Before they were famous

[Somewhat Damaged]

Which bands have you seen in a small, intimate venue before anyone gave a shit about them or knew who they were?

For me, the only one I've got is MGMT at Club Congress (Tucson, AZ) back in February 2006. The lineup was MGMT, Grand Buffet, and Of Montreal, playing in that order. I remember especially liking "Electric Feel," so much so that I wrote it down in my daily planner to remind myself to try to find it to download on-line. I even overheard a guy in the bar area talking about how that was a new song of theirs, that they'd just recently started playing it live.

Who do ya got?

[TeamCoachellaHellYeah]

System Of A Down opening for Primus at the HOB back in 1997...

Interpol back during their 1st tour..saw them at the huntridge in Vegas and the venue was so small I acutally sat on the stage with them...Ratatat was the opener as well..

The Liars and The YYY opening for JSBX at the HOB in 2002...2 of the best openers EVER...

more as I think of them...

[MeowMixer]

onerepublic before Be Your Own Pet at Coach '06. They sucked then too.

[frozen pilgrim]

heh does MMJ count? I saw them this spring at a small club.

I dunno about before they were famous, but I've been lucky to see a couple bigger bands at smaller venues. mudvayne, fresh off rock am ring, played this tiny fucking 400 person club for their biggest fans. saw queens of the stone age in a live TV studio setting, that was pretty awesome

[Pixiessp]

I saw Radiohead in 93 when they opened for PJ Harvey. It was somewhere in LA. Cannot recall the venue. I am not or was not very familiar with LA venues back then.

[faxman75]

What's famous? Pre Arena? Pre theater? I've seen tons of bands 1000 person clubs before they got real big. Hole probably right when Live through this came out. I watched Veruca salt go from a rising popular chicago band to a national band. Saw Weezer a bunch of times at club shows when the Blue album first came out. Live and Counting Crowes before they started doing stadiums. Tori Amos, Oh Bjork was a great one. Saw her when Debut came out at a tiny club in chicago called the Park West, it held about 600 people I Think, same with Aimee Mann. They both went solo right around the same time and I saw them a week apart. Damn I miss living in Chicago where there was great shows every weekend. Beck at the Metro in Chicago right when Odelay came out.

[bleep]

MMJ opening for the Doves in '02 @ the Mayan (Quaid was still part of the band then, very nice to look at)

one gig w/ both the Decemberists and Okkervil River @ the Glasshouse in '05

and though this doesn't qualify as a small, intimate venue, i did see Coldplay for my first and only time in the pre-Gwyneth days at the Berkeley Greek in '02 - LP #2 had just been released and they seemed genuinely surprised that they were playing before a large crowd

[zenidogx]

Gnarls Barkley in the Gobi Tent.
MGMT opening for of Montreal

nothing fancy.
this sounds like a thread for Bmack

[zenidogx]

one gig w/ both the Decemberists and Okkervil River @ the Glasshouse in '05

nice

[bmack86]

I saw Kings of Leon at the Roxy. They had booked that tour, and then got asked to open for U2, but they kept their club dates.

I saw Autolux opening for Ambulance LTD. at a cafeteria in Davis. I saw M.I.A. open for LCD Soundsystem at the El Rey. Vampire Weekend at the Echo.

[woogie846]

MGMT for Of Montreal.

I saw Black Mountain a while back when they just had their self-titled out.

[captncrzy]

I saw Guns N Roses right after Appetite for Destruction was released at the Celebrity Theatre in Phoenix. It's a 3000 person venue. Axl threw a tantrum.

[suprefan]

Muse at the Wiltern is a good one, that ws in 2004.

[miscorrections]

one gig w/ both the Decemberists and Okkervil River @ the Glasshouse in '05

I was at that show. Okkervil River were terrible.

[bmack86]

There's probably quite a few bands that i've seen this year that are going to be big in a few. Seems like anyways.

I saw Jay Reatard as a fourth bill at the Echo, and saw Fujiya and Miyagi at Spaceland

[miscorrections]

Do Tilly And The Wall count? I saw them back at some church during high school opening for Pedro The Lion. I left after Tilly.

Also Calexico back in 04 or 05.

[faxman75]

I saw Guns N Roses right after Appetite for Destruction was released at the Celebrity Theatre in Phoenix. It's a 3000 person venue. Axl threw a tantrum.

Awesome!

[suprefan]

Queens of the Stone Age opening for Rage Against the Machine in 1999...

[Somewhat Damaged]

Do Tilly And The Wall count?

If you're askin' me, uh, sure. There really aren't any rules to this. The only thing is, you can't cite something like Radiohead on this In Rainbows tour and use that as your example. Dig?

[boarderwoozel3]

I saw Guns N Roses right after Appetite for Destruction was released at the Celebrity Theatre in Phoenix. It's a 3000 person venue. Axl threw a tantrum.

Nice. Did they shower people on the barrier with cocaine and Jack Daniels?

[captncrzy]

No, but if I remember right, they all had bottles. Right around what was supposed to be the end of the show, Axl hit his lip on the microphone, threw it down, and stormed off stage. The rest of the band finished whatever song it was, and then Slash announced "well, I guess that's it. thanks."

[bleep]

I was at that show. Okkervil River were terrible.

Sheff was squeaky. but the band had a quirky and adorable attitude to them,
especially Sheff, and this won me over.

Interpol in '03 @ Coachella's Outdoor Stage - sure, not an intimate venue
but most of the day's attendees were at RHCP, Fischerspooner, or dancing
in the tents during their slot. i was obsessed w/ TOTBL back then so
their performance that night was particularly memorable for me, despite
the set's brevity (they only had one album) and their obvious tiredness
(they had just flown in from Paris where they had played a gig on the SAME
date).

[bmack86]

I saw Deerhunter opening for Ponys at the Echo. That was a really cool show. And now they're doing the El Rey. Also, saw Devendra Banhart at Arthurfest with very few people before he put out Cripple Crow.

[boarderwoozel3]

No, but if I remember right, they all had bottles. Right around what was supposed to be the end of the show, Axl hit his lip on the microphone, threw it down, and stormed off stage. The rest of the band finished whatever song it was, and then Slash announced "well, I guess that's it. thanks."

Classic. After watch one of those VH1 behind the music things on them, I was baffled they're all still alive. What are the odds? Not in their favor, thats for damn sure.

[suprefan]

If you're askin' me, uh, sure. There really aren't any rules to this. The only thing is, you can't cite something like Radiohead on this In Rainbows tour and use that as your example. Dig?

It woudl have to be more like Radiohead at The Palace back in 1995 or something...

[Sonicifyouwantit]

radiohead, national, tv on the radio, coldplay...I'm sure there is more.

[fiyahhh!]

I saw Ryan Adams twice when he was in Whiskeytown. First time was at Slim's and the second was at the Fillmore where he had a drunken meltdown and threw his monitor off the front of the stage. The show ended early, so my friends and I went across the street to the Boom-Boom-Room. Low and behold, Ryan and Mike Daly (their keyboard/lap steel player at the time) come stumbling in. We talked to Mike for a little while, but Ryan was too drunk to carry a conversation.

Does seeing the Killers open for Stellastarr* count?

[fiyahhh!]

Neko Case at the Bottom of the Hill.
Tegan and Sara at the Bottom of the Hill.

[Somewhat Damaged]

radiohead, national, tv on the radio, coldplay...I'm sure there is more.

Care to give specific dates and/or venues? I can list off a bunch of names, too. Bob Dylan, Nirvana, Velvet Underground, Iggy and the Stooges...see?

[roberto73]

Coldplay at the Mayan in February (?) 2001. No fancy lighting, no elaborate stage show, just a yellow globe like the cover of Parachutes. It was a pretty great show.