July 1978 Rolling Stones concert at Masonic Auditorium

[9606 Prest]

In July 1978 the Rolling Stones played a concert at the Masonic in Detroit before approximately 5,000 fans. In 1979 the Who also played there. Does anyone remember attending those concerts? How did you get your tickets? What do you remember about the show[[s)? Do you have any photos from the concert?

[Carey]

I almost went to the Rolling Stone concert but didn't make it. Long story. I do have a very cool souvenir: A photo, taken by a friend, of Mick arriving in the rear of Masonic Temple. He's getting out of a car, with a young man who is carrying a huge boom box. Detroit cops and security guards, plus a small crowd of fans, look on. The security guards were U-M football players.

[mikefmich]

That was the only concert I saw the Stones at. Was it '78? If I had to guess, I would've thought a couple years earlier.

Remember? Dude, more so than just time passed, my memories of the 70's can be a tad fuzzy across the board......various reasons.

[factoryrat]

I remember hearing about those concerts, what a great venue. I did see Roxy music there, very beautiful building.

[gnome]

If anyone remembers it, then they weren't really there.

[Wilfrid]

I went to this show ~ one of the first concerts I ever went to. I was hanging out at my best friends house, when his older brother came in and said he had an extra ticket to the show. My buddy didn't want to go and so I got to go, simple as that. I don't remember much about the show - it was also one of the first times I ever got high, but
I did have a great time.

I also went to the Who show. I still have my t-shirt, just don't ask me to put it on. It was one of the longest [[and best) shows I ever saw. One of the kids I used to play little league baseball with caught Pete's guitar pick!

[56packman]

I wasn't there, although I could have been, I was 20 at the time. I think I can answer your questions pretty well based on other experiences at concert venues I worked at back then:

How did you get your tickets? : Back then you pretty much went to Hudson's, who sold concert tickets, before the days of Ticketmaster. Or the theater's box office

What do you remember about the show[[s)? : The air would have been acrid with pot smoke, It would have been louder than hell, once the headliner came onstage no one would have remained seated, so you might as well have held it in a gym, it would have been hotter than hell and several people would be stoned out of their gord and a percentage of those would require EMT assistance.

Do you have any photos from the concert?: Yes, they would have been taken from the 18th row with a Kodak 110 camera with a flash cube on top and when developed would look like a bunch of colored dots, you would be hard pressed to recognize any one person in the photos.

[EastsideAl]

I believe I went to that show. Was that the one with the giant inflatable penis? [[or was that at Cobo in '75?). I remember seeing the Stones 3 times back around my high school/college years [[at Cobo, which was absolutely great, Masonic, which was kind of blah and short, and, worst of all, the Silverdome, where the stage was half a mile away and you couldn't hear a damn thing except feedback and echo). But I went to so many concerts back then, and had *ahem* certain personal habits that didn't really help my memory, so specific dates/years are lost to the mist.

I do remember buying tickets for the Stones shows, as I did for most concerts, like 56packman said, from the ticket window on the 4th floor of Hudsons. By 1978 the Stones were at their low point, not selling many records [[until the unexpected success of Some Girls) and were considered pretty passe, so I don't remember a big demand for tickets, and I'm not even sure the show sold out. I know there were all kinds of rumors that they were going to show up at Bookies, where I hung out most nights in those days, but they didn't.

For bigger shows though you often just lined up at the arena for the opening of ticket sales. I remember skipping school and standing in the parking lot at Olympia, and partying with many of my classmates, for most of a day to buy tickets for McCartney, Pink Floyd, Bowie, etc.

As for the concert itself, I'm sure that 56packman's description is pretty much dead on. All concerts back then featured almost universal and open pot smoking, a fair amount of drinking, and a whole lot of wasted people rushing the stage as soon as the main act came on [[usually an hour or two late and often after more than one opening act, who were generally mostly ignored). And, of course, thousands of lighters waving in the darkness to call the stars back on for their obligatory encore.

The best concerts I saw at Masonic were the Roxy Music concert that factoryrat mentioned, and an Aretha Franklin benefit concert around 1976 or 77 that was like an extended love-fest.

[surenowinlife]

Saw Iggy Pop with Bowie at the Masonic in 76 I think but my favorite concert of all times happened in 1976 at the Silverdome. It featured The Romantics,J.Geils Band,Steve Miller and Peter Frampton. What a weekend from what I can remember!

[Baselinepunk]

I was at The Who show. Great gig. They showed "Quadrophonia" instead of having an opening act.

Kenny Jones is no Keith Moon.

We bought our tickets at the Masonic box office. If I remember right they limited sales of tickets to either two or four per customer.

There is a Free Press story about the event. A little snippet but informative.

The urinals were always packed and smelled like elephant piss. The concert was very well attended.

[eno]

Was that the Country Life tour by Roxy Music?

[EastsideAl]

I think it was the second Roxy, around 1979, that appeared at Masonic. They played a lot of the old stuff though, and I remember Manzanera playing some bad-ass stuff. I also saw the original Roxy [[sans Eno, who had left by then) in a sparsely attended concert at, I believe, Cobo Arena a few years earlier. Brian Ferry also played Masonic on one of his solo tours in, I think, '77 or '78.

[jiminnm]

Drop back 10 years to 1968 and I saw Jimi Hendrix at the Masonic [[with the Soft Machine). Quite a show, especially with the sound coming off the back wall of the balcony and destruction of speakers and guitar.

[eno]

Sounds like it was the Manifesto tour. I believe Robert Gordon, rockabilly retro, was the opening act. The Bookie years sound interesting.

[EastsideAl]

You're right about Robert Gordon. I remember his show as being better than average for an opener.

[Sailor Rick]

Hilarious Packman-well said.

You might add that often you would become separated from your ride [[this was eons before cell phones) but somehow you made it home-be it bumming a ride, walking or by bus. A few times I'd be trudging the final few blocks as the sun was rising.

Also F'in idiots who would throw firecrackers into the crowd at a large venue.
Wearing glasses, I always feared a tossed M-80 would lodge in my glasses.
"Oh man, I thought it was part of the light show."

I stood in line for tickets at Cobo for the Stones in '75. I was there early enough to make two passes. I believe the limit was two. I sold the second set [[section C) via the Free Press want ads. After their fee I made about $10. Great show. I think I still have the program and stubs in the archives.

[Downriviera]

I was at the Stones show. It was the only time I've seen them. Great show. I only had one ticket, got it from a CBS Records promo rep. Saw the Who's Quadrophenia show at Cobo. The way to get tickets before Ticket Master and Harmony House/Hudsons or even standing in line at Cobe was by mail order. They would announce when a shows tickets would go on sale, for example August 1. You would then mail a money order for your tickets but it had to be post marked no sooner than the Aug 1 date. So I would get my money order and take the envelope down to the main post office on Jefferson just before midnight. At the stroke of midnight I would hand the clerk my letter, which would get the Aug 1 post mark. My letter would be in the first batch of mail at Cobo on that day. I requested the same section, row and seats everytime and 99% of the time I got them. Saw many a great show at Cobo in the 70's.

[Bong-Man]

Some things I remember about this show.....

Ticket sales were announced early in the morning with no notice. People were literally flying down Woodward at 7 in the morning to get in line, which stretched all the way around Masonic. Many folks did not get tickets.

While the show was going on, people without tickets began to climb up the outside canopies to get in through the upper level. Many were successful, and these folks began cramming the upper levels of Masonic. The cops saw this going on, and went up to perform some crowd control. Jagger saw this commotion, and told the cops to leave them alone. He then instructed them from the stage to take a seat in the aisles.

The Stones played a very short setlist that featured only a couple songs that wasn't from the "Some Girls" lp. This was also the only Stones show in the Detroit area for 6 years. They wouldn't play here again until the Silverdome in '81.

The Who was a much better show.

[Patrick]

I was at the Stones show. It was the only time I've seen them. Great show. I
only had one ticket, got it from a CBS Records promo rep. Saw the Who's
Quadrophenia show at Cobo. The way to get tickets before Ticket Master and
Harmony House/Hudsons or even standing in line at Cobe was by mail order. They
would announce when a shows tickets would go on sale, for example August 1. You
would then mail a money order for your tickets but it had to be post marked no
sooner than the Aug 1 date. So I would get my money order and take the envelope
down to the main post office on Jefferson just before midnight. At the stroke of
midnight I would hand the clerk my letter, which would get the Aug 1 post mark.
My letter would be in the first batch of mail at Cobo on that day. I requested
the same section, row and seats everytime and 99% of the time I got them. Saw
many a great show at Cobo in the 70's.

Shit, you were dedicated...

[fzappa2000]

I went to the Stones show there. It was killer! It was the tour promoting the 'Some Girls' album releae which marked a more adventurous change in the Stones musical direction. It was clearly the best show by the Stones that I ever saw [[I've seen them 4 or 5 times in various venues ranging from El Macombo in Toronto to Ford Field). Got the tickets by going and standing in line outside Masonic
early one weeekday moring after hearing a radio announcement about tix going on sale that day. I was living on Fourth st. at the time and Fred Osher and I hustled down before the workday started.

also had tix for the who show, which was good but not as memorable for me. I do remember some punky kid [[scrawny 20 something) was trying to steal my tickets [[my wife and I went) out of my pocket and I turned around and pushed him to the floor and told him that I should kick his ass but didn't want to lose my position in the lobby getting into Masonic....

[fzappa2000]

Sailor Rick,

Ah those were the days. How is life in Boardman? [[if this is the Rick I think it is?)

[handfularain]

OK. I'm new here but stumbled on this thread and felt compelled to straighten a few things out, as there is a bit of erroneous information posted so far. I was there [[Row CN on the floor) and vividly remember a lot about this show and the circumstances surrounding it. This may get quite long, so I will break up my into several sections.

This is important Detroit rock and roll history. Probably the biggest concert in this town's history, and the toughest ticket.

In the summer of 1978, the Rolling Stones were touring the U.S. for the first time since 1975 [[ 2 shows at Cobo Arena) in support of their latest LP 'Some Girls'. When dates were announced , Detroit was not on the [[original)12 show itinerary. The closest the Stones would come would be July 1 at Cleveland's Municipal Stadium and July 8 at Chicago's Soldier Field. However, early on [[the first being June 10 in Lakeland, FL) the band employed "secret" appearances, sometimes using pseudonyms, at smaller venues like the Fox Theatre in Atlanta and the Capitol Theatre in Passaic, NJ. Many usual arena venues were skipped. In fact, the only New York City show would be at the 3000 seat Palladium. Ticket sales would be announced on-the-spot, usually the day before the show, to thwart scalping and prevent the expected chaos of such a major act appearing at uncharacteristically tiny venues.

Rolling Stone Magazine covered these "unannounced" shows well, and it was in this atmosphere that Detroit fans kept their collective fingers crossed that June. I was 18.

As it happened, I was at a Patti Smith concert at Masonic Auditorium May 16 when, after the opening act, it was announced that Bruce Springsteen would be appearing there September 1. I went right to the box office to ask when those tickets would go on sale and wound up behind a suited gentleman, apparently an employee, who was talking to the lady behind the box office glass. Waiting impatiently, I could hear their conversation. "Blah, blah blah...shop talk" he said, then told her something like "that's nothing...someone really big is coming!" She said "Who?" He said couldn't say just yet. She entreated. He looked back at me and said "Give me a piece of paper, I'll write it down." She did so and I noticed he wrote longer than one would expect. I tried to see around him but couldn't. He guarded well. My mind raced. Somehow I just knew it had to be the Rolling Stones. Who else would he treat so cautiously? It had to be!
I went right back to my friends and told the story. I don't know if they thought I was crazy, but they certainly didn't share my excitement.

The trick now was to find out when the show would be, and how to be sure to get these tickets. I had feelers out for a couple weeks, but with no real connections, I was in the dark.
My father was my best bet, as he worked downtown and always seemed to come up with sports tickets when needed. In fact, he came through with Stones tickets at the last minute for one of the 1975 Cobo shows. $15 for a $9.50 ticket. "Outrageous!" he'd say. "Never in my life...!" He was my hero forever after that one.

Then a breakthrough! In late June a friend's father heard the show would be July 6. A Thursday. Tickets would go on sale the morning of July 5, just as they had in other cities.
Masonic Temple box office only. I was in clover! We told only close friends. We would be ready and waiting after the holiday. This was going to be the score of a lifetime.

In the meantime we had bought tickets to the GA Cleveland stadium show July 1. Terrible place to see a show [[or baseball or football game for that matter), but now we were secure in the knowledge that we were hooked up, so we would go and have some fun...no pressure to get a good spot. We spent the Saturday night in Cleveland and came home Sunday to get ready for the big event.

I was sleeping the sleep of the just Sunday night. Visions of honky-tonk women and tumbling dice danced in my head. I was jarred from my slumber about 7:00 Monday morning July 3 by a friend's frantic call. "Stones tickets went on sale this morning! They're on sale right now!" She'd heard it on the radio.
"What?! It can't be! What happened?!"
I called another friend, we jumped in a car, and all raced down to Cass & Temple. A line stretched halfway around the building. Others were milling about. TV cameras. It was all over. Shut out. Tickets were long gone, but many remained in line...hopeful that another show would be announced. Alas, it was not to be.

I was crushed. "How could this be? It was a sure-thing!"

At the Temple there were stories. Near-misses for some. Others had gotten there early and got in line 2, 3, 4 times for the limit-2 tickets. The nice old lady who ran the Temple lot behind the building got 2, she told us, but had 3 grandkids and couldn't shut one out. She gave them to a guy with a motorcycle who was throwing his helmet in anger. She felt sorry for him. [["Grandma! You did WHAAT!?")

I found out later that the Stones show and the on-sale date were among Detroit's worst-kept secrets...and that the sale date was moved up [[to the only possible day because of Fourth of July being Tuesday) to avoid the dreaded crush at the box office. How could I have been so careless? I should have been up at 5 am. everyday!

But the early on-sale left a couple extra days till the show. There was still time. And the newspapers would be full of ads for tickets Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday.
Opportunity.
Scalping tickets in this way was illegal unless you had a business office. But this was the Stones. At 4,400 seat Masonic Auditorium, for chrissakes! Rules would be broken. And I was determined, despite the setback, to be in the building when the Rolling Stones hit the stage that Thursday.

[[much more to follow)