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Incongruent Opening Acts


Carl

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Got to thinking about this when I learned that Grandmaster Flash and The Furious Five once opened for The Clash, and apparently it looked like that scene from The Blues Brothers.

Some of the most influential, but underappreciated acts have been asked to open for their more commercially successful counterparts, but it doesn't always work so well for the opener. The Clash, breaking new ground and playing to passionate young people, of course liked what they saw from the Hip Hop pioneers, but their audiences just didn't mix. I think something similar happened when U2 brought The Pixies along as an opening act - folks there to hear I Will Follow didn't quite get Debaser.

Then there's cases where the acts are a pretty obvious train wreck, like when Jimi Hendrix opened for The Monkees.

What are some opening acts you've seen or heard about that didn't work with the main attraction?

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In July, 2003, Toronto Ontario hosted SARSFest, a concert to aid slumping tourism to the Toronto area because of an outbreak of SARS. It was one of the largest concerts in North America with attendance in the 450:500,000 range. Headliners were Rush, AC/DC and the Rolling Stones. One of the many opening acts was Justin Timberlake who was pelted with water bottles and muffins. To his credit, he was quoted as saying that if he were there to see AC/DC, he would have thrown water bottles at him as well.

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In July, 2003, Toronto Ontario hosted SARSFest, a concert to aid slumping tourism to the Toronto area because of an outbreak of SARS. It was one of the largest concerts in North America with attendance in the 450:500,000 range. Headliners were Rush, AC/DC and the Rolling Stones. One of the many opening acts was Justin Timberlake who was pelted with water bottles and muffins. To his credit, he was quoted as saying that if he were there to see AC/DC, he would have thrown water bottles at him as well.

I was at that one! It was awesome! I believe Timberlake also got pelted with shoes and large oranges.

:afro: :afro: :afro: :jester: :rockon: :rockon: :rockon:

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The Beastie Boys opened for Madonna in 85.

I was just about to come here and post that. Apparently three hardcore MCs didn't go over well with Madonna's pre-teen crowd. Thankfully Madonna knew what was up and told them they were going to stay on her tour - she loved 'em.

Frankly, who doesn't?

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The Rolling Stones played "Het Kurhaus" in Scheveningen, in 1964, The Netherlands. The concert lasted half an hour, then the police shut the podium.

The angry audience threw chairs, and was in a rage before the band started.

Why? Because they had to endure the opening act!

This awkward act (rock 'n roll translated in Dutch) opened the show.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sd5ZH2P1hi0

The result was like this:

Sorry, lots of Dutch spoken in the clips.

But you'll get the spirit of that evening.

Edited by Guest
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  • 2 weeks later...

I have a two bands that come to mind that I've seen with some peculiar opening acts.

Aerosmith's Nine Lives tour had Johnny Lang opening I thought it was a little girl playing at first cause he was still maturing in his vocals.

Creed opening up for Metallica in 98. Really those crowds are quite different from each other.

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I agree with that... I once saw Peter Frampton open for Stevie Nicks. Stevie was (and always will be to me) a big deal, but to have Frampton as an opener... that was weird. He was HUGE long before Stevie went solo.

Know what you mean. In 1988, drove from Dayton to Riverbend outdoor venue in Cincinnati to see Roy Orbison and Ray Charles on the same bill. My two favorite soloists together! Roy opened, which seemed weird, but hey, Ray had seniority.

Actually, Roy was the much better act. Ray sort of phoned it in - he never said a word to the audience between songs. I don't think he felt all that great. His singing was rather uninspired. Roy, on the other hand, was enthusiastic and sounded great! Unearthly really, when one considered his touring schedule and his age, to be still singing all those high-flying notes right on key every song. Within 3 months, Roy was dead. It was one of his last 5 concerts.

Never will forget that night when the opwning act was the best.

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