Frank Sinatra at the Onondaga County War Memorial — October 16, 1976
On October 16, 1976, Frank Sinatra made his first Syracuse appearance, singing from a stage set in the middle of the Onondaga County War Memorial floor to a crowd of about 9,000, a figure the Post-Standard’s clippings point to as the building’s one-night record. The show had been sold out for months, and Sinatra, in […]
Billy Joel at the Palace Theatre — October 15, 1976
On October 15, 1976, Billy Joel played the Palace Theatre in Albany, five months after the release of Turnstiles, an album that had stalled at No. 122 on the Billboard 200. Routed between a night at Buffalo’s New Century Theatre and a Massey Hall date in Toronto, the show opened with the instrumental “The Mexican […]
Jeff Beck at the Onondaga County War Memorial — October 14, 1976
On October 14, 1976, Jeff Beck brought his all-instrumental jazz-rock attack to the Onondaga County War Memorial in Syracuse, fronting the Jan Hammer Group on a bill that also featured REO Speedwagon. Beck was riding the back-to-back triumphs of Blow by Blow and Wired, and the Syracuse date fell on the fall leg of the […]
Duke Ellington, Nat King Cole & Sarah Vaughan at the Buffalo Memorial Auditorium — October 13, 1951
On October 13, 1951, the touring package billed as “The Biggest Show of ’51” played Buffalo Memorial Auditorium with three headliners on a single Saturday-night bill: Duke Ellington and his World Famous Orchestra, Nat “King” Cole and the Trio, and Sarah Vaughan. Presented by the Gale Agency, the 9 p.m. show sold tickets at $1.25, […]
KISS at the Knickerbocker Arena — October 12, 1996
On October 12, 1996, the original KISS lineup of Paul Stanley, Gene Simmons, Ace Frehley and Peter Criss, back in full makeup for the Alive/Worldwide reunion tour, played a sold-out Saturday night at Albany’s Knickerbocker Arena, with a young Deftones opening. Some 13,038 fans packed the building, many of them in homemade greasepaint, for a […]
U2 at Silver Stadium — October 11, 1987
On October 11, 1987, U2 brought The Joshua Tree Tour to Silver Stadium, the old ballpark on Norton Street, two nights after the Carrier Dome in Syracuse, and a sold-out crowd of 30,000 sat through a cold Sunday to hear them, with Los Lobos and Little Steven and the Disciples of Soul opening. Bono, hoarse […]
Dave Matthews Band at the Knickerbocker Arena — October 10, 1996
On October 10, 1996, the Dave Matthews Band brought its fall tour to Albany’s Knickerbocker Arena, barely five months after Crash had debuted at No. 2 on the Billboard 200 and moved the Charlottesville group out of the clubs for good. With Boxing Gandhis opening, the band played a 14-song set that opened on “Tripping […]
Van Halen at the Carrier Dome — October 9, 1982
On October 9, 1982, Van Halen brought the Hide Your Sheep Tour to Syracuse’s Carrier Dome, a Saturday-night stop between Madison Square Garden the night before and two nights at the Capital Centre in Maryland. Box-office figures put the crowd at 30,128, and a $10 Ticketron ticket bought a seat in a building barely two […]
Simon & Garfunkel at the RPI Field House — October 8, 1966
On October 8, 1966, Simon & Garfunkel headlined the RPI Field House in Troy, one stop on a fall run of weekend college dates that had taken them to Providence College’s Alumni Hall the night before. The duo was playing only to campus audiences at the time, and Art Garfunkel was still a student at […]
Jackson Browne at the Dome Arena — October 7, 1976
On October 7, 1976, Jackson Browne played the Dome Arena in Henrietta, a Thursday-night date presented by John Scher and WCMF 96.5 FM with Orleans, fresh off their hit “Still the One,” on the bill. With The Pretender still weeks from record stores, the setlist logged on setlist.fm opened with the unreleased “The Fuse” and […]