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Macfan4life 01-18-2021 12:55 PM

Pittsburgh's Syria Mosque - Fleetwood Mac
 
I was reading an interesting article about a concert hall in my hometown of Pittsburgh, the Syria Mosque. It was torn down in 1991 but they listed every act to every play there. Fleetwood Mac played there 3 times. Here is a history of the venue and the dates the Mac played there (no I wont list or copy every act even though its a very colorful history).

Pittsburgh's Syria Mosque was dedicated on October 26, 1916, and demolition began on August 27, 1991.
The Syria Mosque was home to the Pittsburgh Symphony, the Pittsburgh Opera, and served as a popular venue for concerts, artistic programs, and graduation ceremonies. It is now a sad parking lot...
On Jan 11, 1949, the Syria Mosque was most importantly (and widely overlooked) as the location of the very FIRST live nationally Televised broadcast in HISTORY. The launch of DuMont-owned WDTV, which later became KDKA-TV, marked a technical milestone for the TV industry. Pittsburgh's new station was linked via coaxial cable to 13 other cities from Boston to St. Louis.
From Pink Floyd to Rachmaninoff, Eric Clapton to Jascha Heifetz, Buddy Holly to the Bangles, Duke Ellington to the Who, John F. Kennedy to Malcolm X. These are just some of the people who once graced the stage during its 75-year history.


11/09/1971 Fleetwood Mac and Poco
08/24/1972 Fleetwood Mac
01/01/1974 Fleetwood Mac
10/14/1974 Fleetwood Mac


A few things stand out to me. I bet that Bare Trees concert with Kirwan and Welch was out of this world. They celebrated New Years Day 1974 in Pittsburgh and played again a few months before Stevie and Lindsey joined. The band played another theater in Pittsburgh in 1975 and 1976 at the Stanley Theater, the same theater Christine brought her solo tour to in 1984. The Stanley Theater was voted to have the best acoustics of any venue in the United States.

Forgive me for enjoying this trip down memory lane :)

HomerMcvie 01-18-2021 01:31 PM

I'd love to have a time machine to go back and witness the Welch years.

Macfan4life 01-18-2021 01:50 PM

Tell me about it. I cant even begin to imagine to see them let alone in a small theater. 1974 2 dates. WOW. In 1972 I was only 2 but I would have done anything to have been tossed on stage and do the best Elaine I could do ;)

I also imagine putting things in perspective with history. What a miserable time 1972 and peak Vietnam and Nixon. I guess they all escaped with the best music that ever was. I heard Elton John say a few months ago on Stern that the early 70s was the best music ever. I agree.

HomerMcvie 01-18-2021 09:00 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Macfan4life (Post 1263481)
Tell me about it. I cant even begin to imagine to see them let alone in a small theater. 1974 2 dates. WOW. In 1972 I was only 2 but I would have done anything to have been tossed on stage and do the best Elaine I could do ;)

I also imagine putting things in perspective with history. What a miserable time 1972 and peak Vietnam and Nixon. I guess they all escaped with the best music that ever was. I heard Elton John say a few months ago on Stern that the early 70s was the best music ever. I agree.

I've always said the the 1970's was the best decade of American music. I am partial to the latter half, though, since I became obsessed with some band of misfits from that era.

dougl 01-18-2021 10:53 PM

01/01/1974 must have been the “fake” Fleetwood Mac.

Macfan4life 01-19-2021 06:12 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dougl (Post 1263485)
01/01/1974 must have been the “fake” Fleetwood Mac.

Great catch! You are correct.

From Wikipedia:

The 'New Fleetwood Mac' tour began in January 1974 at the Syria Mosque in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania,[59] and according to one of the band members, the first concert "went down a storm".[60] The promoter was dubious at first, but said later that the crowd had loved the band and they were "actually really good."[61] More successful gigs followed, but then word got around that this was not the real Fleetwood Mac and audiences became hostile. The band was turned away from several gigs and the next half-dozen were pulled by promoters. The band struggled on and played further dates in the face of increasing hostility and heckling, more dates were pulled, the keyboard player quit, and after a concert in Edmonton where bottles were thrown at the stage, the tour collapsed. The band dissolved and the remainder of the tour was cancelled.[60



I wonder if any of these fake shows were recorded.

SteveMacD 01-19-2021 09:47 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Macfan4life (Post 1263486)
I wonder if any of these fake shows were recorded.

Not from that tour, but Stretch playing “Stop Messin’ Round” in 2012.

dougl 01-20-2021 10:11 AM

Interesting article on the bogus Mac:

https://pleasekillme.com/fakewood-mac/

Kiss opened for them, who knew...


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