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.
Archive for the ‘America’ Category
6 Mar
America and Poco Newcastle Odeon 1975
29 Mar
America Sage Gateshead 17 March 2009
America The Sage Gateshead 17 March 2009
I’d forgotten how many great songs America had written. I’ve only seen the band once before; at the Odeon in Newcastle on a double bill with Poco in (I think) 1975. They played the Sage a year or so ago but I didn’t make it for some reason. This time the Sgae was less than half full, but those that did turn out to see the band didn’t leave disappointed.
America is now composed of two of its originals: Gerry Beckley and Dewey Bunnell, backed by a group of musicians, some who have been with them for over 30 years. The songs still sound great. Ventura Highway comes early in the set, and I soon realise that there are a lot of America songs which I remember: I Need You, Tin Man, Sandman, You Can Do Magic. They do a pretty good version of Eleanor Rigby too. During Sandman the backdrop shows shots from the Vietnam war; perhaps a bit dated but fits well actually. The encore is (of course) Horse with no name. All sung great.
After the show I line up and say hello to Gerry and Dewey and get some signatures for myself and for my friend John in the states.
website : http://www.venturahighway.com/
ticket
signed flier
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