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Allman Brothers Band Live at Ludlow, 1970

Many years ago, a classmate gave me a bootleg cassette tape of an Allman Brothers Band concert. It was a Duane-era concert, complete with amp buzz, stage banter and audience noise. He did not know where it came from, what year it was recorded or anything else about it.

I enjoyed the tape, even with its tape hiss and dropout. Years later, I came across the Live at Ludlow concert from 1970. I quickly bought the CD, as I do with any Allman release, and discovered that the tape I had was this concert. Finally, I could hear the concert it its entirety. This concert is a great representation of the band as they were evolving and was just one of many concerts they played that year.

Some of the playing is raw, and they make a few mistakes here and there – all par for the course for a band that improvises much of their solos. That is one of the many reasons I love this band. They never were afraid to put themselves out there, to explore a new path on a song in front of an audience. Duane sometimes worked a mistake into the song, taking it in new directions.

The concert has an extended version of Statesboro Blues, with a quick jam after the last verse. Mountain Jam is there in all its glory. It seems like they were just working this song out and experimenting with it. Barry Oakley gives a great effort with Hoochie Coochie Man, on a rare live recording of his singing. Dreams is also represented, a song not included on the Fillmore East concert. I do recall my original tape had Elizabeth Reed on it – the CD does not. I have long since lost my tape, though.

There are a number of ABB concerts from this time period that are finding their way out to the public. Here are a few other official releases. LINK There are many other concerts out there, but are only available for trading, as they were recorded by audience members and are traded among other tapers. The ABB did not mind recording back then.

I will be getting a few of the new concert releases for Christmas and am really looking forward to hearing them. Even thought the songs are essentially the same as the Fillmore concert, each one is different as they improvised much of the solos.

Tommy Bolin

Tommy Bolin, born in Sioux City, Iowa in 1951, grew to fame as a replacement guitarist in The James Gang in 1973 and Deep Purple in 1975. Prior to that he was a member of the Denver-based band Zephyr. He also played on Billy Cobham's Spectrum album, which included Bolin on Guitar, Billy Cobham of Mahavishnu Orchestra on drums, Leland Sklar on bass and Jan Hammer on keyboards and synthesizers. His blistering guitar work on this album is very impressive, as he was only in his early 20's.

In 1975 Bolin released his first solo record, Teaser and appears on Deep Purple's Come Taste the Band . In 1976 he released Private Eyes, his second solo record. The solo work on the songs "Post Toastie", "Shake the Devil" and "Bustin Up for Rosie" showcase his extraordinary skills. Tommy was diverse in his talents, and did not need to play a solo for every song, instead choosing to highlight the song instead of the guitar. He is a perfect example of a guitarist who does not overdo it, knows when to burn up the fretboard, and when to tame it down.

His death in 1976 silenced a guitarist who, in my opinon, is very underated in rock music.

Official website

Quiet Riot, Live in Minneapolis, 1983

In August 1983, I attended the Northwestern Beer and Barbeque Picnic at Parade Stadium in Minneapois. Quiet Riot opened, followed by Joan Jett, Greg Kihn and Loverboy. Quiet Riot was just starting to get well-known, but there was not a huge amount of people lined up at the gate to get in early. We did and got fairly close up. Thye put on a good show and had the crowd going. I wanted to see them, as I had been playing Metal Health alot and was a huge Randy Rhoads fan. It's a shame that Kevin Dubrow passed a few weeks ago. Enjoy the pictures.

The Surf Ballroom and Buddy Holly

The Surf Ballroom, located in Clear Lake, Iowa is best known as the last place that Buddy Holly, the Big Bopper and Richie Valens performed at before their deaths in a place crash on February 2, 1959. This has placed in as an important place in the history of rock music. We took a drive down to Clear Lake one summer day, a two and a half hour drive from Minneapolis.

Walking into the Surf was like walking into another time, bringing back memories to me from my youth. The Surf is not unlike the other ballrooms I have been too: Fox Lake Ballroom in Sherburn, Minnesota, Kato Ballroom in Mankato, Minnesota (where Buddy played a few weeks before the Surf show) or the Playmor Ballroom in Glencoe, Minnesota. It has dark interiors, the lights are dim and it has that lingering smell of cigarette smoke that must be embedded in the wood after all those years.

The ballroom is huge, with booths set along side of the dance floor. The old phone booth is there, where Buddy called his wife for the last time. The walls are lined with signed photos of all the other musicians that have visited over the years and there is a small bar and restaurant off to the side with very small stage in the corner. Everything is preserved as it was back then. If you sit there for a few minutes and let your mind wander, you can imagine yourself here in 1959, seeing the last show. One cannot help feel sad knowing that this is the last place they ever made music.

As we were walking around, the crew from Walter Trout and Little Feat were setting up for the concert that night. We visited the gift shop and found the directions to the crash site, which at that time, were not advertised or marked. We drove to the area, and saw another car parked on the side of the road. It was a short walk along the edge of a bean field to the site, which was in a corn field. The corn was at least seven feet tall, but we found the trail that led to the small memorial. The path was well worn, as thousands of people have made this walk.

One can only imagine what these musicians would have gone on to. Buddys influence is still felt and heard in many of the bands that came after. The Beatles were obviously very influenced by Buddy, which shows in their early music. He was one of the first in popular music to use the Fender Stratocaster, to great effect with his rhythm and lead playing. He wrote his own music, and took control over the recording process, with Norman Pettys guiding hand.

A few years ago, we went to the Martin County Fair in Fairmont, Minnesota to see the original Crickets, J.T. Allison and Joe B. Mauldin with longtime Buddy Holly friend, Sonny Curtis. They put on a great show to an enthusiastic crowd. We were watching and hearing history making musicians here.