Far be it from me to want to promote anything from the hideous Daily Mail,but I thought this picture article was very interesting.
Not sure if the Stones played here but Zep and Elvis did.

[www.dailymail.co.uk]

The Stones played there many times.
Stunning and sickening at the same time.
What a spectacular disaster.

Pix are ugly : digital sucks...

Video 1981 ...

[www.youtube.com]

Thanks for posting the abandoned Silverdome, all the greats played there and now nature is taking over.

Here is an old thread I started about the Pontiac Silverdome '81 show...some nice anecdotes from people who were there...

Pontiac Silverdome 1981

Here are some photos I took at the concert...amateur photos (hey it was 1981 and cameras weren't allowed!). But yeah...I had no idea that place ended up like that. It was pretty impressive at the time...and that Stones show was fantastic!

[www.dropbox.com]

Arrows for a slideshow should appear near the bottom....



Edited 3 time(s). Last edit at 2014-12-23 01:34 by palerider22.

This...is (was) Supercross!

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Brown Moses

Not sure if the Stones played here.

'81, '89, '94, '97.

On hot stuff section BOTH 1981 Pontiac shows are now uploaded for everyone to get,in suberb stereo soundboard quality.

Very fond memories of the Silverdome shows. I actually got a chance to sit row 6 front center on the '94 tour which was a real treat but most of the time sat in the back. '81 show was a mess with the festival seating and fights breaking out all over the place. But still, it was my first Stones show and the only concert I attended with my dad so it's still a very special event to me.

I saw first Stones show there in 81. Iggy Pop got booed off, then Santana, the consensus was, blew Stones off stage.

Yes ifyacantrockme, lots of fights between when they let us in and when the show started. Gotta lose your mind in Detroit Rock City.

That interview Mick did with Rona Barrett on that TV show Television: Inside and Out was done at the Silverdome.

I was at the '97 show when that guy fell to his death while dancing on the mezzanine railing during JJF. Saw something out of the corner of my eye go flying though the air that looked to be about the size of a person. It didn't register. It was like, "Nah, it couldn't be," and I went back to watching the show. Didn't realize what had happened until I got home and put on the news.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2014-12-24 04:36 by tatters.

The two nights the Stones played the Silverdome in '81 still hold some record for crowds in an indoor venue. Over 90,000 each. I saw the first night and it was mayhem in typical Detroit fashion.

They also did two nights in '89 though by then crowd control was very strict. Mick poured a bucket of water on a guy who threw a beer at him.

They did a single night in '94 two months after having played Spartan stadium in nearby Lansing.

They did one night in '97 which is when the drunk tried to dance on the rail during JJF and failed, spectacularly. At the show Jagger remarked "...it's too bad they're tearing' the place down" and yet it stands today.

You'd have to understand the politics of eastern Michigan cities to know why the place never got sold. The Pontiac city council always thought "the man" was trying to cheat them and that there was a better price to be had just around the corner. Hence, the Silverdome has sat, empty save for some soccer tourneys, for the last fifteen years. Last winter's heavy snows crashed the roof which was really a glorified parachute held up by forced air. Mother nature has taken care of the rest. Because the place is pretty much rubble now the city of Pontiac finally accepted an offer a year, or so, ago. They sold the dome and its endless parking lot acreage for less than a half million dollars if memory serves.

I've found a news report on 81 show and some cool pre-show and show bootleg footage on Youtube.

Interesting comments there rbk.

Saw the STEEL WHEELS show there, the 'first' show, which was the second of two nights. Only time I ever went to the Silverdome.

I have seen a few shows at the Silverdome. My third concert I saw as a youngster was The Who 79 tour at the Silverdome. That show was a few weeks after the tragedy in Ohio, and we had General Admission seats, and looking back now I am stunned my parents let me go. I did a lot of smooth talking and reassurances. And it worked.

For the Stones in 81 I was able to use my Dad's station wagon and took along six buddies. All young and reckless. We spent the night across the street from the Stadium parked in a sub division trying to sleep and listening to Stones cassettes. We lined up for hours in the frigid Michigan weather until they opened the doors early. There was a mad crushing rush to get in and it was a bit scary. Also the characters there...lots of hard core rockers, especially for a group of young teens. Lots of drinking and heavy drug use. It felt like we were being led into a Gladiator pit... and every man for himself. We managed to get pretty good seats in the lower bowl near the stage, as we didn't have the guts to be down on the floor with the wild anarchy. And boy was the wait long.

I am not so sure Santana blew The Stones off the stage! They were great but a whole different experience and genre in many ways. I was a burgeoning Iggy fan and was quite disappointed he was pelted and booed off the stage. The man is a true Michigan icon and should have been afforded far more respect. But, it is the Stones folks wanted to see...
They came on late. Really late. And we were quite stoned, tired, and torn and frayed. But they packed a powerful punch of adrenaline for a bunch of young rockers waiting to see their heroes. The sound in the Dome is always bad. A huge cavernous place with terrible acoustics. And as it was for the Stones. Loud and dense, but you could make out some stunning rock n' roll. I remember a few highlights. The pounding opening of Under My Thumb after Take the A Train. The thunder from the raucously stoned crowd. The cherry picker with Mick during Ronnie's solo for You Can't Always Get What you Want. The train wrecking glory of Let Me Go and She's So Cold. Reading the Free Press while in line about the various songs done on the tour and some nuggets that weren't played but practiced for the tour (All Down the Line). And the sheer insanity of close to 90,000 freaks descending on Pontiac Michigan. Like no other spectacle I have seen since.

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franzk
I've found a news report on 81 show and some cool pre-show and show bootleg footage on Youtube.

Bill Bonds, the legendary (in his own mind) WXYZ TV 7 anchorman, in the incredible hair hat, shown at the end of this clip passed away just a few days ago.

Nice story whitem8, thanks for sharing.

peace

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PTownshend

I was there. Third tier. Townsend would do his windmill sweep and the chord would hit our ears nearly a full second later. It was effing cold in there too.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2014-12-26 16:35 by rbk.

Someone got pictures or any broadcast of IGGY POP supporting the Stones there in 1981?

Hey Franzk §

I had never saw the videos you posted , so thank you so much !

Always interesting to me to get some "backstage views"



I am a Frenchie ,as Mick affectionately called them in the Old Grey Whistle Test in 1977 .