The best opening act you've ever seen & heard?

@immatthewj I saw John Cougar Mellencamp open for KISS. Maybe 1979? I’d never heard of him and he was really good.

Come to think of it, @sls883 , it was 1979! I had to ponder it, but I hadn’t moved off base yet so it would have had to have been ’79. Anyway, I enjoyed the John Cougar part of the show so much that I bought his self-titled LP because of it. I remember it had I Need A Lover (That Won’t Drive Me Crazy) and Night Dancing on it.

I took a fairly long hiatus from live music after I got out of the Air Force, but in retrospect an opener I would have really liked to have seen/heard would have been Townes Van Zandt when he was opening for the Cowboy Junkies on their Caution Horses tour. I guess when it comes down to it, I would have liked to see Townes anywhere anytime with anybody. But with the CJ? That must have been fantastic.

. . . I guess that Paul Simon opening on the Paul Simon?bob Dylan tour might have to be up there.

And Annie Difranco opening for Bob Dylan also.  

I went to see the Moody Blues and the tickets had a totally unknown by the name of Stevie Ray Vaughan. But about 18000 people heard of him that night. 3 encores we settled for the Moody Blues. Not fair! The Moodies gave a tremendous performance.

But SRV was incredible.

Another that could fit this category is the Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers and Bob Dylan Alone and Together tour I saw outdoors in 85.  TP opened, then Dylan played, then Dylan played with TP as his backing band.  One of my all time favorite shows.  

@bassbuyer , going way back, I remember renting a VHS of Bob Dylan playing with Tom Petty and The Heart Breakers. It must have been that tour, huh?  That's another one I would have liked to have seen!