QueenZone discussion #1150036
It was 30 years ago today...
| Jazz 78 14.11.2008 09:17 |
Hello everyone... it was 30 years ago today that I attened my very first concert and that show was Queen at the Providence Civic Center here in Rhode Island. Almost a year before I was turned on to the NOTW album. Back then we had vinyl and I played it to DEATH!!! But 6 months before I got the album I discovered that my cousin Joe (Trovato) was their lighting director. So I bought "News" 6 months later just so I could impress my friends that his name was on the album. It wasn't but I fell in love with the band and the music! Posters, magazines, photos, tapes, albums EVERYTHING that was Queen related was in my bedroom. It was such a great time to be a kid, discovering music and enjoying my heros on a daily basis. I mean it was CONSTANT!!! In July of 78 I saw Joe at his sister's wedding and he knew that at this time a was a huge fan. He told me that Queen would be going on tour but didn't have tour dates at the time. He would let me know when they were about to hit the road. Well he never did but I found out that they were coming to Providence on November 14th. Fast forward: My father bought 4 tickets for the show. Back then they went for less than ten dollars per ticket. No corporate sponsors or record high prices for those tickets. So the day came for us to go to the show. Mind you I was 13 at the time so my anticipation was at an all time high. The funny thing was that my dad who was 53 and my aunt who was 63 went along with me and my friend Richard as guardians. Also in the hopes of seeing Joe too. Upon arrival we walked into the Civic Center and the first thing I saw from the back of the arena was the stage. But above the stage there was a smaller stage with a small drumkit on it. I wondered how they were going to get up there and play. Remember, I was 13. We took our seats that were very close to the stage on Brian's side. The PA system was flown above the stage which meant that we were directly below it. To entertain themselves fans were tossing frisbees, beach balls etc. I saw a cop get hit in the head with a roll of toilet paper. Glow sicks were popular back then and people were waving those around too. Then my dad spots Joe on the stage near Brian's mic and shouts out to him. Joe was with another crew member but he spotted us and kind of smiled and waved to us but it was impossible to leave what he was doing. But he did see us. So the lights go down and I have no idea what's coming next. The stories you read from people who saw the band back then are true... they came out in such force it was mindblowning for me. As the lights went down the smoke was now starting to billow out from the drum riser.The thunderclap that starts the show was deafening and the crowd was getting crazy! The lighting rig began to rise above the stage and THEN the opening chords to We Will Rock You. It was so loud that partway through the song my aunt turned to me, nudged me and I saw in her hand some cotton balls. Yeah, like that was really going to ease the pain of the volume. I stuck it out though. I remember during Somebody to Love thinking that these guys were playing this song earlier in my room and now their doing it in front of me. This was a dream come true for any 13 year old getting into music. But at one point in the show Freddie yelled out, "these lights suck"! I wasn't sure what was going on but I had asked Joe years later and apprently there were problems with the rig that night. And then again I think in Long Island a few night later where you can here Fred complain on the bootleng from that show. But Joe said Freddie often did that and it was no big deal. Still the show was great! Finally after Spread Your Wings the little platform above the stage came down where the band played the acoustic set. Now, all during the show these funny little cigarettes kept being passed in front of us, behind us and next to us. If I only knew then what I know now!!! My father being concerned about traffic decided that we should leave right before the first encore. We got up from our seats and I remember looking back as Roger was starting the drumming for Sheer Heart Attack. That's the last image I have of seeing them there. We finally got home smelling like pot and went to bed with my ears ringing off the hook. Got up the next morning ready for school and put on my marijuana laced Queen t-shirt I got the night before and headed off to school. Ears STILL ringing. This was an experience I still have never been able to duplicate nor would I want to. Joe by the way stayed with Queen until May when they finished in Japan and then went on to work with Foreigner and numerous other bands before returning to Queen for the Rock in Rio Festival and then Australia in 85. If you're interested in seeing photos of this show go to Sir GH's site Queenlive.ca to see them. I had a small instamatic camera that needed flashbulbs but once they ran out I had to rely on the light from the stage. I cleaned them up years later via the computer since I lost the negatives years ago. I just wanted to share this story with you guys and I hope you enjoyed it. I'll see you in 2 years when I celebrate my experience when I saw them on the Game tour. |
| Jjeroen 14.11.2008 09:35 |
Wonderfull! :-) |
| Marcelo_argentina 14.11.2008 12:54 |
Fucking Fantastic!!! |
| MercuryArts 14.11.2008 13:38 |
Great Story! Did you get to see them again or was that your only opportunity? |
| Brianmay1975 14.11.2008 13:56 |
Really great story! I'm sure the whole experience was exquisite ecstasy... I can relate to what you are saying. I'm 21 years old and I went last month to the show in Budapest. And I had been waiting for an opportunity to see them playing live ever since I became a fan. That's over six years. And it was so impressive. The last six months I just couldn't get the thought that I was going to a Queen concert out of my head. And when I finally got there and the show began, I couldn't help tears running down my face... And then it turned into the best day of my life. Ever. So yeah, I can totally understand your feelings... |
| Jazz 78 14.11.2008 14:12 |
I'm glad you guys are enjoying my story!!! That was the first time I saw them but I saw them again in 1980 for the Game tour and eventually I'll pass that story on to you all. Just for the record... because my cousin was working within the Queen organization he was able to obtain two tour programs with their autographs on them. One for my brother and one for myself. A third was given to his youngest siste Luisa. Funny enough, years later Brian named his youngest daughter by that name so I wonder if... At one point Joe had gotten a pair of Roger's drumsticks. They were a pair of Premiere stick with his name engraved in red. Sadly I needed a pair of sticks when i was jamming with some friends and used them. BUT the autographs are still mine including my brother's. In fact, Joe said that in the years he worked for them he never acquired a set for himself. He told me a few years ago that he still has a trunk filled with his tour jackets, Although his NOTW jacket was stolen off the tour bus, shirts that are still in the bags, old passes, cue sheets with his lighting directions on them, photos galore... I remember seeing some shots he took from the lighting desk in Japan 79. If he EVER let's me go through this trunk you better believe I'll share anything and everything with you guys!!! |
| MercuryArts 14.11.2008 15:58 |
Dude, that would be like Christmas in July!!!!! I hope you get to sort through that trunk some day. |
| April 14.11.2008 17:27 |
Thanks for the story very much! I've enjoyed every bit of it! |
| vessel 14.11.2008 21:25 |
The Jazz album and The Providence show were on the day i was born (Nov 14, 1978) I wish I could find this show on a bootleg somewhere. Anyway thanks for the story. |
| Mrs. Mercury 15.11.2008 00:23 |
It is so nice to hear these stories as someone who was only two when Queen stopped touring! :( It must have been fantastic!!!! I would give anything to see them as they were then!!! Thank you! |
| ana_libra 15.11.2008 04:17 |
I'm only 21, and I've been a fan for little over a decade, but your story was so fantastic that I felt like I WAS THERE while reading it! THANK YOU SO MUCH! I took my little 13 year-old brother to a Belgrade show at the end of last month, and I believe that in 30 years time he will have a story as wonderful as yours to tell his fellow fans.. It was his first concert ever, and his favourite band ever.. Paul is no Freddie, but Freddie was there, I'm sure... Thank you once again Cheers |
| Jazz 78 15.11.2008 08:26 |
Yes Vessel the Jazz lp was released that day but I didn't see it on the shelves at the record store till two days later. To my shock I opened it and found the poster of 55 naked girls on bikes which was immediately hung over my bed. But that poster was soon met with protests here in the States because it was thought of as being dirty or pornographic. So it must have been about a month later when they started putting cards into the albums where you could order the poster if you wanted. Sorry to say but most Americans at that time didn't get the humor that Queen bestowed upon us at the time. I did! Interesting to note... I had a cousin that was a nun and whenever she visited the family here in Rhode Island she was always put into my bedroom for her stays and I was told each time she visited that the poster had to come down. Reluctantly I took it down but as soon as she left it went right back up. Lord Have Mercy!!! Happy 30th Vessel!!! |
| Robin 15.11.2008 13:19 |
Great story! This is the kind of stuff I used to love about this board......back in the day! May I add, that 10 days after your show, I saw them in Cleveland. Such cool memories! Thanks for that! [img=/images/smiley/msn/regular_smile.gif][/img] |
| The Real Wizard 18.11.2008 03:03 |
Robin, Can you add anything from your Cleveland experience, or any other Queen shows you saw? |
| Robin 18.11.2008 19:21 |
Sir GH wrote: Robin, Can you add anything from your Cleveland experience, or any other Queen shows you saw? Gosh, that was so long ago it's hard to remember details. What I do remember is that the previous year they were here and I did not even know it!! I was just devestated when a friend at school said she saw Queen last night. Everyone knew I was a huge Queenie, yet somehow I did not know. :( (Where's the internet when you need it?). Anyway the 1978 show was all the more thrilling for me because it was my first Queen concert and I still remember that I'd thought I'd just burst waiting for the night to get here. My friends got a shirt made for me that said "Queen Out" or something like that and I wore it proudly! On the way to the show it was snowing like crazy and the freeway was so crowded and moving very slowly. I of course was having a panic attack because it was obvious we would not be there by 8:00. Well, God bless Queen, because the dj came on the radio and said that the band will wait to start the show so please be careful. I thought that was so sweet! And they put on a great show, so much fun! I also remember how professional they were but still rowdy and fun. I had a blast and sang along to every song. I wish that night never ended! Nice memories, that's for sure. Now, I saw Queen + Paul Rodgers on their tour (and I have ALWAYS loved PR) and it was great and I had a great time but there is absolutely nothing like the real Queen. I only loved them more after seeing them live. I saw Queen one more time here in 1980 and again major fun and an awesome show. They were the best live band I've ever seen. I was so curious to see how they would pull off Bo Rhap in a live show and it worked! I also really enjoyed Freddie's sing along then. Now, I ff through that part when I watch a concert. :p I wish I could have seen them more but that was it. They were here in 82 but I was all busy being in college and engaged and blah, blah, blah, so I did not see them then, plus I was so not into Hot Space at all! So, there you have it! I still love them all and I will always be a fan. I also still plan on marrying Roger if I could get close enough! ;) |
| goinback 18.11.2008 21:50 |
So they *did* have a "small stage flown in from above" (or whatever the Live Killers liner notes say)...I've never see a photo of this or a video so I thought maybe it didn't exist. Do you recall where it actually "flew" to or how it worked? I'm assuming this was used for "'39"? |
| Jazz 78 19.11.2008 08:55 |
The acoustic stage was directly above the main stage. Maybe 30 feet or so. As Spread Your Wings finished up the smaller stage was slowly lowered and rested on the main stage. If you go to Sir GH's site queenlive.ca you can go to the 11/16/78 show and see a photo somebody submitted with the band on that very stage. It's a great shot actually! But when they toured Europe a few months later that stage wasn't used. I assume some or most of the venues couldn't house that stage so the band did what they did on previous tours where the crew would bring out the smaller drum kit, stools for Fred and Brian and a few mic stands. |