Now would seem to be the ideal time, because I've just discovered a recording of the legendary concert at London's Rainbow Theatre, when Little Feat stole the show from headliners The Doobie Brothers.
For once, the legend doesn't lie; they really did blow the headliners off the stage!
To begin at the beginning, this sampler album (59p, how could I refuse?) pointed the way for me, in terms of new musical discoveries in 1975.
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| The back cover of the sampler |
The 1975 tour included dates in Germany, France and the Netherlands, plus shows at the Free Trade Hall in Manchester and London's Rainbow Theatre.
On the last day of the UK tour, Sunday 19th
January, two shows were scheduled. The afternoon show had The Doobie
Brothers as the headline act, supported by Little Feat. In the evening,
the support act was Graham Central Station.History doesn't record how GCS fared, but Little Feat's exploits have become truly the stuff of legend.
Clearly, Little Feat were not unknown, because from the recording it's obvious the audience was in a state of deep excitement from the word go.
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| Appearing on the BBC's 'Old Grey Whistle Test' show, 1974 |
The band were already a favourite of hipster music journalists and fellow musicians, including the Rolling Stones. Mick and Keith were at the Rainbow shows, as was Rod Stewart.
Little Feat's set from this time will be familiar to anyone who has
heard the various bootlegs from their mid-70s concerts, such as Electrif Lycanthrope.
Indeed, it was on the strength of that particular bootleg album that
Little Feat's reputation had grown in the UK at this time.The show started with a shout-out to Robert Palmer on his birthday. Lowell George had played on Palmer's first solo album, Sneakin' Sally Thru The Alley, alongside The Meters. And Palmer used Little Feat as his backing band on albums two and three (Pressure Drop and Some People Can Do What They Like).
George would often tell little stories between songs and for this gig he repeated the story, heard on one of the bootlegs, about meeting his hero, Howlin' Wolf.
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| Davey Johnstone & Elton John meet Lowell George backstage |
As Little Feat's show drew to a climax with Tripe Face Boogie, the audience acclaim was unrelenting. Remember, this was the support band, you're not supposed to get this kind of adulation and show up the headliners.
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| Skunk plays the steely guitar |
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| Mick, Keith and Rod meet the Doobie Brothers backstage |
So the Feat came back on stage and played Wait Til The Shit Hits The Fan.
And that's the story of how Little Feat blew the Doobies off the stage at the Rainbow. It's all true folks...
Hear it for yourself here, with grateful thanks to PMH5001 for taping it on his Philips cassette recorder back in the day, digging it out recently and posting it on youtube last month.
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| On tour, Larry Graham jamming with the Doobie Brothers |
His memory of the show is "It was hard on the Doobies (who were actually pretty good) being completely upstaged by Little Feat.
"I turned off the machine after a few seconds of Black Water, quite a few of the audience walked out at that point. After about three numbers the Doobies stopped, invited another round of applause for Little Feat and started again."
Here's the track listing for Little Feat's performance:
00:00:00 Intro/Dedication to Robert Palmer (birthday) and Howlin' Wolf
00:01:41 Apolitical Blues
00:05:17 Two Trains
00:09:54 Walkin' All Night
00:14:22 On Your Way Down
00:21:12 Spanish Moon
00:30:42 Fat Man In The Bathtub
00:36:33 Sailin' Shoes
00:41:13 Rock And Roll Doctor
00:45:16 Oh Atlanta
00:49:23 Cold, Cold, Cold
00:54:10 Dixie Chicken
01:01:54 Tripe Face Boogie
01:05:59 Bag Of Reds
01:07:01 Tripe Face Boogie
01:09:01 (Encore Applause)
01:10:49 Willin'
01:15:21 Teenage Nervous Breakdown
01:19:00 (Encore Applause)
01:22:24 The Fan
01:28:51 Intro Doobie Brothers
01:29:08 Black Water (The Doobie Brothers)
Footage of the Warner Bros tour is rare indeed, but there are a couple of very rough clips from the Paris show by Little Feat, playing Tripe Face Boogie and Willin'.
About five years after buying the Warner Bros Music Show, I was working on Fleet Street in London. The record shop across the road from my office still had several copies of the album on sale. So I bought another one. I kept it in mint condition for years and continued to pay the first one to death. When I began playing vinyl again in this century, I put the mint album on the deck and it was just like being thrown back in time. What an amazing collection. I only wish I'd known about the tour sooner, I was too late onto that one.
Nonetheless, I got a musical education for just 59p.
Willin', live in Paris, January '75
Here's a compilation of footage of the bands from the Warner Bros Music Show tour, put together for an Old Grey Whistle Test Special in 1975.
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| Musicians and crew on the Warner Bros tour |
When Lowell George Was The Future Of Rock n Roll
The Who 'Put The Boot In' at Charlton FC, 1976
A tribute to Paul Barrere
Hi great article!
ReplyDeleteThis must have been the same tour I saw in Manchester at the Free Trade Hall, although I remenber it a little different... Being Warner Brothers, they didn't have any warm-up acts - instead they played a half hour or so of WB Loony Tunes cartoons which was put everybody in a great mood! Then the curtains rolled back and Bang! - Tower of Power with a fantastic set including spectacular choregraphic moves... but yes I would agree that Little Feat were superb!
This 'blew the headliner Doobie Brothers' off the stage is an opinion, not a fact. In any case, thanks to this gig the Doobs became Jeremy Clackson's all time favorite.... ;)
ReplyDeleteThe factual evidence is clear as day. Have you listened to the recording?
ReplyDeleteI also saw the Doobies at Knebworth in 74 - don't remember that one too well... which is a shame as apparently the Almann Brothers Band were headlining!!
ReplyDeleteWell I was there that afternoon and it was so exciting because feat played so well and compliments to the doobie brothers for giving feat what they deserved this was the rainbow concert I remember full footage on the internet must have been taken off. A legendary concert!
ReplyDeleteHi , I saw this on French television, and there was another great band that was also on the film footage. Any ideas were I can find BONAROO live?
ReplyDeleteThe six bands played two nights at Manchester Free Trade Hall, three bands each night, as I remember Little Feat Headlined one night, the Doobies the other night. Elton John joined the Doobies on stage for a couple of numbers, but I can’t remember what they were.
ReplyDeleteManchester FTH was a big and rather impersonal venue, but no question I saw some great concerts there - the American Folk Blues Festival, with Muddy Waters and Sonny Boy Williams, John McLoughlin's Shakti, Led Zeppelin, B B King with Peter Green's Fleetwood Mac and many more... happy days!
DeleteI was on that tour. There was a lot of great times and music from this one of a kind tour. Little Feat did headline in Manchester and Amsterdam otherwise Montrose was the headliner of the blue tour. The red tour (next night) were the Doobie Bros. headlining. The bands and crews were very well cared for and at every hotel there was a 24 hour "play room" stocked with all types of snacks and drinks as well as entertainment, quad sound system and 3/4" tapes with current hit movies. During the "downtime" Larry Graham wrote a song, "Its Just A Warner Bros Party". The song began to involve many if not all the musicians. That and another small issue had Joe Smith, then President and CEO of WB Music, flying out and bringing about 14 tons of equipment, much of it for recording. The second night in Amsterdam all bands took the stage and, "Its Just A Warner Bros Party" was recorded for posterity with all band members from each tour and their crews in attendance. I do not believe the cut was released to the public however everyone attached to the show received a copy. It was a 33 about the size of a 45. From beginning to end of the tour we had Claude Nobbs running it, and he was without a doubt one of the most capable and nicest people I had ever met. Not just in the industry, but from anywhere.
ReplyDeleteBeing part of this tour was one of the most memorable moments of my life. The bands were all fantastic. Whatever you personal feelings and taste(s) about various bands on this tour, all these bands made great music and qualified for the tour. There were another 3 bands on standby should something happen and at one point, one band was almost replaced at the beginning of the tour due to an incident in their first show.
As you might be able to tell, there are easily enough stories for a book. Some are best left alone, but for the most part it was fun work and brought lots of people together in creation of happy music, fun times, and wonderful memories.
Hey - thanks a lot for your story - a personal recollection like this is priceless! I will look out for that book!
ReplyDeleteI know I am biased but I can't help remembering concerts and bands like this were the high point of my formative teenage years, and the positive impact on my life was incalculable. I did go on to play in bands myself, and even as I write this comment I have GarageBand open in the background where I am wrestling with yet another mini - masterpiece!
Thanks Anon, for those great insights. What a time to be involved with all those amazing bands. Wonder which band was in danger of being thrown off the tour…
ReplyDelete