YES goes roundabout 1978

 TARRANT COUNTY CONVENTION CENTER

Prog-rock legends Yes performed at the Tarrant County Convention Center arena in Ft Worth Texas on October 1st 1978. The show featured a round stage that spun slowly one direction and then the other direction when a new song started and vice-versa. This allowed all the amplifiers and PA systems to be suspended in the air above the stage. They all pointed outward in a radial configuration.
As a result the sound quality was EXCELLENT. Probably the best of any concert I ever attended. The stage was situated at the opposite end of the floor from a normal stage location, so the usually bad loge and balcony seats were now great seats. The floor seats were facing a reverse direction than normal and were on an inclined set of risers. As a result there were no bad seats for this show. The band was touring for the "Tormato" album with no backup band. They played approximately 3 hours and incorporated songs from every album released up to that point. I was always a huge fan of this band and was mesmerized by this show. They managed to sound just like their studio albums, and I think the sound was much better than on the "Yessongs" album and film(which is still really good). The ticket cost was $8.00 for the balcony. The band lineup was Jon Anderson, Chris Squire, Steve Howe, Rick Wakeman and Alan White. True professional musicianship. No stage gimmicks needed...Postscript: I saw this same lineup(i'm not totally sure Alan White was the drummer) at the Cynthia Woods Mitchell pavilion in the Woodlands TX on august 15th 2002. Another fantastic show, but not in the round at this open air pavilion.

TEXXAS JAM # 1 Summer 1978

The first TEXXAS JAM was held July 1st 1978 at the Cotton Bowl in Dallas during a brutal heatwave. The all day and most of the night show cost $12.50 a ticket. It was co-headlined by Aerosmith and Ted Nugent. The rest of the lineup consisted of Blackstone(winners of a local battle of the bands to open up the show), Walter Egan, Van Halen, Head East, Eddie Money, Journey, Atlanta Rhythm Section, Heart, and Mahogany Rush. The TJ was mc'd by Cheech and Chong. The heat caused alot of problems, especially for the people on the field. Large firehoses were sprayed on the fans near the stage to help them cope with it. Blackstone played for about 30 minutes, and the non-headliners each played about 45 mins to 1 hour. The headliners played about an hour and a half each. There are some bootleg videos from this show that are circulating around. Most of them are from Aerosmith's performance. I have seen an official Aerosmith hits vhs video that includes scenes from this performance included in one of the songs on the tape. I can't remember which song it is, but its the one where several women are flashing their breasts.
    There were at least 3 TEXXAS JAMS, possibly 4. I attended the first and third ones. There will be another post for the third one later. The acoustics at the Cotton Bowl were horrible, but overall the shows were great. Cheech and Chong were perfect as meecee's. One of the more entertaining sights during the day involved some fans climbing up some of the PA speaker poles that surrounded the field level. They were climbing to swipe some banners(flags) that were flying from the top of these poles. The poles were at least 20 feet tall. Luckily no one fell or appeared to get injured. The police did confiscate the banners from the ones they could catch, but they didn't get them all. There must have been about 10 or 12 swiped while the crowd cheered them on. When it comes to bang for your bucks this show was the best....

KISS alive 1975

KISS performed live at UTA's (University of Tx,Arlington) Texas Hall 11/8/1975. This show occurred about the time that the first "Alive" album was released. The tour through Texas was promoted as "The eyes of Texas tour" featuring posters of the first album cover artwork. The backup act was "Mott" who were carrying on after Ian Hunter had left "Mott the Hoople". They were promoting the album "Drive on" which is out of print these days. It's actually a pretty good album.
  The setlist for KISS was exactly the same as on the "Alive" album. This was before KISS was big news in the rock and roll universe. I was only familiar with the "Hotter than Hell" album when I attended the show. I liked it , but it wasn't a favorite of mine; however I had heard that they were great live and had to be seen to be appreciated. The show that night was AWESOME. These guys really understood how to entertain an audience. I was a senior at Arlington High School at this time and a fellow classmate was in the first or second row center stage. He had put on a white T-shirt he bought at the venue and got it covered with the blood that Gene Simmons barfed as part of the show. I remember this guy running around after the show proclaiming that he would never wash that shirt as long as he lived. Later in the school year he and 3 of his friends re-created this concert by lip-synching a stage show for the annual Colt County Fair. They re-created the show really well with homemade costumes and everything except the fire, blood and rising drum kit. It took alot of courage to face your fellow classmates and risk ridicule, but they pulled it off nicely. Back to the real concert.
   The real show was jaw-dropping visually and musically. The rock critics used to slam the band for their musicianship, but I never agreed with them after this show. The fact that the band is still touring and more popular than ever 39 years later validates that they are one of the best rock bands ever!!!!! I will go to my grave remembering how much I enjoyed this show.

A FLYING SAUCER INSIDE A BIGGER FLYING SAUCER 1978

Electric Light Orchestra(ELO) performed at the Tarrant County Convention Center arena on 9/1/1978. They were promoting the "Out of the Blue" album and had a stage shaped like a flying saucer. This struck me as ironic since the TCCC arena resembles a large flying saucer in downtown Ft Worth TX. There was no backup band so they played for about two and a half hours. Great show with really good sound system. I really enjoyed this show. Jeff Lynne and company were amazing. They are the only rock band that sounded good with strings. I also enjoyed Bev Bevan's drumming. Since that time I have really come to appreciate just how much of a musical genius Jeff Lynne really is. The show's encore including "Roll over Beethoven" was rock and roll at its finest. Bar None....

DEEP PURPLE 1974 My First Concert

My first concert was Deep Purple at the Tarrant County Convention Center arena on march 30th 1974. They were touring right around the time the "Burn" album was released. The show was originally scheduled for 2/15/74 but was postponed till march 30th. Deep purple was my favorite band and the first album I ever bought was "Machine Head" in 1972. I had to ride my bicyle(Schwinn Stingray- purple color) to Budget Tapes and Records on Cooper st in Arlington TX to purchase this album. The ride was approximately 5 miles each way. As a result I was surprised at the band's lineup at this concert. I was expecting the lineup with Ian Gillan and Roger Glover. I was  able 

to recognize Glenn Hughes from TRAPEZE, but I had no idea who David Coverdale was. The opening act was Tucky Buzzard with Savoy Brown as the middle act. Before the show and in between the acts the audience members were throwing frisbee's, wing rings and tennis balls all over the arena. There were so many of them that they were hitting each other in mid-air. This was an amazing sight because of the huge size of the TCCC arena. This was not to be repeated at any concerts afterwards because they were banned from all future shows at all venues in the DFW area and would be confiscated at the door. Deep Purple showed everyone what hard rock was all about. They put on a fantastic show and played about half the songs from "Burn" and alot of the songs from "Live in Japan".  The volume level was beyond LOUD and my ears were ringing for about three days afterwards. I really don't remember much about Savoy Brown and Tucky Buzzard. About a week after the show I hopped on my purple stingray and rode to Budget tapes to buy the "Burn" album. It's still one of my favorite albums.  Post script: I finally did see the MKII lineup with Ian and Roger in 1985 at the Summit in Houston TX. That was a great show too.....

The First Of Many RUSH's

While working near Port Aransas TX in the summer of 1976 I was able to attend the first of many RUSH concerts in the 1970's. The show was at the Ritz theater in Corpus Christi TX on 7/8/1976. It's located on chaparral in downtown. It was originally a movie theater that held approximately 200 seats. For concerts the floor seats had been removed, so i'm guessing that this show had about 300 fans in attendance. In other words; its was a small venue. The backup band was "TOO SMOOTH" from the Beeville TX area. RUSH was touring for the 2112 album. This tour is documented on the "All the Worlds a stage" album. The set list was exactly the same as on that release. To see this band in such a small venue was pure heaven. The sound quality was very good and there were no bad seats in the theater. I was amazed at how professional these guys were. Geddy Lee sang high enough to be heard in the stratosphere, and his bass playing was mind-boggling. Alex Lifeson mesmerized everyone with his style and range, and Neil Peart flabbergasted the audience with his ability. He and Keith Moon have surely influenced more drummers than anyone else in rock history. (No offense to Carl Palmer)... This was the first of many RUSH concerts that i attended. They all were excellent shows, but this one is my favorite because of the RITZ being the venue. I hope the theater has been restored, because it's a real Texas treasure.....

ZZ Tops traveling zoo 1975

On November 28th 1975 I attended a ZZ Top show that included a small animal menagerie on the stage. It included a longhorn steer, buffalo, two buzzards and possibly one or  two rattlesnakes. WEIRD. The show was at the end of the "Fandango" tour. The texas shaped stage was surrounded by a wood fence corral. The vultures were standing on two cow skulls at the front of the stage/corral. Whenever the band played these guys would spread their wings and then fold them up between songs. I always wondered if they were trained to do this or was it a natural reaction to the soundwaves. The snakes were under a plexiglass dome in the center of the stage. I dont remember the longhorn or buffalo crapping on the stage, but I assume it was a definite possibility. The backup band was Point Blank. The concert was really good. Billy Gibbons and Dusty Hill had short beards back then.

Lynyrd Skynyrd before the airplane crash

Some of my most cherished concert memories are of a show by Lynyrd Skynyrd about a year before the 10/20/1977 plane crash in Gillsburg Mississippi. They headlined a show at the Tarrant County Convention Center in Ft Worth TX on 11/25/1976. The opening act was Blackfoot and the Climax Blues band was the middle act. Skynyrd were touring for the live album "One more from the road", and the setlist was the same as on that album. They were in fine form and put on a great show. I do remember that some crazed fan tried to make a bonfire out of beercups in the aisle. In those days a large beer was served in paper cups that resembled a milk carton, and he poured lighter fluid on  a pile of them. Needless to say, the security and fire dept officials were not amused and arrested him on the spot while putting out the fire. Absolutely the stupidest thing I ever saw someone do at a concert.
    Sadly, less than a year later the band were flying in a Convair CV-300 twin prop charter aircraft when it ran out of fuel and crashed in a wooden area near Gillsburg. Ronnie Van Zandt, Steve Gaines, Cassie Gaines , their tour manager and both pilots were killed. The band was enroute to Baton Rouge LA from Greenville SC when it encountered engine trouble. Normally this airplane can fly on one engine if it's not overloaded. It appears that the co-pilot may have accidentally dumped the remaining fuel while trying to shift fuel from one tank to another during the emergency. It's a wonder that anyone survived. I was at a large house party the night of 10/20/1977 when the radio station announced the crash and deaths. The whole house stayed quiet and subdued the rest of the night. Everyone was shocked and sad..The next night I attended a RUSH concert at Will Rogers auditorium in Ft Worth TX and the band did a moment of silence. Really nice thing to do....

Did DFW TV news stage a concert incident?

I attended a Journey/Montrose/Van Halen concert on April 14th 1978. It was held at Will Rogers auditorium in FT Worth Texas. Van Halen was the opening act and Journey was the headliner. A very strange incident happened during the Journey set. A wild-eyed white guy wearing white pants and no shirt stormed onto the stage and grabbed Ross Valory's Bass guitar neck in the middle of a song. Several roadies grabbed the guy and pried his fingers loose from the tug-of-war he was having with Mr Valory. Normally; anyone who did this would have suffered a beat-down that they would remember forever, but this time the guy was treated gingerly. Either the roadies were very well trained or were very aware of a TV camera crew's presence in the wings. One of the band members remarked to the audience "I guess he wanted to play Bass", and the show was restarted without any more incidents. Several weeks later I was watching the Channel 5 news in Ft Worth when they showed a very quick clip of the incident from the camera I had seen in the wings. The news report concerned violence occurring at local rock concerts. At the time I thought something didn't seem right about the actions of everyone involved. It just felt like it was staged and not true. I don't believe that this incident and camera presence were coincidental. It didn't pass the smell test then or now.
Van Halen played for about 45 minutes, and Montrose for about the same time. The Halen were touring for their first album and were not headlining yet(They soon would be). Montrose was touring for the "Jump On It" and "Open Fire" albums. RIP Ronnie Montrose. You had an amazing talent....

The Worst Concert I Ever Attended

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.  

Uriah Heep's free show in Dallas

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.

Why did Ozzy walk off stage in Dallas 8/24/1975

I attended a Black Sabbath concert in Dallas Texas on August 24th 1975. The tour was for the "Sabotage" album. It took place at Memorial Auditorium(now called the Dallas Convention Center). Brownsville Station was the backup band. During the show Ozzy walked off the stage in the middle

 of "snowblind". This was the 3rd or 4th song of their set. The band continued playing for a few more notes and then stopped and walked off stage too. The house lights came on and after about 15 to 20 minutes Ozzy came back onstage and started a speech about how rock and roll is free, and let my people go(WTF??). The band then started the song over and completed the concert. Great concert, but I still have not been able to find out what caused the walk off. If anyone knows the answer add a comment to this blog. The next morning I had to attend the first day of school for my senior year at Arlington HS. That was a rough day.

Judas Priest's first gig in America

I may have attended Judas Priest's first american gig 6/19/1977. They were the first band in a three band concert at "Texas Hall" on the campus of the University of Texas Arlington(UTA). The headliner was REO Speedwagon and Journey was the middle act. The Priest was touring for the "Sin after Sin" album. Robert Halford announced from the stage that this was their first gig in America. This was before he started opening shows by riding a Harley onstage. I remember that he did use a mike stand that was covered in small mirrors. This was a great show, even though they only got to play about 45 minutes. I also remember that i wasn't much of a Journey fan at that time(still not) and got bored about halfway through the REO set. This is the only concert that I left before the concert was over. The other two bands didnt rock hard enough for me after The Priests set. The audience went crazy during their set and gave them everything a band could ask for from its audience. This probably explains why the band likes the DFW area, and why one of their concert DVD's was recorded in Dallas.

Rock and Roll Vaudeville

Buy Poster from link at page bottom.

I attended one of the most amazing rock concerts ever on july 3rd 1977 in Fort Worth Texas at the Tarrant County Convention Center. The headliner was Alice Cooper. This was the Lace and Whiskey tour. True Rock and Roll Vaudeville. The stage show was mind blowing. I also was dodging fireworks that were being exploded by members of the audience. The show was almost stopped due to the amount of bottle rockets, etc that were going off. The stage show started off with a set of lips talking on a big screen set up behind the drum riser. It was similar to the beginning of the Rocky Horror Picture show. Alice, disguised as a roadie was enticed by the lips to plug in a giant electric cord into a giant wall socket to power up the stage. The lips then asked him to come closer to the screen so she could give him a kiss of thanks. Instead, the lips sucked him through the slits in the screen and started chewing him up. They then said "now thats entertainment" as blood was drooling out of the mouth. The show then started with "No more mr. nice guy". WOW......The stage show included a mock hanging, a guillotine "haircut", Alice chopping up baby dolls, and large dancing spiders. I was seated in the front row of the LOGE and during the show some IDIOT in the upper balcony threw a military style smoke grenade which whizzed by my right ear before it landed on the floor. It missed my head by about 6 inches. I could have easily been killed by it. Better luck next time: I'm still here !!!!!

(Disclaimer-Capt Bootleg is not connected to company selling poster)

Buy the poster here. A great Poster Bought at the Alice Cooper Lace and Whiskey concert Tour 1977. The Poster is in VG++ Rolled. 31 YEARS OLD WOW..... Paypal, Bank or Postal Moneyorder.
www.worthpoint.com/worthopedia/alice-cooper-concert-poster-77-lace-and-whiskey

#1 concert of all time

Welcome to thecaptbootleg concert blog. My purpose is to share my knowledge of some of the many Rock Concerts that I attended from1974 to the present day. Most of them are in the Dallas/Ft Worth and Houston areas, but some were in Corpus Christi and Lubbock. I was fortunate enough to have attended almost 200 shows during the era that saw Rock Concerts evolve from simple get togethers to stadium venues. I am going to list the top ten best concerts that I saw. There will be an individual blog for each one of the top ten. After that I will talk about many other shows that had unusual and/or strange occurrences during them. Best Show of all time. #1 of the top ten.

Queen 12-10-1977. Tarrant County Convention Center. Ft Worth Texas. Tour promoting "News of the World" album. This tour was documented on the album "Live Killers". The stage was rather unique. It had three runways that extended into the audience, kind of like a trident, that allowed the band to walk about 4 or 5 rows into the audience. The lighting rig was shaped like a crown that was connected to the stage with a 10 or 12 foot curtain. At the start of the show the curtain parted, the crown rose and the band started "We will rock you". The Sound quality of the show was excellent. The band was able to reproduce the sound of their albums perfectly. The vocals were exceptional... All in all, the best of the best.....Postscript: Freddie Mercury had to be the best showman/entertainer/musician/singer in the history of Rock and Roll. I remember he did several costume changes during the show. There are several Queen concerts available on DVD, but I think the best one is "Queen Rocks Montreal". Watch this show and I think you will agree with me that Freddie was a unique talent. The show I attended lasted about 3 and a half hours with a 20 minute intermission about halfway through. There was no backup band. One of my favorite memories was Roger Taylor singing "I'm in love with my car" because I am a car nut par excellence. 

My youtube link is www.youtube.com/thecaptbootleg