I assume it was the "classic" lineup with the Bouchards. I had never heard the band before that - a friend of mine who'd read some good things about them was all hot to go & I was always ready to go along.

It was a long subway ride from the Village where I lived all the way up thru Manhattan & into the Bronx. It was an outdoor nighttime show, right on the soccer (football) field. You could either stand around on the field or sit in the stands off to the sides, we hung on the field.

Unfortunately I really remember very little in the way of detail about the show. Couldn't tell you what the guys wore or looked like, tho I'm under the impression that one of them (Joe or Allen would be my guess) wore a knee-length black raincoat.

I was mainly impressed by the way they played their instruments & constructed their songs - couldn't make out much of the lyrics. Their playing made me an instant fan tho, & I bought the album as soon as I could. (I'd like to say I ran right out & bought it the very next morning but my memory isn't that good either!)

Gaelic Park was also the place that I saw Jefferson Airplane, my favorite band during the late 1960s, with their "classic" lineup for the last time. So it was really a kind of watershed place when the music was in transition from the 60s to the 70s.

Gaelic Park is still there & still a soccer/football field - there was an article about it in the NY Times a year or 2 ago that I posted on BDTE.

A buddy of mine was in his 3rd year at Purdue University, in West Lafayette, Indiana & I decided to drop in on him on a rainy fall afternoon in 1972. He's got some jams playing on the stereo & we enhanced our conversation with a little pick-me-up so we were having a good time just jammin' along when a neighboring housemate stopped by to check out what we were doing. He had just been out to the local Record store & had about 3 or 4 new albums to check out, so we started looking at his new stuff & one album was so different & cool that we put it on right away.

It was Blue Oyster Cult, with the fantastic cover drawings that made us wonder what kind of new band they were (Gawlik seemed so mysterious), & where they were from. Well, from the start of Transmaniacon MC we were hooked by the guitar army sound and thought the lyrics were so cool as we cranked the volumne up.(Saddam's Boytoy's hogs, no pig at all, you know)

We spent that afternoon listening to this great new record by a band we had no idea of who they were, but we really dug the music. Every song seemed to have it's own killer way of rockin', and by the time Redeemed finished we knew this was a good rockin' record, and band. In fact, Thereof Came The Last Days Of May became THE song of the album for me, it was just so bluesy the way the notes just dripped from Buck's guitar against the beautiful simplicity of the song structure. It wasn't long until that song became one of my alltime favorites, and is to this day.

Onward, we'll fastforward about 6 months to late winter/early spring 1973 and the local Sunday newspaper lists the upcoming concerts in Indianapolis. When I see that BOC is coming to town, I immeadiately tell all my friends about it & make plans to go. The day comes & we get there early enough to get right up close to the stage. We were well prepared for a great show & man did we get it.

By the time they 1st played Indy, their second album, Tyranny & Mutation had came out, so we were treated to a set list from the 2 albums that night, and I mean they pulled out all the stops. I was within 10 feet of Buck (I didn't realize it was the Buck zone yet), and after the full guitar assault through Dizbusters & Hot Rails, they came back with Buck's Boogie & the Red and the Black. Mere words cannot convey the effect & emotion of seeing & hearing this incredible band up close. After the crossed guitars we were all bowing to a new master. They kicked our a** like no other band ever had.

I remember standing there thinking that this was what a Rock & Roll band should look and sound like. Mysterious, intelligent lyrics sang by a leather clad singer, with twin killer guitars that were led by this little a** kicker with ice water in his veins that played so effortlessly. Natural born killers on a rock stage, oh yeah, I was hooked.

I've never been the same since that night, and I've followed them everywhere that I could to see them play. It was a few more years before I got to meet them. I've seen them all over the Midwest & California, in every edition of the band. Thank God they're On Tour Forever.

The venue was the Decatur Armory. The show was put on by the Decatur MacArthur High School booster club, and by the local head shop "Crystal Ship". There were several thousand in attendance, and the venue was like a gymnasium. One floor, no seats, we sat on the floor (it was too loud to stand up) I was 14.

It was my first concert, and we were already hard core BOC fans, having heard GTDTW and the first two records. Buck played the red (soon to be painted white) SG, and Allen and Eric played a lot of guitar that night, as well.

Some of the setlist included Stairway, Bucks Boogie, Hot Rails, Red and The Black, Diz, lots from the first two records, and whenever we'd yell out requests, Eric would respond "got ya covered".

The opener was "The Flock" and I think the lead singer played some kind of electric fiddle. They sucked, and when we chanted BOC during their set, and yelled for Bucks Boogie, he said, "Wanna Boogie?" people yelled Yeah! and he stuck his finger in his nose and replied "HERE"!...like I said, they sucked, and were the first band that my friends and I heckled off of the stage. My friend Jeff Turley was at that show, unbeknownst to me, and when he gets on here, he may have some other recollections. Also, I'll ask my brother to send me some more memories.

As for the next year, it was also at the Decatur Armory. I don't know the date, but I think it was in the Summer. My brother and I were the first in line, and when there was a delay opening the doors, we asked the ushers what the deal was, and we were told that BOC blew the power grid, downtown, and the armory didn't have enough power to run their sound and stage show. Rather than play without it, BOC chose to not play, and when we found out about it, we scalped our tickets for face value and left the venue.

I heard that Pavlov's Dog and Frigid Pink went ahead and played, because they were offering a reduced rate refund, to a few people, then decided that that was a bad idea, since everyone wanted refunds. I heard that the show was enjoyable, but obviously my decision to cut and run was never regretted.

Pavlov's dog was ran by a dude named David Surkamp, who, on March 6th, 1996, opened for BOC at KSHE concert cafe, in St Louis, where Surkamp is from, (The David Surkamp Band) and told the story of what had happened... it was ironic that I was in the audience, because when he mentioned the venue, I told him that I was at that show, and he told me and the rest of the crowd that we missed a jam session at the Decatur Ambassador Hotel, after hours. Too bad, too, cuz I may have gotten to meet Buck way back then instead of on March 6th, the night of the KSHE show.

I recall that the gig was during Spring Break in high school and took place in the Memorial Stadium in Daytona Beach, Florida in front of a pretty small crowd - perhaps two or three hundred people.

Eric was wearing his full-length cape. It was black outside and silver inside. Seems he was wearing some high boots also, either black or silver.

Allen was wearing a solid silver "Spaceman" suit. Looked very similar to the ones that astronauts used to wear. Buck and Eric were playing red [wine] colored Gibson SG guitars. Allen played a Les Paul, seems it was sunburst during some of the tunes. He [Allen] started OD'd on keys and ended up with guitar at the end of the song. It knocked me back since I am a guitar player also.

I don't remember anything unique about the drummer or bass player. One thing that stands out is when someone up front asked "When are you going to play .... [whatever title]?" Eric replied "We gotta play Diz first!" He was smiling when he said it. Sticks in my mind.

Oh, another interesting note: the fact that they only played songs from the first two albums. They definitely did not play any tunes from albums other than the first album and Tyranny.

Some of the tunes I remember were:

The Red & The Black
OD'd On Life Itself
7 Screaming Diz-Busters
Bucks Boogie
Cities on Flame
Stairway to the Stars

Seems they only played briefly - perhaps only 30 minutes. Looking back, I wish they had played Transmaniacon MC, Wings Wetted Down and other obscure tunes but I don't think they did. It was the first time I saw them. At that moment, I was hooked!

Scene 1......Van load of 17 year olds head down I-74 to the Union Auditorium. There was LSD, Weed and copious amounts of beer involved. I think I drove (here's where I say that I don't condone abuse of drugs among children and I don't know how we made it there and back alive.)

Scene 2... The show starts. I was in awe. The laser lights were spectacular and oh so loud, the music too

From what I remember I know for sure that they played - Bucks Boogie, Seven Screaming Dizbusters, and at some point (I think at the end of the show) there were 5 Guitars.

I'm seeming to recall Career of Evil, Stairway to the Stars, Flaming Telepath, Dominance and Submission, and Cities on Flame (I know Albert sang a couple times). Albert was all over the stage from what I recall, like a madman. I was weirded out by his leather shorts though.

During Bucks Boogie I couldn't take my eyes off this guy who could play this fast, this well! I kept thinking I wish I could do that with my guitar (fade to 17 year-old me with a record and turntable, and my guitar trying to figure out just some of the rhythm to Dominance and Submission). That show really made him stand out to me, that's why he's my favorite oyster.

There was also a drum an bass solo. I can't remember what encore was done but I think they came back out twice. I don't have a clue how long they played, I just knew that I wanted it to go on forever. For what its worth there you have it.

It was the summer of 1974, I was a young 18 year old just learning about HARD ROCK. I had been a BOC fan for about a year. Myself and two friends Zach and Dickie, I am Cliff, had our first apartment away from the folks. We were partiers from the get go! 18 and free from home, this was the life. We all worked construction $5.00 per hour as laborers. Good money back in 74. Kept us in beer and what ever, you know what I mean.

We had an arrangement at the apartment that we would take turns selecting what LP to play next. Each person taking their turn of selecting an album. My turn was always BOC "Tyranny And Mutation". I had the album sleeve of the band, a black and white picture of them, in a picture frame next to my bed. These guys were my anti-heroes!!!! No one else ever picked BOC for their turn, because they knew I would. So between POCO, AEROSMITH and MOUNTAIN there would always be BOC selected.

So we all heard about the Alexandria Roller Rink show and were very excited. I had seen only two other concerts in my life, Raspberries at my high school and Pink Floyd at the Post Pavilion, in MD. Neither excited me like a chance to see my idols, BOC in concert. We bought 10 tickets and were ready to rock!!!!

The day of the show came, not only BOC but Nazareth, and some band I never heard of called KISS. We were getting ready to go from our apartment only 15 minutes from the Roller Rink. All of a sudden dickie comes in and is very upset. He just wrecked his Honda 750 while coming home to change for the show. The very ironic thing is he ran in to Brian (his brothers friend), who was crossing the road, to also go to the show with us. Oh well, we all went anyway and it was awesome.

The show had no seats, no stage lights, and a small stage. I was with my friends center stage 4 or 5 rows back and wasted to the BEJESUS BELT!!!! The show started with Nazareth, who I also liked, I love "Go Down Fighting", they played very well. KISS was a no show. However, I did not care, cause I never heard of em anyway! BOC came on and ROCKED the house.

I do not remember their set, song for song, but the standouts were, Last Days Of May, Cities On Flame, The Red and the Black, Buck was incredible. He was all in white and played the white Gibson SG, that was later stolen. His fingers were SOOOOO fast and his licks soooo melodic and tasteful, I will never forget. The finale was all five guitars jamming at one time, AWESOME, AWESOME, AWESOME!!!!! The entire band Allan, Buck, Eric and the Bouchard brothers were awesome!!! All of BOC literally blew me away, I had such a good BUZZ, that I will never forget BOC in this small and intimate place!

I just wanted to post a comment about BOC's 1974 gig at the Tennessee State Fair. I was there, and it was the first time that I had ever seen them...

The show was utterly fantastic and shaped me and my musical taste and style for the rest of my life.

The most amazing part of this experience is this... imagine yourself in Nashville Tn in 1974... BOC opens for Lynyrd Skynyrd (who are riding a big wave about then). After BOC's set....most of the audience starts to get up and leave (I did... I mean who the hell could top BOC) after they did about 2 encores... and Skynyrd had to come out and OPEN with Free Bird just to keep the audience there.

I don't know about you, but that to me was just amazing...

The Long Beach arena gig on Oct 12 '74 was the first time I had seen the Band. I was 15. My best friend Rusty and I had heard about them some months before. We thought the Band's name sounded really bizarre & cool, so we went to our local record shop to pick up a couple of their albums.

Rusty bought "Tyranny & Mutation"; I purchased their new album "Secret Treaties". We both instantly dug the band, the music and the imagery, so went about telling all our friends & schoolmates about them. We became responsible for turning on most of Orange County to the band that year!

T-Rex was supposed to play first, but for some unknown reason cancelled at the last minute. Rusty & I didn't care. We were there to see BOC! When the band came on, we were totally blown away! The set list is chronicled elsewhere, as I cannot remember the exact song order.(it's been 33 years!) Eric made mention that the show was being recorded, and the crowd went wild!

The Band was great. Standing about 6 feet from Buck, we witnessed some the best guitar playing we had ever seen. Some of that show made it onto the "On Your Feet Or On Your Knees" double live album. It was a privilege to be in the audience for that moment in BOC history! I have been a fan of the Group ever since, and have seen them many times throughout the decades. BOC On Tour Forever!

October 1974. Long Beach Arena. After listening to their first 3 albums over and over, I was ready for this.

As I stood in line outside the Arena, "The Symbol" suddenly lit up the entire wall of the Arena. Crowd went wild. Seen them over 50 times since. Is there anything better than the right frame of mind, a bean bag chair, headphones, and Secret Treaties' "Astronomy"? I didn't think so. BOC, the Light that never warms...

My friends and myself are psyched up all day, we're going to our first Blue Oyster Cult concert.

The lineup for the show is Hydra, BOC and Aerosmith so we know its gonna be along night and we have an hour drive from Pittsfield down to Springfield. We had all of our goodies ready and some Old Grand Dad to smuggle in and mix with our cokes.

Hydra opened up and was good but we had never heard of them, I think they were from Georgia.

Next is BOC and were all pretty buzzed at this point, finally the lights go down and the announcement is made " On your feet or on your knees, here they are from new york city, the amazing Blue Oyster Cult" . Well off went the flash pots and out comes BOC playing stairway to the stars, the whole band was rocking out the civic center with a vengeance.

Next was O'd on life followed by Career of Evil. We just keep looking at each other, what a show, next was Harvester of Eyes followed by Cities on flame then Flaming telepaths.

Next it was Buck's boogie and then ME-262, we're singing along and having a great time. The regular set ended with Hot rails to hell, everybody in the civic center is screaming for more and the place is lit up with everybodies lighters.

Out they come and blast into Born to be wild with the blue strobes going off, the scraping guitars and a hell bent for leather intensity that can't be beat.

All the way home we talked about Erics boots with the kronos symbols on them, the strobes and the scraping guitars and Buck's guitar work.

Aerosmith came on next did some great songs, my favorite was Seasons of wither, but it just wasn't BOC.

I went to see BOC on New Year's Eve, 74-75 at the Academy of Msic in NYC. Went with a bunch of friends, all UTI of something or other, but I still remember the show. Top ten.

A flamenco-rock band ( presented by David Bowie ) named Carmen opened. Ha Ha - they were not my cup of sangria. Then a rock band named Camel, I dunno if they had Peter Frampton or not, they were ok. Guess it wasn't Frampton cos I liked Humble Pie.

Then the lights went out and we heard some big screen drop down behind the drumkit's shadow. We figured it was the eyeless kid from the ad for the show, but it turned out to be the 1st BOC album art.

The sound guy was playing "I'm Just a Singer in a Rock and Roll Band". The lights came on and BOC came out, behind them was some sort of Nuremburg Rally thing with long black banners with BOC logos on them.

They opened with "Stairway to the Stars". They were very, VERY LOUD! Still one of the loudest shows I've seen and I still go to many.

Saw a few of the local music scene there, Patti Smith and some of the Dolls. They did a great set, some of it is on On Yer Feet, I think. Eric shaved himself with an amplified razor for his New Year's resolution. That was cool. He was in Black leather, Buck in white and Al in boxing shorts.

At the end of the encore Buck stood there pulling the strings off his white SG, one-by-one.

It was Friday March 13th 1975 at the Spokane Coliseum. It was my 19th birthday as well!

My Mother actually wrote me a note to get out of school to go see the show that was 100 miles north in Spokane, WA. I was living in Walla Walla, WA at the time. A little farm town with a population of only 25,000.

I left in the afternoon with two of my best buddies in a very beat up VW Bug that had dents all over it because it had been rolled. We got to Spokane in the late afternoon and secured our crash pad with one of my buddies friends who's girlfriend and he were complete Todd Rundgren fanatics. So I heard a lot of Todd Rundgren before the show at their apartment. I did get them to play the first BOC album which the had so we could all get in the grove before the show.

When we got to the show I found out there was a opening act. I think it was a band called Mann. Not positive on that and I have been trying to find out for sure ever since. Who ever they were, they were forgettable. I was there to see BOC! We then found at least four other of my best friends from High School who had drove up in another car. It was festival seating of course and we all found out spot on the floor about 30 feet from the stage. I can't remember what they opened with but they just exploded on to the stage like a bat out of hell.

Eric had the mirrored sun glasses with the cape with the red satin lining. I have to tell you it was very surreal because we had ingested quite a bit of weak Phycodelics and the band really had the mystique about them. I remember " Flaming Telepaths" coming across to me as if they were speaking directly to me with the chorus, "and the jokes on you", as a stay away from hard drugs message.

Another highlight was during ME-262 when the band started goose stepping and the audience all started marching as well. The sirens and explosions were incredible I am not sure if the had lasers in 1975 but the shot this beam of light at a mirror ball during "Astronomy" that shot stars all over the ceiling. This little farm town boy had never seen anything like that. Buck'e Boggie / Massarrati GT was also a highlight!

I also remember being very surprised to hear "Born to be Wild" as the encore. It seemed to be some kind of message they were trying to get across through a long geology of Rock N Roll. It jogged my memory backs because I don't think I heard that song since I saw Easy Rider in grade school.

At the end of the show I just stood in front of the stage in astonishment. The Coliseum had pretty much cleared out and my small band of friend had found me after we were separated in the rush and crush for the stage. There was all sorts of trash and bottles everywhere. My buddies were all snapping bottle caps and tripping on the tracers because they were all still tripping.

Then Eric mysteriously appeared on stage. He looked like a biker with leather pants and a leather vest. He kicked a few beer bottles off the stage and disappeared as mysteriously and he appeared.

I am 50 years old now and have been a die hard fan ever since except for a couple of years in the early eighties when I got into the Punk thing and so called "New Wave" thing. I was back going to see BOC every time the came to LA by 1984. They just keep getting better with age, despite the lack of lasers, flash pods and Godzilla props. The last show I saw at the Avalon Ballroom on Catalina Island has to be one of the best shows I've seen. That was just last Monday!

REO opened for BOC and put on a great show. They had a new singer named Michael Murphy. I thought he had a great voice with a lot of soul. He added a lot to the band. He had more hair (big hair) than Dee Snider and Peg Bundy put together.

It was Gary Richrath's custom to mingle with the crowd and did so during the BOC set. I was lucky enough to shake his hand and it did not take long to see that his focus on females had been disrupted by Buck's Guitar. He seemed mesmorized by Buck's mastery of the fretboard. I lost track of Richrath, but that did not matter to me.

BOC's use of Lighting and Fog was unlike anything I had ever seen. Eric Bloom commanded the stage like a Warlord. All five band members on guitar for ME-262 had driven the crowd to places they had never been sonically. It blew me away that the drummer could play a guitar, and they were all playing side-by-side, with great precision, at such an Ear-Splitting Level.

At the encore, they played Steppenwolf's "Born to be Wild". This performance by BOC became the standard by which I judged all further concerts I attended in my lifetime, and thus began my lifelong love-affair with Blue Oyster Cult.

I had moved to Modesto, CA during the winter of 74/75. Thanks to Dean, BOC was already my favorite band but nobody I met in Modesto knew anything about them. I changed all that and they were soon the most played band when we were partying, which was pretty much when we weren't sleeping.

When we found out that BOC was playing in San Francisco, that instantly became the must see event for everyone in our group. At the time, I was working on a ranch in Chowchilla and was pretty much up all night watching over pregnant cows or pulling calves that were too big for the mama. I remember taking off for Modesto to meet my friends that morning. I must of had a bunch of candy left over from Valentines Day because I was eating these little pink hearts I kept in a tin. We stocked up on weed and alcohol and headed for SF. None of our crowd was 21 but we never had trouble scoring beer or liquor. We would just put our chicks in front of a liquor store to sweet talk some unsuspecting customer.

When we arrived at Winterland in SF, we had to stand in a long line waiting for the doors to open. Some guy was walking up and down the line advertising his windowpane for $1 a pane. Damn near everybody was a buyer. One guy had his taken away by a security cop or something, but it was quickly replaced since the seller didn't want any unhappy concert goers.

Pretty Things was the first band to take the stage. I had never heard of them and was greatly unimpressed. At the time it wasn't what I called rock and roll.

REO Speedwagon was the 2nd band. It seems about that time I learned that pink hearts and windowpane don't make a real good combination. I could of swore that my heart was going to beat right out of my chest. Right in tune to the bass guitar. I really thought I was going to od on life about then. I had read somewhere sometime that Winterland had an od crew to take of such idiots, so I went in search of them only to find out they had taken this show off. So I spent the majority of REO sitting on a can in the bathroom waiting to die.

When the Speedwagon was done and the bass had quit trying to take me out, I managed to make it back out and was standing in a aisle between seats not far from the stage as Blue Oyster Cult started playing. It was the most amazing thing I had ever seen or heard in my life. I'm sure I saw the rest of the guys in the band, but I just remember watching Buck Dharma with one foot on a monitor completely mesmerizing me. I know I was rocking out in that aisle, singing along with all the songs, but now I couldn't tell you a single song that was played other than astronomy. The solo seemed to last about 30 minutes and just when Buck really go into it, a light hit some mirrored ball hung in the center of the house that started spinning. It proceeded to reflect little white dots all over the place and the faster Buck played, the faster that ball spun and the faster the little white dots moved. Between my condition, the music and the little white dots, it's a miracle I survived that moment.

Well, that's about all of the sketchy parts I recall. After the show we discovered the car we came in had been broken into and the 8-track player stolen. The thief left all the tapes though. Somehow we made it back to Modesto without crashing or getting thrown in jail. (those are other stories)

30+ years ago, one of my older brothers was the first to turn me on to BOC, and we used to listen to the first 3 LP's daily. As it turned out, all the guys I hung around with were also in the BOC groove, so it all came to be a natural following.

When the boys came to our area (I believe it was only the 6th. time they had played in Illinois), My friend " Moose" (the worst juvenile delinquent you'd ever want to meet... AND, who coincidentally dragged me into a lot of his situations) had invited me to go with him to the show. We purchased our tickets at the local Head Shop " Swollen Head" records & tapes (&etc). I recall paying $4.75 General Admission.

So that afternoon, Moose and I, along with his cousin Eddie, drove to the show in Eddie's car, which was an old Chevy beater with 4 completely bald tires on it. The venue was only ~5 miles from home.

All my brothers friends showed up, but not my brother. He'd later said that he thought the show was for younger kids......???? So once we got inside, we hung with the older guys for the first opening acts. I remember seeing kronos's everywhere.

Some girl had must have spent days studding her pants and jacket with BOC logos. Everything seemed surreal, as this was my first concert, and the realization of the commonality had hit me.

After Joe Vitale's madmen exited the stage, Moose, Eddie, and myself started pushing our way up front towards the stage (Some things never change). Well, everybody else soon got the same idea, because during the entire BOC act, we were getting squashed nearly to death in the worst mosh I'd ever been in. It was so tight that I could have lifted my feet off the ground, and still not have slipped down.

The show sounded great. I remember getting goose bumps listening to what I was hearing. It sounded as well produced as their studio recordings, only the element of hearing it live, gave it a whole new feeling. Some of the things that really stood out were Buck in his white suit, and the 5 guitars. At the end of the show, Albert had tossed out a broken drum stick, which somehow I ended up with, but I gave it to Eddie after the show.

5 July 1975 was my first ever concert of any kind.

I was 18 and in the U.S. Army. I remember the line all the way around the block outside of the Paramount NW. I had 100 hits of LSD on my person... eating, selling and dropping some on the ground. I was as high as a kite... but in tune with every single note that was played by BOC.

The Paramount was the perfect venue for BOC... you could hear a pin drop from the top row. I remember Albert's little shorts... Buck's white suit. It was a scene straight out of the inside of the OYFOOYK album cover.

It was the most amazing thing that I had ever seen.... and nothing has ever come close since. Eric shooting a 6 foot long bolt of lightning out of his finger at the end of Flaming Telepaths.

I remember watching spec5 Hough inhale a whole freshly lit joint down his throat as the flashpots went off at the start of born to be wild. I remember being amazed at AB's drum solo and Buck's solo that went on for seemingly hours.

By far.... the night I would go back and relive if I had the chance. And for 20 years after that night... I preached what I had seen... until I found BOC on the internet.

After the show the trip back to Ft. Lewis involves a broken down Honda 500 (550?) stuffed in the trunk of a 66 Chevelle with 6 U.S. servicemen packed inside.

I can't remember the exact year but I think it was 1973 or 1974 in Cleveland Stadium. The event was called "The world series of rock" and consisted of several bands playing over the course of the day. BOC didn't headline (obviously) but played somewhere in the middle. I can't even remember any of the other acts.

A few years previous I got hooked on them after hearing their second album and they have been my number one band ever since. I've probably seen them over 30 times since, going to where ever they played within in about a 20 mile radius.

I regret that I've missed them several times in the past 10 years because I can't find anyone around my age (50) that will get off their dead ass and go anymore. Anyway... I was with 2 other diehards at that concert (which are the same 2 that have gone with me to all the other shows).

We were initially in the upper nosebleed section (stadium seated about 86,000) but when they came on we worked our way to within about 50 feet of the stage. The temperatures and women were very hot, we were very buzzed and for about 30 minutes I thought I was in heaven. To this day that type of setting gives me the most happiness.

If I only had a time machine that worked...

I'd never heard of BÖC until '74. I'd got heavily into Sabbath (still am) the previous year after hearing the Sabbath Bloody Sabbath album and had bought all the Sabbath back catalogue, and then my friend introduced me to BÖC by lending me On Your Feet. I then went out and bought the first three BÖC albums.

So I was quite heavily into both bands by the time gigs were announced at Newcastle City Hall late '75. First Sabbath in October and then BÖC in November.

The Sabbath gig was great. Everyone stood as soon as the band came on and remained so for the rest of the gig. The BÖC gig was great too but different. They started with Stairway to the Stars. Twice! The guitar started and then when the rest of the band were supposed to come in somebody didn't. They stopped, stared at each other and then started again. I'd never seen anything like it but then I thought, having not seen that many gigs, that maybe sometimes this happens. I've seen a thousand gigs since and I've never seen it happen again!

The other thing that was different was that before the first song was finished I'd been told by a bunch of old hippies behind to sit down. It seemed strange to me then to watch a whole gig sat down - and it still does. Great show though that got better and better as it went on. Maybe they were nervous? I think it was the first night of their first UK tour.

So there I was, a tender boy of nearly 15, going out to see the mighty BOC.

I had been lucky to date; a few Status Quo concerts (in the good old days of Caroline, Down Down etc) Dr Feelgood, Budgie, etc but nothing had prepared me or this.

My friend Mike had introduced them to me earlier in the year by virtue of a new album that he had picked up, On Your Feet or on Your Knees. He was 17 at the time and modelled his hair on Buck's, even attempting to grow the moustache. Over the course of the summer, we all but wore that album out. I had read reports that BOC did not consider it to be an adequate reflection of their abilities and were disappointed with the album. We thought it could not be bettered. For months we argued about who was Buck Dharma as we air guitared away in the bedroom and we raced into Manchester to get the tickets as soon as we heard that they were performing in the UK for the first time.

By this time I had picked up the first album and also Tyranny and Mutation, though for some reason Secret Treaties evaded me for some time. The following year I was sold my only bootleg album/EP In the Mouth or on the Ground (though I don't recall my copy having this title); it did though have the rawest version of Red and Black that I have heard.

I didn't see the support band, which I see from the gig list was Birth Control. In those days, it was not considered cool to see the support, unless you always knew and appreciated their stuff. Instead we went to the bar and had a few beers. We were in the stalls, probably about fifteen rows back but that did not matter as we would just make for the front as soon as the band appeared.

After the customary shouting during the interval, the lights went down and to the cry of Manchester, on your feet or on your knees for the amazing Blue Oyster Cult, we were up and forward. I recall it was a bit of a crush but do not remember too much more about the opening couple of songs. I really came alive at Harvester of Eyes, which was one of my favourites.

Must admit, I cannot remember Candy Store, but the sublime and beating Cities on Flame was superb before the fantastic Ain't got you (Maserati GT) and the playful Buck's Boogie. We had practised this so many times, we just joined in on our air guitars. The sight of Buck stood there in his white costume may appear theatrical these days, but he held that audience in the palm of his hand and he was without doubt the world's greatest guitarist.

The lasting memory though was the one we had been waiting for all night; all five on stage playing guitar together. Yes the inside cover of OYFOOYK may look slightly surreal but this was the real thing, no doubt about it.

The encores were all too short; the night could not possibly end, though we knew it had to eventually. I had been on my feet all night; now I was on my knees before the mighty gods of rock.

The end of 1975 and the Liverpool Empire have great memories for me. First of all, on September 14th I saw Alice Cooper there - the Empire was reportedly the only provincial UK venue which was big enough for the Coop's stage set and then on November 22nd I saw Blue Öyster Cult.

Alice's gig was sold out, BOC's wasn't, but there's no prize for guessing which show had the biggest effect on me.

Earlier that year, "On Your Feet" had finally come out - it had seemed an age since "Secret Treaties" and Max Bell of the NME had been teasing us with reports of an double live album which would kick the Who's "Live at Leeds" into touch. Do you remember old Max? He did some sterling work on behalf of the UK BÖC community plus he was a big fan as well, and it showed.

"On Your Feet" though made a seriously deep impression on me - at last, I was able to hear what they sounded like live... I thought it was the greatest thing I'd ever heard. I loved the vibe - from the lyrics which got me reaching for the dictionary and the aspirin in equal measure to the enigmatic Gothic cover and centrefold of the 5 guitars on the altar playing to the hooded masses (a pretty amateurish cut and paste job when you look at it now - it was "pp", after all ("pre Photoshop") - but then it was the coolest thing I'd seen. Sabbath could bugger off - this was the real thing.

When we heard they were coming to Liverpool as part of a small UK tour, we couldn't believe our luck. I just knew I wouldn't be allowed to go another city on my own so this was too good to be true. Me and my mate Ridgey got our tickets - front fecking row, no less and on November 22 we set off, armed with the crappest instamatic camera in the known universe and an unfaltering - though ultimately baseless - trust in the abilities of our pack of flashcubes. Do you remember flashcubes? They'd illuminate anything you pointed the camera at - providing it was no more than two feet from the lens. But we didn't know that then.

A quick anonymous phone-call to the local hotels told us they were staying at the Liverpool Holiday Inn so we wandered over there to wait. I was wearing my home made BÖC T-Shirt - the kronos symbol was actually half an "i" and an upside down "c". In a dark room, you'd think it was pretty good. In a room with a bit more light in it, Ridgey had earlier taken one look at mine, and decided smart casual was going to be his look for the day.

We had no joy at the hotel and after a while decided to head on over to the Empire. There, we hung around outside getting colder and colder - that bloody T-shirt was a big mistake - and watched the crowd build up. Looked a LedZep/Quo/Sabbath collective - a mixture of denim and Afghan coats, and the Patchouli fair took your breath away. And they - we - were all so young!! Little did I realise then but these were the people who were going to age with the band.

We went to hang around the stage door as the Cult finally rolled up and we got a couple of pics - we gave a Buck a Liverpool football scarf and he sort of looked at us with a "what the feck are you giving me a scarf for?" type expression. I think we were hoping for an onstage: "I'd like to thank the people who gave me this little scarf - I'll keep it and cherish it forever" but if so, we were disappointed.

Anyway, after a swift drink we finally got in to the Empire Theatre and claimed our front row seats and waited. The stage set looked portentous - two massive backdrop sheets hung down featuring the Gawlik first LP cover artwork, and, in between, a raised drum dias with Albert's kit in front of the biggest gong I'd ever seen.

Then the lights went down and we held our breath - shadowy figures came on stage to pick up instruments plus one small figure all in white - hard to sneak on stage in the dark if you're dressed like Alec Guiness's Man in the White Suit, Buck mate. It would have looked more impressive if they hadn't then spent a minimum of two minutes or so fine-tuning but finally there was a hush and a roadie invoked us to assume either a standing or kneeling position (apparently it was optional) and - BAM!! There they were belting out Stairway to the Stars.

This was fantastic. Eric dressed in sort of black satin pyjama get up, shades glinting menacingly, Buck in a white jumpsuit, Joe shirt open and brother Albert in his "heaven" gear - leather shorts and open leather jerkin. Allen looked a bit like he was attending a cocktail party, thigh-length leather jacket, leather trousers, white deck shoes - definitely too hip for the room. He played like that too, I thought. He's always been a bit of an enigmatic figure for me ever since. I'd love to see a proper interview with him sometime.

No gap between songs - it was straight into OD'd and it was great to hear them doing songs that weren't on OYFOOYK - we were both hoping for Telepaths and Astronomy ideally - how they missed the cut for OYFOOYK was a big dish of ointment to us, I can tell you.

Harvester followed - seemed a bit slower and more solid than I'd heard before. Next up - deep joy - Telepaths. It was a privilege to hear my absolutely favourite song in the world done live - the keyboards and guitar in that just do it for me every time. I loved that great echoing laugh tape playing as it built up at the end - and it was fantastic. But would it lead into Astronomy?? - we didn't know then that they don't do those two together live... Well, no, but it lead to the next best thing: a great "Last Days of May" introduced by Eric saying "Very glad to be here - Liverpool's a big town for Americans, y'know..." Hmm... You should try living in it, mate..

Though it was great to hear, this Last Days version didn't quite match up to OYFOOYK's one - mind you, that version is probably the best that it could possibly be so it's no wonder, but Buck seems to like to go for a wander during these solo bits - it's unlikely to be the same thing each time so that's why he should tape every gig - you never know when some amazing sequence is going to manifest itself.

Next was Before the Kiss - is Conry's Bar still open, by the way. It was back then - this was great - this version seemed faster, a bit less relentless than the record - a driving wall of guitar sound with a brilliant middle section which just shifts emphasis without warning to take you unawares.

I can't honestly tell you what followed next - it was 2/3 minutes long, consisted of a bass run, hihat and snare rhythm - punctuated by echoey bluesey guitar fills. Albert was snarling out some very echoey lyrics over this and it built to a head - and then stopped suddenly. Bolle Gregmar of the Fan Club has identified a song on other dates of this tour as "Candy Store/Red Light". I've bowed to his starry wisdom on this one because buggered if I know what it was.

"And now... the main event" a maniacal echoing laugh and we're into Cities on Flame. Albert was brilliant - he put everything into it and we loved it. Buck was especially great on this at the end with Eric bashing the cymbals on the podium.

"That was Albert Bouchard on the vocals... and Eric Bloom on the flying drumstick..."

They wandered into Maserati GT next - I say "wandered" because the very beginning was a bit messy but then it got really good. Then it hit the Buck solo bit where Mr D attempted to make as many strange noises as he could to a hi-hat beat laid down by Albert. The crowd joined in in a semi-slow handclap - no, it wasn't in protest, just a desire for interaction but then when the beat wandered about a bit, the handclap sort of tried to keep up, and then petered out and even at my tender young years, I didn't think this the best thing I'd ever heard. This struggled on for a minute or two more and then went straight into a fantastic Buck's Boogie. This really picked the show back up, and Allen Lanier was particularly good I recall. There were Buck solo's throughout this also of course but the beat was always solid.

And then we hit the drum solo...It was keyed into the lighting well, - any epileptics in the audience had it bad for a few minutes, I can tell you - and it was as good as drum solos get, plus I like Albert as a drummer but I am not now nor have I ever been a fan of drum and bass solos. They just kill the momentum of the show. At least we hadn't yet had a bass solo...

"Stomp! Stomp! Stomp!", dropping bombs and wailing sirens introduced Me262 which kicked off at a fair old rate but soon transformed into a festival of self-indulgence which at times slowed the show down to a real crawl and at other times looked and sounded great. First there was some laid back "stereo" guitar swapping (a la Thin Lizzy) during which time the tune meandered about all over the place for a while. Some of it was technically brilliant - there was one bit which built up faster and faster into a crescendo of echoing sound only to fade gently away...

Then THUD!! - the dreaded bass solo, but it didn't last long (especially when compared to later gigs) and Buck quickly joined in. I remember how I was still hoping for Astronomy at this stage and was worried about the amount of time left.

Then things changed as, in a manner reminiscent of a goalie running into the opponent's penalty box towards the end of a game, Albert popped up with a guitar to create that legendary force known as "The 5 Guitars". Wearing a black top hat and having also scored a pair of trousers from somewhere so didn't look quite so casual as he did on the OYFOOYK centrefold, Albert's emergence snapped a jigsaw into place and we had an electric version of duelling banjoes. This bit was just like the record and at last we had an idea of what was going on visually onstage during that part of the track. Me262 built up to it's climax and then they were off.

Cheers, shouts and stamping on the echoing floor brought them back: "We only have time for one more...." Oh no - only one!! What would it be? Would it be Astro - "this is off our live album and is sung by Mr Joe Bouchard..." Oh well, at least Hot Rails is a brilliant track to end on and this was a great performance of it. Then it was "Thank you and Good night..."

We fled out into the night, ran like buggery to the Holiday Inn and caught them arriving - got a picture of me with Eric and Allen outside, got my (by now a bit creased) Secret Treaties cover signed and finally went home to bed. Do Cultoids dream of eclectic sheep? I can't say, but that night the world was mine - all mine. Blue Öyster Cult had played the Liverpool Empire. And they didn't know it - but it was all for me. Just for me.

Oh yeah... and for Ridgey too.

I remember this show pretty well. It was New Years Eve. We drove for about two hours to get to the show and then waited in line for aboout another six hours. Back in those days Blue Oyster Cult used to sell out large arenas especially on Long Island, being that they're from Oyster Bay Long Island.

Back in those days they also used to have what they call " General admission Concerts" - there was no pre-assigned seating. So everyone would rush in and pack the area in front of the stage.

When the lights finally went out for the show to start every one was pretty psyched. Then this guy with an acoustic guitar comes out and starts playing this lame folk sounding stuff. He didn't last long - people started throwing things at him and half way through the second song he left (Thank God) It was not the right place for that type of music.

Then I see this fat silhouette walk on stage and he just started ripping at the guitar. It was Leslie West - I believe the other guitarist with him that night was from Spooky Tooth. They were great, although I don" t remember what they played.

Then BOC played. I would have to say back in those days one of the highlights of the show was the five guitars. You know when Albert Bouchard would put down his drum sticks and pick up an axe. It was like a wall of sound. I seem to remember that Last days of May was especially hot that night.

Then Kiss played. This was in the height of their Kiss Alive days with all the make up and blood and fire etc... They basically played the live album.

Well it was a great show all around and just the beginning of a long list of Blue Oyster Cult shows for me.

My first BOC show. It didn't happen. Last days of May, 1974.

Rain all day. No gear onstage. No one telling anyone anything. Finally, some dude came out onstage with a bullhorn, and announced the show was cancelled. It was Boz Scaggs, BOC and ZZ Top. I was so ready to see this band. Things quickly turned into a mini riot. Concession stands trashed, bottles thrown, cops injured, stage ripped up, people arrested. Shit. As I'm going to work the next morning, there's the newspaper on the kitchen table. "Irate Rock Fans Battle Police." Being Death Moans, Io-DUH, the paper had treated it like Altamont. Mom was looking a bit weird, when I noticed yours truly was in the picture, right there on page 1. heh heh... oops. As if that wasn't bad enough, I'm on page three also, although you can't see my face. Off to work as a stock/delivery boy for a Jewish grocery I go.

So several years ago, sitting around the folks kitchen with my near-wife, visiting for x-mas, a few unflattering stories of my youth are told, and of course, up came the concert incident. Lots of snickers and such, as mom quietly walked out of the kitchen. I just about shit all over myself when she came walking back in with "THE PAPER." Over 20 years later!! She kept it all this time!! I was speechless. Yes, I have it here with me, and some day I'll get it scanned.

And now, redeemed....

About a year later, and I am totally frustrated I have not seen the band that so totally changed my musical life. Finally, a show somewhat nearby. Waterloo, IA. McElroy Auditorium. Angel, Rush, BOC, and Aerosmith. Ticket like 8.50. Yeah. I had completed my ascention into total outcast with the acquisition of a brand new Ford Econoline van. First year with the extended snout. Metallic blue. Big six, and three on the tree. Craig Powerplay 8-track, and 4 Jensen 6x9's in a box bolted to the ceiling 2 feet behind the seats. Box of hard jams. BOC, Budgie, and early Aerosmith.

No one wants to go with me? Fine. More herbage for me. Doing the things back then that we couldn't possibly get away with now, off I went with several fatties and a cooler of Coors (getting Coors in Iowa was a big deal back then). I was pretty baked by the time I arrived, but then so was everyone else. I remember lots of cops, but they were being very mellow.

Kinda hung back for Angel. All I can remember about them are the brilliant white suits they wore, and hair to die for (back then). I was really psyched about Rush too, and used the power of the fattie to worm towards the front. I recall (barely) that raw set really kicking ass.

I decided I was close enough for BOC, and decided to save the last spliff for later. So the time draws near. This band of great mystery and power. Of such beguiling lyrics, and fire-breathing intensity. That had nearly fractured my skull with the opening salvo of TR&TB off T&M. Would they just run out and sacrifice a cow or something? Would the entire stage be ablaze before it was over? Imagine my reaction to this little dude in a white suit just calmly walking out and proceeding to shred, just sagely nodding, while a leather-clad EB snarled away at the crowd. It took a couple of songs for me to recover from my puzzlement, and get into it.

I'd never seen a drummer like Albert, and he wasn't what I expected live. Joe was just pumping away, and Allen looked like a caricature of Spy vs. Spy. Nothing I was seeing was what I expected. I remember being totally stunned at the end of their set. The most mysterious band of my life, which had set the hook with the early albums, had now buried it as to where it could never be extracted. But then, most of you understand that.

Aerosmith absolutely sucked. Terrible. And I was a big fan. I left after about three songs.

I have no earthly idea what I played on the way home, if anything. It was an hour and a half drive. But I clearly remember the trip. Last fattie blazing as I left Waterloo, down the highway I went. Crystal clear night. Shit eating grin. Suddenly, on the horizon, I think I see a train moving across the highway. I do see a train. Funny, I don't remember crossing tracks, and what the hell is a train crossing doing on a US highway? I'm getting a bit freaked, when the road finally dips, and you notice the highway goes UNDER the tracks, which before appeared to be right in front of you. I no sooner went under the train, when the biggest, brightest shooting star lit the sky to a mid-day brilliance. What a night!! I tossed the rest of the doobie out the window, thankful the Coors had been finished in the parking lot with some other stoners, and concentrated on getting my ass home in one piece.

It wasn't until the Spectres laser tour the next year that it all became clear for me. Or did it?

Starz opened the show at Moody Coliseum. Moody is on the S.M.U. campus and tarps were used on the floor and it was usually general admission seating with no chairs on the floor. First come first served during a time when ones space was respected, and mosh pits were something where pigs wallowed. Being twelve at the time my memories are general but vivid. STARZ had big hair, posed a lot and were generally pretty cool.

RUSH was from another planet! I didn't quite get it and the silk pants and clogs were a bit much for my blue jean mind but they were awesome! I am still in love with RUSH to this day and wish I could hear a tape of this show. It was overwhelming. In all fairness about the silk pants thing, look at the 2112 album band portrait and I'll bet even Alex Lifeson(Guitar God) laughs.

B.O.C was a sight and sound extravaganza. The stage presence of Eric Bloom, all in black with shades on and Buck Dharma, all in white was a great start. They were just cool as sh--!! I am sorry to say all I remember musically is that they played well.

This memory is one that is forever branded on my mind. Watching Eric Bloom point out and have what appeared to be a laser beam come from his finger was one of the coolest things I have ever seen in my life. I believe this was the first time I had seen lasers used at a concert. I remember two lasers moving from the behind drum riser and a grid type laser hi-lighted by all the smoke... BUT... THE WRIST MOUNTED LASER THROUGH A SMOKY CONCERT HALL APPEARING TO ORIGINATE FROM A GUY'S FINGER KICKS BUTT!!!!

The show ended with every member of the band out front playing guitar, which was also very cool!

This was what concerts used to be like and how I wish they still were today. All this for less than ten bucks and all the bands appeared to feel as though they were the luckiest people on the planet to be playing for us. What happened?

Although I have some very vivid memories of the concert, my normally excellent memory for details fails me a bit for a very simple reason: I had only heard of Blue Oyster Cult a few days before the concert, and had never heard any of their music. Although I had heard of Rush, I was similarly unaware of their catalog. On the other hand, Starz was getting a lot of airplay on a couple of local stations (including "The ZEW") with their song "I Pulled the Plug", which was obviously inspired by the controversial Karen Quinlan court case.

My most vivid memory of the Rush set is the very intensely focused fellow standing next to me, shouting "Anthem, Anthem!", as if by force of will he could bring about the commencement of this tune. Starz was excellent.

BOC was definitely memorable - in fact, this was the best concert I have ever seen, by an order of magnitude. Unfortunately, other than the opening number, "This Ain't the Summer of Love", I can't tell you what songs played during what were, visually, the most memorable parts of the concert. Since BOC songs up to that point tended to lack hooks, I had no idea what the names of the songs were until the next day when I rushed out and bought "Agents of Fortune". They definitely played "Don't Fear the Reaper", "ETI", "Astronomy", and "Born to Be Wild", "Flaming Telepaths", and "Buck's Boogie". I'm not sure about some of the obvious others, like "Stairway to the Stars" and "Cities on Flame".

I'm not sure which song they used for the Texas Chainsaw Guitar Duel, but it was really cool. One by one, they added guitarists (Joe Bouchard definitely traded his bass for a guitar in this), and the crowd went slightly nuts when Albert Bouchard jumped out from behind his kit and bounced up to the front of the stage with the other guys. Each one stepped forward for a solo, then Buck and Eric, who were on each end, stepped forward, crossed axes, did a couple of back-and-forths, and then raised the guitars, creating a sort of "metal Doppler effect", punctuated by a perfectly timed explosion.

The opening introduction was perfect, too. Starting from total darkness, the announcer intoned, "This ain't the summer of love, it's the summer of Blue Oyster Cult!!", and the flash pot/explosion was timed perfectly with the first note. At the front of the venue, where I was standing, we were temporarily blinded. Our vision returned to see BOC all in position at the mikes just as the vocals began. The guy next to me said, "Cool, where did they come from!?" the first two songs, Buck kept nodding his head in rhythm, with that slight, wry grin of his. This brought on the comment from one of the nearby concertgoers, "Man, he's freakin' me out!"

Aside from the assorted lighting effects, another very cool moment was when Buck sprinted across the length of the stage with the strobe lights. Everyone there also will remember the effect created when lasers were combined to create "smoke trapped in glass" effect just a few feet over the heads of the people on the floor.

The lasers seemed to be working perfectly. They were positioned just to the left and right of Albert's head. One was aimed at a crystal ball in the middle of the right side of the Coliseum, the other was oscillating right to left, and aimed at a crystal ball just opposite the other. When Eric sang Astronomy, his wrist-mounted laser was working perfectly, and my brother and friends farther back later exclaimed, "Man, did you see when the laser came out of his finger!?" He pointed it at the crystal ball on the right side, which was totally cool. It was a truly unbelievable sight in 1976, not that long after "Pong", and before "Space Invaders".

The costuming:
Eric: All black, with leather jacket
Buck: All white, of course, with white coat jacket
Joe: All black
Allen: Black pants, white shirt
Albert: White shirt, black pants and vest

Bob Seger opened for them, and he was awful!!! BOC was more than that.

I remember two things of that December 1976 El Paso show. The first one: the lead singer didn't sing any songs, not any word - he had some kind of problem with his throat. The drummer (Albert Bouchard?) sang all of the show and that was an incredible concert without the voice of Bloom( ?) ...I'm not sure of the names.

Second: The Finale was all guitars, five guitars on stage in one line and that was amazing (for a 17 years old teenager) - I wasn't a Blue Oyster Cult fan, but I can remember that they did a really great show.

My wife and I were married on April 6, 1977, and our first concert together was the Long Beach show, in Dec. I do believe, something like that.

Bought tickets at The Broadway, Ticketron. Black Oak Arkansas opened for BOC in Long Beach ...

I do remember someone throwing up a couple seats over from us and that the laser effects were awesome, I can still see the guy that upchucked just staring at the lasers, mesmerized .. LOL.

We were in the mezzanine on Bucks side. I also remember a very large Kronos being projected on the outside of the venue, was really cool.

Go Jim Dandy Go!

What I remember is very similar to Jon's description. The date of the gig was Dec. 2nd, 1977.

Masses of people descended upon the Long Beach Arena. We were searched at the entrance in a rather cursory fashion, so they didn't find our weed.

We sat up just above the bleachers on the right-hand side of the stage. The view of the band was pretty good, but nothing like being right in the Buck Zone.

I don't know if they used this trick at this particular show, but I would witness it twice before the 70s ended: A dim light was shone upon Allen, who noodled with his keyboard at low volume. The idea was to get the audience to pay really close attention to Lanier both visually and aurally.

Of course, since the light was very dim and the sound low, every one of the 14,000 or so people in the arena strained quite hard to see and hear him.

All of a sudden--KABOOM! A startling explosion went off, melting both ears and eyes. As soon as the explosion was gone, the band was on the stage, the stage lights were all up, and the PA was at full volume.

They were blasting a song (either D & S or RU Ready 2 Rock, I think) with unbelievable ferocity.

They were really loud that night and lived up to a description that I would see years later of them: " Fast, heavy and loud."

I do remember the laser show, and it was great. Eric had his wrist laser. He bounced it off of the mirror ball, which was a great effect.

I am a little cloudy on the event as we smoked a fair quantity of weed during the course of the show.

I also remember Black Oak Arkansas opening the show. They were not too bad. I liked seeing U.F.O. as the supporting act the next year better, but I guess that is a matter of personal taste.

Overall, I give the show 5 stars (out of five) or two thumbs up, whichever you prefer.

This show was only my 2nd concert, and I do remember that it was a birthday present (12th row!).

Rocket was a fairly 2nd rate band, too loud, but did a decent cover of Fleetwood Mac's "Oh, Well". Edgar Winter had a horn section, did a few good blues songs and a great "Frankenstein" to close.

Blue Oyster Cult came out and the sound was instantly more powerful and focused.

The highlight for me was the Golden Age Of Leather, where Buck played a beautiful solo over the ending (choral part), then a long jammed out Last Days Of May with the lasers decorating the back wall of the Ampitheater.

Hot Rails To Hell featured a Joe Bouchard bass solo. I remember (Buck?) someone pretty much ripping the strings off of their guitar at the end of the 5 guitar jam, or maybe Born To Be Wild.

I don't know why they did Going Through The Motions, maybe they thought it would be their next hit?

My first Blue Oyster Cult show changed my life. My very first concert at age 14 was KISS in 1976 and that started it all for me. But this BOC show topped that by a mile.

The one thing I will never forget about this show was how stoned I was. I had smoked some very powerful weed before the show and I barely remember the first act, who happened to be Be Bop Deluxe (I like them a lot now. Bill Nelson was very cool! Great songwriter and guitarist). The crowd seemed kind of quiet, but then again my mind was in a different dimension at this time. I think the crowd got louder towards the end.

At the end of Be Bop's set my high school friends who were with me were laughing and making faces at me because, apparently I was just sitting there in a stoned trance staring at the stage after the house lights went on. It was kind of embarassing but funny too. Ahhh...those stoned high school memories. As I slowly started coming back down to earth, BOC hit the stage all guns blazing. They blew my mind!! Buck Dharma's guitar playing just burned a hole right through me.

I had just started playing guitar 2 years earlier and I just knew this guy was going to be my guitar hero forever (and he still is). And the Laser Show. FUCKING AWESOME!! I had never seen anything like it. I had a seat on the floor about 20 rows back and it was perfect for this amazing "spectrecal". Another highlight was the 5 guitar jam and Albert Bouchard's drum solo in "Godzilla" ( I think he is one of the best and most underrated drummers in rock).

Eric was very cool with his shades, leather and laser ring (way cool!) pointing at the huge mirror ball hanging from the top of that old hockey barn. Joe Bouchard rocked with his solid bass playing and great bass solo. And Allen was in great form switching from keyboards to guitar with ease. And of course, (Don't Fear) The Reaper was just earth-shattering, Buck's guitar notes just flying at me throught the laser light. To me "The Reaper" is the best rock song ever written. I had smoked some more of that dangerous weed (especially to a 15 year old) during BOC's set, but this time it just made me feel those wonderful sounds even more. I would have to say it was the best concert of my life (and I've been to hundreds of concerts).

In the last 29 years of being a mega-BOC fan I have seen them live over 40 times. Rarely have I been disappointed (expect for the time I saw "Two Oyster Cult" at Six Flags Magic Mountain in Valencia, CA back in March of '86 during the dreaded Club Ninja Tour, mainly because I found out Joe Bouchard was no longer in the band). I still think they are the best band on the planet and they (especially Buck Dharma) have been a huge influence on my music since then.

I play B.O.C. almost everyday of my life and I never get tired of them. I will see them this March in Agoura Hills, CA. I can't fucking wait!!!

Long Live BLUE OYSTER CULT ****** On Tour Forever

The first time I saw BOC was in May 1978 at the Hammersmith Odeon (as it then was) in London. I had been the only BOC fan in my school for the previous couple of years, pretty much since Agents of Fortune. I saw it as my responsibility to spread the word of "The Cult" to my fellow school mates, who were a fairly mixed bag of greasy headbangers and disco heads. (No girls, I went to a Boys school for my sins!) I managed to persuade, cajole several of my school chums that we should all pay the £3.50 or whatever it cost and catch the mighty BOC at the Hammy.

When we all arrived at Hammersmith, there were a few people hanging around outside flying BOC balloons which I thought was both cool and odd as I didn't recognise the logo. I later found out the BOC was in fact the British Oxygen Company rather than the world's greatest Rock'n'Roll band.

Japan were the opening act and were pretty badly received. They had just won some award (Arista New Band of the Year) and they managed to get the opening slot for BOC. Anyway, the BOC audience were not receptive to Japan and I seem to recall items being thrown on the stage, fruit and vegetables. (Why do people bring their grocery shopping to gigs?)

Now the only question mark is the date. I thought my first BOC gig was 3 May 1978 because they didn't play Hot Rails to Hell that night and apparently did the following evening. (One of my school chums managed to persuade his folks that he should go two nights in a row - I could barely get the cash together to do one!!) He told me they played Hot Rails and knew that would wind me up as it was my fave BOC song at the time (that and Dizbusters!) My doubt on the date though is the fact that the Hot Rails site has them listed as playing Golden Age of Leather and I could have sworn that I have never heard this song played live. (Someone somewhere must have a tape!)

Anyway, highlight of the gig (apart from the amazing laser show) was Astronomy. They could have left out the two covers (We Gotta... and Kick Out The Jams) and played a few more originals but as it was my first show I wasn't complaining. Back in the midsts of time, I even had a photo from this show but I was so far back and my camera was so crappy you couldn't see whether it was Blue Oyster Cult on the stage or The Smurfs. The photos have long since disappeared.

I remember going to this concert. I was seventeen, and rabid about the Cult in the way that only seventeen year-old boys can be. I was so excited about going (and worried about being disappointed) that I couldn't keep out of the toilet for the whole day before the gig. Here's some of my strongest memories of the gig:

Buying the programme (which seemed expensive at the time) and being disappointed that it was very nearly all pictures. Also bought badges and a t-shirt (sadly, the design - black on silver - faded away after a few washes). I enjoyed Japan, who were not the smooth sophisticates of later years but kind of kicked ass. Their opening song was 'Love Is Infectious'. I also remember 'Communist China' and 'Suburban Berlin' (which had an accappella intro that really wound up the audinece) from their set. They were heckled and jeered, but I liked them and their attitude. I was pleased that they went on to achieve success.

BOC - I remember them hitting the stage with 'R.U. Ready 2 Rock' and being struck with how short Buck was. As the other reviewer noted, he was wearing his white suit, with outrageously huge flares, and had very long hair. Eric in leather trousers (of course), red t-shirt and black waistcoat.

The intro to 'Harvester of Eyes' (which I think was the second song) - Buck's head bobbing along with the riff.

'Cities on Flame' - Buck doing the widdly-twiddly solo guitar bit and milking it for every last bit of feedback and applause. Eric doing his drum-majorette impersonation and bashing one of Albert's cymbals during the coda to the song.

Joe's bass solo during 'Summer of Love' and Albert's drum solo during 'Godzilla' - I remember that neither solo really impressed me, and I wished we could have had another song or two instead. Same goes for the five-guitar bit - kind of cool but just a gimmick really, and seemed to go on and on and on.

'ETI' was excellent - great riffing from Allen and much better than the studio version.

They played 'Last Days of May', not 'Astronomy'. I remember because it was my absolute fave Cult song and Buck gave a spoken intro over the opening chord sequence explaining the true story behind the song. It featured an extended guitar solo, just like 'Astronomy' on the same tour, with very similar laser effects.

'Golden Age of Leather' - great barbershop-style vocal intro, killer song. Shame they didn't perform this one more often after the 78 tour.

'Me 262' was lot tighter than on OYFOOYK, good sound FX.

'Born to be Wild' was kind of wild indeed, with the sawing guitar schtick and all. Eric's Harley didn't appear on stage in the UK until the 1981 visit (Donington etc....).

Encore was of course 'Reaper'. Beautiful song but not the best suited for live performance. I remember Buck's voice was rather weak on this, and Eric doubled up the vocals on some lines.

Other songs I remember - 'Hot Rails to Hell' and maybe (though I'm not totally sure) 'Kick Out the Jams'. Definitely not 'We Gotta Get Outta This Place'.

As I recall, Buck played a sunburst Les Paul, his white SG, and the natural wood SG (custom-built, I seem to remember reading somewhere) on 'Reaper'. His guitar tone was much more piercing and treble-heavy than on record. Joe played a big, heavy-looking Alembic bass. Eric used mainly a black SG, but did use his BOC logo shaped guitar on one or two songs. Allen flitted between guitar and keyboards all night. As I recall, he used a Les Paul for his rhythm parts.

This was about the third or fourth gig I went to, and it still stands in my memory, 26 years and hundreds of bands later, as one of the very best. I saw the Cult again on the last date of the 78 tour, two nights in 79, 81 at the Venue and Donington and 84/5? on the 'Revolution by Night' tour, and this one was outstanding. The band were at a commercial peak, were confident and awesomely tight, and Buck's playing blew my little mind. The laser show was beautiful, but I didn't miss it at all when they came back in 79 without it.

This review is from the 24 year memory of a 14 year old short-arse (the ones that can be Soooo annoying now at gigs running around your knees !!). I hold no responsibility in it's accuracy (or others that I submit) for reasons that I will explain.

Firstly, this gig was the first that I had ever attended - unless I count seeing 'Mud' mime to few songs once with my dad. Etched firmly in my memory until I came across the BOC web-site was that BOC played 5 nights at Hammersmith in May & returned triumphantly for a further 2 nights in June '78. How accurate is that !!.

Without having my ticket stub ( £ 3.00 or £ 3.50) to refer to, I believe that I went to the second London show, because of one of our crowd commenting that one of his mates went the night before (& said that Japan went down quite well - more in a bit !)

Anyway 5 or 6 of us made our way by Tube from Upminster to Hammersmith (30 odd stops) & made our way to the Odeon. We bought posters (£1.00), programmes (£1.50) badges (50 p) etc. but unfortunately, in my case, no T-shirt. We were in the Circle about row G or H - a bit to the left of the stage. Great view for 'men' of our height.

For our first concert attended, we didn't know the protocol about hanging in the bar & stayed to watch the support act. Well on this night, Japan went down like the proverbial Lead Balloon. Song titles I remembered were 'Communist China' & 'Adolescent Sex'. They were more guitar oriented than in their later years, but the singer (Dave Sylvian) already had very distinct bleached blond hair. Anyway the crowd booed & heckled every song & the set finished (early - I think) with Dave Sylvian just unclipping his Sunburst Les Paul, letting it drop to the floor & walking off. If this happened at the first London show, then that was the one I was at & not the second.

We stayed in the circle throughout the break except for the necessary pee excursions due to the vast quantities of cider (alright, coke) drunk. We gasped in awe when the safety curtain came down, what could be going on behind that? Awesome & that's just the break.

The auditorium started to fill, the lights went down & yes, on strode the Cult. I can't remember the set-list. Up to this point I had only heard OYFOOYK, DFTR (single) & some of Spectres.

I'm sure that Buck wore his legendary white.

Definitely played in no particular order were:

R U Ready to Rock as the opener & we were off into ecstasy
Godzilla - Lizard Mask, drum solo et al.
DFTR, Born To Be Wild - Crossed guitars & did Eric ride a Harley onto the stage?,
Cities - with Buck's pause to take in the adulation of the crowd.
ETI
5 guitars & bass solo
Golden Age of Leather - raising our imaginary beer
ME 262
I can't remember if Astronomy or LDOM were played or even both, just that with the lasers we were into our umpteenth orgasm. The lasers pointed at the mirror-ball scattering like stars - which makes me think it was Astronomy.
Harvester of Eyes, which I remember had a different ending (to the OYF. Version) & probably very soon after discovered was the slower Secret Treaties ending after buying the LP (with Red label & coloured inner sleeve).

During the concert a vivid memory was of an apparent madman in a white lab-coat, looking a bit like 'Jesus', racing around at the front & to the right of the stage. He was, as legend goes, an absolute BOC fanatic. Does anyone know of this man - or is it a distorted myth?

When the concert ended, as you can imagine, we were riding on adrenaline. We probably didn't stop talking all the way back to Upminster & when the return date was announced, eagerly got hold of our tickets.

The early summer of 78 was the hottest I can remember. An exciting time for me - I'd just left school, got my first job and Scotland about to play in the soccer World Cup. Expectations were high for that one. And to top it all BOC were coming to town due to public demand for an extension of their Euro tour.

I suppose 31st May that year was a turning point in my life. Although I was a big fan and had all BOC's records up till then, this was my first chance of seeing them in the flesh. This night launched "My Big Interest" that will continue 'til the band retires and probably well beyond.

Two schoolmates and myself wangled tickets for the front row of the balcony in Edinburgh Odeon - we wanted a great view of the lasers as well as the band- and we weren't to be disappointed! After cadging a lift on the local school bus (most high schools were taking busloads of kids due to BOC's popularity) we arrived very early to see a huge queue into the venue. Obviously a sell out show! The merchandise stand did a roaring trade that night - £3.00 for a T shirt, £1.00 for a poster. I bought one of everything!

Japan gave a fairly good performance as openers but were duly booed off stage by those who thought it was hip to do so.

A little later, and with the road crew providing the entertainment (have you ever seen a roadie climb a rope to such a precarious position, 30ft up, to slightly adjust a light?) The opening music started up. Something by Wagner I think, maybe Das Rheingold? Stirring stuff! BOC were prowling the stage in the dark and doing the last minute tuning etc. Buck in white suit and black shirt, Eric in mirror shades, black leathers and wearing a BOC 78 World Tour shirt. Can't recall the others.

Opening song was RUR2Rock (much better than the studio version) followed by great use of Eric's wrist laser in ETI. Both were given a rapturous response by the fans. Harvester and Cities on Flame followed - Albert always brought this song alive! Eric then told us that the show was being recorded for a Live album, which lifted the crowd's spirits even further.

Highlights for me were Golden Age (good sing along by the fans) and Astronomy (with mirrorball laser antics from Eric). Great versions! AND two surprises in We Gotta and Kick out the jams. Strangely, they didn't play Last Days on that last day of May. Great drum solo from Albert complete with Lizard Head and strobe lighting and synth drum. Joe's bass solo led into Summer of Love and the 5 guitars - incredible. Born to be Wild ended the show with the amazing vision of crossed guitars and smoke / lasers in overdrive. Yep, pretty wild.

Encore- well, despite calls for more, we only got the one. Reaper was riding high in the UK charts at the time and the crowd wouldn't have left without hearing it. They went down a storm! Eric and Buck said their goodnights and Buck added "we hope you win the world cup". Well, we Scots know what happened then....out in the first round.

This was the first Live Concert I'd been to by any band and it was a lucky start. This remains as my favourite rock show of all time as it was a great visual and sonic experience, one I'll remember forever. On the other hand, it has to be said that BOC are much better performers on a personal level now than they were then. Long Live BOC!

A year or two before this concert I started getting into music and going to concerts. By the time word of mouth spread about BOC tickets, there was some excitement if only because of the laser show (Tangerine Dream were the other band with lasers that came to Newcastle around this time - a very different show).

The City Hall, as the name suggests, is an old municipal hall, more suited for orchestral concerts, complete with a stepped stage for a choir and a magnificent old organ (which I've heard played a few times). It holds roughly 2500 people and used to be a regular venue on the UK tour circuit.

I wasn't able to get into an earlier show (30 April) but three of us managed to get tickets for the second show, a few weeks later. By then I had the Reaper single, which was issued to coincide with the tour, and had borrowed "On Your Feet" so that the music wasn't completely unfamiliar.

I think Japan were the support band and, although they went on to greater things, they weren't well matched to the City Hall audience. We were too young to get served in the bar so we probably hung around the merchandise stall out front until the support (and the heckling) had ended. We returned to our seats, two thirds of the way back and over to the far stage right, to wait for the lights to go down.

Darkness. Cheers. "Newcastle, are you ready to rock?" (or something similar - the memory isn't as sharp as it used to be), more cheers and off we go. Looking at the setlist from the web site, it looks like a pretty good show. Oh for a time machine to go back and see it again, or a box set of all the Some Enchanted Evening concerts from Sony/Columbia.

The highlights that I remember were R U Ready 2 Rock, just because good opening songs always got the City Hall crowd going, and the announcement that we were being recorded (which also used to happen a lot in Newcastle). And Eric and the Kronos guitar looked particularly cool.

We Gotta Get Out Of This Place was great, not least because of its existing association with Newcastle (the Animals were from Newcastle and did probably the best known version, though I'm sure you knew that already).

Godzilla was stunning, especially as the curtain of laser light descended into the crowd, and Albert's lizard mask (we came out of the hall thinking that record buyers would wonder why we were all cheering at odd points during the drum solo but, of course, it's edited out from Some Enchanted Evening).

Five Guitars. Well, we knew about it in advance but it was always a sight to see and a real rock and roll moment to boot. Brilliant. Then Born To Be Wild and the crossed guitars. Finish with Reaper for the encore and it's time to go home. I went in curious and came out a convert.

BOC played for 3 nights at the Palladium. I saw them on the first night. Apparently their equipment trucks were lost in transit and they had to play with support act Thin Lizzy's gear and to my immense disappointment - no lasers! Because of the truck problem the gig was many many hours late getting started.

I had seen Lizzy many times before and I didn't pay too much attention to their set. Garry Moore had replaced Brian Robertson and I think they had a stand-in drummer who went down very badly with the crowd. In fact Lizzy went down so badly that Eric Bloom came out on stage during their last number to sing along with them and try to rev-up the crowd. Phil was coolness personified as always and came out with the usual "would any of the girls like some more Irish in them?" rap. I also remember him covering the whole stage and walking in front of the PA

I was not familiar with any of BOC albums when I went to this gig but I liked very much what I had read about them and of course wanted to see some LASERS, man!

Here's what I can remember of the show:

I remember Eric at one stage while introducing a song, thanked Lizzy for the use of their gear and said something like "I'm not sure I can play this song without my Stun Guitar but I'll do my best." You have to laugh in retrospect with what we all know now about Eric's guitar playing prowess.

I was really impressed at how totally tight and professional BOC's playing was. They were outstanding from that point of view.

I was a bit puzzled by some of Eric's kind of hammy and corny arm gestures while singing - my perception was that he was trying to do some Frank Sinatra moves or something.

I remember Eric and Buck (?) doing a kind of lockstep duckwalk across the stage together which was pretty cool.

I remember Buck being dressed in a sort of proto-Miami Vice style outfit with a jacket and extremely baggy pants - this seemed like a very exotic fashion statement to me at the time - LOL

Highlight of the show for me was that at the climatic moment of Astronomy (I was familiar with that song for some reason) they suddenly turned off all the lights except for a huge mirror ball and the room was full of stars.

Oh, yeah - ASTRONOMMYYYYYYYYYY - woohoo!

The other thing I remember is the guy sitting in front of us turning around and giving us his squeegee bottle thing with a joint in it. These were common in NYC in those days - I think they were called Blasters or something. We were already well blasted of course but it would have been rude to refuse...

My final memory is that because the show was running so late I left before it was over and went home because I had to get up for work the next day - WTF was I thinking of???

A few weeks later I bought "On your feet on your knees" and the rest is history. The next time I saw BOC was London 2004.

My first BOC gig: (or, "What the Hell was I doing that Summer?")

At the age of 15, I took off from Big Bear (in the mountains of San Bernardino) with 2 other buddies for a BOC/ Cheap Trick/ UFO/ Pat Travers shindig in San Diego. The plan was to take 2 or 3 buses down there, but it wasn't long before things went haywire. At our first stop, (the Greyhound station in Redlands, IIRC) we were hoodwinked out of most of our cash by a so-called 'brutha', while attempting to procure some sticky buds. With about 10-20 bucks and 3 hits of Red Dragon LSD left between us, we decided to forego the formalities and hitch-hike down to San Diego. (about 150 miles to you, Jack)

Looking back, I am truly amazed to be alive, after this and so many other bouts with utter teenage stupidity & outright adolescent abandon.

Well, we made it down there alright. We had arrived the afternoon before, so decided to clear out a space in the bushes outside the stadium & "camp out" for the night. Several hundred bug bites and one bag of shelled & salted sunflower seeds later, it was finally Showtime! (and I'm certain we looked like a trio of garden-variety homeless mutts by that time) I don't remember a whole lot of details about the show. We dropped our acid on the way in, and it was in The Hands of The Gods from that point on. I DO remember sitting in the stands, looking down at the concrete between my feet and witnessing the extremely RAPID wanderings of about 100,000 imaginary, nearly microscopic, ant-like creatures. (moving about in extremely intricate patterns)

Soon after that little 'moment', I also saw something that I would never forget as long as I live, and this time it was NOT imaginary. Down on the grass, there was a large clearing blocked off for all of the security guards to gather & plan out their daily rounds. Well my eye was suddenly drawn to one particular yellow-shirt, mostly because he looked like the Samoan version of Sasquatch. Yeah, he was at least 6'7" and probably close to 400 lbs. That was certainly already enough to amuse me for quite a while, but when he went down HARD and started to flop around on the ground, it was honestly almost too much to bear. (pun intended) I almost freaked, because reality was beginning to sink in anyway; this behemoth was having a Grand Mal seizure, and our overall situation was not a promising one.

In case you're wondering, YES the music was entirely KICK-ASS, and every band there tore it up in a big way; it was just rather difficult to 'take it all in' so to speak.

Ed Lee and Tom Remlin? If you're out there, feel free to hop right into this tale anytime!

Thanks for listening, it's been many years since I even thought about this... (sorry, but there's no way I could remember the setlist)

My first BOC show was in 1979 in Sacramento, California at the summer Cal-Expo State Fair. It was an afternoon concert and the opening band had a female lead singer, but I cannot remember the name of the band. Cheap Trick was the second band on the bill, and a lot of people were wondering why they were not the headliner (Cheap Trick at Budakon was out at that time).

The concert was held at the race track and I estimate at least 35,000 to 40,000 people. Cheap Trick was very good, but BOC was super - they had incredible stage presence, and they played quite a bit from the Mirriors album (very under-rated album).

New Years eve of that year I saw them at the Cow Palace in San Francisco, opening acts were Gamma, and a band called STV. Now the songs played that night were - Mirrors, The Vigil, the Great Sun Jester, Dr. Music in support of Mirrors - I remember going with high schood friends and really enjoying it - one thing that stands out during the Vigil, is all the members were on stage with guitars and they turn the guitars around and mirrors were on the back and they were reflecting a beam of light off of them into the audience - very cool.

Boc has always been very good to San Francisco, in fact when you walk the streets of the city, you always see the Boc logo in the concrete - in the poor neighborhoods to the rich neighborhoods.

I was 18. It was definitely November 9th not the 10th because I know we had classes that day and a quick look at an online calendar for 1979 tells me this was a Friday and I also know that on no other day of the week would I have been as drunk as I remember being that early in the evening during my first term as a student. Friday's last class, for me and one of my show-going companions, finished at 1.45pm, cue the official start of the weekend and a general stampede to the student union bar.

5 of us went from Portsmouth to Southampton in a Ford Fiesta. Me, Michelle, George, Neil and Michelle's boyfriend, Bimbo (don't ask, I don't know). 2 of us ­ Michelle, who owned the car, and myself - were very drunk. George and Neil, who finished classes an hour or so after us, were well on the way to being very drunk. Bimbo had preferred to swallow, smoke, inhale and/or mainline industrial quantities of illicit substances rather than drink therefore we judged it perfectly safe for him to drive. I was the only one in the car who had even heard of Blue Oyster Cult before and I was the one who had bullied, begged and badgered my companions into coming with me. I was also the one who provided the in-car entertainment, it was OYFOOYK on a home-recorded cassette tape since in those days they hadn't yet come up with a satisfactory way to play vinyl in a carŠstill haven't come to think of it.

I remember the Gaumont Theatre very well, I saw many gigs there when I was a student in Portsmouth and I know we were on the balcony that night. I have a vivid recollection of leaning over the balcony and immediately wishing I hadn't because it made me feel seasick to see all the heads bobbing around below me so I passed the rest of the show some way back. The Gaumont wasn't a huge theatre but the band members seemed very small (ok ok I know that now) and far away. It was packed, hot and very loud and the floor seemed to be shaking from the vibrations of the music but that sensation may also have been caused by the onset of delirium tremens as my blood alcohol levels subsided slightly.

I know they played Astronomy, I'd been hoping they would, and that did register, even in my fuzzy drunken state it was amazing and I know they played several songs from Mirrors (I hadn't yet got my hands on a copy) I didn't know them but I think I hummed tunelessly along to them anyway. I know they did the 5 guitars. I seem to recall Born to be Wild but that may be a 'subliminal' memory planted by my reading of the other setlists from that tour. The thing is, although I have never heard that song live at any other show, I do have a very strong conviction I have seen it performed live so Southampton '79 would have to be the one. I also know they finished with Reaper because just as it finished my very drunk friend Michelle came round from the coma she had spent the rest of the show in and exclaimed loudly, 'Ooh I like this one!' (apparently the only one that had registered with her when I had force-fed her my BOC albums some days prior to the show) before passing out again as the house lights came up and the doormen started moving in to eject us.

That's it, that's all I know.

Well, I bought OYFOOYK when it had just been released. I was 14 and a glass collector in a hotel, after school. A much older and wiser 16 year old colleague persuaded me to give him some cash so he could buy me the album. (I guess he taped it before handing it over). Actually, he had recently lent me his Rainbow On Stage album and introduced me to Richie Blackmore and loud rock - I think he thought I was to be his disciple!!

But, well, when I heard BOC- it was just amazing , especially having no real knowledge of music other than top of the chart stuff - oh dear... I'm remembering that little Jimmy Osmond single I bought.

So, I spent the next couple of years wearing out the record, and spreading the message. I bought Spectres next, then I got my Nan to buy me Some Enchanted Evening for my birthday - she was surprised as she remembered " that lovely record" .

I live near Cardiff in Wales when out of the blue, a UK BOC Tour brought them to Sofia Gardens in Cardiff in November 1979. This was the Mirrors Tour. So, we missed school about a dozen of us to get our tickets.

I remember it was a wet night because, after the concert, I was able to slide a black BOC poster off a billboard. This was on my bedroom wall for many years.

I remember being at the front of the queue on concert night. We could see BOC eating a pre-concert meal in the canteen. Once in, we had to run to the front of stage when the doors opened, as it was pretty badly controlled. I think it was Magnum in support.

I remember being blown away by Buck's playing, just like on the album, but with loudness, and reality in a white suit!! Eric was dynamic. In fact, just superb. They had mirrors on the back of the guitars which they turned over when hit by a spotlight to pan around the audience. All the band did the five guitar scene. I can feel the heat now of all the bodies behind me, and fireworks and lighting really close in front. We got showered by the fireworks. Someone from school got a drumstick and someone else a plectrum. My ears buzzed for days.

Roll forward now to 2002. Middle aged bloke going on Amazon to find a CD version of OYFOOYK, which someone had borrowed and not returned. Found a link to BOC website, still going. Yet, a music magazine had told us they had split in 1982.

The link said they were in Swansea, Wales UK, so one middle aged bloke on his own goes to see... maybe a BOC cover band. Nope, it was the real deal. So, this year, girlfriend in tow, we are doing London and Swansea. A Tale of Two Cities on Flame...with Rock 'N Roll!!!!!

My second concert. We were on vacation visiting relatives in Seattle (I lived in El Paso, TX at the time). Sixteen years old. I was all bummed out that I would miss Blue Oyster Cult while on vacation (they were playing EP).

The day after I got there while at a family get-together, my cousin told me that Black Sabbath and BOC were playing THE NEXT DAY!!!!! Along with Molly Hatchet and Riot!!! I went and asked my mom for some money and surprisingly she forked it over! Enough for me AND my cousin to go!!! I was so stoked!

It was quite the experience for that 16 year-old kid. By the time BOC came on, I was stoned to the bejeezers. I had never had the kind of weed that they had up in the northwest!!! Growing up in a border town, you know all we got was the crap from across the border.

Needless to say, I had a great time, fell in love with Blue Oyster Cult for kicking ass and Seattle for being such a cool town. Moved there immediately after graduation.

It was one helluva day for me, though. And I still have the T-shirt! LOL It is threadbare as hell, but I still have it. It has Satan battling Godzilla on the front.

Just seeing two of the biggest bands in rock and roll on the same day blew me away. I really wasn't "into" Blue Oyster Cult like I have become over the years, but always liked them when my older brother played them, so I thought it would be cool to check them out, and it was. They freakin' ROCKED. And I knew that I'd definitely have to check these guys out again!

24 years and about 24 shows later....

That was the last concert they allowed in Memorial Stadium for about 12 years, I think. Too many complaints about how LOUD it was!!!

May 1978. The Last Days of May in fact, and things were progressing normally for a 15 year old I suppose. Stuck in my bedroom thinking about Caroline Jones and whether we'd ever really get it together, listening to a few sounds, and waiting for Top of the Pops to start. You know the time, end of punk, beginning of Disco and strange hybrid bands. All very interesting but nothing to change your life, nothing to make a stand over. Well not until that night!!!

(Don't Fear) The Reaper on TOTP that night started a fire in me that still burns brightly today. I bought the single, then the Agents of Fortune album. Introduced my brother to the band and we became avid collectors of any BOC stuff. However we seemed to be a fan club of two. In those days AC/DC, Rainbow, Thin Lizzy, UFO Led Zepellin and the like ruled, all great bands but Hey Guys for Christ sake listen to Secret Treaties. I know Stairway to Heavens a fucking great song but listen to Astronomy. Our pleas fell mostly on deaf ears.

Three years went by, and the legend grew. There was so little info on the band. So few interviews, or reviews of their concerts and what was said just made them all the more mysterious. By this time we were desperate to see them live. Cultasaurus Erectus had gone some way to heightening awareness and Buck Dharma was now mentioned in magazine polls. Life was good although it still wasn't quite happening with Caroline.

Anyway in early '81 news broke of the 2nd annual Donington"Monsters of Rock Festival." AC/DC Whitesnake and wonder of wonders Blue Oyster Cult. Saturday 22nd August 1981 was to be the red letter day. We managed to round up one of my brothers mates who was a big AC/DC fan and two of my mates who I had bombarded over the years with a compilation tape whenever we went out in a car. When I tell you the tape ran RU Ready 2 Rock and Astronomy live, Golden Age, Telepaths, D&Sub, Cities on Flame, Last Days of May, Godzilla, and I Love the Night they should be convinced by now and anyway the one lad was the only one who had a car and could actually drive at that point in time so he had to