opening act

I have a question. Why did bon jovi decide to just have local bands open for them? because, quite frankly, I was at the Chicago show and the opening band, "Sleeping Shelby" was pretty...bad. Sorry guys. I saw the Goo Goo Dolls open for the Bounce tour and they were great. Of course they're one of my favorite bands, so....

anyways, just wondering if anyone else had any thoughts or if anyone heard any GOOD opening bands at any other shows so far.

-Julie

I will not be going to a show until January (Atlanta, GA), however, I was a little disapointed to hear about the opening act situation. While the main reason of going to a show is to obviously hear Bon Jovi, a good opening act really adds to the overall experience. One reason the band might have decided to do a contest to discover the opening act, is to gain publicity. A sort of "American Idol" thing. Maybe some of the shows will truly have a decent "local" opening act. I have not heard anything officially about the "second leg" of the tour, but I am guessing they will continue to do the same thing.

Not sure. But an average ticket costing 100.00 is pretty shitty having a bar band instead of someone you would like to see.

"Unknown" doesn't necessarily mean "bad" now does it?

I like the way BJHQ put it:

Question:
I've heard rumors that local bands will be opening for Bon Jovi throughout this tour, is this true? I really hope not because at nearly $100 a ticket I'd like to see a band that at least has an album out! Truthfully I paid the money to see Bon Jovi but without a good opening act it almost feels like sex with no foreplay!
asked by jovigirl73 on Tuesday, November 1, 2005
Answer:
On Leg One (Nov/Dec) it is a local band contest, local bands in each market then the winner of which will open a summer stadium show for the band. Nothing has been announced for Leg 2. Keep this in mind: without local radio and support of local up and coming artists, John Bongiovi would never have had his song on the WAPP Homegrown Album... the demo would never have been played... the song would never have gained traction... and record companies wouldn't have gone after him for a record deal. Pay It Forward.
answered by STAFF on Tuesday, November 1 , 2005 9:34 PM

Either they did it because it was cheap, or..maybe they thought they'd put bands up that weren't known anywhere but locally, since that's apparently how they got some success, as the opening act for KISS, didn't they?

Oh, Bon Jovi opened for lots of bands in the early days. Kiss, Scorpions, ZZ Top, Judas Priest. I personally think it's a good idea, why not give some local bands a bit of a kick start on a big stage. If I wanted to see a bigger band (ie, Goo Goo Dolls) I'd buy a ticket to see them at one of their headlining shows. Then, at least I'd get a proper set with decent sound, a good crowd and a bit of passion.

I think this a very cool thing that BJ is doing on this US leg of the tour. I believe it's called "giving back". When they were starting out, big name acts at the time gave them a shot and now they are returning the favor done for them . When I buy a BJ concert ticket, I'm paying the $100.00 to see them, not the opener. Having the Goos last tour was cool but it's not essential to my concert experierience, and who knows, maybe one of these bands will turn out to be the next BJ.

its a good idea to get local bands but part of me still thinks this tour sounds like a rip off mad open acts, rip off ticket prices, not good selection of things to buy at the show looks like not much thought has went into this tour.

I'm thinking of it like they have no opening act (The Eagles don't have openers either), then oh wait! yup, there *IS* a band opening after all!
I, too, would like to see a signed band but I can live with it. I think the pay it forward thing is admirable and we wouldn't have Jon and the guys to listen to today if something like this didn't happen to Jon 2 decades ago.

I think, it is a very good idea. If you can help rookies band, you will do it. This is something fresh, something new.