Paranoid Android wrote on Jan 15^th, 2013 at 9:19am:


from Wikipedia:

"The plan was to give a live performance featuring new songs, broadcast as a television special and recorded for release as an album. (At one point McCartney considered launching a tour; however, the idea was quickly shot down by the other members.) Unlike their recent albums, their new material would be designed to work well in concert, without the benefit of overdubs or other recording tricks.
Many ideas were floated concerning the location of the concert. Conventional venues such as The Roundhouse in London were discussed, but they also considered more unusual locations such as a disused flour mill and an ocean liner. The location that received the most consideration was a Roman amphitheatre in North Africa. None of the ideas garnered unanimous enthusiasm ... it was agreed to start rehearsals without a firm decision on the concert location.

Around lunchtime on Friday, 10 January, tensions came to a head and Harrison told the others that he was leaving the band...at a meeting on 15 January, Harrison agreed to return with the conditions that elaborate concert plans be dropped...trying to come up with a conclusion for the film, it was suggested that the band play an unannounced lunchtime concert on the roof of the Apple building."

from Ultimate Classic Rock:

Ringo talking about the Fab Four’s initial plans for a farewell gig:

“The four of us were thinking, ‘We’ll do it at the Pyramids, or we’ll do it in Hawaii in a volcano,’” Starr revealed. “We had all these big, grandiose ideas and at the end you say, ‘Sod it, just let’s do it on the roof.’” 


I think my initial comment ("they couldn't get their shit together to play an actual gig") is fairly accurate.