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You opened for WHOM???

#246
In my thirty years I've opend for quite a few well know groups, but one of my most memorable twist of fate was when I played with underground dance phenom Omar and we played in Detroit and the opening band had this bass player who had his boss effects pedal and electric upright in the way of my setup. So here I am acting like a primma donna to the sound crew telling them they have to do something since I had a V-bass, synth rig, and a couple of basses and needed the real-estate on stage. So the bass player walks up to me and introduces himself and said "hi my name is Alphonso Johnson and I can move my stuff". I knew who he was when he walked up to the stage, but I just played it off and told him his stuff was cool and I'd work around it. I also apologized for my fretless intonation before we played our set as it was my first time on fretless. He was the nicest guy on earth at the time and it was a treat wondering how I was going to top the night off as he was playing some very interesting and earth shaking grooves.....lucky for me Omar's music is all about the groove so I had a little something to offer myself. So I'd like to ask you guys who has opened up for you?
 
#247
Opened for Zep? Kewwwwlllll!! I've actually got a Canadian compilation cd with Copper Penny on it, too. :-)

In '81, I had a punk band, down in The Rio Grande Valley, in S.TX. We opened for The Skunks, The Judys, and Dee Day. The Skunks and The Judys were very cool to work with. Nice guys, no attitude. Jesse, from The Skunks, is a successful writier, now. :-)

Dee Day was a total bee-och. I was a HUGE fan...she was a woman fronting a punk band, and she was my hero. We opened for her at spring break, so a big crowd was expected, especially since the weather was too ugly for the beach.

We were supposed to soundcheck at 4. The doors of the bar were locked, and stayed locked until 6. Then she had to have her soundcheck first, even though she was very late. She ran too long. I asked her if we could please be allotted enough time to set up and run a quick check of our own, and she told me that, since we were just the opening band, we didn't need *anything*, and to just stay out of her way. She was real nasty to us.

This, from my hero. Made my little 18 y.o. heart hurt enough for my 18 y.o. brain to get REAL MAD!!!

I had always covered a couple of her hits, and out of courtesy, was not going to do them.

I bloody-well *opened* with them. Blew her away, too. Treat your opening band like dirt, and see what you get, honey!

I never worked with her again, but I opened for The Skunks and The Judys several times, and never had any problems. Those guys were more interested in the total show, and were so supportive. Dee was just interested in herself. So much better to be cool and supportive of others, huh?

Cherie...Punk Mama ;-)
 
#248
I was lucky enough to open for INXS in the 92 in the UK.....V Cool
I was unlucky enough to open for STEPS* in the UK in 95..V uncool

* Boy/Girl singing/dancing group that mimed to backing tracks but had unbelievable success in the Uk and across the globe by ripping off BeeGees music and have now split:D
 
#251
my old band opened up for Ace Freeley who was a complete and total ass... this man's head is so swelled up....not to mention he was quiet sh$t faced and sounded crappy...

highlight of the night was that our band sounded great and the majority at least 2/3 of the crowed left after we played
 
#253
I'm old school so the folks I opened for are also..
John lee Hooker --a few times
Fabulous Thunderbirds
Steve Ray Vaughan
Muddy Waters
Chuck Berry
The Out Laws
Dave Edmonds
The Blasters
Nick Loe
Carl Perkins
Albert Collins
Buckwheat Zydico
The Guess Who
Clarance Clemens
Bo Diddily
I know there is more ,I just can't think of them right now.
 
#257
My band won the myspace vote in our area to play taste of chaos this year. We opened for the Deftones, Thrice, Atreyu, As I Lay Dying and Dredg among others. it was rad. I ate dinner with Chino from the deftones, Eddie from Thrice, and the drummer from atreyu.
 
#258
The "missed it my that much" award goes to Queens Of The Stone Age in '98. We were on the bill to open for them, but were informed on gig day that they were bringing their own opener. I guess we can label this under the "before they were huge" heading as well. Got to meet Josh and Nick, pre and post show, and they seemed very genuine. Told them about the mix up, and they were apologetic. VERY nice guys, totally down to Earth and fun to hang with. A very memorable night, and I'm very happy for all their successes since. :D

Back on topic:
Wide Mouth Mason - didn't get to meet them, but we were well received by their fans, and they are incredible players. Tight as all hell.

Noise Therapy - hung out with them briefly after the show, they actually watched our set! Most headliners don't seem to do that, and they were very complimentary.

The Killer Dwarfs - One of the most entertaining groups on and off stage! These guys are SUPER nice, and hilarious people. They brought me on to sing the chorus of Hard Luck Town. :D I was just a kid when I first heard that song, but it was very nostalgic for me. I bought one of their DVD's and they all signed it. Another great night, but a little hazy.........they're also generous with the booze. :)

Jet Set Satellite - I'm good friends with these guys, and they were kind enough to let us open the show to release their latest album. Pretty huge show, great crowd, awesome night.

Not exactly HUGE bands, but they were all great experiences. I don't really have any "horror" stories, but I haven't exactly opened for a lot of big names, either.:smug:
 

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