Warm-up act…..yay or nay

[Kiltedbusker]

I went to a concert tonight to see JD Simo (who was really good btw). There was no mention of any warm-up act in any of the sales literature/advertisements. However, once we got in our seats a warm-up act came on, followed by a second one. It got me thinking; would I rather hear a warm-up act, or would I prefer to spend less time at the venue, and just have the artist I’m there to see get right to it. I suppose it makes a difference if both acts could be headliners, but I’m really referring to warm-ups you’ve never heard of.

More for your money or a waste of time? What say ye boys and girls (oops gender pronouns….)?

I always like being early for the support acts, leads to a better build up to the headliner

 

[Deleted member 5962]

I have always referred to them as “opening acts.” I think it’s great for multiple reasons, UNLESS the headliner is doing some epic 3 hour show with a break or something. I’ve seen headliners do less than 90 minutes. But I’ve been to several Dream Theater concerts where they pushed near 3 hours and had an intermission.

Opening bands are both a way to get out and build a fan base for an up and coming band. In fact, some of the greatest bands ever BECAME huge because of their touring act. Maybe their songs weren’t getting much radio play but they opened for a big band and really built a name for themselves.

Plus, I’ve seen some all time classic bands as opening acts. So yes, I’m all for it.

 

[alantig]

Tell the chairs to get off her knees... geez do I have to think of everything around here?

I’m not that tall. If the chair’s not on her knees, I can’t see over people.

 

[dmatthews]

I’m not that tall. If the chair’s not on her knees, I can’t see over people.

Gotta say, I'm impressed with Mrs. alantig's stamina!
Perhaps rent a tall stool sample.

 

[alantig]

Gotta say, I'm impressed with Mrs. alantig's stamina!
Perhaps rent a tall stool sample.

Why rent when I can just make my own?

 

[dmatthews]

Why rent when I can just make my own?

That's the spirit... its gettin' real.

 

[goat-n-gitter]

I've seen some crappy opening acts and some great ones. I would not know Imelda May if I hadn't seen her open for Jeff Beck. Likewise, I saw The Babys and Queensryche as opening acts before they took off on their own. Rush always had great opening acts back when they still had them (Primus, Max Webster and Mr. Big come to mind, including getting to see the infamous Paul Gilbert gets his cordless drill caught in his hair twice! incident here in Atlanta). So all in all, I would say opening acts are a good thing.

 

[11top]

I've seen some crappy opening acts and some great ones.

Mr. Big

+ 100000000000000000

 

[dmatthews]

Last night I saw Shakey Graves, which was new to me. The opening act I'd never heard of (Begonia).
Her voice is incredible.
Who knew?

 

[shinksma]

I like to see opening/support bands, local or not, because they are often someone I have never heard of, and this gives me a chance to get exposed to something a bit different, and maybe I'll like it.

I also like to support openers because they need the feedback from crowds too. I really get annoyed when I look around during the opener and see less than a third of the crowd there, and they are mostly just buying beers or whatever. Some openers suck, but ya gotta give them a chance...

We've opened for Máiréad Nesbitt (formerly of Celtic Woman) twice. That was a nice crowd who paid attention to us, about 500 people in both cases.

The worst experience I've had for experiencing openers was Girlschool, who opened for Deep Purple in 85 (IIRC) - they were loud, all treble/feedback, and not very interesting.

The best opener I ever saw was The Tragically Hip when they opened for David Wilcox during Frosh Week of my freshman year at Queen's University - they were a local relatively-unknown bar band, and about a year before their first EP, and a few years from exploding onto the Canadian music scene. They did a lot of Doors covers and similar, but were really great, IMHO. Was a fan from day 1.

And Wilcox was lousy, and apparently drunk. I didn't stick around much to see him.

 

[dmatthews]

I like to see opening/support bands, local or not, because they are often someone I have never heard of, and this gives me a chance to get exposed to something a bit different, and maybe I'll like it.

I also like to support openers because they need the feedback from crowds too. I really get annoyed when I look around during the opener and see less than a third of the crowd there, and they are mostly just buying beers or whatever. Some openers suck, but ya gotta give them a chance...

We've opened for Máiréad Nesbitt (formerly of Celtic Woman) twice. That was a nice crowd who paid attention to us, about 500 people in both cases.

The worst experience I've had for experiencing openers was Girlschool, who opened for Deep Purple in 85 (IIRC) - they were loud, all treble/feedback, and not very interesting.

The best opener I ever saw was The Tragically Hip when they opened for David Wilcox during Frosh Week of my freshman year at Queen's University - they were a local relatively-unknown bar band, and about a year before their first EP, and a few years from exploding onto the Canadian music scene. They did a lot of Doors covers and similar, but were really great, IMHO. Was a fan from day 1.

And Wilcox was lousy, and apparently drunk. I didn't stick around much to see him.

Ah The Hip...
Classic Canadiana!

 

[JasonE]

I like seeing warm up acts. They may not all be the best but it is part of the experience for me. You always get to end on a high note of seeing the band that really drew you there and you may get to discover a new band that you really liked live.

 

[Daryl Jones]

A loooong time back I went to see ZZ Top in their first live appearance in Edmonton. Being of the age I was at the time and the typical extra curricular activities and various "mood enhancers" of the day the crew and I were quite excited to head to the big smoke and experience the vibe for real. Opening act was a band with a couple girls (one dark haired singing leads, one blonde playing rhythm mostly with a couple acoustic stints) and they were terrific. But I had never heard of them before; note: we lived in the sticks, not the bright lights. P/A introduced them as from Seattle and called them "Heart". Pretty much stole the show. The rest as they say is history.
I've never missed an opening group since. ARS opened for the Eagles on the Hotel California tour a few years later, mentionable and relatively unknown at the time. Suzi opened for Alice, jeez, the memories are flooding...