The photograph was likely taken during the week of May 9th, 1973, when Steve Ferguson, on the left, a fellow artist from Asylum, performed at the Bitter End. In the center is Paul Ahern, a promoter with Asylum Records, who was also a close friend and former roommate of Glenn Frey.
L-R: Steve Ferguson, Glenn Frey, Paul Ahern, Don Henley, Randy Meisner.
Randy and his backing band, the Silverados, played two shows each night at The Bottom Line. Rosanne Cash opened.
Randy’s two-night stint at the Bottom Line turned out to be disastrous for him. He was sick with laryngitis, there were sound issues, and he even walked offstage during the early show on the first night. Making matters worse, the audience was filled with New York music critics and representatives from his record company, Epic Records. One could pass it off as just a bad night, but having a bad night in a popular New York City venue makes headlines. Sadly, this is how it turned out for Randy.
Photos ©Ebet Roberts
During the early (9:00pm) show on March 11th, Randy performed about five songs before stomping offstage after being heckled by a member of the audience. He had been annoyed with the Bottom Line’s sound system, griping at one point: “I’m sorry I can’t play guitar for ya. If I can’t hear it, I can’t play it.” He was also struggling with his voice due to laryngitis. Right before the song “Hearts On Fire,” from his latest album, One More Song, Randy commented on his vocal problems: “The Silverados are doing a lot better than I am tonight,” which drew a response from a heckler: “That’s for sure!” Several in the audience applauded the heckler. Randy responded by laying down his guitar and walking offstage, leaving one of his male band members to finish the song. He did not return. Randy explained later, “I had to go to the dressing room, pound on the bathroom wall and get it out of my system. It’s that old showbiz thing–you gotta keep on smiling.” Randy came back for the late show that night and performed his entire set with no issues. He did the same for the two shows the next evening as well. Nevertheless, it was the first night’s debacle that became fodder for the newspapers.
In the April 30th, 1981 issue of Rolling Stone, the incident was detailed on the magazine’s “Random Notes” page:
Beginning in 1974, Rolling Stone began syndicating its “Random Notes” column to reach a wider audience, therefore the story of Randy’s opening at the Bottom Line was featured in over 100 newspapers across the country. Below is a sampling of the Bottom Line incident from a few of those newspapers:
The incident was also published in Billboard magazine, April 4, 1981:
The most mean-spirited review was from Wayne Robins’ of Long Island’s Newsday, who said he wanted to “shake Meisner by the shoulders and say, ‘This is New York, cowboy, quit kvetching and start playing.'” However, his comments about Randy’s backup singer, Therese Heston, were all the more harsh. “Wearing Sergio Valentes, the designer jeans of the terminally macho, she constantly pointed attention to herself by idiotically strumming an invisible guitar. In every song, she seemed to be saying, ‘Look at me! I’m on the stage!'”
The short New York Times’ review wasn’t much better, but did say Randy’s late show performance was an improvement, but “not very interesting.”
On March 18th, 1977, the Eagles played Madison Square Garden in New York City. This was the third date on the Eagles’ 1977 Hotel California tour. Jimmy Buffett was the opening act. Although this was the Eagles’ first appearance at Madison Square Garden, the band played the Garden’s smaller venue, Felt Forum, back in 1972.
For this sold-out appearance, the Eagles were backed by an orchestra for three songs: “Desperado Reprise,” “Wasted Time,” and “Take It To The Limit.” Randy also performed “Try & Love Again” from their latest album, Hotel California. Three members of the Rolling Stones attended the concert: Mick Jagger, Ron Wood, and Bill Wyman. Wood, along with J.D. Souther, accompanied the Eagles onstage for their last encore of Chuck Berry’s “Carol.” Linda Ronstadt was also in the audience.
An after-show party was given by Elektra/Asylum at the Garden’s Penn Plaza Club.
Praise for Randy:
“The event of the evening came with bassist Randy Meisner’s stunning vocalization of ‘Take It To The Limit.’ In addition to sing-along support from the total audience, he received a standing ovation after each chorus.” (Kristeen Nicholson, Record World, April 23, 1977)
Setlist
(Compiled from concert reviews)
Hotel California
Turn To Stone
Try & Love Again
Lyin’ Eyes
Doolin-Dalton/Desperado Reprise (with orchestra)
Wasted Time (with orchestra)
Take It To The Limit (with orchestra)
New Kid In Town
Desperado
One Of These Nights
Turn To Stone
Already Gone
Life In the Fast Lane
Victim Of Love
Rocky Mountain Way
Welcome To The Club
Witchy Woman
James Dean
Take It Easy
Best Of My Love
Oh Carol (with guest Ron Wood)
Photos below ©Stephanie Tarre.
This review mentions Randy’s performance of “Try & Love Again,” although it is misspelled as “Trying Love Again.” The reviewer, Jan Hodenfield, referred to the song as “The Eagles meet Hall and Oates, at the intersection of San Bernardino and South Philly.”
“Certainly the Eagles stage presence and show are not intended to drive anyone to the brink of Rollermania…the Eagles strike no rock & roll stage poses, flaunt no athletic grace, if anything, they loiter….
“The tunes — and the Eagles must be celebrated for their tunesmithing — were certainly fun to listen to. Don Henley, who has a problem drumming and singing at the same time (admittedly, not the easiest of tasks), wasn’t miked loudly enough, a problem since he’s taken over most of the lead singing. But Randy Meisner’s tenor cut through the instrumental mix well, and Glenn Frey, the original California dreamer, was surprisingly forceful.” (Peter Herbst, Rolling Stone)
Among the guests were Faye Dunaway, Paul Simon, John Belushi, Dan Ackroyd, Linda Ronstadt and J.D. Souther. Although members of the Rolling Stones were present at the concert, they did not attend the post-concert party.
According to Rolling Stone magazine: “The guests dined on Mexican food, but only had one brand of cheap white tequila to wash down their tacos.”
Below: Glenn with Faye Dunaway and Joe with his mom.
Photos from Rolling Stone, May 5th, 1977:
Below: Glenn at the buffet table which included an ice eagle sculpture.
Jeffrey Comanor opened
Rick Nelson & The Stone Canyon Band played an eleven-night stand at the famous Bitter End nightclub in Greenwich Village. It was the first stop on a month-long tour of the East. Although the Stone Canyon Band had been together since the Spring of 1969, they had only played one live date–a week-long stand at the Troubadour in April. The subsequent months were spent rehearsing and recording. Among these recordings was Rick Nelson & The Stone Canyon Band’s first single, a cover of Bob Dylan’s “She Belongs To Me,” which was released in August 1969 to coincide with the tour.
Below: watch their performance of Fats Domino’s “I’m Walkin'” filmed by David Nelson at the Bitter End. Although we hear pedal steel, there is no steel player on stage. The Stone Canyon Band was only a foursome at this point (Rick Nelson, Randy Meisner, Allen Kemp and Pat Shanahan). The audio here is from Rick Nelson In Concert, recorded at the Troubadour a couple of months later in October 1969, with Tom Brumley on pedal steel. Notice at 1:44 that Randy is playing a red Gibson bass, a switch from his usual gold Fender Precision from this period.
“I’m Walkin'” – Rick Nelson & The Stone Canyon Band, Bitter End, NYC, August 1969
The Eagles played Felt Forum in New York City on September 29th, 1972. Jackson Browne and J.D. Souther were their guests. Felt Forum was a smaller venue located at Madison Square Garden. The Eagles would play the latter in 1977.
Location: Epic Records, New York City
This photo was featured in Record World magazine, November 1, 1980. Randy is wearing a shirt advertising his son Dana’s band, Eight Ball.
The Eagles played two sold-out concerts in one night at the Academy of Music in New York City on May 16th, 1975. Dan Fogelberg opened both shows.
