When the support band was better than the headliner

[Trane]

In the early 80s, Richie Blackmore's Rainbow opened for Pat Travers right after releasing the Difficult to Cure album. Richie played circles around Travers.

Sounds like a personal preferrence, coz I was fairly disappointed with Rainbow on the Between The Eyes tour (but then again I was hoping forDio-era stuff)... Travers put on a hell of a show in the late 70's... But once Aldridge and Thrall (to a lesser extent) left, it wasn't the same...
But I'm surprised that travers would headline and rainbow open

P.S. It does not count as the support band being the 'winner' if you specifically went to SEE the support band.

imo

Yup, in most case, that'smore partizanship than objectiveness (as if that was possible)

Laugh at Chris above.

Well, I went 3500 miles to see Henry Cow. I was NOT expecting their support band to lay me out, but they did, and made me a lifelong fan.

I meant that i think the OP meant THAT sort of experience....

Yup, that only hap^pened once or twice as well...and some more, it's not because the opener rawked, but the headliners stunk...

[happytheman]

Closest for me would have been Al DiMeola opening for Renaissance.. Al ripped through his set leaving everyone exhausted.. Then Annie came on and brought everyone back to earth.. mind you both bands were great that evening it's just that it was such a mismatch in terms of energy..

[Trane]

Closest for me would have been Al DiMeola opening for Renaissance.. Al ripped through his set leaving everyone exhausted.. Then Annie came on and brought everyone back to earth.. mind you both bands were great that evening it's just that it was such a mismatch in terms of energy..

Agreed that some line-ups are total mismatches..
And I can't see many people opening for Renaissance, because they are "so little energy" for a rock group, that you might as well orghanise a string quartet to open for them.

[viukkis]

I went to see Gorky's Zygotic Mynci around 1998, supported by The Olivia Tremor Control whom I had never heard of. GZM were pretty good but OTC absolutely blew my mind. Had I not seen them then, I'd probably have never heard of them, and I would have missed out on some of the finest psych-pop recorded since the 60s. Black Foliage is a definite desert island disc for me.

[Dan Marsh]

On the one hand this seems wildly implausible to me, but on the other hand I saw LZ open for The Who in '69 and came damn close to doing the same (in fact, some would argue that they did).

The Quadrophenia tour was a disaster and it didn't take much to play better than The Who on that tour.

[syncopatico]

Giant is coming up a LOT on these lists. No wonder.

Gentle Giant blew 'Jimi Plays Berkeley' off the stage!!!!

[markinottawa]

P.S. It does not count as the support band being the 'winner' if you specifically went to SEE the support band.

imo

You mean like going to see the original UK line-up open for April Wine...

ok... then:

Rush opening for Mahogany Rush
Hudson & Ford opening for Nazareth
Manfred Mann's Earth Band Solar fire tour opening for Babe Ruth

[dgtlman]

Max Webster backing up Rush (many times in the 70s).

No way! I saw MW open for Rush at least 7 times back in the day on several tours & although I dug the shit outta MW, they never even came close to "blowing away" Rush or even being slightly better.

Rush opening for Ted Nugent
Ted Nugent opening for Bad Company
Saga opening for Billy Squier
UK opening for Tull. Although Tull kicked ass, I had never even heard of UK prior to this gig & I was completely blown away.

[dgtlman]

Oh yes, Rainbow opening for REO Speedwagon. Still had Dio in the band then too

[zombywoof]

I think I saw in a youtube video where Geddy Lee says that Genesis as a support act for Neil Young(I think)blew Neil off the stage. It might have been some other band but I'm pretty sure he said Neil Young. This would have been around 73/74 I believe.

I believe it was Lou Reed, and yes, Geddy preferred Genesis.

[Trane]

Maneige blowing away Ekseption (but home advantage to Maneige, though)

No way! I saw MW open for Rush at least 7 times back in the day on several tours & although I dug the shit outta MW, they never even came close to "blowing away" Rush or even being slightly better.

Blowing away might be too strong a word, but I saw those two on the same bill three times and I thought Webster ame out marginally lml three occasions

[Camelogue]

For me it was a Greg Rolie led Journey opening for ELO in 1976/7/8?

From high energy to a band I could tell was not "playing" most of their music.

[Shadow]

For me it was a Greg Rolie led Journey opening for ELO in 1976/7/8?

From high energy to a band I could tell was not "playing" most of their music.

I just burned to disc a Journey from 11/18/76 from Austria.

[Camelogue]

Another was Rory Gallagher for Foghat circa 1976.
Gallagher was second as Ace was first band.

[Superfly]

1976? I think it was. Slade opening for ZZ Top. ZZ Top's Texas toast boogie woogie was no match for Slade's hardcore glam rock. Slade came out and owned the show from note one.

[Rufus]

1976? I think it was. Slade opening for ZZ Top. ZZ Top's Texas toast boogie woogie was no match for Slade's hardcore glam rock. Slade came out and owned the show from note one.

I can well believe that! Slade where well known for 'blowing' many headline acts off the stage during their to fame in the UK!