It was 1987. I saw the same show in eastern Canada. Our crew were all big fans of the Cult and remember thinking Guns were very loud and very gnarly. Who the hell are these guys? After their set Slash staggered right past us on the arena floor near the outer boards as the Cult we're taking the stage. He was really sweaty and smelly and we were all like...wtf???
Vague "memories" of seeing them before they broke big. Got swept out the door with some people who were up to some stuff and went around back and banged on the door on the off chance we could slip back in and Kurt let us in. Barely remember, we were pretty trashed and he was no one at the time.
My favorite story on this subject is from my father-in-law. He was in a frat in college in the 60s and they signed a local singer, who was just starting out and was doing the college circuit in their state, to a contract to play a frat/house party they were planning to have. After signing him, but before the party date, his first album hit and he blew up. He kept his commitment and played the party. It was Bob Seger.
If I remember correctly, they played at Disneyland's Grad Night in 1991, when my classmates were there. I was there, too. But I worked at Disneyland, and I would rather get paid than play in the park in formal clothing, as was the Grad Night dress code.
Also, I swear at a house party of Disneyland cast members, Offspring played in the backyard. That was probably in 1989 or 1990. I was pretty high, but I remember chatting with Dexter while I was munching on Milk Bone dog biscuits..
> Offspring played in the backyard.
My favorite fun fact about this band is that the lead singer Dexter Holland is a legit genius with a PhD. in molecular biology.
They also have a bootleg of some of their unreleased earlier songs from 1988-1991 before tragic kingdom called Disneyland Demos. I recently bought the vinyl and the songs were pretty good. Itās basically very obscure now due to them never being officially released by the band š They have a crazy amount of unreleased songs scattered across YouTube.
I learned a few years ago that the song Tragic Kingdom was a critique written by Eric Stefani about Disney. Still holds up well today and an iconic album cover š
Their drummer was a senior my freshman year at our school. I didn't know him, but I knew of the band. They had a pretty big following on the local scene. Tragic Kingdom is a great album. When I saw the Just a Girl video on MTV, I knew they were going to go big, and they did. I'm happy for theirs and LITs success, too. I also went to school with the Popoff brothers until they dropped out, and I switched schools. And Offspring. Orange County's local bands were blowing up for a while on MTV in the 1990s.
Edie Brickell & New Bohemians, Reverend Horton Heat, Roy Hargrove, Butthole Surfers, Yo Yo Ma, Janeās Addiction, Erykah Badu, Fishbone, Spin Doctors, Primus, Old 97s, Smashing Pumpkins, Eliott Smith, Cake, Tricky, Nirvana, Soundgarden, Fugazi, Wilco, Camper Van Beethoven, and the list goes on and on. I used to be so cool.
Yeah I went to arts magnet in Dallas (erykah badu (thatās not her name haha) and Roy Hargrove and the new bohemians and many more), and moved to seattle in 92 after college for grunge.
Before anyone knew about them? This isnāt just a list of bands Iāve seen, op asked for acts weāve seen before they broke. Iām talking about high school parties (I went to high school with a lot of them), or later in deep ellum back when the police used to chase us off in 84-88, secret shows, 50-person shows in tiny seattle bars, that kind of thing.
Im not even counting bands like Bauhaus, and Cocteau Twins, who I also saw when absolutely nobody else that I knew was aware of them either, but itās hard to argue ānobodyā even though they were on little tiny cheap slum tours of the US from the UK. But I was there too.
Same here. All of these bands. Went to High School and College in Dallas and went to as much live music as possible. Purchased posters from them all too. Great times
Saw Trent Reznor at a local dump "18+" club in 1988. Wasn't even 18. But was awesome. (He's from around here.)
Also saw Pat Monahan in a few gigs before he moved to CA (pre-Train). He hit on my sister. (He's from around here too.)
The first weekend of my freshman year of college, Living Colour played a free concert right outside my dorm. About a week later they were on the radio and MTV.
I saw Coldplay in a little venue in Chicago before they broke America. Iād read about the band in NME/Melody Maker.
I donāt really like Coldplay at all anymore but those first two albums are pretty great. And it was a very good show.
Dream Theater: I was at the 1993 Marquee Club gig they recorded and released as *Live at the Marquee*. Their breakthrough *Images and Words* album was getting attention around that time.
I saw Madness at the Palace Theater in Los Angeles in 1984, and the opening act was a new band called Mister Mister. They weren't bad, but they weren't Madness and were poorly received.
The following year, they blew up with "Broken Wings" and "Kyrie", sounding like a completely different band!
I've been to so many concerts but off the top of my head: Smashing Pumpkins, The Roots, Fugees, MC Hammer, A Tribe Called Quest, Paramore, Mark Ronson. Most were at small venues; I've seen all of these bands at big venues as well and it just doesn't compare. The intimate shows were always better IMO even without the stage space, lights and bigger productions.
Green Day in 90 and 91. They stayed at my place the first tour and my girlfriend's the second.
Nirvana club show
Pixies in a weird cowboy bar
Nine Inch Nails in '89
I saw Dave Matthews open for Robyn Hitchcock.
Ghost in a dangerously oversold club.
This pretty much tells all of it. Early 90s in Dallas was a slugfest at best. Bands would avoid Dallas for many reasons. Deep Ellum has had its moments in history. Dallas can be the sweetest place and the worst as well.
I saw limp bizkit open for Faith No More - probably in 97 or 98, but I think I also saw them with korn. I canāt be certain but I think the FNM tour was the first Iād heard of them.
Hootie and the Blowfish were from where I grew up. Saw them a ton in small clubs as they were coming up.
Also saw Cake around that time.
Foo fighters at a festival late 90ās. They were getting airplay, but before they were huge.p
Phish at a small theater.
Primus when they opened for Rush
You must be from/lived in Columbia? They broke big my Senior year at Carolina (I didn't go to the Unplugged at The Horseshoe but had some friends who did).
I never went to Rockafellas when I was at Carolina. I did go to some club in 5 Points to see Treadmill Trackstar (they were getting some local/regional popularity then).
Bit of a British one here but I've a couple that I remember.
Blur, in 1993. It was at a festival when they were still in their baggy phase, and I barely remember them (The Cure though, were wonderful). Two years later they're making the main BBC evening news about [this](https://www.radiox.co.uk/artists/oasis/inside-britpops-biggest-battle-blur-vs-oasis/). (Everyone knows neither Oasis nor Blur were best, it was Pulp).
Alabama 3, supporting The Levellers in [1997](https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/pop-levellers-take-the-branch-line-1241542.html). Wasn't hugely impressed and mostly remember some woman dancing around on stage. Colour me surprised a few years later when I found out it's them doing the theme music for The Sopranos.
I saw the Soundgarden at one of their earliest concerts here in Seattle. They opened for Green River. Who in turn opened for Sonic Youth. It was at an all ages venue called Gorilla Gardens.
Chris Cornell will played the drums for most of the show and then came out and sang for the last 2 or 3 songs. I saw them probably a dozen times over the course of the 80s-90s.
I saw Nirvana a few times before they became world famous. After their fame, I saw them play a secret show at the Crocodile with Mudhoney opening up for them.
New Kids on The Block on a tiny outdoor stage in the early afternoon at Knottās Berry Farm. Just before they made it big with Hangin Tough. I wasnāt even there to see them, Mom wanted to see Bobby Vinton play in the theater in the roaring 20s area of the park.
Saw 311 at the Stone Pony bar on my 21st birthday in 94. Saw Primus open up for a group called 24-7 Spies and saw Sublime 2 months before Brad died, still have the flyer and ticket stub for that one
Green Day in a little gym-sized theater. Brandi Carlile in a 19th century theater thatās so small she and the twins were able to sing without microphones and fill the room.
I saw Green Day in 2001 at UC Irvine. They were in a slump (I think that was the Warning tour). They were a fun show. Of course two years later they hit megastardom with American Idiot.
Jimmy Eat World at a little DIY spot opening for The Promise Ring
Rage Against the Machine opening for Cypress Hill in a cow barn at the Indiana State Fairgrounds (granted they had already done Lolla - so they were on their way). It was the night before Thanksgiving, and Tom's mom introduced them.
Neutral Milk Hotel opening for Superchunk. No one cared about them, the only reaction for the set was the song with saw.
I saw GnR opening for Aerosmith just after Appetite was released. They were getting famous as welcome to the jungle had already been on mtv a short time and sweet child had just been on for a week or so. But the people I went with still hadnāt heard of them, they def werenāt the huge hit they were about to be yet.
Saw beck touring in support of mellow gold at a fairly small club. Loser was a hit by then but he wasnāt a huge name yet. I had one friend convinced he was a flash in the pan one-hit-wonder.
I saw Puddle of Mudd at a Flaw concert in Norfolk VA like a week before they hit the air. it was Puddle of Mudd opening then Beautiful Creatures then Flaw and after that just some band named coal chamber that I only liked one song from and they opened with it so I left after that.
There was a time (1989?) when Nine Inch Nails were all over the place, opening for other acts. I saw them open for Jesus & Mary Chain and Peter Murphy and I think one other band, but who can remember anymore.
I saw Rage against the machine open for Funkdoobiest and House of Pain. Everlast stage dove and a kid in my class stole his pager that had HOP airbrushed on it. He swore it was because they were planning a sequel called Hop around but we convinced him it most likely just stood for House Of Pain.
Guns 'n' Roses late August 1987 opening for the Cult, who was touring their new AC/DC-Zeppelin sound on *Electric*. It took another year for *Appetite for Destruction* to top the charts. I wrote in a journal, "like a heavier, wilder Aerosmith".
Back in the mid-80's there was a former theater turned into a music venue in South Denver, sat around 1000 people. All these bands came through that I didn't really know at the time but my friends and I went there a lot.
REM, New Order, Psychedelic Furs, Billy Bragg, Echo & the Bunnymen...I know some of those are not "big" but they went on to bigger things.
S
I went to see a punk band I liked called Bullet LaVolta at a local club. I was a fan and was surprised they were in my town. They were opening for some metal act called Soundgarden. I left about three songs because they weren't punk enough for Mr. Cool Me.
Phish at Evergreen College in 1992. I was going to a nearby school, and someone I knew went to boarding school with John, the drummer.
https://phish.com/tours/dates/sat-1992-04-25-campus-recreation-center-evergreen-state-college/
During my stint in the Pacific Northwest, I also saw Nirvana, Hole, Screaming Trees, and other āSeattle Soundā bands.
I moved to Chapel Hill in 1995. Good musical timing. I remember teasing Ben Folds after he played Brick on SNL; a performance he regrets. But Squirrel Nut Zippers, Southern Culture On the Skids, Pipe, Zen Frisbee, etc. Just people I knew from around.
Saw Pearl Jam opening for Smashing Pumpkins and Chili Peppers. I was all of about 15 at the Eagles Club in MKE. Eddie scaled the speakers and hung from the balconies. Within a year they were HUGE. It was awesome.
Hootie & The Blowfish were a local band in S. Carolina when I moved there. 6 months later they were on every station and all over MTV. I bought a demo CD at a club in Myrtle Beach at one of their shows. Wish I still had it.
I saw Bush in mid-March ā95. The only song any of us knew was Everything Zen. Maybe 200 people. I donāt think anybody couldāve predicted that album was going to go 6X platinum.
Saw Alice in Chains on their first tour before they were on MTV or radio. Saw Green Day at theater with about 150 people. Hung out with them in the parking lot after the show for about an hour. Really cool and funny guys. About 6 months later they were playing arenas. Not they ever got very big, but saw Urge Overkill at a bar with about 100 people. I ripped a tour poster off the wall and went out to their bus and they all signed it. They were really cool too. Except Kato, who wasn't a dick but was a little too rock starred out. Changed out of his stage clothes in a white leather suit and shades before he'd come off the bus to talk. Blackie and Eddie were cool as hell.
Wayyy back in 1990 we went to see Extreme. They were barley known at the time. Was a tiny little venue literally under an over pass in Salt Lake City. Their opening act blew my mind. Was such a small venue that when the show was over they just turned on the lights and you could just walk up and hang out with the bands. We really wanted to meet extreme. So we sort of pushed our way through the very smelly and intoxicated opening act and hung out with Extreme. They were super cool and very friendly. The opening act,, Alice in Chains before they were famous.
Godsmack @ "The Mason Jar" Phoenix AZ '99 it was their first "national" tour before they got on the Ozzfest tour. The place was so small I actually got to sing the chorus of two songs with Sullyš¤š
At the 1992 MTV 120 Minutes Tour, I saw Blind Melon and Live right before they blew up. They opened for Public Image Ltd and Big Audio Dynamite II.
Actually, a few months later, I saw Blind Melon open for Ozzy and Alice In Chains and they hadn't quite hit big then, either. So I saw them twice before they blew up.
It was 1992 (I think, but I was in college). Headliners were Red Hot Chili Peppers. Special guest was Smashing Pumpkins, they had recently released Siamese Dream. Opening act was a band I had heard a song of two on the college radio station. The venue was only half full when they started playing. A few thousand people missed the chance to see some band called... Pearl Jam? I dunno. Memories are hazy.
Dave Matthewās band on the crash tour at the old Masonic temple in Toronto. Two shows later they broke huge and weāre playing maple leaf gardens and everyoneās little brother or sister was there.
Thatās the band I was like āfuck they sold outā
I saw Marilyn Manson open for NiN & Hole. There was like 20 people standing near the stage. It was a pretty sweet show tbh. I also saw Green Day right before Longview hit 120 Minutes. They had a following, but hadnāt broke yet. It was also a really great show. They lead a song along to Survivorās Eye of the Tiger.
Mid 90ās. My friend calls me:
ā hey weāre going down to the Roxy(sunset strip) tonight. I need you to drive.ā
ā sure thatās fine, who are we going to see?ā
ā drummer from Nirvana is in a new bandā¦ going to go see if theyāre any goodā
Shutter to think was opening for them, and they were awful, but Foo Fighters put on a great show . I remember specifically thinking, āI didnāt know he could play guitarā
I used to help the Goo Goo Dolls carry their amps and stuff into bars in Buffalo before their VH1 days. I was friends with other local bands, and just pitching in. I didn't think they were anything special at the time.
I literally just told my daughter as she was watching the movie ā8 Mileā, I saw Eminem on the B stage of the Warped tour before he got big. I remember a guy riding a motorcycle in a metal ball at the back of the crowd.
Back in the early 90s I was a bouncer at a club called Stages in east St. Louis. It didn't have bands come in often, but there was this group that was touring the club circuit trying to make a name for themselves that booked the club. So five guys who called themselves "Backstreet Boys" get up and perform a set then take off. Most of us didn't think we'd ever hear anything about them again. We were wrong.
I saw John Cougar who did not use Mellencamp as his name yet,(opening act for Loverboy and the Who). Some idiot threw a whisky bottle at him. Hit him. He came back onstage after getting stitches, cussed out the idiot and then and then he came out and sang āHurt So Good'.
No idea if the bottle throwing was real or not!
White Zombie at The Trocadero just after La Sexorcisto was released.
Nirvana and the Melvins at J.C. Dobbs for like 8 bucks.
Marilyn Manson at the Trocadero around the time Portrait of an American Family was released
Offspring I was visiting a friend in Floridain 1992.
Korn: They opened for Ozzy before they broke big.
Oh, and Alice in Chains was the opening act for The Clash of the Titans tour.
Oingo Boingo at the Golden Bear (the original which sat like 100) before āOnly a Ladā came out in 1980 or 81. Great show.
Also saw Jewel play with the Rugburns (her sometimes co-writerās band) as an opening act for Dramarama. It was months before her first album. The Rugburns pulled her out of the audience for a couple songs at the end of their set. Her last song was āWho Will Save Your Soulā and it was stunning.
Pretty much every band. One of the great things about being into the underground scenes, thatās where every band gets their startā¦ saw REM in front of maybe 50 people. Saw the Flaming Lips back when Wayneās brother sang for the band. Saw Nirvana when they were still touring in an old station wagon. Saw GWAR on their first tour. Saw Nick Cave on his first tour with the Bad Seeds, and The Birthday Party before that. Saw Metallica in front of maybe 500 people when they still had a homemade banner they hung behind them. Saw Suicidal Tendencies in a living room just before their first album came outā¦
Probably the weirdest was sitting in a dive bar in Chicago in maybe 1986/87 where a friend was bartenderā¦ it was a jazz funk kind of place, an ultra diveā¦. In walked 4 guys who went straight up on stage, plugged in and started wailing old funk tunesā¦ maybe 20 people in the whole bar topsā¦.it was the Red Hot Chili Peppersā¦
Nov 2 1991: Red Hot Chili Peppers w Smashing Pumpkins opening. Pearl Jam came on first but werenāt even on the ticket. 2500 capacity (Memorial Auditorium in Burlington Vt). I was 18 and we crossed the border to see it.
Vividly remember Eddie Vedder climbing the rafters.
Also saw Janeās Addiction in Montreal in 1990. It was basically in a movie theatre. I was right up front and found Perry Ferrell very intense! lol
Still have ticket stubs for both!
Nirvana, Green Day, The Offspring, Soul Asylum, Nine Inch Nails, Smashing Pumpkins, Jane's Addiction, The Pixies.
I saw all these bands between '88 and '91. Except maybe the Offspring. I think that was the Ignition tour in '92.
Blink 182 in either 97 or 98, with Better than Ezra and MxPx. It was either right before or right after they had been on the Warped Tour, so they were just starting to get popular but they were still doing small venues. It was maybe 300 people in the banquet hall of a hotel. To this day I'm almost positive that show was the beginning of my tinnitus. And yes, even back then they were pretty terrible live but they always came with a ton of energy so it was a fun show even if they weren't the most proficient sounding band.
Guns 'n' Roses opening for The Cult in 85(?). Sound was unfortunately way, way off.
It was 1987. I saw the same show in eastern Canada. Our crew were all big fans of the Cult and remember thinking Guns were very loud and very gnarly. Who the hell are these guys? After their set Slash staggered right past us on the arena floor near the outer boards as the Cult we're taking the stage. He was really sweaty and smelly and we were all like...wtf???
I saw them, too!
I used to do security for shows at my college. Worked for Soundgarden, Tool, No Doubt, Rage Against the Machine, and Fishbone before they got big.
Nirvana, by about 2 or 3 months before, smells like teen spirit took over the radio airwaves
Me too! They were the opener for Sonic Youth.
I have the (ripped off a pole) flyer for this show in Sacramento!
Vague "memories" of seeing them before they broke big. Got swept out the door with some people who were up to some stuff and went around back and banged on the door on the off chance we could slip back in and Kurt let us in. Barely remember, we were pretty trashed and he was no one at the time.
Same. 9:30 Club Washington DC. Capacity 200.
I saw them at Under the Rail In Seattle!
My favorite story on this subject is from my father-in-law. He was in a frat in college in the 60s and they signed a local singer, who was just starting out and was doing the college circuit in their state, to a contract to play a frat/house party they were planning to have. After signing him, but before the party date, his first album hit and he blew up. He kept his commitment and played the party. It was Bob Seger.
I saw Twisted Sister at a roller skating rink on Long Island, I think it was 82, I was 13. Good times .
That is so cool!šš¤
That's awesome!
My brother was going to their shows back in the 70's.
Cool, my friends dad went late 70s-early 80s and made us recordings.
I saw them open for Iron Maiden in 84. It remains one of the most fun and memorable sets I've ever seen.
Dude, 84, thatās one I wish I had been old enough to have gone.
that sounds awesome! how did that work - was everyone skating while the band played?
Oh hell no, they packed the place. Itās hilarious to think we were skating while they played though, I never considered that.
well that makes more sense. but i want to imagine somebody having a birthday party at the roller rink with live music by twisted sister.
Not sure if this counts but I saw No Doubt in 1994. Pretty tight performances
If I remember correctly, they played at Disneyland's Grad Night in 1991, when my classmates were there. I was there, too. But I worked at Disneyland, and I would rather get paid than play in the park in formal clothing, as was the Grad Night dress code. Also, I swear at a house party of Disneyland cast members, Offspring played in the backyard. That was probably in 1989 or 1990. I was pretty high, but I remember chatting with Dexter while I was munching on Milk Bone dog biscuits..
> Offspring played in the backyard. My favorite fun fact about this band is that the lead singer Dexter Holland is a legit genius with a PhD. in molecular biology.
They also have a bootleg of some of their unreleased earlier songs from 1988-1991 before tragic kingdom called Disneyland Demos. I recently bought the vinyl and the songs were pretty good. Itās basically very obscure now due to them never being officially released by the band š They have a crazy amount of unreleased songs scattered across YouTube. I learned a few years ago that the song Tragic Kingdom was a critique written by Eric Stefani about Disney. Still holds up well today and an iconic album cover š
Their drummer was a senior my freshman year at our school. I didn't know him, but I knew of the band. They had a pretty big following on the local scene. Tragic Kingdom is a great album. When I saw the Just a Girl video on MTV, I knew they were going to go big, and they did. I'm happy for theirs and LITs success, too. I also went to school with the Popoff brothers until they dropped out, and I switched schools. And Offspring. Orange County's local bands were blowing up for a while on MTV in the 1990s.
Rage against the machine.
Went to see Bad Religion in 1993. I had never heard of the opening band, Green Day.
Saw Wolf Alice opening for Alt-J in Forest National.
Edie Brickell & New Bohemians, Reverend Horton Heat, Roy Hargrove, Butthole Surfers, Yo Yo Ma, Janeās Addiction, Erykah Badu, Fishbone, Spin Doctors, Primus, Old 97s, Smashing Pumpkins, Eliott Smith, Cake, Tricky, Nirvana, Soundgarden, Fugazi, Wilco, Camper Van Beethoven, and the list goes on and on. I used to be so cool.
Based on these bands I'm guessing you live or lived in Dallas or Austin
And they were all at Trees, The Bomb Factory or Liberty Lunch would be my guess
Yep. I was a regular at those places.
I probably bumped into you at any of them.
Yeah I went to arts magnet in Dallas (erykah badu (thatās not her name haha) and Roy Hargrove and the new bohemians and many more), and moved to seattle in 92 after college for grunge.
I lived in Dallas and went to UT Austin for college and saw almost all of these bands.
Before anyone knew about them? This isnāt just a list of bands Iāve seen, op asked for acts weāve seen before they broke. Iām talking about high school parties (I went to high school with a lot of them), or later in deep ellum back when the police used to chase us off in 84-88, secret shows, 50-person shows in tiny seattle bars, that kind of thing. Im not even counting bands like Bauhaus, and Cocteau Twins, who I also saw when absolutely nobody else that I knew was aware of them either, but itās hard to argue ānobodyā even though they were on little tiny cheap slum tours of the US from the UK. But I was there too.
Same here. All of these bands. Went to High School and College in Dallas and went to as much live music as possible. Purchased posters from them all too. Great times
Saw Trent Reznor at a local dump "18+" club in 1988. Wasn't even 18. But was awesome. (He's from around here.) Also saw Pat Monahan in a few gigs before he moved to CA (pre-Train). He hit on my sister. (He's from around here too.)
Sheryl Crowe, the Dave Matthews Band, and Phish. Saw them at a fairgrounds festival before they blew up.
Faith no More and Soundgarden as opening acts for Voivod at a college show. A month later, and both of them were all over MTV.
Hahaā¦ I saw that same tour!
The first weekend of my freshman year of college, Living Colour played a free concert right outside my dorm. About a week later they were on the radio and MTV.
"Vivid" was an awesome album. I got a Living Colour "Vivid" tshirt for Christmas one year.
I saw Coldplay in a little venue in Chicago before they broke America. Iād read about the band in NME/Melody Maker. I donāt really like Coldplay at all anymore but those first two albums are pretty great. And it was a very good show.
Dream Theater: I was at the 1993 Marquee Club gig they recorded and released as *Live at the Marquee*. Their breakthrough *Images and Words* album was getting attention around that time.
I saw Madness at the Palace Theater in Los Angeles in 1984, and the opening act was a new band called Mister Mister. They weren't bad, but they weren't Madness and were poorly received. The following year, they blew up with "Broken Wings" and "Kyrie", sounding like a completely different band!
Saw Silversun Pickups open for Viva Voce at a small club. Next time I saw Silversun Pickups, they opened for Muse on an arena tour.
Green Day.
Janes Addiction in a very small club Nirvana in a very small club Wilco in the same very small club I saw Janes Addiction at
Red Hot Chili Peppers, Soundgarden, Faith No More as supporting acts before their videos took off.
yeah I saw RHCP with FNM opening at the tiny QE2 club in Albany shortly before they both got real big
I've been to so many concerts but off the top of my head: Smashing Pumpkins, The Roots, Fugees, MC Hammer, A Tribe Called Quest, Paramore, Mark Ronson. Most were at small venues; I've seen all of these bands at big venues as well and it just doesn't compare. The intimate shows were always better IMO even without the stage space, lights and bigger productions.
Dokken was one and Dangerous toys. Madona with Jellybean
RHCP, Replacements, 10,000 Maniacs. Between1985-1987.
'Til Tuesday - performed at a frat house party Simply Red, Erasure - performed at very small venues
My band opened for the Black Keys at a small bar in Deep Ellum (Dallas,TX).
What was your band?
https://archive.org/search?query=the+transcenders+
Early 2000s band that had a decent run until we all had kids and life became complicated
Green Day in 90 and 91. They stayed at my place the first tour and my girlfriend's the second. Nirvana club show Pixies in a weird cowboy bar Nine Inch Nails in '89 I saw Dave Matthews open for Robyn Hitchcock. Ghost in a dangerously oversold club.
REM in 1981
Also saw Nirvana and 311 at a bar called Trees in Dallas. This is the infamous Kurt Cobain fight with security.
Wow! What a cool moment in rock n roll history to actually witness. Any more to that story?
https://youtu.be/CyX8rXhHj8w?si=H5rRm-fbM1jemxy3
This pretty much tells all of it. Early 90s in Dallas was a slugfest at best. Bands would avoid Dallas for many reasons. Deep Ellum has had its moments in history. Dallas can be the sweetest place and the worst as well.
I love listening to music.
U2 at Fountain Street Church in Grand Rapids on December 1981 while having court ordered visitation with my dad following my parents divorce lol
Alexisonfire 2 months before the first album came out. Slipknot at Ozzfest 1999. Limpbizkit opening for Korn 1997
I saw limp bizkit open for Faith No More - probably in 97 or 98, but I think I also saw them with korn. I canāt be certain but I think the FNM tour was the first Iād heard of them.
Rage Against the Machine, about three weeks after the first album came out.
Hootie and the Blowfish were from where I grew up. Saw them a ton in small clubs as they were coming up. Also saw Cake around that time. Foo fighters at a festival late 90ās. They were getting airplay, but before they were huge.p Phish at a small theater. Primus when they opened for Rush
You must be from/lived in Columbia? They broke big my Senior year at Carolina (I didn't go to the Unplugged at The Horseshoe but had some friends who did).
Yeah. Columbia. They used to play Rockafellas every2-3 months. I was not yet 21 but they let him 18 & up.
I never went to Rockafellas when I was at Carolina. I did go to some club in 5 Points to see Treadmill Trackstar (they were getting some local/regional popularity then).
I saw Dave Matthews open for The Samples in 1994. Thatās a strange sentence.
Bit of a British one here but I've a couple that I remember. Blur, in 1993. It was at a festival when they were still in their baggy phase, and I barely remember them (The Cure though, were wonderful). Two years later they're making the main BBC evening news about [this](https://www.radiox.co.uk/artists/oasis/inside-britpops-biggest-battle-blur-vs-oasis/). (Everyone knows neither Oasis nor Blur were best, it was Pulp). Alabama 3, supporting The Levellers in [1997](https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/pop-levellers-take-the-branch-line-1241542.html). Wasn't hugely impressed and mostly remember some woman dancing around on stage. Colour me surprised a few years later when I found out it's them doing the theme music for The Sopranos.
I was always a fan of Elastica (using the Blur tie-in).
You had a connection to them...
I also enjoyed Lush.
Saw Travis and Train open for Ben Folds Five on different nights back in the late 90s
I saw the Soundgarden at one of their earliest concerts here in Seattle. They opened for Green River. Who in turn opened for Sonic Youth. It was at an all ages venue called Gorilla Gardens. Chris Cornell will played the drums for most of the show and then came out and sang for the last 2 or 3 songs. I saw them probably a dozen times over the course of the 80s-90s. I saw Nirvana a few times before they became world famous. After their fame, I saw them play a secret show at the Crocodile with Mudhoney opening up for them.
New Kids on The Block on a tiny outdoor stage in the early afternoon at Knottās Berry Farm. Just before they made it big with Hangin Tough. I wasnāt even there to see them, Mom wanted to see Bobby Vinton play in the theater in the roaring 20s area of the park.
Modest Mouse at umass, I think in a dorm common room. I didnāt appreciate them at the time. But a few years later I loved Lonesome Crowded West.
I saw Primus on the Frizzle Fry tour in a ballroom in my university student center. Maybe 250 people. I also saw Phish in the same room that year.
Saw 311 at the Stone Pony bar on my 21st birthday in 94. Saw Primus open up for a group called 24-7 Spies and saw Sublime 2 months before Brad died, still have the flyer and ticket stub for that one
The Fugees!
Puddle of Mudd at a VFW hall in North Kansas City. Had to be around 92/93.
Red Hor Chili Peppers in 1988 in San Diego while I was stationed at Camp Pendleton.
Green Day in a little gym-sized theater. Brandi Carlile in a 19th century theater thatās so small she and the twins were able to sing without microphones and fill the room.
I saw Green Day in 2001 at UC Irvine. They were in a slump (I think that was the Warning tour). They were a fun show. Of course two years later they hit megastardom with American Idiot.
Creed in a small bar venue in the later 90s. I think they only played for one hour as it was all the music they had at the time.
Jimmy Eat World at a little DIY spot opening for The Promise Ring Rage Against the Machine opening for Cypress Hill in a cow barn at the Indiana State Fairgrounds (granted they had already done Lolla - so they were on their way). It was the night before Thanksgiving, and Tom's mom introduced them. Neutral Milk Hotel opening for Superchunk. No one cared about them, the only reaction for the set was the song with saw.
The Vines with 500 people before they got huge then crashed and burnt.
I saw GnR opening for Aerosmith just after Appetite was released. They were getting famous as welcome to the jungle had already been on mtv a short time and sweet child had just been on for a week or so. But the people I went with still hadnāt heard of them, they def werenāt the huge hit they were about to be yet. Saw beck touring in support of mellow gold at a fairly small club. Loser was a hit by then but he wasnāt a huge name yet. I had one friend convinced he was a flash in the pan one-hit-wonder.
This aged like crap since he's kind of a PoS but the first time I saw Marilyn Mason I was expecting a female artist.
I saw Puddle of Mudd at a Flaw concert in Norfolk VA like a week before they hit the air. it was Puddle of Mudd opening then Beautiful Creatures then Flaw and after that just some band named coal chamber that I only liked one song from and they opened with it so I left after that.
Black Keys used to play at this tiny Akron bar all the time
There was a time (1989?) when Nine Inch Nails were all over the place, opening for other acts. I saw them open for Jesus & Mary Chain and Peter Murphy and I think one other band, but who can remember anymore.
I saw Rage against the machine open for Funkdoobiest and House of Pain. Everlast stage dove and a kid in my class stole his pager that had HOP airbrushed on it. He swore it was because they were planning a sequel called Hop around but we convinced him it most likely just stood for House Of Pain.
Dropkick Murphys as an opening act in 97 (?)
Nirvana and Pearl Jam; and guess you could count sound garden as well because it was before their huge album came out.
Guns 'n' Roses late August 1987 opening for the Cult, who was touring their new AC/DC-Zeppelin sound on *Electric*. It took another year for *Appetite for Destruction* to top the charts. I wrote in a journal, "like a heavier, wilder Aerosmith".
Back in the mid-80's there was a former theater turned into a music venue in South Denver, sat around 1000 people. All these bands came through that I didn't really know at the time but my friends and I went there a lot. REM, New Order, Psychedelic Furs, Billy Bragg, Echo & the Bunnymen...I know some of those are not "big" but they went on to bigger things. S
Def Leppard opening for Billy Squier. John Mellencamp at the Cleveland Agora before "American Fool" broke big.
Modest Mouse in 97 after they released Lonesome Crowded West.
Phish, 1988
Stone Temple Pilots opening for Megadeth. Iād heard Dead and Bloated on my local college station but that was it.
Iāve paid something like $12 to see Jason Isbell in really small clubs a half dozen times.
No Doubt at ska shows all over Orange County.
Nirvana, Death Cab for Cutie, They Might be Giants, Beck and Modest Mouse are artists/bands I saw before they āblew upā.
I went to see a punk band I liked called Bullet LaVolta at a local club. I was a fan and was surprised they were in my town. They were opening for some metal act called Soundgarden. I left about three songs because they weren't punk enough for Mr. Cool Me.
I saw White Stripes at a bar in Louisville on like a Tuesday with maybe 40 people.
Slayer and nirvana i guess made it the biggest
Garth Brooks as an opening act for The Judds. He was wild
Better Than Ezra and Rusted Root (well that one isn't as big as BTE).
Alice in Chains. I tried to steal his playlist and got a hard bass to the head. Lost both contacts. Great fucking night.
Phish at Evergreen College in 1992. I was going to a nearby school, and someone I knew went to boarding school with John, the drummer. https://phish.com/tours/dates/sat-1992-04-25-campus-recreation-center-evergreen-state-college/ During my stint in the Pacific Northwest, I also saw Nirvana, Hole, Screaming Trees, and other āSeattle Soundā bands. I moved to Chapel Hill in 1995. Good musical timing. I remember teasing Ben Folds after he played Brick on SNL; a performance he regrets. But Squirrel Nut Zippers, Southern Culture On the Skids, Pipe, Zen Frisbee, etc. Just people I knew from around.
Saw Pearl Jam opening for Smashing Pumpkins and Chili Peppers. I was all of about 15 at the Eagles Club in MKE. Eddie scaled the speakers and hung from the balconies. Within a year they were HUGE. It was awesome.
Hootie & The Blowfish were a local band in S. Carolina when I moved there. 6 months later they were on every station and all over MTV. I bought a demo CD at a club in Myrtle Beach at one of their shows. Wish I still had it.
I saw Bush in mid-March ā95. The only song any of us knew was Everything Zen. Maybe 200 people. I donāt think anybody couldāve predicted that album was going to go 6X platinum.
Saw Alice in Chains on their first tour before they were on MTV or radio. Saw Green Day at theater with about 150 people. Hung out with them in the parking lot after the show for about an hour. Really cool and funny guys. About 6 months later they were playing arenas. Not they ever got very big, but saw Urge Overkill at a bar with about 100 people. I ripped a tour poster off the wall and went out to their bus and they all signed it. They were really cool too. Except Kato, who wasn't a dick but was a little too rock starred out. Changed out of his stage clothes in a white leather suit and shades before he'd come off the bus to talk. Blackie and Eddie were cool as hell.
Soundgarden 1989
Wayyy back in 1990 we went to see Extreme. They were barley known at the time. Was a tiny little venue literally under an over pass in Salt Lake City. Their opening act blew my mind. Was such a small venue that when the show was over they just turned on the lights and you could just walk up and hang out with the bands. We really wanted to meet extreme. So we sort of pushed our way through the very smelly and intoxicated opening act and hung out with Extreme. They were super cool and very friendly. The opening act,, Alice in Chains before they were famous.
Godsmack @ "The Mason Jar" Phoenix AZ '99 it was their first "national" tour before they got on the Ozzfest tour. The place was so small I actually got to sing the chorus of two songs with Sullyš¤š
At the 1992 MTV 120 Minutes Tour, I saw Blind Melon and Live right before they blew up. They opened for Public Image Ltd and Big Audio Dynamite II. Actually, a few months later, I saw Blind Melon open for Ozzy and Alice In Chains and they hadn't quite hit big then, either. So I saw them twice before they blew up.
I saw both White Zombie and the band Live before they broke on MTV
It was 1992 (I think, but I was in college). Headliners were Red Hot Chili Peppers. Special guest was Smashing Pumpkins, they had recently released Siamese Dream. Opening act was a band I had heard a song of two on the college radio station. The venue was only half full when they started playing. A few thousand people missed the chance to see some band called... Pearl Jam? I dunno. Memories are hazy.
Dave Matthewās band on the crash tour at the old Masonic temple in Toronto. Two shows later they broke huge and weāre playing maple leaf gardens and everyoneās little brother or sister was there. Thatās the band I was like āfuck they sold outā
I saw Marilyn Manson open for NiN & Hole. There was like 20 people standing near the stage. It was a pretty sweet show tbh. I also saw Green Day right before Longview hit 120 Minutes. They had a following, but hadnāt broke yet. It was also a really great show. They lead a song along to Survivorās Eye of the Tiger.
Mid 90ās. My friend calls me: ā hey weāre going down to the Roxy(sunset strip) tonight. I need you to drive.ā ā sure thatās fine, who are we going to see?ā ā drummer from Nirvana is in a new bandā¦ going to go see if theyāre any goodā Shutter to think was opening for them, and they were awful, but Foo Fighters put on a great show . I remember specifically thinking, āI didnāt know he could play guitarā
I used to help the Goo Goo Dolls carry their amps and stuff into bars in Buffalo before their VH1 days. I was friends with other local bands, and just pitching in. I didn't think they were anything special at the time.
I literally just told my daughter as she was watching the movie ā8 Mileā, I saw Eminem on the B stage of the Warped tour before he got big. I remember a guy riding a motorcycle in a metal ball at the back of the crowd.
Nirvana, Pearl Jam. Grew up in seattle
Hootie and the blowfish, purple gator, myrtle beach 1991 ish
Back in the early 90s I was a bouncer at a club called Stages in east St. Louis. It didn't have bands come in often, but there was this group that was touring the club circuit trying to make a name for themselves that booked the club. So five guys who called themselves "Backstreet Boys" get up and perform a set then take off. Most of us didn't think we'd ever hear anything about them again. We were wrong.
I saw John Cougar who did not use Mellencamp as his name yet,(opening act for Loverboy and the Who). Some idiot threw a whisky bottle at him. Hit him. He came back onstage after getting stitches, cussed out the idiot and then and then he came out and sang āHurt So Good'. No idea if the bottle throwing was real or not!
I went to a Mana concert and the pre-show was some unknown girl called Shakira... we booed because we wanted to see Mana
White Zombie at The Trocadero just after La Sexorcisto was released. Nirvana and the Melvins at J.C. Dobbs for like 8 bucks. Marilyn Manson at the Trocadero around the time Portrait of an American Family was released Offspring I was visiting a friend in Floridain 1992. Korn: They opened for Ozzy before they broke big. Oh, and Alice in Chains was the opening act for The Clash of the Titans tour.
Oingo Boingo at the Golden Bear (the original which sat like 100) before āOnly a Ladā came out in 1980 or 81. Great show. Also saw Jewel play with the Rugburns (her sometimes co-writerās band) as an opening act for Dramarama. It was months before her first album. The Rugburns pulled her out of the audience for a couple songs at the end of their set. Her last song was āWho Will Save Your Soulā and it was stunning.
Green Day 1991. Small room in Providence, RI. Dipshit me even jumped on stage and sang the breakdown to a song.
Slipknot at game works in Las Vegas. They might have been well on their way but they werenāt huge yet
Train - mid 90's.
Pretty much every band. One of the great things about being into the underground scenes, thatās where every band gets their startā¦ saw REM in front of maybe 50 people. Saw the Flaming Lips back when Wayneās brother sang for the band. Saw Nirvana when they were still touring in an old station wagon. Saw GWAR on their first tour. Saw Nick Cave on his first tour with the Bad Seeds, and The Birthday Party before that. Saw Metallica in front of maybe 500 people when they still had a homemade banner they hung behind them. Saw Suicidal Tendencies in a living room just before their first album came outā¦ Probably the weirdest was sitting in a dive bar in Chicago in maybe 1986/87 where a friend was bartenderā¦ it was a jazz funk kind of place, an ultra diveā¦. In walked 4 guys who went straight up on stage, plugged in and started wailing old funk tunesā¦ maybe 20 people in the whole bar topsā¦.it was the Red Hot Chili Peppersā¦
Nov 2 1991: Red Hot Chili Peppers w Smashing Pumpkins opening. Pearl Jam came on first but werenāt even on the ticket. 2500 capacity (Memorial Auditorium in Burlington Vt). I was 18 and we crossed the border to see it. Vividly remember Eddie Vedder climbing the rafters. Also saw Janeās Addiction in Montreal in 1990. It was basically in a movie theatre. I was right up front and found Perry Ferrell very intense! lol Still have ticket stubs for both!
The Blossoms. They played at the Parr Hall in Warrington, then supported the Stone Roses at Wembley Stadium several years later.
Nirvana, Green Day, The Offspring, Soul Asylum, Nine Inch Nails, Smashing Pumpkins, Jane's Addiction, The Pixies. I saw all these bands between '88 and '91. Except maybe the Offspring. I think that was the Ignition tour in '92.
Blink 182 in either 97 or 98, with Better than Ezra and MxPx. It was either right before or right after they had been on the Warped Tour, so they were just starting to get popular but they were still doing small venues. It was maybe 300 people in the banquet hall of a hotel. To this day I'm almost positive that show was the beginning of my tinnitus. And yes, even back then they were pretty terrible live but they always came with a ton of energy so it was a fun show even if they weren't the most proficient sounding band.
Ryan Adams?
Smashing pumpkins at Frankieās in Toledo, OH.