remphish1 Posted August 5, 2011 Share Posted August 5, 2011 Give me a list of some of your favorite, most impressive concert openigns you saw. Any song you weren't expecting that packed a punch? Any crazy visuals or unforgettable moments? Give me your list! Some of my favorites... 1. First time I saw REM they opened with I Took Your Name..never paid much attention to that song but now when it comes on my ipod randomly I remember that moment when I finally saw my favorite band live and it sunk in! 2. Same with Wilco..opened with Misunderstood...perfect live intro to Wilco 3. U2- First time I saw U2 was on the popmart tour. They opened with Popmuzak/Mofo...it was a redic spectical but I dug it. First time I saw a stadium concert PRODUCTION! The screen was the largest in the world at the time! 4. Afghan Whighs- Probably my favorite concert opening of all time musically. I wasn't too fimilar with the Whigs but they opened with a cover of superstitous and then went into Going to Town...it kicked soo much ass...I wish they were still around! 5. Radiohead- First time I saw them they opened with Lucky...I still remember feeling numb when it started! 6. Pet Shop Boys- Second most incredible show visually I ever saw. It was like a broadway play...it was confusing, delightful and strange all at the same time. They opened with Heart which worked well! 7. The Cure- could have been the weather, could have been the sound but the Out of This World song opener is a moment I still recalled fondly 8. Bjork-First concert I saw in NYC after Sept 11. It was on the Verspertine tour...I was nervous heading into the city. There was a vibe I can't even describe, first time I saw the city too without the towers as I was in College in PA when it happened and wasn't homemuch outside the school year... 9. Bruce Springsteen and E Street Band...right when they got back together again and where starting their 15 show NJ run. Opened with I want to Be With You which works well...First time seeing the Big Man live! runner up! Saw another show that run. Opened with Night which was at the time the first time they played that song in the last 20 years! 10. Flaming Lips...first time I saw them was in a tiny hole in the wall in Baltimore called Fletchers...was on the Soft Bulletin tour..I was front and center and they opened with Race For The Prize. Wayne was smashing the gong and the level of sound deafened me for days! Another highligh was wayne gave me a high five with fake blood! 11. Sigur Ros- Opened with Vaka....I never heard a more silent crowd in my life. People were taking it in and really appreciating the live expierence...I saw them a few years later from the front row and they opened with Takk/Glosoli...perfect! 12. Phish I was 15...first notes of Prince Caspian a sea of smoke..was my first second hand expierence as I was a very straight laced 15 year old... Quote Link to post Share on other sites
calvino Posted August 5, 2011 Share Posted August 5, 2011 Off the top of my head - My first Stones show in 1989, an opening with a "canned" Continental Drift then into Start Me Up.I was about 20 rows back in the center - seeing Richards take a b-line to the front of the stage was pretty cool. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Vacant Horizon Posted August 5, 2011 Share Posted August 5, 2011 first dead show. the boys just walked out and started dicking around with their equipment. the busted into picasso moon and a million people started dancing. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
jff Posted August 5, 2011 Share Posted August 5, 2011 Shakti walking out onto the stage and picking up their instruments was a more amazing opening than any rock show opener I've ever seen. ICP Orchestra was another great one. Han Bennink walked out holding two short pieces of 2x4 and used them to play an a mind boggling percussion solo on the floor of the aisle while the rest of the band got situated. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
tinnitus photography Posted August 5, 2011 Share Posted August 5, 2011 U2 tour, early 90s...house lights are up, the PA is cranking out "Stand By Me" and slowly the band strolls out, member by member, starting w/ the rhythm section and finally the Edge and Bono, all slowly joining in on the song. very cool. the Jesus Lizard, Goat tour...packed, small club. apprehension in the air. "here comes dudley" is the first song, macneilly and sims laying down a sinister groove while denison splays spidery guitar lines all over the top. Yow slowly makes his way across stage, stops, and slits his eyes as he gazes across the room. soon, he's on top of the crowd, and the mayhem doesn't stop until the amps are powered down 90 min later. Dead Kennedys, 1985. there's a sizable delay before the band is playing, and finally Jello Biafra comes to the mic and asks if anyone in the crowd knows any of their songs as a drummer. he says Peligro hasn' t been seen in a few days and they don't know where he is. after 4-5 attempts at DK songs with various walk-on volunteers (some good, some aborted), Peligro finally shows his face and takes his rightful spot @ the kit. not sure if it was staged or not, but it was pretty cool. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
calvino Posted August 5, 2011 Share Posted August 5, 2011 ICP Orchestra was another great one. Han Bennink walked out holding two short pieces of 2x4 and used them to play an a mind boggling percussion solo on the floor of the aisle while the rest of the band got situated. Bennink is one of my favorite performers to watch - amazing guy. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Wild Frank Posted August 5, 2011 Share Posted August 5, 2011 This is probably not the coolest one but....when I was a kid the first show I saw was Aerosmith. They opening with 'Rats in the Cellar'. There was a curtain up across the stage and you could just see silouettes of the band. The curtain came down and Tyler leapt out. I was only about twelve at the time and it blew my little mind. For this reason I'll always stick up for Aerosmith. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Mr. Heartbreak Posted August 5, 2011 Share Posted August 5, 2011 This is probably not the coolest one but....when I was a kid the first show I saw was Aerosmith. They opening with 'Rats in the Cellar'. There was a curtain up across the stage and you could just see silouettes of the band. The curtain came down and Tyler leapt out. I was only about twelve at the time and it blew my little mind. For this reason I'll always stick up for Aerosmith. I had the exact same experience, except I was maybe 13. Joe Perry was so badass back then, it's hard to explain to people who weren't there. Those guys played like they were going to spontaneously combust, and in fact, they almost did! Others: First Dead show: opened with Alabama Getaway, and they never seemed to slow down for the rest of the show. First Wilco show: opened with CA Stars, and I was hooked from then on; during the 2002 tour, I saw them open with I Am Trying To Break Your Heart a few times, and every one of them was special. Roger Waters w/Eric Clapton on the Pros & Cons tour: Set the Controls for the Heart of the Sun. Nuff said. The Who in '79: Substitute, baby! Paul McCartney: Venus & Mars/Rock Show Bruce Cockburn, Toad's Place, 1994: opened with Tokyo, which blew everyone away, even the "virgins" in our group Frank Zappa, 3/17/88 - The rumor in 1988 was that FZ hadn't played the guitar at all since 1984, and had given it up for the Synclavier. In those pre-Internet days, you didn't get show reviews soon after...you just knew someone was on tour. During the first song, FZ strapped on a guitar and the whole place went nuts. Listening to some of the other '88 shows today, I can hear the same experience happening all over the country. Pretty cool. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Oil Can Boyd Posted August 5, 2011 Share Posted August 5, 2011 A few of my favorites: Talking Heads - Stop Making Sense tour. Most of my concert viewing to that point had been the Grateful Dead/Jerry Garcia Band so this gave me a whole new take on a concert performance. Wilco - summer 2000. Opened with Airline and I was hooked. Arcade Fire - Funeral tour. Opened with Wake Up and I was floored. They were all singing, even the band members without microphones. Pixies, the Rat in Boston circa 1988. I had seen them before and liked them but wasn't blown away. Then they came out and opened with with Bone Machine. Magnetic Fields - 69 Love Songs. I have seen them do this whole album twice. The opener (Absolutely Cuckoo) is fine but it was more knowing that I have 68 more songs to go (over two nights) that made it great. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Cam Jones Posted August 5, 2011 Share Posted August 5, 2011 Roger Waters The Wall- You hear some classical music building anticipation and the lines "I'm SPARTACUS!" repeated all over the arena from the classic move. Then you hear the trumpet playing "Outside the Wall" and BAM! the first two low E notes from In the Flesh hit you really hard and fast. Fire works, lights, and a giant plane that crashes into the side of the Wall. So. So. So good. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
jff Posted August 5, 2011 Share Posted August 5, 2011 U2 tour, early 90s...house lights are up, the PA is cranking out "Stand By Me" and slowly the band strolls out, member by member, starting w/ the rhythm section and finally the Edge and Bono, all slowly joining in on the song. very cool. I've never seen U2, but I saw JJ Cale do something like this, except it unfolded over several songs. Just him and one or two guys for the first song, then an additional member per song until a six or seven piece band was out there. Pretty neat way to pace the first several songs of a show. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
u2roolz Posted August 5, 2011 Share Posted August 5, 2011 U2 tour, early 90s...house lights are up, the PA is cranking out "Stand By Me" and slowly the band strolls out, member by member, starting w/ the rhythm section and finally the Edge and Bono, all slowly joining in on the song. very cool. This was actually in 1987 at the old Sullivan Stadium (in Foxboro, MA) on the Joshua Tree tour. The early 90s U2 were doing the Zoo TV tour which they opened with Zoo Station every night except for one dress rehearsal. I'm also making a big assumption that this all went down in the Boston area, since you live here like me right now. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
tinnitus photography Posted August 5, 2011 Share Posted August 5, 2011 yeah that's probably the show...memory's fading on me! who opened for that show, do you remember? i don't think i got there in time to see an opening band...went w/ some friends who live in Foxboro. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
u2roolz Posted August 5, 2011 Share Posted August 5, 2011 The Pogues and Little Steven & The Disciples of Soul. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Wild Frank Posted August 5, 2011 Share Posted August 5, 2011 I was also at the Roger Waters show in Berlin around 1990 when he played 'the wall' in front of about 250,000 people. A bizzare night. The Scorpions came on stage on motocycles to open the show with 'In the flesh'. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
JAK2112 Posted August 5, 2011 Share Posted August 5, 2011 Saw Bruce Springsteen in Tampa, 4/22/08. It was the first show the E Street band did after Danny Federicci died (his funeral was the day before). The show started with a video montage of Danny set to Blood Brothers, which was very touching, everyone had their lighters out. Then they opened the show with Backstreets, with a spotlight shining on his Organ with his accordion leaned up against it. The organ went untouched the whole song, and it was one of the most moving moments of my life. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
suites Posted August 5, 2011 Share Posted August 5, 2011 Anytime Neil Young and Crazy Horse opens with Hey Hey My My...it is/was the real deal. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
jff Posted August 5, 2011 Share Posted August 5, 2011 yeah that's probably the show...memory's fading on me! who opened for that show, do you remember? i don't think i got there in time to see an opening band...went w/ some friends who live in Foxboro. My wife saw the Joshue Tree tour and the opener was Bo Diddley. Great lineup! Anytime Neil Young and Crazy Horse opens with Hey Hey My My...it is/was the real deal. Good call. I saw them open with that, and I remember thinking "this is already the best concert I've ever seen." Quote Link to post Share on other sites
uncool2pillow Posted August 5, 2011 Share Posted August 5, 2011 Bob Mould - 1st Avenue, Fall 1989. Touring behind Workbook, his first solo LP. I discovered him through this album that spring and quickly worked my way back through Zen Arcade. By the time of that show, I realized how that album probably alienated a lot of his Husker fans in the Twin Cities. Before shows at First Avenue, they used to (maybe still do) show videos on a projection screen that doubles as a stage curtain, then an announcer (just like Alice Cooper in Purple Rain) announces the act, the screen rises, and the show begins. Bob looked about 50 lbs thinner than he did in his Husker days and looked like he was itchin' for a fight. His performances 1989-1998 or so were filled with an intensity that words cannot explain. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Vacant Horizon Posted August 5, 2011 Share Posted August 5, 2011 Shakti walking out onto the stage and picking up their instruments was a more amazing opening than any rock show opener I've ever seen. ICP Orchestra was another great one. Han Bennink walked out holding two short pieces of 2x4 and used them to play an a mind boggling percussion solo on the floor of the aisle while the rest of the band got situated. Shakti!! that is bad ass. i'm jealous. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Vacant Horizon Posted August 5, 2011 Share Posted August 5, 2011 I had the exact same experience, except I was maybe 13. Joe Perry was so badass back then, it's hard to explain to people who weren't there. Those guys played like they were going to spontaneously combust, and in fact, they almost did! Others: First Dead show: opened with Alabama Getaway, and they never seemed to slow down for the rest of the show. First Wilco show: opened with CA Stars, and I was hooked from then on; during the 2002 tour, I saw them open with I Am Trying To Break Your Heart a few times, and every one of them was special. Roger Waters w/Eric Clapton on the Pros & Cons tour: Set the Controls for the Heart of the Sun. Nuff said. The Who in '79: Substitute, baby! Paul McCartney: Venus & Mars/Rock Show Bruce Cockburn, Toad's Place, 1994: opened with Tokyo, which blew everyone away, even the "virgins" in our group Frank Zappa, 3/17/88 - The rumor in 1988 was that FZ hadn't played the guitar at all since 1984, and had given it up for the Synclavier. In those pre-Internet days, you didn't get show reviews soon after...you just knew someone was on tour. During the first song, FZ strapped on a guitar and the whole place went nuts. Listening to some of the other '88 shows today, I can hear the same experience happening all over the country. Pretty cool. i would love to have seen waters with clapton. such a cool setlist. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
tinnitus photography Posted August 6, 2011 Share Posted August 6, 2011 Bob Mould - 1st Avenue, Fall 1989. Touring behind Workbook, his first solo LP. I discovered him through this album that spring and quickly worked my way back through Zen Arcade. By the time of that show, I realized how that album probably alienated a lot of his Husker fans in the Twin Cities. Before shows at First Avenue, they used to (maybe still do) show videos on a projection screen that doubles as a stage curtain, then an announcer (just like Alice Cooper in Purple Rain) announces the act, the screen rises, and the show begins. Bob looked about 50 lbs thinner than he did in his Husker days and looked like he was itchin' for a fight. His performances 1989-1998 or so were filled with an intensity that words cannot explain. Bob Mould - 1st Avenue, Fall 1989. Touring behind Workbook, his first solo LP. I discovered him through this album that spring and quickly worked my way back through Zen Arcade. By the time of that show, I realized how that album probably alienated a lot of his Husker fans in the Twin Cities. Before shows at First Avenue, they used to (maybe still do) show videos on a projection screen that doubles as a stage curtain, then an announcer (just like Alice Cooper in Purple Rain) announces the act, the screen rises, and the show begins. Bob looked about 50 lbs thinner than he did in his Husker days and looked like he was itchin' for a fight. His performances 1989-1998 or so were filled with an intensity that words cannot explain. i can testify to that. the 1st solo tour (great band, btw- tony maimone, anton fier, chris stamey) was pure emotion, rage, bile and bitterness. and i loved every second of it. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
uncool2pillow Posted August 6, 2011 Share Posted August 6, 2011 He'd fired Stamey by the time I saw him. That's a guy I'm pretty sure I would not want to work for. But, yes, that band was the best band he played with. Sugar was a tighter, one, but more limited. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Cam Jones Posted August 6, 2011 Share Posted August 6, 2011 I was also at the Roger Waters show in Berlin around 1990 when he played 'the wall' in front of about 250,000 people. A bizzare night. The Scorpions came on stage on motocycles to open the show with 'In the flesh'. The Wall live in Berlin is a steaming pile of crap. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
tinnitus photography Posted August 6, 2011 Share Posted August 6, 2011 The Wall live in Berlin is a steaming pile of crap. ftfy Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.