Found out yesterday that the band I'm now obsessed with opened for REM in 2007 or 2008 or some year in which I SAW REM PLAY LIVE. But I didn't see the opening band.
Q: Should one see opening bands?
A: I gave up on them after 1998.
Q: But you missed The National, en resultant.
A: C'est vrai. C'est vrai, et c'est triste.
A: I'm old and old and lame.
But: The National are so so good. We're all already doomed, so let's just accept it. I love this song and like this video.
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Yes, you should always try and make it for the opening band. I must confess that I do not recall many of the openers at the shows I've seen, but I do remember some. I remember Mission UK were great when they opened for, uh, it was either Robert Plant or Jimmy Page in the late '80's. (I saw both around that time, but I can't remember which one had Mission UK open). I became a fan of Austin's Omar & the Howlers after seeing them open for Stevie Ray Vaughan in the mid-80's. I am still angry that when I attended the Rolling Stones Steel Wheelchairs tour in '89, due to parking problems, I missed Living Color open the show.
Supposedly, The Replacements opened for Tom Petty on the 'Full Moon Fever' tour. Which I saw. But I have absolutely no recollection of the opening band, although I do remember Petty's show very well. That is because I was attending with Johannes and my sister. My sister got angry at the drunk and obnoxious guy sitting in front of us and poured a beer down his pants. I remember that because I thought that Johannes and I were then going to get into fisticuffs with said drunk patron and his comrades. Didn't happen though.
I saw Natalie Merchant open for REM. I saw The Pretenders open for The Who five or six years ago. That was cool. Oh, in the early 90's I saw The Ramones open for Pearl Jam on what I think was The Ramones's last tour. Those are some memorable ones.
Yes, my first opening show kind of put me off opening bands. Jethro Tull headlined; the openers were called "They Bite" or "It Bites." I forget. But, they did. Kind of turned me against getting there early.
Dez--I'd urge you to pick up "High Violet" by the National. Interested to see what you think. I love it, but part of that is due to the haunting and beautiful lyrics. You're not as much of a lyric-lover as I am, I think, so maybe their music--moody, evocative, elegiac-- won't affect you as much as it does me. But, maybe it will.
I don't have "High Violet." I have "Boxer," "Alligator" and the "Cherry Tree" ep. "Boxer" is my favorite. Love "Fake Empire," "Mistaken for Strangers," "Start a War," etc. Great stuff. Will check out HV.
I've only just got "Boxer", but I will say that High Violet is, in my hearing, at least one standard deviation better than "Alligator." Maybe two!
Sorry--I've been teaching some Math 2 of late.
Let me know what you think--JMW. It strikes me that High Violet--which is about loss and emptiness and heartbreak--will really resonate with you, mournful Chekhovian soul that you are.
Lo these many years ago I went to a Superchunk show. The opening band for the opening band - i.e. the band that played while everyone milled around drinking beer and talking and most people weren't even there yet - was Cornershop.
Cornershop are (were?) awesome. Superchunk blew chunks.
The end.
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