All 3 of those guys could really sing.

Loved this band. One is the loneliest number featured their voices well too.

The lineup included Skip Conte on mutikeyboards.
He has a shtick known as The Wizard. He used some magic to have smoke come from his gingers, he threw fire, stuff like that.
Added a lot to the show, both visually & sonically.

At arie crown in chicago

...in a big fieldhouse in the Chicago exurbs.
Same tour, I guess.
Had backstage passes, so got to meet the band.
Floyd, Jimmy, & Skip acted like older brothers. Making sure we had pop, but no beers!

As they came to the end of the song and the last "easy to say no" they didn't end it like the record. Chuck Negron kept going "no, no-no, no" over and over as the band cranked harder and harder all the while as Chuck was doing it he was sinking to his knees and he ended up on his knees with his head bowed. He held the position after the last "no" and the band ended right on the dime. The others had their heads bowed. They all stayed silent and held the pose. There was maybe a couple hundred people in the place. I was right by the right side of the little riser/stage. The crowd was stunned at the power of the performance they had just seen and for about 15 seconds you could have heard a pin drop. Then slowly people began to clap and cheer. They held the pose. People kept cheering and many were crying. One of the most powerful moments of performance I ever saw live. That little stage was almost ground level and I was maybe 8 feet away from Chuck with nobody in front of me. Just the lights, the band and the magic.

I would have given a lot for that. I was a serious fan as a kid.

Absolutely live.

Last edited Wed Oct 2, 2024, 12:34 AM - Edit history (1)

At a small venue performance of Shawn Phillips in Chicago in the middle of a snow storm his band was held up so he played an hour acoustic. And when he was done same thing just complete silence for a good minute minute and a half then suddenly an uproar of applause and standing ovation. He said he thought we hated it when it went silent and all of us yelled no man we were in awe and we loved it or it was beautiful. He had the voice of an angel. Thst is a feeling you never forget when it's a whole group of people struck silent with awe like that.

as Three Dog Night. I remember seeing Chicago, when it was CTA, in a parking lot of a baseball game doing a big charity tailgate party.

Just before magic carpet ride came out ( summer of 68)at a very small venue in Lake Geneva WI called Mejestic Hills. It even had a dance floor and was outside. I remember it being a very nice evening. Saw Chicago at Riverside theater in Milw. In 74. That's a small place too. Between 74 and 77 my husband was laid off work a lot so we could go to a lot of concerts even those on week nights. I worked retail at the time and could arrange my schedule.

was a tough negotiation if you were a 6-pack into the night.