Poll: Have you ever gone to a show "blind"?

So, fellow FHDCers, have you ever gone to a show "blind"?� Meaning you went to see a band that you never heard any of their music or knew anything about.� You may have gone solely on the recommendation of friends, or because you thought the band had a cool name or something.� But the criteria is that you went to show without any foreknowledge of the songs, the kind of music the band plays, the instrumentation, even how the band looks.

And, to add to that, did you come away from that show a new fan of the group?

This has happened to me a few times:

Mike Errico - Mercury Lounge showcase set

Eddie From Ohio - A co-headline with the Nields, who I was also "blind" to.� EFO won.

Guster - Radio City Music Hall, went on the recommendation of friends.

Great Big Sea - Traveled down to DC to see them blind.� Once again, friend recommendations.

Fruvous almost counts, but not really because I had bought a couple of their albums before I went to the show.

FRFF '97 based on recommendations from Marty Rosen on WORDS-L. That Saturday changed my life!

Adam Brodsky at the Kendall Cafe in Boston.

Fruit at the Iron Horse in Northampton.

That was my first FRFF too!� Complete with my first Fruvous encounter.

I went with friends, and had been to Clearwater before, but I had no idea what to expect.

da vinci's notebook based on recommendations from ammf. slaid cleaves based on recommendations from gordondon. :)

do we have an openers thread? i've seen a lot of people blind because they were openers and ended up loving them. rod picott, andrew kerr, peter mulvey, stephen kellogg, and mike errico come to mind.

I want this thread to be different than the openers thread, because it's almost the nature of an opener to be seeing them blind.

I'm talking about seeing the headliner "blind".

that's why i asked if we had an openers thread. :) and it appears that we don't, unless i'm missing it, so that might be a fun one to start.
but i can think of a few occasions where i was blind for the main act, and there specifically for the opener.

Wow, we don't have an openers thread, and I thought we had one.� Wow.

I have.� The best example for me is Hypnotic Clambake, who played a free show near where I went to school.� I'd seen them mentioned before in the TMBG FAQ (under the "other bands TMBG fans might like" question), but I really didn't know anything about them.� I have all of their albums now.

I saw TMBG live before owning any of their albums, but I had heard some of their songs, so it wasn't exactly the same.

Great Big Sea. March, 2000. well, ok, I'd heard their cover of It's the End of the World as We Know It but that's about it.

I've bought a lot more CDs blind, though. or mostly blind. The Nields, Dar Williams, EFO, DVN...

Heh.
And that cover didn't cause you to avoid their show?
;)

wow. you hate GBS, too? what do you like? besides Fruvous?

Are we sure Nate likes Fruvous? :D

didn't nate get stopped at the border going to a fruvous show?

Heh.. sure did.
Me and Adam both.
:D

link

I never said I disliked GBS.

They just aren't great.
*shrugs*

My point was that that particular cover sucks the wax tadpole.

Pete Kennedy told me that Sons of the Never Wrong were a cross between Moxy Fruvous and Dave Carter. That was enough to get me to trek down to Trenton to see them. They were worth it.

He then told me about Polygraph Lounge and they are incredible too. If the Kenendys tell you someone is good, go see them.

I saw Rocktopus at the Maine Lobster Festival this summer and fell in love with them. They are out of Portland Maine, and the keyboardest was in the Rustic Overtones. Check 'em out.

I've had my share of blind taste tests.� Not counting festivals, here's a sampling:

Chris Smither and Cheryl Wheeler at the Bottom Line.� Went on recommendation from co-workers.

Eddie From Ohio at The Bowery Ballroom....Co-Bill with the Nields and recommended by a couple of Dar-Listers

DaVinci's Notebook at Makor - a co-bill with robbie schaeffer description in the program listing, friend said they were funny, and hey, they were playing with mmmmmm...solorobbie. :)

Susan Werner� - World Trade Center CIty Folk - Free concert, several kudos from a friend..It was low risk. and I was amazed.

The Mammals - North Six in Brooklyn...socializing with new contra dance friends who liked the band, it was in my neighborhood.� Very impressed.

And I'm now a big fan of all of them....shows you how a little faith and willingness to try can go a long way.� Granted, there were some people that I tried and disliked, but the likes far outweigh them...which may explain my current problem with having too many concerts to go to and so little money. *sigh*

Dude, your 1st EFO show was my 1st EFO show?� Schweet!

Remember Clem playing bass on Love Shack?� Classic.

And I fell in love with 30-Second Love Affair that night.

Your co-workers suggested Chris Smither?

I want to work where you do ;-)

*sigh* Although I don't think I'll be able to see him when he's in town tomorrow night though. *stupidweekdayshow*

psst, talcott, come to chicago for his show next week. :)
i'm volunteering! whee!

Can you get me out there? For free? :-)

The good news is that he'll be on the radio live tomorrow afternoon. Watch and I'll have to work the front desk or something.

I should goto Chicago one of these days, it's really not that far...
Of course, Maine is still a bit higher on the list.

So, where are those fr�head transporters?

My first fruvous show was 100% blind!! :) �As was Loudon Wainwright, who played right before them at the 99 Philly Folk Fest.

Most of the people I saw at falcon ridge this year, except davinci's notebook, were also a blind show for me.

I went with my younger cousin to see Antiflag, because he wanted to and was too young to go on his own. I knew very little about the band and had never heard a song of theirs. All I knew was that they were a punk band�and that they had songs called "Fuck Police Brutality" and "Not Gonna Die For Your Government" or something like that. It didn't make any impression on me either way (except that I�laughed when the lead singer said that Dr. Laura and Rush Limbaugh sucked). I was no more interested in them when I left than when I came in.

I�saw Great Big Sea in Central Park on Canada Day some time ago, and I don't remember a single thing about�the show. I remember sitting there in the bleachers, but as far as the show part, I remember nothing. I didn't become a fan of theirs, either

I also saw the Nields and DaVinci's Notebook�at Appel Farm in 2002. I knew maybe two Nields songs and maybe three DVN songs before seeing them, and I didn't know anything about the people themselves. I bought a DVN CD and got it signed, but I wasn't crazy over the Nields at all, and I had even expected to be.

I was at the GBS show at Central Park. I don't remember seeing you there :-)

I was at Appel Farm 2002 too. That's when Richard sang the Gamera song for us!

Andrea, Melinda, and I were at that show in Central Park as well.

There's a pic here. :)

The first time I saw Dar was a blind show, I went on heresay alone and made my parents come. Ever since then we all luvs her.

radiant pig and boister, two of baltimore's best and weirdest bands. i thought they sounded fun, and i had no plans that night, so off i went.