By Steve Newton
The first big concert I ever went to was T-Rex, with guests Blue Öyster Cult, at Vancouver’s Pacific Coliseum on October 21, 1974.
That was a killer show, and I clearly remember that B.Ö.C.–which was touring behind its stellar Secret Treaties album, the one with “Dominance and Submission”–blew poor Marc Bolan and company right off the stage.
I always thought that seeing Blue Öyster Cult in its prime as a teenager was a pretty cool way to kick off my concert-going life, but then I heard about the first real concert that fellow B.C. rock fan M.G. Hucul experienced when he was a teen, and I got a tad jealous.
A year before my eyeballs got zonked by B.O.C.’s stunning lasers–the ones Patterson Hood sings about on the Drive-By Truckers‘ “Let There Be Rock”–Hucul witnessed guitar hero Rory Gallagher performing at the Coliseum. (The show was originally scheduled for the smaller PNE Agrodome (see posters), but brisk ticket sales brought about the change of venue.)
Here’s what the lucky dog remembers about that gig:
The first time I saw Rory Gallagher was in April of 1973 when he was a late addition to a Deep Purple/Fleetwood Mac double bill. This was the classic Deep Purple Mark II lineup, the Machine Head lineup, and it was the Bob Welch-guided Fleetwood Mac.
It was my first concert ever. It was an Easter Be-In weekend or whatever the hell you used to call those gatherings in Stanley Park. I was maybe 14 and too young to drive but a buddy of mine was 17 and old enough. He even had his own car–a 1970 383 cubic-inch Dodge Dart.
For young teens, this was epic. This was the real deal. We were going to see Deep Purple, and we were driving there in a V8 muscle car. We were living the song. We were literally Highway Stars.
When Rory took the stage, no one knew who this kid in the red-and-black plaid shirt was. He looked not much older than we did. But then he started playing and his talent signalled that he was skilled far beyond any chronological age.
I distinctly remember thinking to myself, “We’re not in Kansas anymore, Mikey. We’re not at just another Friday night Coquitlam high school dance. Now we’re getting a taste of the big league.”
This was my first-ever concert and I had nothing to measure the opening act against, but in retrospect, it was the greatest opening act I ever saw, and that still holds true over 50 years later. The crowd loved this guy in the plaid shirt, even though we didn’t have a clue who he was.
Following Gallagher, Fleetwood Mac was a substantial letdown, but then Deep Purple raised the bar back up to Gallagher levels. After all, they were the band we knew and who we paid to see. Deep Purple played their hits, including “Smoke on the Water”, “Lazy”, “Highway Star”. I remember “Woman From Tokyo” and “Rat Bat Blue” being standouts. We had never heard a band perform their own songs before, and that was a revelation.
The bigger revelation was that Gallagher just played, and he played not a single song we knew. And we loved him just as much if not more than Deep Purple.
The next day it was the opening act that everyone was talking about. I sought out a concert review so I could find out more about the kid in plaid. Rory Gallagher was his name, and later that day I bought Live in Europe, my first of many Rory Gallagher records.
Thanks to M.G. Hucul for sharing his memory of seeing the legendary Rory Gallagher. Any other hardcore Rory fans are welcome to post their own concert recollections in the comments section below. Let’s keep spreading the word until those braindead twits at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame come to their senses and finally induct him. It’s just the right thing to do.
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I first heard Rory 43 years ago on the radio at work, a live version of Follow Me; had no idea who he was, but I was blown away…asked an older co-worker if he heard of him. He said “heard of him, he’s my favourite guitarist”! He’d seen him live 7 times. Within weeks he became my favourite also & remains so this day. Got to see him once in Toronto about 8 years later….never saw or heard so much power and passion on stage ever….he was incredible…I miss him
Saw Rory open for Deep Purple and Fleetwood Mac in Fresno CA. He began the concert with Bullfrog Blues and proceeded to destroy the evening with blistering blues rock.I can still remember him with a spotlight on him only as he casually
walked up to the microphone and screamed … oh did you ever!three times before launching into the first song…. He literally tore into the song like his life depended on it… he didn’t have to pour lighter fluid on his guitar… IT WAS ALREADY ON FIRE!!! He came to not just play but make a statement like … you are going to remember this the rest of your lives… and I have.
Saw the show at the Swing Auditorium in San Bernardino. Absolutely correct. Greatest opening act ever.
Well, maybe Little Stevie Wonder opening for the Stones a couple of years earlier.
it was the Easter be in weekend april 1973. we had spent a great day getting drunk and stoned at lumberman’s arch listening to the various bands.
we had tickets for the James gang , Fleetwood mac and Deep Purple show at the coliseum. apparently the James gang were no shows and they were going to be replaced by this Rory Gallagher guy. never heard of him.
we were about to be introduced to him.
To say he blew the two headliner bands away is an understatement. By the time fleetwood mac finished their set about a quarter of the audience had left. fleetwood mac and deep purple just sounded so lame and low energy after that absolutely rocking performance by Rory.
This show and the pink floyd show when they introduced the ‘Dark side of the Moon’ are my all time favourite shows to this day.
I was at this show. I was 17. My sister had returned from Europe in 1972 and turned me on to Rory Gallagher. I bought Rory Gallaghers’ “Live in Europe” album and played the hell out of it. When I heard he was opening this show I couldn’t wait to see him. Like the previous reviewer, I too felt Fleetwood Mac and Deep Purple didn’t come close to the raw energetic excitement Rory brought to the Coliseum that night from the opening song. He played longer as there were encores. He played the PNE Gardens Auditorium I believe in ’74 and it was a fricken barn burner too. I worked on film crews shooting some big shows later in life, Dylans 30th Anniversary Concert at MSG-NYC and Woodstock ’94 to name a few. Rory is still to this day the best live performer I have ever seen. I did make a pilgrimage to Ballyshannon, Ireland in 2019 to attend the annual Roryfest. So great to hear his music played live at all the open venues all thru the town. Gerry MaCavoy (bass player with Rory) played with “Band of Brothers” the last night. Great way to end a pretty cool multi day festival.It was pretty fricken awesome to be in his birth town (born in “Rock Hospital”) with so many Rory fans.