2023 FIFTY-year anniversary of concerts! (1973-77...more stories to come)

[TAC]

1972 Regrettable Misses
3/11 David Cassidy @ MSG

 

[TAC]

Hey DT........MP, do you have an actual first name that I/we can address you as, because I have a hard time saying "Hey DTwwwwwbwwwbbbwwwwwwbbwbbwwMP, ..." 


Also, I hope you'll be including who the opening acts were. I'd definitely be interested.

[DTwwbwMP]

1972 Regrettable Misses
3/11 David Cassidy @ MSG

 

As a 12 year old, YES I regretted missing DC! One, I liked his voice. Two, AND MOST IMPORTANTLY, I can only imagine how many girls would be at that concert!

[DTwwbwMP]

Hey DT........MP, do you have an actual first name that I/we can address you as, because I have a hard time saying "Hey DTwwwwwbwwwbbbwwwwwwbbwbbwwMP, ..." 

Also, I hope you'll be including who the opening acts were. I'd definitely be interested.

Yes, that is quite a self-indulgent screen name!

Mike is my name and will absolutely include warm up bands (as long I saw them).

[TAC]

Cool, I'm TAC, but you can call me Tim for..er..short.



I hope there'll be some UFO in this thread.

[DTwwbwMP]

Cool, I'm TAC, but you can call me Tim for..er..short.

I hope there'll be some UFO in this thread.

Hey Tim for..er..short , not as much as I would have liked, looking back now, but they will be accounted for

[TAC]

Awesome. Looking forward to it.

[DTwwbwMP]

PRELUDE…A LONGGGGGG story, SHORT
       I was born in Jersey City, NJ in January, 1960 and until the age of 12, my only concerns in life were sports, girls, friends, family and school. My idea of music was whatever I was hearing on AM radio stations that played one “one hit wonder” after another (which I still love to this day). It was in 1972 that I met a friend who would drastically change my life. I mean, jeez, I married his sister 15 years later (but hey, that’s not what this is all about). My new friend was “musically mature”. He introduced me to albums by Elton, The Beatles, Chicago, The Who, The Stones and many others. A year later, his older brother introduced us to an amazing sounding band called “Queen” (of all things), plus bands that he called “Progressive rockers”. I was hooked! My new “concern” was now as important as the others. Then, in the summer of 1973, hanging out with friends (some a few years older), something called “concerts”, came into my life. Now, 50 years later, I’m closing in on 800 concerts (with all stubs collected in a book for posterity)! As I'm now retired, my wife constantly pushes me to write a book about all the concerts I’ve attended. Well, this certainly isn’t a book, but I think posting on this great site may interest a bunch of you. If not, it’s at least giving me something to do!  👍

Before I get into it, I want to set up some classifications of concert tickets:
1) “F” - Fake ticket entry
This was the method used to gain entry into “most” of the concerts I attended from ‘73-’76 (and a few others afterwards). The older guys we hung out with began going to concerts in ‘71-’72. We heard stories of them seeing The Stones, Grand Funk, Jethro Tull (who was “he” 😀), Deep Purple, The Moody Blues and others. The funny thing was they hardly ever “purchased” tickets. Their scheme was simply buying a whole bunch of NY Yankee bleacher tickets from Ticketron (later known as Ticketmaster) @ $.50 - $1 per ticket, then use that ticket, plus slipping the ticket taker at Madison Square Garden a couple of bucks per ticket, and whalllla…entry! When my friends and I started doing this, it went from a couple of bucks, to maybe a $5 spot (per ticket) along the way, but it was always interesting pulling this off. Some shows, we’d hear people complaining about spending $25-$50 (and sometimes more….BIG money “back in the day”) by buying tickets from scalpers outside the arena and we’d just laugh. My system for getting a “real stub” was simply by offering anyone who was interested a dollar for their stub at the show's close. More times than not, I’d just be given the stub for no fee. Why, from show #1, I wanted a stub, I don’t know, but I’m glad I did. There are many interesting stories being let in with this method, and I will make sure to tell a condensed story.
2) “S” - Buying a ticket outside of the venue from a “scalper” for entry or from a ticket “Agency” (basically, a “legal”scalper). This was a method used at various times (especially at non-MSG venues as I was afraid my “fake ticket” scheme wouldn’t work). Again, any interesting stories will be shared.
3) “P” - Buying tickets through the regular “on sale” date either from venue or Ticketron/Master (in person or nowadays, online). Shouldn’t be many stories on this method, other than a few instances.
4) “C1” - Buying tickets from the venue after camping out all night! Lots of fun stories on these.
5) “C2” - Buying tickets from the venue after camping out all night! This was under the guise of starting my own “scalping ring” (on a very small, but very lucrative level). After buying tickets a few times from a specific ticket “agency”, I became tight with the owner and others “in the business” and wound up working for him in the office for a few years starting in '77. During this time I made good contacts and wound up running my own “side hustle”. Many good stories will be shared on these, that basically ran from 1977-1982.
6) “M” - Buying tickets through Mail Order. This was done rarely and pretty boring actually. It only happened for some real big acts of the time, but certainly not all big acts used this method, thankfully. Some interesting stories though on getting lucky with these tickets.
7) “L” - Getting a ticket solely on blind luck & good fortune.
8) “W” - Winning tickets through radio call in. Only a few, but interesting nonetheless.
9) “H” - Pure happenstance. Originally not planning on attending but…...
10) “G” - Whether it was a girlfriend, a date or later on, the wife, they were the reason I went to a specific show…
11) “C” - There were many shows, starting in 1983 (Meadowlands Arena) and 1987 (MSG) where I had a friend who worked security who got me and some buddies into shows for free.

***I will break down the shows by years (or year when there were many) starting with 1973-1975 before we get to 1976 when it really started to ramp up. I was married in 1987 and had twin boys in 1990, which led to a reduction of shows for some time. I was also in a musical “funk” around that time (hair metal kind of did a job on me) and it was not until 1992 when I went to see one of my favorite metal bands (Iron F’N Maiden) and I saw a fascinating opening band named Dream Theater that I got REALLY interested once again in the current music scene!

Here we go........

Show # / Group(s) / Date / Venue / Entry / # shows for year
1   Led Zeppelin 7/29/73  Madison Square Garden  F
2   Elton John / The Sutherland Brothers & Quiver  9/23/73  Madison Square Garden F
3   Emerson, Lake & Palmer / Stray Dog  12/18/73  Madison Square Garden F   3
4   Grand Funk Railroad  4/22/74  Madison Square Garden H
5   Mott The Hoople / Queen  5/11/74  Uris Theater L   
6   The WHO / Montrose  6/14/74  Madison Square Garden F    
7    Yes / Gryphon  11/20/74  Madison Square Garden F    
8    Elton John / Kiki Dee (John Lennon appearance)  11/28/74  Madison Square Garden  L  5
9    Led Zeppelin  2/7/75  Madison Square Garden F   
10  Queen / Argent / Kansas 2/21/75  The Capitol Theater  S   
11   Jethro Tull / Carmen  3/7/75  Madison Square Garden F   
12   Alice Cooper / Suzi Quatro  5/5/75  Madison Square Garden F
13   Bad Company / Maggie Bell  5/30/75  Madison Square Garden F   
14   Chicago / The Beach Boys  6/14/75  Madison Square Garden F   
15   Pink Floyd 6/15/75  Roosevelt Stadium P   
16   The Rolling Stones 6/27/75  Madison Square Garden F   
17   Aerosmith / Ted Nugent & The Amboy Dukes  8/29/75  Wollman Rink (Central Park) P   
18   Black Sabbath / Aerosmith 12/3/75  Madison Square Garden  F
19   KISS / Blue Oyster Cult / Leslie West Band  12/31/75 Nassau Coliseum  S 11

[DTwwbwMP]

1973-1975 Stories:
As I stated earlier, I could write a book regarding all of the shows I’ve been to. Not just about the shows, but the “experiences”, whether it be sneaking in, buying the tickets (no computers back then, you had to really work for tickets), or crazy occurrences (of which there are many, especially in the seventies). I will pick and choose what to share (from memory, which for some reason in regards to music & concerts, is extremely good.) because I could go on & on & on….
1973
1 Led Zeppelin  7/29/73  Madison Square Garden
As far as my Led Zeppelin knowledge went at this time, it was very limited. Of course, I, like everyone, knew "Stairway To Heaven" but I could only say that I really only knew a couple of others like, "Whole Lotta Love" and "Rock & Roll" which were FM radio staples but also played on AM radio. I was certainly NOT a Led Zeppelin aficionado of any kind. Many of the older kids I hung out with though were very heavily into Zeppelin. There were always arguments going on over who was the better band, Led Zeppelin or The WHO. I never got involved in those discussions, because at this point, I definitely did not know enough. That would soon change.
Hanging out with my “schoolyard” friends one day after school, a few of the older kids (15/16 year olds) were talking about their plans to “sneak” into MSG to see Led Zeppelin in a few weeks.. Now, Madison Square Garden to me was ONLY the home of the NY Rangers and NY Knicks. Concerts??? NOT on my radar. BUT, their plan fascinated me. They had devised this plan back in ‘71 when Zeppelin last played at MSG. The plan was pretty simple. Buy cheap tickets for yankee bleacher seats and try to get into the concert with that ticket and a few bucks handed over to the ticket taker. I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. Would that actually work? It seemed impossible, but could it really work?. Hmmmm. The following weekend, a bunch of us (9 or 10 guys) went to the local ticketron and bought one grandstand (bleacher) ticket each. I think the cost was about $1.50 per ticket. The concert was now about a week away and between my core group of friends and the older kids (most of whom purchased enough tickets to go to all 3 shows) we must have purchased 30-40 yankee tickets (I myself was and still am, a Mets fan).
On Saturday, the 28th of July, once again down at the schoolyard, the few who went to Friday night’s show were talking about how great Led Zeppelin were and how easy it was to get in! I couldn’t believe it. This sounded awesome and I couldn’t wait to go with a few of my buddies on Sunday night. If I remember right, we waited until the Sunday show just to see if the other guys actually got in Friday & Saturday. Finally, July 29th arrives and I'm really looking forward to my first concert. I have no idea what to expect….if I even get in, because I’m still very skeptical that “the plan” will work for me. There was one problem. My buddy Scott and his friend Ricky got rebuffed on Friday night. …with extreme prejudice and were actually escorted out of MSG! Uh-oh! Once he told me that, I immediately started to chicken out, but he talked me into giving it another try. So, after setting up my sleepover story to my folks (NO WAY would they have allowed me to go to a rock concert yet), I met 5 of my friends and headed over to NYC. We got to the Garden around 6:00 PM so we definitely had some time to kill. Lots of people were already milling around looking to buy tickets from scalpers, with prices going for over $100 a pop at that early time in the day. I bought a shirt for $2 and put it on immediately. NOW, I just HAD TO GET IN! After hearing about the missed opportunity two nights earlier, with $3 being offered to the ticket taker, we decided to up each of our “tickets” with a $5 spot. Considering that the cheapest box office ticket for the show was $5.50, paying a total of $6.50 to get in didn’t bother us at all. Of course, that’s IF we actually got in. The Garden opened for entrance at 7PM and while we probably should have waited a bit, we were all too full of nervous energy to wait, so we made our entrance, along with so many others. The big difference was that they all had tickets. We had a wing and a prayer. When we got close to the ticket taker I started to chicken out. It took Scott pulling me by the arm to get me walking again. As we were now on line, I rolled up the $5 bill and put it over the yankee ticket to conceal it from others on line. The last time I was this nervous was when I asked out my 6th grade crush (she said yes thankfully) and I thought I was going to get sick. Luckily for me, Scott was ahead of me and took our tickets and money and gave it all to the ticket taker. I couldn’t look. Time absolutely stood still for a moment! In my head I saw a few hundred people laughing at us as we are getting thrown out. All of the sudden, Scott is pulling my arm again, but this time INTO the arena! It worked! The night had barely begun……..
I had been to Madison Square Garden many times before this for hockey and basketball games (and once for the circus). I think I was as much interested in going back to MSG as I was to see Led Zeppelin as I absolutely LOVED this arena. Not having actual tickets, we just roamed around the garden taking in the stage and all the fans excitedly going to their seats. Within moments, even with the arena still more than half empty, the smell of marijuana started to take effect. This was a whole new world I was entering and really had absolutely NO IDEA what I was in for. Within a half hour, the place had filled up considerably and the show was still at least a half hour away. I had been to sold out sporting events before at the garden, but this was different. It seemed like there were more people already in the arena than seats! Hey, were we NOT the only people here tonight with “the plan”? Where did all these people come from? How do they ALL know this band? Such excitement and the lights are still on and people are still coming in. They were all talking, singing, shouting.....it was like caged animals being allowed to roam free in the zoo. I was enthralled just listening to everything going on. The band hadn’t even stepped on stage yet, and something inside of me told me that THIS was exactly where I was meant to be…..
Now, although I was only 13, growing up and living in Jersey City, made you grow up pretty fast. We did things that less than twenty years later I could never imagine MY own kids doing. I actually had my first beer when I was 12 and joints and liquor soon thereafter. So, the fact that people were smoking marijuana didn't shock me at all. The fact that they were all doing it in the wide open did. At about 7:45 we all went to the concessions and got an older dude to buy us beers. He then offered us a joint to buy which was quite nice of him. Oh, the seventies! We drank our beers, but decided to hold on to the joint until the show started. We then talked about where we wanted to be situated during the show. For Scott, the Zep “aficionado” of our group, this was a no-brainer! His answer, “on Page’s side of course, and as close as we can get”! So it was decided it would be the red section (single digits) on Jimmy’s side, as near the stage as possible.  We walked over to the other side of the arena and scoped out the perfect section. Our plan was as soon as the lights go out, we run down as low as possible in section 77 and get a great spot. We didn’t dare sit in any empty seat (if there was one) in case someone came and some usher asked to see our ticket (which of course, we didn’t have), so our plan was to just stand in the aisle as close to a seat as possible. Once again, I’m a nervous wreck, but the beer I drank gave me the liquid confidence I needed. Suddenly the lights go out and the place goes absolutely berserk. It’s time…….
The packed house is now chanting, stomping and clapping their collective hands. We can all hear some instruments tuning up on stage! Then, something happens which will forever change my life. The opening drum pounds begin, and BOOM!....there's Led Zeppelin on stage under the lights blasting out "Rock And Roll" and now the place literally does explode! I'm in a state of utter bewilderment. Never in my life had I been subject to such an immediate, split second explosion of enjoyment and excitement. Not when the Mets won in '69...not when the Jets won in '69.....not when the Knicks won in '70 & '73. THIS was something entirely different. This was pure, raw, excitement and energy. Seeing twenty-thousand strangers going absolutely nuts in a single moment in time was mind blowing to say the least. Plus, “hey, I know this song”! The song ends and goes right into the next one, which the crowd obviously loves, although I’ve never heard it before. It doesn’t matter as I’m drawn into the song and focused on this amazing guitar player. I don’t even acknowledge the usher tapping me on my shoulder. Suddenly I turn around and think, “that’s it, I’m busted”, but all he does is ask me to move over a bit so he can show two people to their seats one row in front of me. PHEW! Next, a song begins that I’ve heard somewhere. The radio? A friend's house? The schoolyard on a boombox? All I know is I KNOW “Black Dog”! I start singing along “Hey hey mama said the way you move, Gonna make you shake, gonna make you groove….”. Suddenly I’m one of these 20,000 maniacs and we’re all at the same party! Song after song, the crowd is loving every single second of this performance. Whether I recognize the songs or not, I’m just trying to come to grips with this thunderbolt I am now experiencing. During the song “No Quarter” a lot of people in our section decide to sit, so down on the stairs pavement we go. Once again, the thought of being busted creeps in, but Scott turns to me and hands me the blaze he just lit up. This was THE PERFECT song to smoke the joint with and everything is perfect. I watch Page intently, absolutely mesmerized by the power of music...and especially LIVE music. About two thirds through the show, we get to "Stairway". The place goes nuts and then immediately silent as the song begins. I know this one by heart and am singing along with the other twenty thousand "friends" in the arena. The song ends. The place goes crazy. Firecrackers are going off all around us. There's still much more of the show to go and I take in every last note. If I’m being honest, not ALL of it was great to me. Some of the solo’s were just too long and I couldn’t understand why they would do this instead of playing other songs. I was way too naive at this point to know what real rock n roll is about for band members. Soon enough I would learn what the other members of the band would do during solo’s! LOL  The band does two encores and the show comes to a close. I honestly DO NOT want to leave! I've drank my beer, taken my "hits", but I feel completely fine. The music and excitement obviously did more to me than the substances. I NEED more of this! As people start filing out though, I realize I need a memento of this show. I NEED a REAL stub. I had about $6 remaining and I started offering a couple of bucks to anyone who would sell me their stub. Some girl heard me and just handed me hers, which was awesome and started a collection of concert stubs which I still all have to this day!
The train ride home was hysterical. People jammed packed into the train car, talking about the show they just saw. Singing songs and just having a great time! I'm amazed when I hear someone say, "they were better last time". I just could not comprehend that, but then again, what the hell do I know? All I DO know is that this was one of the best nights of my life so far. Reaching Jersey City, we walked the mile or so back to Scotty’s all the time reminiscing about the concert. I could not stop talking about going to more concerts! How do you find out about them? How do you actually get tickets? What other great bands are out there? I have to buy some albums. Where will I come up with the money for these albums? Just too much was going through my head, but for this night at least, it was about Led Zeppelin. It was about music. It was about ROCK N ROLL!

[DTwwbwMP]

2 Elton John / The Sutherland Brothers & Quiver  9/23/73  Madison Square Garden
After the incredible night with Led Zeppelin, I needed to find out what was next. The day after the Zep show, I called ticketron to see what concerts were soon coming to MSG. I heard all I needed when the woman mentioned Elton John in September. But, she said it was sold out. “HA”, i think to myself, who needs a ticket? LOL Now, while Elton in 1973 was really starting to become something huge, most of my friends weren’t really into him. That is of course aside from my buddy Mike, who got me into Elton’ music in the first place. I called Mike and said we MUST go to the show. He wasn’t part of the zep ticket plan, so I explained all to him. He was completely down with it.
School started in September and we would be graduating to high school at the end of the year. Midway through the month, Mike told me his older sister was going to the concert with her boyfriend. Now, the concert was a Sunday night, but more importantly a “school night”! That really posed a problem. No phony sleepover excuse will work this time, so we decided to tell his sister (19 at the time) that we won tickets from the radio and if she could talk our parents into letting us go to the concert with her as “chaperone”. Neither of our parents were thrilled with letting us out that late on a school night, especially in NYC, but they agreed. Little did Mike’ sister know what we had planned to get into the show…
The night of the show comes and both Mike and I are very excited. I meet at Mike’ house at 5ish and wait for his sister’ boyfriend to arrive. At the house, the dreaded question from his sister finally comes…”where are your seats for the show”? Mike fumbles for words while I spit out “section 77” (the section we planted ourselves in for zep). She is astonished that our seats are so good and gets pissy because her seats are “way upstairs”. I pray that she doesn’t ask to see the tickets! NO LUCK…she does! Thinking quickly I tell her that we have to pick them up at the window at the Garden. She buys it, and that’s that! The boyfriend arrives and we walk to the train station about a mile away. The ride over is full of excitement as the train is once again filled with concert goers, but the only thing on my mind is how to duck Mike’ sister when we get to MSG.
We arrive at the Garden and immediately we all buy shirts (5 for $10 bucks!!!!). NOW comes the moment of truth. As we are waiting in line, entering the Garden’ promenade, I tell Mike we have to get away from them. We decide to tell them where we’ll meet them AFTER the show and for them to go on ahead. NO WAY! Mike’ sister pulls the “I’m responsible for you 2” on us. What now? Well, as we get inside the ticket area, I pull her and her boyfriend aside and ‘fess up. I show them the 2 yankee bleacher tickets and tell them the plan. Her boyfriend is like, “Cool dude, that’s a really righteous plan” (or something to that effect) LOL She is not so cool about it. She starts with the “you lied to mom and dad, you’re going to get caught, what is wrong with you 2” blah, blah, blah. I tell them about the Zep concert and that “all our friends did it”. The boyfriend tells her to “mellow out” (or again, something like that) and they agree to watch us and see if it works but “if you get caught and make me miss this concert….”. They get in line behind us and I imagine are stunned when they see me hand the ticket taker 2 yankee tickets and slip him a $ten dollar bill and get in without an issue! We waited until they handed in their tickets and once inside, the boyfriend “slaps us five” as we take the escalator up. Mike’ sister still can’t believe we will actually be able to enter the actual arena, as they watch us do exactly that! Both Mike and I are hysterically laughing that we are on level one, while they’ll be on level four…..onto the show….
Since it’s a school night and since we feel lucky to escape his sister’ wrath, there is no drinking of beer tonight. It’s straight up coca-cola and a pretzel. It’s a different crowd than the zep show. A bit younger and many more screaming girls (If they only knew…LOL). We find a section to sit in (same lower level but a bit further back), the lights go out and the place erupts…for a minute, when they realize it’s not Elton, it’s the warm up band. This surprised me as Zep didn’t have one, but I didn’t care. We sat comfortably in empty seats and watched this rather boring group. Once they finished, the house lights came back on, and we decided to walk around. It was really great as we saw one beautiful teenage girl after another. Finally, out go the lights and here come the screams! We find a section to park ourselves pretty close to the stage and here he comes! To me, Elton was larger than life! He and his music had become my main music obsession and seeing him so up close and personal just didn’t seem real, but there he was, all decked out! I knew EVERY song he played (even one by The Stones in the encore) and yelled and screamed and sang along like everyone else! This was a little different than the Zep show. That was wild and powerful, while this was simply magical. What a performance! When it ended and the lights came on, I was exhausted and completely drenched in sweat! I actually forgot about trying to get a ticket stub until we were outside! I panicked and started asking everyone to sell me their stub. Finally, what I assumed was a dad with two daughters with him gave me his stub. In fact, while not the section I actually was in, it was the same level! Nice! We met Mike’ sister and boyfriend and had a very enjoyable ride back to Jersey City and walked back to our homes, spending the entire time discussing the concert, but especially how Mike & I got in!

3 ELP / Stray Dog  12/18/73  Madison Square Garden
Sometimes, shit just happens. Progressive rock band ELP were playing two nights at the garden on a Monday & Tuesday. NOT good nights for an 8th grade concert lover, which I now was (as my friends were also becoming). The Saturday night prior to the shows, a bunch of us were hanging in one of our friends' basement, listening to music and getting high. Matty threw on an album he said he just purchased by ELP (I was introduced to ELP a few months earlier by my buddy Mike’ older brother Bobby and I really enjoyed the songs Lucky Man and Hoedown) called Brain Salad Surgery I’m sure at least slightly encouraged by the hits of marijuana, we all went crazy for the songs on the album. Now, Matty was two years older than most of us and mentioned he was going to see ELP on Monday night and actually HAD tickets! Right away, a few of us knew we HAD TO GO! The problem for myself and a few of my buddies was that we knew we had a test on Tuesday in school, so Monday night was out. It would have to be Tuesday night or no go! There was also another BIG problem…. what would we tell our parents? Can’t fake sleepover’s on a school night. What to do? Well, two guys backed out and it was only Scotty, Tommy & I left. When Tuesday came, even Tommy backed out and I was getting cold feet. We had the yankee tickets from our stash of twenty or so we purchased during the summer, but no way to scam the parents. Finally once school ended, Scott came to me and said “fuck it”. Let’s just go and deal with our parents when we get home. I was scared but I agreed. This will not go over well…………..
As I went out after dinner I said the usual “see you later” to my parents and got the usual “it’s a school night, not too late”. UGH, it was already starting. I met Scott at his home and we went to the train station. We met two of our older friends on the train going to the show. They had beer and weed but while Scotty partook, I declined figuring it was going to be bad enough when I got home. Once we got to NY, I decided to call home and let my parents know what I was doing. I told them one of my friends surprisingly had an extra ticket and asked me to go at the last minute. How could I refuse? LOL After the initial yelling at me that “it’s a school night, you’re in NYC, you are going to get punished, be careful, etc etc”, I told them I’ll be fine and please trust me not to get into trouble…If they only knew the shit I got into on a daily basis! LOL On to the show……
I purchased my prerequisite concert T-shirt and Scotty and I did our thing. This was so easy! We got into MSG and once again, a different type of crowd. Yes, lots and lots of pot being smoked, but this seemed to be an even older crowd than Zeppelin. Plus, completely different from the Elton crowd as there weren't many females in sight and the ones that WERE there seemed stoned out of their mind! We walked around and listened to the strange house music being played when the lights went down and Stray Dog came on. While I didn’t think they were horrible, they got booed incessantly (this was the norm for MOST warm up acts as I would continue to see)! They finished and the wait was on for ELP! Once the lights went back out and ELP came on, I was immersed in something very different to my first two shows. This was not only a concert, but a true musical experience! Between Keith’ incredible keyboard sounds and antics, Greg’ solid bass playing and soaring vocals, and a sight to behold on drums in Mr. Carl Palmer, I felt “older” and more “grown up” watching these magicians play. For two solid hours I was mesmerized at the virtuosity on stage (a feeling I REALLY wouldn’t get again until watching a band almost twenty years later called Dream Theater). I no longer cared about the soon to be dealt with repercussions of my school night tryst to NYC. This band, ELP, simply blew me away! I didn’t have to buy or ask anyone for a ticket stub either as Scotty had found two just lying on the ground inside MSG and gave me one.
When I finally got home that night at 1:30am, my mother was awake and NOT happy. I was banned from going to any concerts for 3 months (which didn’t really faze me as I knew of nothing on the horizon, even though I acted like it was a big deal LOL). I got up the following morning with ears that were ringing VERY LOUDLY but made it to school on time without issue. Now I just wait for the next show……………

1974 stories coming soon…………….

[WilliamMunny]

That’s a pretty amazing trio of concerts.

I’m still a follow, but please, for the love of all that is holy and sacred, tap the return key every now and then (lol, but seriously)

Otherwise, keep ‘em coming!

[TAC]

1973
1 Led Zeppelin  7/29/73  Madison Square Garden
 So, after setting up my sleepover story to my folks (NO WAY would they have allowed me to go to a rock concert yet), I met 5 of my friends and headed over to NYC.

I was wondering the circumstances of you going into the city for this and how you got there, if your parents were involved. My early concerts involved a friend's father or my father bringing us.

[DTwwbwMP]

I’m still a follow, but please, for the love of all that is holy and sacred, tap the return key every now and then (lol, but seriously)

"tap the return key"?? Please excuse my ignorance, but please explain....

[DTwwbwMP]

1973
1 Led Zeppelin  7/29/73  Madison Square Garden
 So, after setting up my sleepover story to my folks (NO WAY would they have allowed me to go to a rock concert yet), I met 5 of my friends and headed over to NYC.

I was wondering the circumstances of you going into the city for this and how you got there, if your parents were involved. My early concerts involved a friend's father or my father bringing us.

Lived in Jersey City which was a 20-minute ride to NYC on the PATH train!

[TAC]

Yup, I know exactly where Jersey City is. My stepson lived there for a bit.

[Zoom E]

Wow, great stories. It's amazing that you can remember everything in such detail.

[Setlist Scotty]

Awesome stories so far Mike! Thanks for sharing. Will definitely be following this thread!

[DTwwbwMP]

Wow, great stories. It's amazing that you can remember everything in such detail.

My memory for music and concerts is INCREDIBLE! Why? No idea since I always forget something my wife asks for from the store!

[DTwwbwMP]

Awesome stories so far Mike! Thanks for sharing. Will definitely be following this thread!

Thanks. Yeah, it's been a fun musical journey for sure!

[DTwwbwMP]

Show # / Group(s) / Date / Venue / Entry / # shows for year
1   Led Zeppelin 7/29/73  Madison Square Garden  F
2   Elton John / The Sutherland Brothers & Quiver  9/23/73  Madison Square Garden F
3   Emerson, Lake & Palmer / Stray Dog  12/18/73  Madison Square Garden F   3
4   Grand Funk Railroad  4/22/74  Madison Square Garden H
5   Mott The Hoople / Queen  5/11/74  Uris Theater L   
6   The WHO / Montrose  6/14/74  Madison Square Garden F    
7    Yes / Gryphon  11/20/74  Madison Square Garden F    
8    Elton John / Kiki Dee (John Lennon appearance)  11/28/74  Madison Square Garden  L  5
9    Led Zeppelin  2/7/75  Madison Square Garden F
10  Queen / Argent / Kansas 2/21/75  The Capitol Theater  S   
11   Jethro Tull / Carmen  3/7/75  Madison Square Garden F   
12   Alice Cooper / Suzi Quatro  5/5/75  Madison Square Garden F
13   Bad Company / Maggie Bell  5/30/75  Madison Square Garden F   
14   Chicago / The Beach Boys  6/14/75  Madison Square Garden F   
15   Pink Floyd 6/15/75  Roosevelt Stadium P   
16   The Rolling Stones 6/27/75  Madison Square Garden F   
17   Aerosmith / Ted Nugent & The Amboy Dukes  8/29/75  Wollman Rink (Central Park) P   
18   Black Sabbath / Aerosmith 12/3/75  Madison Square Garden  F
19   KISS / Blue Oyster Cult / Leslie West Band  12/31/75 Nassau Coliseum  S 11

1974
4  Grand Funk  4/22/74  Madison Square Garden
I had ABSOLUTELY NO INTENTION on going to this concert and until the prior Easter Sunday (a week ago) I didn’t even know about it. On Easter, my family gathered as always for dinner with many relatives. One of these relatives was my older cousin Jimmy (20 at the time). As we gathered and sat around talking, I mentioned to him the concerts I had seen in the last year or so. To my surprise, he said he was also at those 3 shows (plus some others). He then asked if I was going to see Grand Funk, to which I replied I wasn’t. We continued to talk, but that was the end of it.The following Sunday, I got a phone call from Jimmy. His g/f can’t go tomorrow night and would I like the ticket? My first thought was, “nah”, but I kind of idolized my cousin and decided to say yes. BUT, it’s a school night and I doubt my parents would agree after the trouble I got into for going to the ELP concert in December! I explain this to Jimmy and he tells me to put my mom on the phone. She is his Godmother and loves him like a son (which he knows and plans to use - LOL). After 5 minutes of pleading with her, she allows it because he says he will pick me up, drive to the concert and deliver me back home safe and sound right after. I also have to promise not to give any grief getting up for school the next day. To my surprise, she agreed.
The next night, Jimmy picked me up and everything went smoothly. The concert was good (better than I expected because I really only knew 3 songs) but his seats were TERRIBLE (upstairs and really far back). During the show I explained to him the way I get into the concerts and he couldn’t believe it. He said that was great, but he’d rather have a ticket in hand (which I came to agree with in just a few short years). We arrived back at my house by 12:30 and this time my mom didn’t have “the puss” on her face. Good ol’ Jimmy! How he would change my musical life in a few short weeks…..

5 Mott The Hoople / Queen  5/11/74  Uris Theater
On the way home from the GFR concert, my cousin asked me if I liked Mott The Hoople because he had an extra ticket if I wanted it. The concert being on a Saturday made it easy for me to say yes, although I had NO IDEA who or what Mott was (nor did I have a clue that one of the bands my friend Mike’ older brother introduced me to a few months ago named QUEEN was also playing). I would be going with him, his g/f and three other guys, ALL at least 5 years older than me, but hey, what the heck. I told him not to mention that fact to my parents and he agreed. He was planning on driving again, but this time I told him I would meet him at the theater as long as he gave me the ticket beforehand. The reason for this was simple. My parents NEVER would have allowed me to get in a car with 5 people much older than me, Jimmy or no Jimmy. I would take the ride home with them and they could drop me off a block or so away. I knew how to cover my tracks! LOL
The night of the show my parents think I’m going to another concert at MSG with my friends and tell me just to be safe
(as always). I never gave them reason NOT to trust me (at least as far as they knew). I take the train ride to NYC but upon arrival, I’m not heading in the well known direction off MSG. I now have to head up to 51st Street in the seedy Broadway direction. I’ve been in the times square area a couple times at that point, but this was even a little further. After getting turned around and a bit lost, I finally arrived. Glad he had given me the ticket a few days earlier, because he and his pals are nowhere to be seen. There are a lot of people milling around and I just decide to take in the sights and sounds of the city. That was until I looked up at the marquee and noticed QUEEN underneath Mott The Hoople on the billboard. Wow, was this the band that I heard in Mike’ living room? I remembered the songs Liar & Keep Yourself Alive, but wasn’t really sure this was THAT group. As it was about 15 minutes to the start time, I decided to just go in. What was waiting for me was my first look at what would be THE GREATEST BAND EVER in my opinion….
   I get to the seats (once again, not very good, even for a small theater) and my cousin and his pals are there. He thought I wasn’t coming. I had completely forgotten that he said he would meet me inside! No harm (although he was admittedly nervous) no foul. No sooner do I sit down when the lights go out to a smattering of applause (and not even a look of interest from my cousin’ group). One of his friends asks, who’s the opener”? I answered “Queen” like I knew what I was talking about. LOL Well, by the time their 40 minute set was over, myself, my cousin, his pals and a good portion of the crowd was standing with raptured applause. I was in SHOCK! THEY were the OPENING band? They just blew the fans away! Now, I had only been to 4 previous shows, but QUEEN hit me like a brick in the head! The singer was a bit strange and seemingly nervous (and VERY English, I suspected) but what a voice and what command he had! It’s easy to say now, but I honestly thought, “there’s a rock star”. The band was also incredible. Not in the “unbelievable” virtuosity of ELP or the sheer “power” of Zeppelin, or even the “glitz” of Elton but something MUCH MORE! Kind of a combination of all three but with “style”. When they were over, our party and many other people were talking about what we just witnessed. I KNEW I would have to get their albums (they had 2) ASAP!
   I have to say, Mott was a complete disappointment after Queen. Not that they were bad by any means. I just honestly didn’t care about them after seeing Queen. The fact I really didn’t even know them had something to do with it for sure. I enjoyed a couple of their songs, but I just felt they were nothing special. Most of the crowd was into their show, but for me, it just wasn’t memorable (the singer was decent and the guitarist as well). I spent most of the ride home talking about Queen, and for the next few weeks as well to anyone who cared (many friends did). I still, to THIS DAY, consider this concert which I had no idea about as the biggest musical influence in my life!....

[DTwwbwMP]

6  The WHO / Montrose  6/14/74  Madison Square Garden
With my graduation from grammar school just a week away, there was only one thing on my mind. Tonight’s WHO concert! LOL This was the final night of a week of concerts by the band at MSG. Some of our high school friends had seen at least one of the shows before Friday and were raving about it! Their album from last year, Quadrophenia was a big hit with all of us and Who’s Next was an absolute favorite! This was a show NOT to be missed. That night more than TEN of us took the train into NYC for the concert. Only two actually had tickets, the rest of us had our yankee tickets LOL
We decided to split up into two groups of four at the ticket takers. My four went directly to “the guy” we had gone to 3 other times. He even smiled at me when he saw me on the line. We got in without a problem. It took 4 yankee tickets and a $20 dollar bill. The other four of our group had luck as well but they had to jump through hoops. The guy they went to wouldn’t allow them in, but at least didn’t have them thrown out. They split up and got in from another ticket taker. We never saw them inside the arena, so it wasn’t until the train ride home that we saw them and found out that they DID get in. As far as my group went, we got into the arena and the lights were already out and Montrose was on stage (found out it was Montrose as their portion of the show was ending or I would have had no clue). Only saw about 4 songs from them, but it was good. We went to the concessions and found someone to get us a beer each and then back inside. There was an incredible buzz in the half stoned half drunk, rowdy crowd! Then…..here they come. The noise was crazy….and they hadn’t even played yet. Once they started, DAMN they were loud, but oh so good! Where we stationed ourselves didn’t help because we were right near a speaker. It didn’t matter. We were in R&R HEAVEN! These guys were THE REAL DEAL! Power, performance, virtuosity & really DANGEROUS! I don’t know if it was the adrenaline from THE WHO but everywhere I looked, skirmishes were breaking out, especially on the floor, where it seemed everyone was trying to get as close to the band as possible. Two of my buddies even jumped down onto the floor to get closer! Me and Tommy stayed where we were. We had a perfect view even though our ears would pay for it!
I can honestly say that EVERY song played was a smash with no downtime at all.  Be particular where I stood, but as luck would have it, there wound up being an empty seat for me in the section I was standing in (13A) as I recall. VERY GOOD seat.One song after another just bludgeoning us with the power of rock & roll!! By the time the encore completed, I was physically spent. I bought a stub off a girl for $1 (she mumbled “asshole” at me afterwards…I’ll never forget that LOL) and it was well worth it, even if it made me an asshole! My only regret afterwards was that there weren’t any more shows left to go because I definitely would have gone another night! At this point, THIS was the best concert I’ve been to!   

7  Yes / Gryphon  11/20/74  Madison Square Garden
   I liked Roundabout, there's that.  Yes was a band I really hadn’t heard much of yet. Remember, I’m still basically an amateur concerning music, but I’m getting there. Also, Yes was a band that hardly any of my friends were into. At this point, “prog” music for us was basically either ELP or Pink Floyd. There was still so much to learn and explore. I was now a freshman in high school and meeting some new friends. I was on the freshman football team (basketball was starting soon and baseball in the spring) and our season had just ended that weekend. After our last game, I heard one of the guys in the locker room mention that he was going to see Yes, Wednesday night at the Garden. That got me thinking about going, but really none of my friends would be interested. I asked a few and got shot down, so this became the first (of many later on in life) concert I decided to go to alone. Yes, it was a school night, but now being in high school, my parents trusted me to make sure it wouldn’t interfere with school as I still hadn’t given them reason not to trust me. So, Wednesday night, I’ll go it alone. I still had about 5 yankee bleacher tickets in hand, so off I went to MSG all by myself.
   Getting in with a $5 spot and the bleacher ticket went smooth. It was actually much less stress going through that alone. I remember the usual ticket taker asking me, “where is everyone”? I just laughed, shrugged my shoulders and entered the great arena! I had no reason to be particular where I stationed myself, but as luck would have it, there was an empty seat in the section I was in. I sat there during the opening band, Gryphon, who basically went ignored by the crowd. They were playing some type of medieval music which really was quite boring. After what seemed like an eternity, Yes arrived on stage to a great applause. Now, as I mentioned, I knew next to nothing about Yes, but I found their songs to be A) VERY LONG B) at times, a bit boring, but C) VERY MUSICAL. I loved the singers' voice, and while they weren’t the most DYNAMIC band onstage, they certainly were good musicians and had nice lights and staging. Kind of “ELP light” to me, but I definitely became a fan. The fact that I actually had a seat for the entire show was really cool and made the evening very enjoyable. Then the last song was “my” Roundabout, which was awesome indeed! Got my stub (a freebie) and headed home with another “must check out” band on my list, which was getting longer by the day!

8  Elton John (w John Lennon appearance) / Kiki Dee 11/28/74  Madison Square Garden
Let’s start with this….THE LUCKIEST NIGHT OF MY LIFE! Thanksgiving day with the family and relatives has always been (and still remains) my favorite holiday of the year. I was at my Aunt’ house about 40 minutes from home and enjoying the day as usual, watching football, eating snacks and awaiting the great Thanksgiving dinner to come. I was also excited because I had plans to go to the Elton John concert with my g/f, my buddy Mike & his g/f tomorrow night (Friday). We had plans to get in the same way as usual, although this would be the first time I’d bring a girl along who may not appreciate not having a seat as much as I. Oh well, if she really wants to go she’ll just have to deal with it. Around halftime of the first game I decided to call my buddy Mike, with whom I attended last year’s Elton show just to make sure tomorrow's plans hadn’t changed. This is when I got the big surprise which caused a few problems but wound up being the greatest night of my life to that point. Mike got on the phone and sounded very nervous, anxious and excited. Apparently, his sister and three friends had tickets, not only for tonight but also tomorrow night. For whatever reason (I really don’t remember but it probably had something to do with it being Thanksgiving) they suddenly couldn’t go tonight and she asked Mike if he wanted to buy the tickets. He had called my home but of course I wasn’t there and he was panicking. Why I called him when I could have waited until I got home, I don’t know but was sure glad I did. BUT, there were obstacles that had to be cleared before I/we could buy the tickets. For Mike, he had to ask his parents if he could leave their get together to go to the concert. He also had to ask his g/f if she could go. Luckily for him, both questions were answered in the affirmative. I was not as lucky. I literally had to BEG my step father to drive me home so I could get to the show. Also, my g/f gave me a resounding “NO”. She could not leave her family. Personally, I gave a sh*t whether she could go or not as I would just take her tomorrow as planned, but we had to find a 4th for the ticket. Call after call was met with either, “I don’t have any money”, “don’t feel like it tonight, I’m stuffed” or “too late notice”. Whatever, I told Mike we’d buy all 4 tickets and try to sell one at the Garden on the street. After a lot of pleading and begging, my step father (a great guy) said he would drive me after dinner, which I knew would cut things close, but I gladly accepted.
We wound up leaving my aunt’s house somewhere around 5:30 and he drove me straight to Mike’s house (and then even drove us to pick up Mike’ g/f). By the time we got to the PATH train in Jersey City, it was already 7PM (we’re usually at MSG by that time) but as nervous as we were, we knew we would make it in time. I started feeling ill once we got on the train, but I just figured it was the rushing around and nervousness. The three of us got to NYC and MSG around 7:30 and knew we didn’t have much time to find someone to buy the 4th ticket. No problem. Almost immediately we sold the ticket to a guy basically my age NOW (63) for $30 which basically paid for all our tickets. I threw out the $30 request, but probably could have got much more, even though the tickets weren’t great (not bad though). Oh well, inside we go. By the time we got to our seats the lights had already gone out and Kiki Dee and her band were coming on the stage. Pretty perfect timing. Her band was actually really good and it was definitely an enjoyable 35-40 minute performance, but the festive holiday crowd was buzzing for Elton. We had no idea what was awaiting us!
When Elton and all his wonderful glory entered the stage I had NEVER heard a crowd THAT loud in any of the previous shows. It was almost deafening! The eerie strains of Funeral For a Friend began amidst a cloud of smoke and the place exploded. I had a headache and the show hadn’t even started yet. One more thing, I was now feeling horrible. Started to sneeze and was freezing. The excitement, jumping around and screaming let me ignore how I felt, but as the show went on, I went downhill. The set that Elton played that night was as near perfect as I could have wanted. The performance was impeccable, but there seemed to be something going on onstage, because after about a quarter way through, the band members kept talking to each other after every song. I wondered what was the problem because as far as I could tell, this was THE most perfect concert I had been to so far. Shortly, it was about to get even better.
I don’t know how he knew, but the gentleman we sold the ticket to, leaned over to us at the conclusion of “Burn Down The Mission” (which really ROCKED) and said “it’s happening soon” and winked at us. We had NO CLUE as to what he was talking about and basically just ignored him, but even Elton was now looking anxious on stage. The next song was “You're So Static” (a personal favorite of mine at the time) and I was going nuts (in between bouts of feeling nauseous). Finally the song ends and Elton starts to talk about “it being Thanksgiving and all…” and the older gentleman screams “here we gooooooooooooo”. I’m thinking he’s nuts, but then Elton introduces John Lennon onto the stage and the deafening roar I heard earlier in the show was NOTHING compared to this EXPLOSION OF SCREAMS & APPLAUSE! Plus, my buddy Mike is literally crying (he was/is THE biggest Beatles fan I’ve ever known). Most everyone knows what happened next as they played three songs together with John and it was ABSOLUTELY INCREDIBLE! When John left the stage to another riotous applause, Elton turned down the excitement with “Don’t Let The Sun….” which in itself is a fantastic song, but it honestly felt like the air came completely out of the balloon. The joint definitely picked it back up with the closing three rockers and an incredible three song encore which had the crowd dancing, singing, and clapping madly. I LOVED EVERY second of this performance. After the show I asked the older guy how he knew and he answered with something I never had heard before but certainly became a cliche even to this day. He said, and I quote “if I tell you, I’d have to kill you” and just laughed and left.
By the time I got home, my mother was still awake and said I looked terrible. I told her I didn’t feel well, but it was such an incredible show, I really didn’t care. Well, she took my temperature and it was high. I was actually burning up. Suffice it to say, I was sick the next day and wound up NOT taking my g/f to the Friday show. Also suffice it to say, she broke up with me on Saturday. It was worth it! LOL

1975 upcoming.................

[jingle.boy]

Damn… you should write a book. I’m not sure I’ll be following every post completely, but I’ll do what I can. That Zeppelin story is fuckin amazing.

[jingle.boy]

Lol at the end of that second Elton John story. 

[twosuitsluke]

Jesus these stories are great. You had me enthralled. As I was born in '83 I have this romantic vision of the 60s and 70s for music, and this only goes to confirm it. What a time to start going to gigs, and just experiencing life at that age. Man, I feel so jealous. When I was the age you were in these posts I was just living in a small town playing football and computer games. I was still a few years away from my first show.

[Zoom E]

Awesome stories. All I remember from 1974 is watching artists like Slade, Sweet and Gary Glitter on Top of the Pops. I didn’t know such a thing as a concert even existed. 

[Samsara]

Mike,

The Zepp story blew me away. I grew up on the Island, so there were frequent train rides into MSG.

Gonna go read some more by you. Thanks for sharing.

B

[DTwwbwMP]

Show # / Group(s) / Date / Venue / Entry / # shows for year
1   Led Zeppelin 7/29/73  Madison Square Garden  F
2   Elton John / The Sutherland Brothers & Quiver  9/23/73  Madison Square Garden F
3   Emerson, Lake & Palmer / Stray Dog  12/18/73  Madison Square Garden F   3
4   Grand Funk Railroad  4/22/74  Madison Square Garden H
5   Mott The Hoople / Queen  5/11/74  Uris Theater L   
6   The WHO / Montrose  6/14/74  Madison Square Garden F    
7    Yes / Gryphon  11/20/74  Madison Square Garden F    
8    Elton John / Kiki Dee (John Lennon appearance)  11/28/74  Madison Square Garden  L  5
9    Led Zeppelin  2/7/75  Madison Square Garden F
10  Queen / Argent / Kansas 2/21/75  The Capitol Theater  S   
11   Jethro Tull / Carmen  3/7/75  Madison Square Garden F   
12   Alice Cooper / Suzi Quatro  5/5/75  Madison Square Garden F
13   Bad Company / Maggie Bell  5/30/75  Madison Square Garden F   
14   Chicago / The Beach Boys  6/14/75  Madison Square Garden F   
15   Pink Floyd 6/15/75  Roosevelt Stadium P   
16   The Rolling Stones 6/27/75  Madison Square Garden F   
17   Aerosmith / Ted Nugent & The Amboy Dukes  8/29/75  Wollman Rink (Central Park) P   
18   Black Sabbath / Aerosmith 12/3/75  Madison Square Garden  F
19   KISS / Blue Oyster Cult / Leslie West Band  12/31/75 Nassau Coliseum  S 11

1975
9  Led Zeppelin  2/7/75  Madison Square Garden
I almost feel bad writing about this show, because in all honesty, it was a pretty big disappointment for various reasons. Not that it wasn’t good, it just wasn’t great and definitely not on par to the show I saw in ‘73…well, as far as I can remember. Also, there’s no real big story that goes along with this concert, except…..well, we’ll get to that.

It was a Friday night after we had a big snow storm a few days earlier and it was pretty cold. That evening about twenty of us (!!!) gathered at the schoolyard and headed to Journal Square to get the train at the PATH station to NYC. But first, we all gave money to a couple of the older guys in our group to buy beer and alcohol for us. Being that it was cold, one of my buddies talked me into getting blackberry brandy! Now, I had had vodka & orange juice before, but other than that it was always beer. We drank before getting on the train and things were going well. I felt warm. I definitely was buzzed (later worse) and we were all in a rockin’ mood. We got to MSG and now I start to really feel it. We buy our token shirts outside and all get in with our phony tickets and payoff. But, many of us split up inside the arena and being so buzzed, I walked off on my own for no real reason but stupor. I’m outside in the hallway when the lights go out and as I re-enter the arena I run into two of my buddies. We find a good spot to stand but my one buddy Tommy, who’s also drunk, talks me into jumping down to the floor, which we do. Luckily for us, no security spotted this and we wound up about 15 rows from the stage. The show is going well, but one of the things I remember clearly is Plant not sounding well. The performance was okay, but VERY similar to the ‘73 show aside from a few new songs (which sound really cool) from PG that wasn’t released yet. The stage was definitely more compelling than last time with a big, lighted LED ZEPPELIN lighting behind the band and some really cool lasers that I barely remember! I’m enjoying the show and can pretty clearly remember up to when Dazed & Confused started so I got pretty deep into the set before……..let’s just say I didn’t feel well. UGH From here until the end of the VERY lengthy song my other buddy Scott, who at some point joined us on the floor, filled me in on what went down with me the next day. I sat down on the ground during JP’s LONG solo and “lost my lunch”! I remember getting sick but the next ten minutes or so is a complete blur. Apparently a few poor attendees near me were hit with “enemy fire” and Scott had to keep me from getting pummeled by some girl’ boyfriend. The next thing I remember is Plant singing Stairway, not very well. Honestly, Scott told me many times that all I wanted to do was go to sleep on the floor of MSG! He gave me a few hits of a joint which helped (I think). The show ends and I’m awake, but unfortunately, I have ZERO recollection of the encore, or even going home. Apparently, I lost some more lunch on the train ride home that expectedly didn’t go over well with the crowded train. I don’t remember any of it! LOL

Thankfully, I was sleeping over Scotts friend Ricky's house in the basement (with 4 other of us) so I didn’t have to go home. So, I can’t really blame Zep but what I DO remember was that the ‘73 show was better. Also, that was THE LAST time I got wrecked before a concert and have NEVER had even a sip of blackberry brandy since! The next morning, Scott surprised me with a ticket stub he got for me and a really bad headache I had was made a little better. LOL

10  Queen / Argent / Kansas  2/21/75  The Capitol Theater
A couple of weeks later on another freezing night, Queen was playing in NJ at the Capitol Theater. I would have rather gone a week earlier in NYC at the Avery Fisher Hall, but I didn’t know about it for some reason. It was only by luck that I found out about the NJ show. Friday in the school cafeteria a high school friend was reading a music trade paper called THE AQUARIAN WEEKLY and he passed it to me to glance at. Then, a few pages in I see the ad for “TONIGHT’S” Queen show in NJ with “SOLD OUT” covering the ad. SH*T I think immediately. How did I not know about this? I had their latest album “Sheer Heart Attack“ and loved it, but somehow this tour got by me. I always checked and read rock mags like Circus & Hit Parader which always had tour dates listed, but how did I miss Queen? I was freaking out and immediately went to my next class to tell my buddies, Mike, Tommy & Scott who were all in that same class. Tommy said he couldn’t go, but Scott & Mike both said “hell yeah, but how can we get tickets”? We were all kind of in shock that none of us knew about this. A big thing then came up as to A) how would we get there (Passaic, NJ was about 35 minutes away, in a bad neighborhood and NO WAY  to get there (we were still only 15) & B) We don’t have tickets.Then, I remembered a BIGGER problem. I had a JV basketball game that evening. All I could think was “F*** THAT, I’m NOT missing Queen! To add to my many problems was that the JVBB coach was ALSO the teacher of THIS class! SH*T!!!! What to do?

First things first. We decided that I had to fake like I was sick. It had to be good because the coach/teacher wasn’t some dweeb. He was someone who obviously had been around the block and seen it all. I did my best impression I could of having serious stomach issues. I ran out of the class and just sat in the bathroom for a while thinking about the other problems we would need to overcome to get to the show….AND IN! After about ten minutes I re-entered the class only to do it again about ten minutes later. This HAD TO BE GOOD. Finally, after returning to class I got my books and said I had to go home. That was met with some consternation from the coach/teacher because I WAS a starter for the team. He questioned me if I thought I would be able to come back and play later to which I responded with a shrug. I walked out of class and left school knowing I was missing the game (a first, but there would be more in the next 3 years). The plan was for Mike to call me as soon as he got home and we’d discuss.
On the bus ride home from school I thought of a possible answer. I’d call my cousin Jimmy and see if he wants to go, or at the very least, drive us. Upon arriving home I called but was told by my aunt that he wouldn’t be home from work until 5:30. Ugh, that didn’t leave much time and what if he said “no”? Finally, around 4pm Mike calls and says he asked his older brother for a ride but he had plans. He also found out that his brother HAD seen Queen last week in NYC but “forgot” that Mike and I really liked Queen! UGGH, again! My stepfather wouldn’t be home from his trucking job until around 7pm so that was out. It started to look REALLY bleak. We kind of resigned ourselves that we were probably going to miss the show. In fact, I was thinking about leaving for my basketball game. I decided against that and put my hopes into my cousin.

The phone rang earlier than expected with Jimmy calling. I told him the predicament I was in when he told me he ALSO had seen the show last week but didn’t have an extra to ask me. I didn’t care, I just needed his help driving me tonight. He also already had plans, but since he felt guilty about not taking me last week, he finally said he would take us, BUT, he couldn’t stay! WTF? How would we get home (IF we even got in) from Passaic, NJ? I said (“F” it, we’ll figure it out later….it’s great being 15 and just not giving a f***)! He said he’d pick me up at 6:30, so I first called Mike. He thought I was nuts and “NO WAY” was he going to be stuck in Passaic. I pleaded with him that we’d figure it out, but he was more sensible than me, I guess! Angry at Mike, I then called Scott. He took more chances like me and was “IN”. We would figure out getting home later. But how would we get tickets? I told him I still had a lot of my birthday gift money (about $40 bucks, give or take) and he had about $15. I said “let’s just take a shot”. He agreed.

My cousin picked us up and got us to the theater about 7:15pm. We had about 40 minutes to get tickets and get in before the first band came on at 8pm. I didn’t know or care about the opening band (AT THE TIME) because I had never heard of Kansas. The 2nd band on the bill was Argent, and while I knew one song, I didn’t care about them either, so I knew we had some time. My cousin didn’t like leaving us there, especially without tickets in hand, but he had plans he couldn’t get out of. BUT, he said he could come back at some point after 11 to pick us up and if he was late to just wait in front.! MY MAN! Jeez, how I loved and idolized him! Great guy who’s no longer with us. He leaves and now we’re on our own. There were a few people selling tickets but they wanted more than we had. Then, I decided just to check the box office. Who knows? If you don’t ask, you don’t know. I went to the window and an older woman was there. I told her my story and what we went through to just get here and I know it’s sold out but is there anything that she could do to get us in? Well, that wonderful woman smiled and said, “I’m not supposed to do this, but…” and printed us out two standing room tickets. And get this, SHE DIDN’T EVEN CHARGE US ANYTHING! I guess since it was sold out, she couldn’t charge us. I wanted to kiss her! I must’ve thanked her twenty times! In we go. Yes, we don’t have seats, but we’re used to that. I didn’t know then that I would have gladly paid the scalper’s price if I knew what was to come………….

We get a soda and a pretzel and stand in the very back. The lights go out and Kansas comes on stage and BLOW US AWAY! Wow! What a band! They played for almost an hour, and they definitely made MANY new fans as they got a well-deserved standing ovation. Next up was Argent. They took their sweet time coming onstage and the 3,200+ Queen fans were not happy. To make matters worse…they SUCKED! Their big song “Hold Your Head Up” was okay, but they acted like they were why everyone was here, and the crowd was getting restless to say the least. Then to make things EVEN WORSE they had equipment trouble. Out come the roadies and tech people to insanely loud boo’s! I can’t say for sure how long they played before the trouble (maybe 40 minutes or so) but the boo’s grew louder and meaner with every minute. Suddenly, a movie screen lowered, and some really old-time sci-fi movie started to play. I was almost 11pm NOW and nothing. ANOTHER problem for me to deal with. What do I do about my cousin picking us up? Do we leave? NO CHANCE! Then the screen rises, and everyone is ready for Queen! NOPE! Here comes Argent back out again! WTF??? The place explodes into boo’s, curses and some things are being thrown at the stage. But Argent keeps on playing like it’s their show. I finally tell Scott I’m going to check outside for my cousin. The usher at the door understands what’s happening as I’m not the only one who was seemingly getting a ride. He lets us step out but reminds us to hold on to the ticket or we can’t get back in. After a few minutes I see Jimmy’s car circling the block. I run into the street and let him know what’s going on and that we’ll find a way home if he can’t stay. He decides to not only stay, but to park somewhere and come in. How, I ask. He just says wait for me. He arrives about 5 minutes later and we walk to the entrance where I show my ticket while Jimmy hands the usher $5. Jimmy walks in with me and asks where we are sitting. I tell him how we got in and he just shakes his head and laughs. One problem….Argent is STILL on stage! Playing to heckling, bombarded with boo’s and curses they FINALLY finish! It’s now AFTER MIDNIGHT and their set is being taken down. It’s at least another 30-40 minutes of just waiting in this theater that is now so filled with marijuana smoke, EVERYBODY is high, including those of us who weren't even smoking!

FINALLY, almost 5 hours after I entered the theater, the band that everybody came to see LITERALLY EXPLODES on stage. This story is already way too long, so all I'll say is that for the next 90 minutes or so, QUEEN KILLED IT! OMG, they were SO great! The place was going so crazy, you’d think it was 9pm instead of almost daylight! Great music…Freddie flying all over the stage…smoke…flash pots…it just was greatness from the beginning of “Now I’m Here” through to the amazing encores, beginning with Freddie’ strip act in “Big Spender” ! They didn’t seem to cut out anything because of the craziness of the time! Just an incredible performance and solidified them to me as my absolute favorite band!

We got into Jimmy’ car at 2:50AM! Insane! If he didn’t pick us up, I have no idea how (or if) we would have ever gotten home! I had a helluva lot of explaining to do to my folks when I walked in at 3:40 am smelling like a pot factory and completely exhausted, but Jimmy was with me and stayed the night and vouched for everything. This was THE MOST craziest concert experience (the entire day really) I ever had…at least until almost 3 years to the date later, but that’s a story for later.

1975 TBC....

[DTwwbwMP]

Wow, great stories. It's amazing that you can remember everything in such detail.

I'm sure I'm leaving some forgotten things out, but doing my best

[TAC]

Mike, even though my concert going wouldn't start until 1983 (I was 14), there's so much I can relate to.

1. The whole not knowing about a show. That was a real thing. There was no internet. All you had were magazines, and local nightlife papers. In Boston we had something called The Phoenix, and if it weren't for that, I'd have not seen those early I&W shows in Boston.
My question.....didn't you listen to the radio? Usually shows would be announced onthe radio. I remember our local radio had a Concert Hotline where you called and heard what all the upcoming shows were.

2. The ride thing..I remember scrambling for rides. When I saw Scorpions in 1984, it was such a clusterfuck, I mentioned it in my yearbook "blurb"..."How are we getting home from Scorpions again?"

3. You and your friends remind me a bit of my friends, specifically you remind me a lot about one of them. He would've ran out of the classroom faking being sick, and he would've definitely schemed to "sneak" in. I was generally more sensible in our group and I probably wouldn't have done either.



Are you into bootlegs at all, because I'm sure those Zeppelin shows are available.

Also, I have a keen eye on the upcoming Alice Cooper concert...

[DTwwbwMP]

Mike, even though my concert going wouldn't start until 1983 (I was 14), there's so much I can relate to.

1. The whole not knowing about a show. That was a real thing. There was no internet. All you had were magazines, and local nightlife papers. In Boston we had something called The Phoenix, and if it weren't for that, I'd have not seen those early I&W shows in Boston.
My question.....didn't you listen to the radio? Usually shows would be announced on the radio. I remember our local radio had a Concert Hotline where you called and heard what all the upcoming shows were.

Absolutely did listen to the radio. My two stations were WNEW & WPLJ, which made not knowing about that Queen tour/show even more frustrating.

2. The ride thing..I remember scrambling for rides. When I saw Scorpions in 1984, it was such a clusterfuck, I mentioned it in my yearbook "blurb"..."How are we getting home from Scorpions again?"

Yep. Until myself/friends were old enough to drive this was always a potential issue for any show not in NYC.

3. You and your friends remind me a bit of my friends, specifically you remind me a lot about one of them. He would've ran out of the classroom faking being sick, and he would've definitely schemed to "sneak" in. I was generally more sensible in our group and I probably wouldn't have done either.

Agreed and if it wasn't for the older guys I hung out with I probably wouldn't be writing this! Jersey City back then was a pretty tough place to live. Many factions of "territorial gangs" and such and you either learned to grow up fast or just fall to the wayside. I myself was smart enough to stay out of the "big" trouble (for the most part) but once I "balled up" and got into that first concert, I was literally "hooked".

Are you into bootlegs at all, because I'm sure those Zeppelin shows are available.

Yep, thanks. I got 'em all!

Also, I have a keen eye on the upcoming Alice Cooper concert...

[Zoom E]

Wow, quite the story about just getting to the Queen concert and then actually getting into the venue. That’s dedication!

[DTwwbwMP]

Show # / Group(s) / Date / Venue / Entry / # shows for year
1   Led Zeppelin 7/29/73  Madison Square Garden  F
2   Elton John / The Sutherland Brothers & Quiver  9/23/73  Madison Square Garden F
3   Emerson, Lake & Palmer / Stray Dog  12/18/73  Madison Square Garden F   3
4   Grand Funk Railroad  4/22/74  Madison Square Garden H
5   Mott The Hoople / Queen  5/11/74  Uris Theater L   
6   The WHO / Montrose  6/14/74  Madison Square Garden F    
7    Yes / Gryphon  11/20/74  Madison Square Garden F    
8    Elton John / Kiki Dee (John Lennon appearance)  11/28/74  Madison Square Garden  L  5
9    Led Zeppelin  2/7/75  Madison Square Garden F
10  Queen / Argent / Kansas 2/21/75  The Capitol Theater  S   
11   Jethro Tull / Carmen  3/7/75  Madison Square Garden F   
12   Alice Cooper / Suzi Quatro  5/5/75  Madison Square Garden F
13   Bad Company / Maggie Bell  5/30/75  Madison Square Garden F   
14   Chicago / The Beach Boys  6/14/75  Madison Square Garden F   
15   Pink Floyd 6/15/75  Roosevelt Stadium P   
16   The Rolling Stones 6/27/75  Madison Square Garden F   
17   Aerosmith / Ted Nugent & The Amboy Dukes  8/29/75  Wollman Rink (Central Park) P   
18   Black Sabbath / Aerosmith 12/3/75  Madison Square Garden  F
19   KISS / Blue Oyster Cult / Leslie West Band  12/31/75 Nassau Coliseum  S 11

1975 (con't)

Let me preface that the next two shows on my list were both attended basically “musically blind” on my part. For Jethro Tull (the guy who plays the flute? lol) I knew “maybe” one or two songs other than ‘Aqualung’ and the current hit, ‘Bungle In the Jungle’. For the following Alice Cooper show, I knew “18” & ‘School’s Out’...that’s it. For both shows I took the word of the older guys we hung out with that I would like these. They hadn’t steered me wrong yet “musically”.

11 Jethro Tull / Carmen  3/7/75  Madison Square Garden
The weekend before this concert, hanging with some friends (some older) in our friend Ricky’ basement, getting high and listening to Pink Floyd (the usual go to band when getting high) someone mentioned Jethro Tull playing MSG this upcoming Friday. It kind of went over my head, but a few days later in school, Scott asked me if I was going. I wasn’t planning on it, plus I had given away some of my ticketron yankee tickets last month to help some friends get into the ZEP concert and I only had a few left. He talked me into going and then lent me two Tull albums that night to get familiar with some of the material. For whatever reason I didn’t get a chance to check them out but had decided to go anyway. The older guys we hung with raved about Tull.

I think there were maybe 5 of us who got together Friday night to head to the concert. I was still really leery about what happened to me last month at the Zep show, so no drinking tonight for me, especially since I had to be at freshman baseball tryouts in the morning at our high school gym. By the time we got to NYC, I was the only one of our group not already high or buzzed. I honestly had no idea what to expect tonight. A couple guys bought t-shirts but I passed. I didn’t see the point of spending money on a t-shirt of a band (or at that time I thought “a guy”) that I really didn’t know. I wound up buying one after the show LOL

We get in like normal (yankee ticket, plus a $5 spot) and enter the arena. We found spots that we liked and were able to actually sit during the warmup band, Carmen. I didn’t really pay too much attention to the band, and nothing they were playing helped. They were off stage after half an hour or so and I went to concessions for a soda and pretzel, while the others found someone to buy them beers. When the lights went out, we all went back to our section we were in and luckily, the same row was empty, so we were able to sit most of the show with a great view.

When the band hit the stage, I really didn’t know what I was looking at. Were these guys all from King Arthur’s court?  Not only were they dressed as in medieval times, but the music wasn’t what I was used to, but…………..THEY ROCKED! By now, someone had told me that “Jethro Tull” was THE BAND NAME and NOT a member, and that “the crazy singer & flute player” was named Ian Anderson! He was fantastic (as was the band). His voice was a bit strange to me, but enjoyable regardless. I remember thinking that not ALL the songs registered with me, but certainly most of them did. The crowd, which seemed mellow, became really raucous during the show, adding to the excitement. All in all, it was a really entertaining show that caused a ritual for me.*** I bought my “must get“ ticket stub from somebody on the way out, got my shirt and headed home with another “must listen to” band!

***As an aside, the Tull concert got me thinking that I needed to expand my album collection. At that point it only consisted of all Elton, all 3 Queen, a couple of Zep and Who albums and Brain Salad Surgery by ELP. I had heard of these record clubs (BMG, CBS, etc) where you got 8-11 albums for a penny and then had to buy a couple over the next year to fulfill the obligation. This was a no-brainer! I’ll build up my collection quickly. There were other ways of getting freebies. Just get “a friend” to join and boom, here’s 4 free albums for you to choose! Well, my “friends” quickly became my mom, stepdad, 2yr old brother and 1yr old sister. LOL Within a year, my collection was ridiculous and I just kept repeating the cycle through most of the seventies! Those were the days!!!!!!!!!!! You really had to live it, experience it, to understand it! LOL

12 Alice Cooper / Suzi Quatro  5/5/75  Madison Square Garden   
   When you tell a friend you’ll do something back then, it really was a commitment! Regardless of the circumstances, you better come through and I came close to f’n up a good friendship I had made in high school with my buddy Tony (and this would be returned in spades in ‘79). You see, Tony was a HUGE Alice Cooper fan (the only one I knew) and wasn’t able to secure tickets for the show at MSG. Talking about it in the school cafeteria, I told Tony how myself and others got into the shows at MSG. I told him how to go about it, but he was as doubtful as I was when I first heard this method in ‘73. He asked me to go with him and his cousin (another big Alice fan) and I hesitantly agreed. Honestly, I probably felt like a big shot helping him. He was really amazed. So, he tells me the date of the concert and I commit to going with him. A few days later, my high school baseball schedule comes out and I see I have a game that Monday. Here we go again. I tell him I don’t think I’ll be able to go because of the game and he pleads with me to go. What to do? I have to go with him. I made a promise…..

   Monday, May 5th arrives, and the plan is in place. My game in Jersey City is at 4pm and usually ends by 6-6:30. Tony’s cousin is 17 and has his license (or permit….whatever) and he and Tony pick me up at the high school around 7pm. We speed to park near Journal Square and get on the train around 7:30. Tony and his cousin are full of nervous energy (about getting in) and excitement (about seeing the show). Me, I’m exhausted (from a long day already), starving and pretty filthy from the game (we lost LOL). There’s no drinking or any of that stuff but by the time we get to MSG it’s already past the 8pm start time. Both Tony and his cousin follow me to the ticket taker (my usual guy ) and see me hand him the 3 “fake” tickets with a Ten & a Five between them and he rips the tickets in half and says his usual “enjoy the show”. We enter and they’re SO HAPPY! Me? I just want to get a damn hot dog!

   By the time I got my hot dog, pretzel and whatever else I could devour, the opening band, Suzi Quatro, had to be half over. We enter the darkened arena and walk around trying to see a good section to stand in but it’s frigin’ dark. Finally, I find a section (not as good as I’m used to, but I just want to get settled). Meanwhile, little miss Suzi is tearing it up pretty well on stage . The twenty minutes or so I saw was really enjoyable. The lights come on and I notice a few empty seats in the section we’re in but not together. Something to think about if nobody comes for those seats. Tony and his cousin are really excited and can’t stop thanking me. I’m just hoping the show is good. I really have no idea what to expect aside from what Tony (and his cousin, who saw his last tour and was raving about it) told me.
   
       Finally, after too long of a wait, the lights go out and the stage fills with smoke and fog (didn’t know it was dry ice yet LOL). The seats still remain empty, so I take the single, while they take the 2 seats in the row 3 or 4 down. I honestly didn’t know if I was ready to rock, or ready to sleep. Damn, I was tired. Right from the start of the show, I can see THIS WILL BE DIFFERENT! On stage is not only Mr. Cooper (and his band, but buried in the background) but also monsters, bats, skeletons, etc. WTF is going on? The opening song ‘Welcome to my Nightmare’ sounds really good but I’m trying to wrap my head around what I’m seeing. Meanwhile, I look a few rows down to see Tony and his cousin going nuts! What am I not getting? There’s an interlude of some sort (this occurs 2 or 3 more times throughout the show) and then Cooper breaks into ‘No More Mr. Nice guy’...”hey, I know this one”! This is really good. The “concert” continues on with more “fiends, mannequins, etc” as part of the show! I honestly don’t know what to think. As the show continues, I really like most of the music, but I’m not sure about the theatrics constantly going on. At one point, Alice is on stage in a tux and top hat dancing with skeletons like Fred Astaire! What am I watching? I also find myself wondering why the band seems to be more of an afterthought on stage. This is definitely Alice’ show (I get the whole story told to me of the “concept” on the train ride home). Strangely I will say that maybe my favorite part of the concert was the jam that the band did in the latter part of the show and Alice wasn’t even on stage! Now, here come the spiders! Again, WTF? The song is good though and then the show seemed to really kick in. The encore, which was more rock, and less shlock was awesome!

   Like I mentioned, Tony’s cousin (and Tony) absolutely loved it and tried to explain the concept of the album and the show to me. I guess I wasn’t “ready” for “concepts” yet! LOL Don’t get me wrong. I enjoyed a LOT of the concert, but some of it just went over my head. This seemed more of a musical, than a rock show. This was the first concert I’d been to where I wasn’t “WOWED”, but a good portion of it was really good too. I think I left more confused than anything. LOL  I was definitely “in” on Alice’ music, but it took me a good while before I saw them “live” again, which was probably my loss. Afterwards I got my stub (freebie) and they got their shirts. I really could not wait to get home and go to bed, but I was really happy that they were so happy with the concert! It felt good to help out!
   ***As an aside, I have seen some good videos of the show at MSG in ‘73 and THAT seemed to be much more of a rock show and more my style. If the show I saw would have been presented like that, I would have LOVED it! I also feel like I started my concert career one month too late as I would have loved to see that concert in June ‘73! DAMMIT!

more 1975 TBC....

[DragonAttack]

Mike, I’m going to go back and insert some of your comments and link this page in the appropriate spots of the Queen discography after my travels.

Enjoying all the stories so far

Thanks for sharing

Btw…of all these, my wife DID see David Cassidy

[DTwwbwMP]

Mike, I’m going to go back and insert some of your comments and link this page in the appropriate spots of the Queen discography after my travels.

Enjoying all the stories so far

Thanks for sharing

Btw…of all these, my wife DID see David Cassidy

 

[TAC]

12 Alice Cooper / Suzi Quatro  5/5/75  Madison Square Garden   
       Finally, after too long of a wait, the lights go out and the stage fills with smoke and fog (didn’t know it was dry ice yet LOL). The seats still remain empty, so I take the single, while they take the 2 seats in the row 3 or 4 down. I honestly didn’t know if I was ready to rock, or ready to sleep. Damn, I was tired. Right from the start of the show, I can see THIS WILL BE DIFFERENT! On stage is not only Mr. Cooper (and his band, but buried in the background) but also monsters, bats, skeletons, etc. WTF is going on? The opening song ‘Welcome to my Nightmare’ sounds really good but I’m trying to wrap my head around what I’m seeing. Meanwhile, I look a few rows down to see Tony and his cousin going nuts! What am I not getting? There’s an interlude of some sort (this occurs 2 or 3 more times throughout the show) and then Cooper breaks into ‘No More Mr. Nice guy’...”hey, I know this one”! This is really good. The “concert” continues on with more “fiends, mannequins, etc” as part of the show! I honestly don’t know what to think. As the show continues, I really like most of the music, but I’m not sure about the theatrics constantly going on. At one point, Alice is on stage in a tux and top hat dancing with skeletons like Fred Astaire! What am I watching? I also find myself wondering why the band seems to be more of an afterthought on stage. This is definitely Alice’ show (I get the whole story told to me of the “concept” on the train ride home). Strangely I will say that maybe my favorite part of the concert was the jam that the band did in the latter part of the show and Alice wasn’t even on stage! Now, here come the spiders! Again, WTF? The song is good though and then the show seemed to really kick in. The encore, which was more rock, and less shlock was awesome!

I had to look up the '73 footage from MSG. There is a little on youtube. Never seen it before.
His first solo tour in '75 was definitely interesting. The DVD of the London show is really cool. I bolded the part about the band's jam. His band on that tour was absolutely killer.

Thanks for the comments and listing. Seems we'll be waiting a while for the next Alice show?