Who Here Actually Likes having an opening Band

[I'm Ready]

I'd rather here the band I paid to see then have to wait through some band I usually don't end up enjoying very much

just my opinion though(possibly due to the King of Leon)

 

[Bono's shades]

I like having opening bands if the bands are good.

 

[corianderstem]

Well, it's not like you're paying any extra to see them. Opening acts are part of the concert-going experience.

 

[Liesje]

In general, when I have GAs, no thanks. There's a select few I'd enjoy, only b/c they're other bands I love and it would be like two concerts for one price. After waiting in the GA line for over a day and then having to stand even LONGER with thousands of people pushing on you and hot stinky air....please, just give me U2 already!

 

[Axver]

I think it totally depends on the opening band. For example, although Kings Of Shit sucked immensely at my three U2 shows, seeing Mercury Rev support the Finn Brothers enhanced the concert experience.

 

[financeguy]

Coldplay and Red Hot Chilli Peppers were both very good support bands at Slane in '01 (although I am not particularly a fan of either band). The contrast between the two bands styles' worked quite well and served as a good opener for the main event.

 

[Westblue]

in austria and poland the magic number(s ?) were awful for my liking, but i enjoyed the killers, keane and kaiser chiefs (in barcelona).. all in all i was pleased to have seen and heard them live as i really like some of their works..
in reggio emilia in 1997 when popmart came to italy there was a terrible opening band (or a DJ, i'm not sure) but because we came a bit late i was only forced to listen to 2 or 3 songs , also in vienna 2001 - kelis - talk about shit!

btw: i don't know nothing about these kings of leon you guys keep mentioning, who are they, any good (well, obviosly not hehe)

kl

 

[theblazer]

Rage Against the Machine opened for U2 at Dallas PoPMart, so that was pretty cool.

 

[neutral]

in austria and poland the magic number(s ?) were awful for my liking, but i enjoyed the killers, keane and kaiser chiefs (in barcelona)..

kl

There were 3 opening acts in Barcelona?


Opening acts aren't going to go away but as LivLuvAndBootlegMusic said, after you've been waiting in GA line all day and then go cram into the arena, there haven't been many I enjoyed that much. That's only for U2 shows though, sometimes I travel to shows around here just for the opening act lol.

 

[Zoomerang96]

u2's opening bands have in some cases been better than u2 themselves.

of course i like seeing opening bands...why the hell wouldn't you???

 

[WildHoneyAlways]

Rage Against the Machine opened for U2 at Dallas PoPMart, so that was pretty cool.

That would have been sooooooooooo sweet.

 

[Chizip]

after waiting around all day in the GA line, having to stand and wait through a band you dont really want to see isnt very appealing.

if i had seats id probably enjoy opening bands a lot more.

 

[MsGiggles]

In general, when I have GAs, no thanks. There's a select few I'd enjoy, only b/c they're other bands I love and it would be like two concerts for one price. After waiting in the GA line for over a day and then having to stand even LONGER with thousands of people pushing on you and hot stinky air....please, just give me U2 already!

Exactly - besides if anything, I'd rather socialize with my friends while waiting for the main act than "standing" through a crap band - which seems a longer wait.

 

[MrBrau1]

I like opening bands. It's how I got to see The Pixies 2x.

They've had some GREAT ones:

The Ramones
Pearl Jam
The Velvet Underground
PJ Harvey
The Longpigs
Oasis
Doves
BRMC
The Killers
The Hoodoo Gurus

 

[Zoomerang96]

the ramones opened for u2???

when was that?

 

[MrBrau1]

93. 2 shows in Spain

 

[timothius]

The Hoodoo Gurus

Really?

Whereabouts if you don't mind. I'm guessing Australia.

 

[MrBrau1]

Really?

Whereabouts if you don't mind. I'm guessing Australia.

1987. 1 in Glasgow, Scotland, and 2 in Birmingham, England.

I need to add to that list I posted earlier.

The Pretenders
The Pogues
The Alarm
The Daltons

 

[Westblue]

in barcelona there were the kaiser chiefs and keane, in poland magic numbers and killers and in vienna the thrills and magic numbers. the best were the killers, followed closely by kaiser chiefs!
kl

 

[{paintedroses}]

Yes I do like opening bands. The way I see it is you'd have to wait around just as long anyway and if you get to hear a band I can't see how that's a bad way to spend half an hour of the many hours you've spent queuing/waiting around. Also its a good way to get into new music, I've seen support bands I've never heard of before and been impressed and gone out and bought their album afterwards and loved it. Thats not to say all support bands have been good but if they're really bad it just makes the main show better

 

[Neilz]

I love openingbands... Even the crappy ones! When you have been waiting outside all day and need to stand GA inside from 17:00 till 21:00 on top of that, a opening act is very welcome! Specially if it's a goog one!

 

[Aparofan]

It depends on the opening act. My favorite ones for U2 were Primus in Ames, IA in '92, Rage Against The Machine in Denver in '97, and Garbage in Kansas City in '01. I'm real curious who's going to open in St. Louis and Omaha this year. I'm crossing my fingers for Ash or The Killers but in the end it doesn't really matter. U2 will take the bad taste of any bad opening act out of my mouth after about two seconds of the first song!

 

[dezmaas]

To be honest when I've been queuing up for 2 hrs or more, my feet are killing me then I have to wait 4 hrs more until U2 come on stage. The waiting between bands drives me crazy. When they are finally off stage I can barely walk, but never mind, it's worth it in the end!

 

[AtomicBono]

I like having opening bands if the bands are good.

Exactly.

 

[God Part III]

I liked all I heard.

Actually I've bought the Razorlight album after the two sets they played in Gothenburg and Copenhagen. I think they're great. I've also bought some Feeder stuff, although it's not as good.
I loved the opening bands I heard. Also I bought Arcade Fire's Funeral.

That's (excuse me)a fucking good album!

 

[ZOOTB]

Let me try to compare something before I answer. 2 hours of U2 or 3 hours of U2. Not even a question really. I have no idea why U2 needs an opener. The Boss doesn't need one, plays for 3 hours. McCartney doesn't need one and plays for 3 hours also. I'm sure there are other big names as well. I would love to see U2 one day follow their lead with "NO OPENER".

 

[1stepcloser]

btw: i don't know nothing about these kings of leon you guys keep mentioning, who are they, any good (well, obviosly not hehe)

kl

Kings of Leon are a fantastic rock n roll band from Tenessee although they are bigger over here in the UK than they are in the US. They're also constantly slagged off on a few of these threads for reasons i don't know why


some great songs by them - Mollys Chambers, The Bucket, Red Morning Light

 

[1stepcloser]

Let me try to compare something before I answer. 2 hours of U2 or 3 hours of U2. Not even a question really. I have no idea why U2 needs an opener. The Boss doesn't need one, plays for 3 hours. McCartney doesn't need one and plays for 3 hours also. I'm sure there are other big names as well. I would love to see U2 one day follow their lead with "NO OPENER".

3 hours of U2 live

 

[jphelmet]

Kings of Leon are a fantastic rock n roll band from Tenessee although they are bigger over here in the UK than they are in the US. They're also constantly slagged off on a few of these threads for reasons i don't know why

I agree.

Overall U2 has good opening acts, and I usually don't mind them.
Even the ones i don't like are bearable.
Good ones I have seen for U2:
Pixies
Primus
Rage
Fun Lovin Criminals
Kings of Leon
So So Openers:
P.J. Harvey
Nelly Furtado (Not a fan, but not horrible)
Just Plain awful:
No Doubt
3rd Eye Blind (Possibly the worst live band ever)
Smash Mouth (Possibly the 2nd worst live band ever)
The Corrs

 

[Axver]

There are actually people who like the Kings Of Shit?

This is proof you CAN sell anything.