Opening Acts So Much Better Than Headliners that You Went Home Early

Not finished yet! I think the Wilshire line won't be done for at least 3 more years. And with the earthquake due any day now, it'll be a moot point.

 

Opening Acts So Much Better Than Headliners that You Went Home Early Would Have Left Early If Your Date Hadn't Insisted on Staying

UFO opening for Bob Seger and Peter Frampton. There's five wasted hours of my life I'm never getting back.

 

Apologies. With all your work out that way I thought you might live in the valley. For anyone that does consider the subway for the Hollywood Bowl.

 

I didn't leave, but Blue Oyster Cult ruled the stage opening for .38 Special. It was almost embarrassing how much a difference in quality between the two bands.

 

David Johansen opening for Pat Benatar at Poplar Creek, 1981.

 

Pearl Jam opening for the Rolling Stones (Oakland Stadium)
Oasis opening for U2 (Oakland Stadium)
Talk Talk opening for Berlin (Greek Theatre)

 

I seen Bobby Womack open for Santana, or apparently what was left after Santana fell apart and Carlos Santana kept using the name.

Bobby Womack was fantastic, but what was being called Santana emptied half the arena out before halfway through their set.
It is to this day the very worst concert I have been to, and the only one in which I and those I was with got so bored that we left.

 

I must be the only person whose never left a concert early.

I've seen shows where the opening act blew the headliner off the stage, but never actually left the venue until lights went up because I want my money's worth

 

Procol Harum opening for Yes

 

Poco opening for Pure Prairie League. Unless Poco wanted an early night.......we left one song into PPL's set.

Most recently - Jeff Beck opened for ZZ Top in the Woodlands TX. Jeff took no prisoners. After he finished, MANY got up. Yes, the REAL talent left the building!

Honestly, the only other time I left early was when I saw the Grateful Dead in 1987(or '88). Seeing the acid heads grooving 2 hours before the show started make me make sure I wasn't out on the streets when they were leaving.

 

The only time out of hundreds of shows I've left after the opening act was back in '84 when Gary Moore opened for Rush. Not saying Rush was bad (and I have seen them since and really have grown to like them) but at the time my friend and I really did not like Rush and went solely to see Moore who rarely toured the US.

 

I wasn't at the show but the all time example of this would be the New York park concert where Bruce Springsteen opened for Anne Murray.

 

When Starky opened for The Killers. The killers were good but Starky were more rocking and more memorable for me. I did feel like leaving early.

 

Not quite. I did see a co-headlining tour with Blondie and Pat Benatar, and Blondie embarrassed themselves so badly, it was like they were warming up for Pat.

 

Saw Hot Tuna open for Rod Stewart in Utica, New York. To be fair, every other time I saw Rod the Mod he smoked. Not this time. He had an orchestra with him and it just wasn't happening. Hot Tuna on the other hand was playing behind their Yellow Fever album and Jack & Jorma were simply unstoppable! Felt sorry for Rod having to endure 25 minutes of people yelling, " Tuuuuna Tuuuuna!"

 

I think it was the Fall of 1983 at Notre Dame. My buddies and I enthusiastically cheered on Joan Jett & The Blackhearts, the opening act, but defiantly walked out of and cursed the main act, Loverboy.

That was a no-brainer! And we met Joan at her tour bus to cap it off! It had to be 1983 as Joan was plugging Album.

 

Sounds like kids playing at being rock stars. Any music of note after the attention grabbing gimmickry? Do they have any music I may have heard of?

 

The Wildhearts, supporting Gun, just prior to Mondo-Akimbo-A-Go-Go being released. They weren't many bands that could live with the magnificence of early Wildhearts and Gun weren't even that good!

 

Around ten years ago, my GF at the time wanted to see Godsmack. They were coming to The Boston Garden so we got tickets. They were the opening act and the headliners were Metalica. We went to the concert, Godsmack played, and then the house lights came on. Change of stage, then the house lights went down and Metalica came on. About four songs in, the GF said, "come on, let's go, this band stinks". Well, I'm no Metalica fan, but I wanted to give them a chance! We were already there, we already paid for tickets, we already paid for parking, why not sit it out? Guess it all comes down to perception!

 

Man, I saw that tour on Halloween 1999 and the lineup was Phil & F opening and Bob Dylan closing. However, I felt the exact opposite. I had to be talked into staying after about 3 songs into Bob's set. I was telling my friends "I'm so bored. I'll meet you back at the hotel."

I also saw Ryan Adams & the Cardinals open for Oasis. I purchased the ticket with zero intention of staying for the limey Gallagher brothers. Although DRA and the Cards weren't that great anyway. But that was December 2008 and by January Ryan Adams announced the breakup of the Cardinals, so the writing must've been on the wall for the band at that show.

 

I'd certainly stay for Slim Whitman.

 

ELP opening for Jethro Dull in 1996.

 

It wasn't billed that way, but The Statler Brothers and June Carter sort of opened for Johnny Cash at a free outdoor concert I attended. At least Johnny didn't make an appearance till the show was about halfway over. The Statlers were awesome, June was good, Johnny was drunk. I stayed for the whole thing because the Statlers and June were still there.

 

This is just hearsay on my part. But I recall a report from a couple of friends who had attended their show that Black Sabbath at the Montreal Forum in 1972 (03-24) got blown away by Wild Turkey.

I have never seen either bands live myself. I wish I had though, especially in 1972... I really liked what I was hearing of Wild Turkey on progressive FM radio, and "IV" is my favorite Sabbath album.

 

I've left shows early simply because I wasn't interested in the headliner:

-1986: I left one song into the Dead's set after Dylan/Petty opened. I wanted to be able to say I'd seen the Dead play, so I stayed for one song and then headed to the exit.

-1994: I left the WOMAD festival during Midnight Oil's set. I was there for Peter Gabriel - I watched a little of MO's set but wasn't interested so I left.

-2002: I left the Area2 festival during Moby's set. Same as above: I was there for Bowie so I watched a little of Moby, didn't dig it and left.

-2002: I left a No Doubt show after Garbage finished. I would've stayed but I'd already seen ND open for U2 a few times in 2001 - I didn't care for them then so I saw no reason to try again.

I think those are all the shows I left early - none because I felt the headliner played poorly, though. I just wasn't interested!