ZOLIAS

Friday, June 12, 2026 10:15 AM

50 years ago to-day!

hank

Friday, September 3, 2021 11:59 PM

Some friends and I attended this concert. My two best friends - and one of the guy's girlfriend. We lived out near Willow Grove and went to the Flyer's Parade the year before - taking the train in from the Grove. So we did the same thing for this concert.

By any modern standards, we were not well-prepared. I don't think we had any food - but we had matches, cigarettes, boo. We must have gotten water and hot dogs - maybe pizza - somewhere around there though.

It was hot as hell in the daytime - and the guys wore overalls - down after a while - with no shirts. Got sunburned like crazy - but it felt good (at the time). Just floating along with that extracurricular feeling.

We were sitting over on the west side (as shown in the pic) - probably around what would be the 50 yard line. Spectrum and Vet in the background.

I remember walking all the way around the stadium to see what was going on. Over on the east side, they were spraying water hoses on people - and you could see some of the girls in their underwear. I assume no one thought to bring bathing suits. That was probably when Dreamweaver was on.

I sometimes think it is amazing we made it through the day - without much food and all that sun.

But then Yes came on as it started to get dark. They put on one of the greatest shows ever. Light show with green laser-like beams in your eyes - and seemingly going across the river into New Jersey.

One of the best Heart of the Sunrise versions ever.

Then we all started to get cold in the dark. The sun was down and we were sunburned and shivering like an all day beach trip. The crowd had thinned out some by then. But people started burning trash in the stands to keep warm. Little fires here and there.

Then back out to the subway and on the train to the Grove. I can still see the subway cars in the dark - and my friend's girlfriend sleeping on his shoulder.

The 'funny' thing though is -- a few years ago at work, I went out to get lunch at the salad bar. And one of the ladies working to refill the salad was singing to herself: Dreamweaver. I came out of my work reverie and just automatically said, "I was at that concert"..

Of course, it could have been any concert, but I meant this one. And everyone around me started looking at me. One person said, I can see you are remembering this in real time. And I said, I guess so.

motorglide

Monday, August 16, 2021 5:53 PM

@Carol Layton
I attended this concert with some friends and remember the food fight like it was yesterday.😃 Everyone that day was so high we just enjoyed the free food and the trash fight that ensued afterward.🤣

Carly Layton

Sunday, January 24, 2021 9:46 AM

So my Dad, my uncle and my cousins apparently started a food fight at this concert when a hot dog stand became abandoned. They raided it and when people asked for hot dogs from seats above and below, people started getting mad when they were pelted with hot dogs. This started the fight, and years later, another cousin of ours who was there but at a different part of the stadium said, “That was you guys?!?” If only I was alive for that!!!

Pete Bindig

Sunday, August 30, 2020 11:53 PM

A bunch of us came down From Allentown to see this show. We came prepared with a huge cooler filled with food, potato salad, fried chicken, drinks and a watermelon spiked with vodka. In those days, you could bring that stuff into the stadiums. It was a great day for a concert, good weather but really hot. Those were the days

Paul G.

Friday, August 21, 2020 1:57 PM

Brief story about that day and a video.
[Link]

Icegypsy

Saturday, May 23, 2020 3:43 PM

It was 1976. It was Senior Week, and we rolled in from the shore around 3pm to the JFK stadium before it really got crowded. We had been whipped in the Wildwoods, and now we trudged back to Philly for the Big Bicentenial Concert. They wrote about how tame and passive the crowd was. It was true. We were stoned and dehydrated from the parties and the merciless heat and humidity. At the front of the stage we plopped, too exhausted for anyone to argue with. And there we waited, and waited, and waited. Watching the stage change set three times. It was so damn hot, the roadies took a hose, soaking and showering us with water, like animals. Lord have mercy.
Finally, Yes took the stage. And the wave of energy from the throngs of people in the back just pushed us up against the fence. Nobody really cared. Did anyone get flipped over the fence? Not me. I don't even remember how we got home that night. But we did. I'll be a roundabout.
Philly 1976 Yes Concert Survivor.

Joann

Sunday, April 19, 2020 1:27 PM

Yep was there everybody has it right hot during the day cold at night. I got the ticket through a ticket agency which also hired a bus and drove about 50 of us from Paterson NJ to Philadelphia. Gary Wright Peter Frampton and an outstanding Yes. Met my husband at that show. We proceeded to go to Every YES tour after that. But that one was the most memorable.

Yserbius Gandalf

Thursday, December 13, 2018 12:05 AM

I was at the Roosevelt stadium NJ show on this tour, the show was quite a fiasco due to most of the staff were teenagers that let all their friends from miles around in an already sold out show with cans bottles and fireworks and they overwhelmed the already sold out show. Pousette Dart band came out, nobody really gave them a chance but they were pretty nasty themselves on their exit from the stage they said 'GOOD NIGHT JEW JERSEY' addressing the audience, I don't care how pissed off they were, no call for that. We waited for hours after that for YES in the meantime I was squeezed against the fence in front of the stage and an asshole shot an aerial bomb striking a laser mirror that was just being installed and it came down on top of 2 people right next to me both critically wounded we had to push them up and over the fence so they could be put in the ambulance, I had blood on me for the rest of the show, there was no way to go anywhere. When YES finally did come out they were hot, one show I will never forget as long as I live.

Chris S. from formerly Woodbury

Sunday, December 9, 2018 10:51 AM

There was like 6 or 8 of us that met up there from Woodbury. I remember driving over with Dominic and someone else playing the The Who's Next. This was the event of the year before senior year. The day before, I obtained from "Fish" a ball of Lebonese pre-civil war hash the size of a golf ball. No one had any food or drink and I only had $2 to purchase the Wawa orange drink that was 75 cents each. As our group floated away enjoying the sunshine while sitting on the field, (as facing the stage, right rear) we notice activity under a blanket. We commenced to cheer them on. After finishing, the male stood up in a Rocky victory pose and walked away with the girl still under the blanket. Just then Frampton came on and I do not know what happened to the girl. She must have wandered off. And the orange drink container fight while waiting for Yes. I think there was music that day. I'm not sure. BTW I turned 60 yesterday. Where did it go?

Alan weissaltz

Thursday, November 22, 2018 11:09 AM

.Took forever for the Yes crew to set up the crab nebula but it was well worth the wait.Jfk stadium became a dazziling kalidascope of color.
.

Eric Thiessen

Saturday, September 16, 2017 10:51 AM

Saw Pousette Dart open for Yes in 1976 at Hampton, Va and immediately went out and bought their album. They were an excellent band!

John Troy

Wednesday, June 14, 2017 12:22 AM

I been reading these reviews, and people are riffing on the Pousette-Dart Band. We were the first fuckin' act of the day. A little quartet. We were good! People don't know what the fuck they're talking about. No one knew who we were. It doesn't matter how good we were, you wouldn't recognize it. You showed up to see Yes & Frampton, and you hear something you've never heard before and you don't recognize that it's good. You have no judgement. I'm talking to all of you. Check out this link. Listen to the drummer, listen to the bass player, listen to this fuckin' little band, motherfuckers. You don't know what the fuck you're talking about.
[Link]

Chris Curley

Friday, April 28, 2017 12:46 PM

Lynyrd Skynyrd played the next year with the J. Giels Band and Peter Frampton was the headliner without Yes.The year before It was Gary Wright,the Poissette Dart Band,The Mummers got booed off the stage,Then Peter Frampton played the year of Frampton come alive and it was in the 90's and everyone was pounding orange aide 16oz. cartons that they were selling and a 25 minute trash fight went on before it got dark and Yes was the Headliner with a great light show.I took a jacket with me and everyone was breaking my balls but it got chilly at night and everyone was cold......including me because someone took my jacket when I went to the bathroom

Nancy Stetler

Friday, April 28, 2017 12:18 PM

Doesn't anyone else remember Lynyrd Skynyrd playing at this concert??? Or did I dream it? No I remember they played in the bright daylight, just before a big name band, maybe it was Gary Wright. LS had the crowd up and dancing, screaming and stomping around with their energy! Playing music that was new but sounded like we'd been listening to it all our young lives. Please tell me someone else remembers Ronnie Van Zant in his bare feet. And Allen Collins leaping 5 feet in the air! I know I did not dream this....who else remembers?

Al Miller

Thursday, March 23, 2017 12:43 PM

Yep, one fantastic concert. I'm a huge Yes fan...the rest of the lineup was frosting on the cake. I remember getting sun burnt during the day and freezing at night...still loved it. My girlfriend, Arlene(wife now), and I will always remember that concert. We even saw a streaker. Well, not so much a streaker as a stroll by nude guy burnt red. He causally walked up the isle without a stitch of cloths on and returned from the concession stand with drink and eats...still walking casually and still nude...too funny.

Rick Elick

Friday, February 10, 2017 11:52 AM

I am now 60 years old but remember this concert like it was yesterday. Can't hardly believe is was almost 41 years ago. THE BEST CONCERT I HAVE EVER SEEN!!!!!

your_host

Tuesday, October 18, 2016 9:37 PM

Yes and Peter Frampton recreate '76 Philly concert tonight at Tower Theater

By JONATHAN TAKIFF
POSTED: June 15, 2010

"THERE AREN'T many concerts talked about 30 years into the future," noted Donna Muller, a middle-aged mom of six grown kids, whom I found online at forgottenyesterdays.com waxing ecstatic about the June 12, 1976, Yes/Peter Frampton show at John F. Kennedy Stadium in South Philadelphia.

But judging from the page after page of memory-lane postings at the site, that particular concert resonated as few (if any) had before or would thereafter for the 100,000-plus people in attendance - the biggest rock 'n' roll happening this town had ever seen.

"It was hot as hell, but what a great time," recalled a poster identified only as "Sandy, from then Warminster."

"Beer was flowing and the waft of weed was in the air and in my head. There were so many people around, that when I felt like I was going to pass out, there was nowhere to fall. People just helped me up . . . Yes was awesome. Frampton was great. What an experience."

That sense of amazement was also felt by the co-headlining acts, who considered the JFK show a career landmark and have now set about to recreate it as best they can with a reunion tour bringing Yes and Frampton back to Philly tonight, this time at the more - ahem - intimate Tower Theater. (The double bill plays the Borgata in Atlantic City on Saturday.)

"I brought my parents in from England to see the show, and my father came out on the stage with a movie camera, not to film me but to capture the crowd, by far the biggest I'd ever played for," recalled Frampton with a laugh, in our recent chat. "The place was so big, the applause was coming back in waves. There was a lag before you could hear it from the people in the back."

"The show in Philly was unique for us all, monumental," agreed Steve Howe, one of three original members still carrying on in Yes, along with new lead singer Benoit David and Oliver Wakeman (the son of band original Rick Wakeman) on keyboards.

"I remember being on stage and looking out and thinking, 'This is colossal.' It was like a community met in Philadelphia to celebrate music. People were flying in on private jets. It was a big deal."

Truth is, Yes' grand and glorious, classically influenced brew of pomp-rock was considered a much bigger deal here than almost anywhere else in the country, thanks to the Anglo-rock-loving tastes of local FM DJs like Ed Sciaky.

But after that huge Philly endorsement, other populaces took the band more seriously, "just as they would for other acts that got started in Philly, like David Bowie, Bruce Springsteen, Billy Joel, Rod Stewart and Genesis," noted veteran concert promoter Larry Magid.

And while fellow Brit Frampton had quite the history, dating from his first teenage success as a 16-year-old in the Herd and then the blues-stompin' Humble Pie, his career was truly skyrocketing in 1976 on the heels of "Frampton Comes Alive." The most successful concert album of all time had come out in January and the guitarist would essentially recreate at JFK, complete with the "wah-wah"-style "vocoder" vocals and guitar work on tunes like "Do You Feel Like We Do."

Birth of a national venue
Before this big blowout, the former Municipal Stadium had proven a bit of a jinx as a concert venue. When the Beatles played there on Aug. 16, 1966, only 33,000 people showed up.

Two summers later, a multi-event, multiweek music festival there (produced by some of the same team that later worked on Woodstock) lost tons of money as people stayed away in droves from theoretically brilliant bills topped by the likes of Judy Garland (her last U.S. show), Ray Charles and then-newcomers the Who and Pink Floyd.

In the early '70s Frank Rizzo years of Philadelphia leadership, the facility became off limits to rock and the likes of Electric Factory Concerts.

"We'd tried for five years to put on concerts there, but had always been rebuffed," Magid recalled.

Clearly no fan of rock or the hippie crowds it attracted, Rizzo, as police commissioner, had twice visited the original Electric Factory rock club in the late 1960s, the second time in the company of then Mayor James Tate, and vowed to "turn it into a parking lot," Magid's then-partner, Herb Spivak, recalled recently.

They were "especially freaked out by the sight of a white girl in her parochial school uniform dancing with a young African-American boy" and "tried to close us down with 'public nuisance' suits," Spivak said.

Although Rizzo, as candidate for mayor, eventually "shook hands" with Spivak, the relationship between the city and EFC didn't thaw until the nation's 200th-birthday party was being planned for 1976, and our late-out-of-the-gate Bicentennial Commission pressured Rizzo to "allow something big for the kids," I was told back then by Dick Doran, a longtime political insider who was then Gov. Milton Shapp's aide.

After Woodstock
Early on in the day-into-night mega-concert, an unbilled performance by a Mummers string band, a bit of an effort to tie the show to the big Philly birthday bash, caught concertgoers off guard and was, um, not warmly received.

"We tolerated the first song, but when they went into the second, we started pelting them with garbage," recalled another poster at forgottenyesterdays.com. 'Twas just the first of several food fights that day.

As Philly's first big outdoor youth gathering of the post-Woodstock rock era, the Yes/Frampton-topped bill was also marked by "stay away from the brown acid" announcements, many a medical tent visit by groovy barefoot chicks with cut feet and, after the sun went down and the show-closing Yes went on, lots of bonfires on the field and even in the stands, as sunstroked showgoers shivered in the evening cool.

Also adding to the "magic of the day" were a set by "Dream Weaver" Gary Wright and his all-keyboard band, remembered poster Tony Henry, a full moon that rose as Yes took the stage in the "robes of demigods," their fanciful production with lasers and Roger Dean-designed stage set, and a night-capping display of fireworks.

After studying aerial photos of the concert, some parties (including Frampton's manager Dee Anthony) concluded that the attendance had been well north of the officially posted 100,000 figure - more like 115,000 to 120,000.

Magid noted that "it was before computerized, bar-coded ticketing. There could have been counterfeiting going on. Or ticket takers palming complete tickets, not ripping them, and then reselling them. All I can tell you is, we didn't profit from it."

But with the gates to the facility now busted open, EFC certainly would profit big from the many JFK mega-shows that would follow, including a fast return the following summer by Frampton with Lynyrd Skynyrd, a country-rock-themed "Roundup," Pink Floyd, U2, the Jacksons, Live Aid, the (Grateful) Dead and (Bob) Dylan and more. (See sidebar.)

"Apart from one R&B show, we never lost money there, and never had less than 70,000 people in attendance," said Magid.

"While the facility itself was nothing much to speak of, it was a great place to see and hear a show because it was wide open, and the sound just went straight out, without echoing off anything."

Frampton's still alive
When asked how he feels about re-creating the experience with Yes in a 30-times-smaller venue like the Tower - not to mention the inevitable ups and downs of his and Yes' careers that the package represents, Frampton observed: "It doesn't really matter to me how many people I'm playing for. I still love to make music and I'm more influenced by the events of the day than anything else."

In truth, Frampton began to get a bit peeved when I kept begging him to dredge up the ancient history.

"Couldn't we move on and talk about my new album 'Thank You, Mr. Churchill'?" he finally asked, with a hint of frustration.

"It's very good. And really, that's where my head's at today."
[Link]

Chris Curley

Thursday, September 29, 2016 10:55 AM

I remember going early in the day with several of my older brothers friends in a van,because he couldn't make it.The warm up acts were pretty good and the fact I went the next year when lynyrd Skynyrd played as the lead up band for Frampton MAKES ME MIX UP SOME OF THE ACTS.I believe the first day Dickie Betts played a set and I know the Philadelphia Mummers were booed off the stage,Gary Wright also played,howeveer that may have been the next year.I was only 15 years old at the time of the first concert and was stoned to the bejeezus belt on some very good Columbian Gold.This was before sinsamelia started to arrive on the scene and I also remember taking a rohrer 714,which was the precursor for lemon 714's.Anyway Frampton was incredible and his album Framptom comes alive was relatively new and had only been dropped shortly before this concert.It was about 97 degrees at 4 in the afternoon and I had been pounding these orange drink cartons they were selling all day long,as had everyone around me.Suddely after Frampton in the very late afternoon someone started throwing these orange drink cartons and before you knew it,there were literally hundreds of thousands,if not millions of these cartons flying through the air for at least a half an hour and probably much longer.I wouldn't have been aware of time at this point in the concert and was blown out of my helmet but I'll never forget this awesome site of all of these crushed orange boxes flying through the air throughout JFK stadium and close to 150,000 thousand people all having a blast.Yes played at night and wee awesome aS WELL,HOWEVER IT BEGAN TO GET COLD AFTER SITTING THROUGH THE EXTREME HEAT ALL DAY,BUT I JUST DROPPED ANOTHER QUALLUDE AND ENJOYED THE REST OF THE SHOW.This was definetly in the top 5 concerts of all time for me and probably in ther top 3 along with Led Zeppelin 2 years earliwer when I was really just a kid and Pink Floyd a couple of yers later.Thge trash fight however is something I'll never forget and aS Awesome as the music was,the sight of these orange drink boxes filling the air will never,wever leave my mind.Simply awesome and not any violence or bad vibes,just a good time hurling trash and seeing a sky of these boxes eclipsing the entire stadium and JFK was a really big stadium!!!!!!!!!

dbluesyazer

Saturday, September 24, 2016 10:07 AM

awesome day- got there - with my friend rob- had to meet some other peeps- they had a pair strawberry boxer underwear on a pole so we could find them in the middle of the field- we never left- until show was over- food fight was awesome- the fire in the stands - oh and the bands- oh and we forgot where we parked-forgot who drove or what car we took-
finally found car after we ate somewhere- then got lost going home- did not get home until next day like 9am- oh and i had just got msarried for the first time about 2 months b4- overall- great day- the parts i recall

Bob

Wednesday, June 29, 2016 8:36 AM

I went with a friend, we were 18-19 years old... now very old.
Frampton was OK, wasn't really into 'pop', which is what I considered it.
Now Gary Wright was AWESOME. He started with two "hits" which I did not like, Dream Weaver, and I forget the other one...it was OK, or boring. Then he said something like "OK, enough of that, new we are going to become a Rock Band"! Well he was right, Gary strapped a keyboard on, and proceeded to run around the stage playing it, AND singing. It was so good, I became a fan that day.

Really HOT day, but in the evening, it's getting a little cooler, and then YES started. One of my favorites, along with Pink Floyd, ELP, and early Genesis.

Great set, loved every minute. Yes, we were very stoned, and a few more recreational pharmaceuticals too. It actually became cold by nights end. Disappointing when it ended, I would have stayed until sunrise.

Brian

Wednesday, June 15, 2016 6:27 AM

My mom and pop were there. Heard about this show from the time i was born in 1980. My mom was 6 months pregnant with my brother, my pop told her she couldn't miss this show. Oh, how much i understand, if only i was alive and old enough! What a lineup and what a perfect setting. I missed the glory days but the stories i've heard make me realize what a great time it was for u people.

Mark Calder, New Castle, DE

Sunday, June 12, 2016 2:10 PM

I was 17. A group of 4 of us went. After gaining entry and making a mad dash to get close to the front, I got split up,. What a hot day. I think I had a bagged lunch. As the day wore on, I became de-hydrated and had a massive headache. I made friends with 2 girls from New Jersey, Gina?? And Debbie?? I was so sick, I rested my head on “Gina’s” leg for most of the day. I do remember the Mummers and the water hoses but vaguely remember the shenanigans that other posters mention. When Peter Frampton came on, I sat up. WOW! What a sound, what a vibe, what good music! I came being a Yes fan and came away being a Frampton fan. (That’s who the 2 Jersey girls were there for). A little later as the sun had set, Yes came on. I do remember it being quite the show, with fabulous lighting, songs and sound! But my day was over and I was cold. So after a couple of songs I then slowly made my way out of the stadium and away from my two friends for the day, wading through all of the people to wait in the parking lot for my friend who had driven. That being said, this is still a memory that I treasure. Thanks to all! It was so good! And thanks to the girls from Jersey.

Mark NOT from Philly - (At the time anyhow)

Sunday, May 22, 2016 4:33 PM

I scored 8 tickets for $12.00 ea. at The Record Ranch on College Ave. at Penn State. Called my cousins in Philly and said "NO EXCUSES!! We're goin!!" (they agreed)

What a circus! Got seats left side of stage in the stands about half way down and half way up, right behind the Del. Co. Warlocks-MC! What a crew! (they were actually quite nice and for some strange reason, everyone around them put on their best behavior - funny) Lost my cousin David somehow, ended up with cuz Mike and we had a blast. I remember just about every minute of it. For one thing, I couldn't find a J or even a brew to save my life. Sat thru the whole thing, all day long stone cold sober! (not complaining btw)

Gary Wright blew everyone away straight outta the gate. The sound was fantastic and his band played tight & well seasoned.

Sorry to say that PDB was completely forgettable.

The Mummers however, they brought the house down! 117,000 screaming Philly kids went out of their collective minds and did the only thing they knew how to do under the circumstances, had a trash fight! It was like a reverse-ticker-tape parade, where all the stuff that landed on the ground, was thrown back up into the air! And what a sight to behold. It was outrageous, hilarious and dangerous as all get out, and the highlight of the sweltering afternoon.

Peter Frampton. Holy freaking COW! Did the entire "Frampton Comes Alive" and even took a minute to introduce his mom and dad, who were sitting conspicuously off to the right on folding chairs throughout the concert. It was quite cute actually. They seemed the proper English couple, just enjoying a spot of tea and their sons on-stage antics. It was a hoot, by which all other hoots would be judged.

YES. They hit the stage as the sun went down and played like we'd all hoped they would. Perfectly! Interestingly, the stage lighting guys were projecting green laser lights out into the massive audience, giving everyone laser surgery whether they wanted it or not. (hind sight-bad idea) Otherwise it was colossal. Unlike any event imaginable. Not bad for my first concert at the tender age of 17.

And next month will be 40 years since that? Oh my dear GOD in Heaven! where did the time go...

Mark

scott and artie

Thursday, February 4, 2016 5:18 AM

Long time ago but remember it like yesterday (well, most of it anyways).

Was there with my cuz artie. We went to a lot of concerts in those days.

I think we slept in the parking lot overnight to make sure we could get in as we drove over from Toms River/Bricktown.

Long and very hot day and as others mentioned, Gary Wright did get things going.

Frampton was awesome and then finally, Yes came on. I remember some type of giant arm that had an eye of some sort on it where the Lazer came out of (or maybe that was my cuz because he wasn't doing too well by midway through Yes)

We were all sunburned by then and the chills must have hit most of us.

Was an amazing time though. Miss those daze big time.

Sharron

Thursday, November 19, 2015 8:02 PM

This was my first Mega Concert. I remember that morning. I was so young 15. It seems crazy that I would be that young and my mom felt ok dropping me off. But she did. I got out, and it wouldn't be until late that night, there she was probably panicked out of her mind, but there I was. With a group of teens my age that needed a ride back over the bridge. I'll never forget my mom said, "I remember what it was like to be young." And told them to pile in. She drove them from Philly to just outside AC as we weren't rich and she needed gas to get us home. It was hot that day. I mean hot. And the people. Everywhere. I remember just feeling no fear. Does anybody remember the bathroom wait? I do. That was also the first time with a girl I met, we went into the men's room. And they were cool. At one point somewhere there was just a hose of water. And then it just was hot. I wish that kids today could just know how it felt to be with all those people, some high, some drunk, and some just naturally happy. We didn't have to worry about so much harm. I felt safe....and whenever I hear Frampton it's amazing after all these years I still close my eyes and go right back. Age has settled in me now, but I love that I appreciate it more now. And Yes, Rick Wakeman changed my life in that I became a concert addict. It was just wild. There he was and every note was just...well it blew my mind. The contact high didn't hurt either. I could go on and on. My mom's gone now, but I can't thank her enough for her trust in me. And everyone that was there that just helped make my journey through concert life the best. It could have gone so wrong, but we were all so cool in a much different time.

Dave Clemmens

Monday, October 12, 2015 7:59 PM

EPIC JFK 76 FRAMPTON YES...I'm surprised I got out alive what a blast... I've seen hundreds of concerts and the summer of 76 stands alone!!

The Dude

Wednesday, June 3, 2015 3:20 AM

Wow what a concert. Was a junior in High School at the time and a group of four of us went down to JFK for a momentous day. Got therea t 10 AM to get a decent seat in the bleachers on the right side of the stage. It seemed like 4 or 5 hours went past before any music came on and then it got hilarious. The mummers came on and everyone cheered for the first tune, but for the second tune they trashed them off the stage throwing what ever they had near them. Same for the pousette dart band. I don't think they even lasted one song before being trashed off the stage. The rest of the show was spectacular. Now for the highlights. The warning about bad PCP being advertised as THC and if you took it you would miss the show. The water trucks on the field spraying people down and giving out drinks. The warning before Yes came on to get off the light towers because anyone up there would be fried. And of course, the trash fight which occurred between Peter Frampton and Yes. They were playing Led Zepplin's Prsence on the PA system at a very low volume which I remember being very annoying and that's when it began and spread all the way around the stadium. The trash that was left in the stands was used as bond fire fuel during Yes when everyone who was sunburned started having the chills. All in all one of the most memorable concerts I was ever at. 5 Starts out of 5

mercury58

Saturday, October 4, 2014 7:08 PM

What a day this was for me. The concert was more than music. It was an experience. Got there early and decided to sit with my then high school graduate friends. We played it safe and sat at the opposite end zone. The sun was brutal.I had a pair of bib overalls on and nearly died. Got drunk before entering the stadium, but being a soon to be pharmacy student, I stayed clear of the drugs. And boy there were more there than a pharmaceutical wholesaler supply in one day. Had fun taking my Chesterfield cigarettes and shaping them into joints and putting them on the ground. Great to watch the scramble and then seeing the disappointment when they were lit. Had two twelve year old kids sit in front of us that smoked at least twenty joints in three hours. Enjoyed watching them eat an entire pack of Oreos in five minutes. The garbage fight was a highlight. My best friend got hit with something, turned pissed and was pelted with a hoagie. The fight started kin the stage area and resembled the wave as it went around the stadium. Then at sundown, a pizza truck on the infield in front of u s turned on a neon sign, much to the dismay of a fan. He proceeded to climb on tuck and ripped it off the truck to a flurry of cheers. Then, the sunburn we all had made our body temperature feel like death. God was I cold. We left halfway through Yes. Now the concert. The Pousette Dart band started it all off. They were boring. They were generic Eagles. They had no hit single and no fan following. They must have felt like dirt as not a soul listened to them. Even the LSD trippers couldn't get a buzz from them. Next, after a long delay came da Mummers. Why? You've read in all posts the abuse they took.One fan mentioned Jefferson Starship was to appear, he is correct. Not sure why they bailed though. I was disappointed they were a no show. In between acts, time dragged. Next came Gary Wright. I thought he got the concert going. He was great with his handheld keyboard. Dream Weaver received a lot of applause. Finally the crowd knew a song. Credit Gary with getting it going. Then all the momentum stopped with another long delay between acts. Next, Peter Frampton. I know this is a Yes sight, but Frampton was equal to the Yes performance. Great set and at his peak. And a very very underrated guitar player. He is still great today. The crowd ate him up. Finally, Yes. The laser lights were something beyond belief. The rumor was going round that the Philly airport had to grant them permission to use them. Although I left two thirds through their show, as usual, they were great. If you look back today on this concert, the choice of acts was quite strange. JFK was such a cool sight though. I still miss its old charm. A few months later I started college in Philadelphia and attended many Electric Factory concerts during my college tenure. I still love Philly crowds. Two other highlights of the day were watching Joe Jackson at the Mann scold the crowd for whistling during one of his songs. One member of the crowd yelled to him, " you're in Philadelphia Joe". And the best concert was seeing Elton John at the Tower in 79. Waited in Gimbels parking lot at 69th street from 4a.m. to get tickets from Ticketron. Now there's a blast from the past
"

Dave Carr Valley Forge

Thursday, September 4, 2014 5:30 PM

Ya I was there me and my friend Glenn and some guy name supper kaz we were there. Dur-ring the show some time between the mummers and Framtom I got off a trash fight. It started off with some girl in front of the crowed and she wouldn't sit down, the whole show blocking the view of the stage i decided to make a giant orange juice bomb. I pack those orange juice cartons, the size of a small basketball and i threw it at her. It sailed about 25 yards and hit her in the back of the head. The heat and everything it all happened in slow motion. The girl turned around and the whole crowed saw it, and she said" who through that" then everybody stood up and started to throw the orange drinks at her before you knew it, the whole stadium broke out in a trash fight. They
had a picture of it the next day in the Sunday Paper. I almost lost a friend that day from the bad PCP Harry the Hat. Thank god he made it but missed the show.

A in Maine

Friday, November 8, 2013 10:21 AM

This was one concert I will always remember! Frampton was great and Yes just blew us away! You try and explained to friends what happened and you can't, they just don't get it...you had to be there! The music, the light show, the people, no concert has come close. We were up in the seats looking down on the crowd when everyone started throwing eveyrthing...it looked so funny from up high, like locust descended on the crowd! Openly getting high, drinking...the good old days when you could really have fun at a concert!

Lou

Friday, September 13, 2013 9:39 PM

Wow !!! What a memory. Just graduated high school and thought we were the shit.
Where do you start with the great memories.
The hoses spraying the people. The cops on horses. The announcement about the bad drugs going around. The incredible music. Just drinking and getting high. All innocent fun.
I believe there was about 15 of us that went.
And it seemed like it went all night. I can't rember when it ended but I seem to remember it bring 11:00-12:00 midnight ???
The Yes light show is something I still can see like it was yesterday.
God if we could only go back.
But no complaints. I did pretty good in life with a great family. Not bad for a former pot head. Lol

Matt

Friday, August 2, 2013 4:31 PM

I drove down from New York and got there the night before at about 5:00pm so was able to get dead center on the field about 30 feet from the stage. They sound checked that evening with a bit of Starship Trooper. It was incredibly hot that day and it was just packed. People were walking through the crowd spraying water on everyone.

They waited until dark for Yes to come on so that the laser light show would work and in between, Jon Anderson came out an played Wondrous Stories on an acoustic guitar. This was a year before it was released.

I just saw Yes on July 31, 2013 in Westbury, NY. I was very pleasantly surprised by how good they were. Howe and Squire still amaze. The vocalist, Jon Davison, while not Jon Anderson did a really good job.

Donna Slawter

Tuesday, June 18, 2013 3:06 PM

that concert was fantastic. great friends and fun strangers added to the event. oh, to be that young again. sigh...

John Starlock

Wednesday, June 5, 2013 8:57 AM

"THIS SHOW WAS FILMED AND BROADCASTED HERE IN BRAZIL BY REDE GLOBO DE TELEVISÃO IN A TV SHOW CALLED"

WHAAAAAAAAAAAT?????????????

Celso Lopes

Thursday, February 21, 2013 2:39 PM

THIS SHOW WAS FILMED AND BROADCASTED HERE IN BRAZIL BY REDE GLOBO DE TELEVISÃO IN A TV SHOW CALLED

Bill Howell

I went and seen what's left of YES last night in Atlantic City.....sure brought back some memories! What a concert it was, and the Blue Blotter was awesome. That was the last time I seen YES and the last TRIP, I joined the US Navy that Fall!

ERIC D

My Uncle and His then Girlfriend took me anf my bother in a Chevy van fom Bucks county Down To J.F.K. I remember Smoking Large amounts of panama red and Listening to Close to the Edge on Eight Track on the way down 95. The Show was Incredible I have Been a fan since, have seen many shows over the Years But This and the 90125 Tour at Hershey Park are 2 of my Top Tens.. Ps I was 12 at the Time...

Lois - New Jersey

Wow. I'm so glad I found this site. I was trying to remember this concert better and finding this site has brought it all back. You know, I thought that line about the acid being bad getting announced from the stage was something I had seen in a movie. Really when they came on the stage I didn't realize it was the Mummers and I didn't really know who Gary Wright was except for Dream Weaver. I kind of thought those costumes may have been Gary Wright coming out. But remember after they started everyone booing them off the stage. Felt bad for them. But, what where they doing there? The incredible heat, people getting hosed down, food flying. I was only 14 at the time and couldn't believe my parents let me go. It was my first concert so I had nothing else to compare it to but it was fantastic. Had never experienced anything like the lasers with the incredible sound inside the stadium. Peter Frampton - Great!!! Yes - Great!!! It was a crazy, fun day!!!

benny roman

hey, nobody mentioned the great fireworks display at the end of this historical event. i was 16 and a big yes fan. i arrived early enough with my friends to settle in front of the stage on the field, but we decided to sit all the way up the stands to the left and front (if facing the stage.)of the stage on or about the 25 yard line. what a crazy day. the food fight. the people climbing on the light poles. the beachballs. all those party heads like me. smoking and joking all around. my friend john almost died from all the stuff he ingested and smoked. trying to keep him from passing out did not distract me much from from enjoying the show yes put on. i'd smack him two or three times, bang his head on the bench till his eyes opened, rolled to the back of his head and then up front again to stare at me and then complain that he had to go to the boys room to pee. how i carried him pass the crowd sitting on the steps and into a bathroom with 2 inches of urine on the floor was a different story. then carry him back up again with the help of some cool strangers. but i'll never forget this night. the weed,the hash. the music, the lasers gleaming off everyone. the moon. the 130,000 souls having a great time. all the cops waiting outside for us to exit the stadium. some on horseback. the fires and the fireworks at the end. what a show. what a mob. it was my roman holiday.

SANDY, FROM THEN, WARMINSTER

I REMEMBER THIS CONCERT WELL. IT WAS HOT AS HELL BUT WHAT A GREAT TIME. BEER WAS FLOWING AND THE WAFT OF WEED WAS IN THE AIR AND IN MY HEAD. THERE WERE SO MANY PEOPLE AROUND, THAT WHEN I FELT LIKE I WAS GOING TO PASS OUT, THERE WAS NO WHERE TO FALL. PEOPLE JUST HELD ME UP. I USED TO HAVE THE NEWSPAPER ARTICLE FROM THIS CONCERT, AND IF I REMEMBER RIGHT THERE WAS ABOUT 130,00 PEOPLE. THAT WAS 25,000 PEOPLE MORE THAN THE STADIUM COULD OR SHOULD HAVE HELD. YES WAS AWESOME. FRAMPTON WAS GREAT. WHAT AN EXPERIENCCE.

tony henry

Folks,

I loved reading through the beautiful comments/anecdotes about that special DAY - which was more than just a mere rock concert experience.

Despite some comments to the contrary, I thought Gary Wright and his all keyboard band was great. I especially remember Gary raising his mobile keyboard to the heavens. Also, let's remember... Dream Weaver was a really good pop song.

Frampton was at his pinnacle - tanned and playing note-perfect from having toured the "Alive" album non-stop before arriving in Philly for the gig.

Yes was the perfect headliner for the evening. Playing much of Relayer (Jeez... you think folks who play music like THAT could fill a stadium today???) and wearing the robes of demi-gods (which they kind of were for some at that point in their career).

I SO remember the full moon, trying to touch the just-out-of-grasp lasers and the huge fires at the end of the night. Surreal.

The Broad Street subway ride home in those old scretching cars was like a crash landing after a show so sublime.

Well... aren't we lucky to have the memory of that day to cherish?That's what keeps you young, too... the memories of such things.

Although we try so much to convey the magic of the day to those who weren't there, Yes, Peter Frampton, Gary Wright, Ed Shockey, the sun, the beer, the drugs and all of us doing it all together during that crazy wonderful day is a memory that no one but those of us who participated in it can truly appreciate.

I guess that's why we're here STILL talking about, remembering and cherishing it.

Bill RRRRR

WOW, some great memories are sure flying after reading these review's. I was there and had forgotten some of what's been written, but I remember it now. One thing that hasn't been mentioned and anyone there should deffinately remember. Between bands (forget which one) I grabbed one of my friends and we climbed the light towers and were sitting up there waiting for the next band. A few minutes later several other's started climbing some of the other towers. Then the announcer came out on stage, grabbed the micraphone and said "everyone need's to get off the tower's, because when we turn them on we're going to have some Kentucky Fried People and the next band won't start until your down." I think everyone was down in 30 seconds. But the food flight....(I don't think I'll forget a bunch of us grabbing our blankets, holding them over our heads and putting our girlfriends in the middle so theu wouldn't get hit). AWSOME CONCERT!!!

Bill RRRRR

WOW, some great memories are sure flying after reading these review's. I was there and had forgotten some of what's been written, but I remember it now. One thing that hasn't been mentioned and anyone there should deffinately remember. Between bands (forget which one) I grabbed one of my friends and we climbed the light towers and were sitting up there waiting for the next band. A few minutes later several other's started climbing some of the other towers. Then the announcer came out on stage, grabbed the micraphone and said "everyone need's to get off the tower's, because when we turn them on we're going to have some Kentucky Fried People and the next band won't start until your down." I think everyone was down in 30 seconds. But the food flight....(I don't think I'll forget a bunch of us grabbing our blankets, holding them over our heads and putting our girlfriends in the middle so theu wouldn't get hit) AWSOME CONCERT!!!

Carolyn

I'm happy to see from all the postings that the concert unfolded as I remembered- I sometimes don't trust my memories of concerts, they were true party events!The fires and garbage freaked me out,and I wound up with sun poison, but it was worth it. I remember feeling sorry for the Mummers while wondering WHY were they on stage at a rock concert!?

Craig Hughes - Pittsburgh, PA

I was there with a large group of friends. Got there early (parked on the golf course in Roosevelt Park). Does anyone remember the bonfires in the stands as everyone was freezing after getting sunburned all day? Carried in coolers of food, booze and head candy. If my kids ever do something like that I'll be scared to death.

Smitty

I was there but don't remember too much, lol. We were directly in the back, right in line with the stage. couldn't see much but the sound was good. at least I remember hearing it.
one thing I do recall was after the concert in the parking lot, stopping to relieve ourselves, and a police helicopter shining the light down on us.

Donna Muller

I'm a 48 yr. old mom of 6 grown kids (the youngest 4 are in college) and was scrapbooking my Peter Frampton Sept. '06 Keswick Theater concert tickets and photos today when I decided to dig for my Frampton/YES June 12, 1976 memorabilia in my OLD scrapbooks.I spent 8 hrs. today making color copies on my home copier of a pile of original Philadelphia Bulletin and Inquirer articles and carefully mounting all of them (and my tickets) on acid-free cardstock so I can pass the whole collection down to my kids, all before coming across this website.All of the memories on this site were written about in the paper: the full moon, the laser show, the garbage, the "PCP, sun, and water" announcements, the fires, garbage being thrown at the Mummers, etc. The only thing I haven't read on here is about the hundreds of cut feet they had to treat in the hospital tent from all the broken glass bottles.My boyfriend and I (my husband today) were very much in love, high school was finally over, and we were about to travel on trains across 5 countries in Europe for the summer.What a day. We saw Frampton last Sept. + can't believe 31 yrs. have flown by.Even last Sept, everyone sitting near us was talking about that great day in June 1976.There aren't many concerts talked about 30 years into the future.

bobalhead

I was there at the concert, i guss your not going to belive this but i stated the fight with the trash. Belive me its true. it was over a women not sitting down and she was blocking the view of the statge

mike t

What a great concert,the first act was the uptown mummers string band. I could be wrong (uptown)....but the place went crazy(being philly) golden slippers....the mistake the mummers made was playing a second song. Then the crowd mutinyed.Everything and anything that could be thrown was.They took the hint.Everyone cheered when they left.The next act was the puser band......I don't remeber them...I remember a band but I think the crowd was booing them to get off. Then Frampton.....I was there for YES. But Frampton was Great! Three encores.......He stated that was the first time his parents saw him perform in the states.....they must have come with him.Then the orange crate fight broke out......there was sh*t getting thrown all over the place.Then YES came out. The sound was Great....Maraz taking over for Wakeman wasn't as good but he held his on.And then this eye...that looked like the space ship from war of the world(the original)came down from the top of the stage... first there was one green light shooting out from it, then two,then four, and next thing the beams are all over the place.moving to the music.If you were high your still looking for a way out.

Mark C. Sloan

A very memorable concert indeed.105,000 people, including several hundred that crashed a closed gate.A hot dog stand was raided after the help decided to bail out from way to many people grabbing food without paying.........I can still see the gleem of the sun on the hot dogs going end over end up the east side of the stands by people throwing them.The mummers got booed off the stage.My friend Joe found a bag of weed that was laced with narcotics........bad move....bad headache that lasted all day. "PCP ,sun and no water means you will miss the rest of the concert" coming over the PA system several times.People being assisted by medical staff for booze,drugs and too much exposure to the sun.Just watching all of these events unfold was very surreal and at times comical and hours before YES took the stage.Waiting for YES was torture but well worth it....Amazing stage dezign..incredible lights and lasers and of course unbeleivable sound............. ahh.. To be seventeen again.

Kevin Decker

Hey Ron i think you remember more than I do. I will always remember how cool Chris Squire was and that Patrick moraz spoke little english, at least to us, and that the bodyguard for Framptomm was rude and that Peter Framptom was maybe five feet tall. This was one one my favorite concerts ever and Yes was fantastic just like they where a couple days later in Jersey. Good to see you doing good, are you still living in Arizona? Hey Ron go to Classmates.com and our old High school, graduating years 77 or 78 and and send me a e-mail, Yes is the Best.

Rick S

This was the first concert I ever went to. I went with my sister Denise and friends. I think I was 13. I couldn't believe how many people were there and all the 55 gallon drums of beer taken from all the concert goers. I still remember this giant beach ball thing being kicked around the stadium. Also remeber the laser show Yes put on. I'm glad I was a part of this concert, as it appears it was yes's largest show ever. I think 105 thousand attended. I was so far in the back of the stadium, it was so hard to see the band. I still remember it to this day.

Ron Reyer

I was in attendence as well as with the above poster, Kevin Decker. However I think Kevin took too much acid or suffers from some memory loss due to the 'temple-balls' we smoked that day, because both Cheryl (who had a car) and Rudy (the whinner) never went.

Anyway.., dubbed as the "1976 Bicentennial Concert", this Yes concert followed just a few days before their 6/17/76 legendary performace at Roosevelt Stadium in Jersey City, NJ. I was their too (Kevin wasn't, dumbass!), but that's yet another rememberable story. After hitchiking from NJ, I recall arriving a day before the JFK event to find a massive crowd camped with blankets and partying along side the doors where we parked ourselves. "And we thought we'd be the 1st ones!"

As the day wore on, we became hungry and increasing stoned. We then noticed the flickering of lights from several hotels in the distance as the sun went down. With no blankets, food and low on smokes, we decided to take a journey. As we walked, we jokingly entertained ourselves with the idea that 'Yes' maybe spending the evening at one of the hotels. Guess what, they were! And we nearly fell to the floor as we entered the Hilton to witness the one and only, Jon Anderson, walking to an elevator with two hot babes! Who those girls were is anyones guess. However, I don't recall ever talking to him and imagine that Steve Howe was probably upstairs somewhere in his room waiting for Jon and those two chics?

Soon, the thought of food, blankets and smokes was completly off our minds. Neither was the worry of how we appeared.., sort of like the characters from the movie "Wayne's World!" Being underage didn't stop us from venturing into the lounge area either, which was over-crowded by roadies and others alike. We kind of put on the persona that we were at home and we (f**k'n) belonged there. As we pushed our way into the bar crowd, we noticed Alan White.., and Chris Squire who curiously approached us. Chris was so cool, and impressed with a gift I gave him of a drawing I had made of some fish and landscape (kind of ressembling 'Tales from Tropographic Oceans'). I told Chris I intended to throw it up on stage during their performance. "The funny thing about it is that he released his solo album (Fish Out Of Water) later that same year". Weather that's coinencedence or not, I may never know? Nonetheless, each member of the group released his own solo album following that 1975–1976 tour.

After talking a bit more, Chris asked if I wanted anything signed? Unfortunately I didn't have anything but a bar napkin. However instead of signing the 'dreaded' paper, Chris tore off and signed the back of his Heineken label. He even bought me a beer, which I thought was really cool! Following that, Patrick Moraz made his entrance. However he wasn't so friendly, and pompously lifted up his arm away as I offered to shake his hand. Guess he was worried that a 17 y/o kid from Jersey was gonna break it (hehe)? Next thing I know, I was being pushed to the side by these huge guys who were making their was into the lounge. It was kind of like a Mike Tyson's entourage heading for the ring, and in middle of the pack was Peter Frampton. But I could hardly see him, and didn't realize he was so tiny (haha).

I don't recall what we did the rest of the night. Guess we had a good time? But we eventually made our way back to the arena and bedded down with some blankets that were given out for free by some mercenaries. The next day followed with a stampeed going through the gates. "I never seen so many people!" Not only was this the largest group of Yes fans ever assembled, but also the biggest 'enclosed' concert the United States had ever witnessed. Christ, people were even climbing the tall light poles! The day was also extremly hot with folks passing out left and right. Either from the heat or the bad acid that was supposedly going around.

Later they staged a medical tent and even brought in several fire hoses, suspending them in the middle of the arena to drench the overwhelmed crowds. But tensions soon began to fade as the concert progressed and bands took to the stage. Gary Wright put on a great performance, but was overshadowed after Frampton came on. Who, by the way, brought his mom out onto the stage. I wonder what she thought about all those exposed and inviting swinging breats pointed at her son face? In and around those sets, the Pousette-Dart band & Mummers played (unknown to me). They really sucked. But fortunately they were quickly booed-off the stage and a huge food fight ensuded. Complete with juice cartons and watermelon.., you name it! Anything fans could get their hands on. Keep in mind that JFK Stadium was the site that hosted the first Gene Tunney vs Jack Dempsey heavyweight boxing match.

Then as when the sun went down, Yes FINALLY came on! It was really fascinating to see the artsey stage set. But the icing on the cake was the fantastic laser-beams that reached the fingertips of the fans. Glowing and pulsating to the beautiful rhythmic cords that filled the air. The spell was on, and it continued through Heart of the Sunrise and all the solo pieces. Their multi-layered, highly structured soundscapes were in terms of performance perfection and of the focused emotional energy the songs projected. All in all, it was a wonderful exeperience and everybody had a great time.

I'm especially glad that Yes is still around Today in this new century. Unfortunately, that wasn't the fate of JFK Stadium. After being poorly maintained over the years, the stadium was condemned in 1989. A concert on July 7th by the Grateful Dead was the last public event held at the stadium and it was later demolished in 1992.

"Long Live YES!"

Tony Raspa

I have been observing this web page for awhile and came across the reviews of this show. I was also part of the massive crowd this fine day and I have to leave my experience. Me and 4 friends from Margate, NJ got there early and when the gates opened John and I were herded in like cattle ready for the slaughter. We got seperated from the others but remarkably found them later. We ended up on the 50 yard line right next to the sound booth tower. As the day progressed it got hotter. All the bands were fantastic. Our jug of vodka and OJ went bad but people who were wacked out that went by took some chugs and it didn't faze them. We ran into some other friends during the Yes set and one of them must of been on some good stuff. He was amazed at the light show. It was the full moon. One things really stuck with other than the music. When the mummers came out they were pelted with everything and anything. I was not privledged to be at Woodstock but this is probably the closest I will ever get to a day of Peace, Love and Music.

Kevin Decker

This was a great summer of concerts for me and my friends. I grew up in Belleville, N.J. and me, my best freind Jerry, Randy, Cherly, and Rudy all hitched-hiked from Beleville, which is just outside Newark the day before and got their late afternoon after a couple of memorable experiences that we won't get into right now. We found one of the doors that had no people in front of and sat down waitng for the time when the would open the doors. After awhile me and my freind Randy took off to walk around because he wanted to get more cigarettes. We walked over to one of the Hotels in the distance and as we walked in the Hotel Jon Anderson was at the front desk, we ran up to him and he was great talked wit us for a couple of mins and then we asked where the rest of the band was? He said Steve was upstairs and the rest was in the bar. We had him sign the back of our T-shirts and went into the bar. Theier was Alan White and Chris Squire at a table with a couple of other people we did not know and at the bar was Patrick Moraz by himself. I went up to Patrick and he did not speak great english and I got him to sign the back of my shirt, thanked him and walked over to the table. I was about to introduce myself when Chris said to me "My names Chris, What's yours? Everyone was so nice and they asked me questions and made me fell apart of their group. Chris walked me outside the bar and talked with me and Randy would could not come in because he was not 21, talked with us some more and asked not to tell those with us because he did not want a riot or something like that. We agreed and thanked him. When the doors finally opened we got down on the feild right up front and endured the 100' degree heat and the other bands and when Yes finally came on they where great. I t really was a all around great time and the best part was that the band themselves threat us with respect and kindness. Yes is the Best

david feinstein

in 1967 my name was david diffenderfer. my freind and i hitch hiked to the concert from exeter township Pa. we smoked some tainted weed wile in the parking lot. i do not know what it was but 5 hours got lost. i have know idea what happened but next thing i know we were headed in. the gate was insane. people were trying to clime over the barbed wire and geting cut up only to be kicked out if they did make it over. inside we found seating as far back in the statium as could be due to the extreem crowd. people were throwing ropes over the side so there freinds could clime up the side of the statium. some actualy made it.others were climbing up onto thr light stands to get a better view. security eventualy got them down. luckily the drugs were wearing off and i was back in the drivers seat. there was a guy who took off all his clothes and put a paper bag over his head then began running full tilt on top of the crowd. he got prety messed up. the mummers sucked, gary wright was so so, framton was great, [yes was unbelievably fantastic]. know one else on this page has mentioned the moon rise three songs into the show. it was full and came up over the stage like it was part of the show lasers and all. the crowd gave a groop sigh as they realised what was happening. after my dileriam earlier i passed up many opportunitys to get stoned. i am so glad i did. i was 17 at the time, i am 46 now. i have never seen a concert performance like this one. it was the show to compare all others to. even yes shows which are allways great. the lazers were moving across the audence, buy the time they reached me in the back they were about 8 inches in diameter and hurt like hell on your eyes when they hit you. never the less i would not have missed this one for anything. i have often tried to describe this show to others but there realy not words to acurately describe it.

Art Musselman

Hey Yes fans, it seems a fairly clear memory that Jefferson Starship was originally on the bill, but maybe they pulled out before concert time. Does anyone remember that?

Otherwise, you've all captured the event as I remember it. The sun was hot. The mass of people stretched from rim-to-rim in the stadium. The food fight was huge. Pity those who weren't already too stoned to care, who didn't have a blanket or something to cover themselves. The fires in the stands, the wind, and the music, of course, are vivid memories.

I wasn't quite 17 when Woodstock happened (not allowed to go), putting me at the age of 23 in "The Summer of '76". I've always thought of that day at JFK as kind of a Woodstock of my own.

Tim Tobish

Not much to add. This was a truly magical day. I'll just add my personal experiences.

My control-freak mother, who didn't want me to go in the first place, decided in her infinite wisdom that we couldn't leave for the show until almost 2pm.

As this was an OVERSOLD general admission show, by the time we arrived, the stadium was PACKED and the first band was about to go on. After myself and my four friends had weaved our way through hordes of people, we ended up in one of the tunnels and decided we could go no further, and broke into our overly generous stash of Thai stick.

After about 2 ounces, we were close to hallucinating. Screw the Brown Acid warning, we were TOASTED.

Gary Wright came on. My mom, although stingy with her concert permissiveness, was a food-a-halolic, and had packed a picnic lunch for 8. My friends were ravenous, and I get a weird, idiocyncratic reaction to pot where I completely LOSE my appetite, I spread the wealth.

Fat and happy, we all crawled out to where the tunnel opened to the stadium. As mentioned by other reviewers, Gary Wright played a fantastic, though unappreciated, set. We watched from afar, and loved it.

We stood there through the food fight, the Pousette-Dart band, and the Mummers. You have to be from Philadelphia to appreciate how truly awful the Mummers are, and to appreciate their being thrown offstage.

During the break, we retreated to our tunnel to smoke another ounce or so of Thai stick. Now unbelievably baked, as Frampton came on, we went out again to the opening of the stage, and enjoyed his set.

You have to understand that at this juncture, every woman we'd dated LOVED "Frampton Comes Alive," so we'd all been exposed. Again, a very enjoyable time was had by all.

Still, I despaired. I was a HUGE Yes-Head. My friends liked Yes and all, but they weren't dyed-in-the-wool-I-Love-Tales-From-Topographic-Oceans fans like I was, and they seemed perfectly content to sit in the tunnel.

My savior arrived in the form of my best friend from first grade.

I was scanning the people stolling through the tunnel when I suddenly spied Mike Rosati. I grabbed him and made great hellos. Mike and I hadn't spoken much, but I was glad to see him.

All he said was "Follow me."

I had become used to Mike, and knew when he gave an order, it was best to respond. I stuck close, and before we knew it, we had gone down on the field. The crowd had thinned out a bit after all of the girls who had thrown their bras to Mr. Frampton had left, and we got onto the main field.

We inched closer. And closer. AND CLOSER.

Finally we found his friends, who had a large amount of turf staked out about 15 feet back from the stage, DEAD CENTER.

As he said "Do you have any pot"? the lights went out and Yes came on.

We got him and his friends stoned. I was in heaven, my Yes dreams come true. The Roger Dean stage was AWESOME, and we were within FEET of the band!

My memories of the show, given the vast amounts of Thai weed we had smoked, were a bit hazy, but they've been aided by listening to the Rooseveldt Stadium bootlet (thank you, Silent Wings). I still remember the bonfires during "TGOG," with the green and blue lasers cascading through the crowd. You have to realize, it wasn't 5-10 beams, it was HUNDREDS. I distinctly remember ISAGP, and Patrick playing his port-a-keyboard, Jon's harp solo, and especially "Ritual," which none of my friends could dig (as they weren't the "Yes-Rules-and-I-Love-TFTO" fanatics that I was. Except Mike. He got it. At one point, my friend David was so stoned he was lying on his back saying that angels were talking to him. I believe that was during "Heart of the Sunrise."

We finally got out of there after "Roundabout," and I remember that the hot sparks from the fireworks were falling around us as we tried to find our car in the parking lot. Four fifteen year old Yes rats with blown synapses.

It was bliss.

Glenn Leonard

I can't add much more. The accounts are right on! I was 16 & it was already my 4th Yes show/tour. I think it's relevant to point out that a full moon was rising that night just as Yes hit the stage. Jon mentioned it about 20 minutes into the show. I knew he was soaking up the enrgy. This may explain the particular craziness that day/night. I was reminded of this show when I saw them again years later in the Philly area in '94 on the Summer Solstice outdoors under a full moon. Jon, again, was magnetized by the energy.

Tayo Lopes

Thanks so much to the other reviewers for bringing back many lost memories of this special day. Basking in the sweltering Philly summer heat with 130,000 fellow concertgoers, the bonfires later that night in the cold chilly stadium, the booing of the mummers, thousands of fans throwing orange drink cartons, the bad acid announcement, Peter Frampton at the height of his career (Excellent set, I might add), the 2 different factions of fans at this show Yes fans vs Frampton fans and last but not least......one of the best sets Yes or any other band for that matter, has EVER played. Simply perfect. With the lasers, sound quality, and the stage setting....this could possibly be the best concert any band has ever done, and yes....."Sound Chaser" was note for note.

Kevin Keough

...oh holy night it was....wind kicked up during Gates of Delirium...blest to have been apart of one of the most remarkable concert experiences ever...and Leslie Bennett kissed me the night before and after....16 years old...healing and inspiration, wonder and mystery......Hep Yaddha

Bob Cuesta

Things I remember about this show:

Someone broke into the concession stand trucks the night before and handed out all the food and drinks to the "campers".
Peter Frampton, Gary Wright, the Mummers...
An annoucement not to take the acid that was going around, that it was bad.
First aid guys smearing sun screen on burt fans.
Event staff spraying water on hot fans.
Blue and green lazers jutting out into space during the intro to CTTE.
Fires being set all over the place in the stands.
My buddy Hoff's new Pinto, trashed while parked near the stadium by exiting fans, with a dead battery, forcing us to get a room at the Hilton in Philly with the 2 girls we were with. Bummer!

Oh, and the show was pretty good, too!

Doug

Hey man I was there! You nailed it! It was great. I was trying to explain it to my 14 Year Old Son, and you verified everything. Thanks for your great synopsis of the day. It was very special. I was 14 when I went. Hey Tom, remember all the drugs for sale in the parking lot? Never saw anything like that since. Maybe that's a good thing.



Thanks Again,
Doug

Paul

Frampton was at the peak of his career at that time, but Yes was still going strong especially in Philly. Not too many people left the show at JFK before Yes hit the stage. I agree Gary Wright was fluff, but his band consisting of all keyboards and a drummer was really interesting to me, a young musician at the time.

As far as the show goes, I think it was general admission because I remember leaving piss-early in the morning to get there. My friends and I flirted with the idea of sitting on the field, but determining that it looked too rowdy down there, we opted for a fifth row bench seat on Squire's side at about the fifty yard line. Then we waited around and baked in the 90 plus degree heat until sometime in the late afternoon. Suddenly the Mummers took the stage and were immediately welcomed with that famous Philly hospitality taking the form of flying debris and a chorus of boos. Needless to say, they bailed quickly. This was a hint as to what was to follow.

During the ensuing downtime I believe before Gary Wright hit the stage, the crowd was getting restless. All of a sudden, people literally started taking over the concession stands that were located in the infield. There was a mini riot happening about thirty feet below me on the field. They tore up the tents and started throwing anything they could get their hands on and you could see it progress around the stadium as each stand was hit. The sky looked like a plague of locusts had descended on the stadium as it was filled with flying pretzels, raw hot dogs, hot dog buns, cartons of orangeade and anything else that could be thrown. I remember laughing my ass off uncontrollably as I took turns throwing stuff into the air and seeking shelter under a blanket. This was one of the largest food fights that I ever saw or even heard about.

Finally Gary Wright played, Frampton did his thing and then Yes put on a fantastic show complete with lasers. Toward the end of the show, the temperature had dropped into the sixties and people started getting cold as light winds blew on freshly sunburned skin. This lead to people starting little bonfires in the stands and as with the food fight, I watched in awe as probably twenty fires started making their way around the stadium. They were eventually put out by staff, but while they were going the effect seemed to enhance the music that was being played onstage.

I had been to other shows before this, but this was a full day experience that I can't seem to forget. I never looked at shows the same after this one with Moraz and the boys and always seemed to compare it to all future shows by any band I saw. Sorry for the long story, but I just had the urge to share today.

John

In 1976, I saw yes play at JFK stadium in Philadelphia on June 12, 1976. This is a memorable day for me for many reasons. I graduated high school that day. My best friend and I went to the stadium after a party and a few doobs. Being recent high school graduates, we decided it was a smart thing to park the car in the parking lot of our school, which is located in the heart of the North Philadelphia ghetto, and walk three blocks to the subway and not have to worry about parking hassles at JFK. We got there just in time to see yes come on stage. I wanted to see Frampton, but you got to pay your respects on graduation day. We did not have great seats, but I remember the great vibes, a great stage and the lasers and bonfires.

After the concert, my friend and I thought we would just take the subway to Girard Ave. and walk the 3 blocks to our new Alma Mater. We could not get on the subway, so we started to walk and hitch.

A kind soul picked us up and offered to take us to our car, but we said it wasn't necessary. Broad and Girard is different at 1 in the morning than it is at 8 in the morning.

Being very white boys, we were chased for two blocks by a gang of at least ten guys, until we reached our car. very scary. I think I still have this ticket stub.

On 6/12/76, I returned from a Senior Week vacation in North Wildwood,NJ, graduated, had my first pseudo-legal beer, saw Yes at JFK, and was almost murdered.

Sweet Dreams, indeed.

Anonymous

I arrived at JFK stadium along with my then girlfriend Sherry (quintessential YES fan, and coolest girl I've ever known) on Friday afternoon, the day before the concert. The parking lot that surrounded JFK stadium was already starting to fill up with 'campers', hopeful on getting a prime spot on the field when the stadium gates open the next morning. As we walked through the parking lot, I remember hearing a cacophony of YES music which was being blasted from hundreds of cars. We staked out a spot near the gates to the stadium. We spent the day and night partying with all the other campers, and as usual, were pretty stoned. Somewhere around 10:00pm or so, YES does a sound check. They played Starship Trooper and the campers go wild. Everyone scrambles to try and get a peak at the band. The only thing we could see from the parking lot was the side of the stage, and a brief glimpse of Chris and Jon. One other thing that does stand out in my memory is in the middle of the night, some people broke into a trailer in the parking lot which was being used to store hundreds of cases of orange drink cartons. They started heaving them out the back of the trailer, and the crowd went into a frenzy picking them up. This would become significant the next day.

The next morning it got very hot, very quick. I do not remember exactly what time the gates opened, but when they did, a significant crowd was behind us pushing their way in. We basically got shot through the gate like toothpaste out of a tube. We ran down onto the field and ended up about 50 feet from the stage, near center. More partying ensued.

The first act to come on was The Pousette Dart Band. I do not remember a damn thing they played, which is probably good. Then to the disbelief of the crowd, a Mummers band comes on stage and starts playing. The crowd goes berserk. To drive them off stage they start throwing the orange drink cartons at them (I think everyone who camped out the night before hauled in a number of them). It got ugly pretty quick, and the Mummers made a hasty retreat. In relatively no time, Gary Wright (the 'Dream Weaver' dude) takes the stage. He was actually not bad, but I only knew two songs he did (the other being 'Love is Alive'). Peter Frampton then comes on, who was at the height of his popularity with 'Frampton Comes Alive' high on the charts. He did a good show. I'm kind of glad he was on the bill that day. 'Frampton Comes Alive' is still one of the top selling albums of all time, and to have seen him at his apex is something I still bring up when talking of classic concerts/acts I've seen.

Dusk begins to fall, and YES takes the stage. They open with Siberian Khatru. I remember Steve Howe was wearing a white, kind of waist length cape/frock, which was also attached to his arms (ala Brian May). They then blasted into an excellent version of Sound Chaser. That moment was the first time I thought that Alan White might actually work out in the long run (I was, and still am, a Bruford purist). Later in the set when it got darker, the laser beams came on. The beams shot out from the stage and over the opposite rim of the stadium. The next day it was reported in the newspaper that the laser beams were visible well into New Jersey, and created a stir there. I vividly remember at one point turning around and looking back at the stadium. The lasers passing overhead, and by this time, a number of small bonfires dotted the stands. A sight to behold. It was a lot cooler out by this time and the wind had picked up, fanning the fires, and blowing the stage canvas and Roger Dean set (I think this later became known as the 'Crab Nebula') around.

After a couple of encores, the most memorable concert of my youth was over. An unforgettable experience which will be with me until my dying days. Although I would attend many future YES concerts, and still do, this one goes down as the best all around.

Mark Burgh

The day was hot at the beginning, long, and the night got very chilly, as I recall. I attended the show with two friends who were not Yes fans, but took the massive show as an opportunity to get stoned outdoors. We were crushed back and for at the mesh gates waiting to be let in, and then thrust into the stadium by the force of crowd behind us. My friends and I took up seats at an oblique angle to the stage, since we did not want to sit on the crowded grass. The show began with the Pousette D'Art Band, about which I recall nothing but a distance precence far away on a stifling afternoon. Gary Wright, of "Dreamweaver" then came on, and did a set that was lively and underappreciated. Sometime between Wright and the appears of Peter Frampton, somebody had the bright idea to bring on Mummers, a Philadelphia news-years tradition that brings the very worst of musicianship, taste, and intelligence to the fore. Naturally they were pelted off-stage. I recall a sea of trash heaving up from the audience. Then Frampton came on, and to the delight to many, simply repeated his famous "Frampton Comes Alive," album. By then the sun was going down. I was thoroughly sun-burned and not a little stoned. Then Yes came on. Lasers of blue and green fanned over the darkened oval of the stadium as the band launched into their set. For years later I dreamed of those pure streams of light blasting through the darkness. A huge medical tent set up near the back of the stadium erupted into flame, the tent billowing up and down in the heat. Yes played on. I recall Jon Anderson's harp playing, and seeing Steve Howe and Chris Squire standing against the sharp wind that blew up. I was on my feet the whole time, trying to see, trying to hear, listening to music that was too big for the vastness of the arena, and too big for most of the people who had come to the show. After the show, I wandered down close to the stage, because I could only see the very front of the show. There I saw Roger Dean's sets , Alan White's kit, and last and most memorable, Patrick Moraz's Orchestron.

Getting out the parking lot that night took more time than the show. The City of Phildelphia, run now, as then, by incompetants, allowed this huge concert to go on the same night the Phillies played at home. It was the first time I saw Yes, and it was well worth the hassles. Now JFK is gone, along with my hair, my youth, and my dreams of green and blue lasers, but I still listen to Yes.

Fred Aun

It was otherworldly. The sun got to my girlfriend, who fell asleep on the blanket and kept getting kicked inadvertently by those stumbling past. That was a drag but as the sun set and the lasers shot from the stage and Yes music filled the air, that big football stadium became a cathedral. Heart of the Sunrise gave me the chills and still does. Then, a night I'll never forget. Making it home to Northern Jersey, while the three passengers slept, along a windy back road. Thinking I was lost at midnight. Going by instinct and finding my way. Thanks for being there.

John McGann

I attended the Philly mega-show with Frampton etc. Yes took the stage toward sundown, they were amazing, I remember Chris going ballistic when his cord shorted out during his opening solo on Heart of the Sunrise...but it was totally thrilling, as my friends and I took advantage of the 3 opening acts to worm our way toward the first 15 or so rows, so it was a birds-eye experience. It was also about 98=BA =46 and wicked humid. For my tastes this was the end of the peak years for Yes ( in fact I think 'Yesshows' is the definitive set) I'm just bummed that I was a few years too young to have seen the 71-74 era shows.

Eddie Paskor

I remember the day starting off with the fairly long early morning drive from NYC, where I grew up, to Philly for the event. There were indeed a host of non - prog bands on the bill and now "famous" yesfan/DJ Ed Sciaky did some of the intros. I was really pretty far back from the stage in the stands - we considered fighting our way down twords the stage on the field but it was obvious there was some very rowdy behavior going on and we thought better of that. The infamous fires which definitely DID occour actually were started twords the end of Yes's set - it did get quite cold in the evening after being a very hot, sunny day.

JBird

As for my 23 years as a Yes fan, I can tell you that I've been there for the good and bad. Some of the best memories are from camping out for concert tickets and enjoying Yes up close. For those who are interested, I'd like to share some of the especially good and the especially bad memories:

* Especially good being first in line for the '76 JFK concert. We camped out 3 days in advance. Being juveniles, we broke in to the old stadium to use the facilities and watch them build the stage. When we returned to our place in line, we found that a large group of rowdy hooligans had taken over being first in line. Not to be outdone, we promptly gathered up our belongings and moved to the gate on the opposite side closest to the stage. Sure enough, they let us in first and we spread our blankets front and center. The especially bad part of this was that they oversold this show by about 30,000!! The estimated crowd was around 150,000 and we were nearly crushed!!

On the bill were the Pusset Dart Band, Gary Somebody-or-other, The Mummers, Peter Frampton and Yes. By the time The Mummers came on stage the acid consumed by Frampton fans had kicked in and they began throwing trash and sod at the old geezers in costume. The Mummers exited quickly. Too quickly because the Frampton crowd decided it was too much fun throwing shit around and turned on Yes fans. This started some bad blood for the rest of the day. And what a day it was! Mid-June, not a cloud in the sky, 92 degrees (and no suntan lotion...yikes!). By the time Frampton came on stage the sun was setting and the wind was picking up. And, by the time old Peter was singing Don't Hesitate (or is it Baby I Love Your Way?), the Framptonheads were burning shit to keep warm. Yes, we had small fires in the stadium!

When Yes took the stage, the sun had set and we were treated to a cold wind but a hot stage. Roger Dean's motorized blue crab-like thing dominated the background and zippy green laser beams were cast out into space throughout the concert. Vivid memories of Steve Howe's blazing guitar work on "The Gates of Delirium" and the wind whipping his hair (yes, he had hair then) and his costume back. Patrick Moraz playing way over his head and Jon Anderson with a beard playing a harp and excerpts from OLIAS OF SUNHILLOW! Alan White with what seemed like a Stevie Wonder smile. Ah, those were the days!

Don St. John

I thought I'd do a quick post on the 20th anniversary today (as I write) of Yes at JFK Stadium in Philadelphia, June 12 1976. It was a monumental and magical day for me--my first concert of any sort, my first of many Yes shows, the only time I ever saw full RELAYER material performed, and (incidentally) the first time I ever smoked pot. The pot has mostly gone by the wayside; Yes has never done so. My life changed that day: If any one thing has imprinted on my mind and soul, it is music, and the music of classic Yes above anyone else, I think. They've tapped into a sound that has changed me and many of us. I can still see the fires that burned in JFK that night, at the tail end of a perfect day, as the end of the battle in "The Gates of Delirium" played out into the quiet, soothing strains of "Soon". When I find the rare moments today where I can look above my daily concerns, quiet mind, heart, and body, and sense something bigger in the universe, that's the moment I relive. I hope this band---in any incarnation you prefer--has brought some of that same quality of living to you.

Yesman Lee

CIRCUS Magazine
September 13, 1976

The tour's biggest gig was held in Philadelphia's JFK Stadium, where over 100,000 Yes people turned out to see them.

"JFK was the biggest gig the band has ever done," Squire confirms. "There was about 110,000 people in JFK. It was a fantastic place to play, it really was. It's so beautifully laid out, and it was really one of the best sounds that I've ever experienced in an open-air gig.

"You just have to be adjusted to doing it, really. We had a PA that was equivalent to 14 ordinary systems, and it was on three levels on each side of the stage. It was really lovely."