David Treciak

Tuesday, June 1, 2021 4:14 AM

I remember this concert very well. It was a highlight of the 70's for me and one of about a half dozen times I saw Yes. I've read the other reviews and I'm surprised that so many people remember Steve Howe being hit with a frisbee. I hate to say it, but I was the person who threw it. To Steve's great credit he didn't miss a beat. I was horror struck when it hit him as I didn't mean for it to get that close to him, I just threw it toward the stage. I've always carried the guilt of it for all these years and I confess my foolishness at doing something so dumb.
We entered the concert with a beanbag chair and for the first act (Ace), we were able to lay comfortably on it and drink the bottles of wine we had smuggled inside of it. But when Frampton and then Dave Mason came on the crowd began to push forward and we were forced to stand up. The poor beanbag got stomped on for the rest of the concert. The sun was still out when Yes took the stage and their light show got washed out in the sunlight. But as the evening darkness came we were relieved to finally see the flashing lights on the huge octopus apparatus that hovered over the stage. Great music and I wish I could remember more of it besides the frisbee hitting Steve.

Debbie

Friday, February 26, 2021 2:12 PM

Yes, that was one of the best concerts ever! That day was perfect. The storm at the end was crazy, it seemed that the drums were keeping rhythm with the thunder in the background. The concert ended and we had a downpour.

Tommy Belzer

Friday, September 18, 2020 6:17 PM

Well on the eve of my 61st birthday I place this as an epic day in my life. Mushroom Juice was just one helpful tonic for the day. Nobody has mentioned how great Carlos Santana was and how he seemed to hold off the storm. And when we went to our car it had been towed away. Just then saw a pal from the neighborhood in Roseville and we got our car back.

Such great memories!

Jim Burns

Sunday, August 16, 2020 4:41 PM

I was there...I remember Peter Frampton as the best act of the day. He was not very well known at this point, but I knew many of his songs and the Humble Pie songs. He was great....I was about 10 feet out in center stage and at this point because Frampton was not that well known it was not that cramped and no pushing and shoving and he just blew me away. A lead singer/lead guitar player always are good but he just was on his game this day and the crowd loved it. I remember telling a buddy of mine who I was with and he was not too sure if he knew Frampton songs but I told him we need to get up front because I know your going to love it and yes you will recognize songs, etc...he was blown away too. This stretch of shows for Frampton in the spring and summer of 1975 were the shows that really set the stage for Frampton to Come Alive as he was gaining fans wherever he played and the rest is history. I saw Frampton about two years ago and he was still very good!

Michael

Wednesday, July 15, 2020 11:39 AM

In my top 3 concert experiences ever. Very cool to see a forum like this. From Flint, I drove my buddy Drew and two visitors from Brazil (16 yrs old), in a 1970 impala. We were 18. I had brought back Coors beer from a ski trip to Colorado, and it was a classic hot and humid day. After Ace played, we didn't see the Brazilians until about 10 hours later.
We sat in portable bleachers at the end of the field, stashed the cooler under the bleachers and took turns guarding our inventory. From where we sat you could see medical/OD tent that had a line the entire day about 40 yards to our left. The piss facilities were crazy, loud and filthy, but really fun. During Dave Mason, the guy sitting next to us on the top bench eventually passed out, fell thru the bleachers to the ground, careened off a lot of metal and was taken away on a stretcher. If you're reading this, hope you've recovered and didn't die.
Between the Frampton and Dave Mason shows, the Hell's Angels were there, and began walking around the perimeter of the stadium, near us, in the rear horseshoe, with their girlfriends topless, and on the shoulders of the men. Very entertaining.
If I had a pick one musical moment to relive from the recklessness and musical connection of my youth, it would be this show. 12 hours of partying, bringing all your own alcohol and drugs, and finishing off the day with Yes, my pick for the best outdoor rock music you could ever hear.
After finally uniting again with the Brazilians after the show ended, we headed to our car, and found ourselves sitting in sidestreet traffic jams. I decided to go a different direction and ended at a park, a few hundred yards from the main road that led to the highway, with no exits. Throwing caution to the wind, I hopped the curb and started drive through the center of the park towards the road. Halfway thru the park, Drew says to me, "look behind you". There was a caravan of about 5 cars all following me, the Pied Piper of inebriation. We reached the other side, hopped the curb, waived to cops along the way, and headed down the highway.
Whoever created this site, thank you, and party on.

Paul G.

Thursday, July 2, 2020 11:55 PM

I'd wager Squire banged at least one of those hotties in the crowd. What a great shot. So kool to see the band playing with people above, below and all around them. What an amazing scene.

Holly

Thursday, May 14, 2020 7:43 PM

Regarding the fire breathing dragon for YES that was mentioned below, I don't recall that... I recall some octopus looking moving light apparatus. 🤷 Could be the party favors but that what I remember.

Holly

Thursday, May 14, 2020 7:36 PM

Ha. I can't believe there's a page for this, but...why not. At 15 my friend and I hitchhiked from GR to Cedar Springs, hooked up with friends there and drove to Detroit the night before. Got there first thing in the morning waiting for gates to open. We were about in the middle of the field. Overall consensus was a good time.(recall details a tad fuzzy) I recall sometime in the afternoon a count of 80thousand was mentioned. 😳 By the time YES came on the crowd seemed to have thinned enough that we got closer to the stage, ran into more people I knew. Almost lost my crew for my ride back to GR. Probably the biggest outdoor concert I attended. It was a pretty psychedelic kinda day.

David

Tuesday, May 12, 2020 1:18 PM

I went to this concert with my gf and some friends. We brought a beanbag chair and snuck in a few bottles of wine inside of it. We were able to stretch out and relax for the first few bands. I remember being sprawled out on the beanbag drinking wine and enjoying myself immensely as Ace played How Long. When Frampton played I had to stand up because the crowd began to press forward. Then when Yes took the stage the entire crowd moved toward the stage and we had to stand up packed together. It was still light outside, unfortunately, so the elaborate light show wasn't as spectacular as I remember seeing it at indoor concerts back then. The show was great but I remember not being as impressed with Moraz as I was with Wakeman at previous shows. And I was the guy who threw the frisbee at Steve Howe and actually hit him. Someone here said it was during his solo on Sound Chaser. That might have been someone els, because when I hit him he was doing his solo acoustic part of the set. Admirable, Steve didn't miss a beat and continued to play as if nothing happened. The crowd booed me mightily and I wanted to dig a hole and disappear. It was a great day of music!

Mark

Saturday, August 31, 2019 7:08 AM

What a Great day! Went with my good friend Henry Orr. All day show! Rained a little in the morning. Then just a sunny hot day. Great fun wish I could do it again!

Glenn

Thursday, April 4, 2019 9:47 PM

18 years old, right out of high school, drove over from warren with 2 friends. Im not sure we had tickets because as we walked up 2 people grabbed the bottom of the fence and lifted it up and like a funnel, everyone in that area was under the fence and in. Very hot day, my friends and i split up most the day and found people to party with. I remember the band telling the people on the towers to get down.the music was great. My best memory was the great watermelon theft. Some student group was selling slices of watermelon for 50cent. Being so hot the melon was great.i bought a piece and stood there eating it, then people started coming up and taking, steeling whole melons, the students I believed had it planned. A girl working there was getting frantic and an older guy said don't worry about it. Before all the melons were gone I grabbed one. Then the people started bringing the melons back so they could borrow the knife to cut them. A guy came later and said dam he wanted some melon they were all gone. i cut him half of mine. It was a great festival.my buddies Jeff and Rick were with me.

Mitch2

Monday, December 17, 2018 7:01 PM

What a great day! Spent the night before with a bunch of friends in and around a van in the parking lot so we were there early enough to have a pretty good on-the-ground spot in front of the stage. Yep, it was a hot day but we had coolers with enough beer plus other entertainment aids so the long wait was tolerable. Frampton, Mason, and Yes put on a perfect show. Does anyone remember Yes having a fire-breathing dragon hanging over the stage, or am I confusing shows? Wish I had a time machine.....may not find the time to see Napoleon, but I certainly would dial in a repeat of that day in Ypsilanti!

JK

Sunday, April 2, 2017 6:14 PM

What a DAY! The Crew from of the Clair Brothers put up a Mountain of Speakers, more Crown DC-300a's than you could ever imagine, Electro~Voice TL 4050 Folded Horn Bass with EV 30" speakers, banshee horns, JBLs piszo tweeter. Pro Co Sound from Kazoo had the band totally hotwired. Roger Dean Stage set and lighting was candy to the eyes. It was a total assault on the environment.
The Band, Anderson in flowing attire, Steve played like Segovia, Chris with his Rickenbacker and Moog Turus Bass pedals, Alan never better was at his best, and Patrick took it away with his Orchestron.

By evening the MC said there was 100,000 at the show and I believe it,Rynearson Stadium was full both side, the field was standing room only.

The Day started with Ace (How long have you been holding on, Frampton (some of the Comes alive album is from this concert) Dave Mason (Split Coconut), and Yes from sunset into the evening.

A long ride home on I94. Would do it again, in a Heart Beat !!!

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Frank

Tuesday, January 19, 2016 5:29 PM

This was my first concert, I was 16. One of the guys in our group was 18 and we wanted to buy beer on the way. But we forgot there were no beer sales in MI before noon on Sunday. So we were all kind of pissed off that we had no beer. That's about all I remember.
This week I'm going on the Rock Legends Cruise and Frampton and Mason are scheduled to perform. Hard to believe 41 years have gone by.
If I meet them I'll tell them this story.
Thanks everyone for filling in some old memories.

farmer in the sky

MY SECOND CONCERT,PINK FLOYD @ OLYMPIA STADIUM DET.6-23-75 MY FIRST I WAS 17.AS FRAMPTON WAS ENDING A GREAT SET MY FRIEND JOHN RAN TOWARDS BACK STAGE AND I FOLLOWED,HE SAID HE WAS CHASING A FRISBEE THAT FRAMPTON THREW FROM THE STAGE I GOT THE IDEA TO TRY AND GET BACK STAGE. 2 CRAZY DRUNK HOT GIRLS BEHIND A PORTABLE FENCE GOT US BACKSTAGE.IMMEDIATELY WE FOUND FRAMPTONS SMALL TRAILOR,HE WAS BEING INTERVIED OUTSIDE BY A GUY FROM CREEM,AND A WOMAN WRITING ON A PAD. I SAID HEY PETER WANNA SMOKE A JOINT OF COLUMBIAN GOLD! HE SAID YES.HE WAS WEARING A TORQUOISE P. MCARTNEY SHIRT AND TORQUOISE PLATFORM SANDEL TYPE SHOES WITH SHORTS ON. A PIC. WAS TAKEN,PETER HOLDING A STYROFOAM CUP,WE LEANED AGAINST AN OLD FORD FAIRLAINE.AT THE NIGHTS CLOSE WHILE LAZILY WALKING BACK TO MY CAR WE STOPED TO TALK WITH PATRICK MORAZ THROUGH A CHAINLINK FENCE AND GOT AN AUTOGRAPH.WE NOTICED JON ANDERSON SITTING DOWN ON A COOLER ON THE RUNNING TRACK WE RUSHED AROUND THE FENCE TO TALK TO HIM BEING THE FIRST 2 THAT GREW TO ABOUT 10 FANS. I WAS THE ONLY PERSON ASKING HIM QUESTIONS. I ASKED HIM WHAT HE THOUGHT ABOUT KISS(NEW @THE TIME) I WAS WEARING A SILKSCREENED P.STANELY T-SHIRT I DESIGNED IN ARTCLASS,HE SAID IT WASN'T A NEW CONCEPT AND RELATED TO SEEING ALICE COOPER AT PARTIES IN L.A.SOMEONE BROUGHT HIM A BAGGIE OF MICHIGAN CHEERIES AND HE SHARED THEM WITH US.NOW HERES THE "COOL"PART.HE TOLD ME I REMINDED HIM OF A REPORTER,THEN EXCLAIMED I REMINDED HIM OF KEITH EMERSON WHEN HE WAS STONED!(I WAS SOBER @ THAT POINT)MY FRIEND AND I LOOKED AT EACH OTHER AND LAUGHED BECAUSE PEOPLE HAD SAID THAT BEFORE.HE WAS AS KIND AND GRACEFUL AS HIS LYRICS.WE TOLD MANY FRIENDS FROM SCHOOL. A FEW MOS. LATER JOHN AND I STOPPED AT A PARY-STORE AND I PICKED UP A CREEM MAG. AND SAW A SMALL ARTICLE OF THE SHOW WITH A SMALL PIC. OF FRAMPTON WITH ME CUT OUT OF COURSE.WE ALSO,HAVING NOT ATE ALL DAY RAIDED THE EMPTY TRAILORS AND ATE BREAD AND VEGGIES (ROCKSTARSLEFTOVERS) AND TOOK SOME OF THE EMPTY WINE BOTTLES FOR SOUVINEERS THIS WAS SURELY A SUMMER CELEBRATION AS IT WAS BILLED. I CAME BY THE TICKET A WK. BEFORE WHEN I SAW JOHN AT A FRIENDS AND HE SAID U DRIVE AND U CAN HAVE THE TICKET, ABOUT 20 YRS LATER AFTER ONLY SEEIN HIM A FEW TIMES SINCE 1978 I WENT TO HIS HOUSE WHERE HE WAS RAKEING LEAVES DROVE UP WITH YES TICKETS AND SAID U DRIVE ITS YOURS SOMETIMES PAYBACKS TAKE TIME.THE SHOW WAS BOTH YES BANDS IN THE ROUND.

Buffalo Fred

This was an absolutely unforgettable YES show. I was 21 and will never forget it, my first time seeing YES at an outdoor concert. It was a long hot day, I got the sunburn of my life on my back and shoulders. Ace were horrible and were booed. Frampton was very good (he was just about to hit it big) and, surprisingly, so was Dave Mason (who I had walked out on just a few months earlier at a poorly attended concert in Grand Rapids). YES were fantastic and magical, the weather was perfect once the sun went down and their light show took over. The reworked acoustic version of Long Distance Runaround blew me away and Moraz's keyboard solo was nothing short of inspired genius (I loved the portions from Refugee). It was very rude and stupid of people to be throwing frisbees at the stage while the band was playing. I remember one frisbee hitting the neck of Steve's guitar during Sound Chaser (during the part of the song when it was just him playing electric guitar). In any case, it was a night to remember. I just can't believe it was over 30 years ago because that was one of the best concerts I have ever attended in my life. Thank you, YES.

David

I was 16 at the time, and was a big fan of Yes, and Dave Mason as well. A pretty fun day, very enjoyable, but hot. People were very irritable prior to Yes taking the stage, it seemed to take forever. Quite a few left as soon as they appeared. But I stayed and had a great time.

Aaron

I wasn't at this concert, but a friend of mine and his buddy went there and recorded the entire concert--what is the sound quality like on the 'unofficial' release of this concert (though it looks like it does not have the entire concert)? The sound quality of my friend's recording is okay, but not anything spectacular.

From listening to the recording and talking to my friend, it sounds like it was very hot that day... people waited a long time for Yes to start, and were irritable. For the first couple of songs, you can hear people in the audience yelling "sit down!", and at one point Jon Anderson says, "they would sit down if they could sit down...." There were also technical problems--it got really crackly during Moraz's piano solo, and during one of Steve Howe's songs (I think it was "The Clap"), there was a really loud buzz, as if a tech just disconnected the faulty speaker. The mix was rough at times--the keyboards were sometimes very loud (i.e., the electric piano was distorted at the very beginning of Soundchaser).

My friend did not see Steve Howe get hit with a frizbee, but at one point, Jon Anderson says, "The people over there are throwing things. Please don't throw things, it looks terrible from here."

Despite all this, the performance was amazing--Moraz's solo on Soundchaser is the best of the 4 I've heard, and I also liked his solo on Sweet Dreams.

Michael

When YES finally opened their set it was getting dark, and a full moon rose behind the stage, making the evening magical.

Pakananda

During a lead guitar solo at this concert,(I think it was Close to the Edge, or maybe Ritual), Steve Howe was inadvertantly hit quite sharply in the head by a flying frisbee tossed by an irreverant fan. His head falling slightly backward, dedicated performer that he is, Steve only recoiled a little and continued to rip out his chops with only a barely perceptable and brief change (was it shock or anger?) in the music. A more egoistic rocker may have stopped the concert at this point, but not Steve. Bravo!!!

Christopher G. Hastings

This was a great show, and a great time to be alive. It was still pretty early in the morning when the stadium announced that no coolers would be allowed in the stadium. Too many of us to stop threw our blankets over the barbed wire, climbed in, and tossed coolers over. The best security could do was to try and take tickets as we came over. Even this was a poor effort. As a result the stadium opened a couple hours early, and I still have my whole ticket.

Ace got booed, and pleaded for the crowd to let them finish their set. Frampton, who was not big yet, did better. Between Frampton and Dave Mason, they announced Mason would not take the stage until the hippies climbed down from the scaffolding. They did not, so all the people with illicit beer bottles unwisely threw them up the scaffolding to persuade the hippies to come down. No offending hippies were hit, but many innocent concertgoers seated under the scaffolding suffered injury.

Dave Mason was great. There was a huge delay between Mason and Yes. The rumor was that Yes did not show up when they were supposed to. It was dark by the time they took the stage, and everyone had been partying all day. How was Yes? I have no idea.

*merry* celeste

Tickets were $8!