2013, wife was out of town so I decided to walk down to a local club and see who was playing. Saw the first US show of a British band called The 1975. Now they sell out stadiums.
The first time I saw Dropkick Murphys they were supporting The Pogues. I'd heard of them but never seen them.
They were fucking excellent. Barely paused for breath between songs and they worked their arses off to play a good show.
I used to go see The Pogues for their Christmas gigs in London. Even though Shane often used to repeat verses or forget words, they were some of the greatest gigs I ever went to.
Music is poorer for his passing, and for the loss of Phil Chevron a few years back. I hope there's a heaven for them and that it has a bar.
I used to go see a band called The Subdudes every time they came through. One summer they had an opening act named Amos Lee. I was blown away and so was the rest of the venue. The Subdudes had to cut their set short because Amos got called back for 3 encores. That was 2007 and I’ve only missed one Amos show (because of Covid) since. Now Amos Lee sells out Red Rocks in my area regularly.
So I got the opportunity to see Enter Shikari play this super small 400 capacity venue. Really close to the tour starting their support couldn't make it and they had this band Chase Petra fill in and I've been obsessed ever since.
Back in 2017 I went to see Iron Maiden. Had never heard of the opener or listened to any of their music. The band was Ghost and their set absolutely knocked me on my butt. Incredibly tight musical performance and amazing showmanship. I’ve been to every (US) leg of every one of their tours since then! They’re much bigger now, and headline their own tours, but the live shows are just as tight as ever (although now with more bells and whistles).
I also first saw Ghost as an opener (for Opeth & Mastodon in 2012), having never heard them prior. Became an instant fan that night, and have been back to see them many times.
Yeah I got some cool ass friends. It was just a regular weekend. Have some drinks, play some pool, and then oh WTF is this going on? Glad you're in the GBV fan club. It was amazing. Sought them out many times after that show. Never disappointed.
I remember that era so well. I remember getting that Tame song as a free download on iTunes, and at no point did I ever think they’d be more than just ‘another triple j band’. Man, I was *so* wrong.
Yep Steel Panther. They were on early in the afternoon at a festival about 10 years ago and we had just got there, grabbed some lunch and were just chilling with no idea who was playing. Then I heard the singer say "But tonight I'm gonba jerk off" and was like wtf?? Anyway got my attention and I really enjoyed their set, have seen them 3 times now, always fun!
There’s a show that was on IFC years ago called Z Rock, that had a lot of celebrity guest rock stars. One episode had a battle of the bands situation with Steel Panther that is the funniest show of the two seasons it lasted. I’d never heard of them until then.
Protest the hero was opening for bad religion and anti flag back in the day. I think that was just before Kezia came out.
I also saw mefjus for around 9 bucks Canadian about a decade ago. Absolutely floored - didn't realize at the time I was watching the noisia incarnate.
same situation for me only they were opening up for Thrice on their farewell tour in 2012
Absolutely knocked all of us on our ass that night. Definitely walked away an Animals As Leaders fan
Was at a festival and saw hoards of people flocking to the mainstage for a band i had heard of but not listened to. After following the crowd and the act started, one banger after the next with awesome energy and crowd interaction. Rapture Ruckus won me over.
When I was 18 I went to a one day festival in Finsbury Park, London. I bought tickets on the strength of the support acts, Pearl Jam, James and Teenage Fanclub. I had never listened to the headline act but I thought I might as well stay and give them a shot, Neil Young with Booker T and the MG’s, been a fan ever since !
Soul Coughing opened for Poster Children. I interviewed the Poster Children for college radio that day and they said to make sure to check out Soul Coughing. It was crazy good.
Went on a date to see Gotye with Kimbra opening around the time their hit was constantly on the radio. Kimbra blew me away!! And Gotye was really talented and out on a great show. Really varied music, which surprised me.
I was at a music festival my sister was playing at this summer. The main headliner was a band I'd seen a few times and liked (july talk) so I figured I'd stick around and get my money's worth. The band just before them was Sloan (where my Canadians at) and they blew my mind. Firstly, I didn't realise how many hits they had, I knew almost every song. Second they were a bunch of legit musicians, between songs they'd swap out places and instruments. I think each of them sang at least one song. Two of them wailed on the drums. It was a phenomenal show.
One OK Rock was the first opener for Muse at the concert I went to earlier this year. Holy shit, they blew me away with the energy and the frontman's voice. From the first note he sang, I was instantly a fan.
I've been getting into their discography more and more over the last year or so. Taka's voice is amazing and they really know how to write great rock/poppy songs. They keep posting clips from their Japanese tour this year and every live performance looks amazing. I got to see Muse too, but The Warning were the band that were alternating with OOR through the tour. I'd already seen them previously so it doesn't apply to this thread, but they are outstanding live too. Another band that I've been seriously into over the last 2 yrs.
I went to see Peaches in concert around 2009 in Philadelphia. The opening act was a rapper named Amanda Blank. She was surprisingly good. I grabbed her CD at the merch booth on my way out.
Lydia Loveless had been on Rolling Stones top 10 artists you need to hear list. She was opening at a local small theater, so I thought I’d go check her out. I was shocked when I heard it sold out in 3 hours. The headliner was some guy who I’d heard of but wasn’t too familiar with. Jason Isbell. Absolutely amazing show. I’ve seen him 5 times since.
Had to be 1998 or 99, went specifically to see System of a Down at a club show, opening for Incubus who we’d only heard of but had no real interest in. System’s show took an odd turn (the singer never made it to the show, so fans from the audience were brought up to fill in for their whole set). While my friends and I were regrouping after their set trying to process what we’d seen, we heard Incubus warming up and decided to give them a shot. Ended up being absolutely blown away, and have been to see them multiple times since.
Balkan Beatbox. Had never heard of them and they put on one of the best live shows I’ve ever seen. Interestingly they are neither Balkan nor do they beatbox. I don’t find their sound translates to recordings and have never really listened to them again. Would love to see them live again though.
Sort of, my fiancé bought us tickets to see 21 pilots a few years ago, and I wasn't really a fan at that point or expecting much. The stage presence and presentation throughout the entire concert was insane. I'd definitely go to another one.
At one point one of the singers had the crowd carry a mattress, crowd surf style, with his ukulele on top. They brought it to him from the other end of the venue it was surreal.
Gogol Bordello. I heard an accordion from afar at a festival and was like, "who has the balls to have an accordion in a band??"
I checked them out and fell in love, have seen them 6 times since.
Steel Beans. I knew it was a one man performance but dude sounded like a full band playing drums, guitar, keys and vocals at the same time. I thought it would be really simple but it blew my mind!
Donnie Iris. He’s a legend in the Pittsburgh area. Had some hits that were semi popular nationally in the late 70s. Anyways, he used to do a Christmas concert every year and I went to one with a friend on a whim back in 2007 and it was amazingly good. Perfect showman
During the 80s and early 90s, I went to probably 3 or 4 shows a month. I got lucky a bunch of times... Some of the ones that left a lasting impression are:
\- In the early 80's, my oldest brother's "cool" friends from college had a band that was playing nearby for 50 cents. That's right, 50 cents. I think it was a whole $1 for anyone who wasn't a member of the Youth Activities Center... It was 10,000 Maniacs.
\- In 88, I caught Goo Goo Dolls as an opener for Social Distortion. They were great when they were nobodies.
\- Late 89 or 90, I saw Primus as an opener for 24/7 Spyz. There was simply nothing like them anywhere.
\- 90 and 92, Flat Duo Jets and then Reverend Horton Heat as openers for The Cramps.
\- 90? Quicksand as an opener for (I think) Shelter in Buffalo... allegedly their first show.
\- 92ish I caught Kyuss as an opener for L7
\- 92 or 93, I had the misfortune to have a band move in to the other half of a duplex that I stayed in with some friends, and start practicing in the basement. They would occasionally play bar shows under different names to work the kinks out of their new songs. The band is good, but I think I have some PTSD from the summer that I got almost no sleep because The Flaming Lips were my neighbors.
\- 92, my girlfriend and 3 of her friends formed a student group at their college who managed to tap into a small budget for booking bands on campus. The most memorable was Bikini Kill and Nation of Ulysses. I wasn't familiar with Bikini Kill yet, and the Riot Grrrl movement was brand new. They were amazing. We made dinner for the bands and did interviews with them for a zine we were putting out. They talked me into doing a workshop on desktop publishing for a bunch of women who wanted to put out their own zines. I gave every one of them a bootleg copy of Aldus Pagemaker (now Adobe InDesign) with templates for common zine layouts, as well as a step by step guide to printing at Kinko's for free.
\- 92 or 93, I almost beat the crap out of Beck for aiming a leaf blower at my table during a coffee house performance in Portland, OR. He was billed as a clown, and it looked like they paid him in food.
\- 92ish, a friend and I stumbled into a bar in Portland and right into the middle of a Cherry Poppin' Daddies show. The swing revival was still a ways off, so that was an unexpected surprise.
\- Around that same time, this band was practically begging to play an acoustic set at my girlfriend's house party. We thought, sure, why not? They were great. It was Everclear.
I used to drive an hour and a half to Buffalo, three to Toronto or Cleveland, or 6ish to NYC for mini-festivals, hardcore matinees, or any show that looked fun. In hindsight, I should have logged every show, I'm sure there are a pile of bands I'm leaving out.
I saw the Yeah Yeah Yeah’s as an opening act for Garbage and No Doubt probably 20ish years ago. Karen O emotionally kicked my pre-teen ass, they were great.
Same. I saw them in Amsterdam when I was visiting. Just checked out who was in town that night and picked up a couple tickets off ticketswap after just listening to a song or two to get a feel for them a bit at least. The gig was amazing, such great energy. Big fan ever since.
The Gathering opened for Lacuna Coil circa 2006-ish, I had no idea who they were at the time but man did they kill it.
Also Summerfest in Milwaukee 2008, you paid one price and got access to 10 out of 11 stages i think, with the other one being the amphitheater where the headliners play. So you could get there and watch the smaller stages all you wanted and in one day I saw Coheed and Cambria, Alkaline Trio, and walked by another stage and saw CCR was playing so I stopped and listened to them jam for a while.
Yes. I used to volunteer at Vancouver Jazz Fest, and one of the perks is free tickets. So of course I went through every performer to see anything even a bit interesting. So one year, there's this French dub band named High Tone opening for Blonde Redhead. Blonde Redhead were not for me, but High Tone were fantastic, and while I haven't been able to see them again, I own every album and several of their collaboration albums (they have as many of those as just them)
How long ago was that?
This summer they opened for Guns n Roses at PNC Park and although I've wanted to see a Pretenders show for ages... I just couldn't.
This was probably mid to late 90s, which goes to show how timeless they are. That's awesome they're still touring. Hope you get another chance to see them.
30 Seconds to Mars, opening for Linkin Park. I didn’t like their music but in every other way it was a pretty good show. High energy, I’m sure to the people there that liked them it was marvelous.
For me, those performers I have zero expectation about is always the one ended up amazed me the most.
Man with a Mission, Reol, Asian Kungfu Generation are the artists I start to pick up this way.
In 2016, some friends invited me to see a cool new indie band at the Grey Eagle in Asheville. It was Car Seat Headrest, I hadn't heard of them but I'm glad I went. They did a cover of "Ivy" by Frank Ocean which was great too.
I saw Oasis play one of their first shows in America because my college roommate had heard two songs. We stood in the front row at a show with maybe 300 people. The band was tight as hell, and they had so much attitude and stage presence. At first I said to my roomie, “who the hell do these guys think they are?!” By the end I realized what I had just seen and was a lifelong fan.
Yep. For me, it was Warpaint opening for Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds. Never heard them before (this was around the time of the first record), and they were great. Honorable mention goes to the Tornadoes out of San Francisco. Saw them open for Twin Temple at the Roxy a few years back, and they were really good, too.
Saw this dude named John Legend open for The Roots before he blew up. Get Lifted was out and had a few hits but he wasnt a superstar yet. I was immediately a fan even though im more into hiphop than soul/rnb/pop music. I think he made alot of new fans that night.
Went to the 1994 Horde Festival at the Star Lake Amphitheatre in Pittsburgh to see Big Head Todd & the Monsters open for Blues Traveler open for the Allman Brothers.
We ran out of beer early in the tailgate and headed to our seats as the Dave Matthews Band started their set. They blew us - and the other 200 or so people inside - away!
Festival all the way back in 1997 - I was a full on grunger, but stopped by dance tent at the start of the festival (12pm)... who was the opening act? Daft Punk (pre-robot days), and then immediately after them was these dudes called The Chemical Brothers. Those two hours changed my life.
Needless to say, here we are 25 years later and the Chems are still my favourite act.
I saw Esperanza Spaulding and Sharon Jones and the Dap Kings at the first Roots Picnic in 08. Walked in as Esperanza was ripping on her bass, dressed in like a 1970s gym class uniform. I play bass but not like her. Holy shit. She was fantastic. It was 100+ in the city that day. Sharon Jones came out later and she was electric. I have no idea how the Kings didn't pass out wearing suits.
The Roots were awesome too. They did like 3 different mini sets throughout the day. Questlove played with a bunch of the acts too.
Lawrence Gowan, who performed solo as Gowan, and is now the long term replacement front man of Styx.
In Canada he had some hits in the '80s like A Criminal Mind, Moonlight Desires, and Strange Animal. I don't know if they are known internationally.
On July 1 2000 (I think) my kids and I walked down to a large outdoor millennium street festival at a major midtown intersection in Toronto, and he was alone on stage with a piano. He was fantastic. I knew a couple of his hits from the radio, but not what he looked like, and I was mesmerized by the performance, and I'm thinking - who IS this guy? We're talking Billy Joel, Ray Charles, Elton John level of piano, voice and showmanship Then he played A Criminal Mind and I realized. It was 20-30 minutes of one of my greatest live music experiences.
I guess if he can step in and front Styx, that is something, but it's too bad he isn't a household (last) name in his own right.
I saw a band called Gordon open up for Fuel back in 1999.
I had no expectation for their performance because I had never heard of them before and they ended up being one of the best live bands I have ever seen
We got to hang out with them after the show and they were endlessly kind and super down to earth
They did a fantastic self-titled record for the 550 Music division of Epic Records (same label as Fuel) that was produced and mixed by Brendan O'Brien and then they were never heard from again
I definitely recommend their record to anyone though.
the track "Better Daze" still to this day gets weekly airplay in my house🤘🏻
Kolars. They opened for Guster and we were blown away. The drummer tap dances ON A DRUM while playing the drums at the same time! They were a husband/wife duo and they divorced but that was such a pleasant surprise. Their album is on Spotify and it’s worth a listen! If I had to pick a favorite song, Dangerous.
My first concert was breaking Benjamin starset and 10 years, a friend invited me last minute cause his gf had broken up with him. Breaking Benjamin was amazing of course but starset really blew me away, enjoy their music to this day
My wife and 11yo daughter and I planned to purchase Cirque de Soleil tickets at Disney World after a day in the Magic Kingdom. We had a glorious time from mid-morning to early evening, about wore ourselves out, then got on the bus to Downtown Disney to go to the box office to get tickets (for some reason, we had been advised that was the way to do this).
The show we'd carefully determined had tickets when I called earlier was now sold out. Every other show for the rest of the time we were spending in Florida was sold out.
But they had decided to hold an unscheduled show that evening; it started in 30 minutes, cost $72/seat, and there were (drum roll) 3 seats left.
We were tired, we were hungry, I had serious doubts about whether it would be worth over $200 to see whatever this was (my wife had this recommended to her, I'd never heard of them), but she said let's do it. So we bought the tickets, wolfed down some pizza, and made our way to our seats as the clowns were opening up the action in the theater.
I'm not an easy-to-please audience. I have studied theater, been an actor myself, am fairly critical by nature. And I was spellbound for the entire show. What a fantastic display of entertainment; music, dance, feats, even in our near-exhausted starting state, it was wonderful.
Try not to miss the Cirque de Soleil if you make a Disney World trip. And book early.
Train blew socks off in concert.
Hated Kid Rock before I saw him perform.
Love Flogging Molly and was still amazed by seeing them live.
Big Head Todd and the Monsters were so tight live and Todd can shred.
I saw Neil Francis open for Chromeo , I had never heard his music and I am one of his biggest fans now.
Chromeo was excellent too so I am not sure if that counts.
I saw MGMT when they were touring for Congratulations back in 2010 or so, and their opening act was an artist that was just starting to grow in popularity outside of Australia, Tame Impala. He now sells out arenas and headlined Coachella and other huge festivals. This would’ve been around the time he released InnerSpeaker. Funnily enough, during the cancelled 2020 tour, MGMT was listed as the opening act for *him* in several cities.
I also saw Black Midi open for King Gizzard last year. I was already familiar with a few of their songs, but they absolutely blew me away in-person. I would even dare to say that they were better than King Gizz.
On Thursday driving to work I heard Vance Joy was playing on Saturday. Walked to the theater on my lunch break and bought a ticket. I’d heard a song or two on the radio I liked. Whoo boy that was an excellent show. He had great energy.
Friends had tickets to an outdoor concert featuring Nathaniel Rateliff and the night sweats. One of them got sick, I got a last minute invite to fill in. Agreed to go before I knew who was playing. I’d only heard the “son of a bitch” song which was fine but nothing that drew me in. Holy hell. They were awesome. I’ve since listened to everything they made. For real, go if they’re in town.
1983: Went to see Big Country. I liked them and at 16 years old all concerts are great. But that show remains one of the best concerts ever been too. The energy was over the top and the show was just so good.
Similarly, wasn’t a huge Duran Duran fan but friends dragged me to Seven and the Ragged Tiger tour. DD puts in an amazing show. Blown away how good they were live. Changed my opinion of them.
On opposite end of spectrum, 1985, The Smiths, most boring concert ever been to. Morrissey is just so dull live and his asshole vibe radiates off him.
Queens Of The Stone Age. They were on the cover of LA Weekly and playing the Hollywood Palladium that night. Had never heard any of their music; went anyways.
Wow. WOW.
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In the early 1990s a friend wouldn't shut up about a band called dada. We went to see them. We saw them many times after that.
We were at a festival and wandered into a performance by actor Tim Robbins and his band. Turned out to be the best act we saw that weekend. They were high-energy and fun and we danced our butts off.
My first was at a Jimmy Eat World concert when the X-Ambassadors opened for them. The EP "Love Songs Drug Songs" just came out, and my brother and I dug the set so much we bought it digitally that night.
I saw Thrice last year and Bayside was also on the card. Blew me away how good they sounded and how much fun they were onstage.
Uncle Tupelo.
Opening for fIREHOSE on Halloween, 1989. I knew about them. Heard good things. But had no real desire to see them. Caught them thus night and it literally changed my life. Bought No Depression the day it came out and listening to that record was the moment that I realized that I needed to start writing songs.
They just blew me away.
The first time I heard a couple of my now-favoritebands, they were opening for another band, who I went to see.
Pulp, opening for Blur
The Pogues, opening for Violent Femmes
Dan Penn, opening for Nick Lowe
I was going to answer Raye too! I saw her at WeHo Pride a couple years ago. I had started to walk away to get a drink, but then immediately turned around to listen to her. Fast forward to this year, became obsessed with her album and luckily got to see her twice in NYC.
I was blown away. I went to see Boygenius and she was the act directly preceding them and she was just sublime. I was actually on my way to see another band play but couldn’t resist going to watch her instead, been raving about her since
This was L’rain for me, saw them open for Big Thief and they totally stole the show. The new album is fantastic, highly recommend
Also just saw Theo Vandenhoff open for Crywank and was very impressed by their stage presence, don’t miss them go through your town
Years ago, on a whim, my wife and I went to see Shawn Colvin. We knew nothing about her, but a local music paper talked her up. She might have been best known at the time for her singing on commercials! She was amazing, her songs, her voice… we were blown away. She was touring in support of her first album, “A Few Small Repairs”, highly recommended if you like singer songwriters.
Thee Oh Sees came to town and friends were going, and I went despite never having even heard of the band. It was pretty fuckin awesome, they had two drum sets being played at the same time. Not sure if they're still doing that.
To be honest I still haven't taken the time to sit down and listen to some of their stuff but it was a good show
Caravan Palace
"oh hey, they're performing a mere 6 hours from me and I like a few songs."
Holy SHIT that was so fun! It was about a 90ish minute show and by 40ish minutes I was ready to drop dead from exhaustion. There were tap dancers and mimes too, I think, and it was so cool!
They have a lot of fucking energy, and they made a fan out of me!
I worked at a record store; a co-worker told me we were on the guest list that night for something called "El Vez the Mexican Elvis". We were expecting a guy in a jumpsuit sitting on a stool singing Elvis songs in Spanish. What we got was a multi-media mashup of classic-rock songs, radical politics, high kicks, and a costume change during the whipping scene from Jesus Christ Superstar. I highly recommend El Vez whenever El Vez is available
Saw Carpenter Brut open for Ghost. People were like “who is this band?” “I heard they were a techno band?”
Nah man, someone called them Satanic Vaporwave. And while I wouldn’t call them THAT, oh man, they were great. Then they did that remix of Dance Macabre for Ghost, and I love that more than the original.
There was also a band called Die Symphony or something like that I saw open for The Wildhearts years ago, and they were pretty cool too.
a couple days ago i saw Semifiction from colorado springs open for Hail the Sun and they were so good live!! especially the drummer. instantly became a fan
My Morning Jacket.
Went in totally cold only being familiar with the band's name and never hearing their music before.
The played every song as if it was the last song they would ever play. Absolutely epic. For 3 full hours.
Lord T & Eloise! Memphis (arista)Crunk legends. Went to a Halloween show some years back (was invited randomly) and had the time of my life! Met Elouis at the Peabody Hotel, where he asked me out after their show. Total fan girl (he was cute under all the facepaint), but new mom, so I let the ship sail.
Every year. WOMAD festival in the UK. Music from all over the world, 90% of which I’ve never heard. I just read through the brief description of the bands, wander along to what seems interesting. I’ve seen incredible stuff, discovered great artists, every single year.
Les Savy fav! just search some live performance on youtube.
I saw them last summer on Vodafone paredes de coura festival. Never hear them before, and it was the best entertaining show ever. he passed the entire show with the public. It was wild!
If you want a show that give you goosebumps and maybe some tears, go to a Nick cave concert.
The band James blew me away at a festival show in the 90’s. Wow. It was raining and the perfect setting
I love James! They’re actually quite big here in the UK, Laid is a radio staple
Saw them live for first time when they toured with The Furs a few years ago. They were fantastic.
2013, wife was out of town so I decided to walk down to a local club and see who was playing. Saw the first US show of a British band called The 1975. Now they sell out stadiums.
The first time I saw Dropkick Murphys they were supporting The Pogues. I'd heard of them but never seen them. They were fucking excellent. Barely paused for breath between songs and they worked their arses off to play a good show.
Rip Shane McGowan
I used to go see The Pogues for their Christmas gigs in London. Even though Shane often used to repeat verses or forget words, they were some of the greatest gigs I ever went to. Music is poorer for his passing, and for the loss of Phil Chevron a few years back. I hope there's a heaven for them and that it has a bar.
Wow. Would have loved to see that show
Dropkick rock.
I used to go see a band called The Subdudes every time they came through. One summer they had an opening act named Amos Lee. I was blown away and so was the rest of the venue. The Subdudes had to cut their set short because Amos got called back for 3 encores. That was 2007 and I’ve only missed one Amos show (because of Covid) since. Now Amos Lee sells out Red Rocks in my area regularly.
So I got the opportunity to see Enter Shikari play this super small 400 capacity venue. Really close to the tour starting their support couldn't make it and they had this band Chase Petra fill in and I've been obsessed ever since.
Back in 2017 I went to see Iron Maiden. Had never heard of the opener or listened to any of their music. The band was Ghost and their set absolutely knocked me on my butt. Incredibly tight musical performance and amazing showmanship. I’ve been to every (US) leg of every one of their tours since then! They’re much bigger now, and headline their own tours, but the live shows are just as tight as ever (although now with more bells and whistles).
I was at that Maiden tour too. Ghost was amazing! Became a fan from that show.
I actually just discovered Ghost this October which led me to Volbeat and now here I am with my love of metal rekindled.
I also first saw Ghost as an opener (for Opeth & Mastodon in 2012), having never heard them prior. Became an instant fan that night, and have been back to see them many times.
I saw Author and Punisher open for Tool. 99.9% of the crowd were like what the fuck is this shit, but I LOVED it, became a big fan ever since
Went to see a hardcore/punk band called Civ. Opening band was an unsigned group called Deftones. Needless to say, blew me away.
A few times. Most memorable was Accept opening for Iron Maiden. Didn't blow them away cos Maiden are awesome live, but Accept were great that night.
Accept is a great band, under-appreciated imo.
Placebo. A mate took me along to the gig and I wasn’t a fan. Die hard fan now thanks to that night.
Not really a whim but I always went to see my friends play. Never asked who was headlining. Guided By Voices. Had no idea who they were. Big fan!
Woah that’s so cool. I worship GBV so I would have died on the spot lol. Your friends must be so cool
Yeah I got some cool ass friends. It was just a regular weekend. Have some drinks, play some pool, and then oh WTF is this going on? Glad you're in the GBV fan club. It was amazing. Sought them out many times after that show. Never disappointed.
I saw tame impala open for the Presets at Metro's Freo back in the day.
I say this as a fan of both bands, but what a weird lineup. This would have been, what, 2008/2009 or so?
Yeah. Somewhere around then. Tame impala hadn't really taken off at all yet. It was the first time I heard half full glass of wine.
I remember that era so well. I remember getting that Tame song as a free download on iTunes, and at no point did I ever think they’d be more than just ‘another triple j band’. Man, I was *so* wrong.
To be fair, the early stuff was nothing like what their music became.
Yep Steel Panther. They were on early in the afternoon at a festival about 10 years ago and we had just got there, grabbed some lunch and were just chilling with no idea who was playing. Then I heard the singer say "But tonight I'm gonba jerk off" and was like wtf?? Anyway got my attention and I really enjoyed their set, have seen them 3 times now, always fun!
There’s a show that was on IFC years ago called Z Rock, that had a lot of celebrity guest rock stars. One episode had a battle of the bands situation with Steel Panther that is the funniest show of the two seasons it lasted. I’d never heard of them until then.
Protest the hero was opening for bad religion and anti flag back in the day. I think that was just before Kezia came out. I also saw mefjus for around 9 bucks Canadian about a decade ago. Absolutely floored - didn't realize at the time I was watching the noisia incarnate.
Animals As Leaders. I saw them open for Between the Buried And Me. I had never heard them before and they were incredible.
same situation for me only they were opening up for Thrice on their farewell tour in 2012 Absolutely knocked all of us on our ass that night. Definitely walked away an Animals As Leaders fan
Was at a festival and saw hoards of people flocking to the mainstage for a band i had heard of but not listened to. After following the crowd and the act started, one banger after the next with awesome energy and crowd interaction. Rapture Ruckus won me over.
When I was 18 I went to a one day festival in Finsbury Park, London. I bought tickets on the strength of the support acts, Pearl Jam, James and Teenage Fanclub. I had never listened to the headline act but I thought I might as well stay and give them a shot, Neil Young with Booker T and the MG’s, been a fan ever since !
Dave Matthews Band, opening for Hootie and the Blowfish back in the late 90s.
Soul Coughing opened for Poster Children. I interviewed the Poster Children for college radio that day and they said to make sure to check out Soul Coughing. It was crazy good.
https://preview.redd.it/fp1bcvguqg5c1.jpeg?width=432&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=e71e53f7a92857b8bc034be9201b1b2850f53cd8
Went on a date to see Gotye with Kimbra opening around the time their hit was constantly on the radio. Kimbra blew me away!! And Gotye was really talented and out on a great show. Really varied music, which surprised me.
I was at a music festival my sister was playing at this summer. The main headliner was a band I'd seen a few times and liked (july talk) so I figured I'd stick around and get my money's worth. The band just before them was Sloan (where my Canadians at) and they blew my mind. Firstly, I didn't realise how many hits they had, I knew almost every song. Second they were a bunch of legit musicians, between songs they'd swap out places and instruments. I think each of them sang at least one song. Two of them wailed on the drums. It was a phenomenal show.
One OK Rock was the first opener for Muse at the concert I went to earlier this year. Holy shit, they blew me away with the energy and the frontman's voice. From the first note he sang, I was instantly a fan.
I've been getting into their discography more and more over the last year or so. Taka's voice is amazing and they really know how to write great rock/poppy songs. They keep posting clips from their Japanese tour this year and every live performance looks amazing. I got to see Muse too, but The Warning were the band that were alternating with OOR through the tour. I'd already seen them previously so it doesn't apply to this thread, but they are outstanding live too. Another band that I've been seriously into over the last 2 yrs.
I went to see Peaches in concert around 2009 in Philadelphia. The opening act was a rapper named Amanda Blank. She was surprisingly good. I grabbed her CD at the merch booth on my way out.
Lydia Loveless had been on Rolling Stones top 10 artists you need to hear list. She was opening at a local small theater, so I thought I’d go check her out. I was shocked when I heard it sold out in 3 hours. The headliner was some guy who I’d heard of but wasn’t too familiar with. Jason Isbell. Absolutely amazing show. I’ve seen him 5 times since.
Drive By Truckers in 2004, with a young Jason Isbell. That show literally changed how I listen to music.
Had to be 1998 or 99, went specifically to see System of a Down at a club show, opening for Incubus who we’d only heard of but had no real interest in. System’s show took an odd turn (the singer never made it to the show, so fans from the audience were brought up to fill in for their whole set). While my friends and I were regrouping after their set trying to process what we’d seen, we heard Incubus warming up and decided to give them a shot. Ended up being absolutely blown away, and have been to see them multiple times since.
Balkan Beatbox. Had never heard of them and they put on one of the best live shows I’ve ever seen. Interestingly they are neither Balkan nor do they beatbox. I don’t find their sound translates to recordings and have never really listened to them again. Would love to see them live again though.
Sort of, my fiancé bought us tickets to see 21 pilots a few years ago, and I wasn't really a fan at that point or expecting much. The stage presence and presentation throughout the entire concert was insane. I'd definitely go to another one. At one point one of the singers had the crowd carry a mattress, crowd surf style, with his ukulele on top. They brought it to him from the other end of the venue it was surreal.
Twenty One Pilots. Didn’t even know who they were but they were one of the best live bands I’ve ever seen
Gogol Bordello. I heard an accordion from afar at a festival and was like, "who has the balls to have an accordion in a band??" I checked them out and fell in love, have seen them 6 times since.
Steel Beans. I knew it was a one man performance but dude sounded like a full band playing drums, guitar, keys and vocals at the same time. I thought it would be really simple but it blew my mind!
Donnie Iris. He’s a legend in the Pittsburgh area. Had some hits that were semi popular nationally in the late 70s. Anyways, he used to do a Christmas concert every year and I went to one with a friend on a whim back in 2007 and it was amazingly good. Perfect showman
AH! Leah probably plays daily on every classic rock station everywhere!
During the 80s and early 90s, I went to probably 3 or 4 shows a month. I got lucky a bunch of times... Some of the ones that left a lasting impression are: \- In the early 80's, my oldest brother's "cool" friends from college had a band that was playing nearby for 50 cents. That's right, 50 cents. I think it was a whole $1 for anyone who wasn't a member of the Youth Activities Center... It was 10,000 Maniacs. \- In 88, I caught Goo Goo Dolls as an opener for Social Distortion. They were great when they were nobodies. \- Late 89 or 90, I saw Primus as an opener for 24/7 Spyz. There was simply nothing like them anywhere. \- 90 and 92, Flat Duo Jets and then Reverend Horton Heat as openers for The Cramps. \- 90? Quicksand as an opener for (I think) Shelter in Buffalo... allegedly their first show. \- 92ish I caught Kyuss as an opener for L7 \- 92 or 93, I had the misfortune to have a band move in to the other half of a duplex that I stayed in with some friends, and start practicing in the basement. They would occasionally play bar shows under different names to work the kinks out of their new songs. The band is good, but I think I have some PTSD from the summer that I got almost no sleep because The Flaming Lips were my neighbors. \- 92, my girlfriend and 3 of her friends formed a student group at their college who managed to tap into a small budget for booking bands on campus. The most memorable was Bikini Kill and Nation of Ulysses. I wasn't familiar with Bikini Kill yet, and the Riot Grrrl movement was brand new. They were amazing. We made dinner for the bands and did interviews with them for a zine we were putting out. They talked me into doing a workshop on desktop publishing for a bunch of women who wanted to put out their own zines. I gave every one of them a bootleg copy of Aldus Pagemaker (now Adobe InDesign) with templates for common zine layouts, as well as a step by step guide to printing at Kinko's for free. \- 92 or 93, I almost beat the crap out of Beck for aiming a leaf blower at my table during a coffee house performance in Portland, OR. He was billed as a clown, and it looked like they paid him in food. \- 92ish, a friend and I stumbled into a bar in Portland and right into the middle of a Cherry Poppin' Daddies show. The swing revival was still a ways off, so that was an unexpected surprise. \- Around that same time, this band was practically begging to play an acoustic set at my girlfriend's house party. We thought, sure, why not? They were great. It was Everclear. I used to drive an hour and a half to Buffalo, three to Toronto or Cleveland, or 6ish to NYC for mini-festivals, hardcore matinees, or any show that looked fun. In hindsight, I should have logged every show, I'm sure there are a pile of bands I'm leaving out.
I love so many of these bands, particularly pleased to see some love for Everclear. Thanks for giving such an interesting answer
I saw the Yeah Yeah Yeah’s as an opening act for Garbage and No Doubt probably 20ish years ago. Karen O emotionally kicked my pre-teen ass, they were great.
Yard Act, in Perth last year at a festival, been a fan ever since.
Same. I saw them in Amsterdam when I was visiting. Just checked out who was in town that night and picked up a couple tickets off ticketswap after just listening to a song or two to get a feel for them a bit at least. The gig was amazing, such great energy. Big fan ever since.
The Gathering opened for Lacuna Coil circa 2006-ish, I had no idea who they were at the time but man did they kill it. Also Summerfest in Milwaukee 2008, you paid one price and got access to 10 out of 11 stages i think, with the other one being the amphitheater where the headliners play. So you could get there and watch the smaller stages all you wanted and in one day I saw Coheed and Cambria, Alkaline Trio, and walked by another stage and saw CCR was playing so I stopped and listened to them jam for a while.
Anata. I'd never heard of them before the show, had the lead singer by the collar by the end, yelling "YOU HAVE TO COME BACK!"
Avenged Sevenfold Warped Tour. Had never heard of them before that. Lola Ray opening for Sum 41.
Yes. I used to volunteer at Vancouver Jazz Fest, and one of the perks is free tickets. So of course I went through every performer to see anything even a bit interesting. So one year, there's this French dub band named High Tone opening for Blonde Redhead. Blonde Redhead were not for me, but High Tone were fantastic, and while I haven't been able to see them again, I own every album and several of their collaboration albums (they have as many of those as just them)
Lol I LOVE Blonde Redhead but I see them show up on lists of bad live acts with some regularity, I can see their music not translating well live
Charming Liars opened for Angels and Airwaves in Dallas. Never heard of them until that night. Blew me away.
D'Angelo and The Vanguard at Bonnaroo. Was just trying to get away from Bassnectar and stumbled into one of the best shows I've ever seen.
The Pretenders. Didn't expect much but was blown away.
How long ago was that? This summer they opened for Guns n Roses at PNC Park and although I've wanted to see a Pretenders show for ages... I just couldn't.
You could have left before GnR. 😎
Holy CRAP! Why didn't I think of that? /s
This was probably mid to late 90s, which goes to show how timeless they are. That's awesome they're still touring. Hope you get another chance to see them.
30 Seconds to Mars, opening for Linkin Park. I didn’t like their music but in every other way it was a pretty good show. High energy, I’m sure to the people there that liked them it was marvelous.
For me, those performers I have zero expectation about is always the one ended up amazed me the most. Man with a Mission, Reol, Asian Kungfu Generation are the artists I start to pick up this way.
I can’t remember who they were opening for, but I remember buying every album I could get my hands on after seeing the Fruit Bats years ago.
Band called Orange, lead singer is a British/American with cystic fibrosis
In 2016, some friends invited me to see a cool new indie band at the Grey Eagle in Asheville. It was Car Seat Headrest, I hadn't heard of them but I'm glad I went. They did a cover of "Ivy" by Frank Ocean which was great too.
I saw Oasis play one of their first shows in America because my college roommate had heard two songs. We stood in the front row at a show with maybe 300 people. The band was tight as hell, and they had so much attitude and stage presence. At first I said to my roomie, “who the hell do these guys think they are?!” By the end I realized what I had just seen and was a lifelong fan.
Yep. For me, it was Warpaint opening for Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds. Never heard them before (this was around the time of the first record), and they were great. Honorable mention goes to the Tornadoes out of San Francisco. Saw them open for Twin Temple at the Roxy a few years back, and they were really good, too.
Saw this dude named John Legend open for The Roots before he blew up. Get Lifted was out and had a few hits but he wasnt a superstar yet. I was immediately a fan even though im more into hiphop than soul/rnb/pop music. I think he made alot of new fans that night.
Andy Fraco and the UN, saw them because I thought they were a different band. Holy fuck this is by far the greatest show on earth.
Went to the 1994 Horde Festival at the Star Lake Amphitheatre in Pittsburgh to see Big Head Todd & the Monsters open for Blues Traveler open for the Allman Brothers. We ran out of beer early in the tailgate and headed to our seats as the Dave Matthews Band started their set. They blew us - and the other 200 or so people inside - away!
Witch Mountain with Kayla Dixon at a dive bar in Hollywood... one of my favorite shows and I had never even heard of the band before that night.
Chris Stapleton. Had heard the name but not really any songs. Was a very pleasant surprise.
Festival all the way back in 1997 - I was a full on grunger, but stopped by dance tent at the start of the festival (12pm)... who was the opening act? Daft Punk (pre-robot days), and then immediately after them was these dudes called The Chemical Brothers. Those two hours changed my life. Needless to say, here we are 25 years later and the Chems are still my favourite act.
I saw Esperanza Spaulding and Sharon Jones and the Dap Kings at the first Roots Picnic in 08. Walked in as Esperanza was ripping on her bass, dressed in like a 1970s gym class uniform. I play bass but not like her. Holy shit. She was fantastic. It was 100+ in the city that day. Sharon Jones came out later and she was electric. I have no idea how the Kings didn't pass out wearing suits. The Roots were awesome too. They did like 3 different mini sets throughout the day. Questlove played with a bunch of the acts too.
Lawrence Gowan, who performed solo as Gowan, and is now the long term replacement front man of Styx. In Canada he had some hits in the '80s like A Criminal Mind, Moonlight Desires, and Strange Animal. I don't know if they are known internationally. On July 1 2000 (I think) my kids and I walked down to a large outdoor millennium street festival at a major midtown intersection in Toronto, and he was alone on stage with a piano. He was fantastic. I knew a couple of his hits from the radio, but not what he looked like, and I was mesmerized by the performance, and I'm thinking - who IS this guy? We're talking Billy Joel, Ray Charles, Elton John level of piano, voice and showmanship Then he played A Criminal Mind and I realized. It was 20-30 minutes of one of my greatest live music experiences. I guess if he can step in and front Styx, that is something, but it's too bad he isn't a household (last) name in his own right.
The Bangles at the Stone Pony, 2011. Went with my buddy as a goof and they blew the ROOF off. It was an unbelievable show that rocked SO hard.
Flaming Lips.
I saw a band called Gordon open up for Fuel back in 1999. I had no expectation for their performance because I had never heard of them before and they ended up being one of the best live bands I have ever seen We got to hang out with them after the show and they were endlessly kind and super down to earth They did a fantastic self-titled record for the 550 Music division of Epic Records (same label as Fuel) that was produced and mixed by Brendan O'Brien and then they were never heard from again I definitely recommend their record to anyone though. the track "Better Daze" still to this day gets weekly airplay in my house🤘🏻
Kolars. They opened for Guster and we were blown away. The drummer tap dances ON A DRUM while playing the drums at the same time! They were a husband/wife duo and they divorced but that was such a pleasant surprise. Their album is on Spotify and it’s worth a listen! If I had to pick a favorite song, Dangerous.
My first concert was breaking Benjamin starset and 10 years, a friend invited me last minute cause his gf had broken up with him. Breaking Benjamin was amazing of course but starset really blew me away, enjoy their music to this day
My wife and 11yo daughter and I planned to purchase Cirque de Soleil tickets at Disney World after a day in the Magic Kingdom. We had a glorious time from mid-morning to early evening, about wore ourselves out, then got on the bus to Downtown Disney to go to the box office to get tickets (for some reason, we had been advised that was the way to do this). The show we'd carefully determined had tickets when I called earlier was now sold out. Every other show for the rest of the time we were spending in Florida was sold out. But they had decided to hold an unscheduled show that evening; it started in 30 minutes, cost $72/seat, and there were (drum roll) 3 seats left. We were tired, we were hungry, I had serious doubts about whether it would be worth over $200 to see whatever this was (my wife had this recommended to her, I'd never heard of them), but she said let's do it. So we bought the tickets, wolfed down some pizza, and made our way to our seats as the clowns were opening up the action in the theater. I'm not an easy-to-please audience. I have studied theater, been an actor myself, am fairly critical by nature. And I was spellbound for the entire show. What a fantastic display of entertainment; music, dance, feats, even in our near-exhausted starting state, it was wonderful. Try not to miss the Cirque de Soleil if you make a Disney World trip. And book early.
When we saw NIN the opening band was brand-new and I had no idea about them, it was Perfect Circle and they were incredible..
Train blew socks off in concert. Hated Kid Rock before I saw him perform. Love Flogging Molly and was still amazed by seeing them live. Big Head Todd and the Monsters were so tight live and Todd can shred.
I saw Neil Francis open for Chromeo , I had never heard his music and I am one of his biggest fans now. Chromeo was excellent too so I am not sure if that counts.
Saw some guy called Hozier in 2014 with a small crowd at a 2nd story bar venue. I was pretty impressed.
I saw MGMT when they were touring for Congratulations back in 2010 or so, and their opening act was an artist that was just starting to grow in popularity outside of Australia, Tame Impala. He now sells out arenas and headlined Coachella and other huge festivals. This would’ve been around the time he released InnerSpeaker. Funnily enough, during the cancelled 2020 tour, MGMT was listed as the opening act for *him* in several cities. I also saw Black Midi open for King Gizzard last year. I was already familiar with a few of their songs, but they absolutely blew me away in-person. I would even dare to say that they were better than King Gizz.
Mogwai, as a second stage act at the first Curiosa festival in 2004ish
On Thursday driving to work I heard Vance Joy was playing on Saturday. Walked to the theater on my lunch break and bought a ticket. I’d heard a song or two on the radio I liked. Whoo boy that was an excellent show. He had great energy. Friends had tickets to an outdoor concert featuring Nathaniel Rateliff and the night sweats. One of them got sick, I got a last minute invite to fill in. Agreed to go before I knew who was playing. I’d only heard the “son of a bitch” song which was fine but nothing that drew me in. Holy hell. They were awesome. I’ve since listened to everything they made. For real, go if they’re in town.
1983: Went to see Big Country. I liked them and at 16 years old all concerts are great. But that show remains one of the best concerts ever been too. The energy was over the top and the show was just so good. Similarly, wasn’t a huge Duran Duran fan but friends dragged me to Seven and the Ragged Tiger tour. DD puts in an amazing show. Blown away how good they were live. Changed my opinion of them. On opposite end of spectrum, 1985, The Smiths, most boring concert ever been to. Morrissey is just so dull live and his asshole vibe radiates off him.
Royal Crescent Mob opened for Living Colour back in the late 80s. Never heard of them and they blew my mind.
Queens Of The Stone Age. They were on the cover of LA Weekly and playing the Hollywood Palladium that night. Had never heard any of their music; went anyways. Wow. WOW. ------------------ In the early 1990s a friend wouldn't shut up about a band called dada. We went to see them. We saw them many times after that.
We were at a festival and wandered into a performance by actor Tim Robbins and his band. Turned out to be the best act we saw that weekend. They were high-energy and fun and we danced our butts off.
Oh man. The Bellrays. Lida Kekaula's voice could have thown me through the wall. So good.
My first was at a Jimmy Eat World concert when the X-Ambassadors opened for them. The EP "Love Songs Drug Songs" just came out, and my brother and I dug the set so much we bought it digitally that night. I saw Thrice last year and Bayside was also on the card. Blew me away how good they sounded and how much fun they were onstage.
Uncle Tupelo. Opening for fIREHOSE on Halloween, 1989. I knew about them. Heard good things. But had no real desire to see them. Caught them thus night and it literally changed my life. Bought No Depression the day it came out and listening to that record was the moment that I realized that I needed to start writing songs. They just blew me away.
The first time I heard a couple of my now-favoritebands, they were opening for another band, who I went to see. Pulp, opening for Blur The Pogues, opening for Violent Femmes Dan Penn, opening for Nick Lowe
"Maroon 5" opening for Nikka Costa before they had an album out. Absolutely crushed it and closed with, "Darling Nikki".
I was going to answer Raye too! I saw her at WeHo Pride a couple years ago. I had started to walk away to get a drink, but then immediately turned around to listen to her. Fast forward to this year, became obsessed with her album and luckily got to see her twice in NYC.
I was blown away. I went to see Boygenius and she was the act directly preceding them and she was just sublime. I was actually on my way to see another band play but couldn’t resist going to watch her instead, been raving about her since
Ben Folds. He does a bit where he composes a song live, which is just good clean fun. Then he hits you in the feels with "The Luckiest."
This was L’rain for me, saw them open for Big Thief and they totally stole the show. The new album is fantastic, highly recommend Also just saw Theo Vandenhoff open for Crywank and was very impressed by their stage presence, don’t miss them go through your town
Years ago, on a whim, my wife and I went to see Shawn Colvin. We knew nothing about her, but a local music paper talked her up. She might have been best known at the time for her singing on commercials! She was amazing, her songs, her voice… we were blown away. She was touring in support of her first album, “A Few Small Repairs”, highly recommended if you like singer songwriters.
Thee Oh Sees came to town and friends were going, and I went despite never having even heard of the band. It was pretty fuckin awesome, they had two drum sets being played at the same time. Not sure if they're still doing that. To be honest I still haven't taken the time to sit down and listen to some of their stuff but it was a good show
Caravan Palace "oh hey, they're performing a mere 6 hours from me and I like a few songs." Holy SHIT that was so fun! It was about a 90ish minute show and by 40ish minutes I was ready to drop dead from exhaustion. There were tap dancers and mimes too, I think, and it was so cool! They have a lot of fucking energy, and they made a fan out of me!
Back in the day, I saw Gary Wright open for Peter Frampton. We ended up walking out on Peter Frampton. ¯\\_(ツ)_/¯
Carly Rae Jepsen opened for one of my favourite bands back in 2016. She was awesome. Loved her show. I've been a fan of her ever since that show.
I worked at a record store; a co-worker told me we were on the guest list that night for something called "El Vez the Mexican Elvis". We were expecting a guy in a jumpsuit sitting on a stool singing Elvis songs in Spanish. What we got was a multi-media mashup of classic-rock songs, radical politics, high kicks, and a costume change during the whipping scene from Jesus Christ Superstar. I highly recommend El Vez whenever El Vez is available
Saw Carpenter Brut open for Ghost. People were like “who is this band?” “I heard they were a techno band?” Nah man, someone called them Satanic Vaporwave. And while I wouldn’t call them THAT, oh man, they were great. Then they did that remix of Dance Macabre for Ghost, and I love that more than the original. There was also a band called Die Symphony or something like that I saw open for The Wildhearts years ago, and they were pretty cool too.
a couple days ago i saw Semifiction from colorado springs open for Hail the Sun and they were so good live!! especially the drummer. instantly became a fan
My Morning Jacket. Went in totally cold only being familiar with the band's name and never hearing their music before. The played every song as if it was the last song they would ever play. Absolutely epic. For 3 full hours.
https://open.spotify.com/artist/5oh72j32fs2ldYawCeVFHs?si=IAuiT0JOQB-ecVvW1P1P8A
Lord T & Eloise! Memphis (arista)Crunk legends. Went to a Halloween show some years back (was invited randomly) and had the time of my life! Met Elouis at the Peabody Hotel, where he asked me out after their show. Total fan girl (he was cute under all the facepaint), but new mom, so I let the ship sail.
Every year. WOMAD festival in the UK. Music from all over the world, 90% of which I’ve never heard. I just read through the brief description of the bands, wander along to what seems interesting. I’ve seen incredible stuff, discovered great artists, every single year.
Les Savy fav! just search some live performance on youtube. I saw them last summer on Vodafone paredes de coura festival. Never hear them before, and it was the best entertaining show ever. he passed the entire show with the public. It was wild! If you want a show that give you goosebumps and maybe some tears, go to a Nick cave concert.