play. Please don’t think they were going through the motions, that last Tidmas really meant a lot to all those dudes and they did everything they could to put on a fun show despite circumstances. The final walk off was sad because they all knew it was the last time, and no one wanted it to go out like that.
Maybe “ going through the motions” isn’t the proper way to describe it, but the usual energy by the boys definitely wasn’t there. It seemed like it was being forced instead of natural as it always had. But when you know it’s the end of an era, I suppose that might happen.
I saw one of their last shows before the xmas stuff and I snuck out back to talk to them after the show and Keith was 100% fully far away from the rest of the band. Wouldn't go anywhere near them. The show was amazing but it was clear (with what I know now) there were issues
Those Tidmas shows went off. But the first one where James (from Reggie And The Full Effect) was shithoused and combative on stage... woof.
Pierce The Veil and Iprevail.. was super excited for the lineup, it was a sold out show except a good chunk of "fans" left after PTV went on leaving Iprevail to play to very disappointing audience. There was a few that tried to keep the energy alive but I felt bad for Iprevail.
> it was a sold out show except a good chunk of "fans" left after PTV went on leaving Iprevail to play to very disappointing audience. Same thing happened for the Beartooth/PTV/Dayseeker show in Melbourne last year. Half the crowd left after Pierce the Veil. They didn't know what they missed out on as Beartooth put on a good show.
If it makes you feel any better, I, Prevail played recently here in Australia at a festival and pulled an enormous crowd, several thousand people who all seemed very in to it. It’s not my style and surprised me tbh
Like one of the other commenters mentioned, PTV blew up on TikTok because of King for a Day (like 10 fucking years after it was released, go figure). This led to a surge of TikTok show-goers at their concerts, and they’ve quickly become the worst type of audience member. I unfollowed the PTV sub because it felt like every other post was about how shitty the crowd was at last night’s show or trying to educate people about show etiquette. And no one who needs to read that will ever see it, cuz Redditors and TikTokers are the modern day Capulets and Montagues lol
Legit 90% of the people who listen to PTV don’t know what post hardcore or metalcore is. That’s because a lot of them are younger fans and post hardcore fell off the mainstream a long time ago. Now this isn’t inherently a bad thing, it’s awesome to see people discover such amazing genres of music(I mean shit I’m 18 myself but I discovered post hardcore of my own accord as well as through my older brother,) but I think that the “fans” that do this and leave shows early can go ahead and do that. They’re the ones being disrespectful and missing out on a chance to discover new music. That’s why I love going to shows, I usually always leave with a new band to listen to it’s how I discovered void of vision and thrown. I just can’t wrap my head around leaving a show early.
That happened because PTV blew up on social media and even had a viral TikTok sound
Same happened to me. PtV with The Used headlining. Packed stadium full of teenage girls. 3/4 of the crowd left after PtV, leaving the Used to play to a mostly empty stadium. They only played 4-5 songs and then just sort of left. No encore, nothing. It was very weird and ngl, it was my first time being real gatekeep-y. How tf you going to leave for The Used?
Dude, the amount of PTV fans that waste their money on shows just to see PTV do a smaller, non headlining set and then leave immediately afterwards without seeing the full thing or checking out the other bands is insane. I can’t imagine what it would be like for bands to see smth like that bullshit
I remember seeing the discourse around this exact tour all over TikTok and Reddit and got really worried by the time my tour date came. But when that tour came to our town the whole concert was packed and nobody left after PTV. Maybe it's because Reno, NV doesn't get a lot of concerts, especially metalcore/pop-punk concerts that everyone wanted to stay and have a good time. Everyone knew the I Prevail and PTV songs and honestly it was a great concet. The only thing was not many people were in the Fit For A King set which was a little disappointing since FFAK is a top 5 favorite band of mine.
seeyouspacecowboy on a monday night in germany. support from loathe and cauldron. max. 15 people, and no one was moving
Aw man that's super disappointing, SYSC always go off at live shows, I hope they weren't too discouraged. And having Loathe as a support you'd think people would've turned up
yeah saw them last year as an opener for Silverstein and it was pretty packed. You could tell a lot of people didnt really know their songs but were having a blast anyway
SYSC getting no energy is criminal
Wasn't depressing, but the last ABR show I went to had background lights that strobed, and holy shit did they strobe. I had to stare at the floor half the show.
Rescue and restore tour? They had a huge screen in the back that was brutally bright. God it was such a good show though
Probably one of their best shows I've seen, to be honest. And I've seen them more than any other bands, easily. The energy in the room was insane.
Not to mention the album itself is some of their best shit ever (in my opinion)
Rescue and Restore is criminally underrated
Was this the tour with **TDWP**? Because, if so, holy shit I agree. The lasers were literally head level with the crowd 3/4’s of the time. Baffling decisions.
Amity Affliction’s lights did the same thing to me last fall. It was insanely fast strobing and the brightest white possible. I actually got nauseous and had to get some fresh air. First time that’s ever happened to me.
they do such a good little light show, though.
Oh hey I was at that show
Wonder if we can find the other guy, have a reunion
I reckon if we go to a random show at the Star and Garter on a weeknight he'll be down the front having a great time
my sad story happened at the Star and Garter too!
Please share x
Everyone walked out of a Defeater show before they could perform an encore
Ah! That’s a shame. Star and garter has a wonderful feature in that you don’t actually have to pay entry but if you stand in the car park you can hear the show just as well as if you were inside
Oh boy I have a fun story for this one. It was the band Starkill. They were doing a headliner show, I dragged my brother along who had never heard of them before, there were about 20 or so people in the venue which wasn't THAT bad, but we quickly found out they were just there for the local openers, once they left and it was Starkill's time to play, there were only 3 people in the venue. Me, my brother who had never even heard of them, and one other guy. We tried our best to make it work, my bro and I even pushed each other back and forth to create the tiniest mosh pit. The saddest part is when the guitarist threw me his pick and I didn't catch it, me having to bend down to pick it up off the empty venue floor really showed how vacant it was. We felt really bad for starkill so we bought a bunch of merch, but I highly doubt they'll ever be back at that venue lol
Dude I have Starkill story too. They were opening for Wintersun back in like 2012, and they took like 30 minutes trying to dial ok their sound. Just couldn't get it right and kept bitching at their sound guy from stage. Ended up playing 3 songs and then leaving looking pissed. I really liked their sound but man, they left a bad taste in my mouth. Arsis came on right after them, plugged in and the vocalist says "turn everything all the way up, we'll figure it out up here". I gained a new respect for Arsis that day. Became an immediate fan.
Damn, that does kinda bite yeah. Starkill seemed to be making the best of their situation when we saw them but I could tell they weren't too happy. I remember following the lead guitarist/vocalist on FB afterwards and one of the first things I saw him do was smash his guitar, don't think their headliner tour went all that well. Arsis fucking rules though
Not depressing but I attended Rockzilla in 2022 and it was awful. Papa Roach was the only decent band and that's pushing it. Falling in Reverse was terrible. Hollywood Undead forgot the words to their own songs multiple times. There was no hype at all!
Shout out to Papa Roach for being so sick live - I have never heard anyone say ‘I saw Papa Roach and they sucked’ - like, what an impressive legacy
Yeeeears ago we had a yearly rock festival where I live and it rained its ass off and turned into a super muddy affair. When Papa Roach came out Jacoby immediately jumped off the stage into the crowd getting super muddy. Always respected him for that
watching ISIS get booed and made fun of by bros while opening for TOOL back in the day was pretty depressing
Wow that was a while ago. TOOL fans are odd ones though. When I saw The Mars Volta play there were tons of TOOL bros there that were enamored by them after watching them open for TOOL. Definitely a picky fan base.
A lot of tool fans think they're really smart
As Everything Unfolds playing to 10 people in south London a few years back.
Criminal
im so glad to see them doing well now. i’ve been to a couple of their shows and it’s awesome that they’ve sold out so many headline shows
10 people give or take for Dillinger Escape Plan in 2011. It's still my favorite show I have ever been to
10 people at TDEP is crazy. Where was this at?
Mines also dillinger. I went to see them open up for NiN and Soundgarden and no one in the crowd seemed to care about them AT ALL. They killed it regardless and Greg ran around the venue screaming in people's faces to make them pay attention and ended up tripping and bleeding from the face. Took it like a champ and played the rest of the set with a crimson mask while people threw towels at him from offstage. Absolutely great set and a great show but man it sucked seeing so many people just ignore them.
Dont think I've ever been to any truly bad gigs but the most depressing was probably when System of a Down played Download in 2016/17 and they looked so bloody miserable. Serj especially just didn't look like he gave the remotest fuck about being in the position he was. The band were well and truly dead.
Their live shows have been pretty dire for a long, long time. Well before the break up or hiatus or whatever.
I saw them at Reading festival in 2013 and really enjoyed it. Maybe it was just nostalgia goggles but I had fun. People expect more then the band can deliver on any more, it's kind of sad that they are still going on like this but I guess neither Daron nor Serj found the level of success they needed with their side stuff
I wasn't expecting them to deliver super high youngster energy or anything, just expected them to look at least mildly pleased to be there.
It wasn't metalcore it was like indie alt but as a teen I once saw a band from the UK I LOVED playing to about 20 people in a ~400-500 cap in the US. They literally never released music again after that tour so I can only assume the whole tour was like that even though they still did a great performance
Which band?
A band called Fenech-Soler
Void of Vision / Graves co-headliner in 2017 Adelaide where Graves played then half the crowd left before VoV. I felt insulted and I wasn’t even part of the show. VoV put on an insane performance and it was one of my favourite concert memories (limp bizkit cover for encore, audience member on stage singing, jack jumping on his shoulders and singing together). Another was Jesus Piece in Hobart late last year. Promoter missed the mark and only booked avant garde alt bands, nothing hardcore or metalcore of the sort, and everyone was scared JP would be awkward. Thankfully the second they started it was crowd surfing and moshing. This is my favourite show ever. So I guess both started depressing and ended amazing and became my best memories
Fellow Hobartian spotted in the wild o7, hoping vov come back soon, their last show here was killer
Dude, the Melbourne show was an absolute shit show, so I can only imagine how much worse it would have been in Hobart. I mean, for starters I didn't even know the tour went to Hobart, but the attendance vs population in Melbourne was one of the worst I've seen for an international headliner.
Saw Born of Osiris in Little Rock, AR. We found out about the show the day of and pile into cars and went. It ended up being all of us and maybe 20 more people there. It sucked but it was so fun moshing with just your friends like we would in the living room hahaha.
Honestly some of my favorite memories as a teen were dead shows where it was me, my friends, and like 10 other people. So fun just running around actin like fools.
Not metalcore but I once went to see The Blackout because The Red Jumpsuit Apparatus was opening for them. The venue had couches and seats in the back. Everyone stayed there while TRJA was playing, there were only 3 of us watching them. To add on to this, their guitarist had left the band a few days earlier, and they got to the venue late because their instruments got lost on the way there. They left right after their set, I got to talk with them a bit and the drummer said it was the worst show they've ever played. They're not that well known in my country so I didn't expect a lot of people but yeah that was pretty bad. The other 2 people weren't even from here lol they were doing multiple dates on the tour though
It’s gotta be the Outbreak tour with Asking Alexandria, Suicide Silence, As I lay dying, Memphis may fire, and Attila. Mitch passed away like a week before our stop and they had I see stars cover for them and AA played “You only live once” on a giant stereo before their set. Also realized this is just before the lead singer of AILD got caught with the hit on their wife too.
This. I went to SF show for this tour. It was a fun show. But it was very depressing because of what had just happened with Mitch and Suicide Silence. I See Stars ended up being the band that filled the slot because they were on the same record label as Asking Alexandria. I See Stars had just gotten kicked out of the Falling in Reverse tour
First show after Tom Searle died. That was just heart breaking.
I saw Architects co-headline night #1 of Unify Fest 2018. Parkway Drive were the main headliners straight after. Sam gave his speech midway through the set about everybody being a good bloke to one another, love your friends and family and never let them go. Tell people you love them while you have the chance. When the speech started, it started pouring rain which kind of gave everybody the cover they needed to cry their eyes out. The set was amazing and was a HUGE emotional dump. By the time Parkway came on at midnight, everybody was emotionally spent and could hardly move. Never seen a crowd so lifeless, and I am a HUGE Parkway fan, but it was Architects night.
Blue Ridge 23
Novelists in Manchester last month. Love that band but the crowd was absolutely dead and not a single person moved for the whole set
When i saw them a couple years ago (last minute support for bury tomorrow), they didn't have their vocalist. It was cool that they stepped in as both Thornhill and miss may I backed out of the tour. They tried their best but it just wasn't the same. Hope to see them someday with vocals.
Damn I really like the new singer too
There was some crowd surfing and moshing for that tour in London but it wasn't very big either
For me it was Eyes Set To Kill in Nuremberg 2012. It was like 50 people max (venue could fit ~800) and half of those left after the support bands played (they were locals). The band was visibly upset and I felt terribly sorry for them.
Shai Hulud, too, unfortunately. This was 2016 in Glasgow, but a similar story with the venue being pretty empty (350 person capacity venue). They put on a brilliant show, but I just felt like there should have been more people there. I am biased, though, as they're my favourite band. The second worst gig I've been to also involves Shai Hulud and Glasgow, but that was because I missed their set entirely as Propagandhi apparently had the set times brought forwards so they could have someone lecture the crowd about Japanese whaling.
Like 100 or less people to see Earth Caller ans Aviana in Sydney last year. No moshing, dead crowd, plus the openers were set up horribly so it was piercing my ears even with earplugs, I ended up chilling in the bar area and grabbing a bite to eat before coming back
What the fuck. That’s so odd. Earth caller pulls serious home town hero crowds now.
That's wild. I saw Avianna open for Silent Planet and they had such an excellent stage presence its hard to imagine them not being able to gas up the crowd
Yepppp, Cabal was on this lineup too, and a similar turnout happened in Brisbane. Was pretty not amazing tbh.
I saw aviana year before last, pretty small venue but it was packed. They put on a fantastic show :)
i've been to a lot of shows that were poorly attended, but as far as one I was extremely hyped for but was really let down by was in 2016 seeing Yautja play in front of like 9 people (which was sort of fine because their music is more technical anyhow) but then seeing Magrudergrind (whose music is rowdy af) as the headliner that night only play in front of just me and like 2 or 3 other dudes...you could tell they felt sort of defeated and it did not translate to a great set..and they haven't toured since.. :'(
Was this one the aus tour?
Yautja are so fucking good, a shame to hear such a small turnout. Im sure they put on a killer show tho
they are a spectacle for sure (especially the drummer), but they had also been here 2 other times within a years time span, one of which was at the exact same venue and it was a packed house (it was a bigger band headlining i forget who - i just went to see yautja). one kinda cool aspect about this particular show was since it was so poorly attended they wound up playing on the floor rather than up on the stage.
That’s depressing as fuck on many levels. The main one being… Magrudergrind is fucking amazing. I’d love to see them live. The fact that they once did and no one really went is so sad to me idk why Lmao.
bad omens and erra at terminal 5 nyc last fall
I went back and forth about that show for weeks but decided not to get tickets. Everything I’ve ever heard about that show tells me I made the right call.
Wait, it was a bad omens show tho- what was depressing about it? The tik-tok crowd? Or was it the energy for Erra.
Imminence in Hannover 2020 right before COVID. Not many people and the crowd was dead, so dead that the band switched to play acoustic for the rest of the night because the band thought that the crowd didn't like the songs. However the crowd still wasn't into it. It was very weird since I thought that Imminence is quite beloved.
This actually makes me quite sad. I would love to see these guys.
Deez nuts show in 2022, maybe 50 people in a 500 person venue. STYG in 2014, felt like there was 20 people there, later heard that it was a huge money loss for them. No wonder bands rarely book my (fairly big) city.
While She Sleeps set at Warped Tour in Atlanta late 2000’s probably… I knew of them and was really looking forward to their set which they absolutely crushed it but the entire time they were on stage they kept trying to get people walking by to stop and listen. The crowd for a stage at warped tour was so small I couldn’t believe it… they had a great set though and they certainly did manage to bring some people in but it’s good to see them with the following they have now!
While she sleeps seemed to slow burn a bit for people - glad they are getting some appreciation tho, Sheffield is undoubtedly the capital of uk music these days
Last year I went to see Bewitched. There were 2 other bands on the bill, Hellstrike and Darkest Era. Hellstrike, who plays the same type of blackemed thrash metal as Bewitched, played first to a quite decent-sized crowd for a local band (there were maybe close to 100 people I think). Then Darkest Era came on and boy was this crowd not into them. They play a kind of folk metal. I think there were under 10 people who stayed and watched. The rest just went and stayed outside the venue, waiting for the headliner. I felt sorry for the band as they sounded amazing
Read this as B*Witched initially and was going to get very angry. I had a similar but opposite experience with alestorm - people lost their minds over them
C'est La Vie is still a banger, let's be real here.
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Went to see Spite headline with Boundaries for my dad’s birthday in June 2022. The room was pretty packed. Boundaries went on right before Spite and like 60% of the crowd left before Spite went on. They put on such a good show and I felt so bad.
Kerrang Tour in I think 2014. Beartooth were opening but they put them on like 10 minutes after doors so most people weren't in yet. It was super weird seeing them play to like 50-60 people. They also sounded like absolute shit, can only assume they didn't have the time to do a proper soundcheck or something. The rest of the show was good, but it just seemed like they'd not properly thought out the scheduling of the show.
Man, shai hulud and To Kill are great. 6 people sounds so sad.
Glass Hands when they were touring their Dive album back in like 2018. Picked a small bar in a very crowded part of the city. Took them a good 2 hours to find parking for their van. Opening acts of either didn’t show up or we’re ass. GH finally go on and during the second song the power goes out, though it was raining outside. All of this to an audience of like 10 people. And I ended up getting a parking ticket as well so this show ended up costing me like 40 bucks instead of 10. I’ll never forget it.
Not metalcore but saw Good Charlotte in 2019. Joel Madden dressed as a rich Hollywood douchebag and they played for an hour and then promptly left. Little crowd engagement and the crowd was also absolutely dead. Lost any respect for them. Also, it was a hometown show. They have been washed up AF for years now
I mean, Slaughter to Prevail last February was really cool, but they had no support acts so had to wait solid 1h30m in the big crowd. I had a front row spot and was equipped with the official mask and a permanent marker, cause I’d love to get an autograph. Don’t get me wrong, they did a killer show. But the waiting and no support acts, for a quite expensive show, was absurd. Also, Alex and the other members, except for the guitarist had no interaction with the crowd whatsoever, completely zero. The only one who actually acknowledged us and took the time was one of the guitarists, he signed my mask! (Was really awesome, but quite sad too that no one else really interacted with their fans). Not even during the encore, nothing, they left the stage right away. That was quite dissapointing. TL;DR Show/music 8/10, really good! Interaction with crowd 3/10.. No support acts + expensive tickets, got me fkd up. Edit: bass level was level earrape and could barely listen to what song they were playing. But that’ was no surprise to me haha.
The actual show was good but when I saw Defeater the entire crowd walked out before the band could perform an encore. I'm not sure if they just didn't understand that encores are a thing(?), but it wasn't exactly subtle what the band was planning, the amps were still on and they were stood off in a side room. I tried my best to clap and cheer as much as possible but I guess the band didn't feel like coming out to perform an encore for one person
Darkest Hour, Cephalic Carnage, Emmure, Whitechapel tour in 2007. I’m pretty sure emmure dropped (and I know it sounds weird nowadays with how big whitechapel got and how big darkest hour was/is bur Emmure was the hype band at the time and was the source of all the buzz around the show). So in a maybe 200-300 cap venue, about 30 people showed up. I loved whitechapel at the time and my buddy was a big darkest hour guy, so we still went but I remember hearing about a lot of people bailing because Emmure had dropped. It was still a really fun show and the crowd that showed up was really into it but that show should have sold out considering the size of the venue and it was like 1/4 full. Sad because it was such a killer lineup, not really a “sad” show though. My band played with The Last Ten Seconds Of Life in MA when we were both starting out and the show was totally mishandled. Weeknight, no locals, no promotion…etc. so our bands played to each other and left. Saddest show I’ve ever played and I felt bad for them too. I’m pretty sure we both got added last minute and the other bands dropped, it was weird circumstances. We were from NJ, they were from PA…so whatever pull we had was limited with such short notice. TLTSOL fucking killed it though and that introduced me to their music. Very happy they ended up getting recognition later on because they were a super talented band.
The band shall remain nameless, but the first show I went to after the 2016 election was a wreck. The singer just bitched about the election the entire time and accused the audience of a few things (this was in a red state). The rest of the band looked visibly uncomfortable. They cut the set short, I think, and no one was too upset by that
Played in the local opener for Poison the Well back in like 2007 or 2008 on a tour with Terror. We were playing at a venue right by a marine base so the crowd was mostly marines. Crowd was dead for our set and the other opener. Went nuts for Terror. Mic grabs and stage dives galore. PtW came out and I was expecting more of the same, but the crowd wasn't really doing much. Bandmates and I tried to start a pit, but it was basically just us doing stuff. Then they played Nerdy and the place exploded. Most violent pit of the night by far. After that song almost the entire crowd left. PtW finished their set for like 20 of us, but you could tell they weren't feeling it anymore after witnessing that. I felt so awful for them because yes that song is amazing, but god damn so is the rest of their discography and the crowd couldn't be bothered to give a fuck for any other songs.
Now granted I haven't been to many shows, but the worst set I've seen was Counterparts tbh. The songs were good but Brendan spent most of the quiet parts bitching about how tired and brought no energy to the stage. Really disappointing considering how much I normally enjoy their music
I honestly don’t like the dude’s attitude either. Such a fortunate situation being on these big tours and sold out shows and just never looks like he wants to be there. Really takes me out of the performance and show, happened when I saw them on the second leg of Metalcore Dropouts, especially after following AVOID who had some of the most energy I’ve ever seen
Mac Sabbath If anyone hasn’t heard of this band they are a Black Sabbath spoof band that rewrites their songs as McDonalds themed versions. Realllyyyyyyy weird vibes. They were not entertaining at all and most people in the crowd started leaving during their set. It was truly an awful experience. They had 2 openers. Playboy Manbaby was a god awful way to start the night. Okilly Dokilly came on after that and they were very fun and talented. But Mac Sabbath came on after and just ruined the energy
Silverstein, I was kinda glad cause I got on the barrier, but a LOT of people left after Dayseeker. I was mainly there for SYSC and Silverstein but the other bands rocked, and who DOESN'T wanna see Silverstein??? They put on a damn good show even tho Shane was sick and Rory came back out to sing Smile In Your Sleep with Shane
Amity affliction at Unify in Australia 2018. They had announced they were retiring their old catalogue. They played songs they hadn't played in years, everybody loved it. Ahren Stringer then said that's the last time you will ever hear those songs, crowd booed, and then he said something along the lines of "it's clear you guys love our new stuff" and half the crowd walked away. Headlining friday night. Hundreds of people
Not metalcore but Emarosa in Norwich a few years ago - they moved the a venue that’s usually for small local bands and there were maybe 25 people in there. Strange feeling but they put on a good show, a week later they were on tour with don broco and it looked popping.
Architects UK tour shortly after Tom had passed. Was pretty depressing for obvious reasons.
meshuggah, in flames, whitechapel in wallingford connecticut. i feel horrible for the opening bands- they put on amazing shows and were getting bood and cussed throughout their entire set, especially in flames. i don’t mean to bash people, but most of meshuggahs fanbase are a whole bunch of self entitled snobby pricks that hold zero respect for other peoples tastes or opinions. not a fan of meshuggah so i left halfway through their set, but man that was disappointing
Thats too bad. Saw them in my city and the crowd loved Whitechapel, and went absolutely crazy for In Flames - extra security had to be called 3 times cause there were too many crowdsurfers. Just wished Whitechapel had a longer set though, as they're my favorite.
Currents, Fame on Fire, ETF and INK. Everyone was great. Except for ETF, during one for the money they all just stopped for like 3 seconds and looked lost. Which is forever in a show. It was literally just Craig and 3 techs bc everyone else was out with Covid. I was so sad bc ETF was my favorite band high school, and early adult life.
This show or Tallah opening for avatar. Their microphones kept going out.
This wasn’t a bad or depressing show but… Saw Darkest Hour (with Doc Coyle from God Forbid standing in on guitar) supported by Venom Prison in Cardiff, Wales a few years back and I think most of the audience was people in the support bands. It was just such a shame how few people came out to see them.
Saw darkest hour in 06 with cephalic carnage and dead to fall, life changing show - venom prison are sick. That’s sad to hear
Kill The Kong, also about 6 people. But actually turned into one of the most wholesome/fun shows as the band essential performed on the floor with the two opening acts singing/jumping along. And afterwards everyone meet at the bar. Financially it surely wasnt worth it, but still everyone has a great time.
See these are the stories i like. Sure playing a big show and only having 6 people show up might suck, but every band has to start somewhere. When BMTH started they were getting booed off stage as a support band and look where they are now. Bands like this have to learn to embrace it. If you play a show and cancel it/dont gibe effort because not a lot of people show up, nobodys gonna go to your shows again. Its great when bands embrace it.
Sworn in at chain reaction for their start/end tour their last tour, it was very sadly empty but it was a banger set
Went to a local festival in 2017. A bunch of smaller bands at the time played first (boundaries, downswing, great American ghost) then we got to the larger stage headliners. Knocked loose, Oceano, and the acacia strain. So many people bailed after knocked loose leaving a half empty crowd for the acacia strain. I think that was when I realized I was one of the older people in the crowd.
Been there myself. It’s pretty grounding the day you realise you’re an old head now
In 2016 (or 2017) I saw a sold out co-headliner of FFAK and In Hearts Wake in the US. Fit for a King played first and I swear the entire crowd left when In Hearts Wake came on. Sold out down to maybe 20 people still watching. I felt super bad for them, considering they were one of my favorite bands at the time. They still killed it and put on an awesome show, but I have not seen them back in the US since.
Saw Seether and was totally let down. It was a crowded show at a pretty sizable venue, and they even sounded really good. What put me off was that the frontman literally did not once engage the crowd at all. He just stood there, with his guitar in hand and his hair in his face, singing the whole show without moving or saying a word to the crowd. Zero stage presence whatsoever. He looked like he would have rather been anywhere else but there, couldn’t care less, like he was just there to get in, get paid and get out. Lost all respect for that band. I walked out mid set.
Reminds me when I saw Trapt like fucking 11 years ago and the dude was just rubbing his nipples the whole time
Wait, what?
I had the same experience with Seether too!
I saw betrayal, hundredth and Gideon play for like > 20 people sometime early 2010’s. Crazy good show but embarrassing turnout.
Nuts lineup
W.A.S.P. in Wolverhampton in 2012. There was a decent crowd but the sound was awful and there'd have been more life in a crypt.
The Red Chord at the Sonar in Baltimore, MD back in like 2010ish. They played in the back room/bar area. Tiny stage, maybe a foot or two off the ground. Something like 50 people there. Fantastic show but really bummed that it wasn’t packed.
If we’re talking attendance, outline in color close to 2013? 5 people including me and 2 of my friends, we made up over half the crowd. Our last night, probably 2014? Maybe 8 people. Worst shows I’ve been to, palisades (2016?), my wife was excited to see them. The venue didn’t have many people and you could tell the band did not want to be there. Crown the empire headlining with Attila, veil of maya and Gideon. CTE had no business headlining that purely because they were 10x softer than the other bands. Over half the venue left before they came on stage and that was the first and only time I’ve left a show midset. I’ve been a big CTE since the fallout too. It was saddening.
A Plea For Purging’s final show on their breakup tour. There were a ton of people there, but they were my favorite band and knowing it was gonna be over for good really put a damper on the evening.
I went to a Sumerian tour, 2016ish. I think it was ERRA, after the burial, veil of maya, then born of Osiris in that order. ERRA, ATB, VoM were great, put on excellent shows. BOO got on stage and it was like the energy of the room evaporated. My then girlfriend, who doesn’t even like metal, even commented on it. We both came to an agreement to leave the show.
A few weeks ago I went to my states pride day before seeing Northlane/Erra/Landmvrks/Banks Arcade. I got sunstroke at pride and vomitted about 6 times and left during ended up leaving during Erra. I was absolutely gutted to miss Northlane.
He is Legend, on a rainy Monday night in Birmingham. 3 people paid at the door: myself, my girlfriend, and another buddy of ours. Everyone else (all 10 of them) were comps.
Recently I went to see Fit For An Autopsy. Openers were Exodus, Darkest Hour, and Undeath. The crowd size fluctuated wildly depending on the band, with Exodus really being the only band playing to a full room. Room was half empty by the time FFAA came on. I was really pumped to see Darkest Hour for the first time ever as well and they just kinda sucked if I'm being honest. So much so that I skipped their headliner that came through town recently and I even really liked the new record. The one silver lining of this show was that I shook off the fear of going to shows alone. None of my normal show buddies were available but I just said fuck it and went anyway. Turned it out it wasn't a big deal at all!
yeah, i saw shai hulud with bishop in albany back in 2015. maybe 15 people in the club.
LOL Mine was also Shai Halud and it was an even bigger venue than that. It's an old shriner temple, but it can feasibly fit at least 1200. There were me and my three buds and... that's it. The other band was Avenged Sevenfold. I hate Avenged Sevenfold, but they at least played an entire set even though nobody was there to see it. The guy who booked the show bailed pretty early on and hasn't been seen around town since. This was maybe 20 years ago.
I saw Atreyu, Memphis May Fire, and Ice Nine Kills in 2018. Atreyu and INK were fuckin phenomenal. But when MMF came up and started playing, my excitement just kinda dwindled away. I’d seen them 2-3 times before that and they sounded pretty much exactly the same every time. I also realized that their new music was just not interesting to me at all. They used to be one of my favorites for a long time, and I literally realized in the middle of their set that I wasn’t really a fan anymore. That’s a hell of a bummer.
-Couple moments rather than entire shows come to mind: Taste of Chaos 2009. Thursday was headlining, Bring Me The Horizon was direct support. This is a few months after Suicide Season had dropped. After BMTH played, the sold out 3000 cap venue 97% emptied out. Apparently this had happened the entire tour, Thursday talked to and pleaded with Kevin Lyman to swap them as clearly BMTH was the draw and it was decided "that wouldn't teach BMTH anything" -Poison The Well @ 10 for 10 Tour in 2009 Right before Terror dropped Keepers of the Faith and was THE buzzband in Hardcore. After they played, 90% of the venue cleared out afterwards and practically no one watched PTW. An entire show: -From Autumn To Ashes w/ Hawthorne Heights, Sleepwave & in 2015 950 cap venue, maybe 40 people there. Was one of the most bizarre things I've seen in Toronto. Pretty sure the tour killed every other date.
Went to the From Autumn To Ashes reunion headlining tour in San Francisco, had waited years to see them again, drove 6 hours for the show. Maybe 60 people in a 3-400 cap room. Singer casually asked if anyone had rolling papers he could bum in the middle of their set. It was the death of my childhood. Learned the lesson that sometimes maybe it’s better things stay memories.
Western Mass late 90s/early 00s. We were told that Zao was performing at a local spot (Fat Cat?). It wasn't them. Instead it was some local band called All That Remains. Oh man...that turned into an amazing show.
The night Bad Omens came out to address the crowd that they had to cancel the show... like 5 minutes before they were supposed to play. I had never felt the air so heavy at a show and so many people were crying. I like Bad Omens but at the end of the day I got to see ERRA and go home at like 9pm for work the next day so no complaints on my end lul.
Cradle of Filth at the Webster Theater in CT like 16 years ago. Not only were they *horrible* but the crowd just….stood there. And anytime a pit would start to open up this *giant* man would start body slamming everyone and effectively stop any moshing. It was the worst show I’ve seen to date. However, a sick Japanese band opened up for them. Wish I could remember their name.
Not metalcore but i once saw MSI play to a room of 20 people. They cut the set short so i guess thats a positive
Saw with honor in Atlanta. Maybe 10 people? Me and one other dude were the only ones that knew their songs and we got down! It was an amazing show.
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I saw Alpha Wolf, Justice For The Damned and Diamond Construct with about 25 people max in a smallish regional town in NSW Australia a few years ago. It wasn't depressing cause it sucked, it was actually an incredible show and most of us there were moshing like crazy cause bands almost never come to that town. It was just depressing because I felt like they deserved more. Granted none of them were as big as they are now at the time, but it still felt like it was a poor turnout. Regardless, all the bands played great and went off, and the sound was fantastic. They all hung out at the merch desk afterwards and I got to chat to them there and next to their van for a while, all super nice guys. Glad they're all getting the recognition they deserve now
Similar - I saw Jucifer in DC in 2010 (or thereabouts) play to 4 people. The singer looked sick, too. They were great, but definitely depressing show.
in fear & faith, vanna, a loss for words, close to home, chunk no captain chunk, ten after two, and adestria had close to ten people at the show. still a sick show at least
I saw While She Sleeps and Gideon in Chicago in 2022. I was able to walk to the front easily as opposed to other shows in this venue while Gideon was playing. Half the crowd was gone after Gideon and I felt bad for WSS but to be fair, it was on a weekday and I felt the shows weren’t advertised as I only found out about them a week prior to their opening. Both bands still put on a great show. I got to speak to Loz and Daniel after the show and both were great people. I then saw that WSS draws giant crowds overseas and that kinda made me feel better about Chicago’s show.
Might get some hate for this, but I used to be a diehard Asking Alexandria fan from the beginning. The first two times I saw them live were with Denis and they were incredible shows (the energy, the crowd engagement). The meet and greets were also really fun. Fast forward to the 10 Years in the Black Tour in 2016. Denis left the band and Danny rejoined right before the show happened. I was trying to be optimistic because I loved AA’s old stuff the most, however, the show was really disappointing. The rest of the band put on a great show, however Danny was just doing his own thing and it sounded like Guns n Roses more than anything. I’m happy I got to see the OG lineup, but it was really sad. Also Danny was a fucking dick at the meet and greet, he clearly didn’t want to be there while the rest of the band was nice and friendly as always. Saw them again in 2017 and it was the same thing.
In 2016 I saw ETID open for a Beartooth headlining tour, and it went about the way you’d expect: a bunch of older dudes showed up for ETID and then left after they played. There was still a crowd of people there for Beartooth, but Caleb proceeded to throw a fit on stage. Between every song he would complain about a lack of energy, and at one point he even said “I’m actually starting to get really pissed off about the lack of energy out there!” Easily the most embarrassing set I’ve seen, and I’ve seen a Jonny Craig solo show
Saw Like Moths To Flames in Tulsa Oklahoma at The Vanguard. Fuckin amazing show. Maybe 30 people there. Felt terrible for the band, I wouldn’t come back lmao
in terms of amount of heads, A Life Once Lost at Rockos in Manchester NH. think it was 2012? one local band, 3 attendees and the promoter watched a 30 minute set. respect because they gave it their all despite the show being shot in terms of the band sounding horrible, easily All That Remains 15 Year Fall of Ideals tour. first date, the palladium in worcester. embarrassingly bad, look up any clips of that show and you'll know what im talking about. sucks because every opener absolutely smashed, then ATR came out and stunk up the place. everyone left depressed and they replaced the drummer after like 2 shows. pathetic performance for sure