1982: As usual, this page, as with a great part of the rest of the site, would not have been possible without the help of ex-BOC roadie, Sam Judd, and it's his notes which inform many of the facts contained herein...

Have you got anything to contribute to this page? Reviews, missing info, ticket stubs, posters etc etc - if so, let me .

 

 

Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
Ralph

The only hint I have that a gig may have occurred here on this date was a list of ticket stubs on ebay - there was no image to see, but the text description said: "BOC Jan 7,1982 Hartford CC"...

Does anybody know if this took place or not? I have to admit, a single lone gig in January in the midst of a four-month period off the road (after such a large tour with Foghat during the latter part of 1981) doesn't seem terribly likely...

What happened in February? If you know, please let me ...

What happened in March? If you know, please let me ...

Ralph

Thanks to Alessandro Borri, I now know the scope of the original projected "Hot Rails to Rock'n'Roll" tour with Molly Hatchet.

Alessandro found the info on the afka.net Zappa site - it's a listing from the 15 April 1982 issue of "Musiker Music News" (issue 7):

Eine interessante Package-Tour absolvieren Blue Oyster Cult and Molly Hatchet im Mai:

19.05. Munchen (Rudi-Sedlmayr-Halle)
20.05. Würzburg (Carl-Diem-Halle)
21.05. Stuttgart (Messehalle Sindelfingen)
22.05. Nürnberg (Messezentrum)
23.05. Russelheim (Walter-Köbel-Halle)
24.05. Düsseldorf (Philipshalle)
25.05. Hamburg (Messehalle II)
26.05. Ludwigshafen (Friedrich-Ebert-Halle)

I also found the same tour listing in the 12 Apr 1982 edition of the "European Stars And Stripes".

However, it soon became clear that at least some of these dates had been cancelled...

Sam Judd

I don't THINK that 19th show (Munich) actually happened... I remember starting that swing in Stuttgart...

I think we did those three shows (Stuttgart/Nuremburg/Russelheim) and went home... counting our DM on the plane....

Ralph

However, I then received information that the entire tour had been cancelled:

Rob Reich

I had tickets to the Russelsheim show, which was cancelled. I remember clearly the article in the Stars and Stripes, it was 3 or 4 days before my show, that announced that the entire tour was cancelled due to a health issue with a member of Hatchet.

It explained how to get a refund on purchased tickets, and had some type of comment about hoping to reschedule soon. Unfortunately for me not soon enough as I was back in the States by the time BOC came back. (Moved back early summer of 83).

I wonder if those old Stars and Stripes are microfilmed anywhere....?

I hated Hatchet for years and cursed loudly any time Flirting with Disaster came on the radio.

Ralph

This was interesting - and was certainly at odds with Sam's recollections of the tour. My working rule of thumb is that Sam is never wrong, and that's always proved to be a good guide but I'm beginning to think that with this tour he might have been mixing it up with a later one, because I've now had indications that out of the three gigs he mentioned that he thinks were performed, two of those were definitely cancelled.

I also checked out the Stars and Stripes lead Rob mentioned, and found this in the 22 May 1982 edition:

After getting you all excited by telling you that Molly Hatchet's original singer Danny Joe Brown is going to be on the tour with Molly Hatchet and Blue Oyster Cult, I have to tell you that the tour has been postponed. But it is only postponed until September or October.

It seems that Molly Hatchet's lead guitarist Dave Hlubek has more problems with his mouth. He is going to have to undergo some eight operations.

Barry Williamson from Sunrise Concerts will let me know when we will get the green light.

So - Rob was correct - but this was only published on the 22 May - almost halfway through the tour. This would tend to make you think that the cancellation must clearly have come very late in the day - and therefore, you have to assume BOC and Hatchet were already over there.

This would certainly chime with Sam's post above where he said he think the band actually flew over there, although I have recently received anecdotal reports that the tour was cancelled before the band left the States!! I hate this tour!!

It's like trying to document a will-o-the wisp - did they go or didn't they? If they did, did they play any dates prior to the cancellation or didn't they? Sam clearly seems to think they did, although he admits he wasn't certain which ones, but like I said, maybe he's mixed these dates up with a later tour...?

Furthermore - why would BOC cancel just because the other band on the bill had to pull out? Weren't BOC the "headliners" on this tour? They were listed first on the posters, tickets etc so that's always been my assumption.

Even if it was a co-headline type of deal, and let's assume Hatchet were massive in West Germany at the time (I don't know if they were or not), then even then, why would BOC cancel?

Less than 2 years earlier, when Sabbath pulled out of a few dates of the co-headline "Black'n'Blue" tour, BOC didn't cancel. The year before, they did a major tour with Rainbow (not co-headline, but Rainbow were big at the time), and Rainbow cancelled many dates on that run and BOC just played for longer...

I don't get it...

Anyway, I think my best course of action whilst documenting this particular tour would now seem to be to designate each of these gigs as a 'Cancelled' BOC gig unless I receive direct confirmation that it was definitely took place. I realise this is at odds with Sam Judd's recollections, but the evidence has now really stacked up that it didn't take place...

Quick Gig Facts
Ralph

I'm looking for some feedback that would confirm or deny that this gig - as with most of the others on this tour - actually happened... please chip in if you have any info...

Quick Gig Facts
Tim Cornell

Was stationed in Wurzburg at the time and had tickets to the show when it was announced that MH had pulled out of the tour due to a illness within the band, and that the whole show was cancelled. And presumably the tour. Read it, I believe in Stars and Stripes. Something about a member in MH having a staph infection.

Very disappointed to say the least.

And to muddy the waters even more, I think the announcement was made before the bands left the states.

Ralph

OK - thanks Tim... and yup, those waters are looking pretty murky...

Quick Gig Facts
Helmut Wittmann

This show was cancelled.

Ralph

Damn - Stuttgart is the one gig Sam Judd remembers having taken place...

Can anyone else confirm that this show did not occur?

Michael Strittmatter

If I attended the show (and I think I did) it could only have been in Stuttgart. I would never drive to Rüsselsheim or Nürnberg. And definitely not to Munich. But forgive me... I'm not 100% postive.

Ralph

Well, this is certainly mysterious - Helmut says decisively it was cancelled but I've got a couple of people who think it took place - and one of them is roadie Sam Judd!! - so I'm looking for further confirmation on this gig.

However, like I said above in the intro text above the start date of this "tour", it does look like the whole thing was kiboshed, so that's why this is currently designated as a "cancelled" gig, but if you can help with any info one way or the other, please click on the email link in the red box under the promoter info on the right...

Quick Gig Facts
Ralph

The information that Alessandro Borri sent me indicated that the original venue scheduled for this date was the Messezentrum, an exhibition centre. However, I'm going with the info from the ticket and the poster for now, which indicate that the venue must have been changed to the Hemmerleinhalle.

However, I next have to consider whether or not the gig actually took place. I don't think it did - do you know?

Ralph

Thanks to Rob Reich - see above - I now know that this gig was definitely cancelled.

Quick Gig Facts
Ralph

This gig is unlikely to have occurred, but can anyone actually confirm that...?

Quick Gig Facts
Ralph

Can anyone confirm/deny that this gig didn't take place...? It probably didn't, but I'd like to get that confirmed if I could...

Stefan Rux

I recently rediscovered the music of BÖC, and it brought back some lovely memories of one of the best times in my life. I've been a fan from the time of the 'Spectres'-album onward through to the masterpiece 'Fire Of Unknown Origin' and the following 'ETL'-Live-album.

How happy I was when at the beginning of 1982 a BÖC-tour through Germany for some May dates was announced. I immediately went down to the ticket shop in my hometown of Karlsruhe and bought some tickets for me and my friends (there were a lot of BÖC-fans around) for the concert in Ludwigshafen in the Eberthalle.

I remember how happy I was to soon be able to see one of my favourite bands live on stage. The show was scheduled for May 1982 (I don't remember the exact date, but it was definitely in May).

Then at the end of April the announcement was made that the show in Ludwigshafen is cancelled. No official reason was given, but rumour had it that the lasershow of BÖC didn't pass the security check required by German authorities.

You can bet how disappointed me and my friends were. We got our tickets refunded and from the money I bought the newly released Queen (another favourite band for me at that time) record 'Hot Space'. Those were the days (I was nearly 20 years of age then).

So there definitely was a BÖC show scheduled in Ludwigshafen, Eberthalle in May 1982. My bet for the date would be May, 20th 1982, though I'm not sure. But the date seems to fit nicely into the rest of the German tour dates.

Ralph

Thanks for that info, Stefan. By the way - I now know that the scheduled Ludwigshafen gig was supposed to have occurred on 26 May 1982...

Regarding the reasons for the cancellation - it can't have been anything to do with lasers because the last laser show was in May 1979.

The stated reason for the cancellation was actually the ill-health of Hatchet's Dave Hlubek, but like I've mentioned above, for that to force BOC to cancel, I just don't get it.

You say you think the announcement came at the end of April, which obviously means that the band wouldn't have travelled, and you're not the first person to highlight this, so I'm now forced to the conclusion that BOC did not in fact even leave the States in May 1982...

Of course, conspiracy theorists would point to the fact that one of the usual reasons for cancelled gigs is low ticket sales, so maybe the Hatchet health issues were "strategic"...?

As Toyah once stridently sang: "it's a mystery"...

Quick Gig Facts
Ralph

I only know about this gig thanks to this mention in the Fri 10 Jun 1982 issue of the Canarsie Courier:

There are plenty of concerts coming our way soon including Soft White Underbelly (also known as Blue Oyster Cult) will perform at Hammerheads in East Islip on June 17th; Lamours in Brooklyn on June 20th and the Factory on Staten Island on June 21st... also Lamours in Brooklyn will host Humble Pie on June 17th and a gig with David Johansen to be announced...

Quick Gig Facts
Ralph

I only know about this gig thanks to this mention in the Friday 11 Jun 1982 issue of the Daily Record [Morristown NJ]:

Blue Oyster Cult will do a club date at Pebbles in Rochelle Park June 18, under the pseudonym "Soft White Underbelly," which was their name in their bar-band days...

Quick Gig Facts
Carl Gorenberg

BOC [SWU show] - Hartford Stage West, Hartford CT June 1982 June 19th - was a club [large room about 3500 people]

DJ Hack

Carl is correct. The venue was called Stage West at this point and it was located in West Hartford, CT. The name was changed to the Agora around 1984.

It was little more than a metal warehouse-type building in an industrial area. A co-worker saw this show and described as the loudest thing she had ever heard in her life.

Bands that I saw at the Stage West/Agora in this period included the Ramones on 9 or 10 occasions, the Plasmatics (twice), Squeeze (twice), and Motorhead - along with notable opening acts Shrapnel, The Fast, Helix, Helen Wheels, and Blotto.

The name of the venue changed again to West Hartford Exposition Hall around 1986 and soon afterward someone broke in at night and chainsawed the interior to pieces (bar, stages, seating, balcony, etc.)

The last time I passed the building it had reverted to some sort of industrial use.

Ralph

Actually, I managed to discover that the venue was indeed called the Agora for this gig thanks to a review of the show on page 16 of the Monday 21 June 1982 issue of the "Hartford Courant":

Blue Oyster Cult Shows Muscle, Wit
By Frank Rizzo
Courant Staff Writer

Blue Oyster Cult is smarter than you think.

It is unlike the stereotypical image of a heavy metal band - all brawn and no brain. While no-one is going to accuse the group of being esoteric, it has remained, during its more than 10 years together, a bright band offering sometimes clever, sometimes catchy tunes without playing the heavy metal fool.

Despite the high decibel level and big wall-of-guitar sounds, the music stands apart from the pack. Strong melodies, powerful arrangements and ambitious lyrical conceits distinguish its sound.

To a crowd of more than 2,000 Saturday night at the Agora Ballroom in West Hartford, the band demonstrated its muscle and wit.

It was an open secret to the Cult's cult that the advertised band, "Soft White Underbelly", was actually their heroes using a rock pseudonym. (Soft White Underbelly was the name of the band before band members changed it to Stalk Forrest Group, before they changed it to the Blue Oyster Cult. The motto here is: "When at first you don't succeed...")

A spokesman for the band said the five-member group wanted to play smaller venues as a "warm up" for its summer schedule of large outdoor gigs. The manager of the club said the fake name was used to avoid a turn-away crowd. The Agora wasn't packed, but it was as near as you could have to a full house while still having a relatively good time.

The Agora opened up its big stage for the event, and although the air was hot and recycled, the space and sound provided a fair alternative between the claustrophobia of small club and the canyons of the Hartford Civic Center.

It was as intimate as heavy metal can get without having listeners looking like the guy in the Maxwell tapes ad, his hair blown away from the waves of sound as he receives an aural lobotomy. It was also a no-frill concert, with an absence of major special effects and lasers that the Cult has displayed in coliseum shows.

The band got off to a running start with the powerful "Dominance & Submission," followed quickly by "Dr. Music" and "E.T.I." (Extra Terrestrial Intelligence). It was pointed out that song was written before the current movie "E.T.". It's also a happy coincidence that this tour is labelled the "E.T. Live" tour in support of the group's current "Extra Terrestrial Live double album on Columbia.

The songs performed during the 90-minute show were a healthy mix that spanned the band's career. A few numbers, such as "Summer of Love," haven't been played by the band in concert in years.

"Cities On Flame," "Veteran of The Psychic Wars" and "(Don't Fear) The Reaper" all received grand plays, especially in its powerful guitar frone line when first one, then two, then three, and finally four electric guitars were turned loose. Guitar frenzy was enacted later by Donald "Buck Dharma" Roeser when he ripped out each string of his guitar until he was left with one screaming chord.

For more fun, the band performed the spoofy "Joan Crawford," and "Godzilla." A hot version of Steppenwolf's "Born to be Wild" closed the show, before encores of "Burnin for You" and "Roadhouse Blues."

With the Blue Oyster Cult everyone received his due, and not just for an obligatory solo spot. This shows the band is: A) democratic and multi-talented and B) unfocused. Look at Eric Bloom as lead vocalist, as keyboardist, as guitarist. Catch Allen Lanier on keyboards, on tamboreen, on guitar. Even Roeser goes lead-singing for a song or two. All perform expertly, but no one wins the charisma prize.

A single personality doesn't emerge, and the result is sometimes an embarrassment of riches and sometimes a mess.

However, the band's sound, rather than its sights, is strong enough to sustain any split focus. And at the Agora, that sound was rock solid.

Also, the 18 June issue of the Courant gave this listing:

Agora Ballroom - Tonight, Hot Head Slater;
Sat, Soft White Underbelly, Equinox;
Sun, Squeeze.
165 Dexter Ave, West Hartford (246-2602).

So - if that listing is to be believed, "Equinox" was the support...

Quick Gig Facts
Ralph

I only know about this gig thanks to this mention in the Thu 10 Jun 1982 issue of the Canarsie Courier:

There are plenty of concerts coming our way soon including Soft White Underbelly (also known as Blue Oyster Cult) will perform at Hammerheads in East Islip on June 17th; Lamours in Brooklyn on June 20th and the Factory on Staten Island on June 21st... also Lamours in Brooklyn will host Humble Pie on June 17th and a gig with David Johansen to be announced...

Quick Gig Facts
Ralph

I only knew of this gig initially as a result of seeing a gig review clipping on Joe Bouchard's Facebook page. However, it was also mentioned in the Thu 10 Jun 1982 issue of the Canarsie Courier:

There are plenty of concerts coming our way soon including Soft White Underbelly (also known as Blue Oyster Cult) will perform at Hammerheads in East Islip on June 17th; Lamours in Brooklyn on June 20th and the Factory on Staten Island on June 21st... also Lamours in Brooklyn will host Humble Pie on June 17th and a gig with David Johansen to be announced...

Quick Gig Facts
Ralph

I only know about this gig thanks to a mention in the Thursday 17 Jun 1982 issue of the Canarsie Courier:

HOT ROCKS:... Soft White Underbelly (aka Blue Oyster Cult) will perform at Lamours in Brooklyn on the 20th and the Factory on Staten Island on the 21st... My Fathers Place in Roslyn will feature the Circle Jerks, 18th; Going Straight, 19th; Reggae with the Meditations, 21st; Soft White Underbelly, 22nd...

Mark C. Rogers

I was not/am not a huge BOC fan (though Don't fear the Reaper is a great song to this day), and It was 21 years ago when I was 14 so my memory is probably not up to the level of writing a review. It was a general admission show, and we were quite close to the stage.

My brother had the ETL tape, and as I recall the set list was mostly the same, including the cover of roadhouse blues which had some extended chat with the audience as an intro. Godzilla made quite an impression on me, because of the Godzilla head that emerged from the stage.

Hope this helps. In my memory they also did a fine version of veteran of the psychic wars, but I may be misremembering.

The main thing I remember is that, although i was very straight-laced, I was a big kid and wore an army green jacket. Before the show, several people approached me and asked if I was "holding." My brother had to explain to me what they meant, but this was the source of my teenage nickname "Gange" or "Gangie"

I assume you are familiar with the drive-by-truckers "let there be rock" which includes the lyric "dropped acid at a blue oyster cult concert/14 years old and I thought that them lasers were spiders chasing me." Great song.

Anyway, hope the ticket stub helps.

Sport

Alpine Valley, Troy WI with Aldo Nova...

The first show for me without Albert. At the time, we had only heard the rumors of him being gone...

  1. Dominance
  2. Dr. Music
  3. ETI
  4. Summer
  5. HRTH
  6. Joan
  7. COF w/ RnR
  8. Veteran
  9. Reaper
  10. Godzilla [weird hearing Reaper before Zilla]
  11. BTBW
  12. Encores: Burnin
  13. Roadhouse
Quick Gig Facts
Gardner Trimble

Journey - BOC - Triumph - Aldo Nova

BOC played at sunset and were excellent.

Set List:
Dr. Music
Hot Rails To Hell
This Ain't The Summer Of Love
Burnin' For You
Godzilla
Reaper
5 Guitars
Born To Be Wild
Roadhouse Blues (with Robbie Krieger)

Ralph

A few nice photos which give an idea of just how big the crowd was that day can be found here:

Jeff Johansen

It was quite a few years ago, but I believe that both Ray Manzarek and Robbie Krieger joined the band for Roadhouse Blues.

One heck of a rock-n-roll show and an intense fireworks show afterwards too.

Ernie Smith

I went to this concert. It was actually my very first rock concert.

If I recall correctly, they had some sort of problem and had to start really late.

Joe Gagnon

I was at the July 16, 1982 show in Houston.

There was no warmup act and as I recall it was the very first concert in the newly established concert area at Astroworld.

Larry Kealey

I was already a huge cult fan. When I heard about this (I had just moved down from Maryland), I was in.

The previous poster mentioned a "problem" - yeah, there was a problem all right. Astrioworld was expecting about 12,000 people and 30,000 showed up! They were supposed to do 2 shows, the first at 8 and the second around 9:30. They decided to just do one show, started around 7 or so.

It was the very first "Summer Fun" concert at Astroworld, at that time, all they had was a big field of grass and a stage set up.

I sat down at the gates to the field, at about 11 AM, I think I was about the 7th person there! When they finally opened the gates, it was a mad dash all the way down the field to get your spot on the grass. We were in the front row. They did have a 10 ft. barricade set up, of course it did not last long once the show started. It was a long, hot and muggy Houston kinda day. But, I was totally re-energized when they took the stage.

The previous poster was right, there was no warm up band.

The barricade and the security guys lasted about 3 songs before we were pushed all the way up to the stage! The stage was about chest high on me and what a view! The barricade was flimsy like I said, so the guards could do nothing except get out of the way because we were being pushed from behind. So I started 10 feet from the stage and ended up pushed up against it!

When they played "Cities on Flame" The "flash bombs" went off and actually singed my hair and eyebrows - I was seeing blue for about 5 minutes! It was awesome! If memory serves me, they did 3 encores! They played all of my favorites - almost everything off the first 3 albums, Last Days of May and my favorite song of more than 40 years: Astronomy! Cagey Cretins, Before the Kiss, and of course, the "airplay" songs - Godzilla and Don't Fear the Reaper... One of the best concerts I have ever been to!

It was one hell of a show! Being in the front row, it took forever to get out of the field and across I-610 to the parking lot, it was like 2 in the morning before we drove out! Oh, but well worth it. One of the best concerts I have ever attended, and back then, I went to every concert I could.

Incidentally, my very first concert was Sept 30, 1979 - the day my father retired from the Air Force - I don't even need to look up the date. Richie Blackmore and Rainbow opened for them at the Baltimore Civic Center. I have seen them at least 25 times over the years, this show was one of the most memorable.

My best friend of 42 years, "Fuzzy" is coming down and we are going to see them at "The Redneck Country Club" in Stafford, TX on Oct 18 (2019). I am so stoked. For years, we would alternate, my going up to Maryland and Martin "Fuzzy" and some of our other high school buddies, coming down here to Houston, and we would do BOC and go fishing - gonna do a 24 hour tuna trip in the Gulf this time, but that is a story for later! (There are a couple more of my high school buddies who are maybes for coming down - we have all been huge cult fans for like 45 years!)

Quick Gig Facts
Jesus Gonzalez

This gig never happened. I was there, it was advertised as the Summer Strut and it was Foreigner, Loverboy, Scorpions, and Iron Maiden on the bill.

BOC played a week or two before at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena (opening for Journey, with Triumph and Aldo Nova on the bill). I was at both shows.

I distinctly remember when the July 2 gig went on sale and the Anaheim gig went on sale. I was a senior in high school at the time. The July 2 gig went on sale first, and it was originally advertised as Journey with BOC. Triumph and Aldo Nova were added to the bill later.

The Anaheim gig went on sale the following week, and the bands listed in the original advertisement were Foreigner, Loverboy, Scorpions, Iron Maiden, and Huey Lewis and the News. This gig even had a name - The Summer Strut, is what the promoters were advertising it as.

My friends and I thought both gigs were must-sees for that summer as they were only a few weeks apart, so a bunch of us wound up going to both.

For a few years afterward, I had kept the original newspaper clippings advertising both shows (your site does have a scan of the announcement of the July 2 gig, which was one of the ads I kept - I later lost both ads during a move).

At some point, Huey Lewis was dropped from the Anaheim bill, and probably for good reason (we'd never heard of him at the time the tickets went on sale, but later that summer, well after that gig, he had a minor Top 40 hit with "Do You Believe in Love".

I noticed the T-shirts (above) listing BOC on all four sites. I never saw those shirts on sale at the Anaheim gig. It's possible they were printed and simply never offered for sale in Anaheim.

The shirts shown for the Rose Bowl gig are correct - I had one of them, with the Journey logo on the front with the Rose Bowl image on the front and then the back of the shirt showing all four bands. I wish I still had that shirt!

Quick Gig Facts
Sam Judd

We didn't play either the Anaheim or the Oakland shows on this list... just FYI, Wiki has a great DOTG page listing all the shows and bands:

Thu 22 Jul
Rock 'n' Roll All Stars vs KISW staff softball game, Lower Woodland Park, Seattle

Before their big gig at the Kingdome the next day, some members of the top-billed bands were involved in a charity softball game.

The following notice appeared in Thu, 1 Jul 1982 edition of "The Rocket" (Seattle, Washington):

The KISW staff will play a benefit softball game with the Rock 'n' Roll All Stars, composed of members of the JOAN JETT, LOVERBOY, BLUE OYSTER CULT, FOREIGNER shows at 4 p.m. July 22 on the Lower Woodland Park field. Bring one or more cans of food - it's all for the local food banks.

Apparently, BOC were represented by Rick Downey in the Rock 'n' Roll All Stars team.

Quick Gig Facts
Ralph

Foreigner clearly headlined, but I don't actually know for sure the running order for the rest.

If you do, please let me know.

Stuart Lutzenhiser

I was at this concert - a million years ago it seems.

Can't help you with set information or anything tangible - but I'll always remember one thing about this concert...

Opening act was Bryan Adams - as he is from Vancouver and sort of a local boy. This was before he was really famous. I remember that he was booed regularly during his set.

I remember his first videos on mtv and thinking "hey, this is the same guy I saw booed off the stage!"

Regarding the running order of the bands - the four bands you have listed were there and Foreigner was last. I don't remember the order of the other bands - but you have the right ones listed.

John Doe

I was at this show, and the order was Bryan Adams, Joan Jett (wasted, she was horrible), Loverboy, Foreigner and then BOC.

BOC and Foreigner both had inflatibles, BOC of course had Godzilla and Foreigner had an exploding Juke Box. Great show...

Ralph

I found a short review of this show online which also had BOC topping the bill:

The Seattle show was:

  • Blue Oyster Cult
  • Foreigner
  • Loverboy
  • Joan Jett
  • Bryan Adams (before anybody had heard of him)

BOC was an odd one to top this bill. They did not have a hit out at the time, and both Foreigner and Loverboy were on heavy MTV rotation.

However, it was clear who the audience came to see: BOC. The place was a madhouse during their entire set, which not only included rubbing the guitars together, but also a huge Godzilla model that spit flame over the stage.

Very cool show.

Christian Jacobsen

But is it accurate?

Ken & Janet Merkley

Re. order of bands playing is incorrect... the order was Bryan Adams, Joan Jett, BOC, Loverboy, then Foreigner...

Derek Weinman

I was at this show. I do not remember anyone booing Bryan Adams, though I guess it's possible. He was unknown at the time but actually put on a very good performance, played the harmonica great, sang great, I don't remember one bad thing about his set.

Joan Jett was next, then BOC. At the end of BOC's set, nobody clapped... the whole place made the sign of the owl (aka the sign of the horns) and began hooting loudly at the band.

Just like it had been planned... but it was spontaneous and VERY cool! Still gives me chills to remember that. Eric stepped up to the mic and said "We hear you...and we WILL be back!".

I had forgotten all about Loverboy; I don't remember a thing about their set, or even that they were there (it's been a long time, sorry). When Foreigner took the stage, they looked ragged and old even then and there was nothing special at all about their presence or their show.

It was like watching old people deliver exact copies of what we heard on the radio. People began filing out not long after they started their set. BOC had blown the roof off the place and were really impossible for anyone to follow.

We left after 4 songs or so from Foreigner; I'd say about half the crowd beat us out the door. We listened to the rest of the show on the radio while driving home, it was being simulcast.

Chuck McGowan

To clear up the order of appearance, it was Bryan Adams opening (he was a last-minute addition to the bill), Joan Jett & The Blackhearts, Blue Oyster Cult, Loverboy, with Foreigner headlining.

I hardly remember anything about this show, but that was definitely the order of appearance. I musta been too stoned or my memory is getting really bad. I also went by myself, so there was nobody to share my memories of that show with, so they are lost forever.

I do remember one thing, though. After Loverboy's set, the big-screen kept showing a still frame of Loverboy's guitarist the cameras had captured flipping the bird. No idea why that stuck with me.

As one other has said, Foreigner was totally forgettable. I was severely disappointed with them. I was surprised by Loverboy and actually thought they did a decent job.

I think I sat on the far side of the Kingdome for the entire show, which probably didn't help any. The acoustics in that place were godawful.

Ralph

Here's a post I found on this show in a Seattle reddit group:

Grand Slam Summer Jam, baby! T-Bone Burnett was on the bill as was Bryan Adams.

My dad provided the band "green rooms" in construction trailers. Joan Jett's was TRASHED afterwards. But I did get several guitar picks and strings from that trailer that I cherished for years after.

Bryan Adams completely sucked. Spent half his set getting one half of the Kingdome to yell "fuck" and the other half to yell "you". Acted like a child. I've hated him ever since.

Foreigner's big inflatable juke box started deflating mid-song, and slowly lowered down onto the bass players' head, before a roadie came out and pointed out he was going to be smothered by the juke box. Best part of their set.

I hate Loverboy. Went outside for them. (I was a "true" metalhead at the time, and Loverboy was anathema to us REAL rockers. Pbbffft.... we were so childish. Sheesh!)

Joan Jett was just as punk rock as she has always been... came out, rocked out, got off stage. Did the job and left us happy. Total pro.

Blue Oyster Cult was in their HEYDAY and recorded this show. None of the recordings made it onto the Extraterrestrial Live album, tho. Complete stadium rock gods. Fantastic show. Godzilla showed up. It was epic.

This was the show where I got my most epic scar ever, too! Afterwards, a huge group of fans were cutting across the parking lot towards Pioneer Square, but a hurricane fence had been erected on that side of the lot to block people off. There was no way we were going around, so about a hundred of us climbed the fence. Problem was that the wire separated from the metal frame, and slowly lowered us all to the ground on the other side... fun, right? Until everyone stepped of and it went BWANG!!! back up, and cut open my arm from palm to elbow! Blood everywhere, but no stitches. Was only superficial. Used my BOC shirt to soak up the blood... as any true metalhead would, of course.

ROFL!

happycj

Quick Gig Facts
Ralph

I've based the band running order on the order of precedence on the T-shirts, but - like with Seattle - I don't actually know for sure.

If you do, please let me know.

Dave M

It was headlined by Heart. It was at Autzen stadium. I remember that it was my future wifes first BOC show. We bought a t-shirt and I will have to ask my wife and daughter where that particular shirt is.

Doug McRoberts

Your lineup is correct. It was a hot day, they had the hoses out. Oregon still treated pot like a parking ticket. They had headshops on the greenbelt path to the stadium (saw the biggest bong for sale that I had ever seen in my life).

Taxxi had a short set (they did complete setups for each act so there was an overabundance of downtime).

Joan Jett came on and rocked. That was her breakout year and they put on a great show.

BOC was next... Solid as always. Highlights were Godzilla, Roadhouse, Black Blade, Reaper, etc. Great set. It was my third time seeing BOC.

Loverboy. Believe it or not, they were actually pretty good. A lot of fun.

Then came Foreigner as part of the Foreigner 4 tour (first non-rock album from the group). Other than Juke Box hero -- big inflatable jukebox, still makes me laugh--they weren't to good. Graham's voice was trashed and the sound was breaking up... horrible mix.

Otherwise, a great day. One of my favorite concerts ever. Tickets were $16-23 I think. I still have the stub somewhere.

Howard Dyer

I remember the 1982 Oregon Jam. I had just turned 16 earlier that month and three friends (16, 15, and 14, respectively) and I drove from Condon, Oregon, in my '77 Camero, a good five or six hour drive. We left Saturday, the 24th, and stayed the night in Oakridge, Oregon, with some friends we had been partying with a lot that summer. One friend's mother often bought us beer. We partied that night in Oakridge. Our friends mother warned us not to drive if we had been drinking because if we were caught by the police, they would fine us a $1000 dollars. We could hardly believe that as these were the days when most minors were given $57 dollar minor in possession tickets.

The next morning we drove to the Oregon Jam -- a big party. Autzen Stadium is a large stadium and it was packed. I remember using the restroom and it was really crowded. There was a drunk girl in the men's restroom standing at one of the urinals, giggling, and very drunk. It was a beautiful summer day--blues skies with big, puffy, white clouds. The vibe was great as this was still a time when you could have fun and not get into too much trouble.

The band line up you listed is correct. I don't remember too much about Taxxi. I had heard of them, but was not familiar with their music.

Joan Jett was very popular at this time, and we enjoyed her set a great deal. B.O.C. was great and was probably the band that I enjoyed the most that day. I remember one of the lead singers introducing the song Godzilla, saying something like, "Here he comes, the big fella, the lizard king, Godzilla!!" and pointing to the sky toward the back of the stadium as if Godzilla might appear.

Never did like Loverboy too much as their material was over-played on the radio during that period of time. They did put on a pretty good show as they got a noise competition going between the two halves of the stadium, and went back a forth a few times trying to get one side to be louder than the other.

By the time Foreigner came out, my group was pretty tired. It was a long day and a long weekend, and "Jukebox Hero" had been played so much that summer that we were pretty much sick of it. I sense we weren't the only one's who felt that way. I do remember the big inflatable jukebox that went up, without too much affect.

I appreciated seeing the Foreigner 4 concert shirt with the bands listed on it. I bought that shirt and wore it until it was so thread bare that you couldn't make out what was said on it anymore.

Overall, really, really fun, and a lot of great music. Almost seems like it was yesterday.

Miles Brandon

I was there - standing in the front of the stage.

A week or two earlier, my buddies and I drank beer with the 3 members of Taxxi at The Kingston in Portland, Oregon. Real cool guys. Fun to party with. Never heard of them though and when they said they were musicians and playing the Oregon Jam (which we had tickets to), we thought they were jacking us around. Then in the following days their music was being played on KGON in Portland, Oregon. Then, sure enough, they opened the Oregon Jam! Their short set was great. We owe them a beer!

Next up - Joan Jett was on. 100 plus degrees on the stadium floor and she was all decked out in leather. She was hot! Her and Taxxi were the best part of the concert for us - after that we had to seek some shade up in the stands. Yeah - the delays between acts were huge. B.O.C. was the highlight the rest of the way. Foreigner was very forgettable.

Richard McNamara

BOC brought a Harley on stage for "Born to Be Wild" that was very well done.

I knew nothing about Joan Jett before that day, but got to meet her and have a cold beer, on a very hot day. I bought all her albums the next week, and she is still my Favorite Rocking girl.

I forgot Heart was there, if they were, and since I saw them three other times I think I would remember it. I saw Heart open at the Medford Armoury for Trooper and BTO on there first tour, then saw them headline after that.

But this blog reminded me about Taxxi, who I never heard of before or since.

All in all the best concert I ever went to for a lot of reasons.

Roger Krueger

Oregon Jam '82 - don't remember Heart either... BOC and Joan Jett kicked Loverboy's ass, and Foreigner plain sucked. Something bad happened to the jukebox :-)

We got there the night before, so we were right at the front of the horde to get in. Pity the turnstiles were directly behind our gate so it couldn't open inwards. Damn near went through chainlink the hard way that day.

Bob Sande

I was at this event. Dave M's reference to Heart headlining is actually a reference to the Oregon Jam one year earlier, 1981.

It was a crazy hot day, I remember. I don't remember Taxxi but others mention their set was short.

I had not see any of the bands on the program before that day. Joan Jet was great and I remain an avid fan. Same with BOC.

Loverboy was a surprise and I thought they were quite good.

It was a crazy long and very hot day and we only stayed a short while into Foreigner's set. We were beat and head for the car early.

Foreigner was only so-so, as I recall. Blue Oyster Cult and Joan Jett were memorable to me.

Quick Gig Facts
Sam Judd

Regarding the reference on the shirt above - that was definitely most likely a Downey shirt as there were only a handfull of those made (I didn't even get one) it was a play on the old No Blow No Show shirts so popular in the 80's...

Whenever we did a gig for FM (Bill Graham) at Old Waldorf, Wolfgang's etc, the band insisted that the promotor rep whose name was Danny something or other, had to bring a GIANT bowl of Hunan Chinese Chicken salad (that he made) for the dressing room...

Shenck joked to the guys in the FM office about No Chicken Salad-No Show and it turned up on a shirt... those were really nice pull over shirts with collars as I remember...

Robert Laratta

The opener was a pseudo comedian named Dr. Gonzo:

David M Arnold

I don't know if this would be an "outdoor gig"; it's a covered (roof, no walls) amphitheatre with a corresponding lawn area, so it's "indoor/outdoor". :-)

Note you can see from the stub that Aldo Nova was the opener; I think that's missing from the listing...

As for memories, it's pretty hazy (I was in college, after all :-), but I do remember Eric riding the motorcycle out on stage, and I seem to remember the drummer sporting a Godzilla head during that song, with associated strobes.

The set list was much as on ETL, which I listened to heavily prior to the show. I remember wishing I could have seen them in the 70's, with a set list like on OYFOOYK, but was happy to catch them at all. We were just a couple of rows from the back of the pavilion.

Bill Grohs

I don't remember much of the show. I saw them at the House of Blues in A.C. in 2006 and that was only the second time I've seen them.

The meet and greet after the HoB show was brief but Bucky looked at the pic he signed and said that he wished he still had that guitar from '82.

I would love to find a copy of the '82 show, audio or video. Would you have any idea if one exists?

Ralph

I'm indebted to Alwin Bastiaansen of stevemorse.com for sending me the following review...

Jack Lloyd

ATLANTIC CITY - Big-time rock 'n' roll... well, sort of... made its first appearance here in eight years yesterday, competing under bright sunshine with the more traditional lures of sand, surf and casino gambling. It drew a generally peaceful crowd of 7,100 to the Bader Field stadium.

With the heavy-metal group Blue Oyster Cult on hand as the headline act, the Dr Pepper Atlantic City Rock Bowl could hardly be called an artistic triumph. And since the promoter, East Coast Concerts of Philadelphia, was hoping to draw at least 7,500 to the 10,000-capacity field on Albany Avenue, the concert was not quite an economic winner, either.

"We lost a little money on this," conceded Greg Benedetti, spokesman for East Coast Concerts. "But all things considered, we're pretty happy with the way things turned out. The crowd has been simply beautiful. And we're encouraged enough that we'll be back next year" for at least one concert.

For the promoters, the concert was a big gamble in a city that knows something about gambling. The weather was a factor, to be sure. And then there is the "shore mentality" this time of year, when young people seem content to entertain themselves with radios on the beach and relatively inexpensive beers in the bars, where cover bands play music heard on the radio.

The weather was perfect, despite ominous predictions late Saturday. The bulk of those in attendance made the most of the weather, working on their tans as they sprawled on the grass in various kinds of beach attire.

Every effort was made by security personnel to confiscate alcoholic beverages at the gates and on the grounds, and there were few incidents. The mood, for the most part, was laid back.

Even the teenage boys and older types who wallow in the imagery and behavior synonymous with heavy- metal rock were forced by the weather to leave behind their black leather jackets and chains. They were far less ominous in cut- offs. From a musical point of view, the highlight of the day was provided by the first act, the Dregs, who once again impressively displayed their virtuosity and versatility. Despite the group's unfortunate name - they formerly called themselves the Dixie Dregs - this is a class act all the way, with a repertoire that ranges from electric bluegrass to fusion rock-jazz to classical- influenced rock.

But it was downhill from there. Next came Aldo Nova, a Canadian rocker with minimal talent, and then the crunching sounds of Blue Oyster Cult, who feel compelled - with good reason - to enhance their act with various dramatic touches, including a giant mechanical Godzilla monster that belches smoke, and sundry flashing lights and explosions. The impact of most of these effects was diminished in an outdoor, daylight setting.

Otherwise, the first major rock concert here since Crosby, Stills and Nash performed at the Atlantic City Race Track in 1974 provided a fine day for cruising in search of new summer romance, for soaking up the rays and for generally socializing under pleasant circumstances.

Joe Georganna

I have memories of the Bader Field show in Atlantic City. There were 3 bands The Dixie Dreggs... go figure... Aldo Nova and BOC. The thing I remember most was the heat. It was a scorching summer day. People were getting restless and didn't really want to hear Aldo.

By the time BOC did their encore Burning for You, the crowd started to rip down the plywood barracade in front of the stage. Buck stopped singing and playing. Eric came on the mike and said something like, If you see the guy next to you being destructive, beat the crap out of him.

They never finished Burnin' for You.

Jim Eisele

I saw this show! I was 16 years old and a major BOC fan at the time. I don't remember the setlist specifically but I do remember that it was very much in line with ETL, which they were promoting at the time. The encore was an incredible Born to Be Wild, which has stuck with me all these years because some guy was up in front holding a bicycle over his head as they were playing the song, pumping the bike up and down to the beat.

John F Kouten

BOC at the Boardwalk Hall in Asbury Park. A summer tradition. All I can say is who the fuck is that fag Bruce Spingsteen?

During one of the songs Rick Downey busted the drum set and they had to stop the show to fix it. Buck stood up front and I think he played the song "Pipeline". I'll ask my bud Jerry and see if that was the song but I think it was.

Joe Georganna

Aldo Nova was the warm up band at Asbury on Aug. 11th 82. Still have that playbill too.

DFFD

Definitely the show where Downey busted 2 drum heads and Buck jammed on Pipeline. Aldo joined them on the encore. They played a really long show, about 2 1/2 hours.

Ralph

Check out Moyssi's concert programme for this gig.

Richard Carroll

11/08/1982: Convention Hall, Asbury Park, N.J.

Support: Aldo Nova

Setlist:

  1. Dominance and Submission
  2. Summer Of Love
  3. Dr. Music
  4. ETI
  5. Hot Rails To Hell
  6. Cities On Flame
  7. Joan Crawford
  8. Veteran Of The Psychic Wars
  9. Don't Fear The Reaper
  10. Godzilla
  11. Bass solo
  12. Born To Be Wild
  13. Encores: Burnin' For You
  14. Roadhouse Blues
Quick Gig Facts
Ralph

Here's a piece from the Sunday 25 July 1982 edition of the Daily Press [Newport News] showing the original intentions for this gig:

Outdoor Rock Concert Set
By Joni Norms
Staff Writer

A concert under the stars. Stretched out on a blanket with your favorite date. A late picnic dinner, a cool breeze, and Aldo Nova, Kansas, and Blue Oyster Cult, live in concert, here at Hampton in the Peninsula Stadium.

It's all happening Aug. 12. when Whisper Concerts bring the fourth annual Main Event to the Peninsula. The last three Main Events have been held in Portsmouth, but this summer Whisper decided to bring Tidewater's only large outdoor rock and roll concert to Hampton in an effort to try a new location, and offer Peninsula concert-goers a better chance to attend.

The event has been in the planning stages since January with about 30 days of preparation by Whisper in an effort to assure a well-controlled crowd with plenty of parking.

There will be food concessions, outdoor facilities, and a tent with information and first aid services.

There are several changes in this year's event: it will be held on a week night rather than a weekend. Gates will open at 5 p.m. and the final performance should be over around 11 p.m.. giving everyone a chance to get home early.

Tickets to the concert are on sale now at Mother's, Tracks, Bluebird Records, and Barr's Pharmacy. In case of rain, or foul weather, the concert will be moved into the Hampton Coliseum, which is only minutes away from the stadium. Fifteen to twenty thousand people are expected for the turnout, and Whisper Concerts asks that no cans or bottles be brought into the stadium, to assure the return of The Main Event to the Peninsula.

As it happened, the venue was moved (although not to the Hampton Coliseum as indicated above), but it wasn't because of "rain, or foul weather"...

Here's what the Daily Press said in the Wednesday 4 August 1982 issue:

Main Event at Scope

The annual Main Event, formerly scheduled for the Peninsula Stadium, has been moved to Norfolk Scope.

The last three concerts were held in Portsmouth Stadium. This year, promoter Billy Douthat of "Whisper Concerts" scheduled the Main Event for the Peninsula Stadium to try out a new location and to make the concert more accessible to Peninsula concert-goers.

But Hampton put a restriction on the crowd capacity at the Stadium, forcing Douthat to move the concert to Norfolk. The Main Event will feature Kansas, Aldo Nova and Blue Oyster Cult.

Tickets are on sale at all Mother's locations, Blue Bird Records, and Barr's Pharmacy. The concert will be Aug 12.

It will be the first time during the concert's brief history that it will be held indoors.

Tim Rice

This show happened. Kansas, BOC, Aldo Nova – it was my 1st concert.

Wayne Robison

I was there for this concert.

The order of bands that appeared was Aldo Nova - they opened with Fantasy.

Kansas was next.

BOC Headlined, they drove out on stage with a pair of choppers.

Was a rocking concert

Robbie Harrison

It was the first concert I ever attended. Set list was pretty much the same as the ETL album, from what I can remember.

Sam Judd

This was the show where "Zilla Dave" Thorpe's got hired.

Dave had come to shows before and hung out with the guy that did the guitars (Joe Lauro)... at that point our stage manager was dealing with Godzilla every day, so he was more than glad to hire Dave just to deal with the Zilla and generally lend a hand loading trucks and stuff...

Dave says he had nowhere to live, was carrying everything he owned in a shoulder bag and had a bus ticket to Sacremento Cal (his bro lived there) and 20 bucks in his pocket that day....

Arnoldrocks

I was at this Blue Oyster Cult show. I had just turned 20 years old. There was no ticket stub. We were charged an entry fee at the gate and that let us in to the general admission concert.

Another killer BOC set. Opened with Stairway to the Stars. Aldo Nova warmed up as you can see by other shows in that time frame. The Cult also did Cities on Flame.

One highlight of the show, we were sitting just off to the right of the stage in the lower first level. Pretty good seats for general admission. Anyways, there was this kid in the 3rd row and he was holding up this wooden homemade BOC Kronos sign. It was a fairly big sign and the guy did a really good job making it. Well, in the front row, there was this other kid. To call him obnoxious would be an understatement. This kid was acting like a total ass, jumping from seat to seat, irritating people, etc.

Now, I'm probably a good 30 rows away from this kid and up a good 10 feet from the ground. This kid was not bothering me but I could tell he was really bugging MANY people. I could tell the crowd was tense. To put a happy ending on the whole ordeal, the kid in the 3rd row just couldn't take it any more. He stood up, took his homemade Cult sign, and crushed it down on the dude's head in the front row. The sign shattered everywhere!! The kid in the front knew he had been called out on the carpet, so to speak, and sheepishly just sat there the rest of the show, not moving from his seat!! Several thousand fans cheered and roared in approval as one fan was actually able to save the show for the rest of the audience! And the Cult jammed on through the episode!

Ralph

I saw an indication on another site that Night Ranger may have played this show - even headlined. Any thoughts on this?

Arnoldrocks

200% certain it was Aldo. And BOC headlined. It was just Aldo and BOC.

1982 was when Randy Rhoads, Ozzy's guitar player died. Brad Gillis from Night Ranger went to play with Ozzy. I saw that show too. Not sure if he returned to Night Ranger. Anyway, it was Aldo and Blue Oyster Cult for sure.

MonsterMike

Arnoldrocks is absolutely correct. I was there; it was Aldo Nova opening for BOC. At the time, I thought it was quite a stark contrast.

I really liked Aldo Nova, but I thought of him as being somewhat straight-laced. From his lyrics, I thought he could pass for a Christian rock thing. By comparison, BOC was--well--a CULT thing; I was and still am huge BOC fan.

Now, much older, but no wiser, I see that Christianity started as a cult. :-)

Randy Duvall

I noticed this was not marked as an outdoor gig. I know for a fact that it was since I was there for that show. I grew up in Jackson, Michigan and have seen many shows at the fair.

The stage is set up in front of the grandstands of a horse racing track.

Tom Duensing

I remember this concert. From what I recall it was a very hot, sunny day. Aldo Nova was just okay.

I had lawn seats so we were pretty far from the stage. It was very crowded. The concert was great, I just wish we hadn't gotten the lawn seats. I still have the t-shirt. This was my first BOC concert. It's a great memory.

Hidden Mirror

I was 15 at the time and very drunk and high. Most of the night was a blurr - even the next day - so I'll do my best to remember it.

Aldo Nova opened. He put on a really good show. The standard 45 minutes to an hour. Supporting his first record. I don't remember any of his songs but he played the popular ones of course.

Blue Oyster Cult. My favorite band! My first concert ever. Blossom is a pavillion venue with lawn seating. I don't know if it was sold out or not, but it had to be close to it. Tickets were $11.00. Our seats are in the 15th row. Allen's side of the stage.

My best friend (BÖC is his favorite also), my oldest brother and his girlfriend. I remember being in awe more than anything, kind of a dreamlike state. I still get that way most of the time I see them.

Opening song? I'm not 100% on this, but I believe it was Dominance & Submission. The setlist followed basically the ETL album which had come out a few months before. I know they played D&S, COF, Hot Rails, Reaper, ETI, Godzilla, Joan Crawford, Burnin', Veteran of the Psychic Wars, Roadhouse Blues. I'm almost positive they did Born to be Wild and Dr. Music. Summer of Love and the Red & the Black are other possibilities. I keep thinking of Black Blade also but I don't remember for sure and it probably wasn't played.

Veteran is the song that stands out in my mind. A couple people dressed in robes and looked like the Jawas from Star Wars came out and were playing extra drums and Buck shredded on the extended guitar jam.

Of course, this was back in the day and Godzilla was there tearing the place down. I really don't remember much more detail. Eric did have his Kronos guitar.

After the show, we were walking up the lawn to the exit when a 2 litre bottle of 7-up rolled down the hill and came right to me. I picked it up and opened it and smelled. It was full of some kind of alcohol. And it was completly full. We were a little cautious about drinking it, but we were quite lit by then. I remember my brother telling me to put it down and me saying fuck it and chugging a very large portion of the bottle. No one else wanted any.

It took about 10 minutes to get to the car. A Chevette, 2 door hatchback. (it's a really small car if you're not familiar with them). I get in the back passenger side. Brother's driving and his girlfriend is in front of me. We just start to go and I tell them I'm going to be sick. My brother stops but his girlfriend doesnt open up the door. I tell them again I'm going to be sick and she rolls down the window. It's near impossible to stick your head out of the window from the backseat in this car, so needless to say it went all over her instead. Oh well - I never liked her anyways!....

C.R. Krieger

My first BOC show already is reviewed (above). I stumbled on your site while trying to figure out exactly when it had been. The official BOC site doesn't include it in their historical gig list, but I knew where it was (Blossom Music Center in Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio) and I knew who opened the show (Aldo Nova). I don't remember seeing the drunken 15-year-old who authored your other review, but then, there were a lot of drunken kinds riding around in Chevettes at the time. Here is what I do remember about it:

In early 1982, I'd just finished law school and quit a job working in chemical research. The Blossom box office was about 10 miles away and I was on a 'fitness kick', so I rode my 12-speed out to get tickets in mid May for the 16 August concert. My wife and I had pretty decent seats (within 10 rows of stage right, as I recall).

Aldo Nova opened and, contrary to my fellow concert goer's opinion, we thought he sucked. His histrionics while playing provided a stark counterpoint to Buck Dharma's neat, competent professionalism. Aldo had writhed all over the stage while trying to impress us but it was all for naught when he managed to pull out his guitar cord midway through a particularly passionate solo about which I remember nothing else except that he had to stop and meekly go back across the (silent) stage to plug it back in while the stunned crowd watched. What an embarrassment!

BOC, on the other hand,was the reason we were there and they did not disappoint. I was close enough to notice that Roeser had strategically placed sweat bands on his forearms just above where his neatly-rolled white shirtsleeves ended. That he thought enough of his craft to ward off the ill effects of a few drops of sweat said a lot. His playing said the rest. The closest comparison I can draw to his work is that of the late John Entwistle of The Who. Both simply stood there and blew you away with their playing.

As Roeser cleanly ripped off his leads and solos, I could see Aldo Nova standing in the wings at stage left watching and marveling at the virtuoso performance. I hoped he'd learn from it, but I doubt he did. I don't remember the setlist much except I enjoyed "Burnin' for You" a lot, as it was my then-current favorite. Of course there was Godzilla breathing smoke and flames and of course Bloom 'whomped' a Harley out on stage for effect to open - which song?

I certainly don't remember dragging my butt back out to the parking lot and waiting for the usual inordinate amount of time it always took to get the hell outta Blossom because I went there a lot. But I do know it was a killer show and one of the best I've ever seen.

Brian Kirkpatrick

My third B.O.C. show was at the Blossom Music Center on Aug. 16, 1982. Aldo Nova opened, and he played a cover of Grand Funk Railroad's "Footstompin' Music".

This time I was there for B.O.C. and not someone else. They did not disappoint, it was a fantastic show!

I remember they played "Joan Crawford", it was the only time I have seen them play it live. The show wound up with "Burnin' For You" / "E.T.I." / "Godzilla" / and "Don't Fear The Reaper".

We all thought that was the end, but then Eric Bloom came riding out from around back of the pavilion on a big ass Harley! He drove it through the crowd, and up a ramp they had set up onto the stage, while Buck started the intro to "Born To Be Wild". It was a very cool end to an excellent concert- probably the best I have ever seen them play. A memorable night.

Hugh Schmid

BOC played in Victoria, BC on Saturday, August 21, 1982 at the Victoria Memorial Arena. Aldo Nova was the opening act.

The show was awesome. It was general seating so I waited outside for hours so I could get right up front in front of Buck.

David Wing

I saw a show in Vancouver BC at the Coliseum in the summer of 1982 and was surprised not to see the date mentioned in your gig lists. I had the impression that it was in August but after looking at the published schedule, it might have been July.

The opening act was Billy Squier and I remember that my girlfriend and I were looking forward to seeing him too. That changed in a hurry though... when he came out for his second encore, I remember saying "Who the fuck does he think he is? He's not even any good!".

I guess the crowd was with us on that because when he came out for a third encore, the place erupted in boos and then everyone was chanting "BOC, BOC, BOC".

In hindsight, poor Billy was probably drafted to stall the crowd while something got worked on for BOC (like some finicky laser equipment maybe).

I remember Eric riding his motorcycle on stage and a huge Godzilla (I swear I saw a guy with a fire extinguisher shooting out the mouth every time it opened)

Anyway, the show did happen in Vancouver, BC summer of 1982... just surprised to not to see the date listed.

Sam Judd

We never did a show with Billy Squire that I can remember - doesn't mean it didn't happen though... if he was 3rd on the bill, I might never have even known he was on the bill...

If this thing happened, it was in Aug between 16 and 24 and the opener would have been Aldo Nova... it's very likely it did happen during that time as there are big holes in the gigs we know about...

David Wing

It was absolutely in Vancouver BC because my girlfriend had to drive up from Seattle to see it. I remember that distinctly because my mom was rather upset to find out that Cheryl was coming up and would be staying overnight at my place (if only her fears about unmarried carnal knowledge were valid... she didn't realize that Cheryl was going to bail on me after getting to see the concert).

It was definitely the summer of 1982 because that was the summer I was working in Vancouver, BC but living just over the border in Point Roberts, WA trying to establish my Washington state residency so that I could pay state resident university tuition rates. I had thought that it was August but it could easily have been July... it was definitely July or August of 1982.

I'm *pretty* sure that it was Billy Squier and not Aldo Nova. At the time I was somewhat enamored with Squier's song "Everybody Wants You" which was something of a big radio pop hit at the time. As a starving student who did not own a stereo, I was not buying many albums, but one that I have from 1982 is Squier's "Emotions in Motion" LP. I could swear that Cheryl and I were thinking "BONUS!...Billy Squier is opening!".

At the same time my hard rock buddies at work that were going to the concert were lamenting that Squier was a bit of a poser to be on the same bill as BOC... I don't think they would have been so pissy about Aldo Nova.

Also, Squier was not a third billing, he was the only opening act as I recall, but he came out for 3 encores. The crowd was a bit miffed with the second encore and downright angry about the 3rd encore... we all wanted to see BOC! Something must have been up because opening acts never come out for encores. I'm thinking they must have been drafted to get back out on stage and keep the crowd entertained until BOC was ready to hit the stage.

Billy Squier

I don't think his info's accurate. I was playing with Queen in August 82. We did play Vancouver, but BOC wasn't on the bill. As for doing three encores, while quite flattering, I don't know of any headliner who'd let a support act get away with that... even if I deserved it

:-)

Visit Billy's Site...

Ralph

Well, looks like it wasn't Billy Squier!! Maybe it was like Sam said - perhaps it was Aldo Nova, after all...

Ken Payne

Aldo Nova did not perform at this show. Since he was advertised as part of the bill with B.O.C. we were all offered the choice of a refund at the door.

The Canadian band Streetheart was the replacement opening act.

I also don't remember any extra encores for Streetheart or equipment problems for BOC. That doesn't mean it didn't happen. It's just that I saw so many concerts back in the early '80s.

The poor support act comments above also surprise me. Streetheart were at the top of their fame in 1982 with their platinum selling self-titled album coming out that year. They certainly weren't in B.O.C.'s league but they were selling out their own headlining shows back then.

Ralph

I've also seen an entry on a blog page listing people's various individual concert memories which said this:

146. Blue Oyster Cult & Aldo Nova (Nova cancelled last minute and crowd cheered) - Pacific Coliseum - 1982

22 Aug 2012 Update: Steve Newton has just re-posted a copy of his Aug 82 Georgia Straight review of this gig on his "Ear of Newt" blog, and at the end he added this: "hopefully my exhumation of this wee review will help dispel those crazy rumours on the Hot Rails to Hull website that it was actually Streetheart--and not Aldo Nova--who opened the show"...

Well, a mere glance down the posts under this gig entry will indicate just how confusing the issue of who supported BOC at the Pac Col seems to have become.

However, after having now seen the contemporaneous newspaper review of the show (reposted below), then I think it's now safe to say that the answer to that famous, metaphysical question "Where's Aldo?" is a resounding - on 22 August 1982, at least - Vancouver...

What do a motorcycle, a monster, and a massive mirrored saucer have in common? Who cares, you say? They're all props used last Sunday night by New York City's Blue Oyster Cult, who played the Pacific Coliseum with opening act Aldo Nova.

Touring to promote their latest album, Extraterrestrial Live, the group came on strong with a triple-guitar attack that drove home the main idea behind songs like the opener "Dominance and Submission" and Steppenwolf's "Born to Be Wild". On the latter tune, singer Eric Bloom pulled a Judas Priest trick by driving a big, black Harley (or was it a Yamaha?) onstage. During "Godzilla", a curtain behind drummer Rick Downey was parted to reveal the lizard king itself--with massive green head and laser red eyes. Spewing fountains of dry ice from its jaws, the creature was pelted with drumsticks by Downey.

The real highlight of the show had to be lead guitarist Don (Buck Dharma) Roeser's solo work, which he executed with dizzying speed on songs such as "Cities on Flame" from the group's first album, and their biggest hit to date "(Don't Fear) the Reaper". He lived up to his reputation as one of the top rock guitarists in America, especially on the extended jam that took place during the encore performance of the Doors classic, "Roadhouse Blues".

Toronto glam-rocker Aldo Nova did his best to get the mostly teen crowd warmed up for BOC, playing selections from his enormously successful debut album. Dressed in a black leather jumpsuit, Nova posed and pranced through Top 40 tracks like "Fantasy", playing the guitar-hero role to the hilt and keeping the rest of his band in the background.

Steve Newton

Michael Krahn

Aldo Nova opened. B.O.C. was smokin that night. I remember Eric riding a Harley on stage for their rendition of "Born to be Wild"...

Steve Klein

Last saw BOC Aug. 24th in Boise, ID. At the BSU Pavilion. If I recall they dropped a large probably Harley from the up rigging, fired it up and went into a song.

Saw three Blue Oyster Cult shows in my life (so far) '73, '77 and '82. Those were some fun years and BOC delivered at all three concerts.

Ralph

I previously only knew of the existence of this gig because Pollstar published the above figures for it...

Then I found the following report in the Fri 27 Aug 1982 edition of the "The Montana Standard":

Rock Concert Draws about 5,000 fans

About 5,000 people filled the Butte Civic Center arena on Harrison Wednesday night to hear two rock music bands, Blue Oyster Cult and Aldo Nova.

The crowd was well-behaved during the three-hour show, said arena Manager Ric LeCoure and Sheriff Bob Butorovich.

There were a few minor incidents of disorderly conduct and some "fender benders".

The center can hold about 6,000 persons for a concert, LeCoure said.

Although there was no alcohol served or allowed on the premises, many persons brought their own, LeCoure said, sneaking it by the guards at the door.

There were 4,514 tickets sold, ranging in price from $9.50 to $10.50, depending on the day the tickets were purchased. The center received $1,500 for rent and 5 percent of the tickets sold at the Civic Center box office, or $116. There were five other ticket outlets. About 1,000 tickets were sold out of town, LeCoure said.

The Civic Center's next concert features Tammy Wynette on Sept. 15 and ZZ Top and .38 Special on Sept. 22. Tickets are on sale for the Wynette concert. ZZ Top concert tickets go on sale next week.

It should be noted, Pollstar's official ticket sales figures does not tally with the sales quoted in the piece above.

Kevin Sweet

Aldo Nova did not play at this show. Someone announced before the concert started that Aldo Nova would not be performing tonight, and also said BOC would play a longer set.

Joseph Snow

A couple of friends and I attended the August 26th, 1982 BOC show in Casper, Wyoming. We made the trip from Laramie (about 3 hours SE of Casper), arriving at the venue in the mid afternoon - early enough to be at the head of the stampede when the doors eventually opened an hour or so before showtime. We claimed our space right up against the barrier in front of center stage, the band only a few feet away.

Aldo Nova cancelled and I do seem to recall an announcement that BOC would play an extra long show. There was an opening act - some local up-and-comers - but their name has long ago slipped my memory. They weren't too impressive, sort of a really loud and barely competent garage band.

BOC's setlist was very similar to Extraterrestrial Live, although I failed to note down the exact list at the time. During "Hot Rails to Hell" we were all struck by how cooly confident and assured Buck Dharma seemed. A master of his domain. We were all very familiar with all their tunes at that time. Buck's "Veterans" solo from ETL was ingrained in our minds and ears - and his performance of that tune that night did not disappoint!

I also seem to recall Eric riding on stage at some point on a motorcycle, and during "Godzilla" the giant lizard head made it's appearance.

Near the end of the show, at a climactic moment of one particular tune (possibly "E.T.I."), we all thought we'd simultaneously passed out, but in actual fact there was an incredibly bright flash of white light from the front of the stage that made us instinctively close our eyes and snap our heads to one side. When we 'came to', the smoke machines were going and the band looked ever so pleased. I've always wished I could see that phenomenon from the band's vantage point! Prior to the show, an artist friend of ours had made 2 or 3 latex oysters, one of which he tossed up on stage (with a doobie sticking out from inside). Allen Lanier saw it, picked it up, looked it over quizzically, and kept it!

It was an incredible show. My only regret was that Al Bouchard was not there. (Luckily, I got to see the original lineup the year before, on August 7, 1981, in Seattle.)

Dave Bibby

I saw Blue Oyster Cult on Saturday, August 28, 1982 (8pm) at the Lethbridge Sportsplex in Lethbridge, Alberta. It was a great show, I remember thinking it was the loudest concert I'd ever been at.

"Burning For You" and "Don't Fear The Reaper" stand out as sounding very good and the huge Godzilla during that song at the end. I remember the attendance being around 3000.

Aldo Nova was supposed to open, but we heard he was sick and a local band called U Paris opened instead (I knew the drummer Craig Baceda). Great site!

Mike Snicer

I saw the Lethbridge, AB Canada show. Standouts being burning for you and Eric's spiel before playing Godzilla. I remember loving that show, and U-Paris rocked too.

Steve Priest

Great BOC site! The gig promoter for the Lethbridge 1982 show was a company called Gold and Gold Productions.

Neil Boyle

B.O.C. with Aldo Nova on August 30, 1982 at Northlands Coliseum, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada: this is a "missing gig" - I have a ticket stub to prove it. I will get around to scanning my tickets one of these days. Will e-mail you with it when I do.

Memories a bit fuzzy, for obvious reasons. The only clear memory is that a buddy and I attended at the last minute and the only tickets left were the last row of the Coliseum (seats about 14,000 for concerts). Must have been a near sell-out.

Great website you have by the way (so thank-you). If only more of the classic bands had such a site, it would make finding old setlists much easier.

Ralph

I only know of this gig thanks to Heiko Klages who sent me a clipping of a review of this show from the Calgary Herald.

Jamil Ahsan

There's one show missed out in your database from Winnipeg, Canada, 1982 ETL Tour. I saw that show at the Winnipeg Arena, with Aldo Nova opening.

All I remember from that show was that it was LOUD. Probably one of the loudest concerts I've been to.

Ralph

My confirmation for this gig date comes courtesy of Bert Gangl who sent me a scan of a review of this show from the Winnipeg Free Press (Sept 4th).

Quick Gig Facts
DC Walior

Sept 4 1982 Red River Valley Fairgrounds, Fargo, North Dakota. - Outdoors - Saturday 2:00 PM. Blue Oyster Cult and Aldo Nova.

Lamont Cranston Band opened - they were one of the better Minneapolis bands at the time... they still might be playing in the Twin Cities.

Gary

Late afternoon outdoor gig - weather hot and so was the show. BOC had their giant Godzilla with them (not the video but a tall plaster of paris or paper mache or?) hovering behind/right of the stage.

When Downey finished his drum solo during the song "Godzilla" he would throw his drumsticks to bounce off the monster which was a pretty long throw. This time the drumstick stuck in one of Godzilla's nostrils and the crowd went wild.

Mark "Redcap" Grosch

This is another foggy one as we saw Rush here in La Crosse the night before.

Aldo Nova opened... venue was like a highschool gym of old... classic... but the sound was awful. Me, Terry, Dewey, Yo-Yo and Kootch

Again, standard setlist of the day (not a record from this show):

Dominance & Submission
Dr Music
ETI
Summer of Love
Hot Rails To Hell
Joan Crawford
Cities On Flame
Veteran of Psychic Wars
(Don't Fear) The Reaper
Godzilla
Born to be Wild
Burnin' For You
Roadhouse Blues

Jeff Harris

Blue Oyster Cult & Aldo Nova on September 10, 1982 at the Verdun Auditorium in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. This WAS one of the missing shows in the list here but not anymore !!!

I remember having known B.O.C. because they receive a lot of airplay from Montreal radio station CHOM FM, the movie "Heavy Metal" as well as the famous Black N' Blue show with Black Sabbath.

It was my first show at Verdun Auditorium and it was a general admission full capacity of about 5000. Ended up being on the orchestra floor for this show which was pretty cool seeing all the show straight ahead. Aldo Nova opened up and was well received his song "Fantasy" was the hightlite.

Blue Oyster Cult themselves were really hot that night and the songs that stood out for me was Godzilla, Don't Fear the Reaper and Born to be wild.

Gerald LeBlanc

I was there and I have a cassette bootleg of this show. Eric addresses the crowd in French during Dr. Music...

Jeff

I can confirm that BOC played the Civic Centre in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada on September 13, 1982. The setlist was exactly the same as the Montreal gig on Sep 10.

Aldo Nova opened the show. It was a great show.

Dave Alburger

I had just moved here a few days previous and this was my first concert as a resident of Ottawa.

Paul Jensen

Wow, what an exceptional web-site. I went to see BOC at the North Maine Forum in Presque Isle, Wed. Sept. 15, 1982. Me and some friends drove down "the lonely State of Maine" from Saint John, NB, Canada after we saw an ad for the concert on TV.

My sister had made me a stuffed "Cultasaurus Erectus", about two feet in length. I named him "Bock" and brought him along for the trip. I couldn't believe it when security let me through the door with "Bock". Yes, Aldo Nova, a fellow Canadian, was the opening act, and was well... an opening act.

BOC came on and were great. Like previous posts, it was pretty much the "ETL" set, Eric on a Harley, and the giant Godzilla. Interesting to note the person who said that Downey's drum-stick got stuck in Godzilla's nostril less than two weeks before in Fargo, North Dakota, because the same thing happened during this show!

Towards the end, when Buck and Eric were crossing their guitars over each other, the stage lights flashed right on my mini-Cultasaurus, and the two had a big laugh about it! As we walked out of the arena "I Love the Night" was playing over the PA System... fitting.

John Hawke

September 16th, 1982, Bangor Municipal Auditorium, Maine. BOC was the headliner; Aldo Nova was the opener. I was in attendance.

This was my very first concert. All seats were general admission. We kept working our way forward and made it almost to the front.

I caught a broken drumstick tossed into the crowd by Rick Downey (I gave it to the friend who invited me to the concert).

Sam You

The opener was Aldo Nova - I'm 100% positive...

Kevin Walker

Setlist:

  1. Intro
  2. Dominance & Submission
  3. Dr Music
  4. ETI
  5. Summer of Love
  6. Hot Rails To Hell
  7. Eric Intro to Joan
  8. Joan Crawford
  9. Cities On Flame
  10. Veteran of Psychic Wars
  11. (Don't Fear) The Reaper
  12. Godzilla
  13. Drum Solo
  14. Godzilla (reprise)
  15. Bass Solo with The Red and the Black / The Beatles She's a Woman / Pink Floyd's Money / I'm A Man
  16. Born To Be Wild
  17. Burnin' For You
  18. Roadhouse Blues
Mark Turner

Sep. 20, 1982. Blue Oyster Cult, Roanoke, Virginia. I have a partial ticket plus a xerox of the full ticket. Again, it was at Roanoke Civic Center. I used to write down all of these shows in a notebook. If I can find it, it'll list the opening act, too.

Rivet

Great show in the smaller Roanoke Auditorium. They'd played to a near sellout in Roanoke almost exactly a year before.

This was a midweek show that looked like it got added to the tour mid-tour, to the point that Aldo Nova was replaced by a local band as the opener.

The road from the airport takes you straight to the auditorium so we passed the bands limo on the way to the show, and had a brief debate in the truck on the cost/benefit analysis of having a fender bender with the limo and meeting the band. Cooler heads prevailed.

Opened with an arena-destroying version of Dominance and Submission.

John Moore

This was the first time I ever saw the mighty BÖC. I've seen them many, many times since, they are perhaps the "classic metal" band I've seen more than any other. They've played the Albany area on a very frequent basis. I love BÖC and still listen to their stuff all the time. All hail Blue Öyster Cult.

The opening band was Aldo Nova, an early 80s, spandex-clad one-hit wonder who made little impression. He did get a big cheer during his MTV hit "Fantasy".

The place was pretty packed and the show was excellent. I remember they brought some roadies dressed as hooded monks for "Veteran of the Psychic Wars" and Eric Bloom rode a motorcycle out in Rob Halford fashion before "Born To Be Wild".

I seem to remember a long bass solo at some point too, which I've never seen at a BÖC show since. I remember buying a jersey concert shirt at this with the first album cover on the front and the BÖC symbol on the back, which I wore constantly as a kid for a few years.

  1. Dominance & Submission
  2. Dr Music
  3. ETI
  4. This Ain't The Summer of Love
  5. Hot Rails To Hell
  6. Joan Crawford
  7. Cities On Flame
  8. Veteran of Psychic Wars
  9. (Don't Fear) The Reaper
  10. Godzilla
  11. Born To Be Wild
  12. Burnin' For You
  13. Roadhouse Blues
Quick Gig Facts
John A. Swartz

Yes, the Centrum date was 24 September 1982 - I even had to correct the fanclub president on this one (I think the problem was that it was part of a radio broadcast, and after the fact they may have put the wrong date on the broadcast info sheet).

Here's the setlist that I've had on my computer for years:

B L U E O Y S T E R C U L T
Worcester Centrum
Worcester, Massachusetts
September 24, 1982

The songs (in order performed):
Dominance and Submission
Dr. Music
E.T.I.
(jamming -- "Pipeline")
This Ain't The Summer of Love
Joan Crawford
Hot Rails to Hell
Cities on Flame
Veteran of the Psychic Wars
(Don't Fear) The Reaper
Godzilla (with drum solo)
(bass solo)
Born To Be Wild
-- encores --
Burnin' For You
Roadhouse Blues (few bars of Love Me Two Times)

Note: Most of the concert was part of a radio broadcast. The broadcast was of all of the songs from "This Ain't The Summer of Love" to "Burnin' For You". The jamming after "E.T.I." was done to kill time until the radio broadcast was ready.

Lineup: Eric Bloom, Buck Dharma, Joe Bouchard, Allen Lanier, Rick Downey

It was 1982 - I'd been a fan for about 2 years, but had never seen the band live. In September, the band does a show at the Worcester Centrum - I'm a freshman in college in Boston at the time, and my brother is a high school junior back home in western Mass. (so Worcester is about mid-way between us).

I secretly buy 2 tickets before going to college - and p*ssing off my mom when she later finds out (I didn't go to many concerts in high school). Since BOC is playing on Friday night, we all meet in Worcester that night and stay over at a hotel nearby.

Aldo Nova is the opener - too damn loud with all those piercing high leads he does on his guitar (not just his song "Fantasy", which was a hit at that time). BOC rocks the place - with all the cool stuff they did back then (giant Godzilla, Eric's bike, extra drummers on "Veteran's of the Psychic Wars" dressed up as monks, Joe's bass solo, Downey's drum solo, and the definitive version of "Roadhouse Blues").

So, after the show, my brother and I are hanging out at the hotel, playing video games. My bro' spots who he believes to be Rick Downey. A few minutes later, Joe Bouchard strolls by, sees us in our new BOC t-shirts, and smiles.

So now we're pretty excited as we figure the band is staying at the same hotel, so we're staking out the place trying to catch a glimpse of the rest of the band. A few minutes later we catch sight of Allen.

Then (and this is true, I swear), I go into the men's room and who is standing at the adjacent urinal but Buck Dharma! My first thought - "Wow, he really IS short!" My second thought - "Don't piss on the guy!" And while I managed to not do so, I didn't manage to say anything to him.

After that, my brother and I are in search of Eric. We finally see him coming in last - seemed like he was trying to avoid people and slip in quietly (which I assume they all were, since they came in individually), but my brother screwed up enough courage to ask (and get) his autograph.

A little later on, we saw Eric in the game room watching some guy play "Space Invaders" (remember that?) - I only wish that I had challenged Eric to a game...

Timmy (TXPK7)

Your site was missing this gig at Toronto's C.N.E. Coliseum (Canadien National Exibition) Sept 27 1982. No opener recalled, though...

John Muhar

My brother and I (BOC fanatics) dragged a bunch of friends to this show. They had no idea who BOC were, but by the end of the night they were big fans.

Very solid show. We had third row seats right in front of the stage. Buck Dharma threw his guitar pick out to the audience and I caught it! Very cool white pick with the BOC logo on it.

Fantastic!

Ralph

Interesting how Potsdam University can't spell "Potsdam" or "Maxcy" correctly on their concert tickets... anyway, I found a preview for this gig in the 22 Sep 1982 edition of the "Tribune-Press", and they also seemed a bit unsure about "Maxcy":

Blue Oyster Cult to Play At Potsdam Maxcy Hall Sept. 28
The Blue Oyster Cult will give a concert to benefit the Disabled Persons Action Organization Tuesday Sept. 28 at Maxcey Hall, Potsdam, starting at 8p.m. This is the first time the Cult has been in the area since the Thousand Islands Rock Festival. They also performed at Clarkson College in February 1977 when three of the members were students there.

Two of the group, Albert and Joe Bouchard, are natives of Clayton.

This successful hard rock band has many fans in the east who will have the opportunity to hear the Cult, on tour to promote their new record album.

It is rumored that the band has added a 25 ft. Godzilla to their props which include a fabulous lazer show.

The college community is excited about the show and it is expected that the 5,000 capacity hall will be sold out within the week.

trguitar

In the fall of 1978 I attended Clarkson University. It didn't work out. I was down. I turned to music and discovered Blue Oyster Cult. Much to my suprise I found members of my new favorite band attended the same college. I figured if they turned out OK I could also. I learned to play guitar, it was and is a major part of my life. I turned out OK.

I returned to college and am sucessful. I want to thank Buck for helping me through that time even though he didn't know he was helping. When I returned to college I saw BOC at Maxey Ice Arena in Potsdam State College. Great Show. I don't recall the name of the opening act. They weren't very good and they were a cover band probably local. Well, to be fair, their sound wasn't very good so it was hard to tell if they were any good or not. BOC was awsome though.

Thad Rosemyer

My mom took me to this show for my 12th birthday. This was my first "real" concert and the crowd was chanting "BOC" as we filtered into the entryway.

The opening band was Fresh, from Syracuse. All I remember about them was a cover of "Penthouse and Pavement."

BOC opened with D&S featuring a startling opening drum salvo by Rick Downey. As far as details of the setlist I can't recall exactly but the Godzilla figure was there.

It pretty much followed the ET Live LP. I remember the mirror-effect from the guitarists, Downey's solo, and Joe's sweaty bass solo. He seemed to be enjoying himself that nite.

We left with ringing ears and big smiles. My best birthday gift to this day I'd say!

What happened in October? If you know, please let me ...

What happened in November? If you know, please let me ...

Midnightson

I think it was 1983 at the Baltimore Civic Center. After performances by local faves DC Star and Pat Travers Band I saw an encore with Buck and Pat. They played "Sunshine of Your Love" (Cream).

What a cool surprise ending to an otherwise mundane show.

It was to benefit Baltimore's unemployed steel workers and tickets were only FOUR dollars.

Bert Gangl

According to fan reports, the Pat Travers benefit show at the Baltimore Civic Center was held in December of 1982. This is verified by dated live recordings of Travers' benefit performance and the Dec 10, 1982, issue of the Baltimore Sun newspaper, both of which list the concert date as Dec 09, 1982.

Given the language in the post by Midnightson, I wonder if BOC played a full set after Travers, or if Buck, only, sat in for a single song with Pat as an encore to Travers' set.

Either way, it sounds like a great evening of rock and roll for a worthy cause.

Ralph

I managed to come across a couple of reports on this event from the Baltimore Sun - the first was from 10 Dec 1982:

Rock Benefit Help the Unemployed

Officials at a rock'n'roll radio station figured they were thanking their listeners, and a beer company was certain it was helping its customers by sponsoring a benefit concert last night for the Baltimore area's unemployed steelworkers.

About 6,000 tickets had been sold before the musicians stepped onto the Civic Center's stage for the event, which was expected to raise at least $5,000 for the food fund helping laid-off members of the United steelworkers of America.

"Here's a group of people who needed help, and nobody was coming to their aid," Chuck DuCoty program director for WIYY-FM (98 Rock), whose listeners include some of the laid-off workers. So Mr. DuCoty helped plan the benefit, which featured The Pat Travers Band, local rock group DC Star and members of Blue Oyster Cult.

Bob Footlick, president of Bond Distributing Company, said Miller Beer agreed to guarantee up to $35,000 to cover concert expenses to benefit the steelworkers - people the firm thought would be likely customers. Revenues from the $3.98 and $4.98 tickets were expected to reduce its outlay.

At a press conference before the concert, Henry Koellein, Jr., president of the Metropolitan Baltimore Council of AFL-CIO Unions, appealed for public help for laid-off steelworkers, saying that 58 percent of therm will run out of unemployment benefits this month and "all that's left between them and starvation is welfare."

He said the AFL-CIO council was seeking sponsors willing to "adopt a union family for Christmas," and that $200 to $300 would provide for a family and a present for each child.

Information about the "adoption" program can be obtained by calling 242-1300.

The second report in the Baltimore Sun was from 11 Dec 1982:

Steelworkers Embrace Rock And Roll For A Night by Rafael Alvarez

If the cause is worthy enough, folks will gladly set aside their strongest musical prejudices for an evening of help.

Memories of romantic crooners were supplanted with the promise of thunder Thursday night as local union representatives of about 9,000 laid-off steelworkers embraced rock'n'roll at the Civic Center.

The middle-aged officials' support for a concert by heavy hitters DC Star and Pat Travers - paid for by Miller Beer and advertised through 98-Rock - helped attract 6,700 fans and netted about $5,000 for steelworkers' food fund.

Take it from Perry Como fan Henry Koellein, $5,000 worth of food isn't a bad reason to become smitten with an old foe.

"Some of us old timers aren't rock fans," Mr Kollein, AFL-CIO president for the Baltimore area, "but we're certainly supporting rock'n'roll tonight."

Mr. Koellein spent most of his time during a pre-concert press conference glad-handing decidedly hip representatives of the rock industry, telling all how the steelworkers were "real glad for what you're doing."

After hundreds of photos were taken and scores of questions asked by a solid turnout of Baltimore's news media, Mr Kollein sat at a small table away from the action, rubbing elbows and passing time with his peers - a handful of local union officials fondly remembering "cheek-to-cheek" music."

"Now you're talking," said Albert A. Carroll, president of Local 14601 which represents steelworkers employed at Harbison Walker Refractories. "I guess you'd call them old standards to get close to your partner, romantic stuff the kids don't like too much.

"No offence intended, you know, I don't want to talk bad about rock and roll, but where do you kids find romance if you don't dance cheek to cheek?" A wealth of praise arose from the table for Theresa Brewer, Nat King Cole, Vic Damone, and a legion of other mood enhancers - Perry Como was showered with the most admiration.

The hit parade flashbacks brought cheery thoughts and wide smiles to the faces of men who have little else to be happy about - elected union leaders fighting for a constituency 58 percent of whose members unemployment benefits will run out by the year's end.

"All that's left between them and starvation is welfare," Mr Koellein has said.

Pat Travers received $5,500 Thursday night for his part in helping local blue collar bellies stay full, according to Jack Stewart marketing director for 98-Rock.

Mr Stewart said the Canadian guitarist's salary, reportedly several thousand dollars beneath his normal fee, was part of a $35,000 show budget provided to 98-Rock by the Miller Beer company.

Mr Stewart said both the radio station and the beer firm (operated locally by the Distributing company), hoped to gain favorable publicity from the event, and chose to benefit the steelworkers "because they're highly visible."

The spokesman also acknowledged that some money from the $35,000 budget might have been given directly to the food fund if the event had been more austere.

Though Mr. Travers was said to be "more than reasonable" in cooperating with the project (despite chastising employees of the catering Palmer House for providing the wrong brand of champagne backstage) he was selected more for his availability than any particular ties to steelworkers.

"We approached every contact we have in this business," said Mr. Stewart, "and for a variety of reasons couldn't get anybody else to help. We even approached [Bruce] Springsteen to do an acoustic number from 'Nebraska' but no luck. Pat was available, so we booked him."

Not just the plight of the steelworkers, but America's broad-based economic problems were also taken into consideration Thursday night with tickets to the concert priced unusually low at $4.98 and $3.98, far beneath the standard price tag for rock tickets - $9 and up.

The people at 98-Rock, especially program director Chuck DuCoty, wanted as many rock fans as possible to enjoy a show without injuring their wallets. Mr DuCoty said attendance was swelled by 2,300 fans who bought tickets at the window right up until showtime.

News of crippled wallets isn't strange to most major rock acts. Since the late Seventies, hockey-rink rock stars like Pat Travers have been getting used to seeing more and more empty seats in urban areas that have been walloped by unemployment.

"I can't complain," said Blue Oyster Cult guitarist Buck Dharma, who provided his attendance boosting services to Traver's show near the end.

Considering how bad everything is, I'm lucky to have a job."

So, after reading those reports, I think it's possible to discount any actual BOC involvement in this benefit - it looks like it was just Buck guesting on Pat's encore, after all...

Sam Judd

WTF is the Hub Entertainment Center Hempstead NY??... is that supposed to be the Nassau County Coliseum??... sure don't remember ever playing there 3 nights... sounds like a pipe dream to me... you got any tickets from that??

Ralph

Nope - in light of that, I have to wonder if these next three gigs took place?

What is the "Hub", anyway?
PS It's listed as such on the official site...

Kevin Connolly

I noticed confusion for some shows listed as Hub Entertainment Center in Hempstead NY.

I saw BOC during Fire of Unknown Origin Tour, in Binghamton, NY. Maybe this is the venue because I don't see that show listed.

Sorry I can't be more specific it was a long time ago. I believe they played this venue a few times.

Ralph

They played Binghamton Veterans Memorial on 28 Dec 1981, which would have been part of the "Fire of Unknown Origin" Tour.

I've now got a bit more info on these shows now thanks to the above advert which appeared on eBay in Jan 2012. It names the venue as the "Calderone Concert Hall" and thankfully, it also gives the venue an alternative nomenclature, namely the "Hub Entertainment Center"...

The only thing to find out now is did they actually take place?

Sam Judd

If those gigs occurred, they did so without me... wouldn't have been unusual in those days at all... they could replace me anytime Rush wasn't out with Tony Geranios.. but I usually DO have a memory of shows happening, even if I wasn't involved..

Eventually Allen put his foot down and told the rest of the band that he didn't want to hear about any more shows I wasn't going to be doing... remember I was the ONLY one who got left at home.. Ricky Reyer was ALWAYS brought to these shows...

Mike G

Calderone Concert Hall was a semi-legendary venue on Long Island. Hub Entertainment Center was a briefly used (failed) name for the place. Had to do with the proximity of the theater to the bus and train terminals, hence the "Hub".

The Calderone held about 2,500 people. I saw numerous shows there, Cheap Trick, Rainbow, Motorhead, Aerosmith, etc. Unfortunately I didn't see these BOC shows.