Opening Act Joys

Last night my band was opening for a band that put out many hits back in the late 60's and into the 70's hint: (Jeremiah Was a Bullfrog) ring a bell to you older guys.

We were told to be there by 5:00 for a sound check. Gates open at 7:00, sold out show, we go on at 8:00 sharp to 8:45.

I guess there was some power issues not to mention that the headliner brought in their own sound engineer. They did not get their sound check done until 7:45, now they throw us up on stage as they open the gates and tell us, "just start playing and be off by 8:40 or we pull the plug" So we are standing there on stage, nothing tested no vocal mics are working looking like the 5 Stooges up there, finally about 8:10 the mics kick in and off we go. I was told after the show that our mix was horrible. Not surprised at all. Total lack of respect if you ask me. We open up for lots of these older bands that in their day were super stars and this was the first time I really felt like a peasant.

After we finish we are so rushed off the stage stuff is flying everywhere, I get off to the side off the stage to see my Oak Customs sitting there and my floor tom tipped over on it's side. (little dent not through the finish, whew) I'm packing my stuff away in the dark and a few drop off rain hit me. Lucky for me there was a tarp handy.

I was pissed off big time being treated like that but what can you do? They had all those hits.

Sounds like a Three Dog Night, kind of night.

It's unfair to blame the band, they don't go around planning to make the opening spot miserable for everybody, even though "they had all those hits." As for the respect factor, that's mostly the headliner's crew and the local hands... not the artist.

Power problems happen, and are a key factor in being able to put on the show. When things get screwed up as they often do, people get frazzled, and the artists - openers and headliners - have to roll with those punches if it involves them.

Sorry it wasn't a happy experience though, I'm sure most such gigs heve been pretty smooth.

Bermuda

Bermuda, you are right. This has been the first time something like this has happened and I do understand that things do go wrong and we need to make the best of it and go on with the show. My feelings were not directed at the sound crew or the headliners. It was more at how it made us look in the eyes and ears of the audience, and that is who we are playing for.

From the sound companies people they were blaming it on both the power issue and the headliners engineer. I do understand that being an employee of the headliner he had his priorities.

I just needed a forum to vent.

basically what i have learned is this, its your set, and they need you, maybe not as much as the headliner, but they need you there. just look at them, tell them "hey, we need to soundcheck, and if we dont, this isn't going to sound good, im sorry you all are having problems, but i take this seriously and i dont want to go on without being ready"

Well, trust me on this, any of that is better than being boo'ed off stage.

But, How'd the show go?
Did you guys at least put on a good performace, even though the lack of good sound?

We had them standing and dancing midway through the set so that was good. Maybe these people were loaded

2bsticks said:

We had them standing and dancing midway through the set so that was good. Maybe these people were loaded

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Yeah well, even if the sound sucked at least you know you put on a good show and got the crowd into it. That's all that really matters.

The thing is, if you had the exact same scenario in the future, is there anything that could have been done to get you a proper sound check? It doesn't sound like it. Perhaps you could have asked over the mic for that what you needed, it would have been not the most pro thing to do, but in that case, I would have asked for what I wanted.

I used to play with a hip hop group and we opened up for tons of big name rap artists and halfway through our set we would be stealing the show and the headliners manager would ALWAYS get our set cut short. They would say "so and so" is ready to go on now!

The worst part about it is then they would always pull the guns n roses style hour long wait for them to take the stage. Very few of those headliners could work the crowd up because we had a live backing band and they just had d.j.S

I used to get mad about getting cut off but now I don't care anymore. I get paid the same.

I also don't play hip hop very much anymore either.

We were limited as to what and when we could do anything. They would not let us on the stage until all the the headliners gear and mics were tested. Then when we were finally able to take the stage we just had to deal with it. As soon as a vocal mic was ready off we went.

It's over it now and I moved on. Just back from another gig this afternoon that went off well so I feel better We had a good laugh about it today. You know what they say "It is what it is"

Just another gig tale. They are interesting though. Exposes the hardships that bands have to endure, and it's recorded for posterity which is kinda cool.

i did a show back in 1986 with Three Dog Night. just us opening and then them. nice guys and the show happened with no problems whatsoever.

undeadfred1 said:

basically what i have learned is this, its your set, and they need you, maybe not as much as the headliner, but they need you there. just look at them, tell them "hey, we need to soundcheck, and if we dont, this isn't going to sound good, im sorry you all are having problems, but i take this seriously and i dont want to go on without being ready"

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There's a 'food chain' in putting on concerts, and local openers are in no position to suggest that their needs be met. I'm not saying they don't have needs - I'm saying that they shouldn't say so. Promoters who supply local openers don't want to hear from the tour manager that the opening band made even the smallest demands when there were problems, and the promoter will likely not bring that band in again.

As for the headliner needing an opener, it's more of an added value for the audience, than something that directly helps the headliner. Headliners who play longer generally don't have an opener, because they audience gets a sufficiently long show.

This has nothing to do with respect, or how big or small the headliner is, when they were popular, the size of the venue, or how experienced the opener is. It's just the typical protocol among touring bands who have local bands open. When things go smoothly, everybody's happy. But when there's a glitch, the last thing the stage manager needs to hear is that the opening band is taking a stand, however well-meaning the band is about it.

Things are different when the headliner 'carries' the opener, and the same crew handles both acts.

Fortunately, there are very few horror stories compared the number of bands who have a great time and get to play for big crowds.

Bermuda

I would say even worse than opening is being between the opener and the headliner. Often times you have to go with the opening band's levels to start out; you don't get very much set-up OR teardown time; and unless your set is completely on that night, you start to see the audience get restless, go take a long smoke break, waiting until the headliners come on...

bermuda said:

There's a 'food chain' in putting on concerts, and local openers are in no position to suggest that their needs be met. I'm not saying they don't have needs - I'm saying that they shouldn't say so. Promoters who supply local openers don't want to hear from the tour manager that the opening band made even the smallest demands when there were problems, and the promoter will likely not bring that band in again.

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Yes, it's the price you pay for exposure. Trouble is, that can work against you if your sound is awful, especially the onstage sound so you can't hear what's going on. As I said on another thread, the crew of one Top 40 band we supported left the PA howling with low end feedback through our entire set. Another time, another band, the foldback was so bad I couldn't hear my toms or cymbals, the snare drum was of moderate volume and the kick drum deafening. It was disrespectful towards both us and the audience, who had to sit through that gumph.

I guess if you want to make a living out of music you have to put up with unreasonable crap along with the good things, as in any other job. I always preferred playing residencies in small bars to "prestigious" supports. Not great for $$ or prospects but MUCH more fun!

Grace Under Pressure...Controlled Chaos ...Never let-em see ya sweat...Good story! Thx for sharing .

2bsticks that is the classic tale. Hehehe!

If it makes you feel better, maybe 2 people in the audience have any idea what is going on and what the stresses are. Maybe 1 person in the audience knows the difference between good sound and bad. If you put on a good show, the show will be good.

Recently my band was one of the 3 headline acts in a blues show. There were a few local acts opening the show. I was standing back with the sound guys watching one of the local acts and the manager/promoter for one of the other headliners came up. He told the sound guys "just make sure these guys don't sound as good as my guys."(referring to the band currently on stage) Thankfully the sound guys were a contracted local company having nothing to do with any of the headliners and the openers were not sabotaged.

So I really don't want to hear that headline acts who provide their own sound don't occasionally sabotage the openers. I have seen it happen COUNTLESS times. The opening band comes out and the sound is terrible. They are playing their butts off but they sound like ass. The kick drum is deafening, the vocals are too quiet, the bass overpowers everything, you can't hear the keyboard (the sound wasn't on to the keyboard) etc. Magically all of these problems disappear when the headline act takes the stage. It usually happens when the headliners are has-beens with little or no energy or chops left.

We're now getting to the point that we occasionally have an opening act. I have made it a personal goal to be sure that the openers at the very least get good sound.

2bsticks said:

Last night my band was opening for a band that put out many hits back in the late 60's and into the 70's hint: (Jeremiah Was a Bullfrog) ring a bell to you older guys...I was pissed off big time being treated like that but what can you do? They had all those hits.

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Three Dog Night... Well, just take comfort in the fact that Chuck Negron was a multi-millionaire who lost all his dough, 'cause he didn't know when to put down the dope.

Now, don't you feel much better??