Worst opening acts....

[Rick and Roll]

That unfortunate pairing that was suggested in another thread got me thinking - what's the worst opening band you've ever seen, and why?

I have two....."Hawaii" for ELP (I can't remember why they were so bad), and hands down, opening for the Black (Sabbath) and Blue (Oyster Cult) in tour in 1980,

"Satan's Three!" With their hit, "I just wanna box"

I'm sure there's more, but they'll come to me later.

[progdirjim(Admin)]

Haha I'm sure there's lots more!

here's one - The Mustard Seeds opening for Joe Satriani - they were an Alice In Chains wannabe band that was over-amplified and under-talented.

I know there's more, I'll post again if I think of any gems, and I may start a "best opening acts" thread too, just for giggles

[Rick and Roll]

There are a few bests too.

The Mustard Seeds - you would think they would have had a yellow jaundiced looking thing as a mascot!

I'll bet you were drinking heavily on that one!

[Roger -Dot- Lee(Admin)]

back in the '70s, my brother and I went to see AC/DC (this was before a) I discovered the joys of prog, and b) before Bonn Scott kacked himself). They had this quasi-punk band that seemed to delight in repeatedly playing the same chord. Badly, out of time, and over-amplified to the point of pain. I don't think I've ever seen a site as emotion provoking as the site of 50,000 middle fingers extended at them like so many hitler salutes as they were leaving the stage. Bill Graham, the ever loved (heh) producer of concerts in the SF Bay Area at the time threatened to pull the plug on AC/DC if we didn't "behave ourselves". That mistake nearly got him killed in the almost riot that followed.

AC/DC eventually played, but the news the next day reported that there was nearly $250,000 in damage to the stadium, and that Bill Graham was being sent the bill.

Couldn't have happened to a nicer asshole.

After he got kacked in a helocopter crash, the quality and quantity of bands that hit the area skyrocketed for some reason. Shame he had to wait until after Led Zeppelin broke up to shuffle...

[teermin8r]

Worst opening band no doubt goes to the first concert I ever attended. I was just barely 16 and I had floor seats to see Kiss. They had hired a local country blue grass band to back them up called Mountain Smoke. After the third song someone threw a beer at the guitar player and they left the stage. The guitar player turned out to be no other than Vince Gill. They may have been good but this was a Kiss show and I hope they got payed well.

[Rick and Roll]

opening for Satriani in 1990 (he picks em does he not, Jim?), the Stevie Salas Colorcode! God did he suck. Loud and obnoxious...

Also in 1990 Alannah Myles opening up (insert joke here) for Robert Plant. She did crawl around the stage in Black Leather pants and ample cleavage. Even the women were excited. Maybe she wasn't so bad after all!

Enforce opening for Drem Theater...posers...also for DT, Every Mother's Nightmare (more like every musician's nightmare)...

Land of Chocolate! Pains me to say it, since the guitarist is Chris Buzby from Echolyn's brother, but what a jumble of styles that DOESN'T work! Reminds me of Holdsworth on acid.

Ok come on everyone, reach into your mind and expose your demons! Catharsis is waiting!

[Yesspaz]

Venus Hum opened for Blue Man Group on BMG's last tour. Yawners. They were ok actually, but ok as in "I bet they'd be good to listen to on headphones with the lights off." They were this synth/electronica/dub group. Two guys, on playing synths and one playing, I kid you not, an iMac. And not flashy synth runs either. One hand holding a chord and one hand twitching nobs. The computer guy was throwing in loops and effects and stuff. Basically, it was watching two electronica nerds do what they did in their studio (i.e. bedrooms), only on a stage. They had a girl singing. That was it.... Big Sarcastic Wow.

Then Blue Man Group blew our brains out.

[Yesspaz]

Oooh, just thought of another gag moment.

I went with 6 buddies, along with about 45,000 other folks to see Collective Soul at Jubilee Jam. Opening for them was this flaming pile of crap called Marvelous Three. They had a minor hit with "Freak of the Week." To play a show at a club where 50 people are waiting for you to get off the stage is one thing. Watching 45,000 looking bored waiting for you get off the stage has to be demoralizing. Then Collective Soul kicked our Collective Butts.

This year's headliners are War, Live, and Steppenwolf! I may just have to go home to visit!

[Rick and Roll]

Like my Satan's three, your Marvelous three, the band "3" (sorry never liked that band).

Glad to see that someone saw Collective Soul. I always wanted to know how they were.

[Yesspaz]

Originally posted by Rick and Roll

Glad to see that someone saw Collective Soul. I always wanted to know how they were.

Excellent. This was on the Dosage tour, so by now it was all hits. The setlist was roughly, from memory, and not in this order:

Simple (definitely the opener)
Gel
Where the River Flows
Smashing Young Man
December
The World I Know
Prescious Declaration
Disciplined Breakdown
Listen
Heavy
Run
Why, Pt. 2 (as an new unreleased song at the time)

Shine (encore)

[moses]

Back in '90 or '91, I went to see Neil Young and Crazy Horse on the "Ragged Glory" tour. He had two bands opening for him on this tour. The first was Social Distortion, who played a really bland mix of country, rockabilly, and punk. I wasn't into it at all. The next band was Sonic Youth, who was stunning. I became a Sonic Youth fan because of that. Of course, Neil just blew them both away.

Later (probably '93 or '94) I saw Sonic Youth and a band called The Boredoms opened. I know a lot of people revere them, but they were just too loud and too noisy for my tastes. Heavy pointless guitar rambling, "pots and pans" style drumming, a DJ scribbling all over everything, and 2 (!) "vocalists" screaming out of tune - different things simultaneously - in Japanese (I think). Then after every song saying "f--k you very much."

I'm not a fan.

[Yesspaz]

Originally posted by moses

Later (probably '93 or '94) I saw Sonic Youth and a band called The Boredoms opened. I know a lot of people revere them, but they were just too loud and too noisy for my tastes. Heavy pointless guitar rambling, "pots and pans" style drumming, a DJ scribbling all over everything, and 2 (!) "vocalists" screaming out of tune - different things simultaneously - in Japanese (I think). Then after every song saying "f--k you very much."

I'm not a fan.

Interesting take on the Boredoms. One of the Boredoms side-projects is a band I much-revere, called Rovo. Eventually I'm going to donate my Rovo collection to AM. Sorry you didn't like the boredoms. Yeah, they do a lot of guitar noodling and they have four or five drummers, a DJ, etc. And yes, they are Japanese. Sorry you didn't like them Moses, but that kind of thing sounds right up my alley!!!

Here's two free Rovo mp3s if anyone is so inclined to hear them...