Archival Buffalo News feature articles

  How big was Supertramp in 1979? So big that one night in the Aud wasn’t enough. They shoehorned a second date into their schedule in June. May 22, 1979  Supertramp Delivers Top-Quality Show “I think it’s only fair to say,” saxophonist John A. Helliwell says early in the show Monday night, “this is one of Supertramp’s hottest spots in America today.”                 The sell-out crowd responds with a long, stomping cheer – the kind usually reserved for encores. Supertramp is Number One in the nation, but in Buffalo they’re Number One and then some. They’ve sold out Memorial Auditorium not once, but twice          The show, which will be repeated here June 7, is a tasteful 2¼ hour tour of Supertramp from their 1974 “Crime of the Century” album to their present success, “Breakfast in America.” The music is impeccable and there’s a light show to match.  ...

  The 29th stop on the tour that turned Van Halen into stars.  They poured all their flash and energy into it.   May 10, 1979  Van Halen’s Sideshow Turns Teen Concert into Real Circus Harvey Weinstein celebrates the seventh anniversary of Harvey and Corky Wednesday night by stepping onstage to announce that Van Halen has sold out. Mark that one down in your history books: First time Memorial Auditorium has sold out without anybody sitting in the orange seats.          Realistically, there’s something like 7,500 hyperactive teenagers in T-shirts and denims, primed in the parking lots and ready now to let off steam with the hottest new hard rock band in the land.          Van Halen does not disappoint them. The quartet from Los Angeles lays out 90 minutes of hard-driving, big-megawatt sound with plenty of flash and panache.          Insp...

  Another classic night at Harvey and Corky’s Stage One. March 29, 1979  Gordon Is Golden Oldie on Birthday           Robert Gordon observed his 32nd birthday Wednesday night at Harvey and Corky’s Stage One by celebrating the many happy returns of old-fashioned rock and roll.           Flanked on stage by a pair of old-fashioned jukeboxes, Gordon looked like he had stepped out of those happy days of the ‘50s.           A skinny guy with a skinny tie, he wore a charcoal gray coat, pleated pants, white bucks and hair that was tall on top and short on the sides. Most rock nostalgists are content to remember Gene Vincent. Robert Gordon recreated him.           He did it with a solid hour of straight rockabilly, complete with stand-up acoustic bass. Holding down guitar was widely acclaimed Bri...

  Another legendary club date. March 26, 1979 concert review “Police” No Cop-Out On Rock Rhythms           Give a group a name like The Police and there’s no end of law-enforcement metaphors. For their Buffalo debut at Harvey and Corky’s Stage One Sunday night, A&M Records even arranged to give the British band a sheriff’s escort.           Thank goodness the metaphors did not extend to their stage act. The three-man aggregation did not resemble constables at all. In their black leather jackets and jeans, they could have passed for purse snatchers on probation.           As hard-rock trios go, The Police packed an exceptionally big arsenal of rhythms. And they were not afraid to use them. For a tune like “So Lonely” from their “Outlandos d’Amour” album, they slipped from a funky reggae to screaming rock and back to reggae again. ...

  Weird and powerful, right from the get-go. March 15, 1979 Compelling, Energetic B-52s Bombard Area Rock Fans           Just when it seemed like we’d seen the last New Wave rock sensation, the B-52s have come along to keep the spirit alive.           Mobbing the quintet for their first appearance here Wednesday night at McVan’s were about 200 fans – most likely all the same people who bought out their single, “Rock Lobster,” at the local underground record stores.           It was the usual vivid New Wave crowd, plenty of leather jackets, earrings and other strikingly sleazy fashions. Among those present were the Vores, singer Fred Mann of the Enemies and singer Mark Freeland, who was distributing homemade Electroman badges.           None of them, however, were quite as weird as the B-52s ...

  One of the all-time greats on a club date. March 12, 1979 Dire Straits Guitarist Reaches Back to ‘50s           Sold out several days in advance, Lockport’s After Dark club is jammed to 900-plus capacity Sunday night for rock ‘n roll’s first overnight sensation of 1979 – a modest four-man guitar band from London, England, called Dire Straits.           On the strength of their sudden success, they might have scrapped this club tour of the U.S. in favor of bigger halls and bigger money. But they want a different kind of payoff and it starts coming the moment the crowd stops buzzing at the sound of the guitar.           That’s Mark Knopfler’s melancholy red Stratocaster outlining the melody for “Down to the Waterline” and it’s one of two reasons why Dire Straits shot into the Top 10 in less than a month.      ...

  Offbeat, but not entirely forgotten. Feb. 22, 1979 review British Rockers Delight in the ‘60s           “All I can say is there’s not many of you out there, so you better enjoy it,” says Tony de Meur as the Fabulous Poodles start their set Wednesday night in Lockport’s After Dark. “This first song is about throwing yourself off a bridge in North London.”           Doubtless the cold, corrupted waters of the Thames would look good after this American tour. A week ago, all their instruments and stage clothes were stolen in Boston. Tuesday in Cleveland, de Meur was conked on the head with a beer bottle. Here they’ve drawn a paltry turnout of about 200.           Despite these setbacks, the Fab Poos remain undaunted in their mission to bring ‘60s-style fun back to a world beset by punk-rock and disco. Just as the Blues Brothers are foster ch...