Okay, I'll admit I was spoiled.
The first five OTR shows I went to, the opener was Ellery.
It just doesn't GET better than that (says she who's managed to rack up 11 Ellery shows in the 9 months she's been racking up the 18 OTR shows under her belt).

I was *not* so favorably impressed by Josh Rouse at Moonlite Gardens (though his cover of the "Welcome Back Kotter Theme Song" was a hoot...but as the crowning moment of the set, that's kinda sad). So it was with fear and trembling that I braced myself at the Wexner Center as they introduced Griffen House.

Dude *totally* rawks (he must...we bought his CD on the spot, and picked up 2 more EPs at the shows in Chicago).

The only other opening act I've seen was Michelle Shocked at the Taft. I didn't really "get" her music...but I thought *she* was cool. Almost picked up her CD at Joseph Beth Thursday night (when we were there to see Ellery...photos on my LJ for those interested, see link in the siggy). But their prices are kinda high for something I'm not totally sure I'm into...so I'm waiting.

So what about you? What opening acts are you excited about when you see them billed with OTR? Which ones do you bravely suffer through to get to the *good* stuff?

The band is booking the next tour now...maybe they'll take notice.

kim was the best in recent memory.

Yeah, I've heard Kim Taylor is really good. I'm sorry I missed those shows (couldn't manage to make them *all* though).

agreed, kim and ellery were the best. unless you count hem when they co-billed for otr in '06.
josh rouse was not bad at all. the opener here in minneapolis was a local singer-songwriter named ellis, who was fine,
a little goofy and very funny, but also you could see she was rather nervous opening before a full house here.
and the 2 acts opening in milwaukee were local acts that really didn't do much for me. one was a guy who looked like and sang like jimi hendrix armed with an acoustic guitar. i kept waiting for him to break into purple haze. and michelle shocked didn't do that much for me, although i've always loved her song anchored down in anchorage.
sue didn't care for her at all, as she kept looking at her watch waiting for her set to end at 8:45

buddy and julie miller kicked some serious ass opening the taft a few years ago. probably (imnsho) the best openers. ever.

Gosh. I really must be bored. I swore today was going to be a relaxing day, and I almost spent a few hours compiling every opener I could come up with in my 170+ times I've seen the band. But alas it was not to be. It's making me tired, thinking about it.

Off the top of my head, some favorites (not including anyone that may have played earlier than them on a festival stage):
Peter Mulvey
Sixpence None The Richer
Jane Siberry
that guy at one of The Asylum shows in Toledo, he came out and sang an acapella version of Eurythmics Here Comes The Rain again that was kickin'
Gordon Henderson - once I got over his voice and learned to love the songs
Susan Enan
Vienna Teng

Some I could've done without:
The Children's Hour
Buddy and Julie Miller (my ears are still ringing)
That lady at the Bogarts show that ranted and got booed off stage (by OTR fans! God Bless us!)

ah. i only saw them that one time when they opened for them at taft - it must've been another year, because it was awful.

(wait for it, wait for it) -

i agree w/everything except your opinion of buddy and julie (and i didn't see the guy in toledo).

I've only seen Kim Taylor, Hem, and Griffin House. I loved Kim and continue to love her music more and more.

Hem and Griffin House were enjoyable enough at the time but I really wished for more Kim. I might have enjoyed Griffin House more if there hadn't been an annoying couple talking and singing to each other while he was singing. I mean, did they go to see and hear Griffin House sing their favorite special song or did they go to have him be their live karaoke machine?

wish I had seen Buddy and Julie and Sixpence...

i would add david bazan/pedro the lion to that list too.

Those were painful.

I'd totally take Ellery over Hem.
For me there's those Eon's of Double Cure- OTR and Vigilantes of love.

Reminds me, I forgot to take my copy of Audiably Resplendant to St.E's for Jake to sign.

I've seen Michelle Shocked twice (neither times opening for OtR). The first time she was fantastic- just her and a guitar on the stage of my seminary, and it was genuinely a really great show. We were impressed enough that we went to the big ole hippy fest, Topanga Days, specifically to see her. She was with a band, and the songs were just kind of lost in the noise. But then she started commenting about how everybody in the audience was white and that music was supposed to bring people together, and then ended the set really abruptly. So, there ends our going-out-of-our-way-to-see-Michelle-Shocked days.

I would have LOVED to see Josh Rouse, we are big fans.

Kim Taylor was excellent the few times I saw her in Ohio. Unfortunately she was very under the weather at the 2005 Knitting Factory show - shouldn't have even gotten out of bed she was so sick.

Rose Polenzani, Odeon circa 2001... eh.

Griffin House- still don't much care for the CD we have of his, but I liked him live.

Hem, fabulous except my husband had to go and tick me off by saying he liked them better than OtR. Hmph.

The two opening acts at the recent Coach House show were probably my least favorite. Can't remember their names, but I was wishing for more Griffin House.

The first time I saw OtR in 2000/2001, they were co-billed with Vigilantes of Love. And I'm sad to say that my friends and I left after the first song, because it was just so frenetic and loud and Bill Mallonee was jumping around the stage in pajamas. I've since come to like VoL/BM quite a bit, and regret that I didn't stick around longer. (In our defense, we had a two hour drive and exams the next day.)

Ohmygosh.

Put VoL in my "no, thanks" list too. Maybe Pedro too.

Hem is my fav thus far with Kim right behind. Although, if I would have seen Buddy and Julie Miller I am sure they would have been my favourite by miles.

Man, I wish I could remember the name of the woman who was the opener first time I saw them. She was really good. I think she said she was from Chicago. It was when they were touring the west coast in support of "films for the radio."

Whoa, wouldn't it be cool if that was Jennifer O'Conner? I doubt it was, but that would still of been cool.

Okay, I have a fever of 101.xx and I may be delirious, but the only opener that I can ever remember really liking was Sixpence/Sexsmith. That was my favorite Taft show as well.

But then again, I'm pretty picky when it comes to vocals... Which reminds me, I thought my ears were bleeding during Michelle Shocked the other night. And I think she may've seen the look of excruciation on my face ( was on the front row) since she stepped away from the mic the next few times, she channeled whatever alien mating call that was she was channeling.

Leo Kottke? anyone? Bueller?

My first OtR show - and I'm still grinning.

I liked Leo Kottke. (That was my first Taft show.) And Vienna Teng, Ticklepenny Corner and Nikki Buehrig. And even Don Dixon, although I think he's a better writer than singer.

Kim Taylor, Rose Polenzani, Amy Rigby, Ellery and Mary Gauthier were okay. I like some of Griffin House's songs, too. And a couple of Pedro the Lion's.

I didn't care for VOL, Peter Mulvey (ducking), Susan Enan, Lisa Cerbone, or Josh Rouse. I'm sure I'm missing a bunch, and the fact that I can't remember them probably means I thought they were mediocre at best.

Children's Hour were the absolute pits.

Sounds like it was Rose Polenzani.

http://www.thedirtroad.net/otrhine/reviews/rev04042001.html

Wish I'd known Rose warmed up for OtR, I had dinner at her home in Somerville MA a few weeks ago (she makes an unbelievable marinara) and I would have loved to ask her about it!

I've liked all the OtR openers I've seen pretty well except for Children's Hour, with Kim being the real standout for me.

Jason Dennie was the first opener I saw with OTR and he was a whole lot of fun. Bemused expressions and some tasty guitar work. Delicious.

I was pleasantly surprised by The Willard Grant Conspiracy in 2001, but my expectations were real low going into that show, so take that for it's worth.

Buddy and Julie Miller at the Taft in 2001 were simply marvelous. I love them. I loved Erin McKeown, too! I've really grown to love her album We Will Become Like Birds.

Re-arrange Hem and you get meh, which describes how I felt about them. They were pleasant enough, but I only needed about 30 minutes of them.

I enjoyed Kim Taylor quite a bit.

The Childrens Hour was by far the worst. Just painful.

Jeff

rose opened for the worst OtR show that i have ever seen @ "the patio" in indy. the place was an absolute shithole, full of smoke, and possibly the loudest, worst audience that i have ever seen. she completely lost the audience about two or three songs into her set, if she ever had them, with a song w/a very long, very heavy intro about rape, as was the song.

the crowd was so bad that when OtR went onstage, about 45 minutes to an hour late, nobody even noticed they were trying to start the show. and few ever acknowledged or noticed that they did. there were several people around me screaming into their cell phones, the louder the band got, they louder they yelled. and the chatter was deafening. it was horrible.

i gave up and bailed after about 6-7 songs, the only time i have ever done so.

Oh wow... maybe it's just as well the topic of Over the Rhine didn't come up, then! I really hate audiences like that.

Rose shares a place with my PattyPal® Nicole (who is currently making a film about the folk music scene in Boston), that's how I came to have dinner with her. I have one of her albums Anybody which I really like, but haven't had an opportunity to see her live yet.

FTR I don't really consider Hem an opener for OtR, since they were a co-bill. The set I saw at Northampton (OtR opened) with the band's four core members was good, but certainly wasn't on a par with the other three times I've seen them with a full 9-or-more-piece ensemble.

Ok, well if you want to call Hem a co-bill, then that would knock them off our list of favorites, even though that show was what finally turned us on to them. Prior to that, my initial listen to Rabbit Songs really hadn't done a whole lot for me.

I would have to say that our other favorites would have to be Amy Rigby (all of whose cds we now have) and Swan Dive (which we're still working on). We also really enjoyed Andrew Bird.

The first show we saw was opened by Kim Taylor and she was plagued with pervasive sound problems, so I'm afraid we didn't get a good demonstration of her talent.

Ahhh, yes. That was her name.

Jason Dennie and Ron Sexsmith I have to add to my "nice" list as well.

Hem/meh - hehe. That is quality stuff.

And I didn't have anything to add to the Childrens Hour talk, but it's nice to see a unified front on them. Anyone who disagrees must be a family member or the dreaded one-two punch of blind/deaf.

amy rigby was cute and fun. once. her act was very tired after the first time. i love swan dive and hope to see them more in the future. andrew bird, UGH! bored the hell out of me. all that stupid twitching and whistling. and lyrically/vocally he did nothing for me. he is right there, just a notch above the children's hour. as one of the worst. ever.

ouch! that just makes me sad. I saw Andrew Bird open for The Decemberists at the Hollywood Bowl and was blown away by his awesomeness. I didn't know he had opened for OtR before.

I can see that, but I would like to see her with a full band. I guess I have a different take on an opening act. To me, their role is to warm up the audience and set the atmosphere for the evening. I actually prefer no opening acts. The only place I felt it worked well was a big stage like the Taft. When touring, I'd love to see that time given back to OtR for a longer show. Who wouldn't love an extra 7-8 songs from them?

Best OTR opener was Thea Gilmore at the Old Town School back in '04. That woman writes some amazing, amazing songs.

Worst was probably Griffin House, sorry ladies. The guy reinvents the idea of boring...and looks like Scott Stapp.

i agree, a good opener can set up the evening and the mood and can make the show much better, and more enjoyable. but just as easily, a bad opener can just suck the life out of an audience and kill the mood. i've seen shows where it has taken the headliner 3-4 songs to regain control of a crowd after the opener lost them.

the worst is when the opener doesn't get why they are there and springs a 45-60 minute set on the crowd, imho, no opening act should ever exceed 30 minutes. ever. at 31 minutes, get the hook...

i too, prefer no opener, especially w/OtR, the junkies, ryan adams, etc. the "evening with" concept works just fine for me.

Ha! That was my fault! I totally pimped VOL at you. I remember that. And the muppet comments you made the next day at class.

But ... but he sings like Bono ... with an acoustic guitar. Oh, wait, that completely explains why you don't like him!

I liked him. AND his grandma.

Oh no, no, no. I saw Griffin House and Children's Hour both open for OTR at the same show. Griffin was way, way better than Children's Hour. (Unless you're just referring to the worst you've seen. ) Although there was a moment at the Bloomington show in October where Bill & I thought he'd rewritten that song about his grandparents because he started singing the wrong song...

that was funny. i like griffin, i think he's excellent. but, if i'd heard that story about his grandparents having sex one more time, i would have had to hit him in the head with a brick.

Sorry, the guy just had really boring songs...its like if Adam Duritz made a whole Counting Crows album with no choruses. Being a straight guy, i was only paying attention to the music...maybe that was my problem?


I do like Kim, although it was a little frustrating in that she spent a year opening for OTR and getting a lot of exposure with no album to plug...I'm sure she would've done really well if she had all that exposure after her record was done. Definitely one of the best records of '06, it sucks I never got to see her after I heard the songs how they were really supposed to sound. Hopefully someday I can fix that.

Oh my gosh, I totally forgot how much Bill Mallonee reminded me of a muppet. Lol.

I've been to 4 OtR shows. The first one I have no idea who opened for them because I wasn't a fan and didn't even know anything about OtR. The three shows I went to after I was enlightened had Kim, Hem, and Griffin House in that order. Hem was my favorite, with Griffin House not far behind. Kim was sick with a cold the night she opened and only played 3, maybe 4 songs. And it was her first-ever show in Los Angeles. I really liked what I heard, but not seeing her in top form or hearing many tunes, it was hard to get a true sense of her music. On a side note, I must say I was a little disappointed in her not, you know, sort of "sucking it up" for herself being in LA for the first time and for her audience. Kind of like a pro athlete playing injured for a big game. I know that may sound terribly unempathetic, judgemental, selfish, and Los Angeles-arrogant, but I felt a real sense of lost opportunity there, both for her and her audience. I'm sure she'd say she's doing just fine without kissing LA-ass, and more power to her!

jnhashmi, I was at that show, too. I think she really was pretty miserably sick; I remembered thinking she should have just stayed in bed. She was great when I saw her in Ohio - no comparison.

We're neighbors, by the way. I'm in Torrance. :-)

Note to self. Try not to annoy Bill...

*edited to add "anymore".

Me either. I would have liked to have seen that actually. I have seen him be pretty good before.

I've really enjoy Griffin House (live and recorded at this point). But you're right, man's got a strange thing about his grandparents doin' the grown-up.

Haven't heard any Amy Rigby yet (that I know of...'Yote does have a rather eclectic collection and sometimes I find I'm not sure WHO I'm listening to), but I gotta say Swan Dive as an opener is definitely a bill I'd personally like to see.

And I liked Griffen House 'cause of the music, kids. (Trust me it's not the looks - he doesn't have long enough hair to get my attention). He did a couple of songs in Columbus that hit me between the eyes. That's what makes *me* sit up and taken notice.

Though yeah...the thing about his grandparents is vaguely creepy.

Kim Taylor was great, for sure, but my favorite was probably Andrew Bird. He was highly entertaining and I'd love to see him again. His new album is quite good.

i would have loved to have seen the OtR/6p show in 2000 - my two favorite bands together on one stage for one magical night - doesn't get any better than that.

first time i saw OtR they didn't have an opener.

second time, it was some guy who i can't remember his name at the moment...

third time, the show was co-headlined with HEM (Otr opened and 2/3rds of the audience left after their set)

fourth time Griffin House opened - very nice.

The problem I had with Kim (and is a common problem among many openers), is that I could not understand a darn thing she was singing. Either the sound mix was bad for her, or her voice isn't strong enough without a backup band, or a combination of both. It wasn't until after I heard her studio stuff that I liked her music.

Hmmmm...ya know, 'Yote's GOT to have some Kim Taylor around here somewhere...*starts rummaging*

It's amazing the number of new artists I've been exposed to in the last year...
And how much more aware I am of the local music scene than I've ever been before.
All because of 'Yote and OTR. And you wonderful Apples (who give me such great ideas of new stuff to check out all the time).
*smile*

I don't remember most of the Over the Rhine openers that I've seen. The ones that come to mind:

Rosie Thomas - very entertaining. She's quirky. Not sure I'd want a full set of her stuff, but I've enjoyed her in opening or festival slots.
Kim Taylor - liked her well enough. Not something I'd run out and listen to, but fine as an opening act.
Hem - "Meh" does sum it up. Liked their Springsteen cover, but the rest just left me cold.
Stephen Delopolous - Loved Burlap to Cashmere, but not really into his solo work.

The first time I saw Over the Rhine (just Karin and Linford), they were opening for Vigilantes of Love. I love both bands, but I thought VOL was more consistently good live throughout their career than Over the Rhine. Over the Rhine is always good, but sometimes a little dull (the Drunkard's Prayer shows, for instance). I like a LITTLE rockin' in my Over the Rhine.

The worst Over the Rhine experience was, ironically, one of the best shows by Over the Rhine that I've seen. They were playing a (since closed, and unlamented) dive in Atlanta called the Echo Lounge. The club was, somehow, double booked for the evening, with 2 headliners and 3 opening bands. Over the Rhine, in the midst of the Ohio tour, was fantastic, even though they didn't take the stage until very late. The other headlining band, who I don't remember, played Willie Nelson's _Red Headed Stranger_ in its entirety, or something like that. It was actually pretty entertaining. Over the Rhine had two openers, Stephen Delopolous and somebody else. And then there was the opener for the other headliner. It was supposed to be a band, but some of the band didn't make it, so one guy just played some "free form explorations on guitar" for like 30 or 45 minutes. He was noodling, yelling into the pickups through a cheap voice changing device, and PLAYING THE GUITAR WITH A WHISK. It was the absolute worst show I've ever seen. I was calling all my friends, going "man, this is the most legendarily BAD show of all time." Absolutely hideous. I've never wanted to punch an opening act in the neck so much as on that night.

JRjr

i love rosie thomas...that would've been a perfect show for me.


i've only seen OtR once...with susan enan and steven delopoulos opening. i was a big burlap to cashmere fan too...so i loved him. i even liked most of her stuff.