{"id":362,"date":"2015-11-19T04:13:15","date_gmt":"2015-11-19T04:13:15","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.woas-fm.org\/?p=362"},"modified":"2019-05-02T00:23:43","modified_gmt":"2019-05-02T00:23:43","slug":"ftv-rats-i-missed-it","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.woas-fm.org\/?p=362","title":{"rendered":"FTV: Rats, I missed it!"},"content":{"rendered":"

There was a twenty year window that opened around 1965 when a lot of great, \u00a0nationally known bands made their way to Marquette. \u00a0Living as I did across the street from the Northern Michigan University campus and within sight of Hedgecock Fieldhouse (where most concerts were held before Lakeview Arena was built), all I had to do was secure a ticket and trot 500 yards to see many of them. \u00a0I have previously discussed some of these shows in past FTVs. \u00a0Not too long ago, Tony Vezzetti and I had a, \u201coh, were you at that show, too?\u201d conversation and it reminded me that there were more than a few that I also missed. \u00a0\u00a0I could not attend some because I was playing my own gigs on those nights and a few because I was out of town. \u00a0\u00a0I still regret that circumstances prevented me from seeing some great artists. \u00a0On the other hand, I still feel lucky to have grown up in Marquette at a time when very good bands frequently made their way to the Upper Peninsula. \u00a0\u00a0Some were already famous and some were on the way to becoming famous, but all afforded me an opportunity to see a variety of great drummers \u00a0at the time that I was first getting started as a rock and roll drummer.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Tops on that list would probably be Cheap Trick. \u00a0They came roaring out of Rockford, Illinois and I had actually picked up their first big breaking album (<\/span>Heaven Tonight 1978<\/span><\/i>) just before they hit Marquette. \u00a0I may not have initially understood drummer Bun E. Carlos and his chain smoking \u2018I ran from my gig at the DMV to the band gig\u2019 persona, but he was my kind of drummer. \u00a0I still get a little sore that they were in my backyard and I missed them. \u00a0The same could be said about Seals and Crofts who were \u00a0making a lot of hit records when they rolled into town. \u00a0A good friend of mine raved about the show so much he felt guilty enough about it to make sure I got to see another great show (America in concert) when I visited him at his new home in Portland, Oregon a couple of years later.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Frank Zappa made an appearance at Hedgecock on another night I was working a band job. \u00a0I had a summer class and job at NMU\u2019s Field Studies camp east of Munising soon after missing Zappa and heard all the details from a guy in my Field Geography class who was there. \u00a0Apparently when they ushered Frank off stage at the end of the encore, they sent him down the wrong stairway and he couldn\u2019t get to the area that served as the dressing room that way. \u00a0He got stuck on a landing that also lead to one of the exit doors on that side of the Field House. \u00a0For his part, Frank shook hands and signed things for everyone who asked as hundreds of fans streamed out the exit and, one presumes, eventually made it back to his dressing room.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0While I was busy visiting Portland in May of 1975, another up and coming band made an appearance at Lakeview Arena. \u00a0Arrowsmith was just starting to make waves (<\/span>Get your Wings – 1974 & Toys in the Attic – 1975<\/span><\/i>) but I already had my plane ticket for my graduation trip to Oregon when this show was announced. \u00a0America was a great concert, but I really would have liked to see Arrowsmith on the way up (and before they became their own reality show which I would have called <\/span>Survivor: \u00a0the Toxic Twins<\/span><\/i> if there had been such a thing).<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Richie Havens was in Marquette not too many years after his career defining set at Woodstock. \u00a0I got to see his stage set up when I was cutting through Hedgecock on the way home from the bookstore. \u00a0I stopped to watch local band Walrus doing their soundcheck and thought, \u201cDang, I am going to miss Walrus.\u201d \u00a0\u00a0I had my own band job to get to and had already convinced myself that it was okay because if you have seen one folksy guitar toting singer, you have seen them all. \u00a0It was unfortunate for me as several people I talked to that had also seen Havens previously said he put on the best show in Marquette that they had seen in years. \u00a0It figures!<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Marquette has always been a little off the beaten path, but fortunately it was close enough to Milwaukee that many of the bands that routed tours through the Brew City were happy to get one-off gigs a little farther north. \u00a0It also did not hurt that Marquette had gained a reputation as being a great town to perform in. \u00a0Blue Oyster Cult\u2019s Eric Bloom reacted to the rabid crowd at Lakeview the first time they played there by stating, \u201cMan, we\u2019ve got to get out of New York more often.\u201d \u00a0\u00a0They did come back a couple of years later and played a two set show when Ritchie Blackmore\u2019s Rainbow canceled their half of the double bill. \u00a0\u00a0I wanted to see Rainbow, but in this case, it wasn\u2019t my fault I missed their gig! \u00a0The double length BOC show certainly wasn\u2019t a waste of time.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Guitarist J.Geils of the Boston band that bears his name was on The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson not long after they had been through Marquette. \u00a0When Johnny asked him if they had played \u2018any great gigs lately\u2019, Geils replied,\u201dwe did a concert at a college in Marquette, MI recently and it was great. \u00a0We can\u2019t wait to go back!\u201d \u00a0\u00a0A lot of touring bands may avoid playing in the backwaters, but they will make the extra effort if the backwaters have a reputation as \u2018good concert towns\u2019.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Another concert that was eagerly anticipated was Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons. \u00a0For some reason (the rumour was \u2018slow ticket sales\u2019 but in that they sold out, I don\u2019t see how this could have been the case) they cancelled and NMU had to scramble to find a replacement. \u00a0How do you replace the Four Seasons on short notice? \u00a0Little Anthony and the Imperials got the call and I can\u2019t say that I missed the Four Seasons all that much. \u00a0Little Anthony was the consummate showman and had a crack three piece back up band. \u00a0The energy they put out and the quality of the music was terrific. \u00a0As an added bonus, a show band from the U.P. called The Revells were booked as the opening act and they set the bar pretty high for the Imperials. \u00a0The Revells were the closest thing I have seen to a nationally known band like The Brooklyn Bridge and they more than held their own on the big stage. \u00a0I am not sure how disappointed my date was that we did not see The Four Seasons, but I enjoyed the show. \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Tony and I discussed a couple of shows I hadn\u2019t even known about. \u00a0One was a multiband show featuring War (still touring today as the Lowrider Band) and one with Bob Seger. \u00a0I can\u2019t count these as misses because I had seen War on a previous tour at Lakeview (and very recently at the Calumet Theater as the Lowrider Band) and Bob Seger (at Hedgecock opening for Brownsville Station) when he was touring with Teagarden and Van Winkle in the period just before he became a hit making machine with his Silver Bullet Band. \u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Jay and the Americans were the first \u2018name\u2019 band I remember coming to town. \u00a0My sister had a ticket and was giddy about it a good week in advance. \u00a0I would have loved to see them knowing what I know about music now, but back then it was \u2018well, if she likes them, how good can they be?\u2019 \u00a0\u00a0Little brothers can be a little dumb sometimes. \u00a0I would have loved to see the Doors but try as they might, \u00a0NMU couldn\u2019t book them. \u00a0\u00a0The Doors were the hottest ticket in town one day, and then personna non grata the next when singer Jim Morrison got himself in trouble for his erratic stage antics. \u00a0The Doors were voted the number one act the student body wanted to see, but they went from \u2018too big to book\u2019 to \u2018untouchable\u2019 in a very short period of time.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0I contacted both NMU and Lakeview Arena to see if there was a written archive of the shows that have come through those venues and surprisingly, there isn\u2019t. \u00a0The City of Marquette office that operates Lakeview simply said \u2018we have no records of concerts held at Lakeview\u2019 and NMU suggested that such a list could be compiled from the campus newspapers in their library archives. \u00a0I will probably take a look at the NMU archives in the future, but for the moment, I will hope \u00a0someone with more time on their hands will take up the mantle and do it before I get to it. \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0The one \u2018out of town\u2019 show I wish I had seen was The Ides of March who appeared at MTU in the early 1970s. \u00a0My old bass player Mike liked the horns and the fact that guitarist Jim Peterik did an entire solo with one hand pointing at the ceiling while he played only with his fretting hand. \u00a0If Peterik the guitar player doesn\u2019t ring a bell, most people are more familiar with him as the keyboard player\/songwriter for his other band Survivor. \u00a0\u00a0I love bands like Chicago a lot, so a horn fueled song like the IOM\u2019s <\/span>Vehicle <\/span><\/i>would have been \u00a0great to hear live. \u00a0Cue the <\/span>Eye of the Tiger<\/span><\/i> until next time. \u00a0Better yet, go see that concert you have been thinking about attending so you won\u2019t regret it later!<\/span><\/p>\n

Top Piece Video – The\u00a0Vehicle<\/em> that got the Ides of March to the top of the charts!<\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span>