This is going to surprise every rock fan in the universe, but the worst(least professional) show I ever attended was LED ZEPPELIN at the Tarrant County Convention Center in FT Worth Texas on May 22nd 1977. It was originally scheduled for 2/27/1977, but was postponed till May. The band just didn't seem to want to be there. The show started almost an hour late(No backup band), and the sound mix was awful. The TCCC was not known for good acoustics to begin with, but this was really bad. During the song "In my time of dying" Jimmy Page accidentally unplugged his Les Paul and the band had to restart the song. The late John Bonham fell off his drum stool during his drum solo in "Moby Dick". Robert Plant's voice was under the weather and really raspy, and he had a case of the giggles at times. John Paul Jones seemed to be the only band member trying to put on a good show. To the credit of the audience I didn't hear anyone BOO or Catcall, but it would have been justified. Many years later i read an interview with Plant and Page where it was revealed that the band had a serious Heroin problem at that time. Man, it really showed in this concert, but at least I can say I saw them during the "Song remains the same" tour. The playlist was exactly the same as the album and movie.
On July 29th 1977 I attended a MOXY/AC-DC concert at the Ritz theater in Corpus Christie Texas.
What made this lineup unusual was the fact that AC/DC were the backup band. They were touring to
support the "Let there be rock" album. The band was not well known in America yet. I had heard a couple of songs on the San Antonio radio station KMAC AM(yes: AM band), and I was familiar with the band MOXY because the late Tommy Bolin was involved in recording their first album. On a good night the KMAC signal was strong enough to reach Corpus and they played some really interesting and unusual rock for the AM format.
The Ritz is an old movie theater in downtown Corpus. I've heard that it still exists and may be in the process of being restored. The cost for a ticket was $7.00(No kidding). All seats were general admission and I was in the front row of the balcony. AC/DC played for about 45 minutes, including a
one or two song encore. Bon Scott and the band were absolutely in control of the stage and the audience. Bon's stage presence was incredible, and the band just tore the roof off the place. I didn't know what to think of Angus Young's school uniform, but I was astounded by his guitar playing. They played most of the "Let there be rock album", including "Go Down, Let there be rock,Problem Child,and Whole lotta rosie". Some of the other songs they played were "T.N.T,The Jack,It's a long way to the top,High Voltage,and Big Balls". Bon carried Angus on his shoulders into the audience during one song and played the bagpipes on "It's a long way to the top" WOW!!!! During instrumental breaks in some songs he would go behind the amps and chug Jack Daniels, Heineken and huff on a big spliff. Now that's Rock and Roll. Within a year this band was headlining stadium venues. I was really sad when Bon passed away in 1979. The same kind of sadness when SRV passed away.
Moxy put on a good show afterwards, but how could anyone compete with the raw power that preceeded them. I would recommend that everyone search out the first Moxy album(self titled), because its a really good rock album. It was recorded and mixed very well, and the band could really rock out. All in all a great concert by two relatively unknown bands at that time in a small venue where every seat was a good one. Amen.......
Uriah Heep put on a free concert at Moody Coliseum on the SMU campus on 10/3/1975. To get tickets you had to mail a self addressed/stamped envelope to radio station KZEW(THE ZOO). You could get up to four tickets per envelope. The backup band was Point Blank. The reason for the free show was the band had to cancel a show the previous year in mid-show. The bass player Gary Thain received an electric shock and almost died on stage. He was suffering from undiagnosed Hepatitis and his system couldn't take the jolt. The singer David Byron told the audience the band would return ASAP and do a free show. The band kept their word and returned almost a year later. To the band's credit they opened up the free show to everyone: whether they attended the original show or not. It was a great show. Ken Hensley blew everyone's mind with his screaming organ( the one with keys, not the other one). Mick Box power riffed the rafters loose and David Byron's vocals were spot on.
The only thing missing was Gary Thain. I understand he retired from touring after the shock the previous year. The playlist was almost exactly what you hear on the live album(1973) with some additions from the "Sweet Freedom" album. I remember that "Stealin" was really powerful. Moody Coliseum was the building where the SMU basketball team played and had those fold-up bleachers that were so prevalent in high school gyms at that time. You could push them inwards until they became a wall to allow more room on the floor area. During the show some BOZO started trying to unfold them, which caused a small fracas until the Dallas boys in black(DPD) gave him a head whack. It took awhile for the dust to settle, but the band didn't miss a beat. Awesome Show.
