Heart, one of the more popular hard rock outfits of the ’70s, hit the stage on July 25, 1976 at the Tomorrow Club at about the time they were starting to blow up on the charts with hit singles “Magic Man” and “Crazy on You” off the Dreamboat Annie debut album. Ann and Nancy Wilson saw greater success the following year with the release of Little Queen which included the band’s biggest hit “Barracuda”.
WHAT THE SHOW SOUNDED LIKE: Here’s the band performing “Magic Man” on TV in 1976:
In case anyone who wasn’t around at the time wanted to get an idea of what the acoustics sounded like at the Tomorrow Club, I found a Southside Johnny and Asbury Jukes live recording from what I believe to be Sept. 18, 1977. Now, of course, this could be wrong as the show is labeled as December 1977. The historical compilation of shows I have only shows the band playing on Sept. 18, 1977 however. There’s a good chance this show could be later on down the line at the club, but for right now I’m leaning toward the Sept. 18 date (which just happens to be one day before the infamous Black Monday).
(I did have a link to download the show here, but the cyberlockers aren’t reliable anymore. So you’re out of luck for the time being.)
Setlist
Disc 1
1. This Time It’s For Real
2. Got To Get You Off My Mind
3. Without Love
4. Fannie Mae
5. I Can Tell
6. Love On The Wrong Side Of Town
7. Banter
8. She Got Me Where She Wants Me
9. Little By Little
10. Intro Mr. Popeye
11. It Ain’t The Meat [It’s The Motion]
Disc 2
1. I Choose To Sing The Blues
2. The Fever
3. I Don’t Want To Go Home
4. Havin’ A Party
5. You Don’t Know Like I Know
6. Intro to…
7. Stagger Lee
Rush was set to make its Youngstown debut on April 5, 1975 in a big YSU gig which featured Aerosmith and REO Speedwagon. That failed to materialize though as Aerosmith’s Joe Perry injured himself by falling off the stage at a gig prior to the Youngstown date. The concert was rescheduled, but it didn’t include the Canadian rockers.
Rush’s second shot at making a Youngstown debut came on Dec. 21, 1975 at the Tomorrow Club. The major Rush gigography archives on the Internet do not have the band playing here on that date, but it’s promoted as clear as day in the week up to the show in the Vindicator. Rush opened the night before for KISS in at the Civic Arena in Pittsburgh, so a jot over to Youngstown the night after for a headliner club show makes perfect sense.
Rush was at the end of its “Down the Tubes” tour at this point. Breakthrough success came with the release of 2112 in March of 1976. Rush returned to the Tomorrow Club for a gig on that next tour on March 9, 1976. Tomorrow Club shows on March 3, 1977 and December 5, 1977 followed before the band took off into the arena circuit for good.
The Paramount Theatre in downtown Youngstown might be nearing its final days as it has been revealed recently that the building’s structural integrity may not allow it to survive to serve as a backdrop for some expensive amphitheater project. While it’s a shame to see a piece of history go away, I personally never thought the outside of that abandoned building looked like anything worth saving. Like most theaters, it’s what inside the building that matters the most. Unfortunately that was left to rot years ago.
An initial attempt at saving the building as a whole was attempted in the mid-80s. It didn’t get anywhere, but one fundraising effort brought rockers Black Oak Arkansas in for a benefit gig on February 22, 1985. Black Oak Arkansas had played here before, so this show wasn’t anything that unusual from a substance standpoint. It was, however, probably the only time it got used as a rock venue. It was also the last show of any kind held at the theater.
Cheech and Chong had four albums under their belt by the time they made a return stop on October 19, 1975 to the Beeghly Center. The comedy duo was still three years away from breaking through in film. Also on the bill was Blood, Sweat and Tears who garnered major success in the early ’70s.
WHAT THE SHOW SOUNDED LIKE: BS&T recorded a live album during that period called In Concert. It was released in 1976.
Every now and again Idora Park was able to depart from polkas and big band shows to bring some worthwhile rock music to town. On August 31, 1975, Micky Dolenz, Davy Jones, Tommy Boyce and Bobby Hart got together for a pair of Monkees nostalgia shows at the amusement park. The same group would do a show about a year later at the Tomorrow Club.
Steel Strings 