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

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’....
...and intro’ing VH, with BMG having one of the best concert mixes I’d heard.

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....

Camel opened for Foghat and Wishbone Ash back in 1973 or 1974 GREAT SHOW    Renaissance, open for an even more amazing prog band, Gentle Giant at the AKRON CIVIC        

Merle Haggard for Dylan.  Saw this show a few times, recognizing the rarity and greatness of both.

The year was 1984. I saw The Waterboys open for U2’s Unforgettable Fire tour at the Fox theater Detroit. They brought the heat that night. Couldn’t believe what I was hearing. I had never heard of them before that night. But didn’t want their set to end. They left me slack-jawed in awe of ferocity of their scorching set. Been a fan ever since but have never seen them capture that intensity again.