After the New Years Eve Chicago concert, my determination to go to more live rock concerts became a quest for me. I just felt the need to experience more of these incredible events. And I didn’t think that any other concert would be better than the Chicago concert. For me, that concert was an extraordinary event.
And then in March 1972 I would be proven wrong.
I forgot when I found out, but two concerts were announced that I really wanted to go to. I told the two brothers about the upcoming concerts, and they wanted to go as well. I will note that the main band for the next concert in March was a well-known band that we were very familiar with. The two brothers and I had several of the band’s albums and knew many of the songs by heart.
We would listen to their songs on my stereo system in my room with the lights off and candles lit. But before we listened to the songs we would go outside and smoke a nature stick. This made the songs so much better.
Getting tickets to a rock concert was not an issue for me. I just told my mom that me and the two brothers want to see a certain concert and she would produce the tickets. I never asked how she got them.
For this concert we asked for four tickets. The younger brother wanted to bring his friend.
The day came for the concert and as usual the older brother was in in charge of providing the nature sticks we all would consume before the concert and this time I was providing some liquid relaxant to drink before the concert.
When we arrived at the Las Vegas Convention Center on the day of the concert, we climbed out of my car fully ready for the show. The younger brother brought his good friend. We made it to our seats which were to the left side of the stage with a very close view of where the bands would be playing.
To be honest, I didn’t really know much about the first two bands in the lineup, but after this concert that would change for one of the bands.
As we were looking at the stage, suddenly the lights began to fade out.
Showtime!
The first band up was called “Wild Turkey.” They performed a simple set of songs. None of the songs resonated with me. Maybe this was because I was in the process of my journey to get as high as I could thanks to the older brother and his secret ability to smuggle stuff into the arena for this concert.
We were all there together and, well, we were seriously working on our out-of-body journey for the main band.
After “Wild Turkey” performed, there was a short intermission while the next band’s stage instruments were being setup.
The lights faded out again and we could see movement in the darkened arena on the stage from our seats.
Spotlights began to focus sharply onto specific locations on the stage with bright white light. And then the next band came onto the stage. The crowd went wild with a lot of excitement.
I really didn’t know who they were.
And then the first song was played. I felt like I had heard this song on the radio, I just didn’t know the band that played it.
I was blown away with their music and their stage performance. The band was called “Yes.” Oh my god were they incredible. Their music rocked the arena. It was powerful and captured every brain cell I had remaining.
They were awesome.
When they finished there was another quick break before the main event band came to the stage.
And then the lights went down, and the main band came on stage.
Again, there were the spotlights focused onto the stage. Music started to play. And then the lead singer became illuminated and the show started.
The band was “Black Sabath” with Ozzy Osborne. And they performed every song I had listened to from their album before coming to the concert and had listened to in my bedroom.
To this day I still celebrate “Black Sabath and Ozzy” and the memories this concert brought me. Ozzy dominated the stage. What a performance.
Now, this is an interesting observation. “Black Sabath” seemed to be a bit off and “Yes” outperformed them if I remember correctly.
Please understand that there was more smoke in the Las Vegas Convention Center Arena that night than a brush fire in the desert, so this is what I remember.
I think Ozzy was not happy that “Yes” received more applause than “Black Sabath” did. I think he was a little upset. So, and I think I remember this correctly, he challenged “Yes” to a battle of the bands.
And if this didn’t happen, then I was high and imagined it. But this memory is very real in my recall of the concert.
I do remember that the instruments for “Yes” never left the stage and were quickly set and illuminated. Maybe this was part of the show.
And this memory is what makes this concert my most admired and honored live concert.
Now, here is a small added memory that goes with the best concert ever.
My mom knew that I was making homemade wine in my closet. At this point in my teenage years, I am 16. And I think she may have given up on me.
School wasn’t working and I was a lost soul for many days after quitting high school. Culinary school was bringing me back and that was a good thing.
Plus, she had her own life that was still causing me heartache, again.
So, we were driving home from the concert. I was now a 16-year-old driving a car and being a not so responsible teenager. We were halfway home when the car behind me lit up like a Christmas tree. I was still a bit out of body and pretty much thought I was done.
I pulled into a gas station and the police car pulled in behind me. The police officer got out and walked over to the car. I rolled down my window. He investigated the car while shining his flashlight into the car and saw the two brothers and the younger brothers’ friend. The younger brother and his friend were sitting in the back seat with a towel draped over the 5-gallon jug of homemade wine.
He asked the younger brother to pull the towel away from what it was covering.
He then saw the 5-gallon jug and asked what was in it. I, being the truth telling teenage boy that I am, told him it was homemade wine and that I had made it in my closet. And I happily explained how I made it including every step of the fermenting process.
He then asked me to get out of the car. I quickly obliged and he asked me where we were going. I said, “We are on our way home.” He asked where we were coming from and I told him, “From the Yes and Black Sabbath concert.”
He had me walk over to the gas station storm drain and told me that I needed to empty the jug of wine into the storm drain. Once again, I was obliged to follow directions, and he watched as I performed the disposal exercise.
Once the jug was empty, he allowed me to put it back into the car. I sensed that he could tell that I was still somewhat feeling a bit out of body. He said that he would follow us home to make sure we made it safely. And yes, he did follow us home which was nice.
After about an hour being home, I needed to drive the younger brothers’ friend home, so we all piled back into my car and headed to his house to drop him off. By this time our normal teenage minds had returned to our bodies.
What a night…
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