Concert By The Sea

Abandoned Pungo Airstrip
Virginia Beach, VA
21 July, 1973

Now Playing: Hard Stuff "Sick N' Tired"

It was an all-day event held on the old abandoned Pungo Airstrip south of Virginia Beach, VA. It started at noon and last to after midnight with bands being flown in like a mini-Woodstock. Local farmers and neighbors hated it due to the traffic and noise. The “Concert by the Sea” as it was called, offered a long line-up of rock musicians performing.

There was a big party the night before at a crossroads just up the road from the festival grounds. BIG traffic jam!

We drove down the night before in Stan Stockam’s yellow van and other vehicles. We found an abandoned barn and partied all night. It was most of the regular crowd from my place at 9545 11th Bay in Ocean View. Lots of VW micro buses loaded with hippies were everywhere!

Frank "Griff" Griffin remembers: "I remember that me and a few others didn't have tickets to get in and security was really tight....no way to sneak in until someone, I can't remember who exactly, produced an M-80 or two, which was hurled over the fence to draw the guards and their dogs away and what seemed like hundreds of us stormed the fence!!! Aaahhh, great times!!!"


Pungo Airstrip after the concert. Great time!!!

Many people tried to follow the shadow of the two towers of speakers to get relief from the sun. Many ended up with large blisters across their foreheads. LONG LIVE Rock N' Roll!!!

     
Me and my crew are in there someplace!!!

Will rock 'til I drop and roll 'till I'm old...

It was hotter than hell that day - blazing sun beating down on the concert goers - all of us on concrete with no shade available. Security was over zealous with rented off-duty police, some with guard dogs and a large quantity of undercover narcotics officers who kept busy all-day arresting pot smokers. Drug overdoses and heat-related issues were the norm. Due to the heat, they kept announcing "stay away from downers". Hence, we kept popping 'uppers' - figuring it couldn't hurt, RIGHT?

On a hot dry day, you can smell the marijuana residue even in concrete. I did not know that until this day on the airstrip. My buddy Pete asked, “Remind me why we are friends?” I responded with a laugh, “I taught you how to roll a tight joint.”

Hundreds of people were treated for heat exhaustion and assorted drug overdoses. The performances were generally good considering the conditions. ZZ Top and Blue Oyster Cult (BOC) stole the show.



          

Hard Stuff's "Sinister Minister" (m4a)
Hard Stuff's "Sick N' Tired" (m4a)
Hard Stuff's "Jumpin' Thumpin'" (m4a)


L to R: Hard Stuff's John Cann, Paul Hammond, John Gustafson

The New Cactus Band's "It's Getting Better" (m4a)
The New Cactus Band's "It's Just A Feelin'" (m4a)
The New Cactus Band's "Blue Gypsy Woman" (m4a)

BOC played midway through the festival, either just before or after ZZ Top. Many think these 2 acts were the highlights of the concert. It was miserably hot. Savoy Brown was the headliner and closed the show.

                    

Bloodrock's "DOA" (mp3)        Dr Hook's "Cover of the Rolling Stone" (mp3)

     

ZZ Top's "La Grange" (mp3)
ZZ Top's "Beer Drinkers & Hell Raisers" (mp3)

John Sebastion's "I Had a Dream" (m4a)

Dusty Hill (Bass player for ZZ Top) keeled over face-first, with his 10-gallon cowboy hat, into the stage during one of their jams. Billy and Frank just kept jamming (very professional) and the roadies pulled Dusty behind the cabinets. After a few minutes they got Dusty back up and he went back out front and kept playing. They continued playing for quite a while after. WOW!!!

     

Savoy Brown's "Jack The Toad" (mp3)
Savoy Brown's "You Got The Blues Don't Mean You Gotta Sing" (mp3)

Blue Oyster Cult's "Hot Rails to Hell" (m4a)

It was so hot, BOC pulled out some stools and sat on them while they played.

Savoy Brown played last and Kim Simmonds showed he was every bit of a slide guitarist as Duane Allman and Rod Price (Foghat).

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Hard Stuff were an English hard rock group which included John Du Cann and Paul Hammond, formerly of Atomic Rooster, and John Gustafson, formerly of Quatermass.



The New Cactus Band, formed by Duane Hitchings, released one album, Son of Cactus (1973), which featured none of the original Cactus members. Mike Pinera, formerly of Blues Image and Iron Butterfly, came in on guitar, along with Roland Robinson on bass and Jerry Norris on drums. The band then toured live in the Midwest and on the East Coast in mid-1973 with Captain Beyond drummer Bobby Caldwell and former Gregg Allman bass player Charlie Souza. The New Cactus Band soon disbanded. Their sole album peaked at #183 on the Billboard Top 200 Albums chart.

Bloodrock was an American hard rock band based in Fort Worth, Texas, that had success in the 1970s. The band emerged from the Fort Worth club and music scene during the early to mid-1970s. In early 1971, the gory extended track "D.O.A." became the biggest hit of Bloodrock's career when it was issued in shorter form as a single.[4] The motivation for writing the song was explained in 2005 by guitarist Lee Pickens. “When I was 17, I wanted to be an airline pilot,” Pickens said. “I had just gotten out of this airplane with a friend of mine, at this little airport, and I watched him take off. He went about 200 feet in the air, rolled and crashed.

Dr. Hook & the Medicine Show (shortened to Dr. Hook in 1975) was an American rock band, formed in Union City, New Jersey. They enjoyed considerable commercial success in the 1970s with hit singles including "Sylvia's Mother", "The Cover of 'Rolling Stone'" (both 1972).

Of course, ZZ Top is the American rock band from Houston, Texas, formed in 1969. The group consists of founders Billy Gibbons (guitar, lead vocals), Dusty Hill (bass, vocals) and Frank Beard ironically the one without the beard (drums, percussion). Keep in mind, they weren't THAT big yet as their 3rd album, "Tres Hombres" was released 4 days AFTER this concert.

John Sebastian (born March 17, 1944) is an American singer/songwriter, guitarist, harmonicist, and autoharpist. He is best known as a founder of The Lovin' Spoonful, as well as his impromptu appearance at the Woodstock festival in 1969. The Lovin' Spoonful was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2000.

His style of music was a real downer at this concert. It was so bloody hot and we were hyped up on white crosses and ready to boogie-down.

Blue Öyster Cult (often abbreviated BÖC or BOC) is an American rock band formed in Stony Brook, New York in 1967, best known for the singles "(Don't Fear) The Reaper", "Burnin' for You", "Cities on Flame with Rock and Roll", and "Godzilla." They have sold 25 million records worldwide, including seven million in the United States alone.

BOC's set list:
1. The Red & the Black
2. Od'd on Life Itself
3. Hot Rails to Hell
4. 7 Screaming Diz-Busters
5. Baby Ice Dog
6. Wings Wetted Down
7. Teen Archer
8. Mistress of the Salmon Salt (Quicklime Girl)

Savoy Brown (Originally, Savoy Brown Blues Band) are an English blues rock band formed in Battersea, south west London in 1965. Part of the late 1960s blues rock movement, Savoy Brown primarily achieved success in the United States, where they promoted their albums with non-stop touring. After leaving Savoy Brown, musicians became members of groups such as Yes, Fleetwood Mac, UFO and, yes, my personal favorite, FOGHAT!!!






Woody - 3 months before concert. Yes, I was still in the Navy!


Woody - Fall 2019 Back to Woody's Concerts

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