How it gets set up also depends on whether it’s a concert series rather than a tour; many towns in Spain have concert series during their fiestas, some in the week or weeks prior. Those are set up by city hall: multi-act sets will be set by similarity. Sometimes the performer that goes last is unknown to the majority of the locals but it’s a Big Name within that particular kind of music, whereas the people performing first are much better known locally.
In festival or mega-tour shows with more than two bands, the last one performing isn’t necessarily meant to be the climax; they could be the ‘cool down’ after the highlight. Having the ‘biggest’ band play next-to-last also spreads out the departing crowd some. Alternatively, Big Name may have just decided they wanted to get the gig done and split, so they picked their own spot.
Back in 1998 I missed the first 15 minutes of Pere Ubu’s set because I had barely heard of Yo La Tengo and still can’t believe they were the headliners!
Is a Foreigner song.
I saw Tina Turner and Elton John in concert. A lot of people left after Tina performed. Elton did not look happy that night and did not do any encores.
That doesn’t sound too crazy to me. '94-'95 seemed (at least to me) to be the peak for Offspring, although I guess the follow-up to Smash did well. At any rate, I was a sophomore in college at the time, and you just couldn’t get away from that damn album. And, I’m ashamed to admit, the only thing I knew of Iggy Pop at the time was that “Candy” song. I rectified that situation in the following years, but I think among young people, The Offspring had better name recognition than Iggy Pop.
This summer Earth, Wind and Fire opened for someone I can’t remember (and my Google skills are weak because I can’t find who.) and I was like “Whoa! That’s backwards.”
Last summer Pet Shop Boys opened for Take That’s reunion tour. (Ouch!)
Earlier this year One Direction were the opening act for Big Time Rush, which are a Nickelodeon boy band (not to take anything away from Big Time Rush; they’re very talented and pretty much a cash cow for the channel judging from the couple shows I’ve been to. And Logan and Kendall are good huggers. [My contribution to the “cool story, bro” category]). 1D were already HUGE on the internet before their album even being released in the states. As I was filing into the venue some little girl was whining to her mom “Why do we have to watch the opening act?” and I thought “You are going to feel like an idiot in two months when when they explode everywhere.” Which they did.
Interesting point.
It also depends on the target audience demographics as well. This summer I went to a multi-act concert show put on by a happening radio station geared towards people much much younger than my friend and I who attended. I wanted to see The Wanted and convinced him to come along because Maroon 5 was also playing. Most of the stuff was like “Gym Class Heroes” (I think is their name) where we were like “OK, let’s go get a drink.” We got in late and I honestly didn’t know what point The Wanted would be playing and was relieved to see we didn’t miss them, though they only sang 4 songs. My friend was like “Now we only have to sit through Wiz Khalifa to get to Maroon 5.” And I said “I would assume Wiz will be closing?” He was baffled by that and sure enough Maroon 5 followed The Wanted and Wiz closed and the crabby middle-aged white people skipped out of the arena ahead of the crowds and there was a Taco Bell truck giving out free tacos outside. “Everything went better than expected!”
My favorite opening act is Hendrix opened for the Monkees and the crowd was giving him the usual lack of respect opening acts get.
I don’t believe you read your own link Stu.
You’re right. My bad. So conditioned to seeing the DAR story that I zigged when I should have zagged.
More to the point, Bruce Springsteen was scheduled to open for Anne Murray in 1974. Midway through Springsteen’s set, it became obvious that the crowd wasn’t there to see the Canadian songstress, and she wisely left before her set.
This makes zero sense to me. The Offspring at the time would have been touring on a massive hit record and multiple alt-rock radio hits, whereas Iggy hadn’t released an album in two years, and that album, [i[American Caesar*, hadn’t even charted. Why would he have been the headliner? A year later, Rancid might’ve been the star act.
Was this show the Rock For Choice Benefit Concert at the Hollywood Palladium on December 8, 1995 by any chance? It’s amazing what the internet can tell you!
They probably had better name recognition with older people too. I mean, Iggy is a legendary figure in punk, but his closest brush with superstardom was probably when they used “Lust for Life” in those cruise commercials.
As others have said, it seems pretty likely that The Offspring were intended to be the headliners.
No cite, but I remember reading a quote from Iggy Pop where he said that he always seemed to be second on the bill…but that he’d continued to hold his place as second on the bill for decades, while some of the headliners he’d played with in years past (he specifically mentioned Bread) have faded away.
No, The Who is on first.
Do you remember who did the rock band version of “Who’s on First”? I haven’t heard that one since the heydays of Dr. Demento.
The one I remember would have been from the 70s. The bands included The Who, Guess Who, Yes, and a few others I can’t remember.
Simon Townshend once opened for The Who (the opening act got stuck in a snowstorm), so it was a case of part of The Who opening for The Who.
Yeah, like others this one doesn’t surprise me. While I would have been there primarily for Iggy, The Offspring were big back then ( never much of a fan myself - good with the catchy hooks, but kinda seemed a self-parody of a punk band at times ).
Similarily I remember a show where Pere Ubu were opening for a ( I think ) Bossanova-era Pixies. Seemed slightly heretical and a local music critic mused on whether the Pixies felt a little embarrassed in that scenario. But even in the rarefied world of college radio the Pixies were undeniably a bigger band than cult faves Pere Ubu, despite the latter’s seniority ( I love both ).