Great bands or performers you saw by accident

[woodguy]

I’m not talking about being one of the first fans of a band and seeing them before they became famous.

I am talking about going out with some friends to a bar or club with no regard for who is playing that night, and stumbling on something cool.

Who have you seen by accident?

Here are my 4 favorites:

I was the Labatt campus liason for 3 years of my life at the University of Alberta. It was a very cool gig that had me going to a lot of parties with the expressed intention of buying people beer. There was a Labatt rep who territory included the UofA, but he needed help and I was hired. I did this from 1990 – 1993.

One promotion had me giving away a beer fridge at a campus bar called the Power Plant. The Plant was a great live venue that held about 400 people. There was an arcade and 4 pool tables at the back, and it was a great place to drink on Thursday & Fridays.

I get to the Plant about halfway through the band’s first set and the place is jumping. Usually the crowd is just concentrating on drinking during the first set, and then partying and dancing for the second set, but these guys have the crowd going already.

They finish the set and I have to go on stage, grab a mike and give away this fridge. So I go up to do my thing and the lead singer grabs me and says ‘what are you doing man, we need the stage to sell our stuff”. The band had broken out a couple of suitcases of EP cassette tapes with 6 songs and some other gear with their name on it.

I look over at Don, the bar manager, for some help. He comes over and explains to the band that I need to give away this fridge, then they can have the stage back. The band grumbles a bit then relent. As soon as I am done, they are set up hawking their wares.

The second set is dynamite! The whole place is drunk and up dancing and the band keeps getting louder and better. That was the only time I had ever seen people at the pool tables stop playing to watch the band…..they were that good. I think I lost 5 lbs sweating it out on the dance floor that night, it was a riot.

The band was The Barenaked Ladies, and that night they rocked. I haven’t really liked them much since because their canned music was so different from that show, but it’s a great memory.


While I was in high school in the late 80’s, my brother was in a Fraternity at the UofA. Since they were a non-profit student group, they got to take turns with other non-profit student groups as being hosts at the Dinwoodie Lounge.

The Dinwoodie was a room at the Student Union building with a stage and a bar that held about 600 people. There was a talent booking agent who booked acts for the room, and then the student groups would work as event staff, security and bar staff and get a cut of the gate and beer sales.

Every time it was the fraternity’s turn to work a show, I would get invited along to help. I looked older than I was, and drinking age is only 18 here, so there was never an issue.

There were 3 memorable nights:

1) Sarah McLachlan (1989) – was only a little older than me at the time, touring for her first Album “Touch” A lot of girls in the crowd that night. Her voice was so perfect it was like a musical instrument. Fun show, no beer though, was an all ages gig, so we just did sercurity, which involved staring at Sarah from 3ft away and listening to her angelic voice.

2) Lenny Kravitz (1989) – had no idea who this guy was except he dated a Cosby kid. He absolutely blew the doors off the joint. I have seen a lot of gigs in my life, but this was one of my favorites. He made his guitar sing/cry/wail and shout. His 6’6’ 260lbs of solid muscle sax player was also dynamite. The sax looked so small on this guy and he just wailed. Lenny was just starting to promote “Let love rule” album.

3) The Tragically Hip (1989) –If you are not familiar with this band, they are Canadian Icons, and one of my favorite bands of all time. I have seen them around 10-12 times…you lose count after a while.
Not many in the crowd knew who these guys were, they were just starting to tour on their “Up to Here” album. I hadn't heard of them either. We were working beer at this gig and I had the job of running pitchers of beer to the dressing room backstage through the thick haze of pot smoke coming from the dressing room. Lead singer Gordon Downie comes out on stage wearing a red turtle neck and brown cords, looks at the crowd and says “you’re all dogs” and they launch into “New Orleans is Sinking” which became their first hit off of that album. Like Kravitz, they blew the lid off the dump and I count it as one of the best shows I have ever seen.

Looking back all of these shows rank in my top 10 of all time.

Maybe its because you have no preconceived notions of how the show should go.

Some of that has to be due to the fact that later when they become famous, you get that special "yeah, I saw them way back when......"

Who have you seen?

Regards,
Woodguy

[KJS]

I was walking down the street one night in Bellingham, WA, soon after I moved there in summer 1994. Was going to the 3B Tavern to see Rocket from the Crypt. Bumped into a guy I knew from the record store there. He said don't go there, come down to this old chicken coop where they have shows (Show Off Gallery). So I did. The band was Bikini Kill and they totally rocked. And I got back up to the bar in time for RFTC too.

Other walk-in best show was Dirty Three, also at 3B in Bellingham in 1994. First band I saw in a bar and was so inspired I bought every CD they had for sale (two releases at that point). There was maybe 40 people there. Nowadays they get like 800 in Seattle. Look them up on youtube if you don't know them; they are incredible.

KJS

[ScottieK]

Homecoming Day 1996 I think, when I used to go to TCU...I was getting ready to go find some friends to go to the football game, and decided to hit the Main for some food before heading over to the stadium. Better Than Ezra had just started playing on a stage by the Main, and I hadn't heard anything about it. There was a good crowd, but nothing too huge. They played a forty-five minute set, it was awesome. My friend got them to play "Teenager" after yelling for it for half an hour.

Before they finished, Kevin Griffin got up to the mike and said "so are you guys going to win tonight or what?......Yeah, who are you guys playing?.....And who are you guys again?....and what's that hand thing you do?" Someone showed him the Horned Frogs sign, which is like a peace sign with your knuckles bent. He gave the person a weird look, then did it anyways. "Yeah, uh right....go Frogs!"

Funny follow-up, Better Than Ezra was there because the student government has a $10,000 budget surplus that they needed to spend before the end of the year. So they spent almost all of it on getting the band to come out and play for Homecoming. Later, they found out the surplus was actually an accounting error, and they were suddenly $10K in the red.

ScottieK

[limon]

nirvana. duffys,seattle late 89 i think. went w/ some friends to see a "nobody" band on our way to victoria canada. was blown through the back wall. i remeber thinking that they were the best band i had ever seen. no teen spirit yet. bad brains at the wow hall in eugene, or was 2nd best.

[cobrakai111]

Iron and Wine at Bonnaroo was a huge pleasant surprise for me. Willy Mason opening for Radiohead also.

Secret Machines I saw randomly awhile back on a whim

[lippy]

Iron and Wine is actually good live? Surprising.

[Cancuk]

One: I was 12 years old and my dad got us front row tickets at The Orpheum in Vancouver to Ben Harper. He wasn't really that big yet, and had just released his "Fight for your Mind" album. He ended up giving me his slide and i've been a huge fan every since.

Two: Atmosphere and Brother Ali (I didn't know either of them at this point, 2003) playing at a tiny venue called, "Fluid Lounge" in the tiny ski town of Nelson, BC where I grew up. A friend of mine gave me tickets because he couldn't go. Unreal. I've been a huge fan ever since.

Three: Michael Franti and Spearhead at the Starbelly Music festival. First time I ever saw them. Completely blew me away.

Four: Xavier Rudd at the Van. Folk Fest. Didn't know who he was. Again, unreal.

[prohornblower]

Was in South Padre for spring break one year and the Toadies were playing under the huge dome thing. Had no idea they were in town. Was pretty good show.

[wdcbooks]

In 1996 I lived on Cape Cod. It was winter and I was passing by a nearly empty bar in Hyannis. Jewel was singing and there were about eight guys paying no attention to here.

I sat down and thought it was one of the better performances I have ever seen and she was incredibly hot. It was one of those things where it wasn't my type of music, but you knew she would be famous. Her first hit song came out about four months later.

[Fishwhenican]

Early 80's I went to see Head East, not sure exactly why in hindsight. Must have been cheap and close to home or something. Anyway. This cat opens up for them and just kills. Blowing the main act away is a huge understatement. Turns out this guy is John Cougar who I had never even heard of before but he was really really good.