On September 8th, 1978, The Randy Meisner Band opened for Bob Welch, formerly of Fleetwood Mac, at the Universal Amphitheatre in Universal City, CA. Presented here for the first time is a live recording of that show, provided by Don Ullstrom, Randy’s longtime friend from Scottsbluff, NE and bandmate on the 1978 album and tour.
The Universal Amphitheatre show was Randy’s last concert appearance for nearly two and a half years.
Unfortunately, there are no photos from the Universal show, but Randy was photographed a few days earlier during a performance at the Roxy Theater in Los Angeles:
The Randy Meisner Band:
Steve Edwards – Guitar, vocals
Kerry Morris – Bass
Joel Peskin – Sax & flute
Peter Reilich – Keyboards
Kelly Shanahan – Drums*
Scott Shelly – Guitar & keyboards
Don Ullstrom – Guitar & vocals
*No relation to Pat Shanahan, drummer for The Poor & Rick Nelson’s Stone Canyon Band
Variety Review:
“Meisner, who drew his biggest applause for The Eagles’ smash, ‘Take It To The Limit,’ was surrounded by a tight, effective seven-piece band which reinforced the Eagles comparisons.”
The review also notes that Christine McVie joined Bob Welch on stage during his performance, and according to Don Ullstrom, Mick Fleetwood was in attendance as well.
Live Recording
Setlist
Lonesome Cowgirl
Bad Man
Save The Last Dance
Try & Love Again
Every Other Day
I Really Want You Here Tonight
Too Many Hands
Best Of My Love (by the Emotions)
Take It To The Limit
You will primarily hear Don Ullstrom’s high-register vocals harmonizing with Randy’s throughout the performance. Don also handles the bulk of the stage banter, occasionally adopting a British accent (“I was trying to sound like the Beatles!”) Randy can also be heard joking and talking between songs. Headphones are recommended to hear the stage banter more clearly.
Listen to the full recording below or individual tracks further down.
Full Recording (42 minutes)
“Lonesome Cowgirl”
“Bad Man”
“Save The Last Dance”
“Try & Love Again”
“Every Other Day”
Randy intros by saying: “This song sounds like ‘Every Other Day.'” Someone in the background corrects him: “Sounds like ‘Already Gone’,” which it does sound like.
“I Really Want You Here Tonight”
“Too Many Hands”
“Best Of My Love”
Don Ullstrom and Steve Edwards share lead vocals on this song. Ullstrom said Christine McVie approached him after the show and said his falsetto reminded her of Philip Bailey of Earth, Wind and Fire. “It was a nice compliment.”
“Take It To The Limit”
Randy tells the audience “We have to do our encore quick.” Evidently, Bob Welch was a bit worried about being upstaged due to the audience’s response to “Best Of My Love” and wanted them to hurry up and finish.
Two weeks earlier, Randy made his solo debut at the Golden Bear in Huntington Beach, CA. Listen to a recording of that show below:
Best of My Love was fantastic. Did Randy sing background vocals on that song? I thought I heard 3 voices.
Yes, Randy is on background vocals.
Love this! Jessica thank you for the hard work. I’ve listened to some, can’t wait to hear the rest.
You did a great job of creating this tribute to Randy. It was a great night that I will never forget ! Thanx so much !
Much appreciated, Donny. Thank you!