Opening acts, then and now...

[john]

Back in my high school days I would regularly go to concerts at the Eastown Theater in Detroit and to a lesser extent the Grande Ballroom. This post is mostly not related to the article above but to some extent it is.

A sampling from the Eastown:
April 3-4, 1970: Rod Stewart & The Faces / Zephyr / Argent
April 24-25, 1970: Pink Floyd / The Frost
May 29-30, 1970: Jethro Tull / Mott The Hoople / Shorty (with Georgie Fame) / Clouds
August 14-15, 1970: Johnny Winter / Alice Cooper / Tin House
November 27-28, 1970: Elton John / If / Catfish / Jam Band (unconfirmed)
December 3, 1970: Derek & The Dominoes / Toe Fat / Damnation of Adam Blessing
April 23-24, 1971: Emerson, Lake & Palmer / Curved Air / Crowbar / Sweathog
June 18-19, 1971: Edgar Winter's White Trash / Mott the Hoople / Sweathog
November 15-16, 1971: Emerson, Lake & Palmer / Yes
November 20, 1971: The Doors / The Wackers
November 25-27 (25 not confirmed), 1971: Savoy Brown / Atomic Rooster / Potliquor
December 2, 1971: James Gang / Jake Jones / Julia
December 3-4, 1971: King Crimson / Sweathog / Rock 'N Foo / Wylie
December 9-10 (9 not confirmed), 1971: Humble Pie / The J. Geils Band / The Früt



The general format seemed to be that the opening band was often local, and sometimes the second was too. Sometimes the headliner was touring with the second band, but I think that was a mixed bag. The promoter seemed to be the one who put the package together and often the opening band was not only local but also not worth seeing (with exceptions).

The Cream at the GB back in the day:


For about 15-18 bucks total you could go see the Fleetwood Mac on Thursday, Pink Floyd on Friday, and The Who on Saturday.


Grande Ballroom more recently:


BTW, a 2010 photo of the Eastown looking out from the stage:


Add: The shows at the Grande Ballroom were promoted by a guy named Russ Gibb, who got the idea after seeing a show the Filmore West. Some comments he made about closing the place in 1972:

The Grande’s final show came on New Year’s Eve 1972. Gibb had started booking shows at bigger venues, including the Michigan Palace (formerly the Michigan Theatre), and in other cities across the Midwest. “A big frustration for me was the New York and Hollywood agents,” Gibb said. “If I wanted to have The Doors play, I had to take two or three of their bands, too. I wanted to put local bands on the bill. The greed was incredible. Plus, people were always thinking we were dopers and the cops were giving us a hard time. …