The Ledge - The Tour Threads Edition #1: The Bella Donna Tour

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Musicman408

08-06-2007 04:37 PM

The Tour Threads Edition #1: The Bella Donna Tour

Ok, I mentioned this before that I really enjoy looking at the Tour Archives on various FM/Stevie sites. It's nice to know the set list and the tour dates of various tours, but I would really like to start learning about fan experiences. How did Stevie look/sound. How was the band, everything like that.

So, I decided that we could do that be every week or so, talking about each of Stevie's tours. We'll start off with her first one, in support of Bella Donna, which, as we know, celebrated a birthday today.

Were you there, tell us all about it. All aspects. Give it a grade if you so desire. Let's use this to relive history for those who either weren't able to go, or who weren't even alive. Share your experiences!! :nod:

Hope These Threads Suit Everyone Well,
Ethan

Macfanforever

08-06-2007 07:08 PM

It was a quick little tour.Will I never got a chance to see her on this tour, but that HBO special was the best concert special I've ever seen, to this day.I got on the Stevie tour kick later in the 80's. I was to busy being a country bumpkin
going to country concerts then.

Beachwood Mac

08-06-2007 08:30 PM

The main thing I remember about the Belladonna tour was standing in line in San Diego to buy tickets after ditching work and then the show being cancelled without any explanation. :shrug: I'm pretty sure it was the only scheduled date cancelled and it's the only tour of Stevie's I've ever missed seeing live.

kathy1

08-07-2007 07:16 AM

i love the pictures thanks for sharing.

gypsywoman

08-07-2007 08:03 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kathy1 (Post 709337)

i love the pictures thanks for sharing.

Your very welcome...

equeen102289

08-07-2007 09:14 AM

Thank you for the first set of pictures. I had never seen any of them.

kathy1

08-07-2007 10:46 AM

i hadn't seen any of the photos before either.

SortaSavageLike

08-07-2007 12:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by gypsywoman (Post 709317)

http://images7.pictiger.com/thumbs/1...4d0091e.th.jpg

ROCK OUT WITH YOUR SHAWL OUT!!!:]

David

08-07-2007 01:25 PM

Cool show in Tempe because I guess it was the only BD show outdoors during daylight. Sandy Naylor went to that show. Lots of good pics have surfaced of that show, including the infamous boob shot (which it turns out is not a real boob shot).

The show at Tempe on the next tour was filmed. I so wish we had that.

Musicman408

08-07-2007 02:38 PM

Thanks for all of those photos, they are amazing!!! Did you see Stevie?

KristinG

08-07-2007 05:17 PM

Awesome pictures, thanks for posting!!

starshine

08-07-2007 05:31 PM

Thanks so much for the BD photos....I have alot of them....I wish I could 'add' something to the stories....but in '81 I didn't even know who Stevie was than....still in school...7th grade?...can't recall right now....I watched General Hospital alot back than (since 79/80...still do)....wasn't into music much than really....I do recall hearing Leather & Lace on a soft rock station back than but didn't know who it was...I wished I could've seen this tour as well as (WH/RAL/Mirror)....missed Mirror by a little bit....I didn't start collecting Stevie and FMac til like 88/89.....I love Bella Donna....it's such a special LP/cd.....it's a shame we didn't get a new 'masters' cd with a dvd or even an extra cd with outtakes....we know there are bunches out there too....same with all of her solo cds.....If someday I sure hope it's soon really....It's one of my all time favorite LP/cds of hers......the fans that got to see her for the 'short' BD tour were so lucky.....please do tell.......just some thoughts....:thumbsup:
**ps and all those outtake BD photos too......wow.....:]

Rickypt

08-07-2007 05:40 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by David (Post 709458)

Cool show in Tempe because I guess it was the only BD show outdoors during daylight.

It was 12/5/81 at Compton Terrace. I remember it well because my parents wouldn't let me go. There had been a stabbing at that venue earlier in the year.

I used to have the Arizona Republic review of the concert in my scrapbook but lost the book in a move a few years ago. :(

I give this tour an A++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

gypsywoman

08-07-2007 08:12 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by David (Post 709458)

Sandy Naylor..Do you know how to get in touch with her???..I met her in 2000 for the AHI show..We also belonged to another online Stevie group..She was a blast..

Musicman408

08-07-2007 08:16 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by gypsywoman (Post 709584)

Sandy Naylor..Do you know how to get in touch with her???..I met her in 2000 for the AHI show..We also belonged to another online Stevie group..She was a blast..

Who is Sandy Naylor?

Oh yeah, and about the Bella Donna outtake shots, what are those?

PenguinHead

08-08-2007 12:37 AM

One thing Stevie did on that first tour was something that I wish she would still do --she sang Leather and Lace with Laurie and Sharon --center stage, sharing one mike. It gave the girls a brief time in the limelight, and it was great seeing them sing as a trio. Since then, as long devoted band members, they are firmly regulated to the side. Why hasn't she done it that way on other tours? It would be a nice, differentiating feature of her shows!

Also, another thing I noticed from watching old concert footage of that time recently --
Laurie was extremely animated on stage. She was continually dancing, jumping and emoting to the point where she nearly overshadowed Stevie's lesser energy. Sharon, on the otherhand, seemed extremely nervous, timid and awkward -- like a fish out of water. She had a hard time even looking up; she had no rhythm at all; her hands clenched down by her sides, and she stood slightly bow-legged. She's come a long, long way since then.

The Tower

08-08-2007 01:03 AM

I can't believe I'm posting in this thread, but- oh, well.... (psst!! the draw was too much!!)

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rickypt (Post 709533)

I give this tour an A++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

I was at the Fox Wilshire Theater show in LA on this tour and it was unbelievable.

And I give you an A++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ ;)

Quote:

Originally Posted by PenguinHead (Post 709814)

Also, another thing I noticed from watching old concert footage of that time recently --
Laurie was extremely animated on stage. She was continually dancing, jumping and emoting to the point where she nearly overshadowed Stevie's lesser energy.

That was from all the cocaine that she snorted.

gypsywoman

08-08-2007 08:43 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Musicman408 (Post 709586)

Who is Sandy Naylor?

Oh yeah, and about the Bella Donna outtake shots, what are those?

Sandy Naylor was a great friend I met in 2000 at the AHI benefit..We belonged to a Stevie message board and we all met at a motel in Pheonix..We had a great time and got to meet each other..They had a party in Sandy's room..I lost touch with her in 2001..DAVID ...Do you know how I can get in touch with her???..
Outtakes are from Herbert Worthington...He took all the BD stuff...

joe	08-08-2007 09:52 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by PenguinHead (Post 709814)

I agree...First and foremost, I personally think that this short tour was stevie's finest. She didn't appear all coked up or drunk (or,if she was, she wasn't out of control) and there was a LOT of humbleness to her performance. She seemed to really be honored that people came to see her. Just look at how she speaks to the audience in the Wiltern show. She seemed to really care during that period. Her singing was spot on and she sounded anbd looked great. She didn't overdo it at all. I think the success of BD kind of went to her head and she lost that modest attitude. And I think this jives with what she even says herself about the record. She was nervous about it because she didn't want it to piss off FM if it did well, yet, she didn't want it to tank because that could ruin FM too. She still had that doe-eyed innocent "baby sister" thing going on but she started shedding that image after the success of BD and the assurance that she did not have to depend on FM anymore.

Yeah, I like how the girls took center stage on L&L. It is kinda strange that she never did that again. Personally, I think that would've been a nice touch to bring back. The harmonies are great with the 3 girls. Remember on the RAL tour Bobby Martin sang with her and there were points during that song that she had her back to the audience and was singing up to him. Kind of awkward.

Yeah, Sharon was quite the nerd back then! I always thought, someone take piti on this poor molly. Kinda hard to believe that she was fronting a band when stevie met her. :laugh: Glad she came out of her shell!

Musicman408

08-08-2007 10:23 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by gypsywoman (Post 709866)

What message board?

PenguinHead

08-08-2007 12:31 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by joe (Post 709884)

Thanks for responding to my comments (most often they are ignored!). I concur with you on all the points you made about that tour. I do believe the success (and too much blow) went to her head after that.

Her slide down really started during the Wild Heart period. It reached its limits during the Rock A Little tour. Have you heard any bootlegs from that tour? It's appalling how sloppy she got. She developed these shrill, bizzare vocal inflections that did nothing to compliment the songs or engage the audience. Sometimes she sounded like an angry space alien! Worst yet, she could not get through a single song without forgetting or messing up the lyrics or arrangement. Often her timing was off and she would throw the band off. I've been listening those shows lately and it is really tragic.

I attended a show from that tour in Worcester, MA and was so dissappointed at how awful she was. I remember foregivingly saying "She could have performed so much better!" That was the first time I ever saw her live and the first time I heard her "unusual vocal style." All of her tender qualities gave way to an unappealing and incoherant hardness. She had a steller band. I wonder what they thought of her then. After that period came the more controlled, but zombified and emotionless Stevie of 1989-1991.

Thankfully, she is such a different person/performer now. So is Sharon, so stunning and commanding. Yeah, it's unbelievable that she fronted a band before Stevie plucked her out of obscurity. She seemed so green...and terrified!

Rickypt

08-08-2007 12:58 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by The Tower (Post 709817)

And I give you an A++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ ;)

Wow, that's better than karma points!

gypsywoman

08-08-2007 08:06 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Musicman408 (Post 709901)

What message board?

Golddustdreamers I think??..Maybe..Barbara might remember if Sandy was there or not..Did you go to pheonix in 2000???..

gypsywoman

08-08-2007 08:08 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by gypsywoman (Post 710120)

Golddustdreamers I think??..Maybe..Barbara might remember if Sandy was there or not..Did you go to pheonix in 2000???..

I belonged to one called Enchanted too..Might have been that one

Musicman408

08-10-2007 05:11 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by gypsywoman (Post 710120)

Golddustdreamers I think??..Maybe..Barbara might remember if Sandy was there or not..Did you go to pheonix in 2000???..

Thanks!!

And to those of you who have shared your concert experience, thank you so much!! :nod:

priestofnothing

08-10-2007 05:30 PM

I attended this tour in Dallas, Sunday night of Thanksgiving weekend 1981. I was 15 yrs old, a sophomore in high school. It was the 3rd concert in my life that I had ever attended and Stevie's 2nd concert as a solo artist ever.

At the time, I had no idea the tour was going to be so short, or how special these shows were. I was just on the onset of my Stevie obsession, I had started really getting into her around the Tusk period, so her going solo was just fantastic to me.

John Stewart was the opening act for the show. He only sang about 7 or 8 songs, Gold being one of them (sans Stevie, but I believe he had some other back up singers).

I've posted it before but the one thing that I thought was incredible on this tour was the lighting during EO17. You can't really see it that well in the WWD video, but they had these spinning beams of light swirling around Stevie's face during the song that beamed out into the arena. It just was this beautiful radiating light and with the driving guitar of Edge it was really perfect for the song. You can see a little bit of it on her hair and on the stage on the released video, just imagine it beaming out to the ceiling of Reunion Arena. It was awesome.

She also made a pretty big deal about being in Texas when doing her band intros, esp. since Lori is from Dallas, and she talked about recording there in Gordon's studio.

It was a pretty fantastic night for me, one that I didn't realize that would become more special to me over time. She captured me that night and I'm still in awe when I see her now - 26 years later.

Musicman408

08-10-2007 05:51 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by priestofnothing (Post 710669)

That such an awesome Story. Have you ever made it up for the Edge walk?

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