Concerts you went to for the opening act, not the headliner

GN'R opening for Iron Maiden circa 88' (Seventh Son tour).

wasn't much interested in seeing Maiden but GN'R was exploding at the time so...got up early with major hangover yet stood in line for the tix.

only problem...GN'R cancelled without much notice (harbinger of things to come ~), LA Guns opened instead.

however, Maiden Kicked some serious Ass that night so it wasn't a total loss.

 

A friend of mine wanted to see The Cult, who were opening for Billy Idol at MSG in 1987.

 

They were pretty good and I might have been more impressed had I not seen Roy perform first.

He played an acoustic set with his son Nick and the Tea Party joined them onstage for two (Roy) tunes as a full band to close his set.

 

Technically it was a"Double Bill", but I went to see Van Halen in October of 1978. They came on first. Then Black Sabbath followed.

 

The Wackers opening for the recently Morrison-RIP Doors. Doors were good though -- shame they didn't tour more.

 

Anthony Braxton Trio opening for the Ramsey Lewis Trio. (December 10, 1976)

About 90% of the crowd were there for Lewis. The trio (with Dave Holland on bass and Barry Altschul on drums) played a continuous hourlong set. Each time Braxton switched to another reed and a different tune, a large group of people would get up and walk out. By the end there were about 25 rabid fans at the foot of the stage applauding wildly. It was a great set.

It was totally mismatched bill but both were signed to Arista at the time.

 

House of Lords opening for Nelson

 

on the Schoolboys ID tour, the opener was Steve Harley and Cockney Rebel . Seen at Widener (Pa.) University

 

Went to see Mitch Malloy opening for Nelson, but post 9/11 Nelson bottled it and didn't show. No problem for me!!

 

That show was in Philly as well -- I was there.

 

Saga opening for Jethro Tull Oakland Coliseum 1982. Became a Jethro Tull fan after that and Saga became my favorite rock group!

 

Thanks for reminding me about that Sweet/Eric Carmen show. His version of his song "Sunrise" was a Brian Wilson-esque gem in concert.

 

Only done it once. Drove to Bristol from Plymouth a couple of years ago to see the Wedding Present opening for the Wonderstuff. Left to drive home as soon as the Wedding Present finished their set. They played for an hour / 13 songs so it was worth the journey.

 

Rival Sons! Best damn live band on the planet right now. Seen 'em about a dozen times now, headline shows plus support slots with Judas Priest and Black Stone Cherry.

 

Several I remember most

1. Thin Lizzy opening for Queen at MSG in February 1977. I love Queen but was really excited to see Thin Lizzy with Gary Moore.
2. Stevie Ray Vaughn opening for Joe Cocker at Lake Compounds in Connecticut on the fourth of July 1990. I feel lucky to have had the opportunity to see SRV and was devastated when I heard he was killed in the chopper crash.
3. Guns N Roses opening for Aerosmith in 1988. Love Aerosmith but Guns was the hot band back then.

 

I was mainly at the recent Madison Square Garden show for Marty Stuart, but the headliner Chris Stapleton was gnarly so it was a win-win all night. Got to see Brent Cobb too.

 

"We're like athletes, we can only perform while we're young."

 

right! i thought that show was at montgomery county community college for some reason that may have been a roxy music show. i remember we followed the tour bus after the show to the hotel. ray was not thrilled seeing us as he got off the bus. i think i just thanked him for the show. no autograph or anything. wow steve harley i still have a few of their albums.

 

Jimmy Barnes opening for Brian Adams

 

Curve and Spiritualized opening for The Jesus and Mary Chain at The Roseland, NY in 92(JAMC was good but I had seen them many times at that point)
Love and Rockets opening for Porno for Pyros at the PNC Bank center, NJ ...Love and Rockets cancelled...argh
Alice Cooper opening for Motley Crue final tour at MODA center 2016 in Portland ...left 2 songs into Motley Crue, twas bad
My Bloody Valentine opening for Dinosaur Jr at City Gardens in 1990
David J opening for PJ Harvey at Irving Plaza 1992... PJ Harvey was amazing

 

David Bowie opening for NIN

 

Little Feat, opening for Rush ('77?) - Left just as Rush came on. I thought they were some kind of joke, actually.
This skinny guy (Geddy Lee) in spandex and a cape, and sounded like he had been huffing helium or something.
Still don't care for Geddy Lee's voice, but I know they are a great band. Something I just did not know at the time.
Little Feat were great, btw. Am glad I was able to see them with Lowell George. RIP

 

REO Speedwagon
Blondie
The Readymades

November 1978
Winterland, SF


Blondie had just released Parallel Lines. The gig was booked before the album went through the roof globally. The place was maybe 60% full. What a blast.

 

Neutral Milk Hotel opening up for Superchunk in 1998
Robyn Hitchcock and Sebadoh opening up for Flaming Lips in 1999 (though the Flaming Lips ended up blowing my mind that evening)
I really wanted to see The Pixies who were opening up for U2 in 1992 but the show was canceled.

 

The Struts opening for Jimmy Eat World - departed after the Struts encore.
Saw a great show and was home by 930PM