# Strangest musical double bill you've seen **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** music\ **Created:** [May 29, 2026, 9:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strangest-musical-double-bill-youve-seen/1030481 "2026-05-29T21:24:54Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2026, 6:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strangest-musical-double-bill-youve-seen/1030481/41 "2026-05-30T06:14:36Z")
Here’s one that I just remembered that was a true double bill, not a headline and an opener. In 2015 I went to see Bleachers, Jack Antonoff’s indie rock side project which had just released an album with a retro-'80s New Wave sound. He and the co-headliner were alternating spots on the bill. The night I saw him, Bleachers went on first. Then came on the second act… Charli XCX, the British dance-pop singer who at the time was best known for singing the chorus on Iggy Azalea’s “Fancy”. Completely different musical genres and styles that brought two very demographics to the show, and I’m really not sure why the decision was made to pair them up. ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2026, 7:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strangest-musical-double-bill-youve-seen/1030481/42 "2026-05-30T07:08:23Z")
> [@kenobi\_65](#): > > I actually have British Sea Power’s first album on CD, a gift from a former boss, 20-ish years ago. They’re still around, still recording (ten studio albums, plus a couple of movie and video game soundtracks), but it seems like they never really made a mark in the U.S. Looking at their Wikipedia page, I see they composed the music for _Disco Elysium_, which is a game I find deeply compelling but have yet to make it very far into because I rarely have the time and level of patience to commit myself to long character-driven RPGs these days. ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2026, 7:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strangest-musical-double-bill-youve-seen/1030481/43 "2026-05-30T07:14:50Z")
> [@nearwildheaven](#): > > The singer who replaced Rob Halford, at one point, played in two bands, with all the same members. “His” band was basically a hair band that would open for that singer’s JP cover band, and then they would take off their wigs, change their clothes, and do Priest covers. I once went to see Richard Cheese and Lounge Against the Machine, a comedy band that does '60s lounge-style covers of contemporary pop hits. (Probably best known for the jazzy, up-tempo cover of “Down With The Sickness” that was used in Zack Snyder’s Dawn of the Dead remake.) The opening act was billed as “iPod on a Chair”. It consisted of a roadie coming out, setting a chair in the middle of the stage, placing an iPod on it, and pressing play, after which it proceeded to play a 30-minute set of mp3s of the same artists the headline band would perform later on. ---
**Author:** ![Banksiaman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/banksiaman/32/3334_2.png) [@Banksiaman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Banksiaman)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2026, 7:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strangest-musical-double-bill-youve-seen/1030481/44 "2026-05-30T07:58:29Z")
Public Image Limited in Sydney in 1989, with a lot of the audience in a late catch-up Sex Pistols mindset and keen to be all pretendy punk. The two support acts were Tactics, essentially an electronic dance band by then, and India Bharti, an old serious hippie busker convert to Hinduism, who made his own electronic percussion instruments from old sticks and junk, and did a precursor to very Indian-influenced Dance Trance. Not lots of love from the crowd, judging from how much spit flew towards the stage, but totally in line with where PiL was trying to take music (if only Pistols fans were paying attention and able to keep up). ---
**Author:** ![Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmer_j.fudd/32/1211_2.png) [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elmer_J.Fudd)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2026, 3:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strangest-musical-double-bill-youve-seen/1030481/45 "2026-05-30T15:44:14Z")
I saw the Go-Go’s open for The Ventures in 1981. It didn’t seem that strange at the time ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2026, 4:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strangest-musical-double-bill-youve-seen/1030481/46 "2026-05-30T16:41:56Z")
When Roger Waters did his concert at the Berlin Wall the opening acts were set up a bit differently. The crowd was there for many hours beforehand so there were several acts that played during the day. It was a strange mixture. The Hooters. The Band. And most strangely, The Chieftains with James Galway. Although it wasn’t always easily noticeable members of those bands did participate in the main concert as well. ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2026, 4:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strangest-musical-double-bill-youve-seen/1030481/47 "2026-05-30T16:56:22Z")
[That’s a great concert](https://youtu.be/SU2m7uOiAZI?list=RDSU2m7uOiAZI). I still have a VHS copy of it (and a VHS player to play it on). ---
**Author:** ![Coriolanus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/coriolanus/32/18769_2.png) [@Coriolanus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Coriolanus)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2026, 5:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strangest-musical-double-bill-youve-seen/1030481/48 "2026-05-30T17:25:14Z")
> [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](#): > > saw the Go-Go’s open for The Ventures in 1981. I saw them open for The Police in the “Ghost in the Machine Tour” in 1982. They were good! ---
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2026, 5:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strangest-musical-double-bill-youve-seen/1030481/49 "2026-05-30T17:40:08Z")
I saw the Go Gos in 1982 at the Hollywood Bowl. The Blasters opened. ---
**Author:** ![Treppenwitz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/treppenwitz/32/3445_2.png) [@Treppenwitz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Treppenwitz)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2026, 8:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strangest-musical-double-bill-youve-seen/1030481/50 "2026-05-30T20:18:39Z")
I’ve posted about this gig before, because the bottom of the bill was… From top of the bill down Steel Pulse (then Britain’s biggest reggae band) Wreckless Eric (alcoholic mess) John Cooper Clarke (punk poet) The Police (yes, them) So you could view this as The Police opening for a poet; but I prefer to think of it as a poet supporting a reggae band. I saw JCC open a couple of times, and it was always odd. Likewise, I saw Ivor Cuttler open a couple of times, and that was always extremely weird - an elderly Scottish retired teacher playing harmonium and singing inexplicable songs. Very brief sample: [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/Lkj9UeTPtK0/maxresdefault.jpg "Pass the Ball Jim") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lkj9UeTPtK0) j ---
**Author:** ![Treppenwitz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/treppenwitz/32/3445_2.png) [@Treppenwitz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Treppenwitz)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2026, 8:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strangest-musical-double-bill-youve-seen/1030481/51 "2026-05-30T20:24:09Z")
Oh, and I saw the Simply What’s Happening tour. The Slits were opening - an all-girl post-punk band (Viv Albertine was at one time Sid Vicious’ girlfriend). There were a couple of other acts on the bill, but the opener was Don Cherry, a jazz trumpeter, who spent much of his time lecturing us about a collection of African instruments that he’d brought along. (He was also Neneh Cherry’s step father). j ---
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2026, 8:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strangest-musical-double-bill-youve-seen/1030481/52 "2026-05-30T20:34:24Z")
> [@Joey\_P](#): > > When I saw David Bowie, his opening act was Macy Gray. When I saw David Bowie, his opening act was The Polyphonic Spree, an indie choral ensemble that bore a surprising resemblence to a cult. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2026, 8:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strangest-musical-double-bill-youve-seen/1030481/53 "2026-05-30T20:38:41Z")
I don’t know how strange it is, but I’ve never seen an opening act that totally upstaged the main act like Robert Randolph and the Family Band did to Trombone Shorty. Shorty is no slouch as a NOLA jazz musician, but Randolph ripped the place apart with his steel guitar rendition of Voodoo Chile. Literally everyone was on their feet going wild. I don’t think anyone wanted him to leave the stage. [Voodoo Chile](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gt5BVuIv4t8&t=59s) back up to the beginning. ---
**Author:** ![EinsteinsHund](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/einsteinshund/32/8400_2.png) [@EinsteinsHund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EinsteinsHund)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2026, 8:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strangest-musical-double-bill-youve-seen/1030481/54 "2026-05-30T20:42:57Z")
> [@Joey\_P](#): > > When I saw David Bowie, his opening act was Macy Gray. I saw Bowie as the top act on a bill with Apollo 440, Rage Against The Machine and The Prodigy in 1997. I was still quite young and got exhausted enough by the opening acts that Bowie’s gig became a haze and I don’t remember much of it. Btw., after the concert, I and three friends slept in my tiny Nissan Micra at the parking lot of the Westfalenhalle, Dortmund, Germany. ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2026, 8:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strangest-musical-double-bill-youve-seen/1030481/55 "2026-05-30T20:43:40Z")
I went to an _Empire of the Sun_ show, and Luke Steele’s father was the opening act. Just this old dude with an acoustic guitar and Luke came out now and then and helped out. Long ago, I got free tickets to a show. _Combustible Edison_ was the opener. They were so weird I don’t even remember who was the headliner. ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2026, 8:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strangest-musical-double-bill-youve-seen/1030481/56 "2026-05-30T20:49:20Z")
> [@Telemark](#): > > The Polyphonic Spree I love The Spree! A few now famous folks came through that mess. Saw them on (I think) Austin City Limits and they had some pretty funny stories about touring with 25+ people. One time they lost track at a Truck Stop and left someone behind. He had to hitch-hike to the next gig! ---
**Author:** ![XOldiesJock](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/ec9cab/32.png) [@XOldiesJock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/XOldiesJock)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2026, 12:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strangest-musical-double-bill-youve-seen/1030481/57 "2026-05-31T00:43:07Z")
I saw the Doobie Brothers as the opening act for the Beach Boys. They were barely known at that point and few people had ever heard of them. Not long after that they released “Toulouse Street,” the album that really put them on the map. The Beach Boys were still trying to break out of their old image around that time. (Their “Holland” LP had just been released.) I interviewed Carl Wilson and he told me they preferred playing their new music over the Oldies. They played songs from that album to lukewarm reaction. But when they launched into “Surfin’ USA” the atmosphere totally changed and the crowd really warmed up. ---
**Author:** ![Horatio\_Hellpop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e5b9ba/32.png) [@Horatio\_Hellpop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatio_Hellpop)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2026, 6:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strangest-musical-double-bill-youve-seen/1030481/58 "2026-05-31T06:57:14Z")
I saw Violent Femmes and Ice T in 1993 or 94. I think this was at Georgetown University, but it could have been at U. of Maryland. (House of Pain was supposed to be on the bill with them, but they dropped out.) Not really “Weird” weird, I just didn’t think their fan bases overlapped. No DC radio station I was aware of played both acts. I also saw the Rolling Stones’ _Voodoo Lounge_ tour. Counting Crows opened for them. Despite their flash-in-the-pan nature, Counting Crows’ debut album was outselling _Voodoo Lounge_ by about 20 to one at that point. ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2026, 8:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strangest-musical-double-bill-youve-seen/1030481/59 "2026-07-08T08:02:48Z")
> [@Treppenwitz](#): > > So you could view this as The Police opening for a poet When I saw Eugene Mirman do his standup show in 2017 or so, his opening act was a poet. Free verse. He was reading from a copy of his book, with pre-recorded musical accompaniment. I barely recall any of his material, except that after he’d concluded his first poem, which was about a drunken seduction in a hotel room late at night, the entire audience applauded, to which he responded “Ha! I bet you thought I was gonna suck ass!” I will now attempt to present, in text, his closing number; (Ambient beach sounds) _I swore that I would always love you Yes, I swore that I would always love you But I would also love a sandwich But you can’t fuck a sandwich …or can you?_ (Rock guitar riff) _JESUS DIED ON ACCIDENT!_ ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2026, 3:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strangest-musical-double-bill-youve-seen/1030481/60 "2026-07-08T15:50:18Z")
I saw the Beach Boys around that time. They had Blondie Chaplin and Ricky Fataar in the band, making them sound rich and full. Brian made a surprise appearance and sang “Caroline, No” to huge applause. The opening act was Britain’s The Incredible String Band. I liked them but they were essentially unknown in America, had bad sales, and were on the verge of breaking up. Why they were on the Beach Boys tour is baffling. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strangest-musical-double-bill-youve-seen/1030481.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strangest-musical-double-bill-youve-seen/1030481.md?page=4)