Emerson Lake & Palmer 1976
This concert was at an odd venue, The Columbus Fairgrounds Coliseum. This, of course, was the same arena where the Springfield Wildcats defeated the Akron South Cavaliers to take the 1950 state basketball championship.
You usually go to fairgrounds in the late summer in the daytime. It's usually hot & humid, generally nasty & full of family types with plenty of screaming maggots. It was kinda surreal to be out in the silent, dark, cold in a stark abandoned fairgrounds huddled amongst a bunch of 70s something rejects outside a decrepit hall. Columbus is flat. The fairgrounds were flatter. It was friggin' cold, man. Naturally the management decided to leave us outside even after the gate opening time came & went.
The band hadn't released any albums for awhile. They toured with an orchestra at some point & lost their shirts. This show was just the trio. I remember it being a good show. All three were excellent musicians. I am really puzzled as to why they seem to have just disappeared. Disco, New wave & punk were emerging & ELP's classical jazz thing was passe. Thing was, tho, these guys rocked out really hard in concerts.
The Columbus Fairgrounds Coliseum sucked as a venue. It made Cincinnati Gardens look like a palace. Apparently it was recently renovated. Lipstick on a pig.....