Musicheads revisit SXSW and ask: Who's an artist/band you've seen "by Accident?"

I once went out for a burger and a beer and ended up seeing Clem Snide. It was this little dive in Texas--known for good burgers and cold Lone Star. At the time, I'd never even heard of Clem Snide. They were delightful--seven members crammed onto this tiny stage like a wind-up toy band. After the show, I ended up buying two of their CDs, and have been a fan since. It was memorable for them, too. The show was right after 9/11, and the band drove a white, windowless van with Jersey plates. On their way to the bar, the cops pulled them over downtown--by the Alamo--and made them all lay face-down on the pavement.

I saw William Elliott Whitmore open for Against Me! back in 2005. He has a fantastic gritty voice and plays on vintage instruments that make him sound like a stray country/blues man straight out of the dust bowl.

The Big Wu played every wednesday night at the Cabooze about 10 years ago, and I went pretty often. Then they went on a national tour, and were not at the cabooze very often any more. One wedneday night I was in the area and went into the Cabooze and saw God Johnson. I enjoyed their shows more than the Big Wu, and went almost every wedneday for a while. For a fan of the grateful dead they are a great band. Maybe not a band for everyone. They are my favorite local band to see live.

I went to see Widepread Panic in Breckenridge Colorado 1990. I was driving across back to Minnesota from Oregon, and stopped to see some friends in Colorado. WSP was playing that night so I went. They are my favorite Band to this day. They are from Athens Georgia(the same homebase as REM), and have been touring and recording for the last 20 years. They Have enough loyal fans that they get along OK without top 40, AOR, or MTV. They are a great live band. They might get labeled a hippy jam band, and the shoe may fit. Great musicians, they do some extended space jams. They give their fans what they want.

BTW, Its Widespread Panic, Typo Above
As far as SXSW, I liked REM, Carbon/Silicon, Billy Bragg, and John Doe. All old favorites from the last 25 or so years, sounding as good or better than ever. I listened to the entire Current Broadcast Saturday, and parts of the other nights. I liked pretty much all the bands in the Current line up, a lot. I would have to list pretty much every one. I smile every time I hear one played on the radio.

When my kids were little ( late 70's) we were tent camping in Pipe Stem State Park in WV and it began to rain. We were going to have a campfire but we noticed a flyer at the bathrooms for a concert in the parks amphitheater, and the kids were disappointed in the weather so we decided to go and drive around the corner to the amphitheater in the park to find it had been moved to the hotel in the park so we went the hotel, but noww we were a little late and when wewalked in and noticed sits left. My kids began to cry. So the artist on the stage motioned for my kids & us to sit on the stage with him. It was not until he was reaching out his hand to seat us on the stage when I realized it was non other than Pete Seegar. It was a wonderful experience and my children all remember it vividly and to this day they love music and singing.

Bobby saw Bob Seger at a Catholic High School in a suburb of Detroit before he made it.

most recent..maybe The Helio Sequence and Behemoth..but at the same time neither of them have become like an alltime favorite or actually bands I even own any music from right now. Although, I sure am not gonna miss seeing Behemoth in a few weeks at MYTH. Enslaved and The RX Bandits were 2 others I saw last year live being totally unfamiliar with who I really was impressed by.

When I saw Vedera and Under the Influence of Giants open for Mute Math, I become fans of both of them, but again..not HUGE fans really.

Chapman Stick player Greg Howard as well...and then later when I knew Greg, I saw him and had no idea about Tim Reynolds who totally blew me away.

Maybe the closest one is The Galactic Cowboys I become a pretty big fan of, and while I did know them and even bought 1 of their albums prior to seeing them open for King's X, I really didn't realize how good they were until after that show.

Great question! Most recently, well a year ago, I was at a local radio station's annual concert. Boston's FNX's Best Music Poll. The headliners were the somewhat forgettable Silversun Pickups and the Bravery. We packed into one of the clubs and a local band that I never heard of by the name of Bang Camaro takes the stage. If you ever had any interest in 70s-80s metal or anthem rock you'd love these guys. No lead singer. Just 10-15 dudes belting out choruses while 3 or 4 guitarist shred. They lay the "70s trendy trucker" look on a little too thick. But they put on a great rock show. I've seen them twice since.

April: that's an awesome story! Pete Seeger is one of my musical heroes...

Jacquie, I like your story about seeing Clem Snide. Now there is an underrated band!

Frick, cool story about seeing Jonathan Richman in a club setting!

Alan, thanks for dropping Bang Camero on us. I hadn't heard of them. Bet they are a headbangin good time!

And apparently Bobby saw an undiscovered Bob Seger in a Catholic high school in Detroit. Yeah, "Rock-N-Roll Never Forgets!"

I went to the First Ave back in Nov of 2006 to see The New York Dolls, The Chesterfield Kings, and The Supersuckers... only to come away blown out of my socks by The Charms!

Hi there.

Congratulations on your Gather homepage feature, here's a 10 rating & have a nice day.

The Hooters opened for Bryan Adams (Summer of '69 tour) and they were great! Still love them.

Eric...I saw Supersuckers in Austin, in a tent outside Emo's at midnight and they were ON FIRE!! ee i had even forgotten some of my highlights there really were so many!!

Never even mentioned the bats! Austin has this bridge that is home to over a million bats, and at dusk they start to fly out to feed and it is a henomenal sight. I even stumbled upon that by mistake, a classic of "oh I'm in the right place at the right time"
on my way to have dinner.

That Seeger story is my fave too April! As I explained on the show, I though discovering the Flaming Lips, down in St.Louis was cool. But I also remember going to meet a friend when I was visiting NYC in the early 80's and Les Paul (who the guitar was named after!) was playing guitar in a small bar, his local apparently that he played in every week. Couldn't take my eyes off him!

Thanks for listening AND joining the discussion!

Oh, there are so many.

I remember when I was really young, the opening act was Willie Nelson. He had not had a hit yet.

Then REO Speedwagon opened in the 70s for the Guess Who. That was awesome then and it took awhile, but they made it.

Most recently, it was Bowling for Soup. They played EVERYWHERE in the Dallas area. We all loved them, but they weren't known yet. I had to give it to them. They sure had the merchandising down. They sold EVERYTHING. LOL!

Mark the Supersuckers are one of the best bands out there on the road... in a reversal of this weeks topic, I saw them for the first time when they were opening for The Hellacopters in Detroit in 1999, and was pretty unimpressed.... fast forward a couple of years and I somehow found what was then their newest album MotherF#C&er's Be trippin' and was blown away. By that time I was living in the Twin Cities and saw them at the Cabooze (which turned out to be the only show that I ever saw there when I was living in the area) and they were great. When I found out that they were going to be playing with the New York Dolls (who I had to check out anyway) it was a little bonus..... before that show I was watching the film Hype! in which the Supersuckers were interviewed... It was a kinda strange feeling to see them on the screen circa '96 and then go out that night and see what they have become 10 years on...

Hey Eric P....I was at that New York Dolls, Supersuckers, Chesterfield Kings show. I LOVED the Charms as well. That was the Little Steven's Underground Garage tour, if I remember correctly.

I agree w/you & Mark. The Supersuckers are an awsome live band. Eddie Spaghetti ROX! Love their drunken mix of punk & trash country!

Cathy, my stepdaughter knows every word of Bowling for Soup's megahit, "1985"....and you saw Willie as an opening act. That's pretty cool! I guess I did too...when he opened for that Dylan guy at Midway Stadium.

As you may have guessed...I love live music!

Sons & Daughters
Aloha
Bright Eyes

Caroline Herring. She was in the audience at the Cactus in Austin one night when Peter Rowan was playing. Peter knew her from being a guest on a radio show she'd started while in grad school in Mississippi and called her up on stage to play three songs. She was just beginning to work on her first CD, no record deal or touring at the time. I thought -- this is a woman who has important things to say and the chops to say them. She went on to win the best new artist at the Austin music awards, and now tours nationally and internationally, just released her third CD, shares the stage with the likes of Dar Williams, Chris Smither, and Tim O'Brien. Any Caroline fans reading this, one of the songs she sang that night was Delta Highway.

I stepped into the 331 club for the first time, out of shear randomness, and ran into Danny Sigelman playing some far out noises.

:-) Great times.

The closest I've come was probably the Shins concert at First Ave in the summer of 2004. The opening acts were Calexico and Rogue Wave. It was only looking back later that I realized what a great bill that was.

Yo Mac....I was at that show too. It was one of those shows where I went to see one of the openers (Calexico) and was pleasantly surprised by the headliner....the Shins!

Does anyone else ever attend a show specifically for the opening act?

The Mrs. and I specifially went to see We Are Scientists open for the Fiery Furnaces at First Ave. a couple of years ago. We didn't stick around for FF's, they're not my cup of tea. Plus, a friend of ours who loves FF's, was very disappointed in their performance that night.

I saw Ziggy Marley in Aspen, Colorado 7 or 8 years ago. I was in town on my way from Moab, Utah to Mpls, and It was the Aspen Jazz Festival. It was fun

BTW this year Widespread Panic is headlining the Labor Day Aspen Jazz Fest, playing thurs, and fri aug 28,29, 2008. The Brian Setzer Orchestra and Sharon Jones and the Dap Kings play the June Aspen Jazz Fest. WSP are big in Colorado.

BTW the radio stations I was thinking of are KSMT, Summit County, And KBCO, Boulder. They both have websites. I remember hearing the Police on The Aspen Radio station in 1978 or so, 3 or 4 years before they were popular in Minnesota.

I just looked at kbco.com, and looked at the playlist for the last week, and all the upcoming live shows at Red Rocks, and colorado in general. hmmm. They have it good there for music. I am going to Carbon/Silicon tonight. So, as a great man once wrote a book. Be here now.

Hey Bill, I dunno that I've become a HUGE fan of The Dead 60s, but if they hadn't opened for Garbage a couple years ago I wouldn't have listened as intently. They hit and split, but we've worked a couple singles into some playlist mixes at home.

A bunch of friends and I went to see Live play at the Orpheum in Minneapolis a number of years back and Cibo Matto opened for them. I was thrilled with their sound in all aspects. I love the chance to introduce my daughter to music like that. I remember leaning over to a buddy and fellow Beatle fan saying, "Is that Sean Lennon on bass?"

i was at lollapalooza a few years ago and knew the new amsterdams were playing. it was hot and for some reason my stomach wasn't feeling all that well. i decided to chill out under a tree in the kids area (figureing i'd be safe from the crowds) and all of a sudden the guys from the new amsterdams came out on the kids stage and introduced themselves as the terrible twos. since most of the guys have families now, they started a 'kids' band. i was so happy to have stumbled on the terrible twos as i've been a fan of the get up kids for quite sometime now!!! :) i love randomly finding good music!!

I was asked out on a first date to see a girl's "Friends" band play. I think it was at the red sea? I can't remember too well. It was in 2000, and her friends band was the 2nd act, I thought they were ok. As I walked to the bathroom they had the acts and set times posted and the headliner was none other than Death Cab For Cutie.
I had to stay and see them, knowing I liked them after hearing them on Radio K frequently. My gal pal left with her friend from the other band. They couldn't believe I was staying.
There were maybe 40 or less people there, and the stage was so small they were crammed on there shoulder to shoulder. It was awesome, and look at them now! That's my band making it big from nowhere story.

10,000 Maniacs opened for R.E.M. at Radio City Music Hall on the Document tour, and "Hey Jack Kerouac" had me running out to snag their album "In My Tribe," a big late-80s favorite.

At a daylong summer festival headlined by the Police in Philadelphia in 1981, the opening acts included the Specials and a "girl group" who performed their big finale with towels wrapped around their heads. I'd never heard of the Go-Go's before then, but by New Years 81/82, "Eat to the Beat" was ubiquitous.

Ralph Carney, a horn player I'd unknowingly heard many times, was mesmerizing as the opening act for NRBQ back in 1996(?) in San Francisco.

On a summertime visit to NYC ca 1982, a stop by the Bitter End revealed a cool four-piece band playing fun originals and tight covers of Buddy Holly, Johnny Burnette and the like. Between sets, I asked their lead singer if they did any Elvis Costello numbers. He politely demurred, explaining that the only modern stuff they did was their own material, then he showed me the chords to Johnny Rivers's "Secret Agent Man." The singer was Pat DiNizio, and the band was the Smithereens.

Lolapalooza '96. I went to see Rage Against The Machine. That was expected. But before they started I watched an incredible band called Soul Coughing. Wow. They are the guys that had "Super Bon Bon" on the radio back in the mid 90's.

Well, I had just moved to San Fran, and went to see Jellyfish, who I loved, at the Warfield Theater.

The opening group was a local band, and they announced they were going to play songs from their first album, to be released the following week. The singer had dreads and a fringed buckskin jacket, and although I thought he was a little whiny-sounding, I thought he had some style and the songs were good. I thought, pretty good for a local group. That was Counting Crows. They did okay with that album...

I'm really dating myself now but my cousin and I went to visit her friends in Eastern Illinois University in the winter of '74 and Rare Earth was a concert that we all attended. I remember the name but that is about IT!

I happened to overhear Gogol Bordello at Lollapalooza this year at the next stage over in between that stage's acts. I moved closer to the Gogol stage because they were awesome!

We went to the Red Carpet in St Cloud on a Monday in 1980 for .25 beers and saw The Crash Street Kids. They busted out of their first set with Day Tripper and Taxman covers and then did their own stuff. There were maybe 10 people in the audience. Melvin James had one fairly big hit but I thought I had discovered a band that was going to be HUGE!!

Barkmarket on the 'Vegas Throat' tour opening for the Pixies.
At the Drive-in on the 'in-casino-out' tour opening for Fugazi.
Bob Log III, 400 blows canceled saw him instead.
Sebadoh opening for Firehose.
Flaming Lips at Lolapalooza's 2nd stage on Hariet Island.

I must admit I haven't heard of any. From the comments above it looks like some have real potential.

Janna,
guitar forum

I went to First Avenue in Minneapolis to see the hip hop group the pharcyde about 10 years ago and this guy named Ben Harper opened the show sitting down with a guitar.... Amazng show. This was the tour in support of his 2nd cd... absolutely amazing to see that!

I was at this bar in Palatine, IL waiting out a torrential rainstorm A band called the Randy Men were to play that night. I had a table near the stage. Guess who they were? CHEAP TRICK! I almost died. Got a drumstick from Bun E and they were auditioning their new lead singer. I also saw Van Halen in a bar called Hooker Lake Inn in Twin Lakes WI before they hit it big.

The 'Randy Men' also gigged the "2nd Chance" in Ann Arbor somewhere around '83 - '84. We knew it was Cheap Trick, however, since a Detroit radio station let the cat out of the bag shortly before the show. I didn't get a drumstick, but did get one of the many of guitar picks that Rick Neilson launched during the show.