Touched by the greats
Over the years, the Fort has been host to many well-known acts.
Here are some of the biggest and best that have graced CSU with
their presence.
Johnny Cash On May 13, 1970, the king of country performed to a
full house in Moby Arena. The former cotton picker from Kingsland,
Ark., warmed the audience’s heart by opening with some ballads and
then brought down the house by performing his more popular songs
such as “Ring of Fire.”
“His message is etched in tragedy, tears and trauma-but few in
the audience know how closely the big man on stage has lived with
the ingredients of his music,” said Joseph Cassidy, a student who
attended CSU when Cash toured through. Carl Perkins and the
Tennessee Three opened for Cash. The tickets cost $4.
“Cash isn’t the typical entertainer. He just doesn’t jump on
stage, sing his eight or nine songs, and disappear backstage. He
likes to converse with his fans and often asks for suggestions on
his song selections,” said Marty Lipkin, another student who
attended the show. Cash had 14 No. 1 hits throughout his career.
Unfortunately, Johnny Cash died Sept. 12, but his music will linger
with us forever.
Rolling Stones Ecstatic headlines and advertisements such as
“The Stones are coming…Hurrah…Hurrah,” saturated The Collegian
up until their arrival at Moby on Nov. 5, 1969. Tickets sold out in
10 days.
“More than 10,000 persons packed the gym and camera flashes came
fast and furious from all directions, despite the contractual
agreement with the Stones that no photographs be taken of them,”
said Sy Chedelic, a writer for The Collegian in ’69. It was the
first concert the Stones had played in four years. B.B. King opened
the show. (He also just toured through Fort Collins again last
month.)
The Collegian hailed it the “greatest production ever to hit the
CSU campus.” Mick Jagger and the boys returned in 1976 to play with
the Beach Boys and Chicago at Hughes Stadium.
Bob Dylan The times, they were a changin’ and the man that
inspired a revolution rolled through town on May 23, 1976.
Promoting “Blood on the Tracks,” arguably his best album, he
performed at Hughes Stadium during his “Soon to be Divorced” tour.
Dylan opened with “Mr. Tambourine Man,” a folk classic that some
believe was written about Dylan’s drug dealer, and then performed a
24-song set including such favorites as “Blowin’ in the Wind” and
“It Ain’t Me, Babe.”
“He’s a modern Shakespeare. His songs are insightfully complex,
so much that he doesn’t even notice sometimes,” said Lindsey
Connors, who recently graduated from CSU. “I would have given Bob
Dylan a blow job to go to that show.”
Phish The ever-popular jam-band, whose fans travel from city to
city to see them, arrived on Nov. 4, 1990, as the headlining act
for the Fort Ram show. Of course not as many people knew about them
then, which made the concert that much cooler. Phish played two
sets with the highlight of the night being an extended vocal jam at
the end of “You Enjoy Myself.”
Widespread Panic CSU students witnessed “the greatest show on
earth” on Oct. 25, 1993, in the Lory Student Center Theatre. At
that time, Widespread was so unknown that The Collegian neglected
to cover the concert. Instead they covered the Supersuckers playing
in Boulder and had a Q&A with the bassist, I repeat, the
bassist of The Mighty Mighty Bosstones. This summer, people
considered themselves lucky if they could acquire a ticket to one
of the three nights Widespread Panic played at Red Rocks this
year.
Other greats that came through Fort Collins include: Dave
Matthews Band (who opened for Big Head Todd and the Monsters), The
Steve Miller Band, Willie Nelson, Red Hot Chili Peppers and
311.
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