Sheena Easton at the Pacific Amphitheater. The person I was dating at the time was a big Easton fan, so…
Thought of another “not-so-proud” one. I saw Duran Duran in 1997. My GF at the time was a longtime fan, and had seen them three or four times previously. I’d been a fan when I was 11 but not for long (Notorious was pretty awful). It was a very standard show for them: my partner would identify what was going to happen next all through it. “Here’s the part when Simon brings out the spotlight to aim at the crowd!” and then he rolled out the big floodlight and it wouldn’t light up, so some crew members had to futz around with it frantically at the side of the stage while LeBon vamped awkwardly.
I wish. I did at least get to see Mark Knopfler a few years ago. He and his current band did a killer set.
I was a bit too young for the Alchemy Tour, but I saw them on their 1992 tour (their last tour IIRC) in Cologne, stadium concert at Müngersdorfer Stadion. It was pouring cats and dogs, but the music was good. Was (Not Was) were the opening act, a strange one for the Dire Straits, but I liked them. That was before Don Was became a star producer. Hey, has anybody but me seen Was (Not Was)?
I saw Smashing Pumpkins open for what seemed like every show for about a year before they signed a record deal. They were horrible. Was glad when they signed the record deal and they were big enough to now be a shitty headliner that I could avoid, and quit being a shitty opening band for ever damn show I attended.
I saw the Indigo Girls sometime around 93 with special guest Siouxsie Sue at, I think Bates College.
The remnants of Morphine Orchestra Morphine? shortly after Mark Sandman died. Dude playing 2 saxes at the same time was pretty cool. Some small place in Winston Salem, NC.
Saw Melissa Etheridge open for Little Feet in OOB, ME.
Cake in San Diego. Show was cut short because Prince wanted to use the space as an after party location.
I suppose I should mention The Go-Go’s, for whom these were opening, but we left halfway through the show. Half credit!
Talk of Aerosmith hanging it up made me remember seeing them at Monsters of Rock in Germany 1990.
Whitesnake was the headliner. At that time Steve Vai had been playing with them temporarily. I think Adrian Vandenberg had a hand injury or something. For the live shows he was back and they had both on stage at once.
Along with Whitesnake and Aerosmith there was also Dio, Poison and Vixen.
Monsters of Rock 1991 was held on my base. We got free tickets and the stage was a couple hundred feet from my barracks. AC/DC was the headliner. The rest of the lineup was The Black Crowes, Queensrÿche, Mötley Crüe, and Mettalica.
I don’t know if anyone mentioned Joe Jackson. I was not a fan but knew his radio hits. I went to the show because it was close. I really enjoyed it. His band was really tight. Very good show.
I’m pretty sure someone must have seen Foghat? I never caught them as a headliner, but they were the opening act at the Zappa and Rod Stewart shows I saw. What a great boogie/good time band!
Did anyone ever see Soft White Underbelly? (I’m sure some have seen Blue Öyster Cult, but they did a “stealth” tour using their old name in 1984.)
Clarence Clemons and the Red Bank Rockers at Chicagofest
I saw him in 1990. It wasn’t the Blaze of Glory tour, and I don’t think Laughter and Lust was out yet, but I might be wrong. It was at the legenday Ottawa club Barrymore’s, so it was a comparatively intimate setting. Lori Carson opened.
I saw many shows there while in high school (and never got carded). Camper Van Beethoven, Dread Zeppelin with Mojo Nixon opening, first time I saw the Ramones, the 'mats on their last tour with the Goo Goo Dolls as backup…many great memories.
Another of those “critical darling” bands that everyone but me seems to enjoy, I saw The Flaming Lips when they opened for Candlebox many years ago. The Lips were awful. It was my first exposure to the band, and I just didn’t get into the 45 minute set with no breaks between songs, inane lyrics, and nasal voice of the lead singer.
The girl I went to that concert with and I still use that as the epitome of suck. As in attending a funeral is more fun than a Flaming Lips concert.
I saw Combustible Edison open for someone. That was pretty strange.
I’ve seen Son Seals and Was (Not Was). I saw Melissa Etheridge in 1990 when she was just starting to gain some fame.
I know I saw the Go-Go’s open for another band before their first record came out. X, maybe. I also saw them when the Ventures opened for them at the Whiskey.
I saw Sheryl Crow in 1994 right around the time her first single came out (All I Wanna Do). She was part of the H.O.R.D.E.* Festival. Also on the bill were Big Head Todd & the Monsters, Blues Traveler and the Allman Brothers Band, with Dickey Betts.
*Horizons Of Rock Developing Everywhere
My worst concert ever was Lee Michaels, 1972. The name probably doesn’t ring a bell. He was a prog-rock keyboardist whose albums featured long instrumentals with no radio-friendly hooks. Out of the blue, in 1971, he scored a top 10 hit, “Do You Know What I Mean,” from his 5th album. The single was a surprising departure, with lyrics and a solid hook. Riding the crest of new-found success, he went out on a tour. He sat down at the keyboard and commenced playing a string of long, meandering instrumentals. People asked for “Do You Know What I Mean,” and he said “No.” Finally, he made a speech about how his record company had forced him into doing that song (which was odd since he wrote it) and that it did not really represent his music. That was true, but it was the song people knew him for, and he was just being a jerk. People persisted, and he finally stood up, shouted that he was NOT GOING TO PLAY THAT SONG and stormed off after a 45-minute show. We all got up and left, feeling ripped off and pissed off. His career sank like a rock.
I saw her open for Bob Dylan in NYC in (I think) October 1994.
He then went on to open a couple of very good restaurants based off his mother’s shrimp recipe. Killer Shrimp was in both Marina del Rey and Las Vegas. The shrimp truly lived up to its name.