1982

Jan 21, 1982



The Kinks – Veteran's Memorial Coliseum
Opening Act – The Go Go's
Ticket Price - $10.50

The Go Go's were riding the charts with the single “Vacation” which appeared on the album of the same name. They put on a fun, energetic show but the fans weren't very accepting. I think it was a strange opening act for the Kinks.

The Kinks were great. They were touring for “Give the People What They Want” and the hit single was “Destroyer”. The Kinks are one of the all-time great “garage bands” that never lost that raw sound. They put on an awesome show full of hits.

Set List:

Around the Dial
The Hardway
Where Have All the Good Times Gone?
Captain America Calling
Come On Now
Destroyer
Yo, Yo
Lola
Dead End Street
Add It Up
Low Budget
Art Lover
Back to Front
A Gallon of Gas
Celluloid Heroes
Till the End of the Day
Bernadette
All Day and All of the Night
Give the People What They Want
Pressure
You Really Got Me
Stop Your Sobbing

What more could you want from an incredible show from an amazing band?


February 4, 1982



Black Sabbath – Veterans Memorial Coliseum
Ticket Price - $10.50

This was the Mob Rules Tour, the second release with Ronnie James Dio as singer. They were so loud that it sounded like pure mush. It was hard to determine what song they were playing because of the distortion. A real disappointment.

Set List:

E5150
Neon Knights
NIB
Children of the Sea
Turn Up the Night
Black Sabbath
War Pigs
Slipping Away
Drum Solo
Slipping Away (cont.)
Iron Man
The Mob Rules
Heaven and Hell
Guitar Solo
Heaven and Hell (cont.)
Paranoid
Heaven and Hell (cont.)
Children of the Grave
Fluff (tape)



March 19,1982



The Cars – Hartford Civic Center
Ticket Price $11.50

This was the Shake It Up Tour. They had a really great stage and played all of the hits. I had to miss part of the show when the really drunk guy behind me puked all over my head and down my back. After cleaning myself in the crowded men's room I got back to my seat and the drunk guy and his friend were gone.

Really sucky.


April 2, 1982



Rick Springfield – Hartford Civic Center
Ticket Price - $10.50

Riding high on the hits “Jessie’s Girl” and “I’ve Done Everything for You”, Rick Springfield put on a pretty energized performance. The Album, “Working Class Dog” went on to sell a few million copies and made Rick a household name; that and the fact that he was on General Hospital at the time. The show was pretty enjoyable even though I only knew 2 or 3 songs.

I saw Rick perform again in 2001 for a group of about 100 people in a small banquet room in Malibu, CA. It was a fundraiser for Doctors Without Borders. He still looked great and put on a fun show.



April 3, 1982



Ozzy Osbourne – Veteran's Memorial Coliseum
Ticket Price - $11.50

My second time seeing the Prince of Darkness live. This was the Diary of a Madman Tour and, sadly, it was less than one month after Randy Rhoads' death. Brad Gillis from Night Ranger stepped in to fill the guitar virtuoso's shoes. All-in-all it was still a great show. Ozzy was still in fine form, before all of the alcohol & drugs turned him into such a mess. Brad Gillis is a decent enough guitar player but he is far from Rhoads' level of talent. Still, he was able to learn all of the songs in a really short period of time.

Set List:

Diary of a Madman Intro
Over the Mountain
Mr. Crowley
Crazy Train
Revelation (Mother Earth)
Steal Away (The Night)
Suicide Solution
Goodbye to Romance
I Don't Know
Believer
Flying High Again
Iron Man
Children of the Grave
Paranoid


June 18, 1982



Rainbow – Veteran's Memorial Coliseum
Ticket Price - $10.50

Honestly, I don't remember going to this show at all.


June 20, 1982



Squeeze – Agora, West Hartford, CT
Ticket Price - $9.00

Squeeze is one of my all-time favorite bands. They write great, memorable pop songs and their music during the 80’s never really went towards that soulless mechanical sound. At the time their biggest hit was probably “Tempted”. This was a memorable show for me, mostly because I was such a big fan of the band. I feel that this was the last year that they released any good music and it was great to see them perform all of the songs I loved while they were still together and still at the height of their powers. Black Coffee in Bed, Slap & Tickle, Pulling Mussels from a Shell, Up The Junction, Goodbye Girl, Cool for Cats, Another Nil in My Heart and a new single at the time, Annie Get Your Gun. It appeared that the band was still getting along at this show and they looked like they were enjoying themselves. A fun show by one of the greatest pop-rock bands ever.


June 24, 1982



John Valby – Toad's Place, Waterbury, CT
Ticket Price - $5.00

The king of perverted, sing-along, party songs. It was just John and a piano and I knew most of the songs from a worn-out, beer-soaked, bootleg cassette that I played the crap out of. The show was a lot of fun, it's like one big party. If you're not familiar, you need to check him out.


September 9, 1982



Southside Johnny and the Asbury Jukes – Agora, West Hartford, CT
Ticket Price - $8.75

I remember Southside Johnny touring endlessly. They are a fun, party band featuring the “New Jersey Sound” made famous by Bruce Springsteen. The Boss’ guitarist Steven Van Zant produced some of the early Southside Johnny albums but even this association failed to launch them beyond a local cult following. They put on a fun show and the crowd was really into it. I wasn’t too familiar with their songs but I danced right along with everyone else. They released a whole slew of records and they still tour regularly. One of those solid bands that will always be relegated to the 2nd tier.

1981

This turned out to be a pretty busy year for me concert wise.

January 17, 1981


Stevie Wonder - Veterans Memorial Coliseum, New Haven, CT
Ticket Price - $12.50

I grew up listening to Stevie around the house. Songs in the Key of Life and Innervisions were two of my favorites. It was one of those shows where you knew every single song and the performance was flawless; Stevie definitely didn’t disappoint. I really loved this show, although, I did feel a bit underdressed in my jeans and flannel.

March 7, 1981


Cheap Trick – New Haven Coliseum
Opening Act – U.F.O.
Ticket Price - $7.50

A memorable show for me even though I don’t remember much of it. I brought a girl to the show, I’ll call her Patty. It was a first date as well as her first concert. My friend Rob drove and our friend Wendy came along too. On the ride to the show it didn’t take long for me to realize that I really wasn’t attracted to her. We drank a bit and smoked a bit in the parking lot before we went in. We found our seats which were one level up from the floor. A bunch of my friends happened to be down on the floor and I made my way down to them. I pulled my hidden bottle of Jeremiah Weed (“He was a Hell of a Railroad Man”) out of my pants and proceeded to get really drunk. A security guy came over to take away the bottle so I guzzled it quick. He took the empty and walked away shaking his head.

I was a big fan of U.F.O., especially guitarist Michael Schenker but to be honest, I don’t remember too many details of their set. I can remember singing along to “Rock Bottom” and my favorite U.F.O. tune “Only You Can Rock Me” but a lot of it is fuzzy. A few joints were passed around and I was pretty lit, actually, I could barely stand.

After U.F.O.’s set Rob makes his way down to the floor and informs me that Patty is pretty upset because I’ve left her up there and she’s crying. I slurred “I don’t give a f*ck” or something close to that and I stayed put. I doubt I could have made it up the stairs anyway.

I don’t really remember Cheap Trick at all.

I don’t remember the ride home at all but the next day Rob told me he took Patty back to his house. He tried making out with her but she would have none of it. She kept saying “I really like Chris”. Go figure.

I did see Patty, who is married with kids, about 15 years later and I apologized profusely. She barely remembered the incident.


March 17, 1981


REO Speedwagon – New Haven Coliseum
Ticket Price - $7.50

REO Speedwagon was riding high on the success of “Hi Infidelity” and the #1 hit song “Keep On Loving You”. Eventually 6 of the songs from this record would reach the Billboard Charts. I was familiar with REO before this LP because I owned an earlier album, “Ridin’the Storm Out” that I bought from the department store Bradlees when they were clearing out all of their records for 25 cents each. Having been a recording and touring band for 10 years, at this point, REO put on a pretty good show but this was them at their peak and like a lot of other popular 80’s bands they began playing smaller and smaller clubs. Now a couple of members still tour the club and festival circuit trying to recapture the magic.


April 4, 2007


Beatlemania – Palace Theater, Waterbury, CT
Ticket Price - $10.00

Close your eyes and it sounds just like the Beatles. Open them and it’s 4 guys in Halloween costumes.


May 3, 1981


Rainbow – Palace Theater, Waterbury, CT
Opening Act – Pat Travers
Ticket Price - $7.50

My Mom, who was in Art School at the time, asked me to shoot some slides of the show for a project she was doing. She gave me her 35mm Nikon and some rolls of slide film. I shot lots of photos of the bands as well as the crowd.

This was a really solid show with 2 great, seasoned bands. Pat Travers was touring for his “Radio Active” album. Pat wasn’t a real big hit maker but he had a loyal fan base. The only songs that got airplay were “Boom Boom Out Go the Lights” and “Snortin’ Whiskey”; 2 great rock & roll party songs. Pat puts on a great show and his band was full of great musicians.

Rainbow has gone through many line-ups. This touring band consisted of Don Airey (keyboards); Ritchie Blackmore (guitar); Roger Glover (bass); Bobby Rondinelli (drums) and Joe Lynn Turner (vocals).

At these point all of these guys had been around for years and they put on one helluva show. I managed to get a lot of great photos for my Mom to use in her project. She used “Man on the Silver Mountain” as the soundtrack and created a slide show. I believe she got an A.


July 8, 1981


Fountainhead – Toad’s Place, Waterbury, CT
Ticket Price – Free Guest Pass

A great local band that has been around for years; they play crunchy southern rock just as well as the big boys.


July 12, 1981


The Doobie Bros. – Hartford Civic Center
Ticket Price - $10.50

I saw these guys more than any other band. They always put on a great show and you recognize every song they play. This tour was to promote “One Step Closer”. These guys are still out there doin’ their thing after all these years.


July 16, 1981


Van Halen – Veterans Memorial Coliseum, New Haven, CT
(note typo on stub)

The original Van Halen! This was a great show. They were in their prime and looked like they were still having fun. This tour was to promote “Fair Warning”, which I felt was a pretty solid album but it didn’t sell as well as some of the others. This was when bands really played to the arenas and stadiums; pyrotechnics, big stages and long individual solos for each member. The fans ate it up and I loved it.


July 31, 1981


Foghat - Veterans Memorial Coliseum, New Haven, CT
Ticket Price - $9.50

The tour was to promote “Girls to Chat and Boys to Bounce”. This was a band that was pretty big in the 70’s and unfortunately, the 80’s saw their star begin to fade. Lonesome Dave had recently left the band and was replaced by Erik Cartright. He did a fine job but he was no Lonesome Dave. The hits all went over well but I wasn’t familiar with some of the newer songs. All-in-all it was still a fun show by a great party rock band.


August 2, 1981


Ozzy Osbourne - Veterans Memorial Coliseum, New Haven, CT
Ticket Price - $9.50

I was (and still am) a huge Sabbath fan and I loved Ozzy’s first 2 solo releases as well. Randy Rhodes was catapulted into stardom and became a huge influence on guitarists everywhere even though he only played on 2 records. This show was 7 months before his death.

My friends all had tickets and I didn’t but I figured I could buy one from a scalper so I went along. When we got to the Arena I saw that the show wasn’t sold out so I went to the box office. I asked for one ticket and I got 11th row on the floor! Score! I was able to get right up to the stage and stand about 10 feet from Randy through most of the show. They played most of the tracks from both of the Ozzy albums as well as “Iron Man” and “Paranoid”, which sent the place into a frenzy. A memorable show for me.


September 20, 1981


Blue Oyster Cult - Veterans Memorial Coliseum, New Haven, CT
Ticket Price - $10.50

They were touring for “Fire of Unknown Origin and the hit single “Burnin’ for You” was riding the charts. They were a GREAT 70’s rock band and this was their last hit before their star began to fade and they were relegated to classic rock radio.

They did put on a great show and they played all of the songs I wanted to hear; “Don’t Fear the Reaper”, “Cities on Flame With Rock & Roll”, “7 Screaming Diz-Busters” and, of course “Godzilla”.


October 7, 1981


E.L.O. – Hartford Civic Center
Ticket Price - $10.50

The first rock band I ever became interested in was the Electric Light Orchestra. In 1976 I heard “Livin’ Thing” on the radio and it was really different from anything else I had heard. I told my dad I wanted “A New World Record” and he bought it for me. My dad, who has many interests, likes to support other people’s interests so he bought me all of the other ELO records available as well. Liking ELO led to me liking other bands of the era; Kiss, Aerosmith, Led Zeppelin, Foghat, etc.

This tour was in support of the “Time” LP. These guys were just amazing. Jeff Lynne is one of the greatest pop songwriters of all time and he and the rest of the band didn’t fail to deliver. They played hit after hit and they had an amazing light show to boot. They still hold an important place in my heart as far as music goes.


October 8, 1981


Journey – Hartford Civic Center
Ticket Price - $11.50

The Escape Tour. I walked from my house to Bradlees Department Store to buy the 8-Track of Escape. On the way home I slipped while stepping up on a low concrete wall and split my chin open. A great 80’s record but a very unmemorable concert.


October 11, 1981


Blackfoot – Palace Theater, Waterbury, CT
Opening Act – Def Leppard
Ticket Price - $10.50

This is just before Def Leppard became huge. They were touring for High ‘N’ Dry, which eventually went multi-platinum. They were really great for such a young band.

Blackfoot put on a really solid, polished show. They had some pretty big hits; “Train, Train” and “Highway Song” both on the “Strikes” album. Most memorable is singer/guitarist Ricky Medlocke, a terrific front man with a commanding presence.


October 18, 1981


Foreigner – Hartford Civic Center
Ticket Price - $10.50

Foreigner was still quite huge at this point. They were touring for the album “4” and had some huge radio hits that summer. The first was “Urgent” and the second was “Juke Box Hero”. They had a huge stage to perform on with a really great light show. Most memorable was the enormous juke box that inflated on the stage during “Juke Box Hero”.


November 20, 1981


Earth Wind & Fire – Hartford Civic Center
Ticket Price $11.50

I grew up listening to this amazing band and I was really excited to see them. I felt underdressed at the show. For some reason most of the crowd was dressed really nice.

They put on quite the spectacle. They had an enormous stage with a giant pyramid in the center. The show started with a huge magic trick with costumes, lasers and a battle. Really cool. They were touring for the “Faces” album. There were no great songs on this record but they had enough hits to make up for it. They also took off on a couple of long jams that were quite enjoyable. They are such a tight, dynamic band and I enjoyed every minute of it.



December 31, 1981


The Allman Brothers - Veterans Memorial Coliseum, New Haven, CT
Ticket Price - $11.50

New Years Eve with the Allmans. A lot of smoking and drinking and not much remembering.

1980

March 25, 1980


Cheap Trick – Palace Theater, Waterbury,CT
Ticket price-$9.50

The Palace Theater is a beautiful, renaissance revival style theater in downtown Waterbury. It fell into disrepair and was hardly used in the late 60’s and 70’s. In 1980 they did some half-assed cosmetic upgrades and opened their doors for rock shows.

Cheap Trick was one of the first shows they had. The band was still getting airplay with the "Live at Budokan" version of “I Want You to Want me” although they were touring for the "Dream Police" album. After listening to their earlier studio releases, my friends and I became huge Cheap Trick fans. I excitedly waited in line, at Sears, for tickets when they went on sale. A day or two later a kid I had been friends with since about the age of 5 was hanging out with me in my bedroom and I proudly showed him my tickets and I had to explain to him who Cheap Trick was and how great it was that they were actually coming to our hometown.

A few hours after he left my house, I noticed that the tickets were missing. I looked everywhere, in case they fell behind the dresser or in a drawer but they were really gone. No one else had been in my room so I called my “friend” just to ask if he noticed where I put my tickets because I couldn’t find them. I didn’t accuse him directly but he got really defensive and couldn’t believe I was calling him a thief. The call did not go well. Luckily, the show wasn’t sold out and I managed to get another ticket.

The day of the show buddy and I went downtown early to stand in line because the show was general admission. There were already about 20 people lined up along the brick wall around the corner from the Palace and the first 2 people in line were my ticket thief and another friend of his, whom I knew to be a low-life, poor-hygiene thief himself. As I passed the line I heard him yell “I didn’t steal your tickets, asshole!”
“Yeah, well if you didn’t who did? You were the only person there.” It pretty much ended there and I didn’t speak to him for a couple of years. He’s dead now.

I snuck a super 8 film camera into the show and I wanted to hide so I sat in the second row of the theater. The show was really amazing. Cheap Trick have never been a huge success even though they are consummate musicians and pop/rock songwriters. They sounded really tight and performed memorable versions of “Surrender” and “I Want You to Want Me”. Another highlight was when Rick Nielsen broke out the infamous 5 neck guitar and showed off his, much underrated, guitar prowess. Robin Zander has to be one of the best singers ever and is also pretty underrated. Why these guys were never huge, I’ll never understand. They have their hardcore fans and I know that the critics, as well tons of other bands love and were influenced by Cheap Trick.

My favorite band member is actually, bassist Tom Petersson. Unfortunately, this is one of the last shows that Petersson played with the band. That summer they released All Shook Up and Tom was replaced by Pete Comita.

One of my all-time favorite shows and fondest memories.


May 20, 1980


Rush – Veterans Memorial Coliseum, New Haven, CT
Ticket price-$7.50

This was the Permanent Waves Tour. I must admit, there were only a few songs I liked on "Permanent Waves" and it was the beginning of their softer, synthesized prog-rock transformation. Just listen to "2112" to see how hard they could really rock. That said, being a huge fan of all of Rush’s music up to this point, I was really exited to see them.

They had a huge stage without an elaborate set, which I liked, and they all still had their long hair. And they really did rock. These guys are virtuosos when it comes to their instruments. They took things a step further when it came to writing songs and they made quite a lot of noise for being a 3 piece. I don’t really remember the individual song performances but I remember having a great time and kind of knowing that it was the beginning of the end of my buying any more Rush albums.


July 16, 1980


ZZ Top – Palace Theater, Waterbury Ct.
Opening Act - Humble Pie
Ticket price-$10.50

Another great Waterbury Palace show! For a week before the concert I listened to ZZ Top’s “Deguello” LP over and over again. “I Thank You”, “I’m Bad, I’m Nationwide”, “Cheap Sunglasses” simply great blues-rock music. Similar to the aforementioned Rush, this is ZZ Top before they went commercial.

Humble Pie opened the show. I must admit, I wasn’t too familiar with them. I did know the song “I Don’t Need No Doctor” but that’s about it. They had broken up for a while and 1980 saw them reform with singer Steve Marriott. The set list included:
I Don't Need No Doctor
Infatuation
Drum Solo
Thirty Days in the Hole
Fool for a Pretty Face
Knock on Wood

I enjoyed Humble Pie for the most part but I really wanted to see ZZ Top and they didn’t disappoint. I brought my Super 8 film camera to this show and I sad a couple of rows back so that I could film it. ZZ Top is a great live band and they put on a rather lengthy show. Their set list included:
I Thank You
Waitin’ For the Bus
Jesus Just Left Chicago
Precious and Grace
I'm Bad, I'm Nationwide
Manic Mechanic
Lowdown in the Street
Heard it on the X
Fool For Your Stockings
Nasty Dogs and Funky Kings
El Diablo
Cheap Sunglasses
Arrested for Driving While Blind
Beer Drinkers and Hell Raisers
La Grange,
She Loves My Automobile
Hi Fi Mama
Dust My Broom
Jailhouse Rock
Tush

I can’t think of any song, from that era, that they left out. When a 3 piece really gets in the groove they seem to groove better that a 4 or 5 piece and ZZ top is no exception. These guys really know how to play off of each other and it’s no wonder why they went on to become one of the biggest rock bands of the 80’s on radio and MTV.


July 24, 1980


Van Halen – Hartford Civic Center, Hartford CT
Ticket price-$8.50

This was the original, and best, Van Halen line-up. This was also their first headlining tour and it was for the “Women and Children First” album. Van Halen could really put on a great show without having to resort to glitz and pyrotechnics. Each member played a solo and I remember that Alex and Eddie blew me away but Michael Anthony played one note over and over during each song and he did a painfully crappy bass solo that consisted of major distortion and pounding on his bass a lot. The set list included:
Romeo Delight
Bottoms Up!
Alex's Solo
Runnin' With the Devil
Loss of Control
Take Your Whiskey Home
Dance the Night Away
Women in Love
Jamie's Cryin'
Michael’s solo
Bright Lights, Big City
Everybody Wants Some!!
...And the Cradle Will Rock
Ed's Solo
Ain't Talkin' 'Bout Love
Ice Cream Man
You Really Got Me



Oct. 31, 1980


Foghat / Outlaws – Veterans Memorial Coliseum, New Haven, CT
Ticket price-$10.50

It was Halloween night and a lot of people dressed up for the show. At this point Foghat was still a pretty cool band with all of the original members. I was introduced to them by my friend Joe’s brother Mike. Mike was the cool older brother who played in a band, partied and got hot chicks but he actually paid attention to us and turned us on to some great music.

It was the tour for “Tight Shoes”, the last record and tour for Rod Price. One of my favorite party bands, it’s too bad they faded out during the 80’s. Thankfully they only played a few songs from “Tight Shoes” and the previous year’s “Boogie Motel” and stuck with their tried-and-true earlier material.

The Outlaws were a great southern rock band and were great live. They were a radio staple at this point with “Green Grass and High Tides” and I looked forward to seeing it live because I always enjoy a good extended guitar jam. The Outlaws did not disappoint and during an awesome version of “Ghost Riders in the Sky” they had these skull-headed, black-robed phantoms gliding across the stage. I hadn’t started my real teen-aged partying phase yet but it was so long ago that I can’t remember a lot of details from these shows.



Nov. 16, 1980


The Doobie Brothers – Veterans Memorial Coliseum, New Haven, CT Ticket Price-$10.50

This was my first of about 4 Doobie Bros concerts. This was the tour for “One Step Closer”, the follow-up to their smash album “Minute by Minute”. After Minute by Minute the band started falling apart and they quickly hired new members to keep the momentum going. Luckily the seams and cracks didn’t show when they played live. There were enough hits to keep everyone happy and singing along for nearly 2 hours.


Nov. 19, 1980


Kansas – Veterans Memorial Coliseum, New Haven, CT
Ticket price-$9.50

This was the tour for Audio-Visions. About this time the band was going through a rough patch and songwriter Kerry Livgren, a recent born-again Christian, began adding religious themes to his lyrics. Shortly thereafter Dave Hope converted and their music took on a whole new direction.

This show still had enough of the old prog-rock standards to satisfy the Kansas fans in the huge crowd. The new songs weren’t that well received and this would be the last Kansas album that I would buy.


Dec. 12, 1980


Bruce Springsteen - Hartford Civic Center, Hartford, CT
Ticket price-$10.50

I wasn’t a Bruce Springsteen fan until my girlfriend Sharon and her sister played “The River” over and over and over. I guess it grew on me and I learned to appreciate The Boss, especially his earlier stuff. I heard about the amazing 3 hour shows that Bruce and the E Street Band put on and I looked forward to seeing them live.

I went to the show with Sharon, her friend Wendy and my friends Mike and Rob. On the way to Hartford it started to snow pretty heavily but we made it there before the show started. I don’t remember why but we headed down an alley in our effort to get to the Civic Center. We were almost to the other end of the alley when a car turned in and headed toward us. We stopped and they stopped in front of us and flashed their high beams. Rob was driving and it would be more difficult for him to back all the way down the alley than for the other car to back up about 20 feet. They refused to move so I got out of the car to ask them to please back up. It’s snowing pretty hard and I walk up to the car and knock on the window. I can’t remember what the driver looked like, or who, if anyone, else was in the car; I only remember the gun that was thrust in my face and the words “back the fuck up”.
“Rob, back up!” I wave to him. “No you tell him to back up.” I run to the car and tell them he has a gun and we need to back up. I guide Rob back through the alley and the other guy just took off.

That was the first of two things that happened to me that night although the second thing was less life-threatening. We finally park and make our way inside. I was still a little shaky and as we were making our way to our seats through the crowded concourse I felt something hit the back of my left leg. I didn’t think much of it and I kept walking. Soon, I felt wet and I reached back and realized that someone had puked all down the back of my leg. By this time there were so many people around I had no way of knowing who it was. I went to the men’s room and cleaned it up as best I could then made my way to my seat to meet the others.

Our seats were kind of crappy. They were behind the stage but at least it was an open stage and there were no obstructions, we just had to look at the backs of their heads most of the time.

All of the things I heard about Bruce Springteen and the E Street Band were true. Great songs, great showmanship and a really tight band. These things combined with the storytelling, American anthemic songs made for an incredible, 3 hour rock and roll journey. The only songs I could sing along to were from the River but I particularly enjoyed "Born to Run" and "Jungleland". Being so close to Christmas they played "Santa Claus is Coming to Town" which was a fun highlight. Bruce played any song, up to that point in his career, that you could wish to hear:
01 Prove it all night
02 Two hearts
03 10th avenue freeze-out
04 You can look (but you better not touch)
05 Darkness on the edge of town
06 The price you pay [Different verse]
07 Independence day
08 Jackson cage
09 The promised land
10 Out in the street
11 Racing in the street
12 The river
13 Badlands
14 Thunder road
15 Cadillac ranch
16 Sherry darling
17 Hungry heart
18 Fire
19 Candy's room
20 Because the night
21 4th of July, Asbury Park (Sandy)
22 For You
23 Fade away
24 Wreck on the Highway
25 Stolen car
26 The ties that bind
27 Ramrod
28 Backstreets
29 Rosalita (Come out tonight)
30 Santa Claus is comin' to town
31 Jungleland
32 Born to run
33 Detroit Medley

I became a big fan after this show.

1979

I've been saving my show stubs for years and I didn't quite know what to do with them. I decided to post them on a blog with as many details as I could remember from each show. I've been to, at least, twice as many shows as I have stubs for. Sadly, I either lost the stubs or the shows took place in clubs or venues that didn't issue tickets. I'm sure this project is much more fun and interesting for me to do than it is for anyone else who reads this. If you've been to any of these shows and have any thoughts, please leave a comment.

This was the year that I turned 15 years old. Being born & raised in Waterbury, CT, all of these shows are from that area.

August 3, 1979

Chicago - The Pinecrest Country Club, Shelton CT
Opening act: John Stewart

This was my first concert. I grew up hearing Chicago around the house and a few of my friends (mostly girls) liked Chicago as well. The Pincecrest was an outdoor venue and the stage faced a huge lawn. I remember standing on the grass at the front of the stage. I was right in front of Donnie Dacus. He was the guitar player that replaced Terry Kath, who had commited suicide the year prior. Dacus was flamboyant and worked the stage and left an indelible impression on me because I had been a fledgeling guitar player for about a year at that point. It was fun seeing a show where I knew every song and because they were so seasoned they put on a great show. They had a pretty big stage with ramps on the sides and I distinctly remember Dacus sliding down the ramp on his knees as he wailed on his guitar. It was so long ago that can't remember specific songs or most of the details.

September 5, 1979

Kiss - Springfield Civic Center, Sprinfield MA
Opening act - Judas Priest

Nobody was a bigger Kiss fan than me. I had every album, I had the picture discs, I had the dolls, models and lunchbox. If they were in a magazine (even one small photo), I bought two so I could cut out the photo and put it in a scrapbook. I had a kiss poster or photo on every flat surface of my bedroom. I wore Kiss makeup just for fun. I had always wanted to see Kiss live and my father managed to get some tickets from a friend. I went to the show with my Dad and his friend; this woman who had a huge dragon tattoo on her breast, was friends with Kiss' tour manager and peed in the parking lot on the way back to the car. Before the show the Tour Manager spotted her and she asked if we could go backstage after the show. He said he wasn't sure, he thought it was possible. "Just wait right here after the show and I'll come back and get you" he told us. I was ecstatic to say the least. I left my seat and wedged my way into the crush of people on the standing-room-only floor so I could get closer to the stage.Unfortunately this was 1979 and kiss was in this weird, almost disco phase (remember "I Was Made For Lovin' You"?). Paul's costume was a bright, colorful, glittery, gay jester sort of outfit and ace's was covered in big, shiny jewels. Fortunately, they still rocked like Kiss and they blew the roof off the place.

I had never heard of Judas Priest before and they opened with "Hell Bent for Leather". Holy Crap! I was blown away. They were loud, aggressive and every song rocked. I had never heard a singer like Rob Halford before. I was hooked and I knew I would be buying my first Judas Priest album the following day.

Kiss had the huge stage with big, circular ramps and put on the giant spectacle that they are known for. Each band member rose up through the stage, highlighted by their signature color. It was everything you would expect from a Kiss show; rockin' party songs, flames, explosions, blood and flashing & flying (literally) guitars. Gene Simmons even flew up into the rafters at one pont. I was in heaven. The set list was King of the Night Time World, Let Me Go, Rock And Roll, Move On, Calling Dr. Love, Firehouse, New York Groove, I Was Made For Lovin' You, Christine Sixteen, 2000 Man, God Of Thunder, Shout It Out Loud & Black Diamond. The encores that night were Detroit Rock City, Beth and, of course, Rock And Roll All Nite.

After the show I made my way back up to our seats and we waited for Kiss' Tour Manager to come back out to get us. We waited about 15 minutes and the Dragon Woman started to get impatient. She said "he probably forgot about us, he's probably not coming back". I asked if we could wait a few more minutes but she was already walking up the stairs toward the exit. A few days later my father informed me that the Tour Manager did come out looking for us but we had already left. They weren't really letting people backstage but because she was a friend, Kiss agreed to let us come back and meet them. I don't need to say how bummed I was. Actually, I still am.