Did I tell you about one of the funniest gigs I ever went to? As a teenager I went to what I’m sure was Middlesbrough Town Hall even though I can find no record of it. It might have been Newcastle City Hall. Either way it was to see Camel. I loved the band, they seemed romantic, literary, and had loads of lead guitar; a combination the pretentious young Johnny embraced.
I loved Andy Latimer’s guitar. It was so lyrical, and they were the first Canterbury band I got into. They were on top form and probably at the zenith of their commerciality and popularity. I was sitting centrally at the front of the balcony when they struck up an excerpt from the Snow Goose. There was a team of roadies to my right sitting in reserved seats, holding an approximation of a bird which they proceeded to push off the balcony, on a wire, at a certain moment in the number, to give the impression of a goose swooping over people in the stalls.
Which would have been fine. Very analogue, but it was the 70’s. The goose was constructed out of chicken wire and had obviously spent a few weeks on tour during which time, the glued-on feathers had come loose, and as it made its swoop, a lot more feathers came off, shedding as it went stage wards, looking very ragged and homemade.
The roadies were typical 70s sorts. All hair, bellies and keys and they were in paroxysms of laughter at this very special effect. We all joined in the mockery, which was made all the funnier because it was intended to be very serious when, in actual fact, it looked like a prop from a pantomime.
It got me thinking about other props and ‘special effects’ I’d seen. I do recall that Zeppelin having a big screen at Knebworth was thought to be very advanced and modern, it being the early days of such things. I never saw Floyd, so missed out on all the piggy-based inflatables. When I saw Tull, they’d stopped having people dressed as rabbits coming onto the stage, but during the encore, did kick giant inflatable beach balls into the audience, which were batted around the stalls. Perhaps we were less demanding in those days, but we thought this was huge fun.
Hawkwind turned their strobes on us, with dry ice flooding the stage. Not sure that’s legal now. God help any epileptics. During SAHB’s set, a big polystyrene wall was pushed at the back of the stage, which Alex spray painted ‘Vambo Rools’ on. Did he tear it down? When I saw The Who at the City Hall, they had an array of lasers which framed the stage and band during Who Are You? That was thought to be futuristic. But mostly bands just had lights. And the odd chicken wire goose.
One of the funniest gigs I ever saw...
