Back on July 12, of 1979, Journey played at the Kansas Colisuem in Wichita, KS.
The opening act was Thin Lizzy.
Well, it was supposed to be.
I had been let go by a rock band I was in earlier that year by the name of Granite.
(ooh...how original...but I digress).
So anyway, I was not so concerned with Journey at the time. Of course I wanted to see them, cause their stuff was huge on the radio, blah blah blah, but who I REALLY wanted to see was Thin Lizzy.
I get to the Coliseum, park, and walk up to the door, to be confronted by a hand written xeroxed piece of paper with the following message:
Tonight I scanned it off. It is the original xeroxed sign that was taped to the coliseum door. As soon as I saw it, and was duly irritated by the realization I was not going to be able to see them (GRRRR!), I decided to keep it as a memento.
I found out some further info this evening about that day.
Classic Rock magazine fucking RULES!!!
So anyway, the issue I have has part 3 of a 3-part series on Thin Lizzy, and this article covers the period in question.
Gary Moore said he decided quit after the Oakland Coliseum Day On The Green on July 4, 1979 because Phil Lynott and Scott Gorham were fucked up on heroin all the time. So he quit a couple of days later.
I found a listing of Journey tour dates, and here is what it said:
Jul. 6, 1979 Coliseum. Reno, NV (Thin Lizzy)
Jul. 12, 1979 Kansas Coliseum - Wichita, KS Shade
Jul. 13, 1979 Assembly Theater. Tulsa, AZ
Jul. 14, 1979 Kiel Auditorium. ST Louis, MO (Blackfoot)
Jul. 15, 1979 Municipal Auditorium. Kansas City, MO (Blackfoot)
Jul. 16, 1979 Municipal Auditorium. Kansas City, MO (Blackfoot)
Jul. 17, 1979 Memorial Hall. Joplin, MO (Blackfoot)
Jul. 18, 1979 Hammons Center. Springfield, MO (Blackfoot)
Jul. 20, 1979 Jai Ali Fronton - Miami, FL (Thin Lizzy)
Scott Gorham said they only missed a single show by Gary leaving, as they got a friend named Midge Ure of Ultravox to fill in for the rest of the tour.
I never knew the reason Gary quit until I read that article today. And I did not know they missed a single show.
Apparently Blackfoot had booked all the dates opening for Journey long before.
The ONLY FUCKING SHOW THEY MISSED WAS THE ONE I WAS AT!!!
Fuckers.
So to add insult to injury, here is what happened.
I walk into the coliseum, thinking what the fuck, I will go ahead and watch Journey.
I get into the concourse, and I hear some band playing the Kansas song "Point Of Know Return". Of course I am wondering who is playing, and I walk into the arena and stand by the sound board platform.
I am disgusted by what I see....a local band named Shade is playing.
They were a lame cover band in Wichita, and I did not want to see them playing such a nice gig...especially replacing the mighty Thin Lizzy!
So I look over on the soundboard platform, and I see the bassist from the band I had just been fired from. I yelled at him, and noticed he had a stick-on backstage VIP pass on his leg.
So I asked how he got the pass, and he beckons me to go with him out in the mezzanine.
He says he has something to tell me that might upset me and I say ok.
He had been in touch with the promoter of the show (Contemporary Productions) trying to get in good with them so our band could get gigs like this.
So Contemporary called him that day to see if Granite could open the show.
He called the other guys in the band, told them the deal, but said he only wanted to do the gig if I could do it as well.
They all said no.
So my friend got the number of the band Shade, and called them, offering them the gig.
That was the deal.
As a consolation prize I did get an all-access pass, and met the guys in Journey, but did not think to ask them why Thin Lizzy cancelled.
As for me being fired from the band Granite, that is what happens when someone who has only been playing electric guitar for 2 years gets in a band with a buncha guys who have been playing for 20 years or more....I was good enough to start out with the band, but after the first week-long gig they decided it was not working and said sayonara.
I woulda done the same thing if I were in their shoes.
So if Thin Lizzy ever comes to town, I am gonna see if I can get Scott Gorham to sign this sign.
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