In the early 1980's I went to many concerts. In those days concerts seemed to be more affordable. That may only be a perception on my part, but I recall that if the price of as concert ticket was more than the double the price of a vinyl album [or the price of a Compact Disc], the concert was overpriced!
Maple Leaf Gardens.
ZZ Top. The opening act was 38 Special. Southern Rock!
The Texas two step!
Kitchener Memorial Auditorium.
In 1980 Ron Tabak was still the vocalist and front man for Prism. I remember at this particular cooncert Tabak did a medley of "Night to Remember" and "It's Over". Third row on the floor!
One of the opening bands was FM. I've been trying to figure out what the other opening act was. Thanks for the info Darren, "the second opening act besides FM was The Pumps."
CNE [Exhibition] Stadium.
One of the first "Farewell" tours by The Who. A "Magic Bus" was chartered from Guelph to CNE [Exhibition] Stadium. When we arrived Heart was already on stage. I don't really have any recollection of the J. Geils Band from this show. Oddly enough, I do remember when everyone got back to the bus after the show, any and all alcohol that had been left in the bus was mysteriously GONE!
Kitchener Memorial Auditorium.
I remember going to this concert with some trepidition. The second album with Brian Johnson as lead vocalist. I was still of the opinion that NO ONE could replace Bon Scott ! My favourite AC DC album was [and still is] "Highway to Hell".
Yes, no one could REPLACE Bon, but Brian definitely was a wise choice for vocals.
Kitchener Memorial Auditorium.
This was another concert that I wasn't quite sure about. I'd been a Cooper fan for many years and I didn't quite know how to take his "Flush the Fashion" album. It was a very "new wave"-ish sound for this rock and roller! When he appeared on stage dressed in Japanese kabuki/geisha garb, I'm sure many people were asking "What the heck is this?"
The pleasant surprise was when Alice came on stage dressed in a Canadian hockey jersey with his hair down. He smiled and winked at the crowd and said, "Aren't you glad I never really changed?"
Fifth row floor! Pretty good for Cooper.
Maple Leaf Gardens.
Carlton and Jarvis on New Year's Eve! Many strange goings on! BB Gabor was definitely NOT well received by this crowd! GODDO was always a crowd pleaser here in Ontario!
Highlight of the evening was when Geddy Lee joined Max Webster on stage for an awesome performance of the track "Battlescar"! I seem to recall the other members of Rush were vacationing in the Carribean somewhere.
Kitchener Memorial Auditorium.
The "Intensities In Ten Cities" tour. Toronto was the opening act.
I really have no recollection of this concert whatsoever. [There are a lot of things from the 1980's I have difficulty remembering. ;) ]
Maple Leaf Gardens.
What was eventful for this show wasn't actually the show. It was pouring rain out that night. All of us were heading to the concert in my cousin's Buick Apollo [a Nova in Buick "cosmetics"] and the car would stall everytime there was too much water getting under the hood. It had a cracked distributor cap.
We eventually did get there and got to see "Diamond Dave" in all his pompous attitude and gymnastic glory!
CNE [Exhibition] Grandstand.
I'm pretty sure that the tickets we got for this show we got from a SCALPER. We were stuck behind a post/support, but we still had a pretty good view of the show!
Although I don't have the stubs to prove it, I'm pretty sure that April Wine is the band that I have seen the most times in a concert setting.
The opening act for this show was Loverboy. Loverboy's debut album had not been out for very long.
The Centre In The Square. Kitchener
This was a bit of an odd venue for a rock concert. The Centre In The Square was more known for the presentation of plays and concerts for the older generation Nana Muskouri type crowds.
The acoustics were AWESOME and a balcony seat provided for an excellent view of the whole stage!
I'm not sure, but I think Glider was Ian Thomas' band, without Ian Thomas, named after the Ian Thomas album of the same name.
Maple Leaf Gardens.
Opening acts for this show were Teenage Head and Harlequin.
It was strange that "they" would try to put another "new wave" type band in for the rock and roll crowd.
Sure, the times and tastes were changing, but still...
Chicopee Ski Hill, Kitchener.
Although the newspaper reviews of this show weren't very good, and by the end of the night I was dancing in the mud close to the stage, Rough Trade did give an awesome performance. I can still recall the tight rhythms of Bucky Berger [drums] and Terry Wilkins [bass]. Berger looked like a man possessed.
Toronto had just released their "Get It On Credit" album. I really should give it a listen again. It wasn't one of those memorable works of vinyl, but the Headpins album, "Turn It Loud", now there was a rocker!
Check out the newspaper clippings on the next page.
CNE [Exhibition] Stadium. Leon's Grandstand
This one was definitely not the usual boys night out. I was taken to this show by my then girlfriend. Although Genesis wasn't in my usual rock and roll genre, the light show was amazing, and I did enjoy the music, too.
Check out the newspaper clippings on the next page.
Maple Leaf Gardens.
I'm seeing a bit of a pattern here! This was the third new Year's Eve concert at Maple Leaf Gardens!
Co-headliners were SAGA and Kim Mitchell [without Max Webster].
Kim only had a five track EP out at the time! I couldn't find any videos, but here's the track "Miss Demeanor" with a collage of Kim pictures.
SAGA - On The Loose
One of my favourite Saga tracks! I'm sure they played it that night!
