I'm sure lots of us have had some decent opening slots before, and likewise met some cool, down-to-earth musicians in the process.
But, you've also probably dealt with some real boners too.
One that came to mind for me was a show we played with Days of the New last year, the guy (Travis, I think is his name) was just so, just, weird (drugged out?) out and cocky, it was awful. They spent HOURS setting their stuff up, delaying the show by like 2+ hours and were completely unapologetic, had no interest in speaking to anyone or anything...
To top if off, they kinda cleared the place out. People stuck around and watched us & the other openers, all of which were a much better than they ended up being. I'd say half of the crowd was gone by their 3rd song.
Played with Seven Mary Three once and they were at least cordial, although it was a garbage show with ZERO promotion so the crowd was SUPER weak, I'm sure they had a reason to be a little salty, lol.
Inn Cinema are a bunch of assholes, that I know.
...Sorry, dude. We can't go to a Chicago show without running into each other, and now we're all up in each other's business on tis damn forum.
You owe me a shot, sucka.
In all seriousness:
Sevendust (And the Dark New Day guys for that matter) - Famously awesome, respectful, humble dudes. Didn't play with them, but roadied/basically hung out with em for a day. Cool dudes.
Lacuna Coil - Very nice group of people, very accommodating, and them and their screw were willing to shift their backline around to fit us on stage better. Every time I played with them, they were great.
Bury Your Dead - Much like Sevendust, just great guys who are really supportive.
Suicide Silence -.....Kinda dicks.
Spineshank - Kinda dicky.
Disturbed - Depends on the guy/day. Moyer and Donnegan have always been cool to me, so that's good. When I worked at Washburn Custom Shop, Dan was really cool when he'd come in for a tour. When I worked there, I also met Scott Ian, who was really awesome, and Paul Stanely, who was a penisface. Paul wouldn't let you look him in the eye or he'd start screaming at you. Weird.
Nonpoint - All very cool, except their old guitarist Adam, who was a douchebag.
I'm trying to remember more bands I've opened for, but my memory is pretty shot these days.
