Inspired by the re-opened Worst Opening Act You Sat Through ....... thread. I saw Peter Frampton open for Uriah Heep at London’s Hammersmith Odeon shortly before Frampton Comes Alive was released. I liked his version of Jumpin‘ Jack Flash, the only song I recognized then. I would love to hear that concert again knowing what I came to know later. Uriah Heep put on a great show all the same.
AC/DC opening for Alice Cooper and Bob Seger & The Silver Bullet Band opening for Black Sabbath are two that come to mind that I've seen. Both were great shows.
Squeeze opening for A & M labelmates The Tubes in 1979. Merle Haggard opening for Dylan circa 2004. Stan Ridgway opening for Pere Ubu 2007 In fact, Pere Ubu often provide their own opening act, the Pere Ubu Moon Unit, where they come out and improvise for a first set. The reasoning being that 'if anyone is going to come out and play our audience crappy music for thirty-five minutes, it might as well be us...'
Art in Manilla supporting Rilo Kiley in 2007. I liked them enough to buy a CD from the merchandise stand, but I haven't listened to it that much since.
Jethro Tull opening, then Led Zeppelin , who were second on the bill. Vanilla Fudge were the headliners. February, 1969. Five bucks. Jethro Tull were great, not to mention Zeppelin of course
Graham Parker opening for Dylan early 90's.....I actually saw both Iron Maiden and Def Leppard as opening acts...but.
tie: neutral milk hotel opening for superchunk in 1998 (they played for over an hour at superchunk's behest... it was halfway through the tour and they had sold out of all their merch...incredibly mind-blowing) the white stripes opening for sleater-kinney in 1999 (i remember distinctly thinking "this guy absolutely shreds at the guitar and this is awesome -- but they will never be huge"...was I wrong)
2002...The Young Dubliners (opening for Jethro Tull) I had never heard the Dubliners before, but they were great. Whereas, Jethro Tull were a little flat by comparison, but it was really Ian Anderson to blame. He sounded like Popeye. He was changing a lot of the melodies and rhythms just so he could strain his way thru the songs. He had been doing that on the previous tour as well, but this was...rough.
Metallica opening for Twisted Sister at the Fountain Casino in Aberdeen, NJ. Mother Love Bone opening for Dogs D'Amour multiple times/venues. Jewel opening for Deep Blue Something, Irving Plaza, NYC J. Geils Band opening for KISS Roosevelt Stadium, NJ So many others I forgot...
Jess And The Ancient Ones, opening for King Diamond. Outstanding in every way. They have become almost an addiction, love it.
I can’t think of anyone off the top of my head, but I’ve played with a couple of bills where the support bands have been so incredible, I’ve actually been reluctant to go on. Conversely, about a decade ago, my old band played a few support gigs with Bearsuit (prog-punk-pop much beloved of John Peel), and one night the stars aligned and we absolutely hammered them and stole the show. Right crowd, right sound, right songs…magical. We got called back for encores.
Little Feat, opening for Traffic Flaming Lips, opening for Beck John Cale, opening for Pere Ubu Patti Smith, opening for Bob Dylan Patti Smith, opening for the Grateful Dead Solomon Burke, opening for Van Morrison Bob Dylan, opening for Van Morrison Merle Haggard, opening for Van Morrison Rockpile, opening for Elvis Costello The Persuasions, opening for Frank Zappa
Doors... opened for Buffalo Springfield, followed by The Byrds. Valley Music Theater, February 22, 1967.
Thin Lizzy opening for Bachman-Turner Overdrive Bad Company opening for Black Oak Arkansas John Prine opening for Bonnie Raitt John Hiatt opening for Jackson Browne Dave Mason opening for Doobie Brothers Jars of Clay opening for PFR Donovan opening for Yes
There's been a bunch but one that comes to mind was the Hampton grease band opening for zappa at the fillmore East in 71. They got three encore calls. Pretty good opening for an act like zappa. For those who are not familiar, the was colonel Bruce Hampton who passed away not long ago.
Blackfoot. Probably not the most compelling introduction to "real" live rock, but they were serviceable. I remember hearing "Train Train" and I remember a blistering solo where the stage lights reflected off the guitar pick guard and temporarily blinded me. It retrospect, it was pretty cool.
Steve Morse opening for Rush, George Thorogood opening for Heart then The Rolling Stones, Suicidal Tendencies opening for Queensryche . . . all very nice surprises.
i too have been in the headlining band(we headlined probably 80% of our gigs) and have been worried about playing a bit after some really great acts that played before us!
AC/DC opening for lou reed the undertones opening for the clash i am sure there are others and i know i went to quite a few shows to see the opener but just can't recall them at the moment.
Lightnin Hopkins opening for Clifton Chenier and His Red Hot Louisiana Band at Jay's Cockpit and Lounge in Cankton, Louisiana, 1976. Do you think I was lucky?