So as you can see from the ticket, this concert was supposed to have been held at the Miami Baseball Stadium, but was instead moved to the infamous Hollywood Sportatorium. I was on the fence about going, for a few reasons. First off, they were not the original Skynyrd, although they had most of the originals, along with Ronnie’s brother on vocals:
Lineup
- Johnny Van Zant – vocals
- Gary Rossington – guitar
- Ed King – guitar
- Randall Hall – guitar
- Billy Powell – keyboards
- Leon Wilkeson – bass
- Artimus Pyle – drums
- Lacy Van Zant (Ronnie and Johnny’s father) – tuba for one song
- Toy Caldwell of the Marshall Tucker Band – fourth guitar to some songs
The second cause for hesitancy was that fact that, living in South Florida, I was subjected to the raving fanaticism of redneck adoration to Skynyrd on an almost daily basis. Finally, I was not crazy about the Baseball Stadium. In spite of all that, I bought a ticket, and felt somewhat relieved when it was announced they were moving the show to the Sporto.
The Gary Rossington Band opened the show, and got the crowd pretty riled. Rebel flags were waved with pride, something that made me feel less than comfortable.
When Skynyrd came out, I have to confess, they sounded good. Seeing Ed King up there was a treat, and Billy Powell’s keyboard playing was as great as ever. While I never considered myself a fan of the band, I did know every song that they played, which always makes for a good concert experience.
When the band played “Free Bird” as the last song of the evening, Johnny opted not to sing, and just hung his hat on the microphone stand, and the band played an instrumental version to which the crowd sang along. It was actually a nice, sentimental gesture.
Anyway, here’s the setlist. Rock on!
Setlist:
- Workin’ for MCA
- I Ain’t the One
- Saturday Night Special
- Gimme Back My Bullets
- The Needle and the Spoon
- That Smell
- The Ballad of Curtis Loew
- Things Goin’ On
- Swamp Music
- I Know a Little
- Gimme Three Steps
- Call Me the Breeze
- What’s Your Name
- Comin’ Home
- Simple Man
- Sweet Home Alabama
- Free Bird
The Stub Collection 