I'd never heard of this band BUT ...
 

This thread is for remembering the first time you saw a band you had NEVER HEARD OF but that completely blew you away.

For me it was Labor Day weekend 1969. The Texas International Pop Festival, two weeks after Woodstock.

I was familiar with most of the groups playing during the three-day show; I was especially looking forward to Chicago Transit Authority (just Chicago after the lawsuit), Janis Joplin (who I had seen several times in Austin), BB King and Nazz with their excellent singer Todd Rundgren.


What I wasn't expecting was the music from three groups I had NEVER HEARD OF: Grand Funk Railroad (it cou!d have been the hash, but I still love them), Santana (this WAS 2 weeks after Woodstock) and Led Zepplin (when I got back to Austin I didn't call my girlfriend, I went to a record store).
I still have those three first albums Santana, Led Zepplin and Grand Funk Railroad.

Certainly not on par with the bands discussed above, and zero coolness factor, but a few years ago my wife announced she wanted to see Bruno Mars for her birthday. I bought seats in the fist 10 rows of MSG. I had heard of him obviously, and probably knew one song. I was completely blown away by his level of showmanship. Seemed like a young cross of James Brown and Price, with zero edge. Just one of those times you watch someone perform and think how does one person 20 something years old have so much talent.

Two words...THE OUTLAWS (and not the Waylon Jennings one)

At the Oakland Coliseum they used to hold Day on the Green concerts every summer. For a die-hard A's fan kid to be able to sit on the same field that the green and gold crew played on was too cool.

It was a weird lineup. Peter Frampton was the headliner, this was now two years after his "Comes Alive" album but I think his star was waning. By the middle of his set half the crowd of about 60,000 was getting a head start on getting out of the parking lot.

Before Frampton came Lynyrd Skynyrd, which was actually the bad I went to see and man, did they deliver. I think that performance is now on YouTube if any of you are fans of the original lineup. They were a band really hitting a peak at that time. The plane crash happened just 3 months later.

The second act was Santana, and while not a huge fan at the time, and had never seen them live, became one after. Just wow.

But the opening act, whom I had never heard before was The Outlaws. OMG, they had about 30 minutes and just blew the doors off the place and I think set the energy for the rest of the day. Finishing, of course, with their epic "Green Grass and High Tides".

Frampton didn't stand a chance. People stayed for "Show Me The Way" then started leaving. By the time he finished the encore with the awful "I'm In You" (apologies to anyone who likes that song) there couldn't have been more than 5000 people left in the stadium.

If you love Chicago then “Brass Transit” is a must see. Obviously a Chicago tribute band but honestly they are 100% real Chicago. 2 hours of songs you know all the words to. Really special show.

Saw a special on him maybe 60 minutes. Really likable kid who came from a humble background. Ultra talented. I’d pay to see him for sure. Coming from a person stuck in the 70’s that says a lot.

Its funny that this got posted yesterday. I was going through som old ticket stubs to put on Ebay. I found one from 1975 with the Doobie Brothers as headliner with The Marshall Tucker Band, The Outlaws and a group called Baker Gurvitz Army which had Ginger Baker as drummer.

The Tragically Hip. Opened for Eric Johnson back in 1991/92. Couldn't believe how good they were. Have every CD now and it still makes me sad that Gord Downie has passed. Watch the documentary of their last show. I dare you not to cry. Outside of RUSH, the BEST Canadian band EVER.

i didnt see these guys in concert but a few years back i heard a song that i just loved. was a new song but i brought me back to the grunge/rock 90's lol

song was called "satellite" by a band named Rise Against.

When I was about 14, I went into a record store with about $8 and for the first time bought a few albums on my own choosing. I bumped into a friend of my old brother who handed me ELO's A New World Record which to this day is one of my favorite albums. I think it was $3. I had money for another album and having no clue what to buy grabbed a second album based on its cover. A group called Star Castle. English prog rock. Any one ever heard of them? Pretty unknown in the US. I really enjoyed that album too and played it hundreds of times. Looked them up on Wikipedia and they lasted for years in the UK, never big in US.

Russian Folk-Rock Band Otava Yo. They formed in 2003. I haven't seen them in person (though they've toured in the US), but came across them on YouTube about a year ago.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YbBU06irWT8

First time for a Band...
 

Check out "Leonid and Friends" on YouTube. Unbelievable! A bunch of Russian guys who sound more like Chicago, than Chicago. Start out with "Does Anybody Really Know What Time It Is/" and get ready to be amazed.

Mine happened last summer. Got free tickets from a site called vetix for veterans to see Stone Temple Pilots in Baltimore. There was a band opening that I had heard of, but never listened to. They were Rival Sons. Now i have been to tons of concerts all over the world. From Pantera in a tiny club, to Edwin Mccain at a fair, Van Halen at Stadiums, and everything in between. I was absolutely Shocked when they started, and that singer was absolutely Amazing. he gave 110% and then some. STP was really good with their new singer, but Rival sons was amazing. They were so good that the next night I drove to Ocean City to see them again.

I've been to a few concerts in my life, so I've seen a few bands that I haven't heard of, a few that stick out :

Aug 18, 1983 - I went to see Y&T open for Sammy Hagar at the Fairgrounds in Sacramento, CA. The opening act at one point said to the crowd "We were personally invited to play for you today by Mr Hagar, so if you are booing myself and my band, you are booing Mr Hagar." Then Stevie Ray Vaughn ripped into one of the greatest guitar solos I have ever had the honor of hearing. And, for the record, neither myself nor my buddy Walt had been booing.



Nov 17, 1986 - not exactly the opening act but... my girlfriend worked at The Stone in San Francisco, I was between tours so I stayed with her for a week, going to with her to the club every night. That night it was Stanley Clarke, supported by Jeffo. At one point early in the evening, a little drunk guy stumbled over to me for the sole purpose of explaining to me that I was wearing shorts and that it was quite cold outside. I told him that's why I was inside, instead of being outside. He though about that for a few seconds, then said "good point" and stumbled back into the crowd. Late in Stanley Clarke's (excellent) set he said to the crowd "I would like to introduce to you a friend of mine, ladies and gentleman, Mr Jaco Pastorius" at which point that little drunk guy performed the greatest bass solo I ever witnessed (note that I toured with Talas, and saw Cliff Burton perform "Anesthesia (Pulling Teeth)" a number of times, including on that same stage).



Summer 2003 - I was the tour manager / tour accountant for the Warped Tour, a tour that had 568 people on the Canadian immigration paperwork (and that's the people who CAN cross the border), so I tended to be quite busy on an average day, not as much time to watch bands as I would have liked. A couple shows into the 45 date tour, one of the stage guys came into my corner of the production tent, and said "you HAVE to come checkout a band that's on my stage this year". I thanked him for alerting me, but told him it was never going to happen, since the schedule of bands changes every day, I was never going to be able to get out to see them, unless he sent somebody to drag me out moments before they played, because I didn't have time to hang out at a stage, as much as I might enjoy it. A couple hours later he came back, grabbed me by the arm, told the tour manager that I was about to pay to come back in 30 minutes and we hustled over to see S.T.U.N. for what is still one of my favorite live sets I have ever seen. After that, I had one of the production assistants tell me when they were 5 minutes away from going on stage, and where their stage was located, and I saw them probably 30 / 35 more times on the tour.

https://www.chron.com/entertainment/...ur-2128642.php

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCPB...b9eHQ/featured

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/S.T.U.N._(band)



November 19, 2014 - I was doing a few shows with Jane's Addiction and was by the side of the stage as the support act were going on at the Ogden Theater in Denver, because I wanted to make sure they ran on time. On walked the drummer, on walked the bass player. Where's the rest of the f'n band I said to the local stage manager? That's all of them he told me. Wow. What a band. I made sure to watch them at the two other shows they opened for in Las Vegas that weekend. I've seen them a few more times since then, and they are still great.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/In_the_Whale



July 26-27-28, 2016 - I took a quick vacation to visit the Warped tour and after being told "make sure you see them" in Milwaukee, I also made sure to see them in St Louis and Kansas City - The Interrupters. I was bummed that they didn't get a chance to tour this summer with Green Day, but I'm sure they will be back once the zombie apocalypse is over.

https://wearetheinterrupters.com/

Doug,

I am sure you have some stories, have you considered writing a book?

Big fan of the Hip. In 1969 a fifteen-year old Eric Johnson would come to my apartment to take guitar lessons from my roommate (Lee Pence, now deceased and never famous). Eric was already in a band called Mariani and getting some local attention.
Here's a clip:

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=c_QuAMtOScgLiriano

Lee also tutored Carla Olson, later of the Textones with Cathy Valentine.

I used to see Ken and Andrew play a ton in college from the band Sister Hazel..there were a lot of great college bands..some sort of famous some not so much but all great to listen too..

i also saw stephanie germanata or however you spell it who later became lady gaga play a few times but she already had a recording deal so even though i thought she was a great talent, it wasnt like i had this great eye for talent given she already was on her way...

sometime back in the early 2000's, i was doing a project @ Panama City Beach during the summer months. Took time and went to a fair or something headling John Michael monthgomery- which i knew & heard of. But one of the pre-shows there was a lady singing a bunch of songs- she was really good. But one of the shows had a live band. Called the Contagious Blues Band....boy oh boy they were GOOD!!! I had to go order their CD then after. The were a new & upcoming band from Nashville i think.

In 2013 My Brother brought me to see Tedeschi Trucks Band , I knew Derek Trucks from The Allman Brothers band and him touring with Eric Clapton, But this band with his wife Susan Tedeschi just blew me away

Danko Jones.

Another GREAT Canadian band.

Their "Sleep Is The Enemy" album is a good place to start...

80's
 

I discovered the one hit, one album band "David and David" recently and have played their album Boomtown almost daily. I introduced others to them, all with generally positive reviews. 80's gritty lyrics ,tunes of despair with catchy music.
Find them on Spotify and give the whole album a listen...

Don't hold me to this but I think I remember both of those Davids as contributing to Sheryl Crow's first album, Tuesday Night Music Club. Which would make sense because they were both studio guys as I remember.

Yes, you are correct. David Baerwald and David Ricketts did play on Sheryl Crow's first album. Their music was destroyed in the 2008 Universal fire per Wiki.

I had a couple of Starcastle albums, kind of a poor man's Yes.
Lady of the Lake was their biggest song IIRC.

Several Years ago, before I retired, we had a kind-of October-fest down by the Riverwalk.

Acres was the headliner and they were great, but a band named '1401' got me going...they were awesome!

.

Love this- She sound a bit like Bonnie Raitt. (red head country singer)

Better than Triumph?

Although Triumph was a great band, their popularity paled, imo, to that of The Tragically Hip.

Different era as well, obviously, but the Hip had a pile of hits compared to Triumphs few.

Other notable CDN bands are April Wine, The Stampeders, The Guess Who, Chilliwack, Blue Rodeo and of course Rush, who are more than likely the biggest band, most popular band to ever come out of Canada.

Great bar bands that I seen that received some international attention were Max Webster, Goddo and Trooper. Many more exist but it seems rather tough for CDN bands to break through sometimes.

This is Max Webster and Rush doing a popular song called Battle Scar. Their High Class in Borrowed shoes was a great album.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PMM6Bhwpy0M

Having spent my life in the Midwest, and my teen years in the late '70s - mid '80s listening to what is now Classic Rock, I'm familiar with several Canadian bands (now I'm reminiscing): Rush (The Spirit of Radio, Tom Sawyer), Bachman-Turner Overdrive (Taking Care of Business, You Ain't Seen Nothing Yet), Triumph (Lay It On The Line), April Wine (I Like To Rock), Burton Cummings and The Guess Who (These Eyes, American Woman), (Canadian/American) John Kay and Steppenwolf (Born to Be Wild, Magic Carpet Ride), Loverboy (Working for the Weekend, Turn Me Loose), Neil Young (Cinnamon Girl, Heart of Gold), (and later) Nickelback (Rockstar) and even a decent cover band from Nova Scotia (I think) called The Nudge. But this thread was the first time I'd heard of The Tragically Hip. Just sayin. After I saw the post about them, I did listen to some of their tunes on YouTube (and I like their sound :)) and read about the tragic loss of their vocalist to brain cancer :(

One of the best things - musically at least - that I've done was to find CBC Radio 3 and The Verge on Sirius XM. There are some great Canadian artists of all kinds that get minimal airplay on US radio. Off the top of my head, Stars, Metric, Dear Rouge, Arkells, Trews, Russian Futurists, Sloan and K-OS are all very worthy and deserve more south of the border recognition.

Spotify
 

I read these type of threads to find new bands that I have never heard of.
What a treat to have a thread actually titled perfectly for this task!:p

I use Spotify to listen to these bands and generally give each new band about 30 minutes to win me over!
Some of the Canadian bands above will be queued up soon.
I liked Max Webster back years ago!
I dont think I have heard him in decades. (Can you believe how long ago Rush started? RIP Neil!)

It's funny/odd how that works. I assumed they were more international than they were but I guess I am wrong? For me it took some time to warm up to them. I was likely still listening to hard rock/metal (still do somewhat) so they were a huge change from the norm for me. Prior to Gordie's passing, they did a huge thank you/final concert that was aired all over Canada. It was definitely something to see and be a part of but sad at the same time as everyone knew what was coming. Search for the whole concert, you will be glad you did. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1jTMSBhPCZw

I've heard of the Arkells, the Trews and Sloan but not those others. Dallas Green, prior band called City and Color, is also great and definitely worthy of a listen. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WZo31zMAySQ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NjMsWarn8BI

Max Webster, which is the name of the whole band, broke up years ago and Kim Mitchell, the lead singer did some solo work and was quite successful for the most part.
When I entered high school in grade 9 Max Webster played a concert in our auditorium. I was afraid of entering high school but after seeing that and with it being my very first rock pre stadium concert, my thoughts about high school quickly changed.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3r8niBoPqj8 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JLsCZo4xLdY

Not exactly on topic. I had heard of Bonnie Raitt as a young blues singer, but when I saw her sitting on Muddy Waters' lap at the end of the bar at Antone's in 1976, I knew she was committed to her craft. No irony or sarcasm intended.

In the late 90's, my ex and I were at an Irish festival in West Palm Beach and we saw a band called Great Big Sea. About 10 people were dancing and singing in front of the stage (probably 3000 people in attendance). We remarked how cool it was that this no-name band had people dancing around. The more we listened, the more we liked and we ended up grabbing a CD. We played that CD a bunch and three years later we noticed that the band was playing in a local club in Raleigh (where we lived), so we went to see them again. There were 500 people and everyone knew every song. We grabbed the rest of their CD's and over the next 5 years we saw them 11 more times (Washington DC, Charlotte, Atlanta, etc.). Had we not broken up I suppose we would have gone to see them many more times.

On a side note, one of the opening bands at one of the Raleigh shows was a band called Carbon Leaf. We loved them, and we saw them several times as well (and I have seen them a few more times with other folks). They are still around and quite awesome too.

Because I have stupid stuff rolling around in my head AND we are on a sports card message board, the Tedeschi Trucks band is a direct relative of Tiger's pitcher Virgil "Fire" Trucks.

My wife said I should use this useless information for good somewhere.....I figure what a better place than on Net54. :)

August 26, 1990 my brother had given me tickets to Alpine Valley Resort in Wisconsin to see Eric Clapton and others in what seemed to be an all night jam session. Since I lived (and still do) about ten minutes away I was eager to go as I could not wait to see Stevie Ray Vaughn play that night along with another favorite, Robert Cray and of course, Clapton.

We got there early as this was going to be an all day affair and the opening act was someone everyone seemed to know but me. This artist was led onto the stage and surprised me with his vocal talents and his music. I guess I was living in a hole back then because I had not seen Roadhouse with Patrick Swayze and had no idea who Jeff Healy was but I really liked his music.

Sadly, this was the night that SRV would lose his life in a senseless helicopter crash as he was trying to get out of the venue and back to Chicago. I say senseless because everyone knew the ski hill was there and helicopter was the only way most performers got in and out of the venue yet they sent an inexperienced pilot to get these performers out of the area with a thick, heavy fog rolling in. I Still drive by that site almost daily and think about that incredibly awesome concert and the loss the music industry suffered that night.

[QUOTE=whitehse;2010355]Because I have stupid stuff rolling around in my head AND we are on a sports card message board, the Tedeschi Trucks band is a direct relative of Tiger's pitcher Virgil "Fire" Trucks.


Another relative of Virgil "Fire" Trucks and Derek "Ex Allman Bro. and guitarist extraordinaire" Trucks is Rob Trucks who's written several baseball books including "Cup of Coffee: The Very Short Careers of Eighteen Major League Pitchers". Obviously a talented family.

Recent rabbit hole down YouTube and discovered Grace Potter.

OK, I'm old and admit that with the decline of radio it's been hard for old farts like me to keep up but how in the heck did I miss this?

You are not alone. I had never heard of her before either. :)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CyLcyqrmF3o

I'd never heard of this band, but I was a regular at Club Foot in Austin in the early '80s. They didn't play long but what I heard was amazing. They were called U2. This picture is from Club Foot March 31, 1981.

I got turned on to Grace Potter when I saw her do a duet with Kenny Chesney (You an Tequila). Like her a lot.

Darryl Hall has a lot of great artists on show which I also recently discovered.
Grace was also on it as well.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ypwcitHSEQo