Old Awesome Concerts

[Udaman]

Flipping through Palladia last week, I ran across Rattle and Hum, the movie about U2's tour in 1988. Watching them "live" made me regret never getting the chance to see them. Then I started thinking about the great groups I did see in their heyday...and then I went to Setlist.com to try and find out the songs they played. Stumbled across this one from Elton John in 1993 in the Dean Smith Center

http://www.setlist.fm/setlist/elton-...-2bd2045e.html

It was the first time I ever heard Empty Garden and Funeral for a Friend/Loves Lies Bleeding

What a great, great concert.

Also saw Billy Joel in the Dean Smith Center in 1987. Though I couldn't find that concert on setlist, I did find this one in May 1987 in N.J.

http://www.setlist.fm/setlist/billy-...-7bd73680.html

I definitely remember the last four songs before the encore (and how awesome they were back to back to back to back), and remember him playing "Big Shot" as his last song and standing up on his piano like he was going to do a backflip - that he did not do - but apparently did the night before in Winston Salem. Also, I seem to remember him playing Stilleto in concert in the Dean Dome...but it's not on any of the other setlists from that time period (though there are only a few)...so it might just be wishful thinking on my part.

[jimsumner]

Believe it or not, youngsters, there was a time when Cameron/Page were hotbeds of memorable concerts.

Just in my four years at Duke (1968-72), I saw at Duke, Simon and Garfunkel, Jackson Browne (twice), the Beachboys, the Grateful Dead, the Byrds, the Allman Bothers Band, Janis Joplin (Kozmic Blues Band), the Eagles open for the Mahavishnu Orchestra (seriously), Gordon Lightfoot, Traffic (with Fairport Convention opening), Yes, Moody Blues, Leon Russell, J. Geils Band, Poco, the Guess Who, Hot Tuna, Laura Nyro, the Turtles, Nils Lofgren and Grin, Mountain and countless others I'll remember later. Springsteen (pre-fame) was a bit later, as were Rod Stewart and the Faces.

How was that possible, you ask. This was before the Smith Center, RBC Center, Walnut Creek, Koka Booth Ampitheatre, etc. Cameron was big, in comparison to the options. I saw Led Zeppelin at Dorton Arena, for crying out loud.

So, take that.

[Indoor66]

Believe it or not, youngsters, there was a time when Cameron/Page were hotbeds of memorable concerts.

Just in my four years at Duke (1968-72), I saw at Duke, Simon and Garfunkel, Jackson Browne (twice), the Beachboys, the Grateful Dead, the Byrds, the Allman Bothers Band, Janis Joplin (Kozmic Blues Band), the Eagles open for the Mahavishnu Orchestra (seriously), Gordon Lightfoot, Traffic (with Fairport Convention opening), Yes, Moody Blues, Leon Russell, J. Geils Band, Poco, the Guess Who, Hot Tuna, Laura Nyro, the Turtles, Nils Lofgren and Grin, Mountain and countless others I'll remember later. Springsteen (pre-fame) was a bit later, as were Rod Stewart and the Faces.

How was that possible, you ask. This was before the Smith Center, RBC Center, Walnut Creek, Koka Booth Ampitheatre, etc. Cameron was big, in comparison to the options. I saw Led Zeppelin at Dorton Arena, for crying out loud.

So, take that.

Before those was Linda Ronstadt and the Stone Poneys.

[77devil]

Believe it or not, youngsters, there was a time when Cameron/Page were hotbeds of memorable concerts.

Just in my four years at Duke (1968-72), I saw at Duke, Simon and Garfunkel, Jackson Browne (twice), the Beachboys, the Grateful Dead, the Byrds, the Allman Bothers Band, Janis Joplin (Kozmic Blues Band), the Eagles open for the Mahavishnu Orchestra (seriously), Gordon Lightfoot, Traffic (with Fairport Convention opening), Yes, Moody Blues, Leon Russell, J. Geils Band, Poco, the Guess Who, Hot Tuna, Laura Nyro, the Turtles, Nils Lofgren and Grin, Mountain and countless others I'll remember later. Springsteen (pre-fame) was a bit later, as were Rod Stewart and the Faces.

How was that possible, you ask. This was before the Smith Center, RBC Center, Walnut Creek, Koka Booth Ampitheatre, etc. Cameron was big, in comparison to the options. I saw Led Zeppelin at Dorton Arena, for crying out loud.

So, take that.

Cameron and Paqe continued to be the focal point in the triangle during my time although, for my taste, Jim's era was the peak for concerts at Duke. I was able to see a few of these shows while vsiting my sister. UNC hosted two memorable shows that I saw in Carmichael(Fleetwood Mac's first tour with Buckingham/Nicks, Weather Report). Greensboro Coliseum was the venue for most of the "mega shows" such as the Rolling Stones in '75 and arena era Led Zeppelin. Never saw a concert at Dorton although I did see a terrific Jimmy Buffet show in Raleigh, pre Margaritaville fame, in a small club that was really nothing more than a bar with a stage.

I hesitate to correct Jim and his typical impeccable accuracy, but unless they played Duke twice, Nils Lofgren and Grin was in April, 1973 as the opening act in Wally Wade for the last Joe College with Boz Scaggs and a third act I can't remember. One other aside, Rod Stewart and Faces(Atlantic Crossing tour) was the first show in the fall semester 1973 and my first working backstage. Rod was very drunk, obnoxious and it was a bad concert IMO.

[cspan37421]

I came to Duke from a town in western KY where there were just 2 stations that played pop/rock music. One was a classic rock station, so we got our fill of Beatles, Stones, Who, and Zeppelin; the other was a top 40 station, so in the 80s the hardest rock on top 40 you were talking about was Loverboy, and the modern sounds were things like Pet Shop Boys and Tears for Fears. Talk about sheltered existence! I had not heard of R.E.M. except about 4-5 years previously, when I was in junior HS in MI, and was getting Rolling Stone magazine - I recall a 5-star review for an album called Murmur. I didn't give it much thought then - hadn't head them, and didn't for many years afterward.

At Duke I settled into my classic rock station, probably something like Rock 92 out of "Asheboro, Greensboro, Winston-Salem, High Point", and continued on my oblivious way. Meanwhile, Peter Gabriel came while I was a freshman (didn't get the So CD until I was a soph Dec '86, one of my first 2 CDs ever bought). R.E.M. seemed to make regular appearances at Page, and in 2, if not 3 of my yearbooks there's pictures of R.E.M. in the "activities" section. Sometime in those first two years I heard of R.E.M. again as some friends who went to Vanderbilt came to like them. This was Lifes Rich Pageant era by now.

Finally, as a junior, a friend of mine at Duke who loved REM lent me Reckoning, and I was hooked (Pretty Persuasion did it). I could not believe what I was hearing - it was so different, fresh, envigorating. By then of course they were playing their last at Page (AFAIK) and it was sold out. Document hit the stores and I was enthralled. I think my senior year they returned to the area - and played the Dean Dome, selling out in a matter of minutes.

So I was late to the party. Perhaps with things like Pandora one need not grow up anymore oblivious of music not played on your local radio.

A couple years out of college, when CDs were quite well established, I came across a vinyl record of R.E.M. live at Page Auditorium, 1984. I thought of buying it for nostalgia, but I wasn't really using records anymore, so I passed it up. More regret!

By the way I'm a perfectly adjusted person now. Honest.

[jimsumner]

Cameron and Paqe continued to be the focal point in the triangle during my time although, for my taste, Jim's era was the peak for concerts at Duke. I was able to see a few of these shows while vsiting my sister. UNC hosted two memorable shows that I saw in Carmichael(Fleetwood Mac's first tour with Buckingham/Nicks, Weather Report). Greensboro Coliseum was the venue for most of the "mega shows" such as the Rolling Stones in '75 and arena era Led Zeppelin. Never saw a concert at Dorton although I did see a terrific Jimmy Buffet show in Raleigh, pre Margaritaville fame, in a small club that was really nothing more than a bar with a stage.

I hesitate to correct Jim and his typical impeccable accuracy, but unless they played Duke twice, Nils Lofgren and Grin was in April, 1973 as the opening act in Wally Wade for the last Joe College with Boz Scaggs and a third act I can't remember. One other aside, Rod Stewart and Faces(Atlantic Crossing tour) was the first show in the fall semester 1973 and my first working backstage. Rod was very drunk, obnoxious and it was a bad concert IMO.

You're probably right about Lofgren and Grin. I thought the last Joe College was my senior year but it may have been the following year.

Mountain killed Joe College. They played well past their allotted quitting time and played at a volume that resembled Napoleon at the gates of the city. You could hear them miles away. People complained. People with money.

Part of the appeal of Rod Stewart and the Faces was their sloppy, drunken charm. But I remember that concert as having horrible sound, poorly mixed, hum and feedback. Just awful. My ears rang well into the next day and I wasn't all that close to the speakers.

Speaking of drunken charm, I did see Joe Cocker outdoors in Chapel Hill, c. 1970. The stories are true. He could barely stand up.

Opening for Cocker? A pre-fame James Taylor, solo, no band. A year later, I saw Carole King open for JT in Dorton. This was a week or two before Tapestry came out. Hearing those songs in concert before they were famous was one of my concert highlights.

My favorite Carmichael concert in those days was Judy Collins, at her peak, right after the release of Who Knows Where the Time Goes. The Hollies and the Kinks played Carmichael a bit later.

I saw Stevie Wonder open for the Rolling Stones in Greensboro on their Exile tour and the the Who on their Who's Next tour in Charlotte. I wasn't even in the same zip code for the Who. I heard the echo before I heard the original. Still, a great group at their peak.

Favorite weekend? 1985, Friday night, Springsteen in Greensboro, next day Duke wins in Chapel Hill for the first time since 1966, with JD scoring 34. Springsteen and Dawkins, still two of my favorites.

Most recent concert? Alison Kraus in Cary. Going to see Ray LaMontagne Monday night, same place.

One last war story. John Sebastian in Carmichael. Crowd arrives, doors locked. Crowd gets restless, doors stay locked. We finally get it and concert starts way late. Turns out the DES wasn't happy with practice and decided to keep the guys around for a little extra work.

[Devil in the Blue Dress]

At the risk of being classified as an oldster, among the noteworthy concerts while I was at Duke were The Platters, Al Hirt, the Beach Boys, the Temptations, the Shirelles.... there were more. These are the ones I think of quickly. Maurice Williams and the Zodiacs were regulars at float building.

[OldPhiKap]

Clapton in Cameron. Neil Youg, too.

REM at Page. Jorma and Sonny McGhee for the Blind Boy Fuller concert as well.

Pink Floyd at the Dean Dome. Never knew pigs could fly, or beds could explode.

[devildeac]

From my freshman year:

Batdorf and Rodney, September 1972,
Jackson Browne, September 1972,
Jackson Browne and Batdorf and Rodney, September 1972,*
Grateful Dead, September 1972,
Eagles and Mahavishno Orch, September 1972 (3 folders),*
Van Morrison, October 1972,*
The Persuasions, Stevie Wonder, October 1972,
Stevie Wonder, October 1972 (2 folders),
Poco, October 21, 1972 (2 folders)*
Osibisa, October 1972,
YES, November 11, 1972 (2 folders),*
Tranquility, November 1972,
Tammy Wynette, February 10, 1973,
Tammy Wynette and George Jones, , February 1973
Alex Haley, February 1973,
Frank Zappa/Mothers of Invention, February 24, 1973 (2 folders),*
Kenny Loggins Band with Jim Messina, March 1973 (2 folders),*

I remember seeing the * concerts (My recollection is not related to drugs or alcohol. I just can't recall every show I saw during my freshman year. Ozzie and I have about the same degree of CRS Syndrome.). Not a Dead fan. Never was, never will be but can understand their following/fans. Best show, without doubt, was Yes, one of my favorite bands ever.

Last Joe College Week poster(?). Think we had a brief discussion about this several weeks or months ago.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/dukeyea...57624289444956

Looks like the bands were Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, Grin and Boz Scagggs.

Also looks like there was a Joe Easter Easter event in 1974.

More later.

[77devil]

While we are on this trip down memory lane, I should mention that the concert in CIS that we co-produced with NCCU featuring George Clinton and Parliament Funkadelic and headlining Rufus with Chaka Kahn was an absolute killer and the stadium was rocking. It was arguably the best I experienced at Duke.

I encountered a lot of the performers who played at Duke and for the most part they came, they played, and they left, but a few stand out. Jerry Garcia was very friendly, talkative, and attracted a crowd in a pied piper sort of way. Joni Mitchell made many demands for herself and her backstage entourage and was a real bit**. I was sort of devastated to see my adolescent heart throb, Grace Slick, up close as an overweight, drunken caricature of a fading rock star past her prime. Frank Zappa seemed to be a very strange dude in keeping with his looks. Bonnie Raitt was as nice as Joni was not. Unfortunately, I didn't meet the Boss.

[devildeac]

While we are on this trip down memory lane, I should mention that the concert in CIS that we co-produced with NCCU featuring George Clinton and Parliament Funkadelic and headlining Rufus with Chaka Kahn was an absolute killer and the stadium was rocking. It was arguably the best I experienced at Duke.

I encountered a lot of the performers who played at Duke and for the most part they came, they played, and they left, but a few stand out. Jerry Garcia was very friendly, talkative, and attracted a crowd in a pied piper sort of way. Joni Mitchell made many demands for herself and her backstage entourage and was a real bit**. I was sort of devastated to see my adolescent heart throb, Grace Slick, up close as an overweight, drunken caricature of a fading rock star past her prime. Frank Zappa seemed to be a very strange dude in keeping with his looks. Bonnie Raitt was as nice as Joni was not. Unfortunately, I didn't meet the Boss.

I likewise worked with Major Attractions during my time at Duke but not is the production phase of the shows. I was just on the committee and was an usher at most all of the shows that I attended. From my sophomore year:

Rod Stewart and the Faces, September 19, 1973,
New Riders of the Purple Sage, Commander Cody and his Lost Planet Airmen, October 20, 1973,
Dave Mason, November 2, 1973,
Crosby and Nash, November 15, 1973,
The Grateful Dead, December 8, 1973,
Bonnie Raitt, January 18, 1974,
Seals and Croft, February 17, 1975,(I think this is a typo and should be 1974.)
Joni Mitchell, March 1974,
Gregg Allman, March 17, 1974,

I can't recall for the life of me which ones I missed/attended, except I am pretty show I missed the Dead. Again. I think Dave Mason was quite good as a solo act.

And the Joe Easter Weekend I referred to above:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/dukeyea...57624289444956

Also drove to DC with a friend during the winter that year (yep, gas "crisis" not withstanding) to see Skynyrd (awful) open for The Who on their Quadrophenia tour. Great, great show.

[OldPhiKap]

While we are on this trip down memory lane, I should mention that the concert in CIS that we co-produced with NCCU featuring George Clinton and Parliament Funkadelic and headlining Rufus with Chaka Kahn was an absolute killer and the stadium was rocking. It was arguably the best I experienced at Duke.

I for one am glad that P-Funk didn't tear the roof off the mother, tear the roof off the mother, tear the roof off the mother sucka.

[Wheat/"/"/"]

Cameron did use to rock back in the day...

This thread brings back some fond memories... barely... and a little foggy, for sure.

I was at one once in '77 that featured REO Speedwagon, StarCastle and Boston that shook the timbers of CIS. Anybody remember that? Good times!

And I have to add that I've seen one Greatful Dead show, "Dark Star", in Hampton Va. I think it was '91? I really wish I could have seen more...

Unless you have ever been to a Dead show with good, earthy, simple, loving people, uninhibited and intoxicated, I won't even try to express just how much fun it was and the cool vibes that show had.

I went with some surfing buds from the OBX and some day when I review my bucket list, I won't have to look way down the list to see where that time ranks with me.

[weezie]

At the risk of being classified as an oldster

Never DiBD, never ever!

The original Temptations! I made both my children learn all the lyrics of their big hits during years of driving to
after school practices and lessons. I'm not kidding, they know them all.

[OZZIE4DUKE]

CRS? I'm not sure, I can't remember!

I went to that Yes concert. Fabulous! Also saw the Greg Allman Band. Definitely the longest one band concert I ever went to - they must have played for almost 4 hours with only a short intermission; I was so ready for it to end.

My favorite concert was over at NC State, their version of Joe College in the spring of 1975(?). J. Geils played on Friday night and Rare Earth, my absolute favorite band, played on Saturday. After that weekend, J. Geils was my favorite band. They pumped out so much energy you could see the electrons spinning around them from 100 yards away!

And,of course, I saw the Stones in Wallace Wade a few years ago, and that was great!

[devildeac]

CRS? I'm not sure, I can't remember!

I went to that Yes concert. Fabulous! Also saw the Greg Allman Band. Definitely the longest one band concert I ever went to - they must have played for almost 4 hours with only a short intermission; I was so ready for it to end.

My favorite concert was over at NC State, their version of Joe College in the spring of 1975(?). J. Geils played on Friday night and Rare Earth, my absolute favorite band, played on Saturday. After that weekend, J. Geils was my favorite band. They pumped out so much energy you could see the electrons spinning around them from 100 yards away!

And,of course, I saw the Stones in Wallace Wade a few years ago, and that was great!

And, from our junior year:

Dean Scott Show, August 31, 1974,(I have no idea what/who this was.)
Jefferson Starship, October 29, 1974 (2 folders),
Dicky Betts and SHF, November 1974 (2 folders),
Earth, Wind, and Fire, November 1974 (2 folders),
The Dobbie Brothers, December 1974,(little typo here)
Larry Gatlin, 1974,
Box 3
Les McCann, January 1975
Bruce Springsteen, Cancellation, February 1975,()
Marshall Tucker Band, March 7, 1975,
Jesse Colin Young/Leo Kottke, April 1975,(Kottke is fabulous but in a much smaller venue. I saw him a couple other times and he was awesome.)

[77devil]

Great stuff DD not the least of which was finding the old posters.

[devildeac]

Great stuff DD not the least of which was finding the old posters.

Thanks! And from my last semester:

Kenny Loggins Band with Jim Messina, September 1975,
Roberta Flack/Richard Pryor, September 1975,
Frank Zappa, October 1975,
Allman Brothers, November 1975,
Bruce Springsteen, March 28, 1976,
Jerry Garcia, April 1976,

I am not sure I saw any of those shows that fall semester as I graduated in December, 1975, but returned for the Born to Run Tour show for Springsteen as I was living/working in Durham at the time. Good but not great show as it was the night after I had seen Wet Willie, Journey and ELO in Greensboro and my ears were still ringing and head throbbing from the deafening volume of that show. In fact, it was the last R&R show I attended until my wife bought me tickets to see the Doobies and Steve Miller about 25 years later in Raleigh.

[jimsumner]

Devildeac mentioned the Jackson Browne concert, with Batdorf and Rodney opening in Page, 1972. Batdorf and Rodney didn't actually show up. Cancelled at the last minute. Browne didn't have a band with him but he had David Lindley, which was better than an actual band. Browne only had a couple of albums out but he had a back catalog of songs written and either unrecorded or recorded by others. So, he and Lindley played darn near everything they knew, hour after delicious hour.

A lot better than Batdorf and Rodney opening.

A great concert in an intimate venue. My favorite concert at Duke.

[captmojo]

Gregg Allman, March 17, 1974,

I'd officially like to accuse you of being the pre-show streaker at this event.

Never saw a concert at Dorton although I did see a terrific Jimmy Buffet show in Raleigh, pre Margaritaville fame, in a small club that was really nothing more than a bar with a stage.

Might this place have been The Subway at Cameron Village?