I have seen many concerts but the ones that stand out for some reason are these.
Devo Earth Day
The first celebration ever of Earth Day happened in San Francisco in 1990, and a huge concert was planned down at a field by the bay with Devo as the headliner. Unfortunately, the day was ruined by awful bands, including one Jefferson Starship who sang what could possibly be the worst song ever recorded—“We Built This City on Rock n Roll.”
In the afternoon, Devo took the stage and began playing while thousands started circle-dancing and slamming. The hippies and cops were horrified and shut down the band after one song. The singer for Devo took the microphone and asked, “How can we save the earth if we can’t even put on a concert?” This resulted in the audience chanting “Fuck the Earth, Fuck the Earth!” until the police made everyone go home.
Devo Earth Day
The first celebration ever of Earth Day happened in San Francisco in 1990, and a huge concert was planned down at a field by the bay with Devo as the headliner. Unfortunately, the day was ruined by awful bands, including one Jefferson Starship who sang what could possibly be the worst song ever recorded—“We Built This City on Rock n Roll.”
In the afternoon, Devo took the stage and began playing while thousands started circle-dancing and slamming. The hippies and cops were horrified and shut down the band after one song. The singer for Devo took the microphone and asked, “How can we save the earth if we can’t even put on a concert?” This resulted in the audience chanting “Fuck the Earth, Fuck the Earth!” until the police made everyone go home.
Editor's note: A witness (Dave S.) to this concert responded with the following....
"devo never played a song...they strummed, maybe, a chord or two...i remember jim jagus' friend, the tall chunky redheaded extrovert with the goatee arguing what song they were gonna go into...like he thought he "could name that tune in one strum" of the guitar...at that show the worst act of the day, starship, were dodging projectiles throughout their "set"...towards the end of the show i ran into some acquaintances who told me that they had taken off their socks and had filled them with dirt and mud and chucked them at the band members of starship."
Grateful Dead and Santana
1987 Calaveras County. I had seen the Dead many times, well, actually I rarely saw them because they were boring, but I sure hung around the parking lot sampling the goods. Anyway, I got into this show and in between bands, these two stunt planes flew over the concert doing crazy things like going into dives and flying right towards each other and veering away at the last second. People were freaking out! Their acid trips turned into a bummer man! It was great!
Editor's note: A witness (Dave S.) to this concert responded with the following....
"the dead show...remember the hells angels riding their bikes in the restricted area behind the stage...a perfect day...hot...blue skies...big puffy clouds...santana had a stageful of musicians with him...15 dudes or more on bongos and other percussions...deadheads were dancing so vigorously that they had kicked up a huge dust cloud...the stuff was good that day my friend. woke up in a tent that i had climbed into with no poles...like it had collasped...like it was a sleeping bag..."
Yep. Thank you. It was like that.
La street scene Ramones
From 1978-1986 Downtown Los Angeles hosted the LA Street Scene. In 1986 a bunch of punk bands were scheduled. There were thousands of rowdies, it was free, and you could drink, what could go wrong? At about 11:00 a.m. Agent Orange began playing surrounded by people who began throwing bottles. This was not a good beginning and the violence began to get worse. Being somewhat of a provocateur myself, I was excited to see how bad it could get. As night fell and the thousands of people waited for the Ramones, it became obvious that they weren’t going to play. People jumped up on the stage and began destroying the equipment and then cops on horses charged out from behind buildings swinging batons and running over the drunk gutter punks. It was crazy but unforgettable and probably why downtown events now cost so much money.
Butthole Surfers
1987 Variety Arts Center. The Hickoids opened for them. The first song they came out and busted their guitars up and one of the pieces cracked open the skull of Dick Miller. They didn’t care…they were playing huge movies of surgeries behind them. Everyone was throwing up and bleeding or running for the exits crying. It was the worst trip but the best show.
From 1978-1986 Downtown Los Angeles hosted the LA Street Scene. In 1986 a bunch of punk bands were scheduled. There were thousands of rowdies, it was free, and you could drink, what could go wrong? At about 11:00 a.m. Agent Orange began playing surrounded by people who began throwing bottles. This was not a good beginning and the violence began to get worse. Being somewhat of a provocateur myself, I was excited to see how bad it could get. As night fell and the thousands of people waited for the Ramones, it became obvious that they weren’t going to play. People jumped up on the stage and began destroying the equipment and then cops on horses charged out from behind buildings swinging batons and running over the drunk gutter punks. It was crazy but unforgettable and probably why downtown events now cost so much money.
Butthole Surfers
1987 Variety Arts Center. The Hickoids opened for them. The first song they came out and busted their guitars up and one of the pieces cracked open the skull of Dick Miller. They didn’t care…they were playing huge movies of surgeries behind them. Everyone was throwing up and bleeding or running for the exits crying. It was the worst trip but the best show.
Editor's note: A witness (Dave S.) to this concert responded with the following....
"were you in the car when we got pulled over on the way to the buttholes? open containers, unopened case of beer, half ounce of something in somebody's pocket, and of course the lengthy ticket i recieved...lets see: tailgating, speeding, reckless driving?, pulling over to the left side of a freeway, open containers...the cop wanted to arrest me...i still cant figure out why he didnt...i passed the sobriety test...he didnt give me a breathalizer..."
Yep...I was there. That's why it was a memorable concert....that was the ride from Santa Barbara to Los Angeles. The stop was in Malibu. One stop resulted in 5 citations. I had forgotten. Thanks.
Flipper
I saw Flipper in San Francisco and it was a typical show for them. Afterwards, I was hitchhiking with a friend and they picked us up. When we asked to get out of the truck, they responded, “You’re with Flipper now. We’re not letting you go.”
Springsteen
This guy called me up and said, “Hey do you want to see Springsteen at Dodger Stadium?” I went and observed the cult of Springsteen fans. The concert was surprisingly good….he puts on quite a show, but I was more amazed with the multitudes of middle class Americans singing along with every word at the top of their voices with tears falling down their faces.
I saw Flipper in San Francisco and it was a typical show for them. Afterwards, I was hitchhiking with a friend and they picked us up. When we asked to get out of the truck, they responded, “You’re with Flipper now. We’re not letting you go.”
Springsteen
This guy called me up and said, “Hey do you want to see Springsteen at Dodger Stadium?” I went and observed the cult of Springsteen fans. The concert was surprisingly good….he puts on quite a show, but I was more amazed with the multitudes of middle class Americans singing along with every word at the top of their voices with tears falling down their faces.
1 comment:
I attended the Devo Earth Day concert and also don't remember them playing a single song. I remember talking to my friends that it was poised to be the launch of a "Devo Comeback" and how it would never happen and what crappy luck they had that day.
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