1984: 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 .
Aldo Nova opened this show.
I remember that Eric drove a Harley on stage for Born to be Wild.
No other details come to mind, though I do recall that i was somewhat wasted and regretted it the next day, as the show details were a bit fuzzy. It was the only time I ever got to see my fav band.
At the Spectrum in 84 there were 2 warmup bands. The first one alludes me but the second was Dokken. I actually have some pictures from that one and it was the first General admission concert at the Spectrum since someone got killed years before. Also saw BOC warm up for Rush at the Spectrum during The Club Ninja Tour.
I was at the 1/11/84 show in Saginaw, MI at the civic center.
First on was Dokken, followed by Aldo Nova, then BOC. I have the ticket stub and may have a flyer somewhere. As soon as I can dig them out I will scan them and send them to you.
I also recorded the show but it's not great since I was right at the wall with a hand held recorder with built in mic. I know it's stupid know but what did we know at age 17 right?!?
I remember seeing reel to reel tapes being made at the soundboard, and George told me that the gigs were being taped. Where are they???
I was at either the Jan 13 or 14 show. I have the stub somewhere.
As a Long Islander, I know BOC was always big as a Long Island band, but at the time Zebra was very popular locally, so everyone was looking forward to seeing Zebra open for BOC.
Significantly, I remember sound trouble with Zebra's opening set. You couldn't hear the vocals at all on the first song. Maybe even into the second. There was a lot of talk about it afterwards from Zebra fans.
I remember the sax player that played on "Shooting Shark" guested on that tune this night. I would've remembered "WGGOOTP" so I must've gone this night.
Hi, just found your great site. The opening band for BOC this night was Aldo Nova - I was there. Unfortunately no ticket stub left :-(
This is the only time I saw BOC live, so I can't compare with other BOC gigs, but I remember that was a great show. The band was playin' tight and with a lot of energy. I was really pleased to hear "Born to Rock", as at the time I thought that Buck Dharma's solo album was better than the last two BOC's LP's.
I have two distincts memories: first, there was people from a religious organization at the gate of the venue, giving flyers to warn people that BOC is a satanic band, or a sect, or something like that - and that we should go away and not enter the venue. This is the only time I've seen that in Switzerland - not even for Black Sabbath or Ozzy Osbourne, and I've been to a lot of gigs...
Second, during Godzilla, the drummer threw his sticks on the big Godzilla "robot" (I don't know how to call it), and one of the stick got stuck into the robot's neck or head, like an arrow - the guys of the band seemed surprised and that was fun to see.
I'm sorry I don't have more memories - that was 23 years ago, and this is the first time I think about this show since then...
In 1984 23rd and 24th january the songlist is the same as in 22nd in Biel and 28th in Sindelfingen. I know that because I have a tape of Augsburg and I was in Nuremberg (exactly it is Neunkirchen, which is 20 kilometers off Nuremberg).
The supporting act at Offenbach was Aldo Nova.
The gig was at the Hall Polyvalent at Schifflange (Lux) and the special guest was Aldo Nova (who also played on BOC album)...
Hoooo, a long time ago.
Imagine the Espace Balard, a vast tent in a middle of a pool of mud with rocks ready to be picked and thrown.
Imagine a security dispatch with big dogs fed with yogurt for the last 4 days before the show.
Imagine the accoustic of a big tent.
Imagine that the guys just in front of us got their tickets mugged while going to the concert (and sorry, but I was in no shape to defend them and between them and the show, I chose the show).
And imagine it was my first BOC concert... Well, thrilled I was, happy I was, but I was a little... disappointed... well, after Aldo Nova, our ears were bleeding so the BOC music was a little buried under the blood.
I remember it was cold outside, hot inside, and that the attendees weren't so thrilled by the show, except for Godzilla.
Cool thing is that destroyed the Espace Balard sometime after the show.
But the best thing is that the concert poster was drawn by these two young artists who worked for Enfer Magazine. A few years later, they were famous comics artists here in France and I was a comics writer and they gave me the original art of the poster as a present when they learned I was quite the ultimate french BOC fan... Gentlemen, they are!
Oh, I think they played "let go" during the encore.
They started with ME262 at the speed of light ! Eric, Buck and Joe were standing on the drums podium during the intro and then they went down slowly without jumping, just as three cold blood killers ready to give us a real great rock and roll show.
I confirm what Gérard said: they played "Let Go" at the end. This is not a great song but it's alright to close a gig with the chorus "BOC" sang by the crowd.
The Espace balard was a kind of circus in a poor and devasted area, with a lot of freaky guys all around. I just waited other people to go to the show, not to be alone...
Aldo Nova played first and I remember he came back for the encore. The sound was very very loud, my ears were out of order for two days after the show !
I found Rick Downey really very good, and with a great solo. Joe's bass solo was impressive (Pink Floyd's Money and other classic songs on bass !).
I was here and I wrote the setlist during the concert with a friend of mine.
They played 2 encores (not only one): Let go and Roadhouse Blues...
OK - this date isn't included on the dates mentioned on the French Tour poster (1 Feb - 8 Feb, excluding 5 Feb).
Did it take place?
Here I am, sat in my attic looking at two colour photographs of said show hanging proudly either side of my chaos symbol that welcomes you my Altar of remembrance to BOC. They were right in the middle of shooting shark, to be later heralded at an awesome performance at the Opera House 2 years ago.
Nothing really compares to these guys in full flight, I know I've seen them all, but as I recall this show was absolutely packed and as I recall one of the best BOC gigs that I've been to.
Aldo Nova was good and showcased songs from his concept album "SUBJECT" which I have on vinyl, and here lies the connection Drumming for Aldo was none other than Chuck Burgi who would later join the cult in the 90's.
This was my 4th BOC outing and after the fucking shambles that was Donnington it was a relief to see The BOC back to form. I knew that it would be good after reading a review from the Radio City Music Hall in sounds a week earlier.
I had played the vinyl off the new album and loved all the first side. I would love to hear Veins Live. Have they ever played it? Someone please let me know.
[ Yes - three times (that I know about) in June/July 1983. Ralph ]Anyway they gave us a great set of old new and the usual We Gotta Get out of this Place,we were in Newcastle after all. Everyone in the band was on top blob, Buck ripping out on his white strat, Joe slipping Pink Floyds "Money" riff in his bass solo, and I do remember everyone going ape shit to Let Go. This was a band in their prime, loving what they do.
Anyway all I know is that there will always be a piece of me that is BOC Long may they live Except Allen he is dead but won't lie still. When ever they visit England I'll be there too.
Thanks for listening.
My name is Andrew and I come from Northern England. I'm a long time (since 1976) BÖC fan - when I heard OYFOOYK and AOF in the mid seventies it was like a door to the future being opened. BÖC's imagery and weird titles and lyrics were something totally fresh, and not since equalled.
BÖC have visited the UK many times (all praise!) but I didn't see them till the Revolution by Night tour - where I picked them up at Newcastle City Hall (ref some enchanted evening) and at Birmingham Odeon (February 1984.) Both gigs were sellouts, excellent sound and first-class performances.
The numbers were punchy, tight and given a slick delivery. They played (in this order) ME262, ETI, hrth, born to rock (from flatout) COFWRR , bfy, tma, jc, shooting shark, reaper, godzilla, a bloody great bass solo from Joe, born to be wild, let go and roadhouseblues.
I was impressed by the coverage across the years and the set structure - letgo had the crowd going crackers and then rhb sent us into one of those great rock and roll moments - when a well-honed group play a classic extremely well. Excellent.
A word about the support - Aldo Nova. He was very good - one of the roadies told me that "take me away" was largely written by him, except called "psycho ward " and had the hook "they're gonna put me awayyyyy!" But apparently the record company thought it might do better elsewhere.
Newcastle city hall is a great venue for a concert and to us was hallowed ground as they had recorded some of Some Enchanted Evening there. A group of us made the long journey down by train (couldn't risk the bus).
One of the topics of conversation was what song they would open with. No one suggested ME262 and when they launched into this the venue went ballistic.
The concert itself flew by but my biggest memories were how cool the band seemed and also at one point I was bursting for the toilet but didn't want to go as I was enjoying the show so much I didn't want to miss anything. (maybe too much info).
I went round the back of the Apollo in 1984 to get autographs. Buck, Joe, Allen, and Rick were all happy to sign my ETL album cover, and have a laugh when they arrived at different times.
However Eric had rushed in earlier carrying a guitar case saying 'Yeah, Yeah, I'll be out later.' When we asked the other guys about him coming out Buck just laughed and said 'Oh he's a lying man.'
Manchester was more of the same as I saw in my first gig (Glasgow 1978)... minus the lasers!
I think this tour was to promote the 'Fire Of Unknown Origin', so the set was somewhat different, although I seem to recall they did play some early tracks like '7 Screaming Dizbusters' and 'The Red and Black'. Highlights were 'Astronomy' and 'Joan Crawford'.
It seemed like an eternity since BÖC had accepted the challenge of breaking through to the UK rock mainstream by appearing to a 60,000 plus audience at the mighty Castle Donington Monsters of Rock festival. Their brief, below-par performance did little to win new fans or convince the cynics what the fuss was all about -for aficionados it was a sad fall from grace. For the very first time I questioned my love of the band.
The news that BÖC were going to be playing at Hammersmith did not deter me from wanting to see them again-not just once, but twice and little did she know it-but my girlfriend's Valentine's Day treat was to see my all time favourite band-how good was I? For that matter-how good were they?
I made sure that we were early as Cult collaborator and ace guitarist Aldo Nova was the support act. Unlike so many support bands that just don't come from the same genre as the headliner and are unlikely to appeal to the audience this was not to be the case-Aldo turned out to be quite a crowd-pleaser. No amazing songs but a great player playing to an appreciative audience.
I recall that by the time that BÖC hit the boards and throughout the first few numbers the audience were making one hell of a noise. They came on so powerfully: Me262, ETI and Hot Rails were rocking and the audience loved them for it. By the time Eric introduced Buck's solo track Born To Rock you could see that the band were bigger and better and were in great form, but Burnin' For You, Take Me Away (despite a funny intro from Eric) and Shooting Shark felt a little too slick for my liking.
Even the look of the band was slick: Eric's Ninja headband and Kung Fu moves, smart dressed Joe Bouchard and even Buck's blow dried "big" hair seemed a little contrived. The show looked so well choreographed and rehearsed that I sensed that the band were out to prove themselves-especially in light of their last UK show. It was only Allen Lanier in his Red and Black striped top that seemed to be at ease with himself and not trying too hard.
The inclusion of Let Go - a throwaway pop song co-written with another of my favourite artists Ian Hunter (now collaborating with Joe Bouchard on the Bouchard, Dunaway and Smith album) left me wondering where they were going. No matter, they were on form and I was going to see them again the following night.
So there I was, same place, same time as the previous night, just a couple of rows closer to the stage. Same as the night before, Hammersmith was sold out to capacity, although I wonder how many of the audience, like me, had gone to both shows.
On this occasion I took my sister Tess. She too had come away from the Donington show wondering what had gone wrong (you might remember that it took an eternity to find out that Albert had been sacked the night before and that his replacement Rick Downey hadn't had a chance to rehearse) and being short in height did not help - everyone seemed to have stepped on her. So an indoor appearance was much more welcome.
As with the evening before Aldo Nova was the support act. Once again he turned out a sterling crowd pleasing performance but with no truly hummable/memorable numbers we opted for the bar and some overpriced warm lager. A few years later Aldo ended up collaborating with Jon Bon Jovi - the tunes were more memorable, but once again major success avoided him. I wonder what he's up to now?
Once again the audience were going mad during the intro tape as BÖC made their way to the stage in the dark and once again they started with Me262, ETI and Hot Rails performed so consummately that they had us all eating out of their hands. But that was it - the show was identical to the night before.
With the exception of the final song everything, from songs, moves, and song intros were pretty much identical. Without doubt they were playing fantastically and everyone came away from the gig that night feeling that they had seen a great gig. For me, some of that magic was missing. I didn't really want to see Buck tease the audience during Cities in exactly the same way that he had the night before or Eric introducing songs in exactly the same way.
That said, you can never get enough of Godzilla, Born To Be Wild or Reaper and despite my criticism that the band were too tight I loved the show. Once again it was Allen Lanier (again in a Red and Black striped top) that seemed to be at ease with himself and performed so brilliantly on guitar and particularly on keyboards during Joan Crawford that I felt he stole the show.
Right at the end Eric mentioned that that night's show was the last of the tour and that they were going to play a number that they had not played in a long time and with that they played We Gotta Get Out Of This Place, something that I hadn't seen them play since the SPECTRES tour. I wondered what they were trying to say, whether their trip to the UK was that bad that they just wanted to get out. I guessed that at the end of their notoriously long tours they become so slick and rehearsed that they inevitably grow more polished. Still, Tess hadn't seen the night before and had no complaints and we both went home pleased that BÖC hadn't fallen and were still on form.
As far as I know Joe Bouchard has not played in the UK since that night, so I for one want to see him when he comes to the UK next month.
Cap theatre was a great venue in NJ in its time. It has closed since.
Girlsschool was loud and adequate. 1984 was a strong year for boc. This show was one of my favorite of that year. probably because i was in the front row and they let us take pix.
Capitol Theater was a great venue, but security were dicks, I barely managed to sneak in my tape recorder and was paranoid all night. Also, the bathrooms were party central, which was weird smokin' with cops a few feet away!!
Girlschool were already on the downward spiral. A more fun show than Radio City, just felt looser.
So, I was at this show and my memories of it are totally surreal. I was thirteen years old at the time. My parents were nice enough to drive me and friend in from the 'burbs and drop us off -it was the first concert I had ever been to, and I'd been a B…C fan since I was eight.
Girlschool: I had their record and really liked it. They seriously rocked and the crowd pretty much dug them from what I recall. Which brings me to the crowd (now, this gets a bit weird, but it's how I remember it). They were everything I would have imagined a Blue …yster Cult crowd might be like in my weird, adolescent brain: dangerous looking teenagers with red slits for eyes, loads of leather-clad bikers and, to my fascination, these beautiful, sort of sinister looking women dressed in what I can only describe as long, black "witch's gowns" with symbols and stuff all over them. I felt like I was crashing some saturnian coven party or something.
During intermission I was standing outside the bathrooms and one of these robed women comes up to me and flourishes a joint between her long, pointy fingernails, with a wide, wicked smile on her face. That eerie smile is burned in my memory forever... Don't remember seeing any cops around.
The show is a blur (all I know is they played almost everything I hoped they would), except for the encore, "Born to be Wild," which had Eric straddling a black chopper motorcycle wheeled out to the front of the stage, and ending with an explosion of towering flames.
They kept playing even after that, but it was time for my parents to pick us up. Dutifully, though reluctantly, my friend and I made our way out to the empty lobby as the show continued on. Now, the Capitol Theatre used to be a movie theater (I believe), and the lobby still had a counter for popcorn and snacks.
Anyway, sprawled out on the floor of the lobby was this guy laying in a massive pool of blood - I think he was already dead - and the young girl working the popcorn counter was knelt beside his body, dabbing his wound with dozens of tiny paper napkins! It was such a totally bizarre and shocking image, my friend and I couldn't believe our eyes!
Then came all the flashing lights, as dozens of police began storming through the front doors. When we got into the car, my parents asked us what was going on. Let's just say it was a while before they let me go to a concert after that.
The February 23, 1984 gig is listed at a Landmark theatre but an unknown town or state. That would be Syracuse, New York.
I loved the Landmark Theatre show. Great old theatre in Syracuse. Had front row seats in the balcony. Have some great photos from that show. Girlschool warmed up for them.
Made a banner, that I still have, That said "Ithaca College is with you Joe" because I was going to IC at the time. Joe didn't look up the entire time, even though we were cheering like maniacs. We were blinded by Buck and Eric during dualing guitars but Joe still didn't look up. Finally when they were leaving after the encore Joe looked directly at us and smiled and gave a big wave!
I went to the 25 February '84 Buffalo, NY show. I remember Girschool being booed off the stage! And Eric making a point to thank everyone for coming out on a Wednesday night since it was a very busy week concert-wise in Western New York.
I saw the Police the previous weekend, BOC, and Loverboy the following weekend. The boys had their great flying saucer prop for "Take Me Away"!
Shea's 25/2/84 - Revolution by Night tour. Rick Downey, great drummer, I thought. Girlschool was great!
Shea's is known for having one one of those old poverhang balconies that you can feel move if the crowd is rocking or the band is loud -- right on both counts!!
Even though I have a stub for this gig dated 1st March, it now seems certain that this gig was re-scheduled for the 27th March (see below).
I now have information that this show was postponed and rescheduled for the 28th March. The above stub, dated 2nd March, is obviously ripped, and has clearly been used, so it's evident that the 2nd March stubs were honoured for the re-scheduled show.
The same thing had happened with the previous night's Portland show - so it'd beinteresting to find out what caused these two postponements...
They played at the Boathouse in Hampton as Soft White Underbelly. A local parody band, Mooreglade, was the opening act.
There were maybe 2 or 3 hundred people there. No tickets were sold (pay at the door) for this event.
A couple of items of note - The Boathouse (officially 'The Boathouse at Bessies Place') was in Norfolk, VA, not Hampton. The boys played several gigs there, including this one as SWU.
Moorglade was the back-up band for local DJs 'Jimmy and The Bull'.
I can confirm this show took place on this date.
I can confirm this show took place on this date.
I was at this gig I can confirm that it was Aldo Nova opening - I still have my T shirt...
I can confirm this show took place on this date.
I was at this show. The support acts were Aldo Nova and Accept. Accept came on first and played for 30 minutes...
I had the glory of seeing Blue Oyster Cult in 1984 here in Nashville with Aldo Nova opening for them. They were very happy because it was the last date on the tour.
Accept, from "Balls to the wall" fame, was billed before Aldo Nova, so there was all 3 artists that night.
I was at this show. My parents went away for the week, left me and my older sister home alone. I already had tickets for Van Halen at MSG at the end of the week, so normally two concerts during one school week would not have been allowed. Since they were away, they didn't know.
I went to BOC on Monday night. We didn't wear jackets since you just had to deal with them inside, it was a pain. I already had a small cold and when we got out of the show it was snowing out.
My friend's dad was late picking us up, so we stood in the snow waiting. I ended up getting bad bronchitis and missing the VH show at the end of week. I guess parents do know best !!!!
I was at this gig (stub included). The Cumberland County Civic Center was pretty empty, considering it holds 9000 +/- a 1000.
It was also the last arena show I saw the band play at.
Mike's stub clearly says 1st March 1984. Yet the venue website says it took place on March 27 and gives the attendance as a pretty sad 2602...
This figure sort of tells its own story - the context is that the maximum "sell out" figure seems to be 9500, and people like Aerosmith etc sold out each time around - even bands like Loverboy sold out that year yet BOC couldn't even quarter-fill it!!
Does anyone know if this gig was 1st March or the 27th?
The concert was supposed to be March 1 but got postponed until the end of the month.
The funny thing is that we drove there thinking the show was still on. Boy, were our faces red!
Anyways, that was the last time I saw BOC and it was kind of sad to see the place empty when only a couple years earlier there was wall to wall people at all the biggest places.
Thanks for that very helpful bit of info. It seems clear now that this gig was in fact re-scheduled from the 1st March (as shown on the above stub) and actually took place on the 27th March, as stated on the venue's website.
Here's a link to some photos from this gig:
It now appears certain that this gig was rescheduled from the 2nd of March. See above ticket.
Centrum Worcester, MA. - the date was 3/28/84...
It was cool to see BOC, but no real stage theatrics, and no-one seated in any of the upper arena seats, sparce attendance... Can't remember the opening act...
What happened in April? If you know, please let me ...
What happened in May? If you know, please let me ...
Hey there... greatly enjoying the BOC gig history pages!
June 6, 1984 they played at the Agora Ballroom in Hartford, CT with, by the way, a very similar set list, if not identical, to the show in Warwick, RI 2 nights later...
That's interesting because I just received an email from Buddy Henderson, the Talent Buyer for both the Hartford and New Haven Agoras. It's actually posted under the 21 December 1984 New Haven Agora entry below in which he tells of promoting a 150 minute SWU gig on a Saturday night to a crowd of 6400.
Your 6 June date was a Wednesday so on the face of it, it looks like we're talking two different BOC gigs at the Hartford Agora. Have you any more details or dating evidence for your 6 June date?
I went back through my ticket stub collection and unfortunately did not find a stub but I did find a photo from the show - see above.
I do know that it was June 1984. I went back through my concert database and at least there I entered it as June 6. It was a week and half or so before my high school graduation... but it could very well have been a Saturday night.
My best recollection was that it was not a 2 1/2 hour show though. The set list was similar to the other set lists that I've seen from around that period... pretty much their standard 100+ minutes. They were definitely on their Revolution By Night Tour and I am almost certain that it was not billed as a SWU show, rather a BOC show... in fact having seen them for the first time back in January (1/13/84 I believe) at Radio City Music Hall I was surprised to see them playing the Agora.
My memory of the Agora Ballroom was that it was much smaller than 6400 people, but that was a looong time ago and I certainly wouldn't contradict a promoter of the venue. We were pretty close on the Allen side as you can see from the photo (that was without a zoom lens or anything).
So I don't think I've helped you any! I wish I had saved the stub and I really wish I could remember if there were advanced tickets or not as that guy mentioned that they did not do advanced tix for that show. We drove up from Ridgefield, CT about 2 hours away and I can't remember if we had to buy tickets once we were there.
In conclusion my gut tells me there were 2 shows but we very likely could be talking about the same show!
BOC played at Kellogg Arena, Battle Creek MI on 6-18-84 - Pat Travers opened, then Ratt.
I got this info at the Battle Creek Library. It came from an actual review for the show the following day. Interesting side note IMO The arena holds about 6000-7000 people, but for this show there was only about 1500 people.
Your site was missing this gig at Toronto's Kingswood Music Theater (an outdoor ampitheater in Canadas Wonderland Theme Park) June 23 1984. No opener recalled, though...
Hi,what a great site you have, definetley the most comprehensive I have found in my ventures trying to track down info on a concert I attended over 20 years ago...
Let me fill you in a little, my name is Vince and I'm from Toronto Canada... I have seen many concerts in my day and collect live recordings (bootlegs)
For many years I have traded with fans around the world to aquire shows I've attended... as of the last 10 years the internet has made that a lot easier as well meeting and getting to know the 2 or 3 filmers here in Toronto helped greatly, anyhow I'm down to my last gig... obviously its BOC... This show has eluded me for years as well till today I wasn't even sure of the date as my ticket stub has long since dissapeared and info on concert dates is vague... the date isn't even posted on the Official site nor does the venue list it in their history...
Thanks to your site I now know the date is June 23/84 Maple Ontario 'Kingswood Music Theatre' at the 'Canadas Wonderland' a theme park about 10 minutes outside of Toronto Canada...
For your site information, I recall the band was backed up by a band called 'One horse Blue' although I have know way of confirming that... I had never heard of them before or since and have no idea why all these years later I remember thy're name but I do... lol... I guess it was just a great night out and a beautiful sunny summer day that I'll never forget...
If you can help at all in tracking down this recording 'if' it exists I would be so grateful...
I was at this gig and One Horse Blue did not open the show... it was Santers.
I recall the setlist being the same as the other ones on the tour (same as rocky point park eg.), opening with Dominance & Submission, ETI, Hotrails To Hell, Born 2 Rock, etc...
I remember all of those songs being played as well as the rest... it was my first time seeing BOC so i recall well and i am pretty anal about remembering setlists etc... Let Go and Roadhouse Blues were the encores.
What happened in July? If you know, please let me ...
The event was in Le Bourget, close suburbs of Paris, about 14 kilometers (8.7 miles), but obviously not in the exact Paris area...
It was the first open air festival in Paris, and was called Breaking Sound Festival, with Dio, Ozzy, Metallica and many other bands. The Festival was a great mess, an incredible mix that only french people can do and bear ! Many bands didn't play (Accept, Whitesnake, Venom...), a lot of security problems...
BOC was not on the first list - they shouldn't have played there - but they did play the second day (30th Aug), just before RJ Dio.
However I was working this day (the show was during the week, not a week-end !) and just arrived for the last two bands, BOC and Dio. Eric arrived on the Harley, and the bike was on stage during all the show.
Rick Downey was on drums. I remember Godzilla with two red spotlights for the monster's eyes...
I had thought September was bereft of gigs until I saw the above pass on eBay - so that's one show at least, by the looks of it.
But where the hell was it?
What happened in October? If you know, please let me ...
What happened in November? If you know, please let me ...
The official site has this gig down as the 4th December but I reckon it was on the 2nd... can anyone confirm?
The Saddlerack, San Jose, CA. As for your note asking if this was actually on Dec 02, all I can say/add is an unhelpful "it's very possible" (I don't have anything written in my collection).
BTW, this was the one bad show I referred to in the review I sent you; sound was absolutely horrible. I went to one of the two Kabuki shows in San Francisco later in the week (no note on which one) and it was back to great BOC sound.
02 December 1984 at The Saddlerack. I was at that show sitting in the front row. They also did an unreleased song at that show called: "Ask That Girl" - it is somewhere in that songlist.
Is there a live recording of this show? I would like to get me a copy...
I attended this show. They were playing under the name “Soft White Underbelly”. I thought this happened in 1983 but I guess I was wrong.
I do have a ticket stub somewhere. I remember catching a pick from Alan Lanier as well (still have it).
This was a pretty cool night. Brother Joe Bouchard hooked me up with tix to the show and backstage access.
I saw them in Fresno two nights night before, Dec 3rd at the Star Palace, a hole in the wall, my friends Bday, we had front row table, center stage.
I made a plaque for them since I worked as an engraver salesman, I made it at work the day before the show. I was super hung over just getting back from Japan on vacation so I was making it in a brain fog.
The night of the show when I gave it to Buck, while he was onstage, he joked about using it for the next album cover. To my horror as he was holding it up showing to the crowd I saw the kronos were upside down.
I had given the art to a co-worker to digitize for me and he had done it upside down. I had arced about twenty across the top of the plaque all upside down.
The next day I drove home to SF, reworked the art, re-made the plaque, and wanted to give them the fixed one at the Kabuki show.
I didn't have a ticket and thought, "I know where they stay, the Miyako Hotel in Jtown" so I made a call and asked for Joe Bouchards room.
To my surprise Joe answers the phone with bubbly girls cooing and laughing in the background. I proceeded to tell Joe the story about upside down Kronos on the plaque and he chuckled "Alan really liked it, he took possession of it." Then he took down my name and said I'll see what I can do, no promises.
So that night I head over to the Kabuki and again to my surprise there is a ticket and backstage pass.
Right on! I head in and enjoy a great show, during one of the last songs I'm standing right in front of the stage 3-people deep and Buck flicks a pick at me and I friggin' caught it.
Got backstage after the show, gave em the plaque and talked with EB for a bit. When I asked who he was listening to lately, he informed me Prince, again to my surprise.
This was actually billed as a Soft White Underbelly show. I knew it was BOC, but my buddy wasn't convinced until we were standing in line in the parking lot and he saw another bunch of friends that we knew.
Great show! Loud as can be. My ears rang until part of the next day.
Opener White Lion, was a wild show, since this was secret and it was BOC's first small hall show in the area, a quaint 900 seat theater.
No pyro/fx. I met the band after the show and they were very nice.
Great club show in NY, L'Amour had an awesome PA and the band was great, whipping out Last Days as a surprise!
Good show! The Bayou will be missed! Now Torn down, progress you know...
I was there - know it was the Bayou in 83 or 84 (I bought the Revolution at Night T-Shirt at the show) and the show was advertised as Soft White Underbelly.
I was sitting in the upstairs loft area when the openers, White Lion began to play. I was virtually alone, and about five guys walked in from a side entrance with valises and stood near me - I recognized Buck Dharma and Eric Bloom.
They stood there watching While Lion for a little while, and commented amongst themselves, and moved on to somewhere. White Lion was a proto hair band in those days, definitely emulating Eddie Van Halen/David Lee Roth dynamic.
I always wondered what BOC thought about what they were seeing.
Fantastic show and venue; first and only BOC show for me. Beautiful "Last Days of May." Crowd went nuts during Dominance and Submission and Golden Age of Leather. I got the sense there were a lot of true believers there that night.
Also saw the Ramones at the Bayou about that time. Great place to see a rock show.
Saw this show too, Got there way early to get my front row spot, taped it while worrying Buck was gonna say something and bust me:) Got the pick from him when he cracks his knuckles in Cities!! Only bad thing, they had a noise rule, and played really low, the quietest BOC show I ever saw.
Gig may have taken place on Saturday December 22nd...
Do you know for sure?
You list a date on December 21, 1984 at the Agora in New Haven, CT.
I KNOW I saw BOC play a date at the Agora Ballroom in HARTFORD, CT around that time. For a period of time, there were 2 Agora's in CT and the Hartford location was the only club setting for me seeing BOC.
For the life of me, I cant remember if anyone else played with them and I have no clue about a set list. I definitely remember Godzilla because thay still had an aminated head behind the drum riser even though the club stage wasn't all that big. I also THINK they may have played Shooting Shark but I'm not totally sure.
Does anyone know for sure - Hartford or New Haven?
Blue Oyster Cult did play the Agora Ballroom in Hartford in the early 80's, under the name "Soft White Underbelly", I was the talent buyer for the Agora. They only wanted their fans at the show and hard core Cult fans knew who it was.
We advertised Soft White Underbelly with BOC music in background. It was a Saturday night with no advanced tickets and we sold out 6400 seats at 10 dollars each which was a lot in those days. They played for 2 and one half hours and the fans were happy. So the person who thinks she saw them at Agora Hartford is correct...
Buddy Henderson
Talent Buyer Hartford and New Haven Ct, Agoras
If you check further up this page, under Wednesday 6 June 1984, you'll see that Michael Jones has also sent info on a Hartford Agora show he attended (plus a photo), but he doesn't think it was a SWU gig, nor does he think the show was over two hours and clearly his info also diverges on the day of the week: Wednesday vs Saturday.
For those reasons, this seems to open up the possibility of TWO Hartford Agora BOC gigs in the early 80s. It's worth noting that Buddy doesn't mention a year, so this supposition seems a reasonable possibility.
If you have any more info, please let me know...
I think also that these date(s) were played in 1984 - if you have any info, please let me know:
| 001 | Merriweather Post Pavillion | Columbia | Maryland |
I attended a BOC show at Merriweather Post Pavillion in Columbia, Maryland (outdoor summer shed venue --- still there but since re-named for a corporate sponsor, I'm sure) in the summer of '84 ("Revolution By Night" tour). Probably June or July. This was actually a re-scheduled date from March '84 when they were supposed to have played the Warner Theater in Washington DC (with Girlschool opening) but were snowed in Hampton, Virginia. Eric Bloom apologized on-stage at the Merriwether Post gig.
The opening band at Merriwether was supposed to be someone up and coming on a major label (I forget who) but canceled and were replaced by local talents DC Star, who closed their set with a live version of a Miller Beer jingle that they recorded for local radio. No joke.
Set-list (not in perfect order, sorry)
Dr. Music
ETI
Hot Rails To Hell
Take Me Away
Dominance and Submission
Fallen Angel
Born To Rock (from "Flat Out")
Cities On Flame
Burning For You
Godzilla
DFTR
Encores:
Let Go
Roadhouse Blues
Well,the Hampton gig was 10 March - so that'd make the cancelled Merriweather gig the 11th March...
I also attended the gig at Merriweather Post Pavilion. Eric said that they would play longer to make up for having to cancel the gig at the Warner Theater in March.
Also the opening band was supposed to be RATT.
| 002 | Centennial Hall | Juneau | Alaska |
BOC's 1984 show in Juneau was in Centennial Hall...
But what was the date?... there was an Anchorage gig on 2nd Jan and a Honolulu gig on the 4th so logic might suggest it was either the 1st Jan or maybe the 3rd...?