There’s been plenty of speculation in recent months about just who’ll be participating in Van Halen’s planned reunion tour. Will the famously prideful David Lee Roth drop out? (Not yet, at least.) Will bassist Michael Anthony really be replaced by Eddie Van Halen’s teenaged son Wolfgang? (Yup.) But all that ballyhoo pales in comparison to the latest and most perplexing twist: VH announced yesterday that the opening act on the tour will be…drumroll, please… Ky-Mani Marley, best known as "the second-generation Marley star who isn’t Ziggy, Stephen, Damian, or Rohan."
Look, I like Ky-Mani’s hip-hop-flavored reggae just fine. (YouTube has clips for his 2000 single "Warriors" and his more recent collaboration with G-Unit rapper Young Buck, "Puff Puff Pass" — both NSFW but well worth checking out.) And if Diamond Dave and the gang are feeling his vibe too, more power to ‘em. But do Van Halen and Ky-Mani actually have any fans in common? Should concertgoers expect VH to bust out a mellow reggae remix of "Runnin’ With the Devil"? My mind is reeling already.
This news also got me to thinking about the most incongruous tour pairings of all time. PopWatch’s Gary Susman suggests the time in 1967 when a still-little-known guitar-slinger named Jimi Hendrix opened for the Monkees, which feels more like a case of "mind-blowingly awesome" than "head-scratchingly weird" to me. As for myself, I doubt I’ll ever see a stranger lineup than the free show I attended this summer where preppy indie-rock newcomers Vampire Weekend opened for furiously lyrical cocaine-rap masters the Clipse. Anyone out there want to try topping that?
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Although I personally didn’t attend this u2 show (I wish!) Kanye West did open for them for a few dates during the Vertigo tour. Perhaps because I am a younger u2 fan, I also appreciate Kayne’s music. But I think for the older u2 fans, they were probably not enjoying the sounds of Kanye as much!
I saw Sugarcubes and Public Enemy open for U2 in 1992. There were very few people there who enjoyed Public Enemy, but I was one of them!
That tour is gonna be so terrible.
You will need to carbon-date my age, but I saw a triple bill of the Mahavishnu Orchestra, Blue Oyster Cult and the Byrds at the University of Vermont in the 1970s. The only thing they had in common was their record label. Strange show, indeed.
run dmc and the beastie boys opened for madonna on her like a virgin tour
I don’t know if I can top you Simon, but I saw Public Enemy open for U2 awhile ago. I thought that was pretty random, but it was awesome as hell.
Woops.. looks like U2 has lots of random opening acts!
craziest pairing… snoop dogg opening for linkin park. odd, but a good time!
When I was in high school, I saw Kool Keith open for the Foo Fighters and Red Hot Chili Peppers. A few people up front cheered kind of ironically, but everyone else was just kind of confused.
What do their fans have in common? A mutual love of ganja, DUH.
Funny,when the mention of oddball pairings came up, I too thought of the Monkees/Jimi Hendrix tour. The Monkees still joke about that in their live shows (saw them for free about five years ago).
Still, I always thought that the pairing of Anthrax and Public Enemy for a few shows must have led to some interesting exchanges in the crowd.
But I still think the title of “most awkward groupings” belongs to Lollapalooza II. It was Lush, Soundgarden, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Ministry, Jesus& Mary Chain, Pearl Jam and ICE CUBE (during the height of his “I hate all non black people” phase) all in the same day.
From my recollection of that show, the Alt-rock fans acted very awkward when they saw this brother perform with FOI (Fruit of Islam) bodyguards on stage.
I agree with EP, it’s the ganja. lol!
Secondly I have seen worse pairings:
REM and Sparklehorse.
Uhm, Sparklehorse??
Janes Addiction with some odd African drum section.
The drum section would have fit nicely with Peter Gabriel or Paul Simon.
Aerosmith and the Cult. Both are outstanding groups but oil and water don’t mix.
Squeeze and Fountains of Wayane. Stacey’s Mom is Up the Junction.
Cocaine-rap? That an actual subgenre? Yeah, if you need me i’ll be in Lancaster PA churning butter. *runs like heck from pop culture*
Little disappointed about Eddie’s son playing bass. Talk about a little nepotism. As for the opening act, I don’t put down anyones taste in music but I think i will be showing up late for this concert.
In ‘90 I saw Don Henley and a comedy team called Pinkard and Bowden was the opening act. The performed song parodies of real songs sort of like Weird Al, but with a country sound. It was bizarre.
Ky-Mani was probably the only act not afraid to climb on the back of this nightmare…
Rage Against The Machine and Wu-Tang Clan at Merriweather Post in MD was a trip. I had a blast throughout because I love them both, but it thinned out after Wu-Tang did their set. It immediately went out of control when RATM took the stage and the rest of the crowd rushed the front, though – talk about an intense show!
I go to Duke and we had a concert this spring in Cameroon Indoor Stadium. Clap Your Hands Say Yeah opened for TI and I have to say it was one of the weirdest combos ever.
I saw George Thoroughgood (sp?) open for Jerry Lee Lewis.
I also saw Chaka Khan open for Wham.
However, the best pairing has to be when Prince was booed off of the stage opening for the Rolling Stones years ago.
Actually given the Charlotte angle, history may repeat itself. The Monkees-Hendrix show in Charlotte in ‘67 was a the 3rd of the short pairing. VH is starting out in Charlotte. Odd. Really.
I think this is the dumbest thing I’ve ever heard, I don’t dislike Reggae but from what I can tell this is hip hop infused R&B,
Nope… This ain’t gonna fly with a died in the wool, heard VH 1 the day it was released fan like me…
It sounds to me like VH allowed the opening slot to be bought, Ky-Mani wants to sell cd’s and as Steve Vai once said “If Van Halen ever gets back together they could sell out the Sahara Desert” What better place to get the WRONG exposure…
I predict that just like Hendrix and the Monkeys this pairing won’t last long… Hopefully they’ll have a ROCK band opening by the time the Chicago United Center show comes around… I want to here DLR era Halen, not rap.
Another Charlotte event – I saw Stevie Ray Vaughn open for Huey Lewis and the News in 1983.
I just got back from the Charlotte show, this was a strange combination. Marley put on a good show, it was just out of place. Van Halen on the other hand just kicked ass
i went to the Charlotte Show and Marley kicked ass. Van Halen was awesome.. I would see them both again.
I just got home from the Van Halen show in Greensboro and I have never been so disapointed in my entire life. The sound sucked. I couldn’t even tell what song they were playing. It was horrible. I had to walk out because the sound was so bad it was unbearable. I payed $90.00 for this BULLSHIT…..
Van Halen…I want my money back…GET A REAL SOUNDMAN….what I saw tonight was total BULLSHIT….
Saw the Greensboro show…skipped Marley…sorry, dude. Anyway! David Lee Roth STILL kicks ASS as does VH!!! Awesome Show!!!
I too was VERY disapointed with show on Saturday night. The sound was really bad … i wonder if the PA speakers were not high enough? It looked as though the venues riging didn’t allow for the speakers that were flown to get up to there correct place. Also … those $40 tee shirts that are “pre shrunk” … well wait untill it get’s washed … what a rip off.
Ezi rude boi jus sayin u done a sik performance in SHOTTAS!!! Wicked Film
I just saw Van Halen and Ky-Mani Marley last night at Nassau Coliseum, Great show, Diamond Dave all the way, too out the huge mic and everything.
took* rather.
Heres 2 strange pairings that i recall:
John Mellencamp had a mgician as an opening act in the late 80’s at the Meadowlands
Rush with the Good rats at Nassau Coliseum on the Hemispheres Tour
Rush and new wave band the Fools also at Nassau on the Permanent Waves tour