Mismatched Bills?
Monday, July 12, 2010 at 12:01AM Ever see a show and think "Man, this a mismatched bill?"
Consider this: I interviewed both Steve Blaze and Ronny Munroe about the "new" Lillian Axe last week. Toward the end of the conversation, Blaze casually slips in that Lillian will be touring with Enuff Z'nuff this September. I was more than taken aback. I dig both Lillian Axe and Enuff Z'nuff but I would never in a million years have put them together on a bill. Still, I think it could be cool. Plus, the bands have two different fan bases, so the exposure factor could be good. Of course, some pairings might not work. I was trying to think of a historic, mismatched bill, but couldn't. But I know you can. So, share your stories. Ever attend a crazy, mismatched bill? How was the crowd reaction?
By the way, both Lillian Axe and Enuff Z'nuff are playing Rock n' America in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma next weekend but that show isn't part of the tour. Lillian Axe will also still be fronted by Derrick LeFevre at Rock n' America...Ronny Munroe takes over in August. My Lillian Axe interview will post soon on Noisecreep.
Reader Comments (27)
I also had the opportunity to see the end of Alice In Chains' set opening up on the Clash of the Titans tour. The 3 headliners (Anthrax, Megadeth, Slayer) rotated slots on every night of the tour, and the first band up in Lakeland, FL was Slayer! That was an interesting 1-2 punch with AIC, then Slayer.
But nothing could top the juxtaposition of Crosby, Stills & Nash, followed by Nine Inch Nails at Woodstock '94 in NY. I was there, and it was a great weekend with various styles of music. This back-to-back pairing was the strangest of them all though, and yet the crowd seemed to love both CSN and NIN!
I had the fortune and misfortune to witness it.
Fortunate because both acts on the bill were awesome, unfortunate, because it underscored the racial divide in this country and intolerance or lack of desire of people to listen to music they do not personally appreciate or have preconcieved notions about. The show, and the issues it raised, was widely covered in The New York Times and New York Times as well as local NYC television news.
Just Google it as it was one of the biggest fiascos in the history of concerts going.
Public Enemy played first so when Sisters of Mercy (check 'em out on YouTube and Wikipedia, if you've never heard of of heard 'em) went on 90% of the audience left and tht left the singer cursing the record label and ultimately led to them leaving that label. It's notorious in the annals of rock concert promotion partly due to Public Enemy's high profile at the time and the fact that the show was put on at Radio City Music Hall in NYC. Read about it! It's totally crazy!
One show I saw (and have written about before on here) that sounds like a natch was actually a total mismatch, IMHO.
I saw The Black Crowes open for Junkyard at the Cat Club in NYC around 1990. Everyone showed up for Black Crowes because they just started getting MTV and Radio play for "Too Hot Too Handle".
Some people left after the Crowes (Man, is Rich Robinson annoying but Chris is cool) but most stayed and believe me, they were not disappointed. Junkyard made The Black Crowes look like their bellhops. Totally destroyed the place! Total mayhem!
The D.C. Punks showed up (because of the guitarists' stints in D.C. classic straight edge punk outfits like Dag Nasty) and started stage diving and moshing to one of the greatest bands of our era.
The lead singer, David Roach, in the midst of all "the destruction" and surveying the carnival of carnage from the comfort of the suddenly bouncer laden stage was seated relaxed on the drum riser with a Budweiser in one hand and a beer in the other while the guitarists proceeded to conduct dual lead pyrotechnics ad infinitum.
Roach casually remarked between beer swigs as he watched the stage diving olympics going on before him, "Yep. Just good people having a good time."
They wiped the stage with The Black Crowes and will go down in my book as one of the best shows I've ever seen! (By the way, Roach could have replaced Vince Neil as lead singer of Motley Crue when Neil quit if they had been looking for a clone, since Roach not only sounded just like him but looked a helluva lot like him, at least back then. The only difference is, Roach kept his looks, hahaha!!!
Another crazy bill I saw was Cheap Trick, The Pointer Sisters, Chuck Mangione and The Rembrants, hahaha!!!
It was a benefit to raise money for a park and pond for Naples Community Hospital in Naples, Florida, sponsored by the owner of Tommy Bahama in honor of his wife whose dying wish list included throwing this concert and specifically requested these bands on the bill, as they were her favorites.
How cool, but out of the blue, that she had Cheap Trick on the list, but maybe not so much, when you think about their later AORish material of the late 80's/ early 90's on their second go around with the original line-up.
Needless to say, Cheap Trick was the headlining final act on the bill and believe me, they tore the sky off the outdoor festival which was played right in the middle of the street in downtown Naples.
But before they did Chuck Mangione played his FM Lite set.
Cheap Trick then took the stage with their classic and blistering intro number, "Hello There" originally off their second album, "In Color" and made famous on 1979's multiplatinum hit album, "At Budokan".
At the conclusion of the song, Rick Neilsen, lead guitarist and resident smart a*s, says, "Incidentally, we are not Chuck Mangione."
They then launched into "Baby Loves To Rock"...
Classic!
The Clash, Enuff Z'Nuff and Art of Noise are all cool, too, guys, c'mon. "Can't we all just get along?" Except for Anthrax! Argh! And Slayer! Barf! Seen 'em both during their heyday, too. What garbage!
As far as tours go:
guns n roses/cKy/mixmaster mike
Def Leppard and Bryan Adams
Heart and Cinderella are joining forces on August 21st in Little Rock.
Guns N Roses/Soundgarden
Neil Young/Pearl Jam
Metallica/Candlebox
ICP/Coolio/Kittie
Blind Melon/Eric Hutchinson
U2/Kanye West
Slipknot/coheed and cambria
Metallica/Kid Rock/System of a Down
Primus/Limp Bizkit