I saw them before they were popular Tour

I do not believe there is a thread like this on here. Post bands/musicians you saw before they became famous/popular OR times you saw them in a small cap venue before they got way bigger.

I saw Turnover back in (late 2013 or early 2014) when they were touring for Magnolia and I got 100 extra credit points for attending for a History of Rock and Roll course I was taking in college. There were only like 20 people there aside from everyone from my class who went for the extra credit. That was also when I discovered who Turnover were.

 

Not that they're huge now, but I saw Like Pacific open for Forever Came Calling in 2015 when they just had an EP out.

 

I’d have to reactivate my Facebook to find the date but I saw Beartooth shortly after the EP came out at a random house basement show in Muskegon Michigan. It was like 10 minutes from my house and was suppose to be at a venue here but it got shut down after like 10 shows.

Edit: found it. July 6th 2013.

 

saw The Weeknd play an afternoon set at Osheaga in 2012 (compared to when I saw him headline in 2017 that's a massive uptick)

seeing the evolution of BMTH and TOP and their popularity increasing has been a fun journey too

also saw Pup open for AFI before they became a well-known name in the scene, and have seen Half Moon Run go from tiny venues and 1st on at festival sets to selling out Massey Hall and becoming a well-hyped band in the Canadian indie scene

 

The only one I can really do/think of is State Champs.

I saw them open for New Found Glory on their Sticks And Stones 10th anniversary tour (the 2nd leg with Cartel opening too)

I got to meet their singer after the show too hanging at their merch booth and told him they were great. He was like “thanks man. See you next time?” And I was like “yeah man!”

The funny thing is, despite how huge they’ve gotten, I have not seen State Champs live since

 

I saw Paramore on warped tour 2005 on the smartpunk stage maybe. I was walking by and they were playing my heart. I immediately bought their album and was bummed when that turned out to be the only song with screaming.

I saw fun. Open for TBS and Anberlin right when their first album came out.

Only 2 I can think of at the moment

 

I saw Title Fight as a local opener for Set Your Goals, Just Surrender, and Driving East in 2007.

I saw The Dirty Nil and PUP play to about 5 and 30 people respectively at Warped Tour 2015.

 

A few things that come to mind. I realize some of the bands were sort of known at the time but they weren't selling out large theaters/arenas on their own yet

EDITING to add a few more

- Linkin Park on one of their first US tours supporting P.O.D in 2000. They were the first band on (hed PE and Project 86 played AFTER them) at Roseland Ballroom in NYC.
- Incubus opening for 311 in 2000 in Wallingford, CT
- Fall Out Boy opening for Mest in 2004 at Irving Plaza in NYC
- Coheed and Cambria opening for The Juliana Theory and Piebald in 2002 at the now defunct Birch Hill Music Club in New Jersey
- Alt-J playing Bowery Ballroom in NYC right when they first released their album in 2012
- Jimmy Eat World playing Warped 2001, 2-3 weeks after Bleed American came out at Randalls Island in NYC.
- New Found Glory opening for Less Than Jake in 2001 (and even playing before Anti-Flag) at Roseland Ballroom in 2001 i nNYC.
- My Chemical Romance/Thrice opening for The Used in early 2003 in Syracuse, NY in 2003
- Sum 41 opening for the Bosstones in 2000 in Hartford, CT
- Twenty One Pilots playing the 400-capacity IHeartRadio theater in NYC in summer 2013, right after Vessel
- The 1975 co-headlining a show with The Neighbourhood in Brooklyn in 2013
- 30 Seconds To Mars opening for Incubus in 2002 and for Chevelle in 2005
- Imagine Dragons playing Irving Plaza (1100-capacity club) in NYC on the day their debut album came out
- Fun playing Mercury Lounge in NYC in 2009
- The XX opening for Hot Chip at Terminal 5 in NYC in 2010

 

- I saw Microwave open for TWY back in 2016. That was right before they blew up, I think it was their first full US tour.
- I saw All Time Low on the last tour they did before they jumped to 3000+ venues, spring of 2014. Show didn't even sell out until the day of.
- I saw Turnover open for New Found Glory, most of the setlist was Peripheral Vision songs despite the album not even being announced and I think they played Most of the Time and Sasha.

 

Does seeing Movements at Warped 2017 count? They did only have Outgrown Things released by that point, but I know Kept and Nineteen was making the rounds in the alt scene. If it does then I can claim that as well.

 

I saw Modern Baseball play at a random bar in North Providence RI to about 30 people when they were touring off Sports. The next time I saw them was when they opened for The Wonder Years right after You’re Gonna Miss It All dropped and they had completely blown up in that amount of time.

 

Knuckle Puck in 2014
Belmont in 2015
Microwave in 2016
PUP in 2015

 

I'm pretty sure I saw both of those tours in Cleveland. I wanna say it was Mest, Fall Out Boy, Matchbook Romance, and Dynamite Boy (in that order, Mest headlining) and then The Used, Finch, The Movielife, and My Chemical Romance (The Used headlining).

I think my best is probably Paramore at Warped Tour on the Shiragirl stage in 2005. I don't think their record was out yet, but they played a 6 song set and one of their dads ran merch and drove them around.

Good Charlotte at the Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame for the MTV taping they did - just the self titled was out at that point.

 

Bring Me The Horizon open for Bury Your Dead in Fall 2007
Devil Wears Prada at Sounds of the Underground 07
Suicide Silence the summer before the Cleansing came out
21 Pilots open for Fall Out Boy I guess
A Skylit Drive, Dance Gavin Dance, Attack Attack!, In Fear & Faith and I See Stars in Winter 09 at a bar in Providence
And they suck but I saw Five Finger Death Punch on the second stage at Family Values Tour 07

 

Hm, well most of these bands are not popular.

 

Few Michigan Shows

A Day to Remember and Devil Wears Prada- Macs Bar
Twenty-One Pilots- The Loft
AWOLNATION- The Loft
Macklemore- The Loft
Fall Out Boy opening for GOB- The Shelter

 

I definitely saw this paramore set. Why do I remember them playing on top of a bus? Is that completely created by my brain?

 

will take a while to remember all but coheed opening for thrice and thursday in 03 was extremely sick

 

Saw kendrick lamar early 2012, before good kid maad city came out. I had no idea how he was about to become yuuuuge.

 

The Shiragirl stage was originally a neon pink school bus/RV thing that was all self contained. You're not imagining things.

 

This isn’t the point of the thread but anyone remember when Straylight Run opened for Coheed? What the fuck was that, huh?

 

Don't be ants at a picnic.

- Fall Out Boy a bunch of times at various small venues/student centers halls in central IL.

- Same as ^ but with Motion City Soundtrack

- Fun. at a student center at Bradley University in Peoria, IL after Aim and Ignite came out with 50ish people there.

- Gym Class Heroes opening for The Junior Varsity at some church's youth center in Normal, IL. Fun fact: the show got shut down because the singer of TJV said "goddammit."

- Was supposed to see The Starting Line, Allister, and (I think) Finch at the East Peoria legion hall on 9/11 but the show was
cancelled because 9/11.

- Good Charlotte opening for MXPX right after their first record came out. I ran into the guitarist in the bathroom before the show and we high fived because we were wearing the same Incubus shirt. I don't remember if he washed his hands or not.

- The Wonder Years opening for Fireworks on the back lawn of a health club in Peoria, IL. I'm pretty sure they played more than one NFG cover. The kid putting on the show apparently didn't have permission from his boss or something (he worked at said health club) and the show got shut down right as Fireworks was starting. Another kid knew someone who ran a roller rink in the next town over, and after some deliberation, the entire show caravanned to the roller rink and Fireworks played there. Was awesome.

 

I'm pretty sure I saw Onelinedrawing open for Coheed as well. Super weird seeing Jonah out there with his R2-D2 before Coheed came out to melt faces.

 

I saw Wiz Khalifa open for Kid Cudi

 

THIS IS GLORIOUS