@alvinnir2 - I've got that immense Woodstock box set and was able to hear all the bands that played there in order; Santana was indeed awesome, and they were the first band there that actually ROCKED.
The best opening act you've ever seen & heard?
I have two:
In 1983 I went to see The Plimsouls (Peter Case’s pre-solo career band) at The Garage, a tiny little "club" on Ventura Blvd. The room had filled up (elbow-to-elbow tight), and the opening act started their set. My woman and I both looked at each other, our mouths agape. It was Los Lobos, and they were great! Their debut album How Will The Wolf Survive? had yet to be released, but I sure picked it up when it was.
I went to see John Hiatt at The Roxy Theater on Sunset Blvd. during his Perfectly Good Guitar tour, entering the room just as the opening act was starting her final song. The ads for the show listed her name, which was unfamiliar to me. As the song started and progressed, I was stunned; the song she and her band were performing was a great one, and I knew I had missed a quality set of music. It was Sheryl Crow, whose debut album had not yet been released. Damn it!
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@larsman - And rock they did. There had never been a band before them with so much persussive elements. They were so tight. I just recently read Sanata’s autobiography and he has a good story about that concert. Apparently they were told they would not go on stage until later in the day so he and the band partook of some psychedelic drugs. Then when they were in the least shape to play an hour or 2 later, schedule changes made it such that they had to go on right away. " Stay in tune....Stay in time" was what Carlos kept saying to himself.They pulled off an amazing set. |
Larsman
Man, you do get around. Sure, the Dead stopped and talked and fiddled around during shows, nothing odd there. What was hilarious about this particular show was that they had just started and they stopped and tuned up specifically in response to this group of idiots making fools of themselves right up front. I remember the sentiment from the stage being along the lines of "We really must be bad, damn, they're yelling at us, let's fix this." I guess you had to be there. Wait, you were. Anyway, I haven't seen the Dead but a few times since Pig Pen died. I'm a native San Franciscan so I guess I got used to seeing them for free. Here's a show you most likely saw, March 8, 1973 in Berkeley, a single guy strode onto stage with his guitar. We, in our ignorance, didn't know who he was but after he got the spotlight on him we figured out that Ramblin' Jack Elliot was something special. He was followed by Commander Cody and his Lost Planet Airmen with the New Riders of the Purple Sage headlining. The New Riders, as you know, were the country wing of the Dead. Great show. Great opening act. Why is the date significant? Well, we didn't know until later that that was the day that Pig Pen died. |
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