|
|
|
|
|
#015 |
|
|
|
Date |
June 27, 1981 |
|
|
City |
Indianapolis, IN |
|
|
Venue |
Market Sq Arena |
|
|
Headline |
TED NUGENT |
|
|
Support |
Krokus, Blackfoot |
Ticket |
$7.50 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
The ever touring, ever offensive Ted Nugent returned to Indianapolis with a three way bill featuring southern rock from Blackfoot, European hard rock from Krokus and of course the Motor City Madman closed the show. This was another one of those shows where the acts didn't necessarily compliment each other. I think Ted Nugent could have fit with Blackfoot or Krokus, but the pair didn't compliment each other and left the audience trying to shift musical gears between shows. Blackfoot did not have a great deal of local airplay, except the redundant Train Train for which they were most familiar. Krokus was very impressive to me and Ted was well, Ted -- by this time, his act was still enjoyable for all of it's Nugity fun, but his routines were starting to get a little old. He had toured with the same stage gimmick of playing Tarzan for a few years and losing more clothes each time around. Now, all the way down to a loin cloth, coon tail and knee-high mocassin boots, it was starting to seem kind of weird to go see the guy play. Despite Indianapolis Motor Speedway, turn 1, being famous for the slogan, Show Me Your Tits, I don't recall anyone inferring Ted Nugent should do that. But the show did feature a new gimmick, Ted's Guitar Army. Essentially a team of guitarist would support Ted on stage - for what reason I do not know to this day, other than Ted Nugent could do something so silly and over the top that others would not dream of doing. The tour was in support of arguably the worst Ted Nugent release to date, Intensities In 10 Cities., a record of new material recorded in each of ten cities as the name would imply. Song lyrics were by now campy and stupid, with titles such as My Love Is Like A Tire Iron and The Flying Lip Lock. It was also Nugent's last album obligation on his Epic contract. Despite Guitar World magazine listing this as the #9 best live album, it was a complete waste of vinyl. I'm sure by now that author has reconsidered.
TED NUGENT SETLIST:
Scream Dream
Wang Dang Sweet Poontang
Free-For-All
Paralyzed
My Love Is Like a Tire Iron
Jailbait
Heads Will Roll
Stranglehold
The Great White Buffalo
Tailgunner
Wango Tango
Motor City Madhouse
The Flying Lip Lock
Cat Scratch Fever
ENCORE:
Land of 1000 Dances (Chris Kenner cover)
BLACKFOOT SETLIST:
Gimme, Gimme, Gimme
On the Run
I Got a Line on You
Every Man Should Know (Queenie)
Searchin'
Fly Away
Train, Train
Highway Song
TED NUGENT |
|
KROKUS |
|
BLACKFOOT |
|
|
|
|
|
|
#017 |
|
Date |
August 16, 1981 |
City |
Indianapolis, IN |
Venue |
Market Sq. Arena |
Headline |
ZZ TOP |
Support |
Loverboy |
Ticket |
$8.50 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
This show was great for a couple of reasons. First, Loverboy was a brand new band that was being played on the local radio stations and at the time; the first album was pretty strong. I haven't listened to it for several years, so it may sound really dated today, but they were a welcome warm-up band for the show as far as I was concerned. I also remember the first Loverboy album sounding a lot less commercial than all the Loverboy records that followed. Second, ZZ Top was just monstrous as a headline performer. They planned the set list perfectly so that you were rocking all the way through the show. The lighting featured some laser effects and this was all pre-Eliminator era ZZ Top, so not overly commercial, as they would soon become. And speaking of Eliminator, this El Loco phase of ZZ Top was somewhere between the classic ZZ Top of the past and the next phase of ZZ Top that enjoyed so much commercial success, largely due to their videos on MTV. So the set list was heavy on the classics and they played several cuts from El Loco - a bizarre little record indeed, even by ZZ Top standards.
SETLIST:
Groovy Little Hippie Pad
Waitin For The Bus
Jesus Just Left Chicago
I'm Bad I'm Nationwide
Don't Tease Me
I Wanna Drive You Home
Ten Foot Pole
Manic Mechanic
Heard It On The X
Fool For Your Stockings
Pearl Necklace
Cheap Sunglasses
Arrested For Driving While Blind
Beer Drinkers And Hellraisers
Partio On The Patio
Tube Snake Boogie
Jailhouse Rock
ENCORE:
La Grange
Tush
LOVERBOY SETLIST:
Little Girl
Always on My Mind
Prissy Prissy
Lady of the 80's
D.O.A.
It Don't Matter
Turn Me Loose
The Kid Is Hot Tonite
ZZ TOP |
|
LOVERBOY |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
#019 |
|
|
|
Date |
Sept 07, 1981 |
|
|
City |
Anderson, IN |
|
|
Venue |
North Drive-In |
|
|
Headline |
ROADMASTER |
|
|
Support |
Faith Band, Light, Nite Life |
Ticket |
$15.00/carload |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Anderson Drive-In, typically a gravel lot mecca for the perverts and adult movie hounds, was the unlikely site for Labor Day Jam, featuring local heroes, Roadmaster, Faith Band and Light. Local bar band Nitelife was also part of the bill. The deal was priced right at $15 per carload, so three of us split the ticket and drove over to Anderson with some beers, courtesy of Mom and Dad's refrigerator. We had odds and ends like a bottle or two of this and that. We had old school brands too, like Blatz, Schlitz, and Falstaff - boy those were the days! I could be wrong, but I think Light was an unsigned band who would later go one to record an album of originals called Keys on an independent label. I think they might also have been featured on a previous edition of the Q95 Home Grown album project or maybe Home Grown II. Faith Band had a number of local favorite tunes, but clearly Put On Your Dancing Shoes was the big hit for them. It was a sunny afternoon. Roadmaster closed the fest. They were definitely the biggest and most successful group on the bill. Hits like Sweet Music and Hey World were always part of their sets. I don't remember any merchandise being available for this show, a huge disappointment and missed opportunity as far as I was concerned. Food and beverage were provided at the drive-in concession stand, which also featured some posters for up-coming adult movie engagements.
ROADMASTER |
|
FAITH BAND |
|
LIGHT |
|
|
|
|
|
|
#020 |
|
Date |
October 10, 1981 |
City |
Indianapolis, IN |
Venue |
Market Sq. Arena |
Headline |
TRIUMPH |
Support |
Point Blank |
Ticket |
$7.50 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
There used to be this really cute blonde girl that managed one of the local independent record stores in my home town. This was the kind of record store that sold records, t-shirts, bongs (back when you could still call them bongs. Now I think they legally have to call them water pipes for tobacco use only, as if that changes anything) and of course they were one of the few local outlets for concert tickets. One day I was there and this girl was wearing a concert t-shirt from a Triumph show and this would have been around the Just A Game time period. She was saying what a great light show Triumph had and how incredible they were to see live. So, the next time they came around, I had to see for myself. When I heard they were playing close to my birthday, well there wasn't much stopping me either. I still kind of wish they had a better support act, but Point Blank was OK. Point Blank had a hit single called Nicole, one of those songs that became redundant quickly after a few times on the radio, so after tolerating most of their set, they could end with that and we could move on to the headline act. The light show was (as promised) unbelievable for it's time. I think they used to call it The Blinding Light Show - but the set was packed with great music too. Allied Forces was a fantastic album for it's time. I have listened to some of their music in recent years and unfortunately some of it really sounds dated. Nevertheless, I am glad to have seen Triumph in their prime.
TRIUMPH SETLIST:
Tear The Roof Off
American Girls
Lay It On The Line
Allied Forces
Fight The Good Fight
Blinding Light Show/Moonchild
Rock N Roll Machine
I Live For The Weekend
Natures Child
Drum Solo
Guitar Solo
Rocky Mountain Way (Joe Walsh cover)
Hot Time In The City Tonight
TRIUMPH |
|
POINT BLANK |
|
|
|
|
|
|
#021 |
|
Date |
November 11, 1981 |
City |
Indianapolis, IN |
Venue |
Market Sq. Arena |
Headline |
FOREIGNER |
Support |
Billy Squier |
Ticket |
$10.00 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
I remember being one of the first to hear about this concert among the other bus boys at the local Elks club where I worked after school. Everybody wanted the night off for this one, but I asked first and got the OK to go. I had heard of Billy Squier from his earlier single, The Big Beat from Tale Of The Tape. Now he was gaining even more exposure with several rockers from his new album, Don't Say No. Billy Squier was moving from small venues to arenas very steadily and the new album had strong airplay. Lonely Is The Night, In The Dark, The Stoke and Whaddaya Want From Me were delivered with style and energy deserving of the artist. I think Foreigner had an oversize jukebox prop on the stage for their hit single, Jukebox Hero. While I liked Foreigner, I was not a devotee by nature, but once they started rolling out the classics and hits, the concert was very enjoyable. They were touring in support of the album, Four, which represented the smaller, streamlined band format from the 6 piece that had created the debut album, Double Vision and Head Games. Scorned members Al Greenwood and Ed Gagliardi had already split from the group and formed their own project called Spys.
FOREIGNER SETLIST:
Nite Life
Dirty White Boy
Cold As Ice
Blue Morning Blue Day
Waiting For A Girl Like You
Love On The Telephone
Break It Up
At War With The World
Long Long Way From Home
Women
Spellbinder
I'm Gonna Win
Starrider
Head Games
Double Vision
Urgent
Juke Box Hero
Feels Like The First Time
ENCORE:
Headknocker
Hot Blooded
BILLY SQUIER SETLIST:
In the Dark
Rich Kid
My Kinda Lover
Whadda You Want From Me
Lonely Is the Night
Young Girls
I Need You
The Stroke
You Should Be High, Love
Too Daze Gone
The Big Beat
You Know What I Like
FOREIGNER |
|
BILLY SQUIER |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Date |
December 18, 1981 |
City |
Indianapolis, IN |
Venue |
Convention Center |
Headline |
ROLLING STONES |
Support |
N/A |
Ticket |
N/A |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
The Rolling Stones - Tattoo You tour of 1981 was not coming to Indianapolis. However, the Rolling Stones marketed to several pay per view venues in other metro markets for the December 18 Hampton, Virginia show. The result was to be a "Live via Satellite" performance that was scheduled to be held at the Indianapolis Convention Center. The new LP, Tattoo You was spawning radio hits, the tour was a thriving success and sold-out everywhere, sharing the bill with bands like Journey, J. Geils Band, George Thorogood and others as opening acts. The Live via Satellite event wasn't going to be the same as having the Stones appear live in Indianapolis, but it capitalized on the popularity of The Rolling Stones at that time. Despite the affordable ticket price ($7.00 as I recall) the event was suddenly cancelled and cash refunds offered. Never realizing those ticket stubs might actually be worth more to me in the future than getting my $7 bucks back, I took the refund. Hey what can I say, the economic downturn in the late 1970s was still apparent to me in 1981.
The concert was in fact held in Hampton, VA and the setlist is as follows:
Under My Thumb
When the Whip Comes Down
Let's Spend the Night Together
Shattered
Neighbors
Black Limousine
Just My Imagination (Temptations cover)
Twenty Flight Rock (Eddie Cochran cover)
Going to a Go-Go (Miracles cover)
Let Me Go
Play Video
Time Is on My Side
Beast of Burden
Waiting on a Friend
Let It Bleed
You Can't Always Get What You Want
Little T&A
Tumbling Dice
She's So Cold
Hang Fire
Miss You
Honky Tonk Women
Brown Sugar
Start Me Up
Jumpin' Jack Flash
ENCORE:
Satisfaction
|
|
|