Great thread. I am going to be lazy on the dates here - but here are a few that come to mind. Saw Elbow open for Coldplay a few years back. "Seldom Scene Kid" had just come out. I was already a pretty big fan from the records that had come out before then, but my wife had never really heard much by them. She (and I both) were blown away. They were simply fantastic that evening. She came away a huge Elbow fan. Later on the same thing happened when we saw the Arctic Monkeys open for the Black Keys. Again, I knew them - my wife did not and was blown away. Fiona Apple open for Nickel Creek on their farewell tour. She did a few songs herself and then sort of blended into Nickel Creek for the rest of the evening. One of my all time favorite shows. Best Coast open for The Decemberists. Finally, Other Lives open for Radiohead in Atlanta. I'd never heard of them at all and came away a huge fan.
I saw BTO open and just blow Foghat (all original members) off the stage one night in the late 70s. I didn't even want to show up for BTO, but glad I was talked into going, they put on a great set that night!
Donovan > Yes Iggy Pop > Rolling Stones Black Onyx > Jimmy Cliff Sheila E > Prince Bobby Bland > B.B. King Fabulous Thunderbirds > Stevie Ray Vaughan James Milton Campbell, Jr. > ? The Rockets [Detroit] > Kiss
There have been many, but hands-down for me was seeing Brutal Truth open for Cannibal Corpse back in the mid-90s at a club in Metairie, LA. Cannibal was great, don't get me wrong, but Brutal Truth was something I'd never seen before. I had maybe heard their name once or twice but never heard any of their music. Those 4 guys walked on stage and completely destroyed my brain. All I could do was watch in amazement. I spent every last dollar in my wallet at their merch table. Rabid fan ever since!
The Strokes opening for The Rolling Stones And, on a separate occasion, the Mooney Suzuki opening for the Strokes. (Plus another show at a hub the Mooney Suzuki opened for the Zombies).
The Steve Morse Band when they opened up for Rush during the Power Windows Tour. I had second row center at Reunion Arena in Dallas. They were mind blowingly awesome (best I ever saw Rush as well). Its the only time I ever saw an opening act come out for an encore.
GNR - The Cult GNR - Iron Maiden Alice in Chains - Van Halen Living Colour - Rolling Stones Voivod - Rush Tragically Hip - Rush Black Crowes - Robert Plant NIN - David Bowie Pearl Jam & Soundgarden - Neil Young That last one was an incredible summer night at the CNE in Toronto.
Someone mentioned Metallica opening for Twisted Sister, someone else Metallica for GnR, I saw Metallica open for Ozzy, in 86 I believe.
The Texas Instruments, one of the finest cosmic Americana unsung bands of the indie late 80s-early 90s, opened a bunch o' chakras n me by surprise opening for Alex Chilton in 1987-88 or so at the Einstein a Go-Go in Jacksonville Beach Fla.
A Flock of Seagulls - Squeeze China Crisis - Simple Minds Crash Test Dummies - Elvis Costello OMD - Depeche Mode R.E.M. & Joan Jett - The Police Squeeze - David Bowie Squeeze - Elvis Costello and The Attractions Talk Talk - Elvis Costello and The Attractions The Alarm - U2
The Georgia Satellites blew Bob Seger off the stage and into the parking lot when I saw them in Denver in '87.
Kiss opened for Blue Oyster Cult at the Capitol Theatre in Passaic NJ, back on 4/27/1974 (senior year in high school) after Kiss released their first album. Only time I saw Kiss; loved it but lost the thread after that.
Loggins & Messina opened for Shawn Philips before they really took off. I'm pretty sure it was in September 1972. A couple of other acts were before them (Albert King was one) but Philips was the main act.
The best was Santana opening for Clapton in Providence in the summer of 1975. Some of the cuts were included on the Crossroads 2: Live in the Seventies album. Buddy Guy opening for BB King at URI in the spring of 1975. Dave Bromberg opening for Hot Tuna in Santa Barbara a couple of years ago.
I saw that same pairing. Greenboro Coliseum in Greensboro, North Carolina on the 5150 tour. I thought BTO was good too.
Buddy Guy > B.B. King Shooting Star>>>Heart Lacuna Coil>>Megadeth Stevie Ray Vaughan, not necessarily better than The Moody Blues, but still one of the best Openers I've ever seen
My favorite was Vinnie James opening for Styx in 1991. One dude on a stool with an acoustic guitar and he blew away the entire crowd. I will never forget it.
From memory, Lynyrd Skynyrd 3rd on the bill at Knebworth 76 Squeeze 3rd on the bill behind Eddie and the Hot Rods Graham Parker 4th (or was it 3rd) on the bill at Blackbushe 78
Saw Lamb of God open for Metallica back in '08 for the Death Magnetic tour. Now that was a seriously heavy concert and tons of fun!
