ever see a concert years ago, to find out later you saw a famous player?

My only story close to that is I saw Megadeth on the Risk tour and the frontman from one of the opening band had HUGE HUGE hair and looked like the slim jim guy.

Static X?!? Never heard of 'em.

 

My sister had spare tickets to see U2 in concert for their ZooTV tour. I had only been playing bass for a few years. Though I had bought a book of U2 bass lines, (any book on bass lines is hard to find in my area) I wasn't too impressed with U2's new stuff.

The opening band was some group called Primus. Okey, whatever.

By their 2nd song, it sank in that this group had some amazing bass lines. The concert was in a football stadium and I was left of center on about the 35 yard line, so I was getting sound from the stage, an echo off of the back of the stadium, an echo off of the left and and echo off of the right. In other words, I was hearing everything at four different times. It sucked.

None the less, I was straining to see where the bass player was standing. Oh, he wasn't standing. He was spinning all over the stage like a maniac. He was the lead singer! I'd never seen a bass playing lead singer before. He was playing a huge...5? No six strings!

I bought every Primus CD I could find after that show, their newest was Sailing the Seas of Cheese. I couldn't understand a word, but when Les sang that fast part of "Is It Luck?" and I was getting it four different times, I felt like my head had entered a wormhole.

Primus left the stage. U2's performance was more of a light show than a concert. Living here in the D.C. area, it's sorta an old joke when lead singers go off on a tangent about politics. U2 stretched it out for the whole show. How many times do we need to hear Geoge Bush 41 saying, "No new taxes"? Four years in office and they had no other ammo to use against the guy?

I had seen U2 on their Joshua Tree tour. At the end it felt like I had a religious experience, everyone singing the chorus to "40" on their way out of the arena. At the end of their ZooTV concert, people were aggressive and angry, even fighting, as we made our way out of the arena.

Oh well. I just focus on the fact that I accidently saw Primus in concert.

 

Not a bass player but when I took bass classes in a cheap music store in Argentina, my teacher, who was a veru lazy guitar player was encouraging me to go to a very special clinic of an Indian guy brought by the store he worked at..
very few people attended the clinic but it was awesome anyway.. I got to speak a bit to this clinician, but didn't know what to ask or what to talk about.. He gave me a pair of drum sticks. It was TRilok Gurtru.

 

My brother, while at a Korn concert several years ago, received a demo from a band out front called the "Rainbow Buttmonkies". Today, this band is known as Finger Eleven. Strange, ne?

 

I saw a great drummer with the Stan Kenton band when I was in high school. Supposedly he was in his late teens, hair down to his ass, playing his butt off. Turned out it was Peter Erskine, who's since become one of the world's premier drummers. He had some quality time with Jaco in WR for a few years.

 

In 1978 I was a guitar player, never having picked up a bass until 2 years later in 1980.
I went to see Johnny Winter in a large concert hall.
We showed up late for the concert and were still getting settled in finding our seats while the opening band played their last couple of songs, which I didn't even pay any attention to because I'd never heard of the band, they weren't very loud at all, the music was weird, and we were just trying to find our seats, etc.
The band was Weather Report (with Jaco), and I feel very stupid, I'd give anything to see that concert again.

Edit: I did see Jaco again with WOM in 1982, a couple of years after I took up bass and was already a full-blown fusionhead by that time, so I feel a little better for that, but still..

 

I saw Nickelback before they hit it big. I also recently played with their original drummer.

 

I saw this rock band a VERY long time ago. This drummer friend of mine was offered the drum chair, but he turned it down (bad move). Anyway, this band was kinda rare at the time, because they were an all white band with a black lead singer. They were pretty good. I asked this girl as I was leaving the venue who the 2nd band was, and she said, "I think they're called Seven something.", and another guy said, "Sevendust."

Back in '93, I saw this funky band at a small club in Atlanta. I knew that they were from England because they had this this skinny energetic guy singing, who spoke after each song and the bassist was killing it! I planned on buying a CD of their's, so I asked if anyone had a flyer that I can have to remember the name. I remember looking at the flyer, saying to myself, "Jamiroquai? Oh well, whatever works for them."

 

I knew you had met Stu Zender in de past, but Sevendust as well? Wow. that's Awesome.. I LOVe that band..

 

Went to a local open-air more than ten years ago, one of the first band at the early afternoon played to some 100 people and only got a lukewarm response despite playing really good.
I talked to the singer for some time after the gig.
Fast-forward to today, this band is pretty much the biggest pop/rock band in Germany today - Pur (but probably no one outside of Germany knows them).

 

I saw Santana in concert back in maybe '94 or '95 (Ottmar Liebert was opening....*puke*) I don't know who was playing bass but I'm guessing it was someone famous in the bass world. Anyone know?

brad cook

 

I think at that time - Alphonso Johnson

 

My Grandma is convinced that she took me and my sisters to see Aerosmith when we were like... 4 6 and 8... I don't remember it though, so I don't believe her. Does that count?

 

I saw Stevie Ray Vaughan sit in with his brothers band at a Chili Fest/Cookoff/thingy in Wash DC. Of course he absolutely shredded but I didn't know who he was. It wasn't until years later, when I was a SRV fan, that I mentally connected Jimmie and Double Trouble to SRV. Children, drugs are bad.

 

Oh, Alphonso was playing with him at the time? I don't know why but I was thinking it wasn't him. It was a black man though. I believe you that it was him, I just hadn't previously thought that it was. Unfortunately the sound was so bad at the outdoor pavilion that day that his solo was a big puddle o' mud by the time it got to me. Seemed like he was probably playing some awesome stuff though.

brad cook

 

No, I think it was Myron Dove.
Go here: http://www.santana.com/frameset2.html
and click on "Players>Past Players" and check the dates for bassists.
Here's a pic: http://www.santana.com/players/myronpop1.html

 

My bad.

 

I saw a grateful dead spinoff band called Bobby and the Midnights play in 1981 at the capecod coliseam. Its Bob Wier's thing of the time.


Rhythm section was Alfonzo Johnson and Billy Cobham


AJ