For a bunch of Queens kids, Nassau County might as well have been on the other side of the world. I knew of Jones Beach and the Roosevelt Field mall but the Nassau Coliseum, home of the NHL hockey Islanders, was something new altogether. Styx opened the show for headliner Aerosmith who were smoking hot in 1977 and in the beginning stages of a long strange trip and mercurial legendary career. Somehow we found ourselves standing on metal folding chairs in the orchestra pretty close to the left side of the stage. Aerosmith hit the stage and opened with “Back in the Saddle” off of the outstanding “Rocks” album. The band exploded onto the stage and at some point during the opening song someone cranked the volume up to 11 just as Joe Perry hit the lead guitar riff for the now classic “Back in the Saddle”. The increased amplification mid-somg felt like a sonic wave coming over the orchestra section, the volume of which literally knocked me straight backwards on the chair I was standing on. This was just one of many aural assaults which may have finally effected the high end of my hearing (but in my estimation it has all been worth it; you can’t stop rock and roll). Fortunately as I tilted backwards on top of the chair, someone behind me pushed me between the shoulder blades back forward returning me upright and Aerosmith rocked the barn into the night.

Dream On!

GQ