The best opening act you've ever seen & heard?
I have two:
In 1983 I went to see The Plimsouls (Peter Case’s pre-solo career band) at The Garage, a tiny little "club" on Ventura Blvd. The room had filled up (elbow-to-elbow tight), and the opening act started their set. My woman and I both looked at each other, our mouths agape. It was Los Lobos, and they were great! Their debut album How Will The Wolf Survive? had yet to be released, but I sure picked it up when it was.
I went to see John Hiatt at The Roxy Theater on Sunset Blvd. during his Perfectly Good Guitar tour, entering the room just as the opening act was starting her final song. The ads for the show listed her name, which was unfamiliar to me. As the song started and progressed, I was stunned; the song she and her band were performing was a great one, and I knew I had missed a quality set of music. It was Sheryl Crow, whose debut album had not yet been released. Damn it!
Not and opening act, but... I saw Bonnie Raitt playing unannounced/unadvertised @ the Airliner Bar (Iowa City, IA) on Friday March 29, 1974 with no cover charge. Was walking down the street, heard the music and then saw her on a little pool table sized stage through the window. She was a backup musician for Muddy Waters who played Iowa City's Hancher Auditorium the following evening (Saturday).
DeKay |
J. Geils Band opened for Humble Pie - 1972 James Gang (Tommy Bolin version) opened for Beck - Bogart & Appice - 1973 New York Dolls opened for Mott the Hoople - 1973 ("Halloween on acid") Mannfred Mann's Earth Band opened for Blue Oyster Cult - 1974 China Crisis opened for Simple Minds - 1984 The Silencers opened for X and Warren Zevon - 1987 Richard Thompson opened for Bonnie Raitt - 1989 House of Freaks opened for Concrete Blonde - 1989 Pylon opened for R.E.M. - 1989 Hunters & Collectors opened for Midnight Oil - 1990 Wendy MaHarry opened for The Blue Nile - 1990 The Go-Betweens opened for Lloyd Cole - 1991 Sam Phillips opened for Bruce Cockburn - 1991 Dada opened for Sting - 1993 Ivy opened for Lloyd Cole - 1995 Mark Eitzel opened for Everything But the Girl - 1995 |
Back in Houston, E & I noticed the Blue Man Group was slated for one night at the Cynthia Woods north of town....Venus Hum the opener for the show.... Enjoyed the BMG antics on the screen since they were still new to people, new enough that the CWPavilion was 1/3 full, with plenty of ’closer locales’. VH was a solid opener....looking ’geeky’ on purpose, but tight and a good listen. It’s the Pre-Opener-Act that was hilarious and set the tone for the night. On time, a pair of LED reader boards, one stage left with the other at right began to greet the crowd followed by some banter between that drew participation and laughs from the crowd. This lead to the 2 units having a hissy fit, one whining about how the other was rude, back ’n forth, finally ’making up’.... With that much percussion ’horsepower’ from the band behind the Blues’, it had to be.....including this little number... Terrific show....came back to town a few months later, this time in Houston at the city’s main auditorium for 2 shows.... ...that sold out in minutes. Word had got around.... Ah, well....RIP, BMG.... |
