The first concert of American rock band Guns N' Roses here was memorable, but not all of it was for the right reasons.
Concert-goers flooded social media with complaints about long queues for food, drinks and transportation, as well as issues with RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) wrist tags used for cashless purchases of food and drink at the concert venue Changi Exhibition Centre.
LAMC Productions later apologised for the debacles but refused to refund tickets.
A soured concert experience is hardly rare - here are four others:
1. Madonna
The Material Girl's first showcase here last February left much to be desired - though it was hardly her fault.
Grouses ranged from the new National Stadium's poor sound quality, to the inability to see the singer because the jumbo video screens on stage were not large enough for the venue.
Fans also saw red over ticketing and seating issues, such as when those who had bought early standing tickets at $188 found out that a new ticketing category was later added in front of where they were supposed to stand.
Their unhappiness was understandable as concert tickets to the Rebel Heart Tour were among the most expensive for a concert held in Singapore, ranging from $108 to $1,288.
2. Jay Chou
The new National Stadium was again the site of another dispute between unhappy fans and organisers, this time for the Mandopop king's concert last July.
More than 1,500 people signed an online petition seeking refunds to The Invincible concert, citing poor sound quality.
The problems plaguing Chou's performance were reminiscent of his previous Opus 2 Jay 2014 World Tour in 2014 at the same venue.
However, organiser Multimedia Entertainment and Singapore Sports Hub said that overseas sound engineers had been engaged to provide advice on the sound system and set-up, which had improved the quality of speakers.
3. Mariah Carey
The pop diva managed to hit most of the high notes, but some fans were still left wanting at her October 2014 The Elusive Chanteuse tour.
She had a tendency to ramble into the microphone, eating her words.
The microphone's sound too, did not travel very well high up in the National Stadium either.
4. Stefanie Sun
Local singer Sun was the first pop act to perform at the new National Stadium during her Kepler world tour concert in July 2014 in front of some 20,000 fans.
She had to perform while suffering from the flu.
Even then, the overall sound with reverb, was rather murky, but thankfully, her distinctive timbre and evocative singing still came through.
In addition, the venue became a little warm and stuffy due to the retractable roof in place.
SOURCES: The Straits Times
