Dec 29, 1975 (48 years ago) Providence Civic Center Providence, Rhode Island, United States
https://musicbrainz.org/event/c4...
I went to the Kiss Tour Show in Providence RI, and Leslie West Band was the Back-Up Band. Some clown threw a sparkler up on to the stage. It landed in Leslie's hair and it caught on fire in the middle of Mississippi Queen or Nantucket Sleigh Ride. Roadies got 2 towels and threw them over his head to put the fire out. Leslie West and the band walked off the stage after than incident..
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I went to this concert 45 years ago, I had front row seats on the right side. Right where Leslie was playing. He was in the middle of Mississippi Queen playing his LP Jr. and his hands were so large it looked like he could span 10 frets easy. Leslie's hair was really long and was full of hair spray or product. When the sparkler went in his hair it caught on fire with flames. Leslie was deep into the song and he was playing with his eyes closed. He had no idea his hair was on fire for at least 30 seconds. His guitar tech threw the damp towel over his head to put it out. When they lifted the towel more than half of his hair was burned off. The smell was so bad, it lingered in the air. When Kiss came on stage about 30 minutes later the smell bothered the whole band, it was ugly. First time I had seen Kiss, they looked funny as the stage wear was not polished yet. They were going for the Mott The Hoople look with the platform shoes, Ace had the Aerial Bender type shirt on. Ace looked really buzzed. Gene was like a dog in heat. And Paul was a good front man. Chris on the drums was good, they were mic'ed up to the PA just right. But the smell was in the front rows and on stage all 2 hours. We were all praying for Leslie. We went tom the concert just to see Leslie West and Mountain. Leslie played one song before Mississippi Queen. The LP Jr. looked like a toy in his huge hands, I will never forget it. Leslie was shredding just before the sparkler. I heard the guy who threw the sparkler was named Devoe. Some fans in the audience ruff'ed him up a bit. The look on each member of Kiss face from the smell was priceless. They were in the Green Room when it happened. We are all praying for Leslie for a quick recovery in Dec 2020. Frank J Russo was the concert promoter on this show and he told me Leslie went to the hospital. This is why at the beginning of every concert Robert Plant tells the audience no fireworks, no firecrackers and don't throw anything on stage or we will walk off. I saw Led Zep in Prov. on July 21, 1973 in the Houses Tour and the night before in Boston the band walked off the stage after about 90 minutes. Bikers were throwing firecrackers and Jimmy could not play. Fights in the front rows, people throwing things on the stage. The night after Boston they played in Prov., and it was a great show. The recording is on YouTube. They played from 8PM to 11PM, 3 full hours. Best show I ever witnessed. Robert told me about the Boston show the night before. Bonham's drum kit was on the stage floor and Mic'ed really well. It sounded like the drums hit you in the chest. The PA sound in the Prov Civic Center was great in the 11-12k seat arena. But Leslie West's P90 guitar tone was thunder on the Mountains. Since I was a front row witness I wanted to share the Mountain experience. Tickets were $7.50 for the front row, with a .50 cent surcharge or $8.00. The 1970s had the best concerts. We all Love you Leslie.
A kid from Newport that i wnet to school with threw the sprinkler in Leslie West's hair. He was always an idiot. Saw Leslie West 30 years later at the Jammies in NYC. Although he must have played thousands of shows i'm sure if i asked him if he remembered warming up Kiss in Providence I'm sure he would. You only have your hair set on firw so many times!
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