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Worst concerts you have attended?

98.210.41.85

Posted on October 30, 2009 at 13:49:30
John PA
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Not to be negative but there is the good, the bad, the ugly and the worst.

I went to a Little Richard concert in 1971 in Long Beach Calif. Little Richard performed for about 15 or 20 minutes, with a so so performance and then said he would be right back after a break. He didn't come back and relayed that he was tired. Maybe he was, maybe he wasn't but he kept our money and the crowd was angry and stomped for a longer period than the entire concert. He didn't come back on.
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Aerosmith 1979 I think, posted on November 9, 2009 at 15:55:33
Roterhals
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Night in the Ruts tour at the Omni, Atlanta. Played 45 minutes, terrible sound. Didn't help that the opening band Mother's Finest kicked their asses.

Joe Jacksons Jumpin Jive, posted on November 3, 2009 at 21:38:09
unleasHell
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Went expecting him to play his cool early Elvis Costello type hits, instead we were treated to the worst horn section this side of Earth, Wind and Fire, left early HATED him for the rest of time, that fat old bald fart..

Michelle Shocked at the Flat Rock Folk Festival, posted on November 3, 2009 at 14:23:04
DAT
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Wanted to bitch about the audience instead of performing.

Bob Dylan on his Down In The Groove tour, around 1987 is the worst where I paid specifically to hear the performer. I too have seen Bob give great performances, but I took my dad to hear John, Willie and Bob earlier this year and was either embarrassed for or angry with Dylan depending on how deliberate his screamed vocals burried deep in the mix were. Dylan and Simon, on the other hand was one of my favorite shows ever.

RE: Worst concerts you have attended?, posted on November 3, 2009 at 06:05:51
Whell
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The Moody Blues, circa 1982 at the Joe Louis Arena in Detroit. They were just "off" that night: no energy at all in the performance, like they we're just putting in time until the tour was over. It got so bad that, at one point about 2/3 of the way through the show, Justin H said to the audience, "Don't worry. We're almost done."

Van Halen - 2004, posted on November 2, 2009 at 13:03:37
Zipcord
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At the ARCO in Sac - it was 115 degrees F and Eddie's solo horrid

Blondie- AutoAmerica Tour, posted on October 31, 2009 at 17:31:16
Ross
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Mid August 1982 Brenden Byrne Arena in northern NJ.

The 2 opening acts were great.

David Johansen. Post Dolls, pre Buster Poindexter. Played some Dolls songs and his encore was Personality Crisis.

And a band on the their 1st US tour- Duran Duran I don't recall what they played. But they did sound good. I had no idea that within a year they would be one of the biggest acts in Music.

Blondie was horrible, or should I say Deborah Harry was horrible. She was drugged out, out of sync with the band, forgot words and in general looked strung out. During "Rapture" she brought out Fab 5 Freddie to recreate their single duet. We stayed around after the show to see if we can meet/get autographs from the bands. All we got to see was Fab 5 come out of the back of stadium, flash a grin and a wave to the fans and then get into a NY bound cab.

Flash forward about a month, I was a freshman in a College down south, talking to a guy from Philly who lived across the hall. We were discussing concerts we had seen the previous summer and I mentioned the Blondie show. He asked what I thought and I gave him the opinion I expressed above. Turns out he was at the show, covering it for a Philly underground mag that he wrote for. He agreed with my opinion of Blondie. Small world....900 miles away.

Best,

Ross

Not worst but strangest... Spiritualised, posted on October 31, 2009 at 17:02:01
dave c
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Just after they started having hits and went from pulling 500 to 2,000 sized audiences.
A hall packed with teens, the band come on to a darkened stage, the audience whoops, the band starts and....
A complete back line of WHITE strobes erupts causing total chaos whilst the band screeches into 5 minutes of LOUD white noise.
Strung across the front of the stage all facing the rear, TOTAL NOISE and then...
Straight into one of their sweetest tunes.
The entire set went like this and when the finished...
Not a single bit of applause and the entire audience left without a murmur.
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The Cars, 1981, posted on October 31, 2009 at 15:21:13
Prisoners
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They just stood there and went through the motions. No interaction with the crowd, no encore,...it just seemed like they were doing a sound check. Black Sabbath in '85. They had to move the venue because of poor ticket sales and it seemed the band was pissed about it. Ian Gillan was the singer for this tour following the "Born Again" album. No encore and the band members avoided each other as if the were contagious.
Baba-Booey to you all!

Second The Cars, but mine was '79. Too bad they didn't learn. nt, posted on November 1, 2009 at 17:04:08
RickMac
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Dylan, Dead, Doobies, posted on October 31, 2009 at 15:08:06
madisonears
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Three D's all get F's.

Dylan was unintelligible, the tunes were unrecognizable. Absolutely horrible, only one year after having seen him give one of the best concerts of my life (see thread below). I should have stopped after that one and his legend would be forever preserved...

I was pumped to see the Dead in the early 70's, but found them listless and boring beyond belief. And yes, I was tripping. The music between sets was better (Beatles "Yesterday and Today" sounded amazing over the PA). I wonder to this day what all the fuss is about.

Saw the Doobie Brothers twice and was not impressed with either show. They sure couldn't play live as well as they were recorded.

Peace,
Tom E

RE: Dylan, Dead, Doobies, posted on November 1, 2009 at 10:53:18
Scholl
I saw Dylan at State Collage in 81 or 82 and Madison Square Garden in 85 or 86. Both shows were the worst I've ever seen. I saw him again last year and it was good, not great but good. In NY he did House of the rising Sun and I didn't even recognize it.

Wendy O and the Plasmatics in Sunbury PA was another stinker.

LAter

Doobies..., posted on October 31, 2009 at 16:25:58
mkuller
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...I've seen them twice.

About 5 years ago just before their drummer died.

And about 2 months ago at the Fillmore standing about 5 feet from the stage.

Both times I thought they put on a great show.

Their manager owns a winery in Somoma - B.R. Cohn - and puts on a two day weekend all day concerts for charity each fall with a great line-up in their outdoor amphitheater.

We finally got tickets to go last year but got sick and couldn't make it.

REM, posted on October 31, 2009 at 14:26:56
Blooze
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Went to a REM concert at Sandstone Amphitheatre (verizon or something now) in Kansas City back in the early 90's. Friend won free tickets so we went on the second night of a two night show. About into the third song Stipe's voice went. He apologized, the band kept playing, and the crowd sang. I'm glad I didn't pay for tickets.

Went to a hairband concert in the 80's with Poison as the headliner and Warrant as the warmup band. Warrant did well, but Poison came out so drunk they couldn't play or even say an intelligible word. Only show I've ever walked out on.

RE: Worst concerts you have attended?, posted on October 31, 2009 at 09:12:26
jimmycj
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Infamous Grateful Dead at the dome,

Grand Ole Opry on Tour, posted on October 31, 2009 at 03:58:05
jimmyjames
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and some other show I can't remember, both shows were dates where I had absolutely no interest in the "music" but went to get...well you know.

GOO on Tour wasn't that bad from the standpoint of seeing and hearing about a dozen acts from that "musical" genre but the sound was terrible. Even the hillbillys were complaining, loudly.

"E pur si muove...And yet it moves"

the Police, posted on October 31, 2009 at 05:54:58
Frank I
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Last summer tour. They were boring and never really got the crowd into it. Major dissapointment.

Clay Aikens at Hollywood Bowl, posted on October 31, 2009 at 00:15:19
FenderLover
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Don't ask...

don't tell!, posted on October 31, 2009 at 11:44:07
PhilJ
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:^D


thanks

Phil

RE: Worst concerts you have attended?, posted on October 30, 2009 at 23:52:13
woodyjeff
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Aerosmith - 1999-the sound in this coliseum was best described as a constant echo,Tyler started the show by complaining of knee pain and Joe Perry appeared to be going offstage to puke in a bucket.The sound got so bad after about 20 minutes Tyler cursed,threw the mike down and stormed off stage.The lights came on about 15 minutes later. This disaster prompted the city to redesign the acoustics in the venue.

China Crisis/Simple Minds Beacon Theater 1984, posted on October 30, 2009 at 22:22:23
R Browne
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Went especially to see China Crisis who opened for Simple Minds because I really liked their music at the time. They were good, but when Simple Minds came on they were WAY TOO LOUD. So loud that I had to leave after the second or third song and when I got outside my ears were ringing. What a waste. Too bad because they were a good band.

Kris Kristofferson/Willie Nelson.........., posted on October 30, 2009 at 21:42:46
Todd Krieger
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It was in either the late 1970s or early 1980s....... Universal Amphitheatre....... Kristofferson was singing anti-American tunes and Willie Nelson stopped a couple songs because he forgot the lyrics.........

I've been to concerts where the sound was downright awful...... Most notably the Jeff Beck concert several years ago at the Grove in Anaheim. The performance was great, but the sound as horrid..........


RE: Worst concerts you have attended?, posted on October 30, 2009 at 20:24:17
jimbill
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Worst ever was a jazz act, but this isn't the proper forum for that.

The most disappointing was James Taylor. And I love JT.
He came out on stage with a reel-to-reel set up on a stool. He then played along with it. And this was an auditorium seating at least 1000. This was the late 70's, so he wasn't poor.

I also had to suffer through the Star Land Vocal Band as an opening act. I still have nightmares.

"Afternoon Delight "- one of three songs I hate the most...(nt), posted on October 31, 2009 at 11:35:39
mkuller
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(nt)

that begs the question..., posted on October 31, 2009 at 14:46:30
mhardy6647
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... well, you know what question it begs...

(I sort of always liked "Afternoon Delight" but I think it's related to the era and my age and stuff like that.)
all the best,
mrh

Joe Cocker, simply abysmal, Buffett not far behind., posted on October 30, 2009 at 18:59:02
Road Warrior
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In the middle of a decent 1975 lineup composed of Santana, Bad Company, ZZ Top (not exactly shpwstoppers themselves), and somebody else. He sang About Time We Went about 6 songs into his set and wented.

Not far behind, Jimmy Buffet, 2nd show, MacFarlin Auditorium in Dallas. late 70's. Complained about his back the whole time, obviously didn't want to do the second show, rushed thru ever song, and was off in a flash.

Jethro Tull 1972, posted on October 30, 2009 at 17:18:50
boboli
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They seemed completely bored and I was very disappointed.

RE: Jethro Tull 1972, posted on October 30, 2009 at 18:05:33
cfraser
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First proper "concert" I ever saw, Thick as a Brick tour, Jan. '72. I was 15, just moved to Canada, had never even heard of Jethro Tull even though I came from the UK LOL. I was on the Isle of Wight in '71 when the "big concert" was going on and didn't even know it, LOL for that too, it's such a small (in every way) place.

Must have liked the Tull, remember buying the TaaB 8-track. Can you imagine anything worse for an 8-track?

RE: Jethro Tull 1972, posted on October 31, 2009 at 03:10:26
audioAl
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Jethro Tull 1976, Mid South Colisuem,They advertized a Special Guest. It was Ian Anderson, lights came up, he was sitting on a stool, hat pulled down over his face, played acoustic guitar for 1 hour, beautiful melodies. Then, the band started suddenly! Wow, most weren't aware it was Ian playing the acoustic solo. He was his own special guest.
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I few come to mind, ..., posted on October 30, 2009 at 17:00:20
Raiderman
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My first concert was a Chinese New Years Eve Grateful Dead concert, back in the mid eighties. Boy, did that suck.
Crappy set list and a listless performance. Argh!
(I will say that I saw them one more time, when they were backing up Bob Dylan at the Oakland colliseum, (on their "Touch of Gray" tour), and they were much, much better.)

Other standout "blah" performances have been:

Sonic Youth, at a Bridge concert, and at an almost acoustic Xmas concert. They proved to me that they can not play acoustic instruments, and that they just plain suck. My nomination for worst (famous) band ever!

Surprisingly, The Smashing Pumpkins first two times that I saw them, (once at a Bridge concert, (acoustic), and once at the SJ Arena), they absolultely blew chunks. But, for some reason, I took a chance and went and saw them a third time, (when they reformed a year or two ago), at a fairly small venue, (the Santa Cruz Civic Auditorium), and they were absolutely awesome. (In fact, it was one of the best concerts I have ever seen.)

Billy Joel, at the Oakland Arena. A very boring concert, not completely bad mind you, but between the crappy seats, the crappy acoustics and the only fair performance, it stuck with me one of my worst concerts.

Hey, if someone wants to start a "Worst Venue" thread, I nominate the San Jose and Oakland Arenas. The acoustics suck, unless one is right, smack in front of the stage. Sitting anywhere else is a complete waste of money and time.

My two cents worth anyway.

Robert Fripp in San Diego, posted on October 30, 2009 at 16:51:15
danj
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He opened, believe it or not, for Rare Earth. Fripp's set seemed to last forever and it sounded like he'd forgotten how to tune his guitar. The drums were way too loud and the vocals too low. I found his tunes dreadfully pretentious. If it hadn't have been for the fact that I'd come to the show with a friend who wanted to stay AND had the car, I would have gone somewhere and had a few cool ones. Fortunately Rare Earth finally came on and they were so good it almost made me forget Fripp's awfulness.

I saw the Airplane once and they were absolutely horrible. All out of tune and out of sync, the entire crew seemed to be having an off night. I saw them again a few months later and they were magnificent.

I saw the Ramones and could not believe I had paid good money to listen to a sub-par garage band. I can't understand why their records are so good and their live act so uninteresting - loud but dull.

Creedence Revisted. Stu and Doug but no John (Tom is deceased.) Their vocalist sounded like a cross between David Clayton-Thomas and Paul Rodgers. Stu and Doug are a world-class rhythm section but Creedence was John Fogerty. Creedence Revisited sounded like a tribute band that should be playing on the sub-bill at a county fair. You know, opening for some second or third tier country singer or an almost famous 80s hair band.

A couple come to mind right away, posted on October 30, 2009 at 15:20:33
60SXRD
Led Zeppelin, Market Square Arena, Indianapolis. I think it was 1977. Plant was being a complete ass - yelled at the crowd not to request any older songs and otherwise acted completely bored.

Van Halen at the US festival 1983 - DLR didn't even seem to know what song they were playing and kept doing psuedo karate moves and yelling "I forgot the words!" Eddie looked like he wanted to kill him onstage.

Saw Led Zeppelin in the acoustic nightmare theat was the Kingdome ..., posted on October 30, 2009 at 16:38:28
hcman
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on that same tour. The low point for me was when Page assaulted his guitar, and our collective ears, with a violin bow.

Heavy metal thunder, posted on November 2, 2009 at 12:28:24
MylesJ
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The kind of redefined the term heavy metal thunder for me. After hearing that I wasn't surprised when pieces of concrete started to fall from the ceiling a couple of years later.

RE: Saw Led Zeppelin in the acoustic nightmare theat was the Kingdome ..., posted on November 1, 2009 at 17:37:37
Con-fusion
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hahaha that's hilarious I was at that mess, way up in the nose bleeds. Five of us drove down from Van, did not recognize one single song they played :D


"I like blood on the floor jazz"
John McLaughlin

RE: A couple come to mind right away, posted on October 30, 2009 at 15:35:42
Squonk
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lol, Market Square Arena is the place I was referring to in my post below about AC/DC. Geez, that place was Gawd awful for concerts. Good riddance.
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I dunno about worst but, posted on October 30, 2009 at 15:14:27
mhardy6647
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I saw Yes at the Capital Centre in Largo, MD sometime ca. college days (late 1970s) and they were stunningly ordinary. Hardly what I was expecting.

Donovan opened for them and he was pretty good.


all the best,
mrh

Ginger Baker Central Park NYC, posted on October 30, 2009 at 15:13:16
dwill123
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One of the concerts for the Schaefer Music Festival. Buddy Miles Express was the opening act and they were great. Anticipating something close from Baker I endored as much as I could and finally walked out. The only concert I've ever left because the music was horrible (I almost walked out on Yes at Madison Square Garden when the debut Tales from Topographic Oceans but I stayed). Baker's performance was awful.

Van Morrison..., posted on October 30, 2009 at 15:02:07
mkuller
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...in the 1980s at the Berkeley Community Theater with Georgie Fame.

Van would come out and start a song, then Georgie or someone else would come out and sing the rest of it.

Van wasn't onstage for even half the concert.

As a huge Van fan, I was very disappointed.

Can't think of too many other bad concerts, just bad opening acts.
Cowboy Mouth, anyone?

My wife got so that she hates opening acts and would beg me not to go early.

RE: Van Morrison..., posted on October 30, 2009 at 20:06:53
jimbill
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Saw him in a relatively small venue (1500?) in the early 80's. He actually put on a good show. I had heard tales of his ego driven exploints, so I was pleased.

As for opening acts. Isn't it fun when the opening act later becomes bigger than the headliner?

BTW, just got some bad news on a wine purchase. I ordered some Siduri Sonoma pinot noir (my 18 bottles allotment) which has always been a great cost/quality value. WS gave it 80. Ouch.

Van Morrison..., posted on November 2, 2009 at 13:29:23
dave c
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A friend tour managed him sometime in the mid-80s and asked me to help out on some security at a show one night.
As I found out, his band were under strict instructions to not even say "hello" to him unless he said it first.
If anyone did anything out of place he would walk out.

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Joe Cocker puking on the guy near me, posted on October 30, 2009 at 14:53:26
LWR
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from the stage at the Fillmore in some wretched year.
Altamont from the moment Jefferson Airplane had an in-flight incident on stage onwards.
People trying to jam backstage outside the "white room" at the Last Waltz. They were so high on blow their could not even talk ...much less sing.
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AC/DC late '80s?, posted on October 30, 2009 at 14:37:55
Squonk
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Was in an indoor arena and the sound was so bad it was hard to even tell which song they were playing. Lmao! Finally, we said screw this and went up to the bar and sat and drank beer and watched through glass and listened through monitors. lol
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ritchie coliseum - u of md (i think maybe 1976), posted on October 30, 2009 at 14:03:13
musiclistener
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joni mitchell's now infamous one-tune show - did free man in paris, feigned illness and bolted - my very hot date and i proceeded to kill the rest of the night with too much refreshment - not my original intention for the evening




"When the going gets weird, the weird turn pro." -HST

RE: ritchie coliseum - u of md (i think maybe 1976), posted on October 31, 2009 at 09:21:11
jimmycj
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Saw her in like 79?With Robert Palmer,she came out ,not a word said,a few songs ,she was gone,

Joni Mitchell, posted on October 30, 2009 at 19:59:08
jimbill
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Big fan. Bad concert

Saw her in Houston, maybe '75?

She got pissed at people yelling out requests and made an ugly comment about it. The show didn't last much longer.

"Paint another "Starry Night", man"., posted on October 30, 2009 at 21:55:57
Jack Seaton
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That was her comment made on the "Miles of Aisles" Live LP, on the topic.

RE: Joni Mitchell behaved the same way at a Boston Common concert at about the same time...it seems that her, posted on October 30, 2009 at 21:08:20
LongPlay
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hippie flower child base did not appreciate the new direction her music was taking...imagine booing a lineup with Joni and Jaco Pastorius!....

I saw her on The Common around '83, not much better..., posted on November 1, 2009 at 17:10:15
RickMac
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She got upset that people were walking around getting food or going to the restroom. She seemed offended that each and every person in the audience wasn't completely still, silent, and enthralled with her performance. As someone else said, love the music and the musician, not the show. Such a prima donna.

RE: I saw her on The Common around '83, not much better..., posted on November 3, 2009 at 11:25:19
I am repressing the date, but Eric Clapton about 1978 +/- at the Spectrum in Philadelphia. The sound was terrible. Arena concerts are a crap shoot at best and I did not have the best seats. Who knows how well he played as you could not discern anything but a roar of sound. (And I am a huge Clapton fan!)

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