Back in the 1970’s if I wasn’t at a race track I was at a rock concert. In fact, my fever for rock ‘n roll was at thermo-nuclear proportions throughout the 70’s and I must have seen over 100 bands during that decade, many of them three, four, five, six and more times each! I recall seeing Aerosmith five times in one year once. And while my regular haunts to see rock concerts was usually the Akron Civic Theatre, Cleveland Public Hall, Allen Theatre, Music Hall, Cleveland Agora, Canton Civic Center and the Richfield Coliseum, I also attended numerous outdoor ‘festivals’ during the 70’s.
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My run of huge outdoor rock concerts during the 70’s began in 1972. After the huge success of Montery Pop Festival and Woodstock in the 60’s, and despite the 60’s ending concert at Altamont Speedway with the Rolling Stones, big outdoor concerts or ‘festivals’ became the norm for much of the 70’s and my buddies and I were all for them.
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1972:
After returning to Ohio in June after a three-month stint in Colorado I was lucky enough to attend several outdoor mega-concerts with my cousin Sue who is about six years older than I. My first outdoor concert was at the Akron Rubber Bowl on July 11, 1972 featuring the Rolling Stones with Stevie Wonder as support.
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What was memorable most about this concert were all the details we learned afterwards. There was a riot going on! Apparently, according to the media the day after, police busted a little more than two dozen people for drug offenses and that incited a large portion of the crowd that was aware of what was happening. It was quite a scene and we later found out about the number of arrests and that seven police officers were injured. 42,000 rockers were there and yes, the massive numbers blew this then 14-year-old away!
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Luckily my parents didn’t find out about the ‘hippie riot’ and the following month, August 5, 1972 to be exact, my cousin, her friend and my pal Mike H., were headed back to the Rubber Bowl for the Alice Cooper School’s Out show. Supporting acts were Dr. John and the J. Geils Band.
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Dr. John was better than I expected and prior to J. Geils starting their session lead singer Pete Wolfe came out on a Harley-Davidson, parked it center stage, bellowed something now forgotten to the crowd and it was on! I was a J. Geils Band fan from that day onward.
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Alice Cooper was great. He had all the original members and the stage act was more than I expected. The hanging, the snake, ripping up huge Alice posters and throwing them into the crowd, throwing handfuls of dollar bills into the crowd and the musical performance just kicked ass all the way. The highlight was during the School’s Out encore when a helicopter flew overhead, started slowly circling the perimeter of the stadium and then strangely these white things started flowing out of the copter and floating down to the crowd.
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My pal Mike was lucky enough to catch one and they turned out to be faux ‘lace’ panties with A.C. ‘embroidered’ on them.
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So cool.
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The Akron Rubber Bowl
The following week at the Rubber Bowl I was offered tickets but declined. Just couldn’t get into Yes and the Mahavishnu Orchestra. And who the hell was that warm-up act the Eagles?
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A couple weeks later it was return trip to the Rubber Bowl for the Jefferson Airplane and damned if I can remember the support acts (it was one of those days, ya know?). What I do remember is partway through the Airplane’s gig something happened, didn’t know what at the time but there was a ruckus happening up front and then onstage. Next thing we knew swarms of police were headed for the front of the stage and this strange ’smoke’ started filtering through the air.
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It was tear gas as we soon found out the hard way. We left.
A couple weeks later Rolling Stone magazine reported the details of what happened (as did the local newspapers but not in as much detail). Long story short, apparently the tour manager got into it with the police and started shouting and calling them ‘pigs’. The cops were antsy because of a supposed bomb threat that was phoned in prior to the concert. It was on then and then the rocks started being heaved towards the cop cars.
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Naturally band members went to assist their associate and when it was all over Grace Slick and Paul Kanter were maced and Jack Cassady was not only maced but hauled off to jail literally kicking and screaming.
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I’m not sure but I think that was the last rock concert at the Akron Rubber Bowl until the late 80’s or early 90’s when Bob Dylan and Tom Petty played there. (I didn’t go to that one.)
1973:
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The following year outdoor concerts were still available just not in Akron. Massillon, OH, home of Paul Brown Stadium, was the next venue to pick up the gauntlet and despite objections from the local police department and the Fraternal Order of Police I got to see the Edgar Winter Group, James Gang and Frampton’s Camel at Paul Brown Stadium just ten miles or so from home on July 21, 1973. Around 12,000 attended and it went off pretty much without a hitch.
But a week later another concert was scheduled for Paul Brown Stadium that I HAD to see! Mott The Hoople, one of my favorite bands of the 70’s (and still today) was coming to headline along with the New York Dolls, Rainbow and Dr. Hook. I think half of my hometown of Orrville, OH turned out for that one. Everything seemed to go along just fine, the music was great, Rainbow was exceptional, the Dolls were insane and Mott The Hoople just, plainly speaking, kick-ass. What a show!
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Later we found out that there were an abundance of calls to the police for a variety of complaints and reasons (to wit; drug overdoses, 5 men injured, 1 car theft, 1 grand larceny, 1 attempted grand larceny, 28 calls for trouble) and the City of Massillon banished concerts from Paul Brown Stadium after that.
It was fun while it lasted.
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1974:
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When 1974 rolled around Belkin Productions in Cleveland had scored a deal with Cleveland Municipal Stadium, home of the Cleveland Browns and Indians, to stage rock concerts they dubbed ‘World Series of Rock’. The World Series of Rock were held for six years and I went to a majority of them.
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The first World Series of Rock was held on June 23, 1974 featuring The Beach Boys with Lynyrd Skynyrd, REO Speedwagon & Joe Walsh. I didn’t have much interest in the Beach Boys but a buddy, Tim, was into them so we went. Skynyrd, REO and Joe Walsh were all good but I don’t remember much about the Beach Boys (it was the 70’s, ya know!).
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The second one of 1974 that I attended was held on August 31, 1974 and headlined Crosby, Stills Nash and Young and damn if I can remember who the support acts were (another lost ticket stub!). I barely remember CSN&Y playing but I remember Neil Young being ’so cool’ on stage.
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1975:
On June 1, 1975 my buddy Bill E. and I headed off for Bowling Green University’s Doyt Perry Stadium in his Volkswagon for the Poe Ditch Music Festival that featured Golden Earring, Johnny Winter, Montrose, Styx, the Outlaws, Richie Havens, Nitty Gritty Dirt Band and Pure Prairie League.
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A hot day baking under the sun, but we were maybe 20 feet center from the stage on the football field surrounded by friendly and generous concert goers and one young lady in particular who spent most of the day topless. Never was a big Nitty Gritty Dirt Band or Pure Prairie League fan, or so I thought, but they put on a good show. The original Styx line-up was on hand and they were mildly OK and Montrose just kicked ass and Richie Havens impressed the hell out of me.
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But right as Golden Earring was getting ready to go on stage a thunderstorm hit and everything came to a screeching stop and that, putting it mildly, pissed a good portion of the crowd off. Thinking it was cancelled they launched beer bottles at the stage.
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We made our way through the crowd, headed for the parking lot and walked right past Johnny Winter who had just arrived. As we approached the car a group of fans set the press box on fire in protest and that was the end of rock concerts there.
..***
On June 20, 1975 with nothing to do and no tickets, Flash talked me into heading to Pittsburgh for the Pink Floyd concert at Three Rivers Stadium. It was sold out but we found a deal with a scalper and took the show in. Never a fan, I went for the party and eye candy and actually had a good time. They be crazy in Pittsburgh but friendly as I recall.
The World Series of Rock continued in the summer of 1975 and my first one of the year was on July 11, 1975 for a concert with Yes, Joe Walsh, Michael Stanley Band and Ace. I had to be talked into this one by my pal, Flash, it was the anticipation of halter tops and the party that got me there and what I can remember is Yes sucked, Michael Stanley Band was OK, Joe Walsh was too drunk to play and the one band I thought I wouldn’t like at all, Ace, were the best of the day!
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Before the next World Series of Rock was held some promoters in Cincinnati got the same idea so on August 3, 1973 Flash and I headed south to Cincinnati for the ‘1st Ohio River Music Festival’ at Nippert Stadium on the campus of the University of Cincinnati where Aerosmith headlined over Black Oak Arkansas, Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, Blue Oyster Cult, Foghat, Styx, Status Quo, Mahogany Rush and the Outlaws.
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We were right down on the field not too far from the front of the stage, it was h-o-t as hell and the women were looking good (and nearly naked). 33 years later my memories consist of Aerosmith kicking ass with Steven Tyler wearing a skintight black outfit with a black cape! He looked like Batman but it was one of Aerosmith’s better gigs that I have seen. Foghat were awesome, Jim Dandy and Black Oak were insane and I recall Blue Oyster Cult getting a great reception.
Faces headline World Series of Rock
A couple weeks later it was back to Cleveland Stadium for another World Series of Rock on August 23, 1975 that headlined Rod Stewart & the Faces. I had wanted to see the Faces for a long time and finally got my chance and it was worth the wait. Rod Stewart had 80,000 people on their feet all singing and dancing in unison. Stewart & the Faces gave an incredible performance that day in spite of performing in such a huge facility. Support acts were Aerosmith, Uriah Heep, Blue Oyster Cult & Mahogany Rush. All bands were great and I remember the lead guitarist Mick Box playing awesome lead guitar with a broken wrist and a cast on.
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1976:
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Outdoor concerts were minimal for me that year as a full time job hauling milk and a steady girlfriend kept me at bay for the most part (except for LOTS of indoor concerts at the aforementioned venues mentioned at the beginning of this missive). One outdoor concert that was highly enjoyable was the Mosquito Dam Jam near Warren & Cortland, Ohio at Mosquito Lake.
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The Mosquito Dam Jam was headlined by Blue Oyster Cult on August 28, 1976 with support acts Bob Seger, Starz, J. Geils Band, and I think Derringer and Styx (another lost ticket stub and fading memory, plus had a r-e-a-l good time that day!). This was another gig that seemed to have everyone from Orrville and Wayne County there as I recall.
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Banner made by some of the hippest, coolest & grooviest ladies in Orrville, OH.
Photo courtesy Cid-Mor
Another outdoor concert happened near Tiffin, OH (no ticket stub remains and I can’t remember the date). I only have vague memories of this but some enterprising promoters rented a farm with lots of wide-open land and off a bunch of us from Orrville went in Flash’s Lincoln Continental Mark IV (and a caravan of other cars followed). All we had was a flyer to go on and eventually we found the place but played hell getting to it. We had to park the car in a field, then walk through another large field, walk through some woods, cross a creek (no bridge), climb up a hill and at the crest was wide-open spaces and a huge stage.
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I don’t remember all of the bands but Foghat headlined over Bob Seger, Ted Nugent, Mitch Ryder and several other bands. A good time was had by all which accounts for my cloudy memories and lack of specifics.
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1977:
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1977 was a busy year of attending outdoor concerts at Cleveland Stadium. Most of the concerts drew close to 80,000 people. On June 5, 1977 we planned to see Aerosmith headline the World Series of Rock but they cancelled and Southside Johnny & the Asbury Jukes came on board with Ted Nugent, Nazereth and Todd Rundgren.
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I skipped the Pink Floyd concert although they set a record at that point for attendance (I just ain’t into Pink Floyd).
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But on August 6, 1977 I returned to Cleveland Stadium to see a favorite, Rick Derringer along with Bob Seger, J. Geils Band and the headlining Peter Frampton. I had seen Frampton several times before in smaller venues but he sure had the massive crowd in the palm of his hand that day. In fact, all the bands were exceptional. Derringer has never disappointed!
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A typical World Series of Rock crowd
1978:
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A ‘family tragedy’ you can call it kept me away from the July 1, 1978 World Series of Rock with the Rolling Stones setting an attendance record at 83,000. Tickets were a whopping $12.50. Kansas (yawn, according to a friend whom I gave the tickets to) were the support act.
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On July 15, 1978 me, Flash, Bug & Pugsley went to the World Series of Rock that had Electric Light Orchestra headlining (on that huge, crazy spaceship tour) with Journey, Foreigner and Trickster on the bill. I went not expecting to like ELO but was very pleasantly surprised. Great show, good performance. Journey stood out, too.
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1979:
My only World Series of Rock for 1979 came on July 28, 1979 with 80,000 jammed in for a bill that consisted of Aerosmith, Ted Nugent, Journey, Thin Lizzy and AC/DC. The top three all put on a good show but I recall being extra impressed with Thin Lizzy and AC/DC that day as I didn’t have the chance to see them too often.
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1980:
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Even though 1980 wasn’t part of the 70’s I attended my last two outdoor concerts that year. As you can see going through this as the 70’s dwindled down towards the 80’s my outdoor concert attendance began to wane and that was due to marriage and a couple of kids.
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On July 12 a carload of us headed towards Columbus for Legend Valley, a large outdoor natural amphitheatre that had put on concerts for several years. Ted Nugent headlined over J. Geils Band, Blackfoot, Scorpions and Def Leppard. Another good show and good time and Def Leppard was heads and shoulders above the rest (except J. Geils Band).
Legend Valley
A couple weeks later it was back to Cleveland for another World Series of Rock that was held on July 19 and headliner Bob Seger put on one of the best concerts I had ever seen him do. More amazing because of the size of the venue he nonetheless had the place rockin’ along with J. Geils Band, Def Leppard & Eddie Money.
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And so ended my run at attending big time outdoor rock concerts/festivals. I haven’t been back to one since and not sure if they still even have them. But I still have ’some’ memories, albeit they are fading as the years click off.
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Still, hell of a good time for a teenager/early 20-something all things considered.
Doc can be contacted at: DocLehman@sssnet.com
Tags: AC/DC, Akron, Alice Cooper, Blue Oyster Cult, Bob Seger, Cleveland, Def Leppard, Edgar Winter, Faces, Foghat, J. Geils Band, Legend Valley, Mosquito Dam Jam, Mott The Hoople, New York Dolls, Poe Ditch Music Festival, Pure Prairie League, Rick Derringer, Rod Stewart, Rolling Stones, Savoy Brown, Starz, Ted Nugent, Thin Lizzy, World Series of Rock
February 22, 2008 at 4:06 pm |
Rush, the canadian band, is one of my favourite rock bands. Their musical style is so special. The band has succeded to put its mark on Rock music and their style inspired a lot of other artists. Since the debut of the band in late sixties up till now they have gained a great popularity among people and their concerts are higlly attended. As I’m one of rock music lovers I watched them many times but prices of tickets are unresonable. This is due, not only to their popularity but also of ticket brokers. Lately, I discovered an interesting website to compare tickets prices fo free before reserving a seat. You may need it:
http://www.ticketwood.com/concerts/
April 21, 2008 at 8:38 pm |
For your entry for 1975 – it was the ‘Poe Ditch’ Music Festival (a small creek that runs through the area is called Poe Creek, but named ditch for it’s tendency to run dry often). We were there to and it was more than a thunderstorm, a tornado went through the area that day – BG was lucky that all that happened was a burned press box – coulda been alot of people hurt that day…
May 31, 2008 at 4:41 pm |
Your memories were just what i was searching for. I spent many a summer day in the stadium with thousands of others. I attended most of the Cleveland/Akron concerts but remembered few. Leon Russell sticks in my mind. A storm off Lake Erie was also a highlight. Thanks for the memories.
August 22, 2008 at 3:39 am |
Hey, we were in Cleveland for that CSN&Y concert too and I can’t remember who else was there either. My husband remembers Jesse Colin Young, and he “thinks” The Band was there. I have to e-mail my girlfriend, she remembers everything!!! I’ll have to come back and read this whole thing soon. Remember we saw Led Zeppelin in Three Rivers Stadium in Pgh. and people were throwing M80’s and my husband had his hands over his crotch the whole time!! What fun we had!
October 1, 2008 at 10:37 pm |
WOW !!!
From 1975 to your last outdoor concert sure bought back a lot of memories. I was at the BG Poe Ditch music fest and had only remenbered 1 band that was supposed to play. Then the with the storm coming we headed to the car and watched everything because we were blocked in. That was my first concert. Man what good times they were. Thanks for the Memories
November 9, 2008 at 2:03 am |
I think you were having more fun than you remember Doc, I know my friends and I were! Bob Messenger, David Gaug, Ken klinko and myself attended one of the concerts you talked about. I’ll just add if the Poe Ditch Festival experienced a beer bottle riot,( which I did not attend ) then there were 2 such bottle bashings from a fun loving festival crowd. (I’m sure there were more than that but I’ll stick to the story at hand)I was also at the Misquito Dam Jam when a thunder shower started which, if I remember correctly (and I was under the influence enough not to swear on this next statement in regards to the band members playing at the time) I believe it was Bob Sieger’s band? that attempted to leave the stage and get out of the rain. Now, the rest of this is accurate,,,,They were trying to unplug their equipment to take it with them to avoid being doused by rain and most likely being electrocuted and get to where it was drier, but quickly decided not to risk life or limb as soom as the beer bottle shower became more of a threat than natures shower. I was approximately 50-75 feet from center stage and a fair amount of fun juice containers were already losing momentum from where-ever they had been launched from and dropping around us. Of course the colorful threats that were first aimed at the band before the glass started flying,if they left the stage, wasn’t taken seriously by them and they had a non-chalant attitude, you know,,, trying to look cool like they were in complete control and they were dealing with a sane audience,,,, so it quickly became an unexpected and entertaining show to watch them when they realized the crowd was serious about them “playing-on, come hell or high water,,,, or even death by electrocution” !!!!! The only other people I saw moving any faster than the band that day ( but their eyes weren’t bugged out as far as the bands )was some partiers out-running (on foot) the local law enforcement and trying to finish their illegal smoke at the same time.
Does anyone else remember that, or was I having more fun than Doc and I have it all wrong????
November 17, 2008 at 12:47 am |
THE JULY 1979 WSR-acdc and thin lizzy were GREAT-we sat under the top deck way in the back and during ACDC some nut threw a M-80 (more like a silver salute) off the top deck and it exploded in mid air,sending a shock wave through us,and BON SCOTT looked at ANGUS YOUNG in surprise like WTF do we run,but they just kicked it in and kept on rockin-Attending most of the WSR concerts myself,to this day,they sure were ass kickin partys!
December 19, 2008 at 2:23 am |
Doc, I just wanted to ask you a question. I was 15 when I went to the mosquito dam jam. I remember smoking out of a watermelon and then eating it. It was filled with wine. Had a great time with my girlfriend and a few friends. Those were the days. I just wanted to know if you knew exactly where the site of the concert was. I’ve been out there a few times since and cant remember where it was. I was at a lot of the same shows you were at. Have you checked out the site http://www.wolfgangsvault.com. What a great site. you wouldnt believe the music on there. Hey write me back. I live in the falls, caucasion falls that is. Take care, Drew.
January 5, 2009 at 1:04 am |
I was at the mosquito Dam Jam and remember it very well. I t was held at the Trumbull Co. Fair Grounds and the stage was set up at the west end of the dirt race track. The concert was going great but near the end of the Starz set a near by thunder storm delayed The J. Giles band from playing for 2 hours resulting in a near riot. A massive food fight broke out when fans broke into the storage room full of lemons and oranges for the cossesion stands. I was in the middle of it and was witness of how it started. A fan came from under the grand stand with some candy bars and started throwing them up into the stands at the request of the fans. then came the lemons,oranges and onions, then we returned them in a massive assult and that’s all it took. While this was going on a large police force was massing outside the fair grounds. The food fight subsided and most of the fans left the grandstands because of the mess THEN the police came in and cleared the lingering fans in the grandstands. I have a lot more to tell about that concert but I cant cover everything. I attended all most all the concerts mentioned here and it was a great time.
February 2, 2009 at 3:17 am |
Sure was fun reading your column; I’m working on a ticket stub collage & forgot about the Trumball County concert (I think I had to call someone for a ride home, don’t remember…lol)
Anyway, I’m looking for pictures from the Stones 1978 concert (Kansas to be exact) as I was on stage (girlfriend & I hooked up w/manager) & sure would like to find someone who took some pics, maybe you can help…?
February 5, 2009 at 11:58 pm |
i was @ the mosquito dam jam back then, i was 17 at the time , i do remember people sleeping in the field across the street and getting run over,i think we had to walk from 305 all the way to the fair grounds , was heart at this concert also ?? & black oak arkansas ?? sorry but i smoked way to many funny things back then, acid everywhere, mushrooms,!!! etc. Hey DAVE M. in California help me out here !!!
April 25, 2009 at 11:41 pm |
In High School the firts concert I saw was east of Cleveland Ohio at Lakeland College we saw YES- it was an all nighter After that I started hanging with a bunch of guys who all went to concrets I starte seeing Jo Jo Gunn at teh Agora, the Rasberries , The James Gang. Then the summer came & they had 100 thousand plus at Edgewater Park. Brewer & Shipley, Buffie St. Maries are the only ones I recall.We went to all the World Series of Rock Concerts-but alos Music in the Hills in West Virgina, Frampton, J Giles and more. Then the Erie Canal Soda Pop fetival 300-500 thousand were there we were told & the next year Summer of 1973 we were at the Summer Jam at Watkins Glen. Seeing the Dead , Allman Brothers & The Band- wow!!!!
I have lived , I have done much & I have more to do.
AR Born 54 years ago & “STILL THE SAME”
Take Care all….& IF ANY ONE WANTS TO GET ONE MORE FEST TOGETHER
Im In!!!
April 25, 2009 at 11:43 pm |
PS I typed that in the dark… “consider the imperfections as proof of thier authenticity”
May 7, 2009 at 8:14 pm |
The concert in Tiffin was Boogie Hill. I got to experience the WSOR concerts in Cleveland in 1978….and the one that you didn’t mention was the Fleetwood Mac, Bob Welch, The Cars, Todd Rundgren and Utopia, and Eddie Money show, which was great….even from my perspective in the very top row of the stadium.
May 7, 2009 at 8:24 pm |
OOPs…almost forgot…I was at the Legend Valley show you talk about. Must have been some great “downers’ going around for it seemed almost everyone was sooooo laid back. Rained for most of the show…until Uncle Ted came on…and he told everyone that he had a made a deal with mother nature…if she would give us some sunshine…he would Wango Tango all night long. Obviously this show was just after he came out with the Wango Tango album. One incident that still sticks in my mind happened when he was playing Great White Buffalo and someone threw a milk jug half full of beer at him. Hit him in the head…and he didn’t miss a beat. Kept playing with one hand and twirled the milk jug with the other, threatening to microphone to death the son-of-a-bitch that hit him. Was definitely a crowd pleaser.
May 15, 2009 at 1:11 am |
Thanks for the Mosquito Dam Jam memories! I rode there from Pittsburgh on my bicycle with my buddy and was one of the ones camped across the street in the field. I was awoken (a little too much of everything, what a party!) by a riot-gear wearing cop who kicked over my tent and told me I had 2 minutes to beat it. i told him I was on a bike and he said i would be in jail if i didn’t scram.. So off we went towards Pgh sometime in the middle of the night. A motorcyclist riding a three wheeler came upon us around 3 am and took us to his place, pulling us with a rope while we were on on our bicycles. What a crazy fun trip. Thaks again for the memories and especially to the biker that pulled us to his place.
May 31, 2009 at 9:38 pm |
I wanted to thank you for helping me remember some of the shows I went to . The csny one at the stadium had Jesse Collin Young for the first act, then I think Santana and then The Band, and then csny. I saw a girl’s eye fly out of her head because people were randomly throwing fireworks out into the crowd. Its a wonder any of us survived>
May 31, 2009 at 9:50 pm |
PS I just found my Nelson Ledges ticket stub where Todd Rundgren was the headliner. I paid $6.50 to see him , Buzzy Lindhurst, The Hello People , Pure Praire League and TR! What a freaking bargain!
June 9, 2009 at 2:00 am |
Hey,
My dad worked security at this show and just randomly brought it up. Do you have any pictures or know where we could find pictures or videos even from this show? If anyone can help us out that be great, shoot me an email —- cheinrich8605@yahoo.com
June 9, 2009 at 2:02 am |
just to finish that last thought:
He worked TONS of concerts for many different bands….”That [MDJ] was the craziest show I ever had to work and it was a total blast”
June 19, 2009 at 1:03 am |
I really enjoyed reading about your memories. I grew up in Columbus in the 70s (started going to shows in 77, so im a bit younger than you) and we attended a few of the same shows. I was able to go to the Stones show in ‘78 at Cleve stadium, which was my first big outdoor show. I saw a few shows at Legend Valley (Todd Rundgren, Cheap Trick, Cars and Eddie Money was the first, then the same Ted Nugent, Geils show you saw). Also, saw the ELO/Journey/Foreigner show at Cleve Stadium. By the way, the WSOR show in ‘79 with aerosmith, Nugent, journey, Thin Lizzy, Ac/dc, also featured the Scorpions, who showed up at 9:00 am! I also attended the Bob Dylan/Tom Petty show at the Rubber bowl in ‘86 — the Grateful Dead were also there!
August 22, 2009 at 11:42 pm |
I am trying to find out who performed at a 3 day weekend rock concert at the College of William and Mary in the early 1970’s…..I was there, but cannot remember all of the performers. How can I find out?
September 6, 2009 at 10:50 am |
I lived in Ohio until 1995, and so did my husband. We are from Warren. He is insisting that he saw Heart, J. Geils Band, Steve Miller Band, Elvin Bishop, and E.L.O. at NELSON LEDGES SPEEDWAY/ or RACEWAY, whatever the place where Paul Newman raced cars is called. I myself only have been to the actual Ledges, I never saw the raceway, but I know it exists. Has anyone of you heard of this show?
September 24, 2009 at 10:17 pm |
Absolutely! I was there. I forget exactly what year it was (July or August 1977?). It was a VERY hot dry summer day. I’ll never forget all the drugs being openly sold from card tables along the walkways to the concert. And anouncements over the PA about things like a table selling really bad acid. I recall that ELO was the last act of the night and they had a laser light show. They kept telling people to put out the numerous camp fires they lit so the laser show wouldn’t be ruined.
September 27, 2009 at 7:50 pm |
Some of the concerts at Boogie Hill in Tiffin Ohio were mentioned. Was anyone there for the Canned Heat concert? I can’t find anything on the internet about it. There was an opening band I wasn’t familiar with at the time… REO Speedwagon.
September 29, 2009 at 10:02 pm |
Music in the Hills – July 8, 1973. (near Chester, WV) Humble Pie, J Geils Band, Black Oak Arkansas, Frampton’s Camel are the ones I remember. I think tickets were $6.50 advance, and $8 day of show. We got there at 6 am, it started at noon. Hotter than hell that day. I remember stripping off clothes and standing at the water truck trying to cool off. Rumor had it a baby was born there too. It was a blast (what I remember) and I slept for 12 hours after I got home. The evening news had clips of people smokin’ dope – my 15 minutes of fame – and was my mother po’d. Ahhhh, the good ol’ days…
October 3, 2009 at 8:21 pm |
RICK!! That was definately at Nelson Ledges?? And HEART and J.GEILS WERE THERE?????????? If so, my husband is right. Please let me know, it was the LEDGES, right???
October 6, 2009 at 2:45 pm |
Your husband was right.
October 6, 2009 at 5:09 pm |
Well thats where everyone I went with said we were. I didn’t know anything about it or had heard of Nelson Ledges until my GF at the time said we were going there. And they said it was a racetrack. I don’t remember all the bands, but I do remember Heart (they were my favorite at the time) and ELO.
October 8, 2009 at 6:58 pm |
The 1st Ohio Music Festival @ the Univ. of Cincy was an incredible day. Nine guys from Chicago, in our teens, with a buddy’s brother being 21, rented a van and placed ourselves about nine rows from the stage, and had the greatest time feasting on fantastic rock -n-roll. The year was 1975, Aerosmith was good, the Outlaws introduced themselves to the world, Styx was good, but Foghat and BOC
kicked ass! I think Bobby Womack and Peace were there as well. The only way the day could have been better is if Wishbone Ash were on the bill. Great memories, a tremendous day! We had our share in Chicago as well, but not the U of C. on that day!
October 18, 2009 at 11:09 pm |
Well thank you very much doc and rick. I love nelson ledges. I miss living in ohio. I just couldn’t believe that he saw Heart and J. Geils that close to home. I was just a little too young to have been there i guess. Doc, quite an accomplishment to have seen all those bands. I also love Legend Valley. I went for a very different type of show there, i saw willie nelson and marshall tucker band with leon russell. Oh, I certainly miss cleveland , The Richfield Coliseum that used to exist, Blossom Music Center, never been to a world series of rock although ive seen a few shows at the old Indians Stadium. WMMS, and the other cleveland music stations sure beat the heck out of the crap in Florida. All we have here are death metal bands trying to outpuke sound each other. This is great reminiscing.
the twelve Aerosmith concerts, ted nugent, hundreds of shows. CLEVELAND ROCKS
laura
October 30, 2009 at 2:03 pm |
I use to go to Boogie Hill also…awesome days of partying and music.
November 19, 2009 at 7:58 am |
Great Blog.. great memories. I grew up in nearby West Virginia at the same time and saw many of these same acts. I was at the Chester WV show with Frampton, J.Geils Band, Humble Pie…. me and 3 of my buddies drove up from southern WVA in a Dodge Valiant. Had a blast… thanks for the posts and keeping that era fresh in everyone’s minds.
November 29, 2009 at 4:43 am |
WOW What great memories. Grew up in Warren,Oh and remember the Chester Wv jam. Sat in traffic for like four hours to get in. It was super hot that day and i remember the water trucks and a pond there with a bunch of people skinny dipping. Some fond memories include seeing Pink Floyd at Cleveland Stadium with the Animals tour and Mott the Hoople at John Carroll Gym with the opening act being Aerosmith making there Cleveland debut. First concert was Humble Pie in 69 in Cleveland and remember seeing Rush five times at the Tomorrow Club in Youngstown. Thanks for all the great memories and keep posting. Does anybody know how many people were at Chester?