Worst Show Ever
Permatouring bassist C.J. Boyd meets up with fellow musicians while on the road to ask them about the worst shows they've played. Ranging from the hilarious to positively tragic, these stories give a glimpse into how things can go horribly wrong while just trying to play music for people.
Episodes
January 22, 2020 • 95 mins
Seasoned listeners of this podcast will note that the episodes vary pretty widely in length. I like having the guests present their stories without prescribing a predetermined amount of time. But I usually edit it to be sure it doesn't go over an hour or so. Not so with this epic series of stories from People With Bodies, a lovely band of buds from Reno, Nevada. I mean, I did in fact edit it down, but it's still 95 minutes even wit...
Mark as Played
January 15, 2020 • 43 mins
At a Joyful Noise Recordings Xmas party in 2018, while some of the finest rock stars and weirdos were mingling and getting wasted on vegan chili, I was sitting in the office of dear friend and label owner Karl Hofstetter, talking to labelmate Jasamine White-Gluz of No Joy about some of her most harrowing tour stories. Jasamine was a blast to talk to, and had me on the edge of my seat trying to take in some truly awful and amazing e...
Mark as Played
January 8, 2020 • 62 mins
Marisa Demarco had me over to her studio, where, in front of a table full of cheap gold earrings she was currently turning into a circuit board, she told me about her worst show ever. There's no way for me to accurately describe this amazing person without saying she's a living pioneer of experimental music and one of my personal musical heroes. It was an honor to have her on the show and get deep into intersections of politics, ex...
Mark as Played
January 1, 2020 • 40 mins
Rence is a road dog if ever there was one, and I knew when I asked him to be on the show, he'd have a story that packed a punch. Boy howdy was I right.
Mark as Played
December 18, 2019 • 65 mins
I had the pleasure of seeing Melanie perform twice last year at Treefort, and both performances blew my mind. First as the bassist in a harp-led chamber pop ensemble called Wend, and then in the legendary rock band Built to Spill. She was gracious enough to meet up with me to discuss some of her most awful shows, coming from her time with her previous band, Marshall Poole. The stories range from the tragic and somber to the humilia...
Mark as Played
December 11, 2019 • 62 mins
Liz Hysen tells an incredible story of turning into a wolf on tour, while also dealing with some of the most sexist and ridiculous behavior by her driver / tour manager that has appeared on this show, which is saying a lot because (as is no surprise to women musicians, but still seems to shock some of the guys) women deal with a lot of bullshit on tour that men don't experience, and seem to rarely even notice. Thanks to Liz for sha...
Mark as Played
December 4, 2019 • 47 mins
William Goldsmith played in the legendary bands Foo Fighters and Sunny Day Real Estate and has the crazy stories to show for it. Just a heads up, things get pretty gross pretty fast in the first of several stories William shows.
Mark as Played
November 27, 2019 • 35 mins
Dear friends and Joyful Noise label-mates Ohmme share the story of their most bizarre tour experience at a haunted hotel in upstate New York, as well as a show in which the venue disputed the fact that there was a show at all.
Mark as Played
November 20, 2019 • 87 mins
Lung are one of my very favorite bands currently touring, and it was a delight to sit down and discuss so many ways shows can be shitty. This is a longer episode, with lots of twists and turns from these veteran badasses.
Mark as Played
November 13, 2019 • 37 mins
Wether its her stellar drumming or her personality that fills up a room, Lupe Flores is a powerhouse of a lady. And it was pretty incredible to hear some of the crazy places touring has taken her.
Mark as Played
November 6, 2019 • 15 mins
Last winter, a bunch of us musicians who release albums on Joyful Noise met up for their holiday party in Indianapolis, and this also included us all recording a bunch of music for a holiday compilation, which ended up being more fun and more interesting musically than I had ever thought it could be. Adam Harding had a song with Thor Harris, which I ended up playing on, and there was a general love of cross-pollination all around. ...
Mark as Played
October 30, 2019 • 64 mins
It was a true delight to sit down with Matthew and hear about the show in which this full bill of fantastic Cincinnati local bands was commandeered by a certain celebrity-focused television network. It was also funny to hear us talk so much about my own life, particularly with respect to permatour. I'm releasing this episode on my first day living in an apartment after almost 12 years of nothing but living in vehicles. The episode ...
Mark as Played
October 23, 2019 • 58 mins
Nilan Perera has been playing what he calls "adventurous music" in the Toronto scene for 35 years. We get deep into the ethics of improvised music and how it can go wrong.
Mark as Played
October 16, 2019 • 61 mins
A staple in the Montreal experimental music scene, my dear friend Catherine Debard recounts an adventure in the US that had huge ups and downs, and how she managed to keep her calm through it all.
Mark as Played
October 9, 2019 • 54 mins
Xiu Xiu frontman Jamie Stewart tells the story of their worst tour ever. But his approach to this common theme is unique in how, on the one hand, he labels himself an asshole and takes full responsibility for how terribly he treated his tour-mates (Tune-Yards). On the other hand, he makes a compelling case for having the moral high ground in this dispute, despite acknowledging how shitty he treated them. I was absolutely fascinated...
Mark as Played
October 2, 2019 • 22 mins
I was very fortunate to run into one of my favorite current rappers, Mariah Parker (aka Linqua Franqa), at Treefort Music Festival earlier this year. And somehow I managed to keep my fanboying to a minimum for long enough to talk to her about her worst show ever. We were using the festival's press room, which was in fact reserved for someone more official, so the convo was kept short. But Mariah manages to pack in a lot in 22 minut...
Mark as Played
September 25, 2019 • 60 mins
Emmett Kelly has toured in a variety of roles from front man of Cairo Gang to sideman in Bonnie "Prince" Billy, from band leader for someone else's band to hired gun holding it down. Here he tells a story about one of the shows that made him question whether all of those roles are actually for him. Alex Dupree has also toured in many different ways, and here he recalls maybe the worst trip between shows.
Mark as Played
September 18, 2019 • 42 mins
Casey Chisholm is an old friend with whom I've shared many a stage. One of the first times we played together, he asked to interview me, standing on the street outside Mama Buzz Cafe in Oakland. It seemed fitting that I would eventually get to interview him, also standing on a street, though a much calmer one in the tiny mountain town of Sonora, California. It also seemed fitting that we'd meet up to talk about Casey's roughest sho...
Mark as Played
September 11, 2019 • 44 mins
Victoria Shen plays experimental music, pushing the edges of performance and noise. She might be the first on this podcast to share a story of a show that went really well, as far as she knew, but resulted in some truly brutal and vitriolic hate mail.
Mark as Played
September 4, 2019 • 60 mins
Sam Humans and I meet up after a show in Portland to discuss some crazy and awful occurrences while on tour. Highlights include van breakdowns and the shenanigans that ensue.
Mark as Played
Popular Podcasts
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
The official podcast of comedian Joe Rogan.
Two Guys (Bowen Yang and Matt Rogers). Five Rings (you know, from the Olympics logo). One essential podcast for the 2026 Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics. Bowen Yang (SNL, Wicked) and Matt Rogers (Palm Royale, No Good Deed) of Las Culturistas are back for a second season of Two Guys, Five Rings, a collaboration with NBC Sports and iHeartRadio. In this 15-episode event, Bowen and Matt discuss the top storylines, obsess over Italian culture, and find out what really goes on in the Olympic Village.
The Clay Travis and Buck Sexton Show. Clay Travis and Buck Sexton tackle the biggest stories in news, politics and current events with intelligence and humor. From the border crisis, to the madness of cancel culture and far-left missteps, Clay and Buck guide listeners through the latest headlines and hot topics with fun and entertaining conversations and opinions.
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com