Who have you seen in coffee houses, small clubs etc.

[rwmct]

Originally Posted by FrankHudson

And I think that the OP is aiming for more contrast than saw in a small hall when they were not known and now they play somewhat bigger facilities and are well known in their genre.

* * * *

Probably the purest example for me of "became a big star, but I saw in a very small venue before that happened" was John Denver. In 1968 he played a campus gig at my small school in Iowa. It was not in a theater or auditorium, but in a room. I recall 40 or so people in the audience. He played "Leaving on a Jet Plane" which had been on a Peter Paul and Mary album but which PP&M hadn't yet released as what would be a hit single a year or so later. I remember liking his 12-string version of "Bells of Rhymney." Of course Denver himself later became a huge pop culture thing.

Yes, you get what I was aiming at. I have seen some pretty well known acts in clubs. But I was getting at more of the experience I had a couple times with Shindell, where he went on after the local open mike, and the venues were church basements. Lol, no booze, but a bake sale.

[rockabilly69]

Chris Whitley @ Zephyr Club Salt Lake City Utah

Johnny Winter @ Zephyr Club Salt Lake City Utah

Steve Earle @ Zephyr Club Salt Lake City Utah

Bill Kirchen @ Wine Cellar Ogden Utah (I opened for him on that gig)

Norton Buffalo @ Brewskis Ogden Ut (I opened up for him and Roy Rogers when they came back a few years later at the Eqyptian theater in Ogden, Utah)

[reeve21]

Most folks have never heard of the Alternate Routes but they are real good. The lead singer Tim Warren is from our little town and the son of a late friend of ours. He was the All American kid, star of the football team, etc.

The first time I heard him was at a party for his parents' anniversary where he just pulled out his guitar on the spur of the moment. Have seen his band many times since then, always in a small venue.

This is from their website:

The Alternate Routes first burst onto the scene in 2005 with their breakthrough album Good and Reckless and True. They released several albums on Vanguard Records and on their own, toured extensively, and relentlessly refined their craft. They have collaborated with such seemingly disparate artists as singer-songwriter Patti Griffin, director Lisa Cholodenko (The Kids Are All Right), and guitarist Carl Broemel of My Morning Jacket. They’ve performed on “The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson,” “Late Night with Conan O’Brien,” and have been repeat guests on NPR’s “Mountain Stage.”

[SCVJ]

Muddy Waters, Jerry Jeff Walker, Townes Van Zandt, Lyle Lovett, Johnny Winter, Lightnin' Hopkins (I went to his funeral, too), Ray Charles, Stevie Ray Vaughn, BB King.

All in Texas between 1970 to mid 80's. I'm sure there were more, all great memories.

[Chipotle]

Our college program council booked the Red Hot Chili Peppers back in '86 (maybe '87) back when they were just a college radio band. I was doing crowd management right in front of the stage for the show, we hung out with them afterwards, and grabbed free food from their catered deli trays . One of my friends had to pick them up from the airport.

Nirvana at a small-sized venue right before Nevermind came out and they got big. A friend of mine knew one of the other bands on the bill, so we went backstage afterwards and got introduced to Kurt, Dave and Krist.

[boombox]

Originally Posted by reeve21

We have a winner

That was my thought exactly, till I read this:

Originally Posted by SCVJ

Muddy Waters, Jerry Jeff Walker, Townes Van Zandt, Lyle Lovett, Johnny Winter, Lightnin' Hopkins (I went to his funeral, too), Ray Charles, Stevie Ray Vaughn, BB King.

All in Texas between 1970 to mid 80's. I'm sure there were more, all great memories.

Now that's too tough to call!!

Don't think I've seen many stars in really small venues before they got big, but a few towards the end of their careers like Dave Cousins of The Strawbs in front of less than 40 in our Uni folk club (even borrowed his guitar to do a floor spot!!) and Tim Rose in a small school hall playing to less than two dozen people. Who I have seen at the start of their UK careers are Rachel Baiman & Molly Tuttle and Kacey & Clayton playing to about 40 each time in the upstairs room of pubs. The next time it was a hundred seater theatre for Rachel, where I also saw Sierra Hull for the first time, and then Molly in a capacity audience of 150. I've also seen Sarah Jarosz, Aoife O'Donovan and Sara Watkins in less than 200 capacity venues, but the last I'm With Her tour, the venue had jumped to a room capacity of 350. Who knows what stages they will all move up to next time they come over here?

Not a coffee bar, but I did think it was funny seeing one US band on their first UK tour in the Union Chapel in London, which has a capacity of 900. Most of the Americans in the venue couldn't believe they were seeing their favourite band in such a "small", "intimate", "cute" venue as they regularly filled Red Rocks on multiple nights with a capacity ten times the size of the chapel. The band, of course, was the String Cheese Incident.

[jim1960]

Great Big Sea
Arlo Guthrie
Pete Seeger
Cathie Ryan
Cheryl Wheeler
Chris Smither
Christine Lavin
Cliff Eberhardt
Dave Mallett
David Bromberg
David Massengill
David Wilcox
John Gorka
Lucy Kaplansky
Patty Larkin
Richard Shindell
Richie Havens
Tom Paxton

[davidbeinct]

Coffee house John Hammond Jr. (front row); Robert Jr. Lockwood, Johnny “Guitar” Watson.
Small theater Richard Thompson; los Lobos; BB King; Johnny Cash; Willie Nelson.
Club Roy Buchanan; Santana; George Clinton; Fishbone.

[brad4d8]

Neil Young, in a basement club called the Stone Balloon, New Haven CT. This was April or May 1969. He did a solo set then brought out Steve Stills and a few others for an electric set.

[Everton FC]

In no particular order:

Johnny Thunders/999 (also, separate show, Johnny Thunders & the Heartbreakers)
The Proclaimers
Great Big Sea
Bebo Norman
Larry Norman
The Misfits
The Ramones (Twice)
The Bad Brains/Bush Tetras/Gang of Four (Same gig)
Lords of the New Church/TSOL
Oingo Boingo
The Romantics
Joe Jackson
Riot
Joe Perry Project

My memory is now fading...

[Everton FC]

Originally Posted by M19

On the opposite trajectory: saw Jesse Colin Young at The Dakota (music and dinner club) in Mpls last year. Great show of his oldies.

His show at the Capital Theatre on Youtube, 1976, is awesome. Would love to have seen him. Then, and now!

[The Watchman]

Hall & Oates, Elvis Costello, at a small local under-21 club. I think it was EC's first US tour.

[dnf777]

At a tin barn dance hall inBaytown, tx, 1986, a country cover band was interrupted by a guy promising to sing a few songs if the band knew any of his stuff, and someone would buy him a drink. Name was George Jones. His bus was leaving Houston headed east, and I guess They forgot to stock up.

[Busdriver63]

JB Hutto, Johnny Copeland, Sonny Terry & Brownie Magee, Tracy Nelson, Hall&oates, Queen Ida, Clarence Cleamons, Pete Seeger, etc. etc.

[6L6]

Odetta, Peter, Paul, & Mary, Dave Van Ronk, Pete Seeger, Judy Collins, Patrick Sky.