Entertainment For Lively Minds
Support acts
The new Andrew Bird album arrived yesterday. It's the version with the extra CD of instrumentals, and sounds very good on first, partial listen. It reminded me that I first encountered Mr Bird, solo (with violin, guitar, whistles & loops), supporting Midlake a couple of years ago, having never previously heard of him, and was impressed enough that I now consider myself a bit of a fan. I realised that I can't think of many other artists who have so impressed me as 'unknown' support acts - there have been times when I've been lucky enough to go to a gig where I already like both the support and headliner - the very first one I went to was a Queen stadium show where the second-on-the-bill Joan Jett & The Blackhearts (who's album I was playing to death at the time) played the most exciting 'rock 'n' roll' show I've seen (I was 13, if you need me to defend that statement). There's even been the odd occasion where I've gone to see the support specifically, but mostly they inspire me to investigate no further at all.
So, who have you gone onto love having first seen live, unknown, and for no longer than 40 minutes?
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I was going to say
The Divine Comedy, who I first saw supporting Tori Amos. But I only saw them through the doors of the bar and never heard a note...
Yup. That's the sound of me kicking myself.
The first one
that springs to mind is Blancmange who supported Japan in 198? something. Didn't go on to love them as such, but still enjoy hearing their songs (their cover of 'The Day Before You Came' on the Word Infinite Playlist yesterday for instance!)
One group that I still have a soft spot for is China Crisis who I saw supporting Simple MInds (again, 198? - Jim Kerr's microphone was on the fritz and got lashed into the backdrop)
I'm sure more will come to me.
Can I also say how much I'm enjoying the Andrew Bird album and how jealous I am that you saw him and Midlake on the same bill! When I saw Midlake they had a decent support (Robert Gomez) and should also have had Fionn Regan, but he was missing, due to family issues I think. Actually that reminds me that I saw Findlay Brown support The Sleepy Jackson and he was very good. Also saw Iron & Wine in Manchester last year and they should have been supported by Bon Iver but on the night we went he was recording his Later... appearance! (damn you Holland)
(Sorry for the rambling nature of this post!)
Blancmange & China Crisis
Saw Blancmange supporting Depeche Mode in 1981 - they were bloody awful, but they got better once they started making records. And I must've seen China Crisis on the same Simple Minds tour as you, they were great - sample banter:
Singer: "Anyone here bought our album"
Lone voice at the back: "Yeah."
Singer: "What's your name, mate?"
LVATB: "Terry."
Singer: "This next one's for Terry."
Ed Harcourt supporting Starsailor in 2001 was excellent and I bought his album next day. Very good stuff, though I've strangely not been that bothered about investingating further...
Yet another spooky crossover!
I posted on the Lux Interior post last night saying how the Cramps were one of the best live bands I'd ever seen & the guy who posted the original message posted back that he was at the same show!
I know when you think about it it's not that surprising, but...
...It's spooky
Blimey. Small world.
Blancmange were the first live band I paid to see, as they were supporting Depeche Mode in early 1982. As I was only 15, I was very keen to get everything out of the experience, which included watching Blancmange's entire set.
The audience was me, my brother, a smattering of some other blokes and about 20 girls in ra-ra skirts right at the front who occasionally screamed. I was taken by how much fun Neil Arthur was having - and he did have an impressive foghorn voice. I looked out for them ever since and was pleased on their behalf when they "made it".
Tift Merritt..
was terrific last week supporting Teddy Thomson at the Queens Hall in Edinburgh. It's always a tricky decision - do you bother turning up for the support or not? I'm glad I did in this case. Just her, singing and playing either guitar or piano - she even did one song with no amplification at the front of the stage and you could hear her perfectly. TT came on to do a duet with her, and she returned the favour for TT's encore of the Everly's Till I Kissed You. She was signing her CDs between her set and TT's and was lovely. As she only had to plug in her guitar, this avoided the depressing spectacle of roadies moving a cable from one place to another, moving it back again, scratching their heads etc for the best part of an hour after the support act has gone off.
a huge star...
...in the making. Tift would be enormous if there was a radio format for her in the States or if MTV still had some clout. Her records get better and better and she is cute 'as all get out.'
Sonic Youth
supporting Nick Cave in Birmingham in probably 1985 or thereabouts. I had heard the name but not heard anything at the time, and they were superb.
Another band that supported Nick Cave at an earlier gig in Manchester was the wonderful Moodists, who made a great impression on me. I wouldn't say that either of the bands blew Nick Cave of the stage, but they were close
Josh Ritter
Support to Counting Crows, I think, some years ago. It may have been supporting Lucinda Williams, come to think, but in Manchester. With a 3 piece band, coming over all Blonde on blonde Dylan. Marvellous. Have most of his subsequent output.
I love Josh Ritter
He's fantasic live. Saw him last year with Dawne Landes supporting. She was much better than on her album.
Here's a few...
Blue Aeroplanes supporting The Darling Buds at the Town and Country Club in Kentish Town at the beginning of 1988.
Fiery Furnaces supporting The Veils at the Ekko in Utrecht in 2003.
Last year I went to see The Black Keys and the first band of the evening were a great band from Scotland called Broken Records.
The Blue Aeroplanes also......
Saw the Blue Aeroplanes supporting R.E.M. on the Green tour. Stunning live performance, completely blew me away.
Yeah,
I saw that too. They were very good. REM were fantastic. (still got my 'Turn You Inside Out' t-shirt & it still fits) Unfortunately I lost my watch in the mosh. (Given to me by the future Mrs. Morph when we got engaged) Sob. (I'd do it again, don't tell her tho) Was only disappointed cos we'd heard that The Go-Betweens were supposed to be the support.
Here's a few...
Red Guitars, supporting The Smiths in Norwich, 1984. '80s indie but with a bit of Afrobeat going on in the mix. One great album (Slow to Fade) then an internal falling out and never heard of again.
Clinic, supporting Arcade Fire in Manchester in 2007. Scouse noiseniks with a nice line in top hats and surgical masks.
But best of all.....
Dire Straits, supporting Talking Heads, Sheffield 1977/78. Whatever happened to them?
Beware - metal supports alert!!
Saigon Kick supporting Extreme
Hardline supporting Extreme
....both supports far more fulfilling than the headliners (ahem)
I'd have found your treatise more convincing
had you admiited it were your opinion and were Terence Trent d'Arby
.... to jump on the bandwagon
Danger Danger supporting Kiss - 1992.
They did indeed rock.
I have no shame.
Lucinda Williams
Supporting Mary Chapin Carpenter ar the Apollo Victoria. Bought Sweet Old World and never looked back.
Shawn Colvin
Supporting Mary Chapin Carpenter, Manchester Apollo.
Already liked her, had all the albums etc.
Shawn also did a spell as an RT warm-up
And jolly good was she then, my first exposure to her.
Odd pairing was Shack supporting Beth Orton at the Alex in Birmingham. Shocking sound mix, wrecking both performances, but I later bought "From Miles to Gil" based in part on that night, albeit some years earlier.
You've just dislodged a memory
of seeing Shack supporting someone. I can't remember who tho. Can anyone help?
Not just warm up
Colvin was also in the Richard Thompson Band at the time. As I recall this was a label decision rather than RT's choice.
A strange one
Was Melissa Etheridge supporting Martin Stephenson and The Daintees. Considering her subsequent hugeness in the states, it remains one of the oddest support slots.
Boo Hewerdine
Supporting (& then playing with) Eddi Reader in 1997. That was a good one.
Suicide & The Pop Group
...both in 1978, supporting The Clash & Patti Smith respectively.
The Pop Group made Patti look rather old fashioned.
Suicide were a great example of something that I didn't really understand at the time I was watching them but who I could see were different & important; a few days after the first time I saw them in Glasgow, saw them again in Crawley where a less patient member of the audience got on stage with a chain & broke Alan Vega's nose. Cue stage plea for calm by Jimmy Pursey: "They might be fucking shit but that's no reason to hit 'em!"
It didn't take me long to come round to Suicide, who are, of course, brilliant if you're partial to a rockabilly version of Kraftwerk as all right thinking people are.
At the bottom of that Clash bill, but crap: The Specials.
Also in this category, support act first:
Tom Petty/Nils Lofgren
Southside Johnny/Graham Parker
The Blasters/Nick Lowe
Richard Hell/Elvis Costello
and, today especially...
The Cramps/The Police...
The Cure
When I saw Siouxsie & the Banshees the support band was the Cure and third on the bill was Spizzenergi who I went on to see about a dozen times since then (and still going BTW).
I also saw Squeeze supporting the Tubes. A strange one because Squeeze had managed a couple of hit singles by then and were sort of household names, while the Tubes fanbase was narrow but deep.
Jools Holland and the Millionaires
supporting Otway & Barrett in (about) 1979.
Most of the Millionaires later went on to become Paul Young's backing band.
Did that include The Fabulous Wealthy Tarts?
The backing singers named by Jools at a gig after they asked him to come up with any name he liked as long as it wasn't sexist, or referred to their looks, or mentioned that they happened to be from posh backgrounds...
Ohhhhh yes... it certainly did.
They were very distracting... I could barely concentrate on Pino Palldino's frankly astounding bass playing
Here are the FWTs (sorry, but it's on a Paul Young video)
Yes.
Also Pino Palladino. One of the Tarts is, apparently, a lay preacher in New York.
bon iver
bon iver supporting iron and wine at glasgow abc last year. having only heard 2 songs, they blew me away. then iron and wine came on and, much as i love them, it was a massive anti-climax.