The 80's also had some of the most elaborate stage productions to date. Priest Fuel for Life Tour, their biggest production yet. Maiden World Slavery tour, arguably one of the most incredible live metal productions they've even done. The second half of the 80's was all about massive live productions and huge stadium tours. I worked with a lot of touring bands at the time, in the 90's they started to cut it all back again.
@@johnloupis2347 Yeah, and Carl Palmer has stated that a movie studio ( Radar Pictures ) has secured the rights to the lyrics from "Karn Evil 9" and is in the process of making a feature length movie based on those lyrics ,which hopefully should be in theatres sometime in the future.
-Black dog-Led Zep -Back in black-AC/DC -You really got me-VH -Tom Sawyer-Rush -Photograph-Def Leppard -I don't believe in love-QR -Crazy train-Ozzy -Any way you want it-Journey -Juke box hero-Foreigner -Run to the hills-Iron Maiden -More than a feeling-Boston -Unchain the night-Dokken -Life in the fast lane-Eagles -Just what I needed-The cars -Welcome home (Sanitarium)-Metallica -No one like you-Scorpions
Kiss detroit rock city....the sustained bass line with the lights slowly moving. The announcer "AAAALLLRIGHT (insert city name) "YOU WANTED THE BEST YOU GOT THE BEST!"
@@tt55899 That's the comment I was looking for. Tim Rozners voice got EVERYONE on their feet, I'm not a massive KISS fan, but fantastic way to start a show.
Michael, I am a HUGE fan of your enthusiasm, your love for music. I'm no musician myself but I am a music lover and I LOVE your joy of sharing music with us. Thank you - just thank you.
Tom Sawyer - Rush in Rio was absolute perfection when the Brazilian crowd heard the first note and went into a frenzy. The energy in that stadium was incredible!
For 15+ years I went to the Roskilde Rock Festival during the late 1980's, '90's and 2000's. But I never went to Rock in Rio. In 1985 many of my Brazilian friends had been to Rock in Rio, I really want to experience that festival some day.
@@larsrons7937I was at Roskilde Fest in 1983. Simple Minds, Marilion, Mek Pek Party Band . Don't remember the first song of Simple Minds. ...I think New Gold Dream. 😁
I just took my niece out to a nice restaurant for her 15th birthday and on the 1.5 hour drive back to her home she wanted to listen to songs that she liked and it blew my mind that they still love 70s, 80s, music. I asked her why and she said it’s just better! I see this a lot with young people now and I’m so happy for it.
Yea most if the new music does not have IT. i work with a couple you g guys & they are in to the Classic Rock era. Bad Company Rush all the stuff I grew up on. It us true they knew how to write with a lil magic Triumph was a great band with opener
My daughter, now 23, Said to me on a couple of occasions while growing up "dad it just isn't fair, you grew up with all of the best music!" And she is right.
I was born 1960, music has been the biggest part of my life, iv just retired, but I still play in a gigging band. Music can be a physical, spiritual, emotional, experience. Some people just don't get it, but some do, I believe my life has been way better for it
Iron Maiden starting off their 2013 Download festival set by buzzing the crowd with a Spitfire, whilst the Churchill "we will fight" speech starts up, launching into Aces High on the "we will never surrender" was a hell of an opening
That Metallica footage is from Monsters of Rock, Moscow 1991. Epic attendance of 1.6 million people with only 56 injuries and 0 deaths! Absolutely their biggest crowd ever!! So awesome!
Mettallicka , literally took soviet era communist ideology and showed the door to the boushivic revolution!!! , they need to go back there & finish the job !!!
Queen mid 70's opening with Now I'm Here, great starting riff, Freddie running from one side of the stage to hot the spotlight and suddenly an explosion with Roger's screams. Got the blood pumping.
@@zeke7237 I was thinking the same. 1st time I saw Queen and they teased you. Little glimpse of Freddie and then they crashed in. 7 rows from the front . Memories
Enter Sandman performance was at the Tushino Airfield in Moscow 91. You can see all the Russian soldiers in the 1,6 million crowd. But hey great video as always.
You must have did that one wrong, I saw them in 78 and can only remember Stairway to Heaven and a 45 minute drum solo with Robert Plant switching out with John Bonham at some point in the concert and that's all I can remember other than getting lost after it was over.
Another great opener is hearing Axl’s scream “ You know where you are?!… You’re in the jungle baby!!” while the music around Slashes lead builds up. Then boom, the epic riff melody that sends crowd crazy
I saw GnR at the Hubert H Humphrey metrodome when they toured with Fairh No More and Metallica, and their first song was Welcome to the Jungle, and Axl screamed, "Minneapolis, do you know where the fuck you are?" Staduim went wild.
Took my partner who didn’t know or like Pink Floyd to Roger Waters the Wall concert. She was blown away with the start, middle and end of this concert ( all of it ) and wanted to go again. Was the most amazing spectacle we have ever seen.
Even though they aren’t my favorite band, hands down, the first time I saw PINK FLOYD on The Momentary Lapse of Reason tour was easily the best concert I’ve ever seen to this day. And I’ve seen A LOT! All the big bands, numerous times each. It’s impossible to describe what that live show is like. That’s the power of a good concert. It hits you point blank right between the eyes and ears! PINK FLOYD is next level live performance. What A SHOW! Saw them 3 times.
How do you not know them and also don’t like them?? That’s impossible. Not know of Pink Floyd. Is he or she Amish?? Never mind rumspringa even they know Pink Floyd.
Rush. "The Spirit of Radio." The house lits dim, the audience roars, the "Three Stooges" theme plays, Alex sends those sixteenth notes sailing out into the still-dark auditorium, then the stage lights blaze on with the first big downbeat. Perfection.
Saw Rush 70 times but my most memorable show - and a Top 10 moment in my life - was my first show when they played Radio City in ‘83 . Your comment was how they opened the show and it was 2 hours of ecstasy for me followed by another 4+ decades of them as my Favorite band
Enjoyed this. My personal favourite opening track is Rush The Spirit of Radio. With Rush’s cinematic videos creating excitement and anticipation, that opening riff just sent a charge down my spine. And the crowd ALWAYS got involved. Air drumming, hands in the air and we were all immediately connected to the band. Awesome!
Greatest band ever. They proved it over and over again. To stay together as long as they did is something no other band has done before or since. Even though the first album has Rutsey on drums they changed quite a bit on fly by night so that is where Rush really started being great.
100% Marco - To me after 500 plus concerts - that is the #1 concert opener. And I've seen all the top metal acts and have enjoyed them all. But Maiden - and specifically Dr Dr, then Chruchills Speech, then Aces High just cannot be beat. If that doesn't make your hairs stand up then too bad for you!!!
@@bigstevej0460 I wasn;t at that show but was at the Irvine Meadows and also Universal Ampitheater show on the BNW tour and that was a pretty damn good opener I agree. But for me not quite to the level of Aces High.
@@charlestelk6526 Churchill speech was killer . To me every intro is great 👍. Starting listening to them in 1980 when I was 10 and seen every tour since 1984 up until this June at download Festival in the uk 🇬🇧
ELP... Welcome back my friends to the show that never ends We're so glad you could attend, Come inside, come inside There behind a glass stands a real blade of grass Be careful as you pass, move along, move along
1) Rush, following their film intro with cartoon figures arriving at a concert while the Three Stooges theme music plays, followed by the band launching into "The Big Money." 2) Emerson Lake and Powell running down the first four numbers of their new self-titled album, starting with "The Score." What's so cool about that song is that it starts off with a series of drones announced with cymbal hits, and then Emerson starts up a kind of keyboard retrospective from his side of the stage: a sequenced FM-synth throb (1980s - i.e., the present), a fanfare from the all-analog Yamaha GX1 (1970s), and an open octave on the Hammond with Leslie spin-up/spin-down (1960s). To me at least, it was incredibly exciting.
As soon as I saw the video title I thought of Rush. When I saw them after the Three Stooges theme they launched into Spirit of Radio. Great, great opening for a show!
Man, I see in your face just what I feel in my soul when I watch these moments. Do you find it hard to explain to people in your life just how much this affects us? My God just great moments. Thanks for sharing
As a 56 year old rocker I look back and realise we all took for granted the great music and amazing concerts back then. It just seems so lacking today, the youth today really missed out. That's why all these great intros are from a bygone era, but never forgotten. I guess you always have America's got Talent...😄
@steve tarrant I whole hearty agree with you. Today's young people don't understand what real must is.They think listening to techofunck and synthetic sounds is music. They couldn't be more wrong.It takes original thoughts,patients,and most importantly "SKILLS ". Not like OZZY who had to buy his songs from LEMME. K.from MOORHEAD.Now a days they write one or two lines repeat them over and over and they.WHAT A BUNCH OF LOSER. So yeah I'm with you, am happy with my old music on vinyl. LONG LIVE RO
59 & proud of all the concerts I saw starting in 1978!! It was a golden era for live music, REAL music!! Im still going strong. Pearl Jam at MSG on 9/11/22. Be excellent to each other & party on dudes!!! 🤘🎶🤘
@@BJMauck Hells Bells Seattle Wa Feb 11 82’ Angus on top of 12x12” stacks ( 3 4x12”) playing opening riff, jumps down on stage right when Malc & Co. kick in.
Very enjoyable and educational. Thanks for putting this together. Also thanks for tossing in War Pigs- one of my favorite songs by one of my favorite bands from my high school days.
Stumbled across this video - the best part is not the 5 songs... its your enthusiasm .... we all get that feeling when we go to see a band we love. Thanks for posting this.
My favorite opening song was at my first RUSH concert --- Moving Pictures in the spring of 1981. The arena was dark (stage not lit with lights) and they opened with 2112 Part I - Overture. FANTASTIC!!
Or the compilation from the R30 tour that is doing the rounds on RUclips leading into Spirit of Radio. Here's some tunes we may or may not play tonight. We're only on stage for 3 hours and we may well miss some out. Saw Rush on that tour in Manchester.
Iron Maiden with Churchill’s speech then they come in with Aces High is just absolutely kills it with a Supermarine Spitfire out over the stage and audience
Exactly! I've seen them quite some times, but The Legacy of the Beast tour opening.... It's in a different league, soooo good!! Gonna see them again in June and i can't wait haha
Yes got to include Iron Maiden. Also Richie Blackmore with or without Deep Purple. Give him a few guitars, amps, petrol, gun powder, & a cameraman, & he will put on an unforgettable show.
I saw Pink Floyd on Animals in Tampa in 1977, twice on MLOR, (1987-88) Tampa and Orlando, and once on the Division Bell tour in Tampa in 1994. They were and always will be the definitive live music experiance. Sight and sound. 👍😳👍
Saw it at Cleveland Municipal Stadium. Starts off with their jet taking off from Burke Lakefront Airport and buzzing the stadium, then all of the sudden they are playing. WOW!
First time I saw Queen they opened with Tie Your Mother Down. Full quad sound pyro and you were blown away immediately. Then it kept going. Boom! Day at the Races tour.
Van Halen opening with Unchained on the 1984 tour. Ed starts with a pick slide that goes into the intro riff, Alex comes in on the snare, and then Michael comes in with both of them when the lights hit and Dave has done the splits off the stage. And the tempo is kicked up a notch from the studio version. So it just adds to the epicness.
In Vancouver Canada, they opened with Unchained as well. Just imagine it. Dave did 10 flips across the entire stage in succession as Edward played that most epic riff. I thought it was a dream. It was so surreal. It was so crazy noise wise from the crowd before the show and even louder during.. Never heard anything like it. Louder than the band!
Absolutely! I was going to say the same thing. I was at the 1984 show at The Forum in Inglewood, probably the best entrance of any show I have been to! Dave jumping off the drum riser to kick off the show was as good as it gets!
Nobody…and I mean NOBODY, had a more incredible opening to a concert than the Mighty Van Halen did, in their prime! The lights go down, giant white lights circling about to the intro guitar squeal from the greatest guitarist that ever lived, Edward Van Halen. Then Alex Van Halen joins in along with Michael Anthony as the rhythm section symphony gets the crowd going. THEN up top on the drum riser a spotlight on Dave, as Roth holds his one hand up to greet the fans, leaps 20 feet off the riser in to the splits lands perfectly on the stage and UNCHAINED begins!!! It didn’t get better than that and I’ve witnessed thousands of concerts! Long live the Mighty Van Halen🎸🦁🎤🥁
@@necrom4454 Check out this link. This was from the 1984 tour in Montreal - ruclips.net/video/-90SPx6Xfwo/видео.html - I must add that Van Halen had the best MC to introduce the band before they hit the stage. I believe I read in one of Van Halen’s documentaries, Dave recruited one their roadies with the best voice, to introduce the band in each city as “Hellllooo (insert city name) are you ready to get down, I give you the Mighty Vannnn Halennn” That was enough to give you goosebumps,😀🎸!!!
I have tried and tried to make myself like EVH. I can always admit when someone is a supreme talent, and Eddie sure as hell was! ...but there's just an element of 80's pop in their sound that I just can't make myself like. It would be like trying to make myself like 'Take on Me.' - I can admit it's a catchy song, I clearly see why so many people add it to summer/party mixes... but I hate that sound. That goddamned 80's pop sound. I think, had I had the opportunity to see him live, it would have done the trick... but, alas, I wasn't ever able to catch a show before he passed (and I really made an effort!). So I think Eddie will always be the guy I have the utmost respect for and greatly admire the technicality and innovation of his playing but can't stand to listen too. I really love how passionate EVH fans are about his music. I really want to share in that, but I've always felt Van Halen was the missing link in my playing. I have never learned an EVH lick. Either way, that intro sounds incredible, Friend!
#1 had a smile on my face! I was in the Army 1971-73 and spent 1 year in Vietnam. Paranoid was a cassette I always had playing with War Pigs, Iron Man, Fairies Wear Boots as my favorites. Brought back some great memories!
I began going to arena concerts way back in around '70. I have seen so many shows.....but for me, nobody kicked everybody's ass like Joe Walsh prior to his Eagles days. His band was called Barnstorm....and they ripped the sky apart from the opening bell. Steve Miller also had epic entrances. Remember.....I'm talking the OLDER days now. Still have my rock 'n' roll soul very intact at age 67....no intention of quitting now.
I’m right there with you my friend. I’m 62 and there’s no better music than the rock of the 70’s and 80’s. If you’re paying close attention to the music in TV and movies you’ll hear a huge resurgence of this era of music.
1st song 1st album 1st song live. Live it. The times ive seen VH (not since 81) they opened once with Light up the Sky (only had 2 albums out then) and On Fire. Never opened with RWTD when i saw them. 5×. Rock on dude!
I saw them on their maiden tour in 78 and they pretty much played their entire first album and was completely blown away by EVH and his unbelievable skills on a guitar..
Glad to see you mentioned “In the Flesh” but I have to add one more thing. I saw Roger Waters in 2000 at the Gorge Amphitheater in George, Washington. They kicked off the show by flying a plane down the Columbia River and over the stage from the back, then directly over the audience as they kicked it off! Absolutely Epic!!
I actually thought "Pink Floyd" before the list started, but I said..."nah ,Pink won't make it" . But I did think of "Thin Ice" before the bands started playing . I used to walk thru the warehouse where I worked as a cabinetmaker for many years sing the lyrics to "Thin Ice" and people would have a brain spasm when they realized what I was quietly singly. I'm very impressed Guitargate used Pink Floyd, as I am with Black Sabbath. My first Black Sabbath was on an 8 -track tape. They came outta the gate in 1968 playing some of the heaviest metal .
Xanadu has always been my number 1. When I finally made it to a Rush concert, (I think it was Presto), I was way too high to remember much. I don't know when it was played during their set, but I remember thinking that I had to remember that song as they played it.🤓
I don’t know - Tom Sawyer was an awesome opener. Not necessarily my favorite song by then, but always great, live - and just really kicked off those shows.
I don't know mang. I have been to three Rush concerts in the highest prime of their career and the best thing I can say about Rush live is Mediocre in concert and this almost applies to most true 3 piece bands I've seen live it's because the layers used in recording studio doesn't carry over to playing live
Man, I never commented on any video ever but this one is top of the charts, never knew nor payed attention to these details, and yes these are all crowd killers, goose bumps all the way, great job man!
Van Halen opening with Hagar's "There's Only One Way to Rock" for the 5150 tour was amazing. Blew me away sitting in the 7th row. The band giving total respect to the new singer by opening with one of his songs, and the amazing energy of the performance was incredible.
5150 Tour was just about as good as it gets!! I was at the 2nd show in Memphis and BTO opened up and took care of business and Valerie and Kari came up the aisles to see it from the mixing board and then out went the lights and The Mighty Van Hagar just fkn played the best 2 plus hours I’ve ever seen from the band!!! My favorite one of all the other ones
Great video Michael. I love the energy and focus you put into describing the events. It's clear that you're an artist with a keen aesthetic and musical sensibility.
Dude, just discovered you today. You're a lot like Rick Beato in terms of your value to the world. To a non-musicians (but trying now in mid life) I find your content compelling. Keep up the good work.
KISS _ Detroit Rock City they only opened with it on one tour and a few others appearances. Just the way they hit the stage and the bombastic opening is as iconic as Rock and Roll All Night's finale.
Actually I've seen KISS open with Detroit Rock City on several tours. Sometimes the opening song is changed during different legs of a tour. A lot riding on location at the time.
I remember in 96 when they had the semi transparent curtain where you could read KISS. The guitars started, the drum roll. A flash and a bang and it fell down, revealing the band. That is an opening!
I took my two (barely) teenage sons to see Kiss on their (latest) farewell tour. They opened with DRC and they shot more fireworks during that one song than most 4th of July celebrations. It was my boys first ever concert and they had their jaws literally dropped. I’ve see Kiss in their prime but I wanted my kids to see them while they still could. It was awesome for them but more awesome for me.
Recently saw RogerWaters, This is not a drill tour. Started with Comfortably Numb. Stage set and graphics were amazing, made you see the song in a totally different light. Not like the intri,s you,ve suggested, but totally captivating in a different way. I,m mid 60,s and have seen many bands over the years,4 of the5 you mentioned. This performance is haunting and gets right into your soul and as a whole soectacle lives there with the best.
My daughter and I saw them about a year ago. It was an amazing show. I took her to her first concert when she was about eight. This time she took me and it was incredible.
I saw them in 1973 they open with Highway star. The rhythm section is so tight bass player and I think his name was Glover and Ian pace on drums. I probably haven’t seen as many shows as some of you have but that was an awfully good opening song.
Saw Emerson, Lake and Palmer at the old Cleveland Colosseum in '79. Lights went out, Introduction was made. They started playing Fanfare For The Common Man as the stage floor opened up and they came up through the floor. The entire band was wearing white and all of the instruments were white as well. Totally blown away. I still vividly remember that 40 years later.
Saw ELP in Milwaukee. 'Works' tour. Unbelievable show. They started out with Karn Evil 9 and the system was shorting every time Greg Lake hit a note. The lights went out for about 10 minutes and then they started over - wow! Carl Palmer's solo in Tank was pretty danged awesome, too.
I also saw EL&P 3 times. Boston Garden was the first time. The crowd went so crazy for 5 minutes you couldn't even hardly hear them play. They were also using the cutting edge quad system that night. Sooo very special.
For me, it will always be the opening to the 1996 KISS reunion tour. Rock and roll by Led Zeppelin ends. Lights dim, spotlights bath the arena. Amplifiers hit, then you hear “Alright (whatever city they’re in). You wanted the best, you got the best. The hottest band in the world, KISS!!!!!!!!!!” Opening chords of Deuce hits the kabuki curtain drops to explosions and there are the original 4 members in makeup
My wife got us tickets to RUSH in 2005 for my 40th birthday, I had seen them in '86 but don't recall what they opened with then but in '05 they opened with "Spirit of Radio". When a band opens with one of their biggest hits, one that is on the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame's "Songs That Shaped Rock and Roll" list, you just know the rest of the show is going to be awesome. It was.
First time viewer here. I love your passion for these openers, and I'm glad you gave a nod to Rush with Spirit of Radio. IMO this was their best opening during the Grace Under Pressure tour 1984. So energetic!!
Rush concerts were always amazing. When we took our kids it was pretty amazing. My 11 yr old daughter earned the respect of those around us because she also knew every song Long Live Rush!!!
Great list and can’t argue with the choices. But my personal fave for over the top build and crowd intensity was U2 ‘87 Joshua Tree Tour in Vancouver opening with Where the Streets Have no Name, at a time when the band was at the apex of their career. For a concert opening, nothing has ever matched that moment in time for me. 36 years and 2 months later and it still gives me chills to think about it.
Am I the only person that thinks Workin' For MCA (also in B Minor) is a great concert opener? It pretty much showcases the whole band, has great dual guitar parts, states the history of the band that brought them to that point, and even sorta functions as a joke in the sense that it's almost like saying "this is what we have to do for MCA". Skynyrd honestly doesn't get enough credit from all the "elites" it seems like to me. Ronnie Van Zant was a genius.
I Ain't the One is also a pretty epic opener as far as Skynyrd goes. Seen them do Pronounced in its entirety on one show, and the way they brought that in was pretty epic
Good choices. My 5 picks would be any opening by Queen. Dang! They know how to grab you and not let go from the first beats. Brian and Roger always say their intention was to “blind and deafen them in the first 15 minutes”. Now I’m Here and the fast version of We Will Rock You are two particularly electrifying openers. Even to this day (please, check all your Adam Lambert insults at the door) the production level and theatricality of their concerts is off the charts!
💯 EXACTLY....GEE let me see 1975 Stone cold crazy ..1976 tie mother down....1977-rock u...1978 fast version rock u...come on, Oh u got the legend of all rock stars singing Freddie Mercury can't be beat with slashing Brian May-with the power pack John Deacon Roger Taylor playing to 350,000 stadium Argentina...no1 does it better...
Of all the songs that Rush has opened a concert with I’d say The Spirit Of Radio was the best opener. A statement song that just screams high energy with all those epic changes that make a Rush song huge. If it makes you ask “where are they going to go after this?” then it’s a killer opener. Posted this before you got to your list of alternates but I’m leaving it to see who else agrees.
@@bobeagle7383 Also a great one. I saw every tour from 1976 to the last one and they always had a power opener as they had no shortage of kick ass songs. They closed their shows with In The Mood so many times Geddy finally said I can’t sing that song ever again and they never did.
Every time I saw Rush they opened with Force Ten great opener set the mood perfectly then just exploded! Tough times demand tough talk demand tough hearts demand tough songs demand...
Thanks for including Enter Sandman. Metalica did a great job combining a few songs a friend and I co-wrote. They were sold to Metalica by another Toronto song writer named Rolf Kemp, (he wrote "Hello, Hooray recorded by Alice Cooper). We never saw a nickel! I also played in the warm up act for an Ozzy Osbourne cross Canada tour in the 80,s. I came close to rock stardom, but.... No regrets, I got a taste of the big stage, and met some great people along the way. Note, if you ever meet a celebrity, treat them like would, meeting a stranger in a grocery store. They are real people, and they HATE that "OMG I'm a big fan" crap.
With almost 40 years of seeing live performances under my belt and a wide array music genres, Iron Maiden's "Aces High" with Churchill's speech as the intro, is still my number show opener of all time.
I saw the Powerslave tour at Radio City Music Hall.. They must have opened with Aces High??? We were drinking tall boys and SoCo that night. I haven't drank SoCo ever since.....
War Pigs and Ozzy, who really does love his job ♥️ Rush… always an experience to see them live and then we took our kids. 💕 they are sorely missed RIP Professor 💔
I know I'm biased, but Kickstart My Heart is an amazing opener. I have seen bands in bars, clubs an small venues play it...often to start a second set...when the crowds seem uninterested...because no matter how quiet and boring the crowd, that gets them all on their feet.
That Rio crowd - WOW! Wish I'd been in amongst that lot. They even sing along to the instrumentals. Those deep keyboard tones in the intro have such weight to them, just awesome.
Came here to say this. Opening chord and 6 seconds later 40,000 Brazilians are singing along. ruclips.net/video/c2jBLGuVx_o/видео.htmlsi=pgWhcKwkffyQzw8M
Nightwish openings at Wacken 2013 "Dark Chest of Wonders" and at sold out Wembley arena 2015 "Shudder before the Beautiful" are the best openings of this Century. ⛄👍
Hi you all, i 100% agree with you! Nightwish is of a higher level for sure! Michael problaby never heard of the magnificent Finnish band.. Greetings from the Netherlands 🤘🇳🇱🤘
Ozzy was the best cursing front man. He always says 'I love you' and 'God bless you' as well. You can tell how much he loves being on that stage. Like he was born to it.
I am personally biased on this because my first concert was Kiss with Rush opening (April 9, 1975). Therefore, my first choice is Kiss opening with Deuce. I appreciate the build-up intros but Led Zeppelin’s Rock n Roll followed by the ominous low hum, then “You wanted the best…”, the opening riff was all the more you needed or wanted to wait for before Kiss would blast into Deuce! You wanted them to come straight-out and hit you over the head with bombast, and of course they did…chills. My personal second choice would be Angel opening with the Tower! I couldn’t imagine them opening with anything else. Talk about the Majesty of Rock! BTW, Zero argument with your list, especially Sabbath.
I didn't go to many concerts, but my first concert was in 1973 at madison Square garden I was heading to my seat in the dark and led zeppelin started playing "rock and roll". Thought my head would explode. May not be top five, but I liked it
I have to admit, I just discovered your channel today, and I'm absolutely loving it. I myself am not a musician, but a big lover of music and really love being educated on all of the intricacies that make a song great. You really broke this video down in terms I, again being a non-musician, was able to clearly understand, and now have a deeper appreciation for artists I already loved.
Okay, I've seen ACDC three times: once with the opener you showed, once with 100 kids dressed as Angus playing Who Made Who, and finally, the best was starting with the bell on Hells Bells, the Back in Black tour. The last one was an awesome opener. Honorable mention to the Cult with Love Removal Machine just after the song came out. What a great song to open with.
I have seen AC/DC at least a hundred times. Well I am 58 years old. It never gets old. Never watching Angus Young mesmerizing just like you're watching. Eddie Van Halen that's how I feel the two are different but rock and roll is rock and roll
I agree with AC/DC but in 1981 at the Old Boston Garden they opened with “HELLS BELLS 🔔 THEY ROCKED THE PLACE! That should be Your #1 for sure! I Can Still Hear Those Bells Ringing! Hell Yeah!
I am surprised that I had to scroll that far to find Hells Bells mentioned. Personally, I think that Thunderstruck is a bit overrated, has been overused and can in fact be a bit boring. To me Live Wire and Hell Bellsare the ones. Hells Bells was their opener on the BiB Tour in 1980. It was the very first concert I ever attended (went with a friend, we were both 14). We got to enjoy the bluesy 1980 incarnation of Whitesnake as support - and enjoyed that a lot. Then came on the bell and that spine tingling lick, the crowd just went mad with "I'm roaring thunder, pouring rain ..." and my life was never gonna be the same. That concert - of similar intensity as 1979 Let there be rock in Paris - has stayed with me until this very day. The insane performance of Angus in his early to mid-twenties is something you may love and appreciate from a film recording but in truth ... you'll really have no idea what it was like to be there. That sound, that drive and that level of complete and utter madness on stage just could never be bettered.
I saw the San Francisco show at the Cow Palace. Greatest opening I ever witnessed! Bon recently passing I really didn't know how this new guy would measure up in a live show. Angus playing the picking riff in the dark while the bell slowly descends bathed in a golden light, here comes Brian Johnson running around on stage carrying a sledgehammer. He hit that bell so hard you could feel it in your chest. I still get goosebumps remembering that moment.
In 77, at summerjam at Arrowhead stadium, Linda Ronstadt did an awesome set, then it got dark and there was a 20 min delay before the headlining act, it was dark and all of a sudden you heard Don Felder play the open to Hotel California, then at the 3 beat drum beat the lights come up and the hotel California back drop was up. The crowd went absolutely crazy! Best concert open I have ever seen.
People have already said this but to reiterate..U2 “where the streets have no name” Joshua Tree tour..The slow church like beginnings to the band members coming to stage one by one..Song is very powerful
Not an opening song, so not exactly answering the question, but every Yes concert opening was epic. Lights down and the aura of expectation grew and grew. Then Stravinsky’s Firebird Suite blared out, and then there they were. Awesome
My favorite opening was Rock and Roll by Led Zeppelin in 1973 at madison square garden from the movie The Song Remains The Same, to me it's the most memorable.
I'm guessing you know that opening very well. The next time you're watching it, look for my late friend Tex as the camera pans the audience. He and some others watched it on premier night while I was working. He called me the next morning thrilled, "Dude! Steve, me, and Donny are in the movie!!" (Tex was a light skin Black kid. Mistaken for Peurto Rican, often.) When I questioned him if it was really him, he replied, "There aren't many brothers at a Zeppelin show. It's like finding a raisin in the sugar bowl!"
@@philweeks8459 I FOUND HIM ! ! ! 1 minute and 13 seconds into Rock N Roll. He's standing behind two guys wearing white shirts and he's a head taller. I've watch that movie a thousand times..... 100 of them flipping my lid on LSD. I've often wondered about people in the audience and how many of them ever saw themselves.... Now I KNOW that at least 3 did. I'll never watch it again and NOT see Tex. Thank you ! ! ! p.s. This movie is two COMPLETELY different movies. It changes into something indescribable on acid. I've turn so many of my friends on to it.... Never a disappointment. Thanks again.
I saw Led Zeppelin in Tampa Stadium June 1977. Still the most remembered concert experience, 2 1/2 songs, rain and a riot! I was a junior in high school, my parents freaked, it took 4 hours to get out of the parking lot, Any way, they began with "Song Remains The Same".
I think Jimmy really wanted to kick off each show going full blast to get people going.They did it with Immigrant Song in the early `70s then used RocknRoll then Song Remains the Same. All powerhouse songs to start with.
I was a sound roadie for Showco on that tour .That gig is in the top 10 gigs I did .As you can imagine the load out was fucked ! Also I dodged many whiskey bottles and other flying debris as I pulled all the mics after it was announced the show was over . IT'S ONLY ROCK & ROLL!!
@@Emma77x7 I know having see the band maybe at the lowest point healthwise in Feb.`75 Nonetheless we all looked past Robert`s horse voice and Jimmy`s busted finger and were all just happy as clams just to see them right in front of us.
I was really disappointed that KISS was nothing more than an honorable mention. All of their openers are over the top. From Deuce to I Stole Your Love to Detroit Rock City. Epic!🤘😎🤘
Yes Kiss has some great opening songs. Though I always thought that they should open with Creatures of the Night or Psycho Circus since they were recorded.
I was at the opening of Metallica’s Wherever I May Roam tour in March of ‘92, I was 15 years old. To this day it’s still the greatest opening to a concert I’ve ever seen. I cannot imagine a better more climactic opening, that album and tour set the world on fire. Thx for the memory Metallica!
Most of these bands were before my time. But the BEST opening song I saw live was Korn’s “Blind”. The opening ride cymbal with the ride bell, the single guitar playing a simple rhythm, bass guitar kicks in with a simple riff then exits, the second guitar plays against the 1st, finally JD asks “Are you ready” before the band breaks into the song and crowd goes absolutely nuts. Good times.
I remember when AC/DC would open with Hell's Bells, and when the started with Riff Raff, they could probably start with any one of about 20 of their songs and have the same effect of the crowd, they are masters.
Agreed. ACDC is incredibly unique. There was an Aussie band a few years back that sounded a lot like them and denied having had any ACDC influence. Lost respect for them cause they were full of shit. What's wrong with wanting to be like ACDC?
late to the party as usual..... sorry! not really a rock person, i'm 58, but i do love music, good music, and genuine enthusiasm about music! i really enjoyed this!! good job :) :)
"You wanted the best, you got the best..." Then, 'Detroit Rock City.' Explosions, loud guitar, and a two-hour show to follow. However, what song would I replace on the top five? I think you made some great choices. Some of the greatest rockers of all time. Very good list.
Honestly my last U2 concert began with Where the Streets Have No Name. Seems like it would be no big deal but the stadium is roaring with people waiting for the show to begin when all of a sudden you hear this faint string of the chord progression of the song and as it repeats, it gets louder and louder and louder. Then the just the guitar part starts filling in, building, then the Bass and drums bring it home and the whole thing explodes! I don't know if it was the build of it but it was spectacular!!!!
Holy smokes, Michael. I once saw The Flaming Lips at a festival years ago. They came out on stage an hour early and told us if anyone asked, this was their sound check. Then they ripped one of the best covers of War Pigs I’ve ever heard. Melted my face. I’ll never forget it.
Oh cmon! The Flamers Lips??? The whiny ass hippie she don’t use butter….she don’t use cheese…guys? Must have an extremely low melting temp. Those guys shouldn’t even be allowed to play a Sabbath song.
I was right against the wall where the fireworks went off for the opening to Roger Waters, The Wall in Melbourne. To say it was warm with those fireworks was an understatement
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Every intro gave me goosebumps.
Well done ..
This is why your videos get blocked. You're using their songs to promote your products. You are making money from someone else's work.
@@danielhendriksen9232 I bet you're fun at parties.
The location of that Metallica show wasn't Donnington, it was in 1991 Moscow, Russia with over 1,000,000 people in attendance.
@James Buxton Oh wont you please welcome home....
Queen…Live Aid 85… opened with the best they had. no special effects. Just walked out there and did it. 30 mins of pure music and the crowd.
I think queen should be in the list too. It’s an iconic concert
I think queen should be in the list too. It’s an iconic concert
A new era began in Wembley that day.
LOVE me some Queen!
No question that you nailed it.
Rock concerts in the 80’s never needed anything fancy….just incredibly amazing music!
I remember going to Day on the Green in Oakland, CA open air.
Same in the 70s with the exception of Kiss of course LOL
@@georgegarvey7338 I would like to have seen the Skynyrd show show on the Green
@@terryfox1575❤
The 80's also had some of the most elaborate stage productions to date. Priest Fuel for Life Tour, their biggest production yet. Maiden World Slavery tour, arguably one of the most incredible live metal productions they've even done. The second half of the 80's was all about massive live productions and huge stadium tours. I worked with a lot of touring bands at the time, in the 90's they started to cut it all back again.
"Welcome back my friends, to the show that never ends. We're so glad you could attend, come inside,
come inside !"
Soooo, sooo GOOD!!!
@@johnloupis2347 Yeah, and Carl Palmer has stated that a movie studio ( Radar
Pictures ) has secured the rights to the lyrics from "Karn Evil 9" and is in the process
of making a feature length movie based on those lyrics ,which hopefully should be in theatres sometime in the future.
ELP
That is exactly what I thought when I saw the title of the video
@@funnyfunny6842 same here!
-Black dog-Led Zep
-Back in black-AC/DC
-You really got me-VH
-Tom Sawyer-Rush
-Photograph-Def Leppard
-I don't believe in love-QR
-Crazy train-Ozzy
-Any way you want it-Journey
-Juke box hero-Foreigner
-Run to the hills-Iron Maiden
-More than a feeling-Boston
-Unchain the night-Dokken
-Life in the fast lane-Eagles
-Just what I needed-The cars
-Welcome home (Sanitarium)-Metallica
-No one like you-Scorpions
Kiss detroit rock city....the sustained bass line with the lights slowly moving. The announcer "AAAALLLRIGHT (insert city name) "YOU WANTED THE BEST YOU GOT THE BEST!"
Reo Speedwagon , Loverboy concert in San Diego, CA was amazing but It could have been just the pot 😵💫
@@tt55899 That's the comment I was looking for. Tim Rozners voice got EVERYONE on their feet, I'm not a massive KISS fan, but fantastic way to start a show.
Any thing from marillion warmed up for rush actually put on a better show
You can’t go wrong with the ACDC while my second choice is The Rolling Stones - START ME UP
Michael, I am a HUGE fan of your enthusiasm, your love for music. I'm no musician myself but I am a music lover and I LOVE your joy of sharing music with us. Thank you - just thank you.
Spot on!
Tom Sawyer - Rush in Rio was absolute perfection when the Brazilian crowd heard the first note and went into a frenzy. The energy in that stadium was incredible!
Rush Tom Sawyer with the South Park intro
I saw a few shows on the Vapor Trails tour - and it was insane to see them open with TS.
For 15+ years I went to the Roskilde Rock Festival during the late 1980's, '90's and 2000's. But I never went to Rock in Rio. In 1985 many of my Brazilian friends had been to Rock in Rio, I really want to experience that festival some day.
They also open with Limelight a lot. Hail Rush. R.I.P. Neil. Yep Rush in Rio is my favorite live album of all-time. Cheers.
@@larsrons7937I was at Roskilde Fest in 1983. Simple Minds, Marilion, Mek Pek Party Band . Don't remember the first song of Simple Minds. ...I think New Gold Dream. 😁
I just took my niece out to a nice restaurant for her 15th birthday and on the 1.5 hour drive back to her home she wanted to listen to songs that she liked and it blew my mind that they still love 70s, 80s, music. I asked her why and she said it’s just better! I see this a lot with young people now and I’m so happy for it.
Yea most if the new music does not have IT. i work with a couple you g guys & they are in to the Classic Rock era. Bad Company Rush all the stuff I grew up on. It us true they knew how to write with a lil magic Triumph was a great band with opener
My daughter, now 23,
Said to me on a couple of occasions while growing up "dad it just isn't fair, you grew up with all of the best music!" And she is right.
I’m seeing a lot of this myself these days. It’s really cool.
Wow most of my grandchildren like the old rock and roll to.
I was born 1960, music has been the biggest part of my life, iv just retired, but I still play in a gigging band. Music can be a physical, spiritual, emotional, experience. Some people just don't get it, but some do, I believe my life has been way better for it
Iron Maiden starting off their 2013 Download festival set by buzzing the crowd with a Spitfire, whilst the Churchill "we will fight" speech starts up, launching into Aces High on the "we will never surrender" was a hell of an opening
That was excellent. I've seen Maiden play almost every year since 1983...every opening is pretty epic
Awesome! But they opened with Moonchild on the 2013 tour.
😂😂😂😂😂😂. Are you for real. Pure garbage
When you say buzzed with a spitfire, do you mean a Spitfire warbird went over the crowd?
@@caseyynelmss Yes, at a reasonably low altitude. Given the proximity to East Midlands Airport, I'm surprised they were allowed to do it
Great list. My additions:
Iron Maiden - Aces High
Rush - Tom Sawyer
That Metallica footage is from Monsters of Rock, Moscow 1991. Epic attendance of 1.6 million people with only 56 injuries and 0 deaths! Absolutely their biggest crowd ever!! So awesome!
Shut the. hell up play the music
Mettallicka , literally took soviet era communist ideology and showed the door to the boushivic revolution!!! , they need to go back there & finish the job !!!
Not the biggest crowd ever though impressive
more like 600,000
while it is in the top five or ten crowd sizes (I think Rod Stewart holds the biggest record), still amazing!
Queen, One Vision at Wembley Stadium in 1986 - I still get goose bumps every time I watch it. Just the best opening to a gig ever!
Exactly lol
And Freddie Fucking Mercury bruh
Best frontman ever-
@@Rumit.Aabsolutely 💯👊👊
Queen mid 70's opening with Now I'm Here, great starting riff, Freddie running from one side of the stage to hot the spotlight and suddenly an explosion with Roger's screams. Got the blood pumping.
one of my favorite shows of all time .. and I got in on a used ticket :)
@@zeke7237 I was thinking the same. 1st time I saw Queen and they teased you. Little glimpse of Freddie and then they crashed in. 7 rows from the front . Memories
I grew up in the 70s, I had the pleasure of listening to some of the most amazing rock and Roll bands of the era. Amazing
Me, too, and we didn't go broke doing it.
@@wendybutler1681 and all seats were the same price. It was first come first serve and a lot of times we camped out at the venue to get tickets
The 70s were ok but they started off trying too hard to recapture what we lost in the 60s. I can’t stand this know it all hosting calling out chords
Same here
Enter Sandman performance was at the Tushino Airfield in Moscow 91. You can see all the Russian soldiers in the 1,6 million crowd. But hey great video as always.
Harvester of sorrow in that live in Moscow was absolutely insane
ac/dc opened that concert with thunderstruck, so good.
Damnnnn
Damn right..🔥🤘🔥
I think he may have replaced it with Moscow for copyright after. His timing is off.
Saw Led Zeppelin in May of 1973 and they opened “Rock and Roll”. That one has been hard to beat for 49 years.
You must have did that one wrong, I saw them in 78 and can only remember Stairway to Heaven and a 45 minute drum solo with Robert Plant switching out with John Bonham at some point in the concert and that's all I can remember other than getting lost after it was over.
That must have been sooo good!
Absolutely the best opening song ever. Not even close! Bonzo saying "all right, let's go!" just before the first note. Classic.
Rock n roll Madison Square Garden yes this is the ultimate best opening ever!! 1973. Check it out the song remains the same full concert
Saw them at Kezar Stadium in 73. Best. Concert. Ever.
Another great opener is hearing Axl’s scream “ You know where you are?!… You’re in the jungle baby!!” while the music around Slashes lead builds up. Then boom, the epic riff melody that sends crowd crazy
I love how he followed it with, _”Wake up! Time to diiiiiiiiiiiiie!!”_ a line from the film _Blade Runner…_
But Guns opens with Its So Easy
Axl Rose is absolutely the most overrated rock vocalist of all-time. He is absolutely the best worm-dancer, however. 🤘🏼
I saw GnR at the Hubert H Humphrey metrodome when they toured with Fairh No More and Metallica, and their first song was Welcome to the Jungle, and Axl screamed, "Minneapolis, do you know where the fuck you are?" Staduim went wild.
Iron Maiden fear of the dark,en vivo.
People singing guitar lines, bass lines...... every single Word.
Breathtaking
When they opened with Aces High was awesome also
@@trustydodgesbcglobaaces high opening was insane!
Took my partner who didn’t know or like Pink Floyd to Roger Waters the Wall concert. She was blown away with the start, middle and end of this concert ( all of it ) and wanted to go again. Was the most amazing spectacle we have ever seen.
Even though they aren’t my favorite band, hands down, the first time I saw PINK FLOYD on The Momentary Lapse of Reason tour was easily the best concert I’ve ever seen to this day. And I’ve seen A LOT! All the big bands, numerous times each. It’s impossible to describe what that live show is like. That’s the power of a good concert. It hits you point blank right between the eyes and ears! PINK FLOYD is next level live performance. What A SHOW!
Saw them 3 times.
saw waters 3 maybe 4 years ago in Madrid,watched the best and waters absolutely blew my mind ,for 50 euro so good lol Mr waters I salute you
How do you not know them and also don’t like them?? That’s impossible. Not know of Pink Floyd. Is he or she Amish?? Never mind rumspringa even they know Pink Floyd.
@@fuzzybutkus8970 she likes Bay City Rollers, Paper Lace, Abba, Dolly Parton, Dr Hook etc Although she did know Another Brick in the Wall
@@philstone3859 Same...Opened with "Welcome to the Machine"...
Rush. "The Spirit of Radio." The house lits dim, the audience roars, the "Three Stooges" theme plays, Alex sends those sixteenth notes sailing out into the still-dark auditorium, then the stage lights blaze on with the first big downbeat. Perfection.
Agree completely... I seen that opening a couple of times and no other word describes it but...
Perfect.
I only missed one tour since Hold Your Fire 88
Saw Rush 70 times but my most memorable show - and a Top 10 moment in my life - was my first show when they played Radio City in ‘83 . Your comment was how they
opened the show and it was 2 hours of ecstasy for me followed by another 4+ decades of them as my
Favorite band
@@nickhoagland6568 Seventy?! Dang, man! That's Deadhead-level dedication. Good for you. (Just three for me. I feel like a piker now.)
Perfect...
Queen opened 79- 81 with" We will rock you"( fast version) nothings better to power up an audience
Enjoyed this. My personal favourite opening track is Rush The Spirit of Radio. With Rush’s cinematic videos creating excitement and anticipation, that opening riff just sent a charge down my spine. And the crowd ALWAYS got involved. Air drumming, hands in the air and we were all immediately connected to the band. Awesome!
Hello Hello Hellooo.....Hello.
Yes!
Greatest band ever. They proved it over and over again. To stay together as long as they did is something no other band has done before or since. Even though the first album has Rutsey on drums they changed quite a bit on fly by night so that is where Rush really started being great.
Wow! This guy is able to put into words what millions have felt at these shows
unfortunately using the wrong prepositions ;)
Always loved the Churchill Speech + Aces High opening from Iron Maiden. That shit makes you go for a ride real fast
100% Marco - To me after 500 plus concerts - that is the #1 concert opener. And I've seen all the top metal acts and have enjoyed them all. But Maiden - and specifically Dr Dr, then Chruchills Speech, then Aces High just cannot be beat. If that doesn't make your hairs stand up then too bad for you!!!
The whicker man opening at rocking rio which heralded the return of adrian smith
@@bigstevej0460 I wasn;t at that show but was at the Irvine Meadows and also Universal Ampitheater show on the BNW tour and that was a pretty damn good opener I agree. But for me not quite to the level of Aces High.
@@bigstevej0460 I was debating which one to use for the comment lol
@@charlestelk6526 Churchill speech was killer . To me every intro is great 👍. Starting listening to them in 1980 when I was 10 and seen every tour since 1984 up until this June at download Festival in the uk 🇬🇧
ELP...
Welcome back my friends to the show that never ends
We're so glad you could attend,
Come inside, come inside
There behind a glass stands a real blade of grass
Be careful as you pass, move along, move along
1) Rush, following their film intro with cartoon figures arriving at a concert while the Three Stooges theme music plays, followed by the band launching into "The Big Money." 2) Emerson Lake and Powell running down the first four numbers of their new self-titled album, starting with "The Score." What's so cool about that song is that it starts off with a series of drones announced with cymbal hits, and then Emerson starts up a kind of keyboard retrospective from his side of the stage: a sequenced FM-synth throb (1980s - i.e., the present), a fanfare from the all-analog Yamaha GX1 (1970s), and an open octave on the Hammond with Leslie spin-up/spin-down (1960s). To me at least, it was incredibly exciting.
Yeah, Big Money was a great opener.
As soon as I saw the video title I thought of Rush. When I saw them after the Three Stooges theme they launched into Spirit of Radio. Great, great opening for a show!
The Southpark open to Tom Sawyer was the best intermission comeback I've ever seen.
Highway Star - Deep Purple... The adeline rush and build up is second to none...
"Burn" is a VERY close second.......
Both my favorite openers of all time. Spotlight kid and kill the king is next .
I can definitely agree with that ✊🏼
Blackmore: four epic openers - Burn, Highway Star, Kill the King, and Spotlight Kid. Name another guitarist who has equalled that?
@@robertritchie2860 none
Man, I see in your face just what I feel in my soul when I watch these moments. Do you find it hard to explain to people in your life just how much this affects us? My God just great moments. Thanks for sharing
YESSSSSSSSS! WOOOOOOOOOOO!
Saw lots of stadium concerts back in the day. I’m psyched at almost 70. Love the picks. Really glad your channel just popped up!!
Detroit Rock City from Kiss is such a great opener so energetic and such a great song
As a 56 year old rocker I look back and realise we all took for granted the great music and amazing concerts back then. It just seems so lacking today, the youth today really missed out. That's why all these great intros are from a bygone era, but never forgotten. I guess you always have America's got Talent...😄
Couldn't agree more. Original and raw art.
@steve tarrant I whole hearty agree with you. Today's young people don't understand what real must is.They think listening to techofunck and synthetic sounds is music. They couldn't be more wrong.It takes original thoughts,patients,and most importantly "SKILLS ". Not like OZZY who had to buy his songs
from LEMME. K.from MOORHEAD.Now a days they write one or two lines repeat them over and over and they.WHAT A BUNCH OF LOSER.
So yeah I'm with you, am happy
with my old music on vinyl. LONG
LIVE RO
59 & proud of all the concerts I saw starting in 1978!! It was a golden era for live music, REAL music!!
Im still going strong. Pearl Jam at MSG on 9/11/22.
Be excellent to each other & party on dudes!!! 🤘🎶🤘
Agree still rockin 57 years young
@steve tarrant I blame the Millennium AND GEN-Z.
Whatever song AC/DC starts with is automatically top five.
as usual, Tom is correct
AC/DC could start off with Mary had a little lamb and it would be epic.
When I saw AC⚡️DC live, I don’t even remember what song they opened with, but I had goosebumps for 90 minutes straight!
@@BJMauck Hells Bells Seattle Wa Feb 11 82’ Angus on top of 12x12” stacks ( 3 4x12”) playing opening riff, jumps down on stage right when Malc & Co. kick in.
Same with KISS.
Very enjoyable and educational. Thanks for putting this together. Also thanks for tossing in War Pigs- one of my favorite songs by one of my favorite bands from my high school days.
Stumbled across this video - the best part is not the 5 songs... its your enthusiasm .... we all get that feeling when we go to see a band we love. Thanks for posting this.
Agree! This is one of the great parts of social media. The love.
Absolutely the exact same for me, came by it on accident and WOW!! What band were u talking about that u can’t say
.....until Sabbath
My favorite opening song was at my first RUSH concert --- Moving Pictures in the spring of 1981. The arena was dark (stage not lit with lights) and they opened with 2112 Part I - Overture. FANTASTIC!!
I sure wish I could've been there for that
Or the compilation from the R30 tour that is doing the rounds on RUclips leading into Spirit of Radio. Here's some tunes we may or may not play tonight. We're only on stage for 3 hours and we may well miss some out. Saw Rush on that tour in Manchester.
just as my ass hit the seat the lights went out :)
I saw that tour - such a great concert.
@@loafersheffield There's a reason you can look that up as the "Best Intro Ever!"
Iron Maiden with Churchill’s speech then they come in with Aces High is just absolutely kills it with a Supermarine Spitfire out over the stage and audience
Exactly! I've seen them quite some times, but The Legacy of the Beast tour opening.... It's in a different league, soooo good!! Gonna see them again in June and i can't wait haha
The Spitfire is my absolute favorite WWII aircraft. That flying overhead and Iron Maiden?!?! 🤘🙃 Oh Hell Yes!
Absolutely a kick ass opening song.
Yes got to include Iron Maiden.
Also Richie Blackmore with or without Deep Purple. Give him a few guitars, amps, petrol, gun powder, & a cameraman, & he will put on an unforgettable show.
@@WolfsPyroFX snap, roll on june
I saw Pink Floyd on Animals in Tampa in 1977, twice on MLOR, (1987-88) Tampa and Orlando, and once on the Division Bell tour in Tampa in 1994.
They were and always will be the definitive live music experiance. Sight and sound. 👍😳👍
I was at Tampa twice, Division Bell, and The Wall
Saw it at Cleveland Municipal Stadium. Starts off with their jet taking off from Burke Lakefront Airport and buzzing the stadium, then all of the sudden they are playing. WOW!
@@s7centnickel915 Yep.....I was there too.
I was late to the party so I’ll never see Pink Floyd but I’ve seen RW twice and was unreal…
Good list… but I miss Queen at Wembley with one man, one goal.
It chills me up every time I see it… love it ❤️
First time I saw Queen they opened with Tie Your Mother Down. Full quad sound pyro and you were blown away immediately. Then it kept going. Boom! Day at the Races tour.
I saw Queen in 78, opened with Tie your mother down.
One Vision the songs called.
Van Halen opening with Unchained on the 1984 tour. Ed starts with a pick slide that goes into the intro riff, Alex comes in on the snare, and then Michael comes in with both of them when the lights hit and Dave has done the splits off the stage. And the tempo is kicked up a notch from the studio version. So it just adds to the epicness.
Yup. Unchained... it just kicks you in the ass.
Coliseum Cleveland
The one woman bawled when it ended. We all wanted more.
YES.
In Vancouver Canada, they opened with Unchained as well. Just imagine it. Dave did 10 flips across the entire stage in succession as Edward played that most epic riff. I thought it was a dream. It was so surreal. It was so crazy noise wise from the crowd before the show and even louder during.. Never heard anything like it. Louder than the band!
Absolutely! I was going to say the same thing. I was at the 1984 show at The Forum in Inglewood, probably the best entrance of any show I have been to! Dave jumping off the drum riser to kick off the show was as good as it gets!
Nobody…and I mean NOBODY, had a more incredible opening to a concert than the Mighty Van Halen did, in their prime! The lights go down, giant white lights circling about to the intro guitar squeal from the greatest guitarist that ever lived, Edward Van Halen. Then Alex Van Halen joins in along with Michael Anthony as the rhythm section symphony gets the crowd going. THEN up top on the drum riser a spotlight on Dave, as Roth holds his one hand up to greet the fans, leaps 20 feet off the riser in to the splits lands perfectly on the stage and UNCHAINED begins!!! It didn’t get better than that and I’ve witnessed thousands of concerts! Long live the Mighty Van Halen🎸🦁🎤🥁
Can you link it pls?
Agreed. I saw Van Halen at their touring peak on the 1982 Diver Down tour. I haven't been the same since.
Brown m&m pueblo colo.
Oh. My. They were changing the laws and adding up the fines hours after that show!
@@necrom4454 Check out this link. This was from the 1984 tour in Montreal - ruclips.net/video/-90SPx6Xfwo/видео.html - I must add that Van Halen had the best MC to introduce the band before they hit the stage. I believe I read in one of Van Halen’s documentaries, Dave recruited one their roadies with the best voice, to introduce the band in each city as “Hellllooo (insert city name) are you ready to get down, I give you the Mighty Vannnn Halennn” That was enough to give you goosebumps,😀🎸!!!
I have tried and tried to make myself like EVH. I can always admit when someone is a supreme talent, and Eddie sure as hell was!
...but there's just an element of 80's pop in their sound that I just can't make myself like. It would be like trying to make myself like 'Take on Me.' - I can admit it's a catchy song, I clearly see why so many people add it to summer/party mixes... but I hate that sound. That goddamned 80's pop sound.
I think, had I had the opportunity to see him live, it would have done the trick... but, alas, I wasn't ever able to catch a show before he passed (and I really made an effort!). So I think Eddie will always be the guy I have the utmost respect for and greatly admire the technicality and innovation of his playing but can't stand to listen too.
I really love how passionate EVH fans are about his music. I really want to share in that, but I've always felt Van Halen was the missing link in my playing. I have never learned an EVH lick.
Either way, that intro sounds incredible, Friend!
Highway Star deep purple hands down
Yes!!!!!
Or possibly Burn.
#1 had a smile on my face! I was in the Army 1971-73 and spent 1 year in Vietnam. Paranoid was a cassette I always had playing with War Pigs, Iron Man, Fairies Wear Boots as my favorites. Brought back some great memories!
AC/DC legendary rockers add up to your formulas , hells Bells among many others
For me, Queen at the NEC in Birmingham (UK) in the 80's with an explosive version of We Will Rock You
I love this guy's enthusiasm and pure joy when discussing music.
seriously 💥💥💥
Bonus: he's a damn good guitar instructor too.
Simplicity, stage presence, audience participation, THERE CAN ONLY BE ONE- QUEEN, Freddy Mercury, We Will Rock You. Light years ahead!
🤘🏼😎🤘🏼
Freddie is the GOAT ❤️❤️
I began going to arena concerts way back in around '70. I have seen so many shows.....but for me, nobody kicked everybody's ass like Joe Walsh prior to his Eagles days. His band was called Barnstorm....and they ripped the sky apart from the opening bell. Steve Miller also had epic entrances. Remember.....I'm talking the OLDER days now. Still have my rock 'n' roll soul very intact at age 67....no intention of quitting now.
I’m right there with you my friend. I’m 62 and there’s no better music than the rock of the 70’s and 80’s. If you’re paying close attention to the music in TV and movies you’ll hear a huge resurgence of this era of music.
Van Halen used to start concerts with "Running With the Devil" really set the mood.
1st song 1st album 1st song live. Live it. The times ive seen VH (not since 81) they opened once with Light up the Sky (only had 2 albums out then) and On Fire. Never opened with RWTD when i saw them. 5×. Rock on dude!
Until they wrote unchained which blows rwtd out of the water
Van Halen was excellent in the stadium!
Romeo Delight was the opening song first time I saw them.
I saw them on their maiden tour in 78 and they pretty much played their entire first album and was completely blown away by EVH and his unbelievable skills on a guitar..
Glad to see you mentioned “In the Flesh” but I have to add one more thing. I saw Roger Waters in 2000 at the Gorge Amphitheater in George, Washington. They kicked off the show by flying a plane down the Columbia River and over the stage from the back, then directly over the audience as they kicked it off! Absolutely Epic!!
I was there as well.
Saw him in Winnipeg Canada and the show started with that
Too bad Waters is a closeted Nazi with humongous “daddy issues” . Am Israel 🇮🇱 Chai !!!
I actually thought "Pink Floyd" before the list started, but I said..."nah ,Pink won't make it" . But I did think of "Thin Ice" before the bands started playing . I used to walk thru the warehouse where I worked as a cabinetmaker for many years sing the lyrics to "Thin Ice" and people would have a brain spasm when they realized what I was quietly singly.
I'm very impressed Guitargate used Pink Floyd, as I am with Black Sabbath. My first Black Sabbath was on an 8 -track tape. They came outta the gate in 1968 playing some of the heaviest metal .
So you thought youd might like to go to the show*
Rush - 'Best intro ever' into 'Spirit of Radio' is my all time favorite intro.
Love Bastille Day on Rush... All the world's a stage
Xanadu has always been my number 1. When I finally made it to a Rush concert, (I think it was Presto), I was way too high to remember much. I don't know when it was played during their set, but I remember thinking that I had to remember that song as they played it.🤓
I realized after many concerts that I enjoy and remember more wh3n sober. Delayed intelligence. . .
I don’t know - Tom Sawyer was an awesome opener. Not necessarily my favorite song by then, but always great, live - and just really kicked off those shows.
Yep Texas Jam early 80s
Rush’s Spirit of the Radio was always my favorite opener. Speaks so well to the majesty and mystery and magic of music.
Good call, Rush had a lot of iconic openers: Bastille Day, 2112 Overture, Spirit, Limelight, Tom Sawyer
Definitely agree with that.
Rush 🇨🇦!
I don't know mang. I have been to three Rush concerts in the highest prime of their career and the best thing I can say about Rush live is Mediocre in concert and this almost applies to most true 3 piece bands I've seen live it's because the layers used in recording studio doesn't carry over to playing live
@@jimmy7144 OK…
Man, I never commented on any video ever but this one is top of the charts, never knew nor payed attention to these details, and yes these are all crowd killers, goose bumps all the way, great job man!
THX!
Van Halen opening with Hagar's "There's Only One Way to Rock" for the 5150 tour was amazing. Blew me away sitting in the 7th row. The band giving total respect to the new singer by opening with one of his songs, and the amazing energy of the performance was incredible.
Live without a net in new haven and changed to new halen
I grew up on VH live without a net. Knew every move of the show.
5150 Tour was just about as good as it gets!! I was at the 2nd show in Memphis and BTO opened up and took care of business and Valerie and Kari came up the aisles to see it from the mixing board and then out went the lights and The Mighty Van Hagar just fkn played the best 2 plus hours I’ve ever seen from the band!!! My favorite one of all the other ones
@@terryashmore2109 he was still with Betsy at the time . Sammy didn’t meet her till after the second album
Absolutely!! Yes.
Great video Michael. I love the energy and focus you put into describing the events. It's clear that you're an artist with a keen aesthetic and musical sensibility.
Times Like These by Foo Fighters is a huge opener. The build up, the explosion. Just magnificent.
Dude, just discovered you today. You're a lot like Rick Beato in terms of your value to the world. To a non-musicians (but trying now in mid life) I find your content compelling. Keep up the good work.
KISS _ Detroit Rock City they only opened with it on one tour and a few others appearances. Just the way they hit the stage and the bombastic opening is as iconic as Rock and Roll All Night's finale.
ruclips.net/video/qxhYWzajKQk/видео.html
Actually I've seen KISS open with Detroit Rock City on several tours. Sometimes the opening song is changed during different legs of a tour. A lot riding on location at the time.
They've opened with drc on loads of tours
I remember in 96 when they had the semi transparent curtain where you could read KISS. The guitars started, the drum roll. A flash and a bang and it fell down, revealing the band. That is an opening!
I took my two (barely) teenage sons to see Kiss on their (latest) farewell tour. They opened with DRC and they shot more fireworks during that one song than most 4th of July celebrations. It was my boys first ever concert and they had their jaws literally dropped. I’ve see Kiss in their prime but I wanted my kids to see them while they still could. It was awesome for them but more awesome for me.
Recently saw RogerWaters, This is not a drill tour. Started with Comfortably Numb. Stage set and graphics were amazing, made you see the song in a totally different light. Not like the intri,s you,ve suggested, but totally captivating in a different way. I,m mid 60,s and have seen many bands over the years,4 of the5 you mentioned. This performance is haunting and gets right into your soul and as a whole soectacle lives there with the best.
My daughter and I saw them about a year ago. It was an amazing show. I took her to her first concert when she was about eight. This time she took me and it was incredible.
Deep Purple: Highway Star. The bass/drums buildup for the intro is clearly one of the best of all time.
Love highway star, especially when in a leadfoot driving mood.
Made in Japan and Get Yer Ya -Ya's Out - Highway Star and JJ Flash the two greatest openers - they still give me goose bumps after almost 50 years!
I saw them in 1973 they open with Highway star. The rhythm section is so tight bass player and I think his name was Glover and Ian pace on drums. I probably haven’t seen as many shows as some of you have but that was an awfully good opening song.
All windows down, moon roof open, and Highway Star at volume 11, how can you beat that?
Highway Star is a classic.
Saw Emerson, Lake and Palmer at the old Cleveland
Colosseum in '79. Lights went out, Introduction was made. They started playing Fanfare For The Common Man as the stage floor opened up and they came up through the floor. The entire band was wearing white and all of the instruments were white as well. Totally blown away. I still vividly remember that 40 years later.
Lucky bastard!!!!
Saw ELP in Milwaukee. 'Works' tour. Unbelievable show. They started out with Karn Evil 9 and the system was shorting every time Greg Lake hit a note. The lights went out for about 10 minutes and then they started over - wow! Carl Palmer's solo in Tank was pretty danged awesome, too.
I also saw EL&P 3 times. Boston Garden was the first time. The crowd went so crazy for 5 minutes you couldn't even hardly hear them play. They were also using the cutting edge quad system that night. Sooo very special.
Refer to Rics reply below!☺
Man always wanted to see EL&P doing Brain Salad Surgery. I always thought they were every bit as good as Pink Floyd.
Queen...Tie Your Mother Down. Power rock at it's best! Great selection Mike.
I love that song. When I was about 24 and visiting my Mom, if she started squawking, I would start singing this song. She would just start laughing.
I've watched this several times, and I'll watch it several times more. WHO wouldnt
For me, it will always be the opening to the 1996 KISS reunion tour. Rock and roll by Led Zeppelin ends. Lights dim, spotlights bath the arena. Amplifiers hit, then you hear “Alright (whatever city they’re in). You wanted the best, you got the best. The hottest band in the world, KISS!!!!!!!!!!” Opening chords of Deuce hits the kabuki curtain drops to explosions and there are the original 4 members in makeup
so talkative, i thought its a rock concert. but it becomes a talk show
Agree. Deuce will always be my Number one Opening. Close second Priest with The Hellion! Electric Eye.
My wife got us tickets to RUSH in 2005 for my 40th birthday, I had seen them in '86 but don't recall what they opened with then but in '05 they opened with "Spirit of Radio". When a band opens with one of their biggest hits, one that is on the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame's "Songs That Shaped Rock and Roll" list, you just know the rest of the show is going to be awesome. It was.
I think in 1980 I saw them open with 2112.
That must have been incredible. Spirit of the Radio is the greatest rock song IMHO.
@@ruds2600 seen them two or three times in the 70s and they always opened with
@@leonelfederico245 2112
Rush in Rio opened with Tom Sawyer blew me away. Seen them 10 times over the years and each time they left me speechless.
First time viewer here. I love your passion for these openers, and I'm glad you gave a nod to Rush with Spirit of Radio. IMO this was their best opening during the Grace Under Pressure tour 1984. So energetic!!
Limelight from there “Snakes and Arrows” Tour was always my fave, but I’ve seen them over 20 times, so it’s really hard to pin it down...
Tom Sawyer in Rio is pretty epic!
Rush concerts were always amazing. When we took our kids it was pretty amazing. My 11 yr old daughter earned the respect of those around us because she also knew every song
Long Live Rush!!!
Best opener has to be “best intro ever” on RUclips….absolutely immense
Great list and can’t argue with the choices. But my personal fave for over the top build and crowd intensity was U2 ‘87 Joshua Tree Tour in Vancouver opening with Where the Streets Have no Name, at a time when the band was at the apex of their career. For a concert opening, nothing has ever matched that moment in time for me. 36 years and 2 months later and it still gives me chills to think about it.
Totally agree!
I was at that show; best opening I’ve ever seen too!
Agreed. It was the same opening in '87 at the LA Coliseum. Every time I watch it again on Rattle & Hum it gives me flashbacks.
Am I the only person that thinks Workin' For MCA (also in B Minor) is a great concert opener? It pretty much showcases the whole band, has great dual guitar parts, states the history of the band that brought them to that point, and even sorta functions as a joke in the sense that it's almost like saying "this is what we have to do for MCA". Skynyrd honestly doesn't get enough credit from all the "elites" it seems like to me. Ronnie Van Zant was a genius.
Agreed Workin For MCA is a great opener. Great song and just the right energy.
I Ain't the One is also a pretty epic opener as far as Skynyrd goes. Seen them do Pronounced in its entirety on one show, and the way they brought that in was pretty epic
I'd say it was a One, Two Punch of Workin for MCA and I ain't the one as their opener. I agree it was a powerful full on 3 guitar assault.
@@JoshSchmoyerMusic It is so good, Brandon Nimmo of the NY Mets uses it as his walk up song.
Working for MCA into I Ain’t The One is fantastic and of course the greatest closing song is Free Bird.
Good choices. My 5 picks would be any opening by Queen. Dang! They know how to grab you and not let go from the first beats. Brian and Roger always say their intention was to “blind and deafen them in the first 15 minutes”. Now I’m Here and the fast version of We Will Rock You are two particularly electrifying openers. Even to this day (please, check all your Adam Lambert insults at the door) the production level and theatricality of their concerts is off the charts!
I would say live in Montreal on queen in 1977 big blast of lights and sound on opening I was there at Boston same as mtl
Agreed. A little thing called love Will do
Adina Lambertina. 🤗
💯 EXACTLY....GEE let me see 1975 Stone cold crazy ..1976 tie mother down....1977-rock u...1978 fast version rock u...come on, Oh u got the legend of all rock stars singing Freddie Mercury can't be beat with slashing Brian May-with the power pack John Deacon Roger Taylor playing to 350,000 stadium Argentina...no1 does it better...
Queen tie your mother down epic opening guitar rif
Of all the songs that Rush has opened a concert with I’d say The Spirit Of Radio was the best opener. A statement song that just screams high energy with all those epic changes that make a Rush song huge. If it makes you ask “where are they going to go after this?” then it’s a killer opener.
Posted this before you got to your list of alternates but I’m leaving it to see who else agrees.
I got to see Rush just once, and they opened with Subdivisions. That synth bass riff just about blew the roof off. Really worked for me.
@@bobeagle7383 Also a great one. I saw every tour from 1976 to the last one and they always had a power opener as they had no shortage of kick ass songs. They closed their shows with In The Mood so many times Geddy finally said I can’t sing that song ever again and they never did.
Every song Rush ever opened with kicked ass greatest band ever RIP Professor.
Every time I saw Rush they opened with Force Ten great opener set the mood perfectly then just exploded! Tough times demand tough talk demand tough hearts demand tough songs demand...
Love that song so much!
Thanks for including Enter Sandman. Metalica did a great job combining a few songs a friend and I co-wrote. They were sold to Metalica by another Toronto song writer named Rolf Kemp, (he wrote "Hello, Hooray recorded by Alice Cooper). We never saw a nickel! I also played in the warm up act for an Ozzy Osbourne cross Canada tour in the 80,s. I came close to rock stardom, but.... No regrets, I got a taste of the big stage, and met some great people along the way. Note, if you ever meet a celebrity, treat them like would, meeting a stranger in a grocery store. They are real people, and they HATE that "OMG I'm a big fan" crap.
What about jani prittinen
With almost 40 years of seeing live performances under my belt and a wide array music genres, Iron Maiden's "Aces High" with Churchill's speech as the intro, is still my number show opener of all time.
Am at 36 years, and nothing tops Aces High. Nothing.
@@jmillh01 up the Irons!
Agree
I saw the Powerslave tour at Radio City Music Hall.. They must have opened with Aces High??? We were drinking tall boys and SoCo that night. I haven't drank SoCo ever since.....
Closest second is the wicker man intro in Rio
War Pigs and Ozzy, who really does love his job ♥️
Rush… always an experience to see them live and then we took our kids. 💕 they are sorely missed RIP Professor 💔
Taurus pedals on A Show of Hands🔥👍
Indeed!! R.I.P., The Professor! Never be another one like YOU😢
I know I'm biased, but Kickstart My Heart is an amazing opener.
I have seen bands in bars, clubs an small venues play it...often to start a second set...when the crowds seem uninterested...because no matter how quiet and boring the crowd, that gets them all on their feet.
Because this band is vocal driven. Because their lead vocals were crazy sick!!! Everyone in the band supported that vocal. For good reason. ACDC
I'd include Rush's Tom Sawyer performance from their Rio concert. The energy is insane and the mic drop factor of opening with Tom Sawyer....
That Rio crowd - WOW! Wish I'd been in amongst that lot. They even sing along to the instrumentals. Those deep keyboard tones in the intro have such weight to them, just awesome.
Came here to say this. Opening chord and 6 seconds later 40,000 Brazilians are singing along.
ruclips.net/video/c2jBLGuVx_o/видео.htmlsi=pgWhcKwkffyQzw8M
Firebird Suite that goes right into Siberian Kahtru was a standard at every Yes show in their prime years. Hard to beat that one.
That's my favorite as well.
First concert I attended back in the 70s, and this intro is the best ever
Yes!!! Firebird Suite going into Siberian Khatru was the greatest!!
My #1 desert island album will always be Close to the Edge. Hearing Firebird Suite live always gave me goosebumps. RIP Chris and Alan.
Still gives me chills. Saw it 4 times
Nightwish openings at Wacken 2013 "Dark Chest of Wonders" and at sold out Wembley arena 2015 "Shudder before the Beautiful" are the best openings of this Century. ⛄👍
You beat me to it 😁 much love
Without question the best opening of all time.
Shudder Before The Beautiful in Wembley is a GREAT choice!
Hi you all, i 100% agree with you! Nightwish is of a higher level for sure! Michael problaby never heard of the magnificent Finnish band.. Greetings from the Netherlands 🤘🇳🇱🤘
@@hansv.d.hooven5232 Probably so. Luckily you and I know better. 😅👍
Ozzy was the best cursing front man. He always says 'I love you' and 'God bless you' as well. You can tell how much he loves being on that stage. Like he was born to it.
I am personally biased on this because my first concert was Kiss with Rush opening (April 9, 1975). Therefore, my first choice is Kiss opening with Deuce. I appreciate the build-up intros but Led Zeppelin’s Rock n Roll followed by the ominous low hum, then “You wanted the best…”, the opening riff was all the more you needed or wanted to wait for before Kiss would blast into Deuce! You wanted them to come straight-out and hit you over the head with bombast, and of course they did…chills. My personal second choice would be Angel opening with the Tower! I couldn’t imagine them opening with anything else. Talk about the Majesty of Rock! BTW, Zero argument with your list, especially Sabbath.
I didn't go to many concerts, but my first concert was in 1973 at madison Square garden I was heading to my seat in the dark and led zeppelin started playing "rock and roll". Thought my head would explode. May not be top five, but I liked it
The fact you saw them live is amazing. I'd cut off one of my balls to see them back in the day.
Awesome, you were fortunate to see Led Zeppelin live!
That's probably the best first concert ever. You win!
@@cindymckenna9910 I am the least cool person on the planet, but yeah, that was good
I have to admit, I just discovered your channel today, and I'm absolutely loving it. I myself am not a musician, but a big lover of music and really love being educated on all of the intricacies that make a song great. You really broke this video down in terms I, again being a non-musician, was able to clearly understand, and now have a deeper appreciation for artists I already loved.
Okay, I've seen ACDC three times: once with the opener you showed, once with 100 kids dressed as Angus playing Who Made Who, and finally, the best was starting with the bell on Hells Bells, the Back in Black tour. The last one was an awesome opener. Honorable mention to the Cult with Love Removal Machine just after the song came out. What a great song to open with.
I have seen AC/DC at least a hundred times. Well I am 58 years old. It never gets old. Never watching Angus Young mesmerizing just like you're watching. Eddie Van Halen that's how I feel the two are different but rock and roll is rock and roll
There is no feeling like that of hearing The Ecstasy of Gold before Metallica start. The way the energy in the crowd ramps up is sublime.
Truth...you hear that song...you know something epic is about to happen!
Shine on you crazy diamond,,,,has to be in top 5
Why is success Roger over Pink Floyd's shine on yo crazy diamond?
Gives me goose bumps every time I hear it.
Yeah and battery after it :D
I agree with AC/DC but in 1981 at the Old Boston Garden they opened with “HELLS BELLS 🔔 THEY ROCKED THE PLACE! That should be Your #1 for sure! I Can Still Hear Those Bells Ringing! Hell Yeah!
I am surprised that I had to scroll that far to find Hells Bells mentioned. Personally, I think that Thunderstruck is a bit overrated, has been overused and can in fact be a bit boring.
To me Live Wire and Hell Bellsare the ones. Hells Bells was their opener on the BiB Tour in 1980. It was the very first concert I ever attended (went with a friend, we were both 14). We got to enjoy the bluesy 1980 incarnation of Whitesnake as support - and enjoyed that a lot. Then came on the bell and that spine tingling lick, the crowd just went mad with "I'm roaring thunder, pouring rain ..." and my life was never gonna be the same. That concert - of similar intensity as 1979 Let there be rock in Paris - has stayed with me until this very day. The insane performance of Angus in his early to mid-twenties is something you may love and appreciate from a film recording but in truth ... you'll really have no idea what it was like to be there. That sound, that drive and that level of complete and utter madness on stage just could never be bettered.
I saw the San Francisco show at the Cow Palace. Greatest opening I ever witnessed! Bon recently passing I really didn't know how this new guy would measure up in a live show. Angus playing the picking riff in the dark while the bell slowly descends bathed in a golden light, here comes Brian Johnson running around on stage carrying a sledgehammer. He hit that bell so hard you could feel it in your chest. I still get goosebumps remembering that moment.
I was there. I'm tingling right now
KISS-Duece. Banger of an opener. Love when the entire crowd yells, "Do it" in the break..
In 77, at summerjam at Arrowhead stadium, Linda Ronstadt did an awesome set, then it got dark and there was a 20 min delay before the headlining act, it was dark and all of a sudden you heard Don Felder play the open to Hotel California, then at the 3 beat drum beat the lights come up and the hotel California back drop was up. The crowd went absolutely crazy! Best concert open I have ever seen.
People have already said this but to reiterate..U2 “where the streets have no name” Joshua Tree tour..The slow church like beginnings to the band members coming to stage one by one..Song is very powerful
Agreed. I attended one of the the Denver shows of this exceptional tour.
Was at one of the two Tempe shows where they were recording "Rattle and Hum". Epic show for sure.
U2 “where the streets have no name" from their Superbowl show or at Slane Castle are both amazing!
"You wanted the best! You got the best! The hottest band in the land... KISS!!!" Any song after that well-known introduction... Perfection!
Def considered including that intro
more tymes than not would be Detroit rock city .. I saw one tour where they opened w I stole ur love but generally DRC
Shout it out loud
I seen KISS in concert I can still remember every explosion and everything else that went on during the opening song of Detroit Rock City
QUEEN 🔥🔥🔥🔥
Not an opening song, so not exactly answering the question, but every Yes concert opening was epic. Lights down and the aura of expectation grew and grew. Then Stravinsky’s Firebird Suite blared out, and then there they were. Awesome
My favorite opening was Rock and Roll by Led Zeppelin in 1973 at madison square garden from the movie The Song Remains The Same, to me it's the most memorable.
Try that movie on LSD..... Words can not describe the change it undergoes.....
Rock And Roll
+Bulshitero: Yeah bro, I saw Zep in Tucson in '73 also....those were the days.
I'm guessing you know that opening very well. The next time you're watching it, look for my late friend Tex as the camera pans the audience. He and some others watched it on premier night while I was working. He called me the next morning thrilled, "Dude! Steve, me, and Donny are in the movie!!" (Tex was a light skin Black kid. Mistaken for Peurto Rican, often.) When I questioned him if it was really him, he replied, "There aren't many brothers at a Zeppelin show. It's like finding a raisin in the sugar bowl!"
@@philweeks8459
I FOUND HIM ! ! !
1 minute and 13 seconds into Rock N Roll. He's standing behind two guys wearing white shirts and he's a head taller.
I've watch that movie a thousand times..... 100 of them flipping my lid on LSD. I've often wondered about people in the audience and how many of them ever saw themselves.... Now I KNOW that at least 3 did. I'll never watch it again and NOT see Tex.
Thank you ! ! !
p.s. This movie is two COMPLETELY different movies. It changes into something indescribable on acid. I've turn so many of my friends on to it....
Never a disappointment.
Thanks again.
I saw Led Zeppelin in Tampa Stadium June 1977. Still the most remembered concert experience, 2 1/2 songs, rain and a riot! I was a junior in high school, my parents freaked, it took 4 hours to get out of the parking lot, Any way, they began with "Song Remains The Same".
I think Jimmy really wanted to kick off each show going full blast to get people going.They did it with Immigrant Song in the early `70s then used RocknRoll then Song Remains the Same. All powerhouse songs to start with.
I was a sound roadie for Showco on that tour .That gig is in the top 10 gigs I did .As you can imagine the load out was fucked ! Also I dodged many whiskey bottles and other flying debris as I pulled all the mics after it was announced the show was over . IT'S ONLY ROCK & ROLL!!
@@leechild4655 No matter how short and crazy it was, it was worth every minute of those 2 1/2 songs...
@@Emma77x7 I know having see the band maybe at the lowest point healthwise in Feb.`75 Nonetheless we all looked past Robert`s horse voice and Jimmy`s busted finger and were all just happy as clams just to see them right in front of us.
I was really disappointed that KISS was nothing more than an honorable mention. All of their openers are over the top. From Deuce to I Stole Your Love to Detroit Rock City. Epic!🤘😎🤘
100% love all the KISS openings!
Deuce kills every time. Everytime
Totally agree!!
Yes Kiss has some great opening songs. Though I always thought that they should open with Creatures of the Night or Psycho Circus since they were recorded.
Detroit Rock City, 2000, East Rutherford
I was at the opening of Metallica’s Wherever I May Roam tour in March of ‘92, I was 15 years old. To this day it’s still the greatest opening to a concert I’ve ever seen. I cannot imagine a better more climactic opening, that album and tour set the world on fire. Thx for the memory Metallica!
Most of these bands were before my time. But the BEST opening song I saw live was Korn’s “Blind”. The opening ride cymbal with the ride bell, the single guitar playing a simple rhythm, bass guitar kicks in with a simple riff then exits, the second guitar plays against the 1st, finally JD asks “Are you ready” before the band breaks into the song and crowd goes absolutely nuts. Good times.
Yep... ruclips.net/video/uyoVO6ppLfs/видео.html
I have to agree greatly with this, seen them twice now. From calm to pop corn
I saw them do this in a small club before they became superstars. It was awesome even then
Saw korn in 98 and they opened with blind, pretty unreal, my pick would be bomb track by ratm
I remember when AC/DC would open with Hell's Bells, and when the started with Riff Raff, they could probably start with any one of about 20 of their songs and have the same effect of the crowd, they are masters.
That's cause they all sound the same
@@mouloudo Tone deaf are you sunshine?…
@@mouloudo Hahaha, a bit, but if it ain't broke haha.
Agreed. ACDC is incredibly unique. There was an Aussie band a few years back that sounded a lot like them and denied having had any ACDC influence. Lost respect for them cause they were full of shit. What's wrong with wanting to be like ACDC?
I liked them opening in 2009 with ' Rock n roll Train' Black ice tour
Rammstein may not yet be at the level of AC DC or Pink Floyd yet, but they certainly seem headed in that direction; their shows are incredible.
I read they all took time off to get their pyrotechnics licenses so they could do the shows themselves.
They do know how to put on a spectacle.
Yes, with Engel or Feuer Frei as the opener.
nah
@@suekuligowski6584 Nah? have you seen them??
late to the party as usual..... sorry!
not really a rock person, i'm 58, but i do love music, good music, and genuine enthusiasm about music! i really enjoyed this!! good job :) :)
"You wanted the best, you got the best..." Then, 'Detroit Rock City.' Explosions, loud guitar, and a two-hour show to follow.
However, what song would I replace on the top five? I think you made some great choices. Some of the greatest rockers of all time.
Very good list.
I couldn't agree more. KISS Detroit Rock City was awesome!
Honestly my last U2 concert began with Where the Streets Have No Name. Seems like it would be no big deal but the stadium is roaring with people waiting for the show to begin when all of a sudden you hear this faint string of the chord progression of the song and as it repeats, it gets louder and louder and louder. Then the just the guitar part starts filling in, building, then the Bass and drums bring it home and the whole thing explodes! I don't know if it was the build of it but it was spectacular!!!!
This is my favorite opening ❤
When they asked Larry Mullen Jr what’s his favorite song to play, he said opening with Streets have no name.
GOOOOOSE BUMPS BROTHA! WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!
If the version in the movie rattle and hum is the same it must have been epic
U2 is pop not rock
Holy smokes, Michael. I once saw The Flaming Lips at a festival years ago. They came out on stage an hour early and told us if anyone asked, this was their sound check. Then they ripped one of the best covers of War Pigs I’ve ever heard. Melted my face. I’ll never forget it.
thanks, I'll have to chec✓k that out, the bass intro on that song has haunted me for years
Oh cmon! The Flamers Lips??? The whiny ass hippie she don’t use butter….she don’t use cheese…guys? Must have an extremely low melting temp. Those guys shouldn’t even be allowed to play a Sabbath song.
I can totally see them doing this, and that's awesome.
I was right against the wall where the fireworks went off for the opening to Roger Waters, The Wall in Melbourne. To say it was warm with those fireworks was an understatement