Big Bands you saw in a small Venue
 

Just wondering what some of the biggest bands or groups you have seen in a small club or hall?

I saw Guns and Roses play Perkins Palace (now known as the Raymond Theater) in Pasadena there were probably 300 people or so at that show. It was about 3 months before Appetite for Destruction was released. Then about 2 weeks before it was released I saw them again at the Celebrity Theater in Anaheim playing for a sellout crowd (maybe 500 people)....THAT was a wild show. I also saw Motley Crue at the Troubador in Hollywood that was a good time too.

Although not really 'big', I saw the Mooney Suzuki in a local bar basement type thing, incredibly small venue, incredibly low ceilings, incredibly good gig overall!

I saw Van Halen at a place called "Club Rogues" in virginia before their first album came out(1978). The acoustic tile ceiling, which was about 3 feet above the stage was punched out by David Lee Roth during the show. Eddie Van Halen would always turn his back to the crowd when playing his signature "hammer ons", so that no one could see what he was doing. A great show to a crowd of about 150.

I saw Velvet Revolver in a place that holds about 1500 the week their album debuted at #1. Third Eye Blind in a club that holds 500 early on in their career. I am going to see Robert Plant next week in a venue that holds about 1000. That's just off the top of my head.

cool when you can do it. i prefer smaller venues. that said, i have not seen too many "big" acts.

tool in a 1700 seater for lateralus (smallest they'd play in at the time, probably)
blink 182 with a crowd of about 250 before they got famous
bright eyes w/300 people two years ago
amon tobin in a tent with about 25 people (he'll never be big, but it was a cool gig)

Dispatch... at the half shell in boston

Im going in april to see Motorhead in a little clubby bar/venue place called the showbox
i guess they arent that big, atleast in the publics eye, but the followers are there

Where did you see them? I remember seeing them in a small place in Chicago... maybe April or May of 2001? I was just talking to my friend today about our memories of what an awesome show that was.

I'll be seeing NIN in London March 31st in a venue that can hold 1800 people. That'll be awesome.

EDIT: Oh yeah, Pete Yorn played at my college in 2001 on front of maybe 100 people. Then we had him over in our dorm for drinks :D

--jaded

311, and The Faint, in various local clubs.

I saw Kansas at a small theater (maybe 1000 people) around 1975/1976 just before Leftoverture was released. I saw them twice in small clubs the 90's long after they had dropped from popularity, once at the Chance in Poughkepsie NY and the second time at a small club near Albany NY, second row seats the second time. Also saw Crosby/Nash and ELO at this same club near Albany, 1994 or so.

Saw Dave Matthews Band in late '94 at the Georgia Theatre in Athens (around 1000 capacity) with Rusted Root opening and 311 there on Halloween in '95. That's about all I can think of.

Underworld in Pontiac, MI at Clutch Cargo's. About 500 or so. What a bloody awesome show!

Bruce Springsteen at a 'surprise' concert at the Stone Pony in Asbury Park in the early 80s-- Was there with friends -- he shows up and plays a few sets.

A couple of weeks ago I saw legendary death metal band Suffocation, along with Polish gods Behemoth in a bowling alley....no shit.

Recently had the chance to see Barenaked Ladies in a a small auditorium in Grand Rapids. They were doing an acoustic "warmup" show before they kicked off the "Everything to Everyone" tour. It was an amazing show.


My cousin was a DJ in a country music club near Pontiac in the 90's. Club management would book the opening act of whoever was playing the Palace of Auburn Hills and schedule them a night before. So when acts like Jo Dee Messina was opening for Clint Black on a Friday. The club would get Jo Dee to play for them on a Thursday. It was a great concept, the club got an up-and-coming act, without paying a lot to get them. I got the chance to see quite a few acts that way.

At different times I saw the Violent Femmes, Pigface (with Ogre fronting), Gay Bikers on Acid, Thrill Kill Kult, NIN, and KMFDM in a 500 person capacity bar. This was in the late 80's to early 90's.

The best show I ever saw was right before the Cocteau Twins got really big. They were doing mid-size venues (700-1000). I saw them at a dinner-theatre type place in St. Louis. Unbelievable sound and intimacy.

The Ataris at the Fireside Bowl (bowling alley) in Chicago. Got on stage (if you could call it a stage) even. :thumbsup:

Saw Blues Traveler and Better than Ezra at a college theater...probably 300 people at each show.

MxPx in a high school gym in Charleston, SC...one of my first shows and still probably one of the best.

I rememebr in my younger days when I was in a ska band we'd play local venues often, the most memoral were the local "battle of the bands" performances. I remember playing at the War Memorial Building in Lodi, CA against another 7 or 8 bands. One of the other bands was Papa Roach. They played a few pretty good songs, but my band won. Today, Papa Roach has sold millions of records and my band - Toxic Penguin - has broken up. Such is music. Papa Roach didn't sound bad, but they were no match for Toxic Penguin.

I mentioned this once before in the "Best Concert Experience" thread but I saw Rage in +/- 1992 at the Mascarade in Atlanta about 800 to 1000 people or so, it was outrageous. Great Show!

the Canadian Glenn Millar tribute band at the Hummingbird...

what's that? Ohhh... big Bands, not Big Bands?

never mind....

i was at the paramount in seattle in august of 2001.
i just checked and the capacity is actually 2807. but i was 13 rows back so it seemed pretty intimate...only 568 seats on the floor. very good show, too.

also remembered i saw spiritualized in detroit with about 800 people.

Fallout Boy arent exactly big, but they are getting more popular. I saw them in the basement of a big venue, and then a year later headlining that same large venue.

I've seen Manson, Sevendust, Staind and a few others at the House of Blues..not very big place but the shows were awesome..oh yeah I saw the Deftones there too

I saw Rage Against the Machine at the Wetlands in NYC around '93, the club held about 500 people. I'd been to the Wetlands plenty in the early 90's, (they regularly had all-age ska/punk/hardcore shows) but I'd never seen such a horde of people lined up around the club, good thing we had pre-purchased tickets. Inside it was packed to what must have been beyond the limit.

Talk about an intense show, besides the music, the highlight was Zach getting rid of the security goons.. this was the only show I recall where the Wetlands had security around the stage. The 8 or so gorillas in yellow, were trying to keep kids off the 2 foot tall stage and were really overwhelmed by the swarming crowd. It was only a matter of time before one of them really hurt some kid (assuming they hadn't already).

I also saw the Red Hot Chili Peppers at a place called the Kings Head Inn. It must hold 150 people at the most. A week before that I saw Hanoi Rocks there also, about a week before their drummer "Razzle" was killed in a car accident by Motley Crue frontman Vince Neil. Many years ago now!

Green Day at the House of Blues in Myrtle Beach. Not exactly tiny, but it felt small, and everyone was close to the stage.

Bands just seem to do things in a small place that they won't do in a large arena. At the end of the show, Billy Joe runs out from the back in a pair of leopard skin tighty whiteys.

Oh...and keep your eyes and ears open for a band named Icares. (pronounced eye-care-us) Another Omaha band that I predict will break out of the local "Ranch Bowl Circuit", and hit it big.

i think it was the fall of 1994 in madison wisconsin barrymore theater seats about 1500, i saw a little known band called the Foo fighters play a show with Mike watt and Eddie Vedder and his wife. I also think thurston moore was there. Like wow.
I saw love and rockets in 89 with an opening band called the pixies in a venue of about 1200 people.
Wilco in a bar in milwaukee in spring of 95 i think, may have been the fall of '94. about 300 people there.
Son Volt in 1995 theater in madison....800 or so there.
Widespread panic same theater several different times in the 90's.
saw hole play a show in madison at a venue of about 1000 people.
Paul Westerberg at the same place.
Warren Zevon in 1995 at a theater in oshkosh, WI about 1000 people.
Met the Edge (U2) in a hotel lobby in madison.
list goes on......

I love music!!

mrb

I vaguely remember seeing Peter Gabriel in the gym of a local community college very soon after he split from Genesis. I think he was out promoting the 'Scratch' LP.

Foggy memories from those days, but I'm sure I had a good time...... :D

I saw the tea party in a dodgy rsl in the middle of nowhere a couple of years ago. They were playing this big festival the next day so they decided to play a show the night before.

I'm going to see the black keys next wednesday at a venue that can only hold 400 people as well. It'll be strange. :)

Back in my high school days I was into the east coast hardcore/punk scene and used to go to shows almost every weekend. One night at City Gardens we went to see a local band play and they had this punk trio from the east bay open for them. It was their first show on the east coast and the biggest crowd they had played in front of yet. That band happened to be Green Day, played every thing off of 1039/Kerplunk and was a damn good show.

Another time I saw the Bouncing Souls with Bigger Thomas infront of a whopping crowd of 30 at the Stone Pony around 93. Damn great show though, got to get up on stage scream into the mic a bit and just make a general fool of myself. Ahh...good times those old hardcore days...

They're not exactly "big" big, but--they're very well known in certain music circles--I saw Open:Hand in what was essentially a garage a couple years ago. Really awesome show, and probably one of my favorites of all time.


And it doesn't exactly count, but I went to Warped Tour a few years ago, and the Ataris came last minute and played on the smallest stage they've ever performed on. They didn't even have enough room to walk around, and basically just stood in one spot and played the entire time.

at UEA LCR or Riverfront, Ive seen:

Catatonia, Blur, Pulp, Suede, Therapy?, Super Furry Animals, Space, Cast, Stereophonics, Audioweb...

I saw Avril Lavigne at the Mean Fiddler (capacity about 1500), and Katie Melua at the Ipswich Regent (capacity about 1000)

taking back sunday/brand new at a small local venue (100 people, max).
paaaaaaaaaaackedddddddddddddd....

Dave Matthews Band in my fratenity's basement. (No shit.)

Bob Dylan at the tabernacle in Atlanta... its an old church renovated into a conert hall. Real intimate type of place if your in the standing section.

Saw A Perfect Circle in Austin at a 300 or so seater. Saw White Zombie in a similar place. Saw Slipknot here in St Louis in a 500 seater. Saw Mudvayne here in about a 500 seater. I love the small venues. They're the best.

oooooh I almost forgot, I saw Nirvana at some little dinky club in Seattle before they were signed. I count that as one of the worst shows of my life....Kurt Cobain was so loaded he was forgetting words, missing his entrances, and just generally a piss poor performance.

Couple Others:

Blue Öyster Cult at Xhale in Fredrick Maryland. Not a tiny place, but surely no stadium either. Unfortunately, their soundman must've been on drugs, because they sounded like they were singing through mud.

I used to do stage crew for Trax in Charlottesville (Gone now). Saw a bunch of bands there, and that was about a 900 person club:
Sun Ra, P-Funk, Molly Hatchet, Phish, DMB (They recorded "Remember Two Things" in the upstairs room), Camper Van Beethoven, Cracker, Mojo Nixon, They Might Be Giants, Dead Milkmen, Widespread Panic.

Also saw Lyle Lovett, Robert Hunter, and Little Feat in a 1500 person theater.

U2@ the 'Rock On The Tyne' festival in 1980. They were about 4th down the bill. There was maybe 1500-2000 people there, which is very small to them now.

I saw Chicago just a couple of nights ago at the Pechanga Indian reservation (1200 seat). They were very tight and everyone had fun.

I've seen Nirvana, Soundgarden, Primus, Pantera, White Zombie and Live all at the same 1000 capacity venue.

Galactic and Widespread Panic played a show at our area's largest venues, but there couldn't have been more than 400 people there total. Very good show.

I believe the backstreet boys will be playing at the 9:30 soon. I'm afraid i won't be there.

in clubs/space that seat 1000 or less:

massive attack
roni size
goldie
solex
cornelius
acid mothers temple
marshall allen/sun ra arketrsta
art ensemble of chicago
gil scott-heron
fela anikulapo kuti
einsturzende neubauten
dj rupture
dj spooky
plaid
mercury rev
sonic youth
pharcyde
tribe called quest
gang starr (several times)
dj premier
de la soul
keith rowe/fennesz
la monte young
spiritualized
stereolab
mono
peter gabriel
robert fripp
old and new dreams
oregon

there are others that i cant think of right now

indi.arie and O.A.R. in one of the conference rooms here in the building... lunch concert for the employees :)

barry manilow at the VH1 Studio...

I've seen Staind in two small venues - Deep Ellum Live in May of 2000 (when they were still touring for Dysfunction) and at the Grenada Theater in 2003 when they toured with Lo-Pro and Static-X after releasing 14 Shades of Gray.

I also saw Cold at Deep Ellum Live, and Linkin Park at the Bronco Bowl a few days before Meteora came out.

Tophat - I used to live in Charlottesville, and have family that still do. I remember Trax very well - my uncle used to go there quite a bit, and saw DMB there many times. It's pretty cool to hear about it from someone else - small world, isn't it?

I also saw Ozzie Osborne with Randi Rhodes at a 300 seat theatre on the Bizzard of Oz tour. Def Leppard opened the show (they were kids then). Saw Deep Purple at a club in Virginia Beach Va (with Richie Blackmore) and Frank Zappa in front of probably 300 people too.

I was supposed to see Shinedown in a little club called Avio here in Lexington early last summer, but it was canceled the day of due to "technical difficulties that could not be resolved."

I saw Lacuna Coil, POD, and Blindside at Bogarts, which was at no more than 3/4 capacity (which is probably around 500). This was just last summer too, after POD already had a platinum record.

While this will only matter to metal fans,

I've seen Blind Guardian, Iced Earth, and Symphony X, in crowds of maybe 150.

I saw Great Big Sea(really only big in Canada I guess) with about one hundred other people. The Mosquitos, while I don't know if they're big(I saw them on the MTV) were there too.

Lets see where can I start:

Metallica in a private, unknown concert in a club in NYC
Janes at Hammerstein
Metallica at Hershey Park Arena
Guns at the Ritz

I saw The Ataris at this place called The Social in downtown Orlando that holds maybe 500 or so people. This was a few months before their last record came out and blew up all over radio. Sugarcult opened for them and they're sorta big in some circles.

I saw ICP at The Club @ Firestone in Downtown Orlando which is bigger than The Social but only holds maybe 1000 or so people.

I'm terrible with numbers so I might be way off lol.

I saw Jimmy Bufett at a now closed deli in my hometown around 1992. He used to own a plantation on a road I lived on in SW Georgia that ran into Florida. His place was about 5 miles over the line, where it turns from pavement to dirt. Anyway, he did it as a promotional thing since he knew the owner well and frequented the place. It wasn't a long set by any means. Just a few of the standards, a few autographs, and he was gone.

The Allman Brothers in the early '70s at a junior college gym.

Ted Nugent at my college student center in 1974. Memorable because I met him, and he let me tape his concert, as long as I promised I wouldn't sell it.

Fleetwood Mac opening for the Eagles in 1976 in Atlanta's Fox theater. Not too many people had heard of Fleetwood Mac then. I was front row center, and still have a picture of Stevie Nicks' bloodshot eyes. My girlfriend at the time got me backstage afterward, too.

Jimmy Buffet at the Fox also.

Crap, I fogot about the Ataris. I saw them here in Midland in a crowd of about 150. It was just after their Boys of Summer cover had become a small hit.

i saw public enemy in a venue that holds about 600...also saw oasis in a bar in dundee that held about 100...jurrrasic 5 and j-live in a venue of about 1000...franz ferdinand in a living room...snowpatrol in a bar of about 80 or so ...erm i'm sure that there are others...

Haha. I was there too. It was awesome.

I've seen Staind a ton of times in small venues. They are from the area(guitarist used to live down the street) so I saw them once or twice before their major label debut. Then again after Dysfunction when they played in an exhibition hall. After their last release I saw them play with Static-x at a small club in Springfield, MA.

I've seen Static-x a few more times each in tiny club settings. I saw Ra, soil, shinedown, and many others at Pearl St. in Northampton, MA. The Mighty Mighty Bosstones at the Webster in Hartford. BB King and Bela Fleck both at the Calvin Theater in Northampton, MA.

There have been more I'm sure but I am rather tired right now and can't think of them off hand.

Guns and Roses at The Whisky in L.A. and Motley Crue at The Troubador in L.A. both before they became famous. The Los Angeles Metal Scene in the early 80s was fantastic. KNAC rocked.

I just remembered that Art Alexakis (lead singer of Everclear) did a solo acoustic set at my university outdoors to maybe about 100-200 people. I was working his merch table that night and got to meet him. Amazingly nice guy. After his show he stayed and signed every single autograph, talked to every fan, took pictures and didn't leave until after every fan was gone and even spent some time talking to the volunteer workers while they were tearing down the stage and whatnot.

Apocalyptica in the Knitting Factory two weeks ago. I was about 2 feet away from them, and I got to meet them all afterwards. I got their signatures, and the drummer's too.

Back in the old days, around '74 or so, I went out for a night of underage drinking. We ended up in a small bar being entertained by Cheap Trick. I only remember this because they hit it big not long after. That same year Styx played in my high school gym. That one I DO remember, because our principal stopped the show and kicked everyone out due to it running too late for a school night.

My friends keep telling me about the time they saw Bif Naked at The Mod Club in Toronto. Like a hundred people. Ten dollar fee, and the best concert they had ever been to, hands down.

It is now known that if there is ever any band they have even a remote tolerance for playing at The Mod Club, they're going and dragging all of us.

I almost saw Summers End and Everything Falls Together at some local concert places around here.
But they shut the show down....First time they have EVER done that
What a bummer =/

If I mentioned names likeAl Hirt, Gene Krupa, Woody Herman, Satchmo, Louie Belson, Lional Hampton, Count Basis to name a few would any one here know who I'm talking about. I loved big bands and small combos. I played the trumpet for 50 years. I pity people who haven't experience playing with a group. Well, it is what it is. Different stroke for different folks.

Maroon 5... and yea... they're dorks now. But they played Nine Inch Nails and AC DC, and well that earned a little respect. I saw them at Columbus, Ohio. With a crowd of about 75 people at the most.

just saw the decemberists with a couple hundred people. very good show, i only wish i had been able to listen to their new cd a bit more first.

Queens of the Stone Age at Mac Hall in Calgary last sunday on 3 hits of ecstacy. The place was on fire so I went crowdsurfing.

Probably about 1000 people.

Nine inch nails, Astoria, London March 31st 2005. About 1500 people.

--jaded

I don't know how "big" the guy is, but he is/was on tour with Steve Vai, so he must have a bit of a following...

I saw Eric Sardinas in a small bar in Kansas City a couple years ago. Probably somewhere around 200 people. Awesome show!

EDIT: I completely forgot, I saw Deftones with Glassjaw in Lawrence. I can't remember the name of the place, but there couldn't have been more then 5-600 or so people there.

The Rollins Band at the Grenada in Lawrence. No more than 300 people, very "personal" show. The stage was pretty low and crowd-surfers were getting pulled on stage by Henry Rollins, and thrown back into the crowd. Great, great show!

Absolutely, I've seen Buddy Rich, Maynard Ferguson, and Chase (major trumpet band, remember them?) in a high school auditorium. Along time ago, but just saw Maynard ferguson last year also. I too, have played trumpet for about 30 years. Great Musicians.

The best for me was seeing Cowboy Junkies in a little bar in Madison, Wisconsin, on a spring night in the late 80's, and then seeing them at the Civic Center the next fall. In the spring, they were nobody, and in the fall, their set was almost the same, but the crowd was incredibly different, and thousands of people bigger.