1982: As usual, this page, as with a great part of the rest of the site, would not have been possible without the help of ex-BOC roadie, Sam Judd, and it's his notes which inform many of the facts contained herein...
Have you got anything to contribute to this page? Reviews, missing info, ticket stubs, posters etc etc - if so, let me .
What happened in January? If you know, please let me ...
What happened in February? If you know, please let me ...
What happened in March? If you know, please let me ...
What happened in April? If you know, please let me ...
I don't THINK that 19th show actually happened... I remember starting that swing in Stuttgart...
I think we did those three shows (Stuttgart/Nuremburg/Russelheim) and went home... counting our DM on the plane....
Well - does anybody know for sure about this Munich show? Did it take place?
Does anybody know if this show took place?
This show was cancelled.
BOC [SWU show] - Hartford Stage West, Hartford CT June 1982 June 19th - was a club [large room about 3500 people]
Carl is correct. The venue was called Stage West at this point and it was located in West Hartford, CT. The name was changed to the Agora around 1984.
It was little more than a metal warehouse-type building in an industrial area. A co-worker saw this show and described as the loudest thing she had ever heard in her life.
Bands that I saw at the Stage West/Agora in this period included the Ramones on 9 or 10 occasions, the Plasmatics (twice), Squeeze (twice), and Motorhead - along with notable opening acts Shrapnel, The Fast, Helix, Helen Wheels, and Blotto.
The name of the venue changed again to West Hartford Exposition Hall around 1986 and soon afterward someone broke in at night and chainsawed the interior to pieces (bar, stages, seating, balcony, etc.)
The last time I passed the building it had reverted to some sort of industrial use.
A confusing addition to this discussion came in the form of an eBay advert for a whole bunch of tickets. It wasn't a big pic so I couldn't actually see the evidence for myself, but the seller posted this text description:
"BOC (Soft White Underbelly) June 19, 1982 Agora Ballroom"
If DJ above is correct about the venue name only becoming the Agora in 1984, then this 1982 ticket with "Agora Ballroom" on it would seem to be the product of a strange temporal anomoly... again, I must stress I don't have pictoral evidence for this, just the seller's description.
Anybody else got any feedback on this one?
I was not/am not a huge BOC fan (though Don't fear the Reaper is a great song to this day), and It was 21 years ago when I was 14 so my memory is probably not up to the level of writing a review. It was a general admission show, and we were quite close to the stage.
My brother had the ETL tape, and as I recall the set list was mostly the same, including the cover of roadhouse blues which had some extended chat with the audience as an intro. Godzilla made quite an impression on me, because of the Godzilla head that emerged from the stage.
Hope this helps. In my memory they also did a fine version of veteran of the psychic wars, but I may be misremembering.
The main thing I remember is that, although i was very straight-laced, I was a big kid and wore an army green jacket. Before the show, several people approached me and asked if I was "holding." My brother had to explain to me what they meant, but this was the source of my teenage nickname "Gange" or "Gangie"
I assume you are familiar with the drive-by-truckers "let there be rock" which includes the lyric "dropped acid at a blue oyster cult concert/14 years old and I thought that them lasers were spiders chasing me." Great song.
Anyway, hope the ticket stub helps.
Alpine Valley, Troy WI with Aldo Nova...
The first show for me without Albert. At the time, we had only heard the rumors of him being gone...
Journey - BOC - Triumph - Aldo Nova
BOC played at sunset and were excellent.
Set List:
Dr. Music
Hot Rails To Hell
This Ain't The Summer Of Love
Burnin' For You
Godzilla
Reaper
5 Guitars
Born To Be Wild
Roadhouse Blues (with Robbie Krieger)
I went to this concert. It was actually my very first rock concert.
If I recall correctly, they had some sort of problem and had to start really late.
I was at the July 16, 1982 show in Houston.
There was no warmup act and as I recall it was the very first concert in the newly established concert area at Astroworld.
Foreigner clearly headlined, but I don't actually know for sure the running order for the rest.
If you do, please let me know.
I was at this concert - a million years ago it seems.
Can't help you with set information or anything tangible - but I'll always remember one thing about this concert...
Opening act was Bryan Adams - as he is from Vancouver and sort of a local boy. This was before he was really famous. I remember that he was booed regularly during his set.
I remember his first videos on mtv and thinking "hey, this is the same guy I saw booed off the stage!"
Regarding the running order of the bands - the four bands you have listed were there and Foreigner was last. I don't remember the order of the other bands - but you have the right ones listed.
I was at this show, and the order was Bryan Adams, Joan Jett (wasted, she was horrible), Loverboy, Foreigner and then BOC.
BOC and Foreigner both had inflatibles, BOC of course had Godzilla and Foreigner had an exploding Juke Box. Great show...
I've based the band running order on the order of precedence on the T-shirts, but - like with Seattle - I don't actually know for sure.
If you do, please let me know.
It was headlined by Heart. It was at Autzen stadium. I remember that it was my future wifes first BOC show. We bought a t-shirt and I will have to ask my wife and daughter where that particular shirt is.
Your lineup is correct. It was a hot day, they had the hoses out. Oregon still treated pot like a parking ticket. They had headshops on the greenbelt path to the stadium (saw the biggest bong for sale that I had ever seen in my life).
Taxxi had a short set (they did complete setups for each act so there was an overabundance of downtime).
Joan Jet came on and rocked. That was her breakout year and they put on a great show.
BOC was next... Solid as always. Highlights were Godzilla, Roadhouse, Black Blade, Reaper, etc. Great set. It was my third time seeing BOC.
Loverboy. Believe it or not, they were actually pretty good. A lot of fun.
Then came Foreigner as part of the Foreigner 4 tour (first non-rock album from the group). Other than Juke Box hero -- big inflatable jukebox, still makes me laugh--they weren't to good. Graham's voice was trashed and the sound was breaking up... horrible mix.
Otherwise, a great day. One of my favorite concerts ever. Tickets were $16-23 I think. I still have the stub somewhere.
I remember the 1982 Oregon Jam. I had just turned 16 earlier that month and three friends (16, 15, and 14, respectively) and I drove from Condon, Oregon, in my '77 Camero, a good five or six hour drive. We left Saturday, the 24th, and stayed the night in Oakridge, Oregon, with some friends we had been partying with a lot that summer. One friend's mother often bought us beer. We partied that night in Oakridge. Our friends mother warned us not to drive if we had been drinking because if we were caught by the police, they would fine us a $1000 dollars. We could hardly believe that as these were the days when most minors were given $57 dollar minor in possession tickets.
The next morning we drove to the Oregon Jam -- a big party. Autzen Stadium is a large stadium and it was packed. I remember using the restroom and it was really crowded. There was a drunk girl in the men's restroom standing at one of the urinals, giggling, and very drunk. It was a beautiful summer day--blues skies with big, puffy, white clouds. The vibe was great as this was still a time when you could have fun and not get into too much trouble.
The band line up you listed is correct. I don't remember too much about Taxxi. I had heard of them, but was not familiar with their music.
Joan Jett was very popular at this time, and we enjoyed her set a great deal. B.O.C. was great and was probably the band that I enjoyed the most that day. I remember one of the lead singers introducing the song Godzilla, saying something like, "Here he comes, the big fella, the lizard king, Godzilla!!" and pointing to the sky toward the back of the stadium as if Godzilla might appear.
Never did like Loverboy too much as their material was over-played on the radio during that period of time. They did put on a pretty good show as they got a noise competition going between the two halves of the stadium, and went back a forth a few times trying to get one side to be louder than the other.
By the time Foreigner came out, my group was pretty tired. It was a long day and a long weekend, and "Jukebox Hero" had been played so much that summer that we were pretty much sick of it. I sense we weren't the only one's who felt that way. I do remember the big inflatable jukebox that went up, without too much affect.
I appreciated seeing the Foreigner 4 concert shirt with the bands listed on it. I bought that shirt and wore it until it was so thread bare that you couldn't make out what was said on it anymore.
Overall, really, really fun, and a lot of great music. Almost seems like it was yesterday.
I was there - standing in the front of the stage.
A week or two earlier, my buddies and I drank beer with the 3 members of Taxxi at The Kingston in Portland, Oregon. Real cool guys. Fun to party with. Never heard of them though and when they said they were musicians and playing the Oregon Jam (which we had tickets to), we thought they were jacking us around. Then in the following days their music was being played on KGON in Portland, Oregon. Then, sure enough, they opened the Oregon Jam! Their short set was great. We owe them a beer!
Next up - Joan Jett was on. 100 plus degrees on the stadium floor and she was all decked out in leather. She was hot! Her and Taxxi were the best part of the concert for us - after that we had to seek some shade up in the stands. Yeah - the delays between acts were huge. B.O.C. was the highlight the rest of the way. Foreigner was very forgettable.
Regarding the reference on the shirt above - that was definitely most likely a Downey shirt as there were only a handfull of those made (I didn't even get one) it was a play on the old No Blow No Show shirts so popular in the 80's...
Whenever we did a gig for FM (Bill Graham) at Old Waldorf, Wolfgang's etc, the band insisted that the promotor rep whose name was Danny something or other, had to bring a GIANT bowl of Hunan Chinese Chicken salad (that he made) for the dressing room...
Shenck joked to the guys in the FM office about No Chicken Salad-No Show and it turned up on a shirt... those were really nice pull over shirts with collars as I remember...
I don't know if this would be an "outdoor gig"; it's a covered (roof, no walls) amphitheatre with a corresponding lawn area, so it's "indoor/outdoor". :-)
Note you can see from the stub that Aldo Nova was the opener; I think that's missing from the listing...
As for memories, it's pretty hazy (I was in college, after all :-), but I do remember Eric riding the motorcycle out on stage, and I seem to remember the drummer sporting a Godzilla head during that song, with associated strobes.
The set list was much as on ETL, which I listened to heavily prior to the show. I remember wishing I could have seen them in the 70's, with a set list like on OYFOOYK, but was happy to catch them at all. We were just a couple of rows from the back of the pavilion.
I don't remember much of the show. I saw them at the House of Blues in A.C. in 2006 and that was only the second time I've seen them.
The meet and greet after the HoB show was brief but Bucky looked at the pic he signed and said that he wished he still had that guitar from '82.
I would love to find a copy of the '82 show, audio or video. Would you have any idea if one exists?
ATLANTIC CITY - Big-time rock 'n' roll... well, sort of... made its first appearance here in eight years yesterday, competing under bright sunshine with the more traditional lures of sand, surf and casino gambling. It drew a generally peaceful crowd of 7,100 to the Bader Field stadium.
With the heavy-metal group Blue Oyster Cult on hand as the headline act, the Dr Pepper Atlantic City Rock Bowl could hardly be called an artistic triumph. And since the promoter, East Coast Concerts of Philadelphia, was hoping to draw at least 7,500 to the 10,000-capacity field on Albany Avenue, the concert was not quite an economic winner, either.
"We lost a little money on this," conceded Greg Benedetti, spokesman for East Coast Concerts. "But all things considered, we're pretty happy with the way things turned out. The crowd has been simply beautiful. And we're encouraged enough that we'll be back next year" for at least one concert.
For the promoters, the concert was a big gamble in a city that knows something about gambling. The weather was a factor, to be sure. And then there is the "shore mentality" this time of year, when young people seem content to entertain themselves with radios on the beach and relatively inexpensive beers in the bars, where cover bands play music heard on the radio.
The weather was perfect, despite ominous predictions late Saturday. The bulk of those in attendance made the most of the weather, working on their tans as they sprawled on the grass in various kinds of beach attire.
Every effort was made by security personnel to confiscate alcoholic beverages at the gates and on the grounds, and there were few incidents. The mood, for the most part, was laid back.
Even the teenage boys and older types who wallow in the imagery and behavior synonymous with heavy- metal rock were forced by the weather to leave behind their black leather jackets and chains. They were far less ominous in cut- offs. From a musical point of view, the highlight of the day was provided by the first act, the Dregs, who once again impressively displayed their virtuosity and versatility. Despite the group's unfortunate name - they formerly called themselves the Dixie Dregs - this is a class act all the way, with a repertoire that ranges from electric bluegrass to fusion rock-jazz to classical- influenced rock.
But it was downhill from there. Next came Aldo Nova, a Canadian rocker with minimal talent, and then the crunching sounds of Blue Oyster Cult, who feel compelled - with good reason - to enhance their act with various dramatic touches, including a giant mechanical Godzilla monster that belches smoke, and sundry flashing lights and explosions. The impact of most of these effects was diminished in an outdoor, daylight setting.
Otherwise, the first major rock concert here since Crosby, Stills and Nash performed at the Atlantic City Race Track in 1974 provided a fine day for cruising in search of new summer romance, for soaking up the rays and for generally socializing under pleasant circumstances.
I have memories of the Bader Field show in Atlantic City. There were 3 bands The Dixie Dreggs... go figure... Aldo Nova and BOC. The thing I remember most was the heat. It was a scorching summer day. People were getting restless and didn't really want to hear Aldo.
By the time BOC did their encore Burning for You, the crowd started to rip down the plywood barracade in front of the stage. Buck stopped singing and playing. Eric came on the mike and said something like, If you see the guy next to you being destructive, beat the crap out of him.
They never finished Burnin' for You.
I saw this show! I was 16 years old and a major BOC fan at the time. I don't remember the setlist specifically but I do remember that it was very much in line with ETL, which they were promoting at the time. The encore was an incredible Born to Be Wild, which has stuck with me all these years because some guy was up in front holding a bicycle over his head as they were playing the song, pumping the bike up and down to the beat.
BOC at the Boardwalk Hall in Asbury Park. A summer tradition. All I can say is who the fuck is that fag Bruce Spingsteen?
During one of the songs Rick Downey busted the drum set and they had to stop the show to fix it. Buck stood up front and I think he played the song "Pipeline". I'll ask my bud Jerry and see if that was the song but I think it was.
Aldo Nova was the warm up band at Asbury on Aug. 11th 82. Still have that playbill too.
Definitely the show where Downey busted 2 drum heads and Buck jammed on Pipeline. Aldo joined them on the encore. They played a really long show, about 2 1/2 hours.
Check out Moyssi's concert programme for this gig.
The only evidence I have this show might have occurred is from Darryl Hirschler's Kansas Tour Dates Archive:
This site also supplies the additional info that the show was with "Aldo Nova and BOC"...
This was the show where "Zilla Dave" Thorpe's got hired.
Dave had come to shows before and hung out with the guy that did the guitars (Joe Lauro)... at that point our stage manager was dealing with Godzilla every day, so he was more than glad to hire Dave just to deal with the Zilla and generally lend a hand loading trucks and stuff...
Dave says he had nowhere to live, was carrying everything he owned in a shoulder bag and had a bus ticket to Sacremento Cal (his bro lived there) and 20 bucks in his pocket that day....
I was at this Blue Oyster Cult show. I had just turned 20 years old. There was no ticket stub. We were charged an entry fee at the gate and that let us in to the general admission concert.
Another killer BOC set. Opened with Stairway to the Stars. Aldo Nova warmed up as you can see by other shows in that time frame. The Cult also did Cities on Flame.
One highlight of the show, we were sitting just off to the right of the stage in the lower first level. Pretty good seats for general admission. Anyways, there was this kid in the 3rd row and he was holding up this wooden homemade BOC Kronos sign. It was a fairly big sign and the guy did a really good job making it. Well, in the front row, there was this other kid. To call him obnoxious would be an understatement. This kid was acting like a total ass, jumping from seat to seat, irritating people, etc.
Now, I'm probably a good 30 rows away from this kid and up a good 10 feet from the ground. This kid was not bothering me but I could tell he was really bugging MANY people. I could tell the crowd was tense. To put a happy ending on the whole ordeal, the kid in the 3rd row just couldn't take it any more. He stood up, took his homemade Cult sign, and crushed it down on the dude's head in the front row. The sign shattered everywhere!! The kid in the front knew he had been called out on the carpet, so to speak, and sheepishly just sat there the rest of the show, not moving from his seat!! Several thousand fans cheered and roared in approval as one fan was actually able to save the show for the rest of the audience! And the Cult jammed on through the episode!
I saw an indication on another site that Night Ranger may have played this show - even headlined. Any thoughts on this?
200% certain it was Aldo. And BOC headlined. It was just Aldo and BOC.
1982 was when Randy Rhoads, Ozzy's guitar player died. Brad Gillis from Night Ranger went to play with Ozzy. I saw that show too. Not sure if he returned to Night Ranger. Anyway, it was Aldo and Blue Oyster Cult for sure.
Arnoldrocks is absolutely correct. I was there; it was Aldo Nova opening for BOC. At the time, I thought it was quite a stark contrast.
I really liked Aldo Nova, but I thought of him as being somewhat straight-laced. From his lyrics, I thought he could pass for a Christian rock thing. By comparison, BOC was--well--a CULT thing; I was and still am huge BOC fan.
Now, much older, but no wiser, I see that Christianity started as a cult. :-)
I was 15 at the time and very drunk and high. Most of the night was a blurr - even the next day - so I'll do my best to remember it.
Aldo Nova opened. He put on a really good show. The standard 45 minutes to an hour. Supporting his first record. I don't remember any of his songs but he played the popular ones of course.
Blue Oyster Cult. My favorite band! My first concert ever. Blossom is a pavillion venue with lawn seating. I don't know if it was sold out or not, but it had to be close to it. Tickets were $11.00. Our seats are in the 15th row. Allen's side of the stage.
My best friend (BÖC is his favorite also), my oldest brother and his girlfriend. I remember being in awe more than anything, kind of a dreamlike state. I still get that way most of the time I see them.
Opening song? I'm not 100% on this, but I believe it was Dominance & Submission. The setlist followed basically the ETL album which had come out a few months before. I know they played D&S, COF, Hot Rails, Reaper, ETI, Godzilla, Joan Crawford, Burnin', Veteran of the Psychic Wars, Roadhouse Blues. I'm almost positive they did Born to be Wild and Dr. Music. Summer of Love and the Red & the Black are other possibilities. I keep thinking of Black Blade also but I don't remember for sure and it probably wasn't played.
Veteran is the song that stands out in my mind. A couple people dressed in robes and looked like the Jawas from Star Wars came out and were playing extra drums and Buck shredded on the extended guitar jam.
Of course, this was back in the day and Godzilla was there tearing the place down. I really don't remember much more detail. Eric did have his Kronos guitar.
After the show, we were walking up the lawn to the exit when a 2 litre bottle of 7-up rolled down the hill and came right to me. I picked it up and opened it and smelled. It was full of some kind of alcohol. And it was completly full. We were a little cautious about drinking it, but we were quite lit by then. I remember my brother telling me to put it down and me saying fuck it and chugging a very large portion of the bottle. No one else wanted any.
It took about 10 minutes to get to the car. A Chevette, 2 door hatchback. (it's a really small car if you're not familiar with them). I get in the back passenger side. Brother's driving and his girlfriend is in front of me. We just start to go and I tell them I'm going to be sick. My brother stops but his girlfriend doesnt open up the door. I tell them again I'm going to be sick and she rolls down the window. It's near impossible to stick your head out of the window from the backseat in this car, so needless to say it went all over her instead. Oh well - I never liked her anyways!....
My first BOC show already is reviewed (above). I stumbled on your site while trying to figure out exactly when it had been. The official BOC site doesn't include it in their historical gig list, but I knew where it was (Blossom Music Center in Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio) and I knew who opened the show (Aldo Nova). I don't remember seeing the drunken 15-year-old who authored your other review, but then, there were a lot of drunken kinds riding around in Chevettes at the time. Here is what I do remember about it:
In early 1982, I'd just finished law school and quit a job working in chemical research. The Blossom box office was about 10 miles away and I was on a 'fitness kick', so I rode my 12-speed out to get tickets in mid May for the 16 August concert. My wife and I had pretty decent seats (within 10 rows of stage right, as I recall).
Aldo Nova opened and, contrary to my fellow concert goer's opinion, we thought he sucked. His histrionics while playing provided a stark counterpoint to Buck Dharma's neat, competent professionalism. Aldo had writhed all over the stage while trying to impress us but it was all for naught when he managed to pull out his guitar cord midway through a particularly passionate solo about which I remember nothing else except that he had to stop and meekly go back across the (silent) stage to plug it back in while the stunned crowd watched. What an embarrassment!
BOC, on the other hand,was the reason we were there and they did not disappoint. I was close enough to notice that Roeser had strategically placed sweat bands on his forearms just above where his neatly-rolled white shirtsleeves ended. That he thought enough of his craft to ward off the ill effects of a few drops of sweat said a lot. His playing said the rest. The closest comparison I can draw to his work is that of the late John Entwistle of The Who. Both simply stood there and blew you away with their playing.
As Roeser cleanly ripped off his leads and solos, I could see Aldo Nova standing in the wings at stage left watching and marveling at the virtuoso performance. I hoped he'd learn from it, but I doubt he did. I don't remember the setlist much except I enjoyed "Burnin' for You" a lot, as it was my then-current favorite. Of course there was Godzilla breathing smoke and flames and of course Bloom 'whomped' a Harley out on stage for effect to open - which song?
I certainly don't remember dragging my butt back out to the parking lot and waiting for the usual inordinate amount of time it always took to get the hell outta Blossom because I went there a lot. But I do know it was a killer show and one of the best I've ever seen.
I saw a show in Vancouver BC at the Coliseum in the summer of 1982 and was surprised not to see the date mentioned in your gig lists. I had the impression that it was in August but after looking at the published schedule, it might have been July.
The opening act was Billy Squier and I remember that my girlfriend and I were looking forward to seeing him too. That changed in a hurry though... when he came out for his second encore, I remember saying "Who the fuck does he think he is? He's not even any good!".
I guess the crowd was with us on that because when he came out for a third encore, the place erupted in boos and then everyone was chanting "BOC, BOC, BOC".
In hindsight, poor Billy was probably drafted to stall the crowd while something got worked on for BOC (like some finicky laser equipment maybe).
I remember Eric riding his motorcycle on stage and a huge Godzilla (I swear I saw a guy with a fire extinguisher shooting out the mouth every time it opened)
Anyway, the show did happen in Vancouver, BC summer of 1982... just surprised to not to see the date listed.
We never did a show with Billy Squire that I can remember - doesn't mean it didn't happen though... if he was 3rd on the bill, I might never have even known he was on the bill...
If this thing happened, it was in Aug between 16 and 24 and the opener would have been Aldo Nova... it's very likely it did happen during that time as there are big holes in the gigs we know about...
It was absolutely in Vancouver BC because my girlfriend had to drive up from Seattle to see it. I remember that distinctly because my mom was rather upset to find out that Cheryl was coming up and would be staying overnight at my place (if only her fears about unmarried carnal knowledge were valid... she didn't realize that Cheryl was going to bail on me after getting to see the concert).
It was definitely the summer of 1982 because that was the summer I was working in Vancouver, BC but living just over the border in Point Roberts, WA trying to establish my Washington state residency so that I could pay state resident university tuition rates. I had thought that it was August but it could easily have been July... it was definitely July or August of 1982.
I'm *pretty* sure that it was Billy Squier and not Aldo Nova. At the time I was somewhat enamored with Squier's song "Everybody Wants You" which was something of a big radio pop hit at the time. As a starving student who did not own a stereo, I was not buying many albums, but one that I have from 1982 is Squier's "Emotions in Motion" LP. I could swear that Cheryl and I were thinking "BONUS!...Billy Squier is opening!".
At the same time my hard rock buddies at work that were going to the concert were lamenting that Squier was a bit of a poser to be on the same bill as BOC... I don't think they would have been so pissy about Aldo Nova.
Also, Squier was not a third billing, he was the only opening act as I recall, but he came out for 3 encores. The crowd was a bit miffed with the second encore and downright angry about the 3rd encore... we all wanted to see BOC! Something must have been up because opening acts never come out for encores. I'm thinking they must have been drafted to get back out on stage and keep the crowd entertained until BOC was ready to hit the stage.
I don't think his info's accurate. I was playing with Queen in August 82. We did play Vancouver, but BOC wasn't on the bill. As for doing three encores, while quite flattering, I don't know of any headliner who'd let a support act get away with that... even if I deserved it
:-)
Visit Billy's Site...
Well, looks like it wasn't Billy Squier!! Maybe it was like Sam said - perhaps it was Aldo Nova, after all...
Aldo Nova did not perform at this show. Since he was advertised as part of the bill with B.O.C. we were all offered the choice of a refund at the door.
The Canadian band Streetheart was the replacement opening act.
I also don't remember any extra encores for Streetheart or equipment problems for BOC. That doesn't mean it didn't happen. It's just that I saw so many concerts back in the early '80s.
The poor support act comments above also surprise me. Streetheart were at the top of their fame in 1982 with their platinum selling self-titled album coming out that year. They certainly weren't in B.O.C.'s league but they were selling out their own headlining shows back then.
Aldo Nova opened. B.O.C. was smokin that night. I remember eric riding a Harley on stage for their rendition of "Born to be Wild"...
I saw Blue Oyster Cult on Saturday, August 28, 1982 (8pm) at the Lethbridge Sportsplex in Lethbridge, Alberta. It was a great show, I remember thinking it was the loudest concert I'd ever been at.
"Burning For You" and "Don't Fear The Reaper" stand out as sounding very good and the huge Godzilla during that song at the end. I remember the attendance being around 3000.
Aldo Nova was supposed to open, but we heard he was sick and a local band called U Paris opened instead (I knew the drummer Craig Baceda). Great site!
I saw the Lethbridge, Ab, Canada show. Standouts being burning for you and Eric's spiel before playing Godzilla. I remember loving that show, and U-Paris rocked too.
B.O.C. with Aldo Nova on August 30, 1982 at Northlands Coliseum, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada: this is a "missing gig" - I have a ticket stub to prove it. I will get around to scanning my tickets one of these days. Will e-mail you with it when I do.
Memories a bit fuzzy, for obvious reasons. The only clear memory is that a buddy and I attended at the last minute and the only tickets left were the last row of the Coliseum (seats about 14,000 for concerts). Must have been a near sell-out.
Great website you have by the way (so thank-you). If only more of the classic bands had such a site, it would make finding old setlists much easier.
Sept 4 1982 Red River Valley Fairgrounds, Fargo, North Dakota. - Outdoors - Saturday 2:00 PM. Blue Oyster Cult and Aldo Nova.
Lamont Cranston Band opened - they were one of the better Minneapolis bands at the time... they still might playing in the Twin Cities.
Late afternoon outdoor gig - weather hot and so was the show. BOC had their giant Godzilla with them (not the video but a tall plaster of paris or paper mache or?) hovering behind/right of the stage.
When Downey finished his drum solo during the song "Godzilla" he would throw his drumsticks to bounce off the monster which was a pretty long throw. This time the drumstick stuck in one of Godzilla's nostrils and the crowd went wild.
Blue Oyster Cult & Aldo Nova on September 10, 1982 at the Verdun Auditorium in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. This WAS one of the missing shows in the list here but not anymore !!!
I remember having known B.O.C. because they receive a lot of airplay from Montreal radio station CHOM FM, the movie "Heavy Metal" as well as the famous Black N' Blue show with Black Sabbath.
It was my first show at Verdun Auditorium and it was a general admission full capacity of about 5000. Ended up being on the orchestra floor for this show which was pretty cool seeing all the show straight ahead. Aldo Nova opened up and was well received his song "Fantasy" was the hightlite.
Blue Oyster Cult themselves were really hot that night and the songs that stood out for me was Godzilla, Don't Fear the Reaper and Born to be wild.
I can confirm that BOC played the Civic Centre in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada on September 13, 1982. The setlist was exactly the same as the Montreal gig on Sep 10.
Aldo Nova opened the show. It was a great show.
Sep. 20, 1982. Blue Oyster Cult, Roanoke, Virginia. I have a partial ticket plus a xerox of the full ticket. Again, it was at Roanoke Civic Center. I used to write down all of these shows in a notebook. If I can find it, it'll list the opening act, too.
Yes, the Centrum date was 24 September 1982 - I even had to correct the fanclub president on this one (I think the problem was that it was part of a radio broadcast, and after the fact they may have put the wrong date on the broadcase info sheet).
Here's the setlist that I've had on my computer for years:
B L U E O Y S T E R C U L T
Worcester Centrum
Worcester, Massachusetts
September 24, 1982
The songs (in order performed):
Dominance and Submission
Dr. Music
E.T.I.
(jamming -- "Pipeline")
This Ain't The Summer of Love
Joan Crawford
Hot Rails to Hell
Cities on Flame
Veteran of the Psychic Wars
(Don't Fear) The Reaper
Godzilla (with drum solo)
(bass solo)
Born To Be Wild
-- encores --
Burnin' For You
Roadhouse Blues (few bars of Love Me Two Times)
Note: Most of the concert was part of a radio broadcast. The broadcast was of all of the songs from "This Ain't The Summer of Love" to "Burnin' For You". The jamming after "E.T.I." was done to kill time until the radio broadcast was ready.
Lineup: Eric Bloom, Buck Dharma, Joe Bouchard, Allen Lanier, Rick Downey
It was 1982 - I'd been a fan for about 2 years, but had never seen the band live. In September, the band does a show at the Worcester Centrum - I'm a freshman in college in Boston at the time, and my brother is a high school junior back home in western Mass. (so Worcester is about mid-way between us).
I secretly buy 2 tickets before going to college - and p*ssing off my mom when she later finds out (I didn't go to many concerts in high school). Since BOC is playing on Friday night, we all meet in Worcester that night and stay over at a hotel nearby.
Aldo Nova is the opener - too damn loud with all those piercing high leads he does on his guitar (not just his song "Fantasy", which was a hit at that time). BOC rocks the place - with all the cool stuff they did back then (giant Godzilla, Eric's bike, extra drummers on "Veteran's of the Psychic Wars" dressed up as monks, Joe's bass solo, Downey's drum solo, and the definitive version of "Roadhouse Blues").
So, after the show, my brother and I are hanging out at the hotel, playing video games. My bro' spots who he believes to be Rick Downey. A few minutes later, Joe Bouchard strolls by, sees us in our new BOC t-shirts, and smiles.
So now we're pretty excited as we figure the band is staying at the same hotel, so we're staking out the place trying to catch a glimpse of the rest of the band. A few minutes later we catch sight of Allen.
Then (and this is true, I swear), I go into the men's room and who is standing at the adjacent urinal but Buck Dharma! My first thought - "Wow, he really IS short!" My second thought - "Don't piss on the guy!" And while I managed to not do so, I didn't manage to say anything to him.
After that, my brother and I are in search of Eric. We finally see him coming in last - seemed like he was trying to avoid people and slip in quietly (which I assume they all were, since they came in individually), but my brother screwed up enough courage to ask (and get) his autograph.
A little later on, we saw Eric in the game room watching some guy play "Space Invaders" (remember that?) - I only wish that I had challenged Eric to a game...
Your site was missing this gig at Toronoto's C.N.E. Coliseum (Canadien National Exibition) Sept 27 1982. No opener recalled, though...
In the fall of 1978 I attended Clarkson University. It didn't work out. I was down. I turned to music and discovered Blue Oyster Cult. Much to my suprise I found members of my new favorite band attended the same college. I figured if they turned out OK I could also. I learned to play guitar, it was and is a major part of my life. I turned out OK.
I returned to college and am sucessful. I want to thank Buck for helping me through that time even though he didn't know he was helping. When I returned to college I saw BOC at Maxey Ice Arena in Potsdam State College. Great Show. I don't recall the name of the opening act. They weren't very good and they were a cover band probably local. Well, to be fair, their sound wasn't very good so it was hard to tell if they were any good or not. BOC was awsome though.
What happened in October? If you know, please let me ...
What happened in November? If you know, please let me ...
WTF is the Hub Entertainment Center hempstead NY??... is that supposed to be the Nassau County Coliseum??... sure don't remember ever playing there 3 nights... sounds like a pipe dream to me... you got any tickets from that??
Nope - in light of that, I have to wonder if these next three gigs took place?
What is the "Hub", anyway?
PS It's listed as such on the official site...
I noticed confusion for some shows listed as Hub Entertainment Center in Hempstead NY.
I saw Boc during Fire of Unknown Origin Tour, in Binghamton, NY. Maybe this is the venue because I don't see that show listed.
Sorry I can't be more specific it was a long time ago. I believe they played this venue a few times.