I went to see Savoy Brown (at a roller skating rink!) and ZZ Top opened.
Went to see Dave Mason in December of 1976 and caught Rory Gallagher!?!?...I was so astounded by his intensity that, by the end of the week, I had every record of his I could get my hands on and have been a loyal follower of the late great Irish bluesman ever since!?!?...In fact, he is one of my top ten favorite musicians of all time!!!
Went to see Sly and Family Stone and Bob Marley and Wailers opened.
Went to see Persuasions and Richard Pryor opened.
Went to see Willie Nelson and Eric Church opened.
At he time I had never heard of Bob Marley, Richard Pryor, or Eric Church before.
also once saw Smashing Pumpkins and Pearl Jam open for the RH Chili Peppers.
I also saw that tour - in Boston.
REM always seemed to have good openers: Husker Du, Replacements, Let's Active, Dream Syndicate, Feelies.
I saw the ABB open for Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers in Hartford on their 25th anniversary tour. Steve Winwood opened for TPatH at Fenway Park, Steve Winwood opening for The Dead
Mission of Burma & The Mighty Mighty Bosstones opened for Foo Fighters (I was there for MoB & MMB!)
Puff Daddy open for 'NSync (really!)
Jimmy Buffett and saw Little Feat
Little Feat and saw Jeff Healey
Robin Trower and saw Boston
Fleetwood Mac and saw Kenny Loggins
The Rolling Stones and saw the Outlaws
The Doobie Brothers and saw the Outlaws
Willie Nelson and saw Dickey Betts sit in.
Here's another. Went to see Nazareth and Rush opened at a little theatre in Seneca College near me. No big deal because I had already seen Rush at my high school (doing mostly covers) and at the Piccadilly Tube ( a Toronto long gone music bar). Also saw Max Webster and the Dave Matthews Band at the Tube (but not the one you would think of - they were a great local Led Zep cover band).
Rod Stewart and Faces opening for Three Dog Night - Atlanta ... 1970 (or so)
just thought of another - saw the Stones, warm up Gary Clarke Jr.
Imagine all those people who went to see the Monkees and saw Jimi?
just thought of another - saw the Stones, warm up Gary Clarke Jr.
Imagine all those people who went to see the Monkees and saw Jimi?
I remember hearing about a bunch of very frightened 12 - 15 year old girls! 😉
Went to see Col. Hampton & ARU and saw a band open called Phish w/ Giant Country Horns. Must've been 1990-91 time frame at 1000 seat venue (Variety Playhouse). I think Phish opened in the South and ARU opened in the NE on that tour.
Saw lots of great bands open for ARU in that time period, many went on to bigger success. MMW. Flecktones. Galactic. Leftover Salmon. Heck, the predecessor- dTb in 1990-ish time frame. That was my first exposure to Derek.
My very first concert: Went to see the Gregg Allman Band on the I'm No Angel tour. "And while we're here I guess we'll stick around for this Stevie Ray Vaughan guy too...."
I'm with Lou. Caught that tour on Pier Six in NYC. Before the show I told my girlfriend, "I think that Stevie Ray guy is Pop. We can split after Gregg." We were literally walking out when he took the stage. WOW. What a blistering show from the very first note. One of my favorite concerts.
Went to see ZZ Top on their Miller Lite tour in '91 and saw Black Crowes open, i think that was their last night before being kicked off the tour for the anti-Miller rants by Chris Robinson. Made the national 'news' in MTV-land.
Went to see Van Halen (RIP EVH) around '91 and caught Alice in Chains open. That was the kick-off date of a 2-3 year tour, so there was a lot of MTV hype at the venue. When they came back in '93 they had Vince Neil opening - had front row and got a Steve Stevens pick as a souvenir for that one.
There must be more....<<dusting cob webs off the brain>>
I'm with Lou. Caught that tour on Pier Six in NYC. Before the show I told my girlfriend, "I think that Stevie Ray guy is Pop. We can split after Gregg." We were literally walking out when he took the stage. WOW. What a blistering show from the very first note. One of my favorite concerts.
There's an interesting wrinkle to my story:
As Billy says, Gregg was the support and SRV was the headliner, but because this was an outdoor event and the forecast for the evening called for rain, SRV actually played first to ensure that everyone got to see the main event in case it got rained out later. Now we'd heard of SRV but we weren't fans and didn't own any albums or anything. We were there for Gregg, so would we have stuck around for SRV if he had followed Gregg? Maybe not. I never did see SRV live again and I've been kicking myself in the ass daily since August of 1990, so I'm thankful that we were "tricked" into seeing him that night at least.
And funny you'd mention the "very first note" because my most vivid memory is the sound of him just playing a few warm-up licks when he arrived on stage. That was a "holy crap" moment. (Keep in mind this is my first concert ever.) Our view of the stage wasn't great so all we could see was his hat with the plume on it bouncing up and down. That's my other lasting memory.
My very first concert: Went to see the Gregg Allman Band on the I'm No Angel tour. "And while we're here I guess we'll stick around for this Stevie Ray Vaughan guy too...."
I'm with Lou. Caught that tour on Pier Six in NYC. Before the show I told my girlfriend, "I think that Stevie Ray guy is Pop. We can split after Gregg." We were literally walking out when he took the stage. WOW. What a blistering show from the very first note. One of my favorite concerts.
Curious.Are you talking the 84 show or 87 show at what I assume you mean Pier 84?
Either way,I was never surprised by SRV as an opener because I had been fortunate enough to see him a few times before he hit big.
People who had never heard of him were really blown away at the Pier in 83 when he opened up for,of all people,Tennis Rock(John McEnroe and Vitas Gerulaitis)
@rusty Saw Bonnie Raitt and Mose Allison opened. Didn't know who he was but sure did like what he did.
@rusty Saw Bonnie Raitt and Mose Allison opened. Didn't know who he was but sure did like what he did.
Mose Allison must've been incredible! To clarify - Bonnie was great - amazing band - the headliner and all that! As a long, long time Randall Bramblett fan I was happy to see him get a "big stage" - his own set, and sitting in with Bonnie and band. Bonnie had recently recorded a couple of Randall's songs. I hope he got a big ol' honkin' paycheck from both experiences! 😉
I went to see Y&T and lucked into seeing Metallica and Armored Saint opening.
I went to see Sammy Hagar and lucked into seeing Stevie Ray Vaughn open the show.
I went to see Primus on New Years Eve and lucked into seeing Tool open the show.
I went to see The Butthole Surfers in a tiny club and lucked into seeing Soundgarden open the show.
Went to a Wet Willie show in Birmingham ... 1973, I think. A band that had just come off of a Who tour opened. I still missell their name - Lynnyrd Skynnard something like that. This was early in their career - original line-up with Ed King. Ronnie pace the stage - shaking every had that was thrust towards him. He knew how to work a crowd and win over fans. Wet Willie was also scalding as the headliner!
Jefferson Starship was headliner, with Rory Gallagher opening. Tons of folks
left before JS even started. I knew about Rory but this was first time seeing
him. Similar circumstances with a show I saw Rory opening for Alvin Lee. I
enjoyed JS and thought Alvin was great, but the late Rory Gallagher was a
hurricane on stage. Wow.
1973 had a girlfriend who wanted to see Alice Cooper and saw Z. Z. Top open and my first experience with ZZ.
And about 1967 had free tickets to see the Monkeys and Jimi Hendrix opened. I was a Ventures fan and had seen them twice and enjoyed those Fender Stratocasters but Jimi played his Strat just a little differently. Man it was way, way out there. Boom.
