The Opener

Feels fitting to jam on the thought of an opener. In years past I, and I know many people like me, would skip the opener and just wait until the main act took the stage to show up. Why see some random smaller band that you know nothing about? I agree, you paid the ticket price to see the headliner, not some other guys (in most cases), but I would venture to say that you are making a poor choice if you think like this. Being in a band that is starting to become the opener, its pretty deflating to play in front of your girlfriends and a couple people who thought the show started at 8 instead of 9. In another way of looking at it, the opener was picked by the venue or the headliner as a feasible match to the music of the night. You are basically watching future headliners (again, in most cases). It is the natural slow progression of a band to open, so by immediately blackballing the band as an opener and forgoing their show, you can really be missing out on some amazing music. If you are anything like me, it can get easy to get stuck in a rut of one band or style. I hate the radio because there is so little good music actually played on it, so I am going to throw it out there that openers are great way to find new music, break out of the rut you have been listening to, and expand your taste while still staying close to what you already know you like. Jam on that for a little bit, swish it around, and think about it next time you are about to hit a show...