The Eagles and Kansas opened for the Beach Boys at Indiana University’s Assembly Hall in Bloomington.
The concert was originally supposed to take place outdoors at the 10th Street Stadium, but was moved to an indoor venue due to rain.
Indiana Daily Student, September 4, 1974 (Photo: Jim Maire):
Photo ©Neil Sharrow:
Randy backstage. Photo ©Neil Sharrow:
The Souther-Hillman-Furay Band opened.
Ticket stub courtesy of Chris Buxton:
The Eagles played the first night of the three-day festival held at the Missouri State Fairgrounds. Also appearing on the 19th were Bob Seger, Elvin Bishop and Joe Walsh.
Although promoters planned for only 50,000 concertgoers, it is believed that as many as 300,000 attended over the course of the weekend. Many lured by an ad for the festival in Rolling Stone magazine.
The festival was also aimed at those who may have missed Woodstock, recalled John McEuen of the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band:
“A lot of us missed Woodstock, including some who were there. The 1974 Sedalia concert sounded like it was going to recapture that shows legendary vibe…just like the big time, only…smaller.”
(Join Together: 40 Years Of The Rock Music Festival by Brant Marley, 2008)
Ad for the festival in Rolling Stone, July 4th, 1974.
This early ad does not mention Joe Walsh, who performed on the 19th. Bruce Springsteen was billed, but did not attend.
The Eagles at the Ozark Music Festival. Photo by Richard Galbraith.
I could find no reliable review of the Eagles’ performance.
An inside look at the Eagles’ appearance on DON KIRSHNER’S ROCK CONCERT in April 1974.
Future Eagle, Joe Walsh, also performed.
A month later, Randy wore a shirt from the festival in a set of photos taken by Henry Diltz.
See more photos below:
The Eagles performed at the Ice Arena at SUNY Geneseo. Leo Kottke opened
Original poster:
Concert preview from Geneseo Lamron newspaper, May 3, 1974:
Photos from SUNY Geneseo’s Oh Ha Daih yearbook
The Eagles played to 200,000 at the music festival, California Jam, held at the Ontario Motor Speedway outside of Los Angeles. The concert was produced by ABC and simulcast on TV and radio on May 10th, 1974. Jackson Browne filled in on several songs with the band in the absence of Don Felder, whose wife went into labor on the day of the concert.
California Jam from above. Photo by Mark Sullivan.
Two stages were used that were perched on 600 feet of railroad track. As one band played, the other stage was set up for the next act, then rolled onto center stage. The stages can be seen under the striped canopies. The semi-circle of trailers behind the stages were the bands’ dressing rooms.
The Eagles played a 45-minute set (only 20 minutes was televised)
(Not in order of performance)
James Dean
Blackberry Blossom
Midnight Flyer
Already Gone
Take It Easy
Tequila Sunrise
Witchy Woman
Peaceful Easy Feeling
Early Bird
Outlaw Man
Below is a clip of the Eagles’ intro from the radio simulcast on ABC’s KLOS-FM in Los Angeles:
Heading to the stage:
L-R: Glenn Frey (behind the door), Don Henley, Randy Meisner, Bernie Leadon, and road manager, Richie Fernandez.
Bernie, Randy (blue shirt), Glenn and Don
Randy at Cal Jam.
According to Jennifer Meisner, the eagle on his shirt was hand-embroidered by a fan.
Photo ©Jeffrey Mayer
Photos by Julian Baum
Randy performing “Midnight Flyer” from On The Border, which had just been released:
The footage below includes the five songs that aired in the televised concert on May 10th, 1974:
“James Dean”
“Blackberry Blossom”
“Midnight Flyer”
“Already Gone”
“Take It Easy”
Post-show interview with Bernie Leadon (San Diego Door, May 14, 1974)
Although Bernie talks mostly about the band’s music and albums up to 1974, he did voice his frustration to interviewer Greg Leonard about the band’s mid-day performance at Cal Jam:
“Bernie had just returned from what he felt was a frustrating performance in the mid-day heat. When I met him he was nursing a glass of champagne trying to relax after the tension of playing outdoors, with no prior soundcheck, before nearly 200,000 people.”
Reviews and further reading.
Dan Fogelberg opened. They also invited a few guests to join them.
That’s Randy with the beard in the photos from the show.
“When midnight arrived, the Eagles treated everybody to a bluegrass treatment of ‘Auld Lang Syne,’ released a passelfull of balloons and let loose a gorilla who threw bananas to the audience. Then they invited a few of their friends, including Linda Ronstadt, Jackson Browne and opening act Dan Fogelberg–on stage to join them for ‘Take It Easy.'” (San Pedro News-Pilot, January 4, 1975)
Joe Walsh was also among the guests.
Randy performed on New Year’s Eve at least nine times over the course of his career. Here are the other appearances:
Drivin’ Dynamics, Little Moon Lake, Torrington, Wyoming, December 31, 1962
Drivin’ Dynamics, Terry’s Arena, Terrytown NE, December 31, 1964
Pogo, Shrine Hall, Los Angeles, December 31, 1968
Roberts-Meisner Band, Calvary Presbyterian Church, San Francisco, December 31, 1987
Roberts-Meisner Band, Sheraton Harbor Island, San Diego, December 31, 1988
Meisner, Swan & Rich, Lake Of The Torches Casino, Green Bay, WI, December 31, 1996
World Classic Rockers, Hilton Waikoloa Village, Hilo, Hawaii, December 31, 2003
World Classic Rockers, Hilton Waikoloa Village, Hilo, Hawaii, December 31, 2005
Jeffrey Comanor opened
The Eagles opened for the Beach Boys.
Photographer: Henry Diltz
The band is photographed with Don Henley’s 1936 Ford. Diltz dates these photos as 1974.
Photographer: Henry Diltz
Taken around the same time as another series of photos by Diltz from August 25th, 1974. The same September 1974 issue of Playboy can be seen in both sets.
Photographer: Henry Diltz
Location: Airport, New Haven, CT
According to Henry Diltz, these photos were taken when the band was en route from Connecticut, where they had just played the previous night in Waterbury, to their next show in Norfolk, Virginia. Diltz shot another set of band photos around the same time (click here). The same September 1974 issue of Playboy appears in both sets.
Photographer: Henry Diltz
First band photos with new member, Don Felder. These were possibly taken during the recording of On The Border since producer Bill Sczymcyk appears in one of the photos. Randy is wearing a t-shirt for the Joe Walsh & Barnstorm album, The Smoker You Drink, The Player You Get (also produced by Bill Sczymcyk.) He is also wearing the same yellow chamois shirt worn in the photos from London in March 1973 & the Topanga Canyon session in September 1973).
