Tuesday Top Ten: Opening acts

Last week’s stellar performance by Elvis Costello opening for The Police got me thinking about opening acts I’ve seen over the years. So, today’s Top Ten is a double list — the 10 best and the five worst.

Best opening acts:

  1. Elvis Costello (for The Police, 2008)– as I said, a stellar performance that was way too short.
  2. Lucinda Williams (for John Mellencamp, 2008) — another opener that was way too short. Like EC, Lucinda is not your traditional tour support.
  3. The Specials (for The Police, 1981) — a thrilling and chilling set that included an eery “Ghost Town.”
  4. Charlie Louvin (for Lucinda Williams, 2007) — even my wife was impressed by the country legend.
  5. The Smithereens (for Lou Reed, 1986) — a loud and rowdy set.
  6. Willie Nile (for Southside Johnny and the Asbury Jukes, 1980) — better than act two (Hall and Oates — see below)
  7. Joe Ely (for Tom Petty, 1981) — country and rockabilly cool.
  8. The Go-Gos (for The Police, 1981) — just plain fun.
  9. Joan Jett (for The Police, 1983) — a raucous set.
  10. The Romantics (for Gram Parker, 1982) — so good, I went to see them headline a week or so later in Philly.

Honorable mention: The Pretenders (for the Rolling Stones, 2002) — deserved better than an indifferent crowd; George Thorogood (for the Rolling Stones, 1981) — a good match for the greatest rock ‘n’ roll band in history; Northern State (for Cake, 2002) — imagine the Beastie Boys as women; Holly and the Italians (for The Ramones, 1981) — great stuff; Sloan (for Jet, 2001) — quite impressive; Heart (The Eagles, 1980) — hot show; The Greg Kihn Band (for The Cars, 1979) — may have been better than the rather static headliners.

Worst:

  1. Joe Marino and Mahogany Rush (for Kansas, 1978) — overall one of the worst concerts I’ve been to.
  2. Henry Paul Band (for Styx, 1980) — see preceding comment.
  3. Journey (for the Rolling Stones, 1981) — for some reason, Steve Perry thought it would be a smart move to thank the crowd for making the band the most popular rock band in America. The crowd responded with a well-deserved round of silence. Blecch.
  4. Little River Band — I saw them open for two different bands, Jimmy Buffett in 1977 and The Eagles in 1980, and they were as light and unnecessary as you might expect.
  5. Hall and Oates (for Southside Johnny and the Asbury Jukes, 1980) — this is an unfortunate one, because I like their early stuff and had seem them put on a good show in 1978.
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Author: hankkalet

Hank Kalet is a poet and freelance journalist. He is the economic needs reporter for NJ Spotlight, teaches journalism at Rutgers University and writing at Middlesex County College and Brookdale Community College. He writes a semi-monthly column for the Progressive Populist. He is a lifelong fan of the New York Mets and New York Knicks, drinks too much coffee and attends as many Bruce Springsteen concerts as his meager finances will allow. He lives in South Brunswick with his wife Annie.

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