Three day festival on a beautiful stretch of tropical beach. John Lennon was scheduled to perform, but visa problems with INS prevented him from leaving New York. He sent a message with his backup band at the time, Elephants Memory along with his very odd protege, David Peel. Other performers included Alice Cooper, Allman Brothers Band , B.B. King, Black Sabbath, Billy Joel, Brownsville Station, Dave Brubeck with Gerry Mulligan, Dr. John, Emerson, Lake & Palmer, Faces, J. Geils Band, Jonathan Edwards, John Baldry, Herbie Mann, Mahavishnu Orchestra with John McLaughlin and Osibisa. It ended very poorly with unhappy locals running though the campground wielding machetes, and hungry sunburned kids leaving behind mounds of trash and destroyed palm trees. A mediocre album, was released that didn't quite capture the event, and the concert was apparently a financial disaster, but certainly memorable. To top it off, our luggage disappeared for three days while we waited for a plane in San Juan to take us home.

I'm unsure of both the date and place, which is odd since I thoroughly enjoyed the show. This seminal jazz/rock band showcased their jazz side by stretching out a number of their hits.

Now a locally legendary show. We were also there a week earlier when he was first supposed to perform but had to cancel. The aforementioned Mother, Flag and Country opened, and then we waited for two hours for Bruce to take the stage. No one was disappointed. He played full tilt past the 2 a.m. closing time. I particularly remember Spirit in The Night, Rosalita and Sandy which was getting a lot of airplay on WMMR at that time. John Bonner had a great seat on the stage next to piano player David Sancious. Here's Bill Stevenson's recollections from his book "Stone Balloon: The Early Years".