America and Poco Newcastle Odeon 1975
This was a pretty cool line up, and was my fist time seeing both bands. I knew a lot of stuff by America, but nothing by Poco. I went along with my friend Ian, as I recall. America had previously toured as support for Family in 1971, but the gig was the same night as Led Zeppelin played Sunderland Locarno (theres a gig I must report on), so I didn’t go. So when they returned to Newcastle for this gig at the Odeon I made sure that I attended. The Odeon is now sadly closed, but was an important venue for gigs in the North East in the early 70s. It was a little bigger than the City Hall, with a capacity of around 3,000, and I saw a few bands play there: Humble Pie, King Crimson, Black Sabbath, ELP, The Faces and The Who come straight to mind. BY the mid 70s it had sadly been converted to a multi-screen cinema, and the capacity reduced. I am pretty sure that this was the case for this gig. I recall both bands being really good that night. Typical America set list from 1975: Tin Man; Muskrat Love; Baby It’s Up to You; Moon Song; Old Man Took; To Each His Own; Lonely People; I Need You; Don’t Cross The River; Ventura Highway; Only In Your Heart; Woman Tonight; The Story of a Teenager; Half a Man; Company; Hollywood; Sister Golden Hair; Encore: Sandman; A Horse With No Name. I also googled and found a Poco setlist from 1974: Blue Water; Fool’s Gold; Rocky Mt. Breakdown; Bad Weather; Hoedown; Railroad Days; Ride the Country; Faith in the Families; Angel; Drivin’ Wheel; I Guess You Made It; Restrain; A Right Along; C’Mon. My friend John, who was also at this gig, has just emailed me to remind me that America/Poco played “Don’t Cross the River if you can’t swim the tide” with both bands on stage as the final number.
6 Mar
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Posted by Allan Orrick on March 6, 2012 at 4:04 pm
I was at this gig. You are right in thinking that the venue had been changed into a multi-screen cinema, and so the “back stalls” were in-accessable.
I remember that America were amazing and one of the best bands I had (and still have) seen, but on the night they were blown off the stage by Poco who were just astounding.
Co-incidentally, saw America at a casino in Coachella CA, a fortnight ago, and they were still great with a greatest hits plus songs from their new “covers” album.
Posted by Terry Hackett on March 21, 2014 at 10:07 pm
I was at this gig too. It was a great night, except for a drunk in the audience who kept shouting out ‘Quo! Rossi!’ Thankfully the same guy stayed away the second and last time I saw America at The Sage, Gateshead.
Posted by John wardle on February 10, 2017 at 3:41 pm
I was there so thanks for the reminder of a great night. And Allan is right – Poco did have the edge
Posted by Harry Shemilt on December 31, 2022 at 8:21 pm
I saw the same lineup at the Free trade hall in Manchester. I remember that the sound system was really good. I seem to recall that both groups were mostly acoustic. My most vivid memory was Poco singing one song a capella, which made my hair stand on end. A great night.
Posted by vintagerock on December 31, 2022 at 8:42 pm
A great pairing of bands Harry. Thanks for sharing. Happy days Peter
Posted by Harry Shemilt on January 1, 2023 at 7:08 am
Just as a follow up to my above comment. I have just found both setlists from the Manchester concert from the website setlist.fm. What a find! I can relive the whole concert. Pity I don’t still have my bell bottoms and tie die t-shirt. I’d be surprised if you don’t know about this great website.
Posted by vintagerock on January 1, 2023 at 12:49 pm
Hi Harry yes I often use set list.com as a reference point. You can find the set list from many shows of most bands of any note. Happy days Peter