Spinoff: Opening bands you paid full price to see...and then left after their set

[twonabomber]

The "worst opening band" thread inspired this one.

What opening band did you want to see more than the headliner, and then you left before the headliner started?

I bought tickets to an Elvis Costello show to see the Replacements open...and then left before Costello hit the stage.

I had gone to see Ratt with Poison opening, more because I wanted to see Poison (must have been the summer of '86). The sound was so bad we left a few songs into Ratt's set. That one may not count, I probably had every intention of staying for the whole show.

And oh yeah, I left after DLR opened the Pittsburgh show on the '02 tour with Hagar. Guy at the gate asked me where I was going, and said "the show's not over yet" I said "yeah, it is."

[Mr. Vengeance]

Paid to see a Poison show with Faster Pussycat and Cinderella opening (Winger too). Already had seen Poison twice without wanting too, and knew they suck live.

[PETE'S BROTHER]

cheap trick and poison , ironically, opened for def lep a few years ago and we went to a friend's bar down the road before def started

[FORD]

I think I would have left that gig after Cheap Trick. :gulp:

[PETE'S BROTHER]

:biggrin:

[sonrisa salvaje]

I actually did the reverse of the opening post. I went to see Ratt opening for Poison in 1999 or 2000 and left after Ratt. I also left the Roth/Hagar show in Atlanta after Dave opened.

[78/84 guy]

Ted Nugent 95. He opened for Bad Co. who I think were on their 3 singer at the time. St. Holmes was with Ted's band again like he is now. They melted the walls with blistering volume and a killer version of Just What The Doctor Ordered. There was no reason to stay after that.

[Va Beach VH Fan]

Jun 2001 - Saw Peter Frampton here at the Ampitheater, left before Journey took the stage....

Also got a 25th anniversary autographed copy of FCA.....

[Fairwrning]

I also left after Dave opened for Sammy in Charlotte 02

[FORD]

Does Monsters of Rock 1988 count? I couldn't stomach Van Hagar's whole set.

[twonabomber]

Jun 2001 - Saw Peter Frampton here at the Ampitheater, left before Journey took the stage....

Also got a 25th anniversary autographed copy of FCA.....

That reminds me...had tickets for Frampton, with the Storm (buncha ex-Journey guys) opening. Nautica Stage, before they put a tent over it. Rained like a motherfucker after the Storm's set (how ironic). First they moved us off the aluminum bleachers to floor seats, a little later the show was postponed and ended up being cancelled. So there was an opener I saw without seeing the headliner.

[Va Beach VH Fan]

I also left after Dave opened for Sammy in Charlotte 02

Poj and I would have done that too, but Dave closed in Raleigh....

Which, of course, allowed to get EXTREMELY hammered... ;)

[Hardrock69]

1. Walked out when Ed began his solo - 1988 Monsters Of Rock Arrowhead Stadium. Got to see Mikey do a great noise solo, then he broke the bass he was playing. I mean, neck....*BLAM!* "Oops!" ;)
Walked out to my car listening to Ed shred.


Considering I saw Kingdom Come, a topless chick on the field close to the stage sitting on her boyfriend's shoulders....Metallica, Dokken, then the Scorpions...then the chick re-appeared
on her boyfriend's shoulders with nothing on......Scorpions moved over to that end of the stage and played for her for a moment or two, lol....then van hagar came out. The bad side of course,
was that I had to tolerate the bleating flatulence that emitted from the fat one's asshole for about 45 minutes or so....before Ed began his solo. Walking out on him when he began the solo was
my silent, unnoticed protest at the croaking cheezebag pretending to be the frontman for van hagar.


the fat one RUINED a great band! Worthless fuck! :mad:

I went there to see all the other bands.

So I got what I wanted out of the deal, and got to see some of the brothers and Mikey play....I was willing to tolerate some screeching over the PA in order to see Mikey, Al and Ed again.

2. The worst was in 1982....I hitch hiked from Wichita to Oklahoma City to see Rainbow & Pat Travers....I was running a little late, so I was not too concerned.....I was going to see Rainbow.

I got into the venue in Norman, OK about 20 minutes after the show started.....and I walk in....and RAINBOW is on the stage. WTF???

I had thought Pat Travers would be opening for Rainbow! Seriously! Hey I was only 22 and was still stupid....

So I saw about half an hour of Rainbow (the first time I ever got to see Ritchie Blackmore live! :D ) then their set was over. I was so fucking pissed off.

I left.

It took me the rest of the night to hitch rides back to Wichita (150 miles or so). At least I can say I saw Ritchie and band play for half an hour. I saw him not long after that at a rock festival in Kansas City....where he broke the neck of a Strat against the stage scaffolding....tearing a huge hole in the screen covering the front of the PA.....and causing great and furious anger between roadies and production managers, lol.

At that point in time, it was hoped that Deep Purple would get back together, but of course that was still a couple of years in the future.....so anytime Rainbow came within 300 miles of Wichita I was there.

Pat Travers kicks ass.....but I had already seen him several times, and Blackmore smokes Travers.......so I felt no grief at leaving Pat behind....the fucking keyboards were too loud in the mix anyway. If I wanna see a guitar hero of some kind, I want to hear the motherfucking guitar!!!!! BITCH! :metalbang::bong:

[twonabomber]

1. Walked out when Ed began his solo - 1988 Monsters Of Rock Arrowhead Stadium. Got to see Mikey do a great noise solo, then he broke the bass he was playing. I mean, neck....*BLAM!* "Oops!" ;)


The neck breaking was a gimmick. I remember reading an interview with MA where he explained they used a mechanism from a shotgun or something to hinge the neck, and that his tech would have to scramble around the stage picking up the bridge saddles after the neck "broke."

[Hardrock69]

I'll be a motherfucker.....HE LIED!

:hee:

By the way....a couple of notes on your commentary about the Rutt/Posen tour.

I saw that tour. They played in Wichita, KS. The opening act was originally scheduled to be Lita Ford. THAT was who I wanted to see.

I got there and found out Lita was not opening, but instead, Joan Jett & The Blackhearts were......

Loved Joan. mmm....drool....good band, good rock.

Posen came out and made me wanna vomit all over the pre-teen squealers in the seats in front of me.

Rutt came out, and the mix was abysmal.

BUT....here is the thing. It was not the soundman's fault. The front of house guy was a dude named Gungi. I think it is Gungi Patterson.

HOLY CRAP! I just found out he died 4 years ago! :(

http://www.prosoundnetwork.com/article/legendary-tour-engineer-gungi-paterson-passes/10010

Anyway, I met him when he was FOH for Judas Priest on the Fuel For Life 1986 tour. I was smoking some really bad hash in a small pipe, right next to the sound/light console platform during the set change. He saw me and asked if he could get some from me. I said I would give him what I had if he could trade me a few after show passes for my friends who were with me. He agreed. I told him at the outset the hash was lame, but he said he just wanted something, as he had not smoked anything in a week. :hee:

SO...after the show, I was waiting backstage to meet some of the guys in Priest.....and some of the "friends" I was with started whining about wanting to go home....it was past their beddy-bye time or some fucking shit.

They finally became so insistent that I said "OK FINE LET'S GO!"

Fuckers.

ANYWAY....the point I am getting to is that Gungi was a GREAT sound man. Running sound for the legendary bands he did, he was not some fuckoff.

I realized after a few songs the mix was not getting any better. Gungi appeard to realize it also, as he appeared quit busy....but it was to no avail.

Either it was crap PA, or crap band, or a combination of the above. I left after about 4 or 5 songs, when it became apparent that even the mighty Gungi could not save the mix....

Interesting to find out I was not the only one who thought their sound was shit on that tour.....:lmao:

[twonabomber]

I remember being partway through a song and realizing it was Wanted Man. The sound was that bad. Maybe it was the technology of the time, or more likely it was "just make it fuckin' LOUD."

I didn't really want to leave, I liked Dancing Undercover and was curious as to how much of it they'd play. We probably left at quarter to ten.

June 25, 1987, Blossom Music Center. Just Poison opening.

[Terry]

Ratt opening for Billy Squier in 1984.

David Lee Roth opening for Bad Co in 1999.

[Zing!]

Ratt opening for Billy Squier in 1984.

David Lee Roth opening for Bad Co in 1999.

Hard to believe DLR opened for them. I remember the radio ads for that here in MN: "Bad Co. with special guest David Lee Roth." I was busted ass broke then, so I missed that show, dammit.

[Terry]

Hard to believe DLR opened for them. I remember the radio ads for that here in MN: "Bad Co. with special guest David Lee Roth." I was busted ass broke then, so I missed that show, dammit.

Just never had much use for Bad Company, myself. Plus, back in 1999 Roth hadn't toured for 6 years, and I was pretty enthused to go see him perform again - even more so because he was playing a setlist very heavy on CVH material.
It was a pretty good show. Roth was still able to pull off a lot of his signature moves and was in pretty good form vocally. They played in Great Woods, Massachusetts. Well, I always knew it as Great Woods growing up, although I think it was called the Tweeter Center when I saw the show there.
I don't recall thinking it was so odd that Roth was opening up for Bad Company back then considering the trajectory of his career post-YFLM. Then again, since I wasn't sticking around for Bad Company anyway, it really didn't matter.

[baru911]

Stevie Ray Vaughan opening for Don Henley I believe during the Building the Perfect Beast tour (mid 80's). Saw Stevie. Didn't need to see or hear anything else.

[Hardrock69]

I saw Stevie in the late 80s opening for Huey Lewis and The News. Kansas Coliseum, Wichita, KS

Stevie kicked ass, and was gone. Decided...what the hell. I'll hang around and watch Huey Newis & The Lose....well, firstly, despite the pop crap that were all their hits....the musicianship was killer, and the band was tight as hell.

I am GLAD I DID STAY.

Because at the end of the usual set they said "Thanks, good night...." wandered off to do the customary leaving of the stage....then Huey Lewis comes out and says "Ok so tonight is the last night Stevie and his band are playing with us on this leg of the tour, so we thought we would bring them out here again....."

So they all came out, and had a blues jam that lasted about 20 minutes. Everyone took a solo, and Baby Huey played a mean blooze harp all the way through.

So....I originally wanted to leave after SRV & DT were done.....but fate had a hand, and I am glad of it.

One other band I hated for a long time.....the Little River Band. Their pop bullshit was all over the airwaves....overproduced crap.....

Then I saw them at a rock festival in Royals Stadium in about 1980....Pat Travers, LRB, Santana, RED Speedwagon.

I went to get a drink. Came back out and sat down and watched the LRB band play, and within a song or two I realized I was listening to a really kickass band. Again, just like Huey Newis & The Lose, I had low expecations of the material (which were actually met each time...), but my expectations of the technical performance was usually exceeded. Great musicians.

[78/84 guy]

Stevie Ray Vaughan opening for Don Henley I believe during the Building the Perfect Beast tour (mid 80's). Saw Stevie. Didn't need to see or hear anything else.

Saw Stevie the Sat. night before he died and a month before that. Amazing performer.

[sadaist]

I saw Metallica open for Ozzy. Had originally bought the ticket to see Ozzy. But in the 6 months until the show I listened to a lot of Ride The Lightning & Master and by show night I was there to see Metallica.

Same at Monsters of Rock. I was there mainly to see Metallica and Dokken.

[twonabomber]

Saw SRV open for Robert Plant on the Now And Zen tour...

[DavidLeeNatra]

Hard to believe DLR opened for them. I remember the radio ads for that here in MN: "Bad Co. with special guest David Lee Roth." I was busted ass broke then, so I missed that show, dammit.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CUIMaf33jgE