By Steve Newton
Before I started writing about music professionally and getting in to all the concerts for free I would make the 80-minute trek (70 MPH, no seatbelts) into Vancouver from my Chilliwack hometown and blow all my lawnmowing money to see my fave rock bands. I remember getting butterflies in my stomach when the lights went down, just before the shows started.
The Stampeders at Chilliwack Senior High School, sometime in the ’70s. I vaguely remember seeing Canadian country-rock band the Stampeders play in my old high-school gym in the ’70s. This was a few years after they had the hit “Sweet City Woman” I believe.
Nazareth at the PNE Agrodome, November 15, 1974. Back in the mid-’70s in Chilliwack if you didn’t own either Razamanaz or Loud ‘n’ Proud on vinyl or eight-track tape, you were a nobody.
Kiss at the Commodore Ballroom, January 9, 1975. Me and a bunch of my underage teenage buddies got to see Kiss in a bar while they were touring behind their second album, Hotter Than Hell. Gene Simmons came very close to setting the venue’s red velvet curtains ablaze with his fire-breathing act. That was a few years before Kiss started to suck.
The Faces with Foghat at the Pacific Coliseum, March 13, 1975. The thing I remember most about this show was the shower of little multi-coloured balls that bounced all over the stage at the end of the gig. I had actually gone to see boogiemeisters Foghat, but Faces (with Rod Stewart) kicked ass as well.
Heart at the Chilliwack Coliseum, 1975 or ’76? I saw Heart play in the since-demolished venue I used to play hockey in as a teen. I think this was right around the time that the band’s debut album, Dreamboat Annie, came out. Those Wilson sisters were a teenage dream, especially Nancy, if you know what I mean and I think you do.
ZZ Top at the Pacific Coliseum, January 18, 1976. I became a hardcore fan of ZZ Top after scoring a used copy of their 1973 Tres Hombres album at a second-hand store in Chillliwack. I first saw them when they were touring behind their 1975 Fandango! album, which was half live and half studio recordings. I preferred the studio side: “Balinese” and “Heard It on the X” baby!
David Bowie at the Pacific Coliseum, February 2, 1976. Bowie was touring behind his Station to Station album, and was in his coldly detached Thin White Duke phase. I recall a lot of bright white light and black clothing.
Bad Company with Kansas at the Pacific Coliseum, May 9, 1976. I was a huge Bad Company fan back in the day. How could a ’70s guitar-rock freak not like a band that featured Paul Rodgers from Free and Mick Ralphs from Mott the Hoople? Bad Co. was touring behind its third album, Run With the Pack, which I didn’t like as much as their previous one, Straight Shooter. Later that year openers Kansas would hit it big with the release of the five-times-platinum Leftoverture, which featured the classic rock staple “Carry On Wayward Son”.
Aerosmith with Jeff Beck and Starz at the Seattle Kingdome, September 3, 1976. It was a big deal for me, traveling all the way to Seattle to see a concert in 1976. Aerosmith sounded terrible in the cavernous football stadium, but they were one of my fave hard-rock bands at the time, touring behind the wicked Rocks album. I still have the tour program (see above), which I later got autographed by all five original members. I remember how the crowd got worked up when Jeff Beck played a bit of “Train Kept a Rollin'”, because they thought it was a tribute to the headliners. I was also a big fan of openers Starz, who–judging by the sound of their self-titled 1976 debut LP–should have been huge.
Blue Öyster Cult with Bob Seger & the Silver Bullet Band at the PNE Gardens, November 26, 1976. Oh man, they don’t make concert bills like that anymore. B.O.C. were touring behind their Agents of Fortune LP—the one with “(Don’t Fear) the Reaper”—and Seger had just released Night Moves. Holy hell did I enjoy that show.
Queen with Thin Lizzy at the Pacific Coliseum, March 11, 1977. Queen was at the peak of its career, touring behind its fifth album, A Day at the Races. The only band I liked more than them at the time was probably the opener, Thin Lizzy.
Sammy Hagar at the Commodore Ballroom, January 19, 1978. After I got blown away by his two-album stint with the monumental Montrose I continued to follow Hagar’s solo career. I was psyched to see the Red Rocker and his wicked band–which included some former Montrose members–up close at a bar.
Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers at the Commodore Ballroom, June 15, 1978. The greatest concert experience of my life was seeing Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers performing with Bob Dylan at the Greek Theatre in Berkeley, California, in 1986, but that was after I became a published rock writer. Eight years earlier I was blown away seeing Petty and his band six weeks after they released their second album, You’re Gonna Get It.
Styx with Thin Lizzy at the Pacific Coliseum, October 12, 1978. I didn’t go to see Styx; I went to see opening act Thin Lizzy, wearing my Bad Reputation t-shirt. Then this happened.
Goddo at the Body Shop, 1978 or ’79. I remember this show well because Goddo bassist Greg Godovitz accidentally bumped me on the head with his instrument when he pulled it off to leap from the stage and chase down a heckler.
Molly Hatchet at the Commodore Ballroom, October 16, 1979. Saw the original Molly Hatchet lineup while the southern-boogie act was touring behind its second album, Flirtin’ with Disaster. I remember having to nudge my concert-going buddy Seeks, who was falling asleep at the wheel of his black El Camino on the highway back to the ‘Wack. Flirtin’ with disaster, indeed.
Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers at the PNE Gardens, December 27, 1979. After seeing their explosive gig at the Commodore the year before, there was no way I was gonna miss Petty and his band at the Gardens. Especially after buying their new album, Damn the Torpedoes.
Red Rider at Earthquake Annie’s, 1979 or ’80. We didn’t get that many amazing concerts in Chilliwack, but there was no way I was gonna miss seeing Tom Cochrane‘s new band at a local club while it was touring behind its debut album, Don’t Fight It.
The Who at the Pacific Coliseum, April 14, 1980. This Keith Moon-less but still fabulous show was being billed as part of the Who’s Farewell Tour, but we all know how that panned out.
The Michael Schenker Group at the UBC Sub Ballroom, December 13, 1980. I was a huge fan of Michael Schenker‘s guitar playing with UFO between 1974 and ’78, and he continued to impress on the Michael Schenker Group’s self-titled debut album, which came out four months before this gig. I was actually attending UBC at the time, so I had no excuse to miss this one.
To hear the full audio of my interviews with current and former members of Aerosmith, Thin Lizzy, Queen, Blue Oyster Cult, Bad Company, ZZ Top, Heart, Kiss, the Michael Schenker Group, Red Rider, and Nazareth subscribe to my Patreon page, where you can eavesdrop on over 500 of my uncut, one-on-one conversations with rock legends since 1982.
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