Yesterday was a day off. I take the second Tuesday of each year off to prepare and watch the All Star Game. During the day I listened to several albums and this was the last one before the game. Listening to this always takes me back to July 2, 1977. I was stationed onboard the USS Kansas City (AOR-3) at Alameda, California. Every summer Bill Graham would put on Day on the Green, concerts consisting of four acts, usually very well known. I decided to go the show on July 2, I got tickets and rode my bike from my apartment next to Lake Merritt to the Oakland Coliseum. Part way there one of my pedals snapped off, I had toe clips so I pedaled the rest of the way with just one pedal. When I got there, they had set up the stage in center field and you could sit almost anywhere. The only places you could not sit were the infield grass, pitchers mound and the dugouts. The A's had last played on June 30 which gave them just one full day to get everything set. I sat on Gene Tenace's first base for the show. It was an impressive show, The Outlaws opened, then Santana, next was the reason I was there, Lynyrd Skynyrd, and then the headliner, Pete Frampton. Many people left during the Frampton set, I think because he over used the effects during the concert. The most amazing thing to most people is what I paid for the ticket, $11.50 ($48.60 in 2019 dollars), still a great deal.
That must have been an awesome show! I got into classic rock for a few years in the mid-'90s, and Frampton Comes Alive was one of the CDs I grabbed through the BMG mail-order deal. I guess I can understand why purists would dislike the effects but I thought they were cool. "Do You Feel Like We Do" was one of my faves and I haven't heard it in forever. Thanks to this post I'm going to go give it another listen :)
My brother and I bonded while driving home from Vegas in April and he was telling me about the Day on the Green concerts he attended. I vaguely remember him mentioning Frampton... although I'm not sure if it was in the exact same conversation as the Day on the Green one. But there's a small chance he was there at the same concert as you.
That must have been an awesome show! I got into classic rock for a few years in the mid-'90s, and Frampton Comes Alive was one of the CDs I grabbed through the BMG mail-order deal. I guess I can understand why purists would dislike the effects but I thought they were cool. "Do You Feel Like We Do" was one of my faves and I haven't heard it in forever. Thanks to this post I'm going to go give it another listen :)
ReplyDeleteThe first concert I ever saw was Frampton at Madison Square Garden in 1979. A great experience.
ReplyDeleteMy brother and I bonded while driving home from Vegas in April and he was telling me about the Day on the Green concerts he attended. I vaguely remember him mentioning Frampton... although I'm not sure if it was in the exact same conversation as the Day on the Green one. But there's a small chance he was there at the same concert as you.
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