Recently, I saw a tweet posted by the Anonymous Opinions account which really stayed with me.
Most people that know me know I like a gig. At this stage of life, I also quite like a gig that'll have an earlier than expected finish. The rationale for this is either travel based, having to get up early the day after, or just wanting to go to bed at a reasonable hour! Despite this, my immediate response upon seeing this tweet was to disagree with it. I do admit that there are times I've not made it to the venue for the support acts - sometimes this has been for good reason, but also sometimes not (one such story includes being a hotel and getting ready to leave, and then seeing Star Wars was on the TV, and would finish in time for me to still get to the venue for the main event - arguably not a good excuse but I still had a good night!). I really don't support this opinion though. That could easily be the end of the post, and this whole thing could have been a tweet.
Instead, the reason why it has stayed with me is because it has made me think about all the various support acts I've seen over the years and how I've been able to see some great acts due to getting to the venue a little earlier (and the main band going on a little later to accommodate this). One response I've seen a number of times has been people saying you should get to the venue early because you'll never know when you'll see your new favourite band, or the next big thing. The latter of these two opinions is usually highlighted with a gig poster of when Coldplay or Muse were the support act in a 200-400 capacity venue. I agree with both of these points, though to date I have not seen a band as a support act that has gone on to do monster business like those two mentioned. For me, there has been more than one occasion when a support band has made a gig more appealing as a whole event.
Going back to the above point about seeing some great acts as support bands, I wanted to revisit some of these now. This isn't a list of every support band I've ever seen, but I wanted to give a positive shout to a number I've seen over the years that I've really enjoyed. I decided to keep this list entirely positive, which is why I've not done a separate list of support bands I didn't like. The bands listed are in alphabetical order because...well that just makes sense to me.
36 Crazyfists (supporting Bury Tomorrow, London 2018)
Airbourne (supporting Black Stone Cherry, London 2014)
Amaranthe (supportinh Sabaton, London 2020)
Annihilator (supporting Trivium, Portsmouth 2007)
Anthrax (supporting Motorhead, Portsmouth 2012 & supporting Slayer, London 2018)
Arch Enemy (supporting Black Crusade Tour 2007, Kreator 2014 and Nightwish 2015 - all London).
Architects (supporting Biffy Clyro, London 2022)
Ash (supporting Weezer, London 2017)
At The Gates (supporting Behemoth, London 2018)
Behemoth (supporting Slipknot, London 2020)
Biffy Clyro (supporting Foo Fighters, Milton Keynes 2011)
Black Spiders (support act at 5 shows either in Portsmouth or London 2009-2012)
Black Stone Cherry (supporting Alter Bridge, Manchester 2014)
Blanket (supporting Zeal & Ardor, Brighton 2018 and Palm Reader, Southampton 2022)
Bleed From Within (supporting Devildriver, Southampton 2014)
Bob Vylan (supporting Biffy Clyro, Southampton 2021)
Brass Against (supporting Tool, London 2022)
Bullets & Octane (supporting Stone Sour, London 2006)
Burner (supporting Employed to Serve, Southampton 2022)
Carcass (opening on European Siege tour, London 2022)
Children of Bodom (supporting Slipknot, London 2009)
Chimaira (supporting Trivium, Portsmouth 2010)
Clutch (supporting Motorhead, Portsmouth 2006)
Code Orange (supporting At The Gates, London 2016)
Congratulations (supporting Spielbergs, Southampton 2022)
Dave McPherson (supporting The Wildhearts Acoustic, Southampton 2017)
Deadwardians (supporting Eureka Machines, London 2013)
Decapitated (supporting Lamb of God, Southampton 2014)
Dinosaur Pile-Up (supporting Weezer, London 2016)
Dirt Box Disco (supporting The Wildhearts, London 2016)
Employed to Serve (supporting Milk Teeth Southampton 2017, Code Orange Portsmouth 2018 and Bury Tomorrow Portsmouth 2019)
Eureka Machines (supporting The Wildhearts multiple times 2013)
Europe (supporting Foreigner, Portsmouth 2014)
Evile (supporting Sanctity Portsmouth 2007, Megadeth 2008 and Kreator 2013, both in London)
Fangclub (supporting Milk Teeth, Bournemouth 2018)
Flogging Molly (supporting Frank Turner Portsmouth 2014 & Volbeat Copenhagen 2017)
Ghost (supporting Metallica, London 2019)
Gogel Bordello (supporting Rage Against The Machine, London 2010)
Gojira (supporting Alter Bridge, Birmingham 2016)
Hatebreed (supporting Volbeat, Portsmouth 2014)
Heriot (supporting Svalbard London 2021 and Rolo Tomassi Southampton 2022)
Huntress (supoporting Lamb of God 2014 and Amon Amarth 2015, both Southampton)
In This Moment (supporting Devildriver, Southampton 2007)
Ingested (supporting Bleed From Within, London 2021)
Jamie Lenman (supporting Marmozets 2018 and Frank Turner 2021, both London)
Janes Addiction (supporting Nine Inch Nails Manchester and London, 2009)
Jimmy Eat World (supporting Foo Fighters Milton Keynes 2011 and Frank Turner 2019 Bournemouth)
Kaiser Chiefs (supporting Green Day, London 2013)
Kitty Liv (supporting Beans on Toast, Portsmouth 2022)
Krokodil (supporting Cancer Bats, London 2015)
Kvelertak (supporting Metallica London an Birmingham 2017)
Lamb of God (supporting Heaven and Hell, Brighton 2007)
Leaves Eyes (supporting Firewind, Southampton 2012)
Loathe (supporting Employed To Serve London 2019 and While She Sleeps Brighton 2021)
Machine Head (supporting Metallica, London 2007)
Massive Wagons, supporting The Wildhearts Nottingham 2017 and London 2019)
Megadeth (supporting Judas Priest, London 2009)
Morass of Molasses (supporting The Underground Pilots, Portsmouth 2015)
Myrkur (supporting Epica, London 2018)
Nervus (supporting Milk Teeth, Bournemouth 2018)
Nina Nesbitt (supporting KT Tunstall, Coventry 2017)
Obituary (supporting Slayer, London 2018)
Oceans of Slumber (supporting Epica, London 2018)
Onslaught (supporting Testament, Oxford 2009)
Opeth (supporting Dream Theater, London 2009)
Orange Goblin (supporting Airbourne, Portsmouth 2013)
Pain (supporting Nightwish, London 2008)
Palm Reader (supporting Cancer Bats Portsmouth 2016 & Employed To Serve Southampton 2020)
Panic Cell (supporting Devildriver, Southampton 2007)
Pet Needs (supporting Frank Turner, London 2021 and Southampton 2022)
Phoxjaw (supporting Black Peaks Portsmouth 2019, Loathe Southampton 2020 and Palm Reader London 2021)
Pupil Slicer (supporting Rolo Tomassi, Southampton 2022)
Rival Sons (supporting Black Stone Cherry, Southampton 2012)
Saxon (supporting Judas Priest, London 2012)
Self Esteem (supporting Idles, London 2022)
Shinedown (supporting Disturbed, London 2008)
Skinny Lister (supporting Frank Turner, Southampton 2015)
Soilwork (supporting Arch Enemy, Southampton 2016)
Spanish Love Songs (supporting The Menzingers, Southampton 2020)
Speedtheory (supporting Panic Cell, Southampton 2007)
Stray Bullets (supporting Morass of Molasses, Portsmouth 2018)
Stray From The Path (supporting While She Sleeps, London 2019)
Sugar Horse (supporting Conjurer, Brighton 2022)
Sylosis (supporting Devildriver, Southampton 2014)
Testament (supporting Judas Priest, London 2009)
The Admiral Sir Cloudesly Shovell (supporting Orange Goblin, Southampton 2013)
The Dirty Youth (supporting InMe London 2015 and Fozzy Southampton 2015)
The Founders Of (supporting Hairforce 5, Portsmouth 2011)
The James Cleaver Quintet (supporting Cancer Bats, London 2012)
The Loyalties (supporting Eureka Machines, London 2013)
The Plight (supporting Cancer Bats, Portsmouth 2009)
The Subways (supporting Frank Turner, London 2018)
The Von Hertzen Brothers (supporting The WIldhearts, Cambridge and London 2014)
Those Damn Crows (supporting The Wildhearts, Southampton 2021)
Trivium (supporting Iron Maiden, London 2006)
Truckfighters (supporting Kvelertak, Southampton 2013)
Turbowolf (supporting Royal Blood, Portsmouth 2014)
Urne (supporting Orange Goblin, Southampton 2021)
Volbeat (supporting Alter Bridge, Birmingham 2016)
Will Varley (supporting Frank Turner, Southampton 2015)
Witch Fever (supporting Bob Vylan 2021 and Cancer Bats 2022 both in Southampton, Idles 2022 London)
Within Temptation (supporting Iron Maiden, London 2008)
Zebrahead (supporting Less Than Jake/Reel Big Fish, Portsmouth 2014)
So I guess what I am trying to say is I've seen some excellent bands playing the support act role to another band, and I don't want that to go away. In the first two weeks of February, I'm going to four gigs and will hopefully see all 6 support bands as well as the three main acts - I may not be able to make any amendments to the above list after seeing them all, but the only way to find out is to see them!
