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Lynyrd Skynyrd

 

In 1974, a friend called and asked if I wanted to see Lynyrd Skynyrd play the Adelbert Gym at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland that night. I said “Sure! How much are the tickets?” He said that the show was sold out, but that we could try to sneak in.

Three of us headed down to the venue. By the time we got there, the show was well under way. We sneaked around the building trying to find ways in. The windows had metal screening on them. The doors all had police presence. It was starting to look hopeless. 

We were about to give up when we headed to the back of the gym. All the sudden, the opening act, The Charlie Daniels Band was walking out a door and heading toward their tour bus. One of them (maybe Charlie?) held the door open and said, “Knock yourselves out.”  

The next thing I know, we’re in the locker room, which was the backstage area. One of my friends points to a small opening with a black curtain and says, “Let’s go through there!” We did and ended up on right stage with the band! Security kicked us off the stage and into the front row. I watched Ronnie Van Zandt take a hit off an audience member’s joint, right on stage.  

We got to hear about four songs. One of the few places where it’s acceptable to yell “Freebird!!” is at a Skynyrd concert. They jammed out a long version for the final encore.

 

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