1970’s Outdoor Rock Concerts/Festivals: How Did I Survive?
February 14, 20081970’s Outdoor Rock Concerts/Festivals: How Did I Survive? – Doc Lehman
NOTE: Click on images to enlarge!
The Rolling Stones’ stage.
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.
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.
1972:
After returning to Ohio in June after a three-month stay 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 3 for The Faces and Badfinger and then a few days later on July 11, 1972 featuring the Rolling Stones with Stevie Wonder as support.
The Faces with Rod Stewart totally rocked the joint and Badfinger had a real good recepetion. It was my first ‘mega-concert’ and it hooked me. The icing on the cake came a week later when the Rolling Stones invaded the Akron Rubber Bowl. By then I knew it was only rock ‘n roll, but I sure as hell liked it!
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!
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.
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.
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.
Akron Rubber Bowl
My pal Mike was lucky enough to catch one and they turned out to be faux ‘lace’ panties with A.C. ’embroidered’ on them.
So cool.
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?
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.
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.
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.
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:
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!
Ian Hunter & Overend Watts of Mott The Hoople
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.
1974:
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.
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!).
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.
Had tickets for the ELP headlined World Series of Rock but didn’t make it. The boss wouldn’t let me off work that day!
1975:
On June 1, 1975 my buddy Bill Evans 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.
Montrose in concert at Poe Ditch.Big crowd at Poe Ditch.
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.
Guitarist Ronnie Montrose performs at the Poe Ditch Music Festival at the Doyt Perry Stadium on June 1, 1975.
An swarm of concert-goers crowd Doyt Perry Stadium for the Poe Ditch Music Festival on June 1, 1975. Of the estimated 33,000-40,000 people in the crowd, only 3,300 were students. Even worse, there was only one law enforcement offiver for every 6,000-7,000 people, as stated by then Wood Country Sheriff Raymond Coller in a BG News Article dated June 3, 1975.
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.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. NOTE: Awhile back there was an article published in a newspaper in the Bowling Green, OH area about the Poe Ditch Music Festival 35 years later. You can read it HERE.
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.
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. 
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.
’75 World Series of Rock headlining The Faces & Rod Stewart
Another shot ffrom The Faces headlining World Series of Rock
1976: 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.
Banner made for the occasion by Cindy Morelle & her posse of Orrville chicks.
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. 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.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.
1977:
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.
Legendary Murray Saul of WMMS getting the crowd primed to ‘GET DOWN!!!’
1978: 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. 
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.
1980: 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. 
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. 
©2008/2012 Doc Lehman/Bangagong!
NOTE: I would encourage everyone to read the comments left here. Some great, funny & entertaining stories from other folks’ adventures at outdoor rock concerts.
BANGAGONG! by Doc Lehman 
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/
Rush got their big break in Cleveland from a big push by WMMS radio,which got a lot of bands rolling.I live in the Akron area and consider MMS in the 70’s the premier station in the country.M105 was great also
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…
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.
Heyyyyyyyyyy Cindy. Funny you mentioned leon russell, because I think two paragraphs above by Doc is a picture of Legend Valley, where I saw Willie Nelson, Marshall Tucker Band and Leon Russell. Very impressive, except getting stuck in mud on way in The Valley, and forgetting where we parked the car after . That was a nightmare waiting for all those cars to leave before we could find it.
I too spent a great deal of my time at “The” Stadium for the World Series of Rock including The Rolling Stones, Aerosmith, Rod Stewart, and many others. Saw Fleetwood Mac there. Best times of my life!!!!! Finding all these things on the web has been a real trip.
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!
I was at that concert. It was CSN&Y, The Band, Santana, Jesse Colin Young, and a group called Ross.
I attended most of the other aforementioned concerts as well. Saved most of my ticket stubs, which my wife had framed and mounted on a collage. Good times….Good times.
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
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????
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!
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.
I was there. It rained and some of the bands wouldn’t play. I think it was at Nelsons Ledges (race track)
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.
yes, Lostjonnie got the story right. Tim Culver too. There is a lot to tell about mosquito dam jam…
we parked more than a mile away and walked in on a country road. pill pushers lined the way offering their stock with the kind of seller’s sing-songy rap you’d hear at an outdoor market of fruit vendors… “reds, yellowjackets, speed, windowpane..” We imitated them to our own amusement.
Once inside the fence the day grew hot and humid soon enough and we, dumb kids of course, had no water, no food, no hats, no preparations at all but a blanket. we actually ran out of gas ten feet into the gas station on 82/88 in the middle of nowhere (lucky).
I remember reo speedwagon in the line-up, was that right ?
Anyway, there were lemonade stands, and watermelon in the pavillion near a set of pay phones. We made a call, only to find that the coins were backed up all the way to the top. When we punched the phones all the coins came spewing out the bottom like a slot machine. Hooray, we can finally buy something to drink and eat !
On the way to our blanket I noticed a little boy, alone, not more than four years old with a beer in one hand and pipe in the other, holding down the fort for mom and dad i guess. (sigh).
Occasionally we’d walk around on solo trips to find water or weed or someone we’d recognize, but not much luck.
Back at our blanket a husky black dude in a black leather vest had squatted on a vacant corner to rest. We didn’t know him and he seemed in his own world, getting high. We just looked at each other baffled and let it go. Moments later we noticed he was in an argument with a couple of tall, skinny, bearded, white hippie guys not far away. Rumor was he’d sold them something bad, who knows. This, btw, was an all white crowd more or less.
Well, they take to fighting in a serious way and it gets physical. They break a stick or cane over his back and chase him off. (I told ya he was husky). The black dude scampers away as the other guys seem to be still fuming mad. They go after him and a crowd quickly encircles the fight. As the fight and circle slowly drift, the mob eventually mauls through a lemonade or beer tent, totally destroying it stampede style.
At one point one of the skinny white dudes gets clobbered out of the center of the fight, which had a number of white guys ganging up on this black dude on and off most of the time. So the skinny guy grabs a bottle, runs and really hurls it spinning through the air at the black guy, missing his head by an inch ! (it didn’t hit anyone somehow). Then, foiled in that attempt, rushes into the center melee again.
It had been a session of wrestled punches, holds, kicks and gang-up for some time now. With various participants jumping in.
Suddenly the black dude, as far as i could tell, who had endured a long battle defending himself, spins up and out of the core fight brandishing, apparently, a knife in his right hand and slashed one big sweeping arc up and around behind him like a big round-house punch. In that one fateful moment he had, sadly, slashed ear to ear the skinny dude. And now it got scary.
Looking much like the death scene of a movie actor the unfortunate lad, too young to be leaving the world, staggered up the grassy dirt, dazed, for a few yards, in shock, with slow dragging steps, his knees weakening as his neck turned a thick line of crimson red, unnoticed by the crowd still focused on the fight. One quick-thinking guy, older, blondish, ran up to him, wrapped his neck with one palm, lay him down and yelled for a medic.
Just behind him in the heart of the battle someone tall came down hard with a big rock in both hands from high over his head, Thump! Ending the skirmish there and then.
end of part one.
part two: rain, a miscarriage, lemon fight, riot gear, electrical woes, a cancellation, bottles pelt the stage, cars vs. blankets, and b.o.c. by helicopter to save the day (sort of).
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…?
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 !!!
Hey Tim Culver! Ya know what? The Internet is a really, really, really, weird thing. This shit is scary. It’s like a time machine or something. I barely remembered you or the mosquito dam jam – but now it’s coming back a little.
Thanks.
What a blast. You little time traveler, you. Looking back – I should have used more drugs.
DAVE M,
Frozen in time just like you remember him. Formerly of Howland, now in Los Angeles.
Dave………..did you go to Howland?? what year did you graduate? I went there, I now live in Florida.
Lemme know
laura
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!!!
PS I typed that in the dark… “consider the imperfections as proof of thier authenticity”
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.
Yea I also saw Fleetwood Mac, Cars etc.. at Cleveland Stadium with my sister and my cousin I thought it was 1976 though.
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.
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.
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>
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!
I remember that concert vividly. Todd came out wearing green military fatigues, and joked that he finally had a song hit the charts “Real Man”.
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
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”
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!
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?
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?
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.
I was at that show too. I remember that ELO did a laser light show (first I had seen) in which they launched a hot air balloon with a mirrored disco ball hung underneath it, and shot laser beams at the ball which reflected out into the night sky. Very cool. I remember the warnings about the fires. There were a bunch of folks who started burning some of the discarded tires by the race track. They were billowing black smoke.
Ah, finally some people who remember that great concert. You can also add the bands of Widow Maker and Roy Buchanan to the list. I remember the laser being shot toward the moon that night. That was one of my first larger concert and it was a blast.
I was at Nelson Ledges for the show with Heart / ELO / J Geils / Elvin Bishop. I thought Heart played last because they flew in at 2am by helicopter after leaving a show in Chicago that was delayed by rain.
The drugs were nothing short of pandemic; I recall seeing people wandering the crowd with trash bags of joints, and a guy with blotter acid in so many sheets they were on a clipboard.
How the hell did we survive that crap?
The concert you are referring to was called the Freedom Festival. The bands (in order of appearance) Roy Buchanan, Elvin Bishop, Widowmaker, Steve Miller, ELO& Heart closed. It was on Sept. 6th. 1976. It is my most memorable outdoor concert.. Even surpassed several WSOR’s.
I (somehow) remember the show.
Other performers were Fleetwood Mac, Roy Buchanan, and others I can’t think of right now. It was like one of the first concerts Heart played. I think they were the last band for the concert and people were pretty wasted. Some A-hole threw a bottle on stage & hit Ann’s microphone stand and almost her. They finished their set anyway (very cool). The guy who threw the bottle was dealt with accordingly by other audience members.
Peace – Jerry
Yes, I worked stage crew at that show. We were the crew from Kent State and the line-up was Roy Buchanan, some band called Widowmaker, Elvin Bishop ( I still have his guitar pick from that show) Steve Miller, ELO, J. Geils and Heart. What a crazy show. people were burning tires in lieu of wood and the crew were all black from the smoke. I think we made $250 for five days work.
I remember being there, I just turned 15 and snuck my dad,s new cadillac sedan devile . Upon getting to the show we were waiting in huge lines to park when all the cars starting pulling over and parking on the side of the road. After being in and finding our spot my buddy went to the car to get some binoculars. When he came back he was in shock and said the Caddy along with every other car was towed. We found out the cars were towed to 3 different yards. So we set out on foot to find these tow yards. After walking about 5 miles and hearing J Geils in the distance we came to the first tow yard…no luck and off to the next one. After another 5 mile walk we came to the next lot..They had it, only problem was no cash. The guy , with a big 44 tucked in his pants said no $ 50 no caddy. I talked him into taking the CB radio for collateral We made it back to the concert and I had to find a way to male some quick cash. While listening to Steve Miller from outside the gate I noticed there were these really cool looking discarded paper flyers on the ground.. and somehow I thought if the thing might somehow actually get me through the gate. I looked for the not so brightest (highest) looking person and presto in I was. I had already been in anyhow I just wanted to see if this would work. So I went back out and went to where they were selling tickets and talked new arrivers into giving me $10 bucks each if I could get them in. I think the tickets were about $ 20 so this was a deal. After getting 5 people in I had my $ 50 and went back to get the CB radio.. made it back to the concert in time for Heart and ELO with the green Laser show. This was one of my most memorable concerts. Pops NEVER found out I snuck the Caddy. One thing I learned as a young lad… Don,t pull over and park just because everyone else does. I’m glad I didn’t come out at the end of the show and find out the car was towed. Rock on Cleveland.
Randy, since you worked there I have a question, WAS there a ‘second stage’ besides the main stage that ELO and Elvin Bishop played on ??? I was pretty stoned that day but I have definite memories of walking with my friends about a quarter mile from the main stage to a field where there were other bands playing REO Speedwagon and Jackson Brown are what I remember ….. Am I losing my ‘crispy marbles’ or do you or anyone else remember these bands playing there ??? I definitely remember the main show, ELO’s laser lights and them begging people not to burn the tire fires (they said the smoke would interfere with the laser light show)
I was at that show at Nelson ledges Raceway ……. pretty foggy on the memories but I remember Elvin Bishop, I think Todd Rundgren flew in in a helicopter with a couple of playboy bunnies (but that might have been a ‘chemical induced vision’…lol ) Definitely ELO (great laser show ! ). I seem to remember a second stage that had REO Speed wagon and Jackson Brown playing at it (not a big fan of either one though ….) Anybody else remember these bands playing there ??? It was an awesome day , I just wish I could remember it better !!!
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.
I was at that concert. It was the first time I had seen REO Speedwagon, and the only time I had seen Canned Heat.
I think Brownsville Station was there too. Remember a lot of people selling drugs.
I was there on Sept 23rd 1973, Canned heat, REO, Catfish Hodge, Ethos, Brownsville Station, Wolfgang, Quicksilver and others. I made recordings. Still have them. Also a few from the place at North Baltimore. Transferring some to CD now and thought I’d look on the web to see if anyone else remembered these concerts.
I was at that show, if you make a CD I would love to buy one from you.
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…
mary lou..wow!..we’re 2 of the 80,000 hot and sweaty crowd!..we too left wheeling around 6am that morning..parked a mile down from the main entrance..i was 16 then..i still have the newspaper clippings…AND i have an original poster that i snagged out of a downtown wheeling store..i had it framed..got an e mail i can send you a copy..i have a small handbill too that i scanned in..yes.the good old daze!!
Hey, I was there too REALLY loaded on acid. I think the concert promoter took off with the gate reciepts and the Pagans MC club took over gate? Weren’t there supposed to be more artists playing there? We were SO young then and had a blast! Remember the heat and naked people too. I would Love to see a copy of the poster.
i was there also fred bryan when we left with dave davis we found a gym bag full of money in the back seat of car probably from the sale of acid by woodstock.
Gimmee an copy of the poster & handbill please please. My buddy Oggy and I went with 2 girls in a van and camped in a tent in a large mowed field. I was afraid it would catch fire and smoke inhalation would take me out.It was very hot and dry.but we lived..we went as a bizness venture/fun and sold bags ..he carried a sign on a pole that said dope with an arrow pointing at me in front of him..and I had a large bag full of stuffed baggies..People would wave us over ..those were the daze ..ha.any poster info. GREATLY APPRECIATE D …clingtotree@hotmail.com
I was there too , loaded out of my mind on acid ! We got there early in the morning and a lot of people were camping in a field near the concert. We had just graduated HS that year and this was our first big outdoor festival. As we were walking up a long dirt road going up a hill to the amphitheater a supply truck passed us going real slow (about 5mph) we all hopped on the step bumper and hitched a ride on the truck, as we went further up the hill we saw a poor hippie looking dude in the ditch by the road stark ‘nekid’ and obviously stoned out of his mind ! We all grinned at each other and said this is going to be an awesome day ! (and we were right ! ) The music was awesome ! Standouts for me were Steve Marriot and the ‘Pie’ , J Geils rocked it hard (‘whammer jammer’ !) and Jim Dandy and the BOA with the AWESOME drum solo and guitar smashup ! If anybody has any memorabilia or pics from this show they could Email me it would be much appreciated !!!
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???
Your husband was right.
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.
I was at that concert also. I believe it was in the summer of ’76. I was living in Chagrin Falls at the time. A friend of mine got there early and was able to park his milk truck not far from the stage. I saw most of the concert on top of the truck! I think I was 16. I left Ohio the summer of ’77, that’s what makes me think the concert took place in ’76. I remember that Heart was the last band to play. I had never heard of them! My favorite was Steve Miller and ELO. That concert was the best concert I’ve ever been to in my life!
Oh my goodness, I remember that milk truck!!!
Yup, late summer of 1976, the day before I left for college. Roy Buchanan played too. I still think about that show and all the dust/dirt I came home wearing.
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!
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
I use to go to Boogie Hill also…awesome days of partying and music.
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.
i too was @ the chester show..great time man!..got the poster framed and hanging in my living room.
Oh my gosh. I was 15 years old when they had that concert. I lived in Weirton. Parents said “no way”, however the following year went to Pittsburgh, Civic Arena with the mighty J. Geils Band. Thats all it took, was hooked. Would love to see the picture of that poster for that show in Chester. I have trying to find the poster and a t-chirt, with no avail. Take care
greg..i will get you a copy..(pic) of the poster..be patient..please..get me your email..i’m triad75@yahoo.com take care bro…dandan
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?
jerry..i have a newspaper clipping that claims 80,000 in chester..also have an original poster..framed.
jerry, i’m from warren ohio also! I went to Howland …..graduated in ’82.
you????
Laura
Warren Western Reserve class of 73. Always enjoyed the area because of all the great rock n roll. Still live in the area.
I stumbled on to this website today because I was looking for an answer to this question.Who played drums with Joe Walsh at the Yes show. I remember that Walsh’s usual drummer, Joe Vitale played keyboards and the flute part on Turn to Stone, but there was a different drummer. Anyone know the answer?
I was at quite a few of those outdoor shows, The CSNY show was Jesse Colin Young, The Band, Santana and CSNY of course. I also remember watching from mid-field as people rolled down the backstop net from the stands and someone falling through.
Thanks for the great memories, to bad we have to grow up
I’m talking about the 1975 World Series of Rock of course. Sorry if there was confusion.
Heavy Metal Sunday, Boogie Hill June 20, 1976 my friends and i worked for Steve Glance Productions back in the 70’s in the pits and back stage secuirty. i just opened up an old box full of old ticket stubs from days gone by. i’ll get back with more.
bacback again, i had to pause and act like a responsible adult for a few min. (never really grew up eather) i’ve lived in the detroit area most of my life i spent my formitive yrs. at places like the Eastown Theater, Grande Ballroom, Olympia stadium and Cobo Arena. seen Hendrix open for the monkeys at cobo, Fleetwood Mac (before the girls screwed the bad up), open for Zappa at the Milwaukee Arena on oct.20,1971 (i was stationed at great lakes back then) and Santana open for Jeff Beck at Pine Knob. My sons think i’m full of it when i talk about it cause they don.t think anyone could have survived and that i make up names of bands cause they have never heard of them. BUT WE REMBER! mabey not last week, but we remember the music and the good times. Leon Russel, Spirt, the Tubes, Leslie West Savory Brown and the list goes on. Working for Steve Glance Productions was a Blessing! It wasn’t about the job or the money it was about the bands and the music. HALE, HALE ROCK AND ROLL!
Hi! I am a journalist for the BG News at Bowling Green State University and we are doing a centennial publication! My topic is the Poe Ditch Festival. Might I interview you about your experience?
Please e-mail me back and let me know if you are interested?…
Thanks!
Hi there….I’m not sure whom your question was directed to, but I would gladly talk to you if you’re still interested.
Iwas there world series of rockroll.that same summer i went to the legend valley rock roll.those were the days. eddie money scorpion cheeptrick cars todd rungren. 1979
first concert I went to i was 15 i hitchhiked to cin.to see eagles eddie money steve miller i wish i could find the man who pick me up and took me all the way there it just so happen he was going there to.i would love to thank him.1977
Did he pick you up in a brown and yellow 1975 Ford truck?
If so, it was me!
I was at the Poe Ditch Festival in 1975. I was 18 at the time and me and a couple of buddies made the trip from Genoa, Ohio. I recall Richie Havens admonishing a fan who was yelling impatiently at him while he changed guitar strings. Havens remarks were pretty much: “Man, what’s your hurry?” I don’t recall Styx or the Outlaws, but I remember Pure Prairie League playing some country rock as a hot air ballon inflated and lifted off. Pretty cool I thought. Nitty Gritty Dirt Band was ok and Montrose rocked. Even though Sammy Hagar was no longer with them. We could see the thunderstorm brewing in the west and we knew we were in for it. It finally hit and the music stopped. We stuck around long enough to see the bottles being hurled at the stage and we saw a roadie get conked on the noggin with one. Pretty outrageous behaviour for us small town lads to witness. We finally left and visited some Genoa girls that attended BG at the time.Golden Earring and Johhny Winter never performed as far as I know. Regardless, it was a great time.
I was there, I didn’t recall it being called the Poe Ditch festival tho…Bowling Green, Oh. I was about 40 yards from centerstage with about 12 friends with me from Detroit. We were on a HUGE yellow and orange blanket. When the storm hit, everyone on the field lifted their blankets up over their heads and made it like a huge tent. Kinda trapped alot of smoke under there as I remember. After the thunderstorm subsided everyone popped their heads out to see that the stage was empty. Golden earring’s equipment was gone! They were supposed to be up next before the rain started. The crowd got crazy. A roadie came out and was trying to tell everyone that Johnny Winters would be out as soon as they could set up, but a bottle came flying up and nailed him in the head. A couple other roadies came to his rescue with motorcycle helmets on. One of them stuck the microphone under the helmet and said “Johnny Winters said FU you people!!” Then all hell broke loose. People in the stands were firing stuff towards the stage, which was nailing everyone on the field, the press box and part of the stands were set on fire. Everyone bolted for the parking lots, it was pandemonium. A giant traffic jam to get out of there while fire engines were trying to get in. I don’t think they ever had another concert there.
Wasn’t Montrose there also?I remember that concert having the WORST sound system I ever heard.That by far was the craziest show i have ever been to.We were pissed off then but it’s comical now.Yeah that traffic jam was memorable.A two hour ride back to Akron turned into 5 ,WILD
I remember (sort of) going to Heavy Metal Sunday at Boogie Hill. Waiting in a huge line to get in and a bunch of people passing out and being passed overhead backwards to where they could get help. A few poor folks parked to close to the gate and their cars got mashed by people climbing over them trying to get in – Wild! I remember parking miles away.
Can anyone remember all the bands??
The year was 1976, the place was Nelson’s Ledges road coarse. I was 16 years old. I worked part time for A-Able Rents. We set up all the canopy tents for the Nelson’s Ledges Freedom Festival. This was a 12 hour event that included bands such as J.Geils, Heart, ELO, Elvin Bishop, Steve Miller, and a band named Widower or Widow Maker… something like that.
This was my very first concert. I had the pleasure of meeting Ann and Nancy Wilson. My cousin Rick and myself were back stage during this concert since we were part of the concert setup crew. I will never forget that experience as long as I live. I’m 50 years old now and remember most of it. The night before the concert it cold and concert goers were burning rubber tires from the race track to stay warm. The estimated attendance was 200,000 people or so. It was one the last great rock events, larger than the World Series of Rock shows at the old Cleveland Munie Stadium.
A continuation from my post from above – it was about 7:00 Am and me and another guy were bringing a spot light out to one of the towerson a fork lift and – I’ll never forget this – there was some blonde chick in a leather vest drinking from a bottle of Black Velvet. Bet she didn’t last too long. We worked four days before the show setting up staging and the night before the show we got about 2 hours sleep – I slept on a pile of extention cords! What a memorable show.
Final Note… where are the records from the 1976 Nelson’s Ledges concert? This concert was a huge event. I met people from all over the U.S. who attended this concert. ELO had the first lazer light show I ever saw. The lazers were pointed at this huge disco ball suspended above the crowd with a hot a balloon. This concert was one the best weekends of my life….. we had a ball!
Hey … I went to many of these concerts, going back to the free one at Edgewater Park in summer of ’71 as a 14-year-old — which got rained out mid-afternoon … had to hitchhike home to northwest Ohio & catch hell from the folks … but by the next summer I was going to whatever shows I wanted to regardless.
Anyone remember ‘The Park’ in North Baltimore, OH, summers of ’71 and ’72? Lots of great shows there most Saturday afternoons, with big names such as the Allman Brothers, Dr. John, Wishbone Ash, the MC5, the Stooges, Cactus, Alice Cooper, Seger, Amboy Dukes and most other Detroit/Cleveland-area bands.
In ’74 attended on huge concert no-one seems to remember anymore, The August Jam, held at the Charlotte Motor Speedway in North Carolina … an estimated 300,000-plus were there to see Emerson, Lake & Palmer, the Allmans, Marshall Tucker, Foghat, Black Oak and several other bands, including a ‘progressive-rock’ band from Italy called PFM, who were highly respected, but basically unknown in the States. It was quite a party, and fairly well organized with 2 rolling stages on railroad tracks for quick changes.
Another great outdoor concert was the Miami River Music Festival in southwest Ohio, September 1975 — The Eagles, Fleetwood Mac, New Riders of the Purple Sage, Charlie Daniels & Marshall Tucker, Earl Scruggs Review, Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, and several others … quite a show for only $5 admission, plus it was in a beautiful wooded locale.
Never made it to Nelson’s Ledges, but I did hear a lot about those concerts …
Thanks! I’ve enjoyed reading your blog & all these responses!
I was at the Miami River Music Festival. However, I thought it was 1974. You named all the same bands, except for REO Speedwagon that I remembered. People were OD’ing on bad Crystal T. As a matter of fact, Michael Murphy (then the lead singer with REO) came out on stage and made an announcement that someone was selling strictnine as Crystal T. Do you remember that?
I do remember seeing REO numerous times back then & know that once was at an outdoor concert, so you’re probably right on that, but I’m certain the Miami River festival was in 1975 as I went with my first love & we hadn’t met in 1974.
No, I don’t recall the warning/OD about Crystal T, but it doesn’t surprize me … I think one guy there was run over by a car and died or something similar to this …
thanks,
I was at this festival as well… it was in the summer of 1974, I think… not the fall. There wasn’t a cloud in the sky and it was about 90 the whole day. I don’t know what the ODs were caused by, but I reported one to the medical tent. A guy was shivering and wrapped in a blanket and his friends weren’t doing a thing to get him help.
Also… Jessie Colin Young was there.
I was at the Nelson Ledges concert… yep, Heart, ELO, Steve Miller, J Geils, Elvin Bishop were there. Every time I hear Fooled Around and Fell In Love I think of it… We got there around midnight and slept in our car and went out to the concert area early the next morning. We were center field about 200 ft back from the stage.. I kept thinking the whole time – WOODSTOCK- it was so wonderful. I took a lot of pics…. we left before Heart and ELO came on and I have always regretted it… I seem to remember it was late on a Sunday evening and we had to drive 4 hours to get back to work the next day….
My husband went to a 3 day concert in the early 70’s in Vermont or the boarder of canada. SUPRISE…he can’t remember!! He was 15 and hitched there from MA. We have been surfing the Web trying to find out more about it and can’t. He does not recall any of the bands (thinks they were obscure) and thinks it was calls Mac’s Party. He is sure he went into Canada and then back down into VT for the show. Anyone know what he is atalking about?
I was at that-summer of 1973-it was either Max’s Party or Macks Party-on a Vermont farm just south of the border with Quebec(presumably the farmers 1st name was Mack or Max.)It was supposed to be a 3-day event, headlined by Mahogany Rush-a then-popular Montreal band who’s leader, Frank Marino, was an amazing Hendrix-inspired guitar “hero.”(He’s still around, I think.) I don’t remember who all else was supposed to play, there was a REALLY wasted guy who played the same song 3 or 4 times in a row-a lot of the “headliners”-mostly popular Montreal groups from the era-were no-shows. Mahogany Rush DID play the 1st night(and maybe second)-then that Saturday night somebody started shooting off a gun out in the place where everyone was parked, and the “Party” was abruptly cancelled.That’s all I can remember, I was about the same age as your husband was at the time, and might have smoked a bowl with him, for all I know.
Max’s party was held in Vermont for a few years in the early 70’s. I was ther in ’73m for what I believe was the last one. It was because of the M/C gang that was hired for security that killed it.bummer. These guys beat up on those who tried to sneak in. My friend was robbed by one of tem at gunpoint of his drugs and money.I believe the headliner was a band call “April Wine”
i went to 2 of the 3 concerts(may have been 4). The first 2 were small, i guess local small time bands, maybe a few hundred people and were fantastic. The April Wine one was all about the $$. It totally sucked! Can anyone remember the town(s) where they were located? We got lost looking for a store, ended upon a back road in Canada. The boarder patrol knew of the concert called our home town police, found out we were ‘harmless’ and sent us on our way in the right direction. If they searched us we may just be getting out of jail, LOL.
More on Max’s parties in the 70’s. J Geils was rumored to but never showed at any of them. Aerosmith was also rumored to show after Dream On came out so I’m assuming the first 2 were before 73. Our ‘crew’ was from Clinton, Ma. and at the second one we were camped right beside a group from Clinton, Ct. It was freaky because like South Park it was like looking in a mirror, someone resembled someone else in the other group! Slim chance anyone from either group see’s and replies to this…
Hey i was there, went with a neighbor and his friends, I was only 14 but really really enjoyed it immensely (and it wasn’t just because of that capsule with beige powder in it that someone gave me) We got there 1’st day, close to stage and was unaware what was going on with bikers etc.. Only names i can remember was Mahogany Rush the first nite was amazing, another group called Popeye were very memorable, and towards the end, April Wine i will never forget playing a very apt & fitting song called Drop Your Guns. This was Woodstock to me, took a long time to come down!!! lol
http://afootincoldwater.com/phpbb/viewtopic.php?f=6&t=7
Sounds cool. Although I wasn’t there, however, sounds as though It was another Woodstock. Man, those were the absolute best concerts the world ever knew. My band “Myth” was playing the Milwaukee Nightclubs. Thank youTom Sent using Hushma
I’m from Port Clinton, Ohio and we went to both Boogie Hill and St. John’s Hollow back in the 70’s. I still have my concert tix. The one for the Heavy Metal Sunday says Seger and Nugent on it. I remember this concert well. We hitchhiked to Tiffin on Friday afternoon and went to the home of a girl we knew from there. Then we went to the house where a band from Tiffin (Looney Toons) were living. We partyed there, then somehow got a ride out to Boogie Hill. There were a lot of people out there camping out overnight and we found some people we knew and hung out with them.. One thing I remember was Friday night there was some sort of a Coon dog competition going on right there. There was a pond and they had a box that floated with a racoon in it, and that was crazy. Had nothing to do with the concert. Saturday morning we got into the concert and what I remember most is Bob Seger and Ted Nugent, especially Ted. Saw a lot of people from Port Clinton there. Did anyone go to any of those Speedway Jams in Toledo? I have my ticket stub from one of those, and I know Foreigner was at that one. Don’t remember any others. Does anyone remember the Other Half Band? They used to come up to Marblehead, Ohio in the summer and play at the Cuckoo’s Nest/Pablo’s. I want to know where exactly is Boogie Hill located?
Boogie Hill was somewhere outside Tiffin, Ohio … not sure where, but it was NOT at St. John’s Hollow … I only went to the first Boogie Hill concert, the one with Canned Heat, REO and others … saw Leon Russell and John Hartford at St. John’s, and at other times saw Black Oak and one country concert with the Oak Ridge Boys there. There was no shade and it was always hotter than hell at St. John’s.
I attended the show at Boogie Hill in Tiffin in 1976 and remember seeing Fog Hat, Seger, REO and most memorably Canned Heat.
I also remember attending a concert in 1973 at Three Rivers Stadium during the Pink Floyd Dark Side of The Moon tour. Me and three friends drove from Westerville Ohio to see the show and what a time we had. Many bottles of wine and a few of those left handed smokes……
Seen a few of the shows in Cleveland, (World Series of Rock Shows) can’t remember too much about those due to some serious…… well you know.
i’m from cleveland and i attended almost every show youve been talkin about but i gotta say canned heat at boogie hill was just about as good as it gets!especially when catfish hodge started jammin with them
does anybody know who was plyin guitar for hodge? one other comment about that show reospd wagon at the end of there set destroyed all tere equipment what bunch of idiots! all you people that grew up in that area got something real specialto always remember there will never be anything like it rock on my friends!
I believe Catfish Hodge’s younger brother Dallas Hodge played lead guitar for Catfish in those days … at least when I saw them in ’72… saw Dallas play in a bar a few years later in Detroit and it seemed he had lost more than 100 pounds! He’s a great guitarist and I believe he still plays out in the Detroit area.
I went to the 1975 Miami River Music Festival. I think Kenny Rankin played there also. It was my first big outdoor concert. We went the night before and spent the night. They broke into a beer trailer and stole beer kegs. I remember walking down a row of “customized” vans and seeing these huge kegs of beer in the back of many of them. We stopped at one site where they had knocked the center plug out of one of the kegs and two guys were holding it up and letting people drink..it was here that I first partook of the “demon weed”. I thought REO played also, but my buddy didn’t think so. I wish I could get all the bands.
I was at the Miami River Music Festival also. Edgewater Park, Ohio.
First concert I ever attended.
Kenny Rankin
Earl Scruggs Revue
Marshall Tucker Band
Charlie Daniels Band
Fleetwood Mac
REO Speedwagon (with Michael Murphy)
The Eagles (seems like they played for 3 hours)
I know there were 9 bands in all, but I can’t think of the other 2.
New Riders of the Purple Sage was one of them.
My husband and I remember Boogie Hill.. My first outdoor concert..WE really partied..bunch of us from Bluffton,oh went. long walk to get in but was worth it.. diffenently a cultrue shock to me.. just quit being a cop/narc about a month before.. partying was fun nobody hurting anybody else, just enjoying life.. Those were the days…
I was at the 1975 Miami River Music Festival in S.W. Ohio, and would like any info that you might have or remember. The Eagles, Fleetwood Mac, Charles Daniels, Marshal Tucker, The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band and 3 others ???
Remember the bright moon and it lasting until about Mid-night or later…..
Any info would be Great! THANKS, Willi——->>>>>>>>
i rememer – it was 75. also there: marshall tucker, charlie daniels, fleetwood mac, eagles, new riders, poco, pure prairie league. great concert
No, neither poco nor pure prairie league were there, at least not the ’75 show I saw! Tremendous closing with 24 hrs at a time! The line up I recall went something like this:
Kenny Rankin
New Riders
REO Speedwagon
Fleetwood Mac
The Eagles
Earl Scruggs Revue
Nitty Gritty Dirt Band
Charlie Daniels Band
Marshall Tucker Band
Could be wrong, it was a hell of a night and day! I do remember the trucks driving through the fence, making it free!
Orrville High School class of 1979. 4 of us attended the 7-15-79 Legend Valley concert with Todd Rungrund, The Cars, Eddie Money, and Cheap Trick. We drove down the night before and slept on the ground 100 yds from the gates. About 6 a.m. the crowd rushed the gates and it became a crazy situation. Several people became ill from the pushing from the back. Finally the promoters allowed people into the concert area. We became separated but I was one of the first 50 or so people through the gates. It was so hot they were filling gallon jugs with water and tossing them into the crowd. People were down to the bare minimum regarding clothing. Was anyone else at that concert?
From Twinsburg, Ohio. I was at that show with friends. Class of ’79. Best time of my life.
I remember that show. Myself and 3 friends drove from Morgantown, West Virginia. We had so much fun. I will never forget those days. I remember the heat the acid and the ludes. Most importantly I remember the music especially Todd. That was probably the main reason we drove all that way. Those were the days.
I was there Tom. Hey, my wife (child bride…lol) graduated from OHS in ’79.
Hey Doc, do you remember the stampede for the entry gate in the morning? I was sleeping on the ground and remember people running over top of me. That was one hot day. The Cars and Cheap Trick put on the best shows. Trying to figure out who your wife is though.
What a find this site is. I was at many of these concerts the Massilon stadium was my first. The bands names at the time as I recall were Edgar Winters Group, The James Gang,and Framptons Camel.
I saw Bloodrock at a Marion theater, Styx at a Mansfield theater, and Ted Nugent versus Mike Pinera at Mansfield roller rink. (billed as guitar battle of the century)
Several of the Cleveland stadium concerts, a couple of legend vally shows, The poe ditch fest (I didnt burn the press box) the Toledo speedway for BOC/Foreigner/Eddie Money, and one show at Boogie hill.
Here is a short story I wrote about the boogie hill event. In memory of my best friend Bill, I hope you find it amusing and worth reading its really more about the 70’s than the concert but I hope someone will find it amusing and worth reading.
I lived in Galion and “aint” sure how we heard about the boogie hill show. Unfortunatly the only act I actually remember was Bob Seeger.
We didnt even have tickets but hey it was a great day, Boogie Hill was out in the boondocks from what we had heard and we had weed and some decent acid. It was ON!
Me and my best buddy bill hit the road “lookin for adventure, and whatever comes our way”. I remember we were mesmerized by the towers all over up there that had what looked like a big bass drum with a lightning bolts painted red on the front. We just knew Big Brother was watching.
We figured we had arrived when we found bumper to bumper cars parked on every possible road, driveway, yard and field.
We finally found a spot to park and followed the music. We had no illusions of getting in we just wanted to make the scene and party.
Once we found the actual concert area we decided to try to skirt around all things security and attack the rear flank.
It was a hilly terrain and woodsey if I recollect,so were traipsing/tripsing down this hill behind the stage trying to find a spot to see the stage.
Now me and bill were pretty hipified looking people and here comes this cat scratchin and clawin his way up the hill that we were going down. he was like escaped caveman or something and we must have looked trustworthy. Our new found brother made his way up to me and grabs me by the arm pretty desperatly, he looks at me with pleading eyes tinged with raw paranoia and asks me in hush tones Hey Brother which way is home?? WHICH WAY! WHERE is home?
Imagine if you will, the sun was shining filterin through the trees in beams of light just cresting the top of the hill. I turned our seeker toward those beutiful sunbeams and replied to him pointing the way over the hill into the sun “It’s that way man!Just follow the sun!
Dude took of like a bat outta hell, hootin and hollerin, runnin,scratchin and clawin up that hill towards the sun.
Me and bill looked at each other and just lost it on our first good belly laff.
We continued on and just outside the fence off to the side of the stage we watched Mr Seegers silver bullet band lay it down for his set and more that sadly, I just dont recall.
I guess we had enough fun for one day and we split at some point, back out on the road we realized that we didnt have the first frickin clue where our car was.
We had been walkin for a while when this old beat up pickup stopped next to us,,,full of hardcore bikers, OUTLAWS MC,,..Heyboyz yall need a ride? well yah but we dont know where the hell we parked! Biker was like,jump in if you want.
I was cool with it though BILL told me later he was a little apprehensive about toolin around with this bunch.
But off we went and damn if we didnt run across our ride in a few minutes.
We rode back to galion still pondering those towers and gettin another good laff on our lost brother.
Thats the only boogie hill I made it to we didnt get much promotion in our little town and you could barely get WIOT on a good night. But the whole day was truly a great experience. Imagine all the untold stories surrounding concerts like these from back then.
Music, friendships,and times like these will never be like life in the 70’s.
The Boogie Hill show was tremendous. The bands I distinctly remember aside from the obvious big names already mentioned were Brownsville Station, The Wuzz Band, Angel, Starz, Quicksilver Messenger Service, and Canned Heat. I also seem to recall Michael Quatro (Suzi’s brother) being there along with a couple of others that might have been at one of the World Series of Rock shows so I won’t mention them until I get together with a couple of friends over the holidays who were there but now reside in other states. As I recall they were trying to score the Rolling Stones for a future show. As I made my way through the paths to the show there was a guy off to the side in the woods in a loin cloth who was hawking “organic strychnine.”
Hat’s off to Roy from Galion.If memory serves me well it seems like everyone from Galion made it to most of the shows mentioned here.Rockin’ little town back then.
denny…i remember seeing the mike quattro jam band @ the capitol music hall in wheeling wv where i live..they were an opening act for brownsville station..take it easy bro!…dandan
Lisa from Port Clinton-
Small world, Lisa. I lived in nearby Bay View! The Other 1/2 was fairly ubiquitous in northwest Ohio through the 80’s. The last time I saw them was in Lima in 1984 and I have a boot of one of their shows, although the sound quality leaves much to be desired. Remember SMUT (so easy to find)?
dandan-
Thanks man. Take care.
Regarding the Other Half band, I did find out their lead singer, Smirth, is now the lead singer of a band called Wally and the Beavs. They play at Put-in-Bay a lot in the summer. Last summer after I found this website, I went riding around the outskirts of Tiffin looking for Boogie Hill just to see what I could see. Which wasn’t much, even if I was on the right road! I was very young and smoked the couple of times I was there. Thank you all for the great memories!
I was at the Mosquito Dam Jam in the summer of 1976.The J GeilsBand refused to play because of the rain that had been coming down for quite some time. The crowd erupted in anger & frustration & began pelting the stage with anything they could throw. They tore down a concession stand & were winging apples& lemons. The roit squad came & restored order. Blue Oyster Cult proclaimed that they weren’t afraid of any rain & after a lengthy delay they played. The rain stopped & the evening was over on a high note. I had a great time!
Mosquito Lake, my first outdoor concert! Some of the things I remember are first, the area was “dry”, couldn’t find beer to buy in the general area. Later, a fellow showed up with a milk truck full of beer, 6 bucks for a 6 pack – 12 bucks for a 12 pack!Then, walking toward the stage, we came across a couple in a sleeping bag and they weren’t sleeping! People sat all around this couple as the area filled up and gave them an ovation when they finally finished. I don’t think they had a clue that they were entertaining so many people. I also remember someone climbing the flagpole. unscrewing the ball, and dropping it, narrowly missing another guy’s head. That ball sunk into the ground an inch or two….scarey! There are a lot more memories from this show but I just wanted to share a few. What a show!
Thanks for putting up this site – really brings back memories. I saw alot of the same shows but in NY/NJ. I wasn’t a huge J Geils fan to start but after seeing them they sure changed my mind -always a great Rock and Roll show. Here’s some other great ones: Bowie 77 (I think) Heroes tour at the Garden, the same Aerosmith, Journey, Ted Nugent show at the Meadowlands, Stones and Peter Tosh in front of 103,000 in Philly (I think there was a third band but can’t remeber who – anyone? New Barbarians at the Garden, Tubes and Frank Zappa at the Capital Theater in Passaic NJ, Geroge Thurogood at the Garden, Hot Tuna everywhere and usually all night – one time while doing Death Don’t Have No Mercy a huge spotlight fell inches from Papa John Creech the second after the last note, anyone remember that at the Capital I beleive? Roxy Music before they were Roxy Music, Squezze before they were comercial and were called UK Squeeze in front of about 100 people, Supertramp at the Garden (wasn’t a big fan but they were really great) Pink Floyd doing The Wall at Nassau LI, Ramones almost any weekend you wanted in New York City and I don’t think I paid over $25 total for any of those or any other concerts during the 70s. What a great time it was.
we left with dave davis found a bag of money in car from the sell of acid
Feats Don’t Fail Me Now!
Would appreciate reading from anyone who recalls Little Feat performances in this part of the country between 1971 and ’74.
Thanks and ’til next time… Ron
I was fortunate enough to see Little Feat
at Grey Chapel in Delaware, Oh.,in 1974.
I’ve been to hundreds of concerts, and
that one still stands as the best! I didn’t
know anything about the band before
that, but became a big fan.
WOW what a blast from the past. The Mosquito Dam Jam was my first concert of my life, with many many more of the same ones you had mentioned to come. I was 16 and my sister took me too the Mosquito Dam Jam with a wild bunch from Dalton and Waynedale. My future bro in law bought me a 6 pack a colt 45 of all things. I remember the night before and this show vividly. Even though my future bro in law was so freaked I was going to get hurt, he ended up tieing me up in a sleeping bag on top a van to sleep it off. We had gotten around and got to the gates early the next day. I was hanging out with one of my sisters big biker friends when the crowd bushed the fence down, that was no more then a snow fence. Well “Hartzie” my sisters friend grabbed me and said start yelling “TICKETS” as people were rushing past us they were handing us their tickets. Once the fence was put pack up, we went out before the show and sold those tickets. I made 95 bucks, he made much more then that. Remember they kept coming on the PA system warning people about the fake ropers or soapers being sold. And yes I had herd some people had gotten ran over. But for a first concert, this was one amazing weekend. The night before “Hartzie” again who had kinda taken me under his wing for the weekend, walked from camp to camp hitting peoples caggs from the tapp, getting girlie flashes. As a 16 year old I was in heaven! LOL And the show was awesome too. Our friends had rushed the stage and we ended up about 10 rows deep center stage. Danced and rocked out the entire show.
Here is just a side note, but did anyone else catch Eddie Money at the Tucarawrus county fairgrounds? I’m thinking late 70’s early 80’s. But there was a little known chick band that opened up for him. An almost unknown at the time really. Bat Benatar, and she completely stole the show! So much so Eddie Money had her come back on stage with him to do tune or two. He knew he had been upstaged but seemed cool with it. Was a great show!
I think this show was the summer of 80, and was probably the biggest thing New Philly ever saw. Eddie Money and Pat Benatar plus a Cleveland band called Love Affair. I was working at a radio station in Wheeling and we were playing Love Affair’s song at the time so their A&R woman gave us the red carpet treatment to the show/schmooze with the band, etc. For a small outdoor show it was a great time.
Bear
Fellow Freaks….I can’t remember ever having anything stir up my crispy little braincells as much as what I have just read. See,I told them I wasn’t nuts…(now anyway!) I doubt if anyone is reading this. What the hell is HTML tags and attributes? Anyway,just in case.Does anyone remember a festival at or around Evansville, Indiana? I swear I was there! 1970 something? Also, does anyone remember “Free John Sinclair” concerts? I played bass for a couple local bands (8 1/2 by 11,Justice,Column 13,Black Cat Bone etc.from around the Kalamazoo,MI. area.I believe I played a few of those.And also,does anyone remember a few other locals called the “Tiers”,the “Caste”,”Abraham”,”Savage Grace”,the “Rock Garden”,”Red,White and Blues Band?”,the “Corner Store”,or “Pure Smack”?…just wondered.And also again,there was a place called the “Crazy Horse”,…. or “The Note”? Anyway…Ya made my day!
My God I was at so many of the same concerts,Man that was crazy when they torched the Bowling Green pressbox.I remember loading up my 67 Chevelle staion wagon and driving to the stadium in Cincy.I remember one of World Series of Rock shows where it was hot as hell,not a cloud in the sky and the very second Foghat started it started pouring buckets of rain for about 5 minutes and everyone was cheering.Those were great fun and times.I didn’t miss too many of the shows in the 70’s.
Does anyone remember the free concert at Edgewater Park in 76. Correct me if I’m wrong but I think Angel and Starz played but for some reason I thought the Dead Boys were there also.Not real clear on the last one I had a case of 70’s brain damage
Does anybody remember seeing a outdoor concert on television in the 70’s where the piano player spinned over and over inside the stage??..it was daytime and the piano was flat on the stage and spun inside the stage and spun around top over top while the player was strapped to the piano chair.I would love to see a clip of this again.
Keith Emerson of Emerson, Lake & Palmer did the giant rotating-then-flipping end-over-end grand piano routine at the ’74 August Jam in North Carolina, but it was at least 20 feet above the stage, not flat within the stage — it was really something to witness … I think they also did this trick at the California Jam earlier that year and this was likely televised.
IN 1976 , I was 17 , live in Sharon PA , aug 28TH me and friends went to the mosquito dam jam to party and have fun ! things went good till the cops started messing things up ! i remember blue oyster cult got on stage and every one went nuts! smashing stuff at the stage ! thank god they put up cage around the stage !! they started playing don`t fear the reaper then the cops started to make row after row and as long as the field!! with three riot stuff and night stick`s and just started to march everyone out the main gate and if you did`t move fast you got busted on the head then busted off to jail !! I latter learned that sum pep`s got killed that day ! sum gay was chased up a pole then beet down good don`t know if he lived or not ? well i had fun till then dam cop`s all ways F IN things up back then over a little pot ! well some things never changes !! ROCK ON DLMAC59
Boogie Hill Concert on County Rd. 43 Tiffin, Ohio July 31st, 1976.
Foghat, Ted Nugent, Bob Seger and the Silver Bullet Band, REO Speedwagon, Canned Heat, and Rick Derringer.
Had some good times back then…amazing that some of us even survived those days.
Oh, I have memories (?) of Boogie Hill. What a great day! I ended up sitting there with such a high that I kept thinking my binoculars were walking away! Yes, I said walking. The 70’s were just an incredible time and I have fond memories of those years. We spent most of our time going to concerts in Toledo, Cleveland, Columbus and Bowling Green. Saw Aerosmith at least 10-times. There is nothing like it today that is for sure.
I am so glad to have found this site and to read all the memories and see the pictures! It was good to rock with all of you at these concerts! Till the next one….
Ahhhh yes, Boogie Hill, Tiffin, Ohio. I vaguely remember doing alot of walking to the entry gate, only to be told we had to walk clear back to get our tickets! Uh-uh, no way. My butt was still stinging from getting up close and personal with a farmers ‘electric fence’!! (I had to pee and was stuck in an awful traffic jam!!) We never actually made it INTO the concert but we enjoyed the Annie Green Springs wine my Ma had bought for us (we were only 16 year old girls) out in the parking area closest to the entrance. We totally lost the car and had a hell of a time finding it in the dark. We walked and walked and walked-jeebus! But our party in the parking area was Awesome! The good old days- where have they gone? It’s amazing I have any brain cells left to remember even this much about Boogie Hill.
Long Live Rock and Roll!!!!
RobRoszman: Boogie Hill in Tiffin! That’s the one (see article above) that I couldn’t remember the name of! What a day that was!
Geez, I don’t have many memories of those days! I remember taking acid and sitting down at ZZ TOP concert cause I thought everyone in arena was lookin at me! Lol! And the cocaine and whisky at Aerosmith, etc. I lost too many braincells from the 70-80s!!
Oh, and the Texas Jam! Taking my top off while on a guys shoulders, so we would get sprayed by a water hose cause it was 110 degrees, lol! The only person I remember was Sammy Hagar!!
Got any pics from the TX show?? 🙂
Thank you for some other informative blog. Where else may I get that type of information written in such an ideal method? I have a project that I am simply now running on, and I have been on the glance out for such info.
I attended many of the 1972 Akron Rubber Bowl concerts. I saw Stevie Wonder open up for the Stones, saw Rod Stewart and the Faces with Badfinger doing the warm up, and also saw Alice Cooper w/ Dr John and the J Geils Band perform. It was an awesome summer. Peace, love to all!
certainly like your website but you have to test the spelling on several of your posts. Several of them are rife with spelling problems and I in finding it very bothersome to tell the truth nevertheless I will certainly come again again.
This is very attention-grabbing, You’re a very professional blogger. I’ve joined your feed and stay up for in the hunt for more of your wonderful post. Also, I have shared your website in my social networks
Hi my family member! I wish to say that this article is amazing, great written and include approximately all important infos. I’d like to look more posts like this .
I just loved this as i went to nearly all of it so he must be my age 51. World Series or Rocks all in my high school days, Mostquito Dam Jam, Legend Valley . Seemed like only stuff i missed was Akron Rubber Bowl. Growing up in Euclid and Graduating 78 put me in that wheelhouse excellent read
Thanks Jim! Appreciate the good words. You are close… right now I’m 54.
What year did you play Miami Stadium I know Blue Oyster Cult was there but was there any other group?
Mosquito Dam Jam is one of my favorite go to concert stories!! I was on the fence when we pulled it down and security scattered. Blue Oyster Cult was on stage and played one of the best sets I ever witnessed to keep the crowd from climbing onstage. I could practically write a book on getting there, getting in, the heat and lack of concessions, the awesome sets and hitching back home to Cleveland.
Don’t forget all the great shows at The old Agora on E. 22nd.
They had the $3.50 Monday night specials with bands like Rush, Roy Buchanan, Rory Gallagher, Springsteen, etc.
Saw the Stones with J. Geils opening at Cleveland Stadium in ’75, Bowie at Public Hall in ’74 right after Diamond Dogs came out. Front row at The Allman Bros. at Blossom when I almost pulled Dickey Betts off the stage grabbing his hand and slapping him five. Cleveland was a great rock town to grow up in! Also, used to see the legendary Robert Jr. Lockwood at Brothers Lounge on 117th & Detroit for a $3. cover charge! Unfrigginbelievable!
Oh… I’d forgotten that I had a photo of the t-shirt I’d bought that day, here worn by my twenty-something son many years later:
I was at Legend Valley – saw Molly Hatchet, The Allman Brothers, I believe Ricky Skaggs was playing as well. That was a great concert!
Another time Leon Russell was at the Willy Nelson family picnic. He was amazing! Everyone was screaming his name, brought down the house.
Ted Nugent in the Wango Tango days, that one was fun!
J Geils Band, Scorpions, Def Lepard – (I think).
What a place! Wish I had seen ACDC back then!!
The 1974 World Series of Rock had Crosby Stills Nash and Young, Jesse Colin Young, The Band and Santana!! I remember it as if it were yesterday!! Incredibly awesome to here Santana’s bongos echoing around the stadium when we arrived!!
The 1974 series of Rock in Cleveland featured CSNY, Jesse Colin Young , the Band and Santana! It was an amazing all day and into the night event! I remember arriving to the awesome echoing of Santana’s bongos all around the stadium!! It was just awesome!!
Does anyone have any memories from the concerts at Packard Music Hall in Warren, Ohio. I work there and am trying to put together a history of who played there and when. Any help would be appreciated!
cceledonia@warren.org
packardmusichall.com
Hey, thanks for the memories! I went to several of the concerts at The Akron Rubber Bowl and Blossom Music Center. Jos Rosenthal
i remember the boogie hill shows, with canned heat, but someone said it was in 76. I was thinking it was more like 73 or 74.
The ’76 show in Tiffin was on mothers day at Boogie Hill. Still have my Stubbs. Also black oak arkansas, plus maybe boz scaggs? (It was the
70’s)
The opening act for the 1974 Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young show, I think, was Jessie Collin Young and The Beach Boys.
I was there, I think.
The “concert happened near Tiffin, OH (no ticket stub remains and I can’t remember the date).” was Boogie Hill on 20 June 1976. My memories are vague, too, other than Seger was completely awesome, as always.
My peak time going to concerts was the 1974 – 76 time frame. My two favorites were the 1975 world series of rock with Blue Oyster Cult and Aerosmith. Both out played the rest of the groups. The Mosquito creek dam jam really brings back memories. The rain, the near riot with things being thrown on stage. A poor man’s Woodstock.
Lived In Cleveland in the day. From LaCave to Leo’s Casino, to the Front Row, World Series of Rock,WMMS, Murray,Kid Leo, John Gorman,Len Goldberg, BLF Bash, Jeff @ Flash, Nelsons Ledges, Paul Brown Stadium, the AGORA, Peabody’s, Kent State, Chippewa Lake, Music Hall, Richfield, Public Hall,Wilbur’s Cleveland was a never ending bong hit of GREAT music. When I look back at my time in the RNR Capital of the WORLD I can honestly say I saw EVERYBODY I EVER WANTED TOO. I probably saw them TWICE. I just LOVED this page. Thanks.
My favorite was the Stevens Point outdoor festival in Iola Wisconsin in June 26-28 1970. Until the bikers wrecked everything. Big shoot out and some people got killed.
I stumbled upon this site when I was searching for ANY info on the Legend Vallley Todd Rundgren and Utopia show in July of 1979. I write for Todd’s website, http://www.trconnection.com, and there are VERY few people that even remember that concert took place! I ended up front row, it took all day of inching up during Eddie Money, The Cars, Cheap Trick, and finally, UTOPIA. ANYTHING would be welcome, especially memories. Setlists, bootlegs, t shirts, etc. Thanks! Dan