The Best Opening Act You've Ever Seen

[KevShmev]

Eric Johnson opening up for Rush in 1991 was pretty great, although I have little memory of it.

Dixie Dregs on the Metropolis: 2000 tour were fantastic.

Cannot remember anything else right now.

I am obviously not counting concerts where there were co-headliners and someone had to go first (like when I saw ELP and Jethro Tull, Kansas and Styx, Yes and Styx). 

[bobs23]

Off hand
Fleetwood Mac (Rumors) opening for Jefferson Starship
Van Valen(VH) opening for Black Sabbath

[TAC]

I know someone that saw VH open for BS here, and by all accounts, VH killed them.

[Progmetty]

Crimson Projekct blew DT off the stage one night (though not the second). They really floored me.

+1

[Kwyjibo]

Not necessarily better than the main act but very good nonetheless:

Spock's Beard opening for Dream Theater on the Scenes tour.

Little Angels opening for Van Halen on the Balance tour.

Soundgarden and Faith No More opening for Guns 'n Roses on the UYI tour.

Mr. Big opening for White Lion on the Mane Attraction tour (although this was more a co-headlining tour).

[Zydar]

I haven't been to many concerts, but Opeth opening for Dream Theater on Progressive Nation '09 stands out for me (Bigelf and Unexpect were on the bill too).

[Prog Snob]

Dream Theater opening up for Yes.     Besides that, I guess seeing Jerry Cantrell open for..I think it was Metallica.

[mikeyd23]

DT opening for Iron Maiden.

Eric Johnson opening for Satch.

[NunoTenniscourt]

Def Leppard opening for Billy Squier, '83.

I seem to recall him expressing regret in an interview about having them open up for him back then. After the first night, he said something
along the lines of "I have to go onstage after THAT??" They were young, hungry, had something to prove, and women loved
them. So, it certainly made sense.

As for my pick, I am going with Savatage when they toured with Dio and Megadeth.

[bobs23]

I know someone that saw VH open for BS here, and by all accounts, VH killed them.

Killing them is a bit of an understatement. Back when VH was a young hungry band they were something to see.

[Stadler]

Yeah, Bon Jovi opening for the Scorps in 86 was a great opening act.

'84 bro.

I saw that tour as well.  Bon Jovi was really good. 

[ich bin besser]

Spock's Beard supporting DT in 2000 - didn't know them before, and after the gig, I had a new favorite band.
Enchant opening for Spock's Beard in 2003 - they blew the mighty SB away, had to admit...
Beardfish supporting The Tangent in 2008 - my first contact with Beardfish, and they became one of my favorite bands.
Lazuli opening for Riverside in 2008 - they blew me away (here with the old lineup).
iamthemorning before Gazpacho in 2015 - Marjana captured the audience within 30 seconds.
Project RnL opening for Ozric Tentacles in 2015 - that was fun!

Not really an opening act, but the second-to-last band at this year's Progressive Promotion Festival: Melanie Mau & Martin Schnella. What an awesome gig.

If I had to pick one of those, I'd say Lazuli. What an awesome live band.

[?]

Agent Fresco opening for Katatonia
Anathema opening for Dream Theater (kinda cheating because I was a fan already, but they were so good)
At the Hollow opening for Amorphis
Lucifer opening for Paradise Lost

[mike099]

Back in the 70's the major concert venue in Nashville, Tennessee was the municipal auditorium.  Basically, the building looks like a flying saucer.  The best concert I remember was Loverboy and Boston opening for ZZ Top.  Good times, from what I can remember.

[Lepprador]

Fates Warning for Dream Theater.

[TAC]

Yeah, Bon Jovi opening for the Scorps in 86 was a great opening act.

'84 bro.

I saw that tour as well.  Bon Jovi was really good.

Hell yes they were. I still vividly remember how awesome Get Ready was. Although I was familiar with Runaway, I literally bought their debut the next day.

As for my pick, I am going with Savatage when they toured with Dio and Megadeth.

I saw that tour as well. I thought Savatage were horrible and would make my list of Top 3 Worst Opening acts. Megadeth, on the other hand, was amazing.

[King Postwhore]

Roulette always sticks out from that concert Tim.

[Prog Snob]

As for my pick, I am going with Savatage when they toured with Dio and Megadeth.

I saw that tour as well. I thought Savatage were horrible and would make my list of Top 3 Worst Opening acts. Megadeth, on the other hand, was amazing.

Which tour was that for Savatage?

[TAC]

As for my pick, I am going with Savatage when they toured with Dio and Megadeth.

I saw that tour as well. I thought Savatage were horrible and would make my list of Top 3 Worst Opening acts. Megadeth, on the other hand, was amazing.

Which tour was that for Savatage?

I saw the opening night of the tour in Providence on 12-28-87. Mountain King, I believe.

[Prog Snob]

As for my pick, I am going with Savatage when they toured with Dio and Megadeth.

I saw that tour as well. I thought Savatage were horrible and would make my list of Top 3 Worst Opening acts. Megadeth, on the other hand, was amazing.

Which tour was that for Savatage?

I saw the opening night of the tour in Providence on 12-28-87. Mountain King, I believe.

Yeah, It would have to be Mountain King in 1987. I didn't see them for the first time until the Handful of Rain tour.

[TAC]

I just remember Jon Oliva stalking around the stage in a long purple robe. I've always described it as watching a possessed Barney. He actually looked just like this:

[Prog Snob]

Hmm...I have to see a photo of that.

[TAC]

@Stadler and Kingshmegland, speaking of the Scorps/BJ show, check out the Hard Rock Thread for a trip down memory lane.

[bosk1]

Motörhead and Y&T were semi-regular opening bands down here and were always fantastic.

Roudness

I'm having a hard time coming up with the "best," but I feel like I'm drawing a blank on some obvious choices.  But here are some honorable mentions:

-Warrant opening for Britny Fox.  Warrant were unknowns at the time.  Their first album had not yet dropped.  But they were about to become huge and the label knew it and was trying to get them out on the road and get exposure.  They had a TON of energy, were great showman, and had a tight performance.

-Tesla opening for Def Leppard.  Already mentioned, but they were a fantastic opening act.

-DT opening for Satch/Queensryche.  I feel like I'm cheating here because these were "co-headlining" shows.  And it's DT.  But still.

-Trivium opening for DT.  They didn't steal the show, but were REALLY good. 

-Whitesnake opening for Motley Crue ('87/Girls, Girls, Girls tour).  This was a Day On The Green show.  'Snake was in their prime and had Adrian and Vivian on guitars.  They slayed.

-Kick Axe and Whitesnake opening for Quiet Riot (Vices, Slide It In, Condition Critical).  Both openers were really good, and I became a fan of both bands that night.  And although it would take me years to appreciate what I had seen, it was cool to have seen Sykes in Whitesnake.

-Faster Pussycat opening for Whitesnake.  Said no one ever.

[King Postwhore]

Dokken opening for Whitesnake was another band that killed it.

[TAC]

Bosk, I was not a fan of Warrant, but I saw them twice and they were fantastic both times. I saw them in two radically different situations. The first was in a club at the West Hartford Ballroom opening for Paul Stanley on 2-23-89 and then at the Worcester Centrum opening for Motley Crue on 12-16-89. They owned both the small and the large stage, and I was highly impressed both times.

[bosk1]

Bosk, I was not a fan of Warrant, but I saw them twice and they were fantastic both times. I saw them in two radically different situations. The first was in a club at the West Hartford Ballroom opening for Paul Stanley on 2-23-89...

That was really close to when I saw them, which would have been either December of '88 or January of '89.  They were playing the base field house at Camp Lejeune in NC where I was stationed.  I don't even know if they were signed on as an official tour together or if they just did a few dates with Britny Fox.  But either way, they were great. 

[Orbert]

Ambrosia (Life Beyond L.A.) opening for Little River Band (Sleeper Catcher), 1978.  She wanted to see Little River Band, I was there to see Ambrosia, and maybe get some of her clothes off later (sophomore year in high school).

Ambrosia was amazing.  Proggy, rockin', smoke, lasers, lights.  Pretty cool by 1978 standards.  When they finished, half the audience left.  Little River Band came out and the stage looked pretty empty by comparison, despite them having one more band member.  Also, I didn't get any of her clothes off.

[robbob]

Three and Opeth opening for DT on Prog Nation '08 I believe. Knew Opeth was good, but Three were awesome.
Jolly opening for Riverside in 2013. Jolly Rocked, great Live band.
Going back to the '80s, one off of the top of my head was Dokken opening for Priest in '86 (I Think). George Lynch-enough said

[PowerSlave]

-Kick Axe and Whitesnake opening for Quiet Riot (Vices, Slide It In, Condition Critical).  Both openers were really good, and I became a fan of both bands that night.  And although it would take me years to appreciate what I had seen, it was cool to have seen Sykes in Whitesnake.

I'm jealous. I would have loved to have seen Kick Axe live. I was just a little too young. My brother seen them open for Judas Priest as his first concert.

[mikeyd23]

-Trivium opening for DT.  They didn't steal the show, but were REALLY good. 

I forgot about this one, good call. I saw them open for DT on the ADTOE tour and it got me into their music. I think it was right after they had put out In Waves, discovering that album was fun.

[Stadler]

Ambrosia (Life Beyond L.A.) opening for Little River Band (Sleeper Catcher), 1978.  She wanted to see Little River Band, I was there to see Ambrosia, and maybe get some of her clothes off later (sophomore year in high school).

Ambrosia was amazing.  Proggy, rockin', smoke, lasers, lights.  Pretty cool by 1978 standards.  When they finished, half the audience left.  Little River Band came out and the stage looked pretty empty by comparison, despite them having one more band member.  Also, I didn't get any of her clothes off.

Sidebar:  "Reminiscing" is one of the greatest song ever written.  I love that song irrationally. 

[ErHaO]

Serenity opening for Kamelot. Perfect match of bands.

I also really liked DGM opening for Symphony X, Grailknights opening for Van Canto, and also digged Orphaned Land opening for Blind Guardian. Amaranthe opening for Stratovarius was ton's of fun as well, despite the band not performing very well musically (male singer lost his voice, too).

[Orbert]

Ambrosia (Life Beyond L.A.) opening for Little River Band (Sleeper Catcher), 1978.  She wanted to see Little River Band, I was there to see Ambrosia, and maybe get some of her clothes off later (sophomore year in high school).

Ambrosia was amazing.  Proggy, rockin', smoke, lasers, lights.  Pretty cool by 1978 standards.  When they finished, half the audience left.  Little River Band came out and the stage looked pretty empty by comparison, despite them having one more band member.  Also, I didn't get any of her clothes off.

Sidebar:  "Reminiscing" is one of the greatest song ever written.  I love that song irrationally. 

I like that song too, but my favorite part is probably the flugelhorn solo at the end.  Nice touch, especially considering the context of the song.

When Little River Band did it live, they didn't have the flugelhorn guy, so the "solo" was them all whistling ad-lib.  It was really weird, and kinda lame to be honest.  Then the song just... stopped.

[Sir GuitarCozmo]

As much as I hate 90's music, I saw Candlebox open for Rush on the Counterparts tour and they were fucking excellent.