Yr best & worst support-band experiences,please, folks

best: hey, Sonic Youth get blown away by support-act shocker ;) This time 1990 by Babes in Toyland. Didn't have any clue who they where at the time. Girl in red dress carrying too big a guitar walks to microphone. She obviously hasn't slept in days, looks like she's on heroin. Opens mouth: starts screaming song after song. Mouths drop wide open. Sonic Youth were so...passe after that ;)

Good: GYBE! opening for Sonic Youth (I see a pattern), the Shins (Modest Mouse), Cibo Matto (Beck), Spiritualized (Radiohead), Low + Labradford (GYBE!).

Bad: Stereolab (Sonic Youth. Hey, they're better than someone), Teenage Fanclub (Radiohead), Atari Teenage Riot no-showing and the Cardigans playing an extended set instead (Beck), Biz Markie "DJing" (Beastie Boys).

Sonic Youth must've learnt their lesson - saw them last year supported by Porcupine Tree, a jaw-droppingly dire mod-prog outfit. The Yoof did a greatest hits set and rocked the house...

Worst -- oh god, the memories. Okay, most inappropriate, without question -- some bunch of art-industrial fuckups called Tunnelmental who opened for Mark Burgess and the Sons of God in the mid-nineties. Jesus Christ. If I had had rocks, they would have been thrown.

Other bad ones: Starsailor supporting Angelica. Almost every band to have supported David Devant ever except Ricky Spontane. YY28s/Dum Dums supporting My Life Story

Good ones: Marine Research supporting godawful Venini. Marine Research supporting Quasi Mark Eitzel supporting Divine Comedy (Neil Hannon appearing embarrased at the order of the bill) Stars supporting Baxendale

Of course, there should really be a full stop between 'Quasi' and 'Mark Eitzel' because other wise it's almost as if I'm making some dig at Mark Eitzel

I still remember the feeling of pure exhileration when then played 'Striped White Jets' and 'Motor Away' The sullen Pulp Fiction fans didn't have a clue what was going on, as all the GBV fans floated far above them on waves of rock-out bliss.

Apparently, GBV got beat up after the show by Urges roadies who were afraid that Pollards drunken antics would damage their equipment or something. The guy in the cloak room told me this as I was leaving, so take it with a grain of salt.

Oh, by the way, what is Urge Overkill up to lately?

GBV!

Bad: there are no bad supporting acts for without them I wouldn't have time to get drunk for the main event. Let all of Christendom hear me speak!

Pinefox, in that case why were you at ATP?

I'm not saying this in some sort of snide or sarcastic way, I'm just wondering why you spent your time and energy on ATP if you disliked so many of the bands appearing there. Or was it a case where you weren't familiar with the most of the bands' music until then?

I have seen so many terrible support acts no single one even springs to mind. Most of them stand out as being so terrible, it's remarkable when I do actually see a good one.

The worst, the absolute WORST was MTV personality Jesse Camp who opened for Alice Cooper. What crack smoking, cock choaking record producer thought it was a financial move to hook this moron up with a contract? Awful on stage banter, awful songs, awful singing. No one applauded after the first song, by the second he was getting heckled and he had no good comebacks. Did i mention it sucked?

Why was I at ATP?

April 2000: was playing at a pre-ATP event and a spot came up the night before, to hang around with a bunch of Scots. It seemed like an adventure. Awfulness of the bands didn't detract much from the overall fun. Thus, went in 2001 too. Didn't think the line-up could get any worse: it did. But, not to be underestimated: the grim pleasure of realizing how godawful contemporary bands are.

Bests: Pixies B4 Muses, Ultra Vivid Scene AND Pixies before Mary Chain, Pulp before St Etienne, Pavement before Sonic Youth (and me 'n' Huggy Bear before that), Stereo Total before Nick Currie (who was also good, but then they ARE the best band in the world), Cornershop before Blur. Nirvana before basically everyone.

Worsts: Phranc before Smiths, anyone before Prince, anyone before The Cure, anyone before Orbital.

Worst: Arab On Radar made complete fools of themselves opening for Melt-Banana. They tried so hard to be tough, difficult, abraisive, and looked like a bunch of underpaid civil servants throwing a tantrum. Then Melt Banana came on and made them look even worse by playing one of the better sets I've ever seen.

Yeah, I forgot about that one. But when I saw them, it was the other way round. Momus opened for Stereo Total. Not sure if they're the best band in the world but they are pretty damned cool.

I lived for two years with an OCS poster in my front room and I didn't once even try tearing it down.

Bad: Coil before Sonic Youth (same gig as above), 45-60-75 before Pere Ubu.

Pinefox, that was Papa M not Sigur Ros at ATP 2000.

Worst: The Legend supporting Beat Happening in Edinburgh was a fairly clear case of moving from the ridiculous to the sublime.

As you may have guessed, I too like Ocean Colour Scene.

ed harcourt opening for the doves

of arrowe hill opening for cosmic rough riders..

I like it when thought goes into the bill and teh support act isnt an afterthought...

I, as well, enjoyed Ocean Colour Scene's proper first album (Mosley Schoals) went a bit wrong after that.

But I agree with Alex about Teenage Fanclub supporting Radiohead, although this had something to do with the venue I think - the Fannies sounded kinda wimpy and lost playing "the Concept" in the Birmingham NEC.

the second album rockedlikeasumofabitch with dub sound effects.

Mouse on Mars supporting Stereolab. Both bands were great, and it was just a thoroughly enjoyable night all round.

I saw a bunch of metal bands in the '80's, and they would invariably have a desperately awful & hard to endure support. I can't remember any names though...

the first album was fay, twee and light weight baggy/shoegazing music.

Excuse me. The correct spelling there is fey. Please don't bring my name into any discussions of ocean colour scene, thank you very much.

xoxo

baffled silence from thee north east ov england

faint sound ov head being scratched....

xoxo

Please ignore it's lack of sleep/drunken argument/big brother doing my head in.

here is another one:

went to see cosmic rough riders and really enjoyed of arrowe hill.

the worse was seeing the verve in 1995 and having to sit through change of heart (predictable canada husker du cover band).

Best support acts:

My Bloody Valentine supporting the Mary Chain (it was Rollercoaster, MBV were so good I walked out because the J&MC couldn't beat them)

A Guy Called Gerald supporting A Certain Ratio, 1988, Sheffield Leadmill. So groovy that the audience got them back on stage to play "Born in the North", which they'd performed on Tony Wilson's TV show the week before.

Broadcast supporting Stereolab, 1997. A perfect combination.

Submarine supporting Moose, 1994. From loud angst to gentle happiness in one gig.

Tse Tse Fly / Moonshake supporting the Wedding Present, 1992. Moonshake were awesome, and their intro tape of "Rucksack" (Kraftwerk) and "Negativland" (Neu!) was cool too.

Slowdive supporting Ride, 1991. Another perfect combination.

Worst support acts:

Edward Barton supporting Stump - 1988. For those of you who don't know who Ed is / was (is he still around?), he was an Mancunian legend who basically made his own instruments out of wood, beat himself over the head and sang songs about chickens or something. Used to appear on the Tube from time to time. Also wrote the aforementioned "Born in the North". Also designed the infamous James t-shirt with the name spread across the sleeves. Basically his act that night was to be abused by the audience and shout about gob boxes.

Kerbdog supporting the Posies, 1996. Kerbdog were an Irish grunge band who were crap. But the funniest thing was the audience completely ignoring them and staying as far from the stage as possible, except for three kids who were moshing furiously into each other in front of the stage. Hilarious.

i agree with pinefox papa m's only decent tune when i saw them open for stereolab was a cover of a byrds song, how sad.

everyone who ever had anything to do with slint really should be shot has there been any other band that has inspired more misery than them, not likely.

Best: surprisingly Kings of Convenience

Best support act/s (maybe best line up):

Stereolab/Drive Like Jehu/Prolapse/Flying Saucer Attack, Camden Electric Ballroom, London, 12th July 1994

tUnE-yArDs supporting Dirty Projectors in Whelans in 2009. Two incredible performances.

Chrome Hoof supporting SunnO))) at Jarvis cockers meltdown in the royal festival hall.

Best not worst.

Centro-matic opened for the Afghan Whigs on a few dates when they got back together, and it was the best Centro-matic show I saw. I think there was a bit of a band there, Afghan Whigs certainly returned the favor.

Like whoever is opening for Yo La Tengo is my worst-whatever leg I seem to catch them on the opener is invariably Happy Flowers or similar.