Concert Flashback. October 21st, 1975. Bachman-Turner Overdrive. Kiel Auditorium. St. Louis, MO. Ticket price $7.50

It was EXACTLY 50 years ago this evening. Tuesday, October 21st, 1975. My seventh concert, 16 years old. So young that mom wouldn’t let me drive to St. Louis on my own. I had to find an older “chaperone.” Randy Lemons, for whom I worked for at his family grocery store, offered to go.

My musical tastes at that time were all over the place for good reason, there was a lot of great material out there. The Rolling Stones were at the top of the list, but Bachman-Turner Overdrive was right up there. They were red hot with the “Not Fragile” album. I’d seen them live in April at Chicago Stadium with Thin Lizzy and The Bob Seger Band as the opening acts. Now, in the same year, they were following up with a second record, “Four Wheel Drive,” touring to promote it.

Living 90 miles from St. Louis, I used the mail order system for tickets. Contemporary Productions had not yet come to town, this show was promoted by Panther Productions. Randy was older and a shrewd businessman. He knew how “the system” worked and offered me advice. “Why don’t you throw in some extra money for the tickets. Maybe it will get us better seats.”

Randy’s idea of extra money, and my idea, were on different levels. I think I added five bucks, nearly the cost of a ticket, that was big money to me then. I also enclosed a hand written note, stating I was a big fan of the band, and that I was hopeful the extra money would help. “Perhaps even the front row,” it read. That was probably one of my first and few bribes in life.

It’s always weird to receive mail that is written in one’s own hand. When the self-addressed, stamped envelope hit our home mailbox I opened it with huge anticipation. Two tickets and a flyer were inside. I could NOT believe my eyes. Second row, center aisle!

Friends of Randy would be attending the show. Their seats were near, but not with us. Mom’s stipulation was that I would ride with Randy only, not in anyone else’s car. Randy drove a silver Corvette which went along perfectly with some lyrics in one of BTO’s songs titled “Welcome Home.” There’s a line in it… “Silver Vette with gold wheels”… We cheated a little and met the others at the grocery store. The Vette stayed in Pittsfield and we hopped into a Firebird Trans-Am with Phil and his date, off to St. Louis we went.

The opening acts were Point Blank and Brownsville Station. Point Blank was a Texas based, hard rocking band. They never went far for the simple reason is that their music was loud but bad.

Brownsville Station had a hit with “Smokin’ in the Boys Room,” but had never caught on or made it big on any national level. However, they had a reputation as a really good live act. Two classmates of mine, Brian “Peach” Ruble, and Mark Guthrie, told me flat out, “Kent. Those guys are gonna upstage BTO.” I’ve learned in more recent years that Stephen King, the author, was a big fan of Brownsville Station, naming Cub Koda as “America’s greatest houserocker.” Brownsville Station was touring in support of the album “Motor City Connection.”

We got into Kiel and I still couldn’t believe it was real as we walked the floor to our seats. “We’re sitting HERE,” I said to Randy. There was no photo pit or barrier, just 20 feet of open floor between us and the chest high stage. I carried in what resembled a large purse. In it was my fairly new Minolta SRT-101 camera, a couple of lenses, Sunpack flash, and a Panasonic tape recorder loaded with a cassette. Those were the days!

Point Blank bored us and made our ears ring. Brownsville Station hit the stage and everything came to life. Cub Koda, guitarist and front man, knew how to work a crowd. They were loud too, using the stacks of Marshall amps so popular then. They opened with “Combination Boogie,” a cover of a J.B. Hutto and His Hawks song.

“Can’t see…too good from here… They got the stage line moved back tonight. But there’s an awful lot of weird people down in front,” Koda quipped a couple of songs in. They ripped through their set, doing songs from the new album, and the back catalog. “Sleazy Louise” was a yet to be released song. It showed up two years later on the follow up album.

Koda told a story of their first time to play St. Louis. “About six years ago, we played our very first show in St. Louis at a place called the Rainy Days Club. It was a stinkaroo, man. Nobody showed.” He continued. The band stopped at a gas station for directions. “Hey buddy, how far is it to Route 35 or wherever,” Koda asked. The attendant responded with “What you got that hat on for, boy?” Koda replied, “I got the hat on because this is 1969, and when I get to this area of the country, I know cats like you are going to kick the shit out of me,” The attendant made him take his hat off, revealing long hair. “You better get your ass on away from here, hadn’t you, boy.” Koda left him with “You know. Peace love, and fuck you. Don’t you know you’ll never catch this ass, cause’ I’m a roadrunner”! The band tore into “Roadrunner,” the Bo Diddley classic.

I made photos from my seat. Sometimes using flash, sometimes not. Looking back at them, it looks like Koda was playing to me. He could easily see me, that close to the stage, with the flash also drawing attention. I was new to photography and didn’t utilize the vertical format near as much as I should have.

The band was awesome live. Koda, bassist Michael Lutz, Henry “H Bomb” Weck on drums, and Bruce “Beezer” Nazarian on second guitar. Their time on stage was limited but they made the most of it.

Koda began humming the intro to “Rockin’ Robin,” the Jackson Five song. What the hell?! Then cut into “Smokin’ in the Boys Room.” “Ahhh, you thought it was something else, didn’t ya”?! The record version tells the tale of a subject having a bad day. “You ever seem to have one of those days when it seems like everyone’s gettin’ on your case from your teacher all the way down to your best girlfriend.”

Koda improvised live. “Didya ever seem to have one of those days when it seems like everyone’s gettin’ on your case from your old lady all the way down to your local dope dealer.” I was naive’ to drugs and misheard that line. It would make for fun later. At the end of the show, confetti with “Motor City Connection” printed on it, shot out from the stage. I grabbed a handful and stuck it in my camera bag. The band finished and left. They delivered a great show.

The best was yet to come, right? Well, sorta. I knew every song in the BTO library. Four albums worth to that point. They opened with “Roll on Down the Highway,” bassist Fred Turner with that gravelly voice screaming. Next up, I think, was “Blue Moanin.’” I held that tape recorder, or sat it on my chair as I photographed. I have the full show, but never jotted down the set list. The tape is 50 years old tonight, has broken and been spliced once, and is super brittle. I’d love to have it digitized but worry the next time it’s played it will permanently “die.”

I called out songs as they began in a note or two. In no particular order here, “She’s Keepin’ Time,” “Let it Ride,” “Give it Time,” “Rock is my Life, and This is My Song,” “Welcome Home,” “Hey You,” “Four Wheel Drive.” All the major hits and a few deeper tracks. Though they didn’t touch upon the first album until the encores.

BTO took more the straight ahead approach. Not as much fun or banter as BVS. Randy Bachman used a drumstick to pick at his strings on one song (like Jimmy Page and his violin bow) Robbie Bachman tossed a drumstick in our direction at one point, it was snatched up by the guys in the front row. Turner on his Rickenbacker bass, Blair Thornton on a variety of Gibson guitars, including an SG. Bachman preferred Fenders.

Predictably, “Not Fragile,” and “You Ain’t Seen Nothin’ Yet” came near the end of the show. The first encore was “Takin’ Care of Business,” followed by “Slow Down Boogie,” (a track not any studio album I’m aware of) and a final encore of “Thank You for the Feelin.” A great night, but a school night for me. A 90 mile drive home awaited us.

We were all reliving the show in conversation. Our favorite songs, moments, etc. Besides that silver Corvette, Randy also owned a boat. He and his friends spent a lot of time on the Mississippi River, tubing and skiing. They even had shirts with “MRTT” emblazoned on them (Mississippi River Tube Team). I’d been invited to join them one time. It was a blast to hang with “the older kids.” So the boat connection was fresh on my mind. The talk turned to Cub Koda and the improvised lyrics to “Smokin in the Boys Room.” “Wasn’t that funny, I offered, when Koda talked about your local boat dealer.” The whole car burst into wild laughter! “You stupid, said Phil. He said DOPE dealer!”

I listen to BTO when I’m in the mood, semi-frequently. I believe their music has held up over time. But Peach and Mark were right. Brownsville Station totally won me over that night. One of the best live acts I’ve ever seen.

"Concert Flashback. Bachman-Turner Overdrive"

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