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Located on the southern shore of Lake Erie and the banks of the Cuyahoga river, the city of Cleveland has an auspicious rock history. It was here that radio personality Alan Freed first coined the term “Rock and Roll” and put on the first Rock and Roll Concert, the Moondog Coronation Ball on March 21, 1952. Legendary frontman for Mott the Hoople, Ian Hunter pays homage to the man and his city in the 1979 classic, “Cleveland Rocks.”

When I first came over, with Mott, you’d do these clubs and nobody would turn up. Then you’d get to Cleveland and it would always be packed. Cleveland and Memphis were the first two towns that picked up on us, long before LA or New York–Ian Hunter.

In 1986 Cleveland was chosen by the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Foundation of New York City to be the home for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Museum. Designed by internationally renowned architect I. M. Pei, the museum finally opened its doors 9 years later on September 2, 1995, and touts itself as “the preeminent home for the celebration and study of rock and roll music.”
Unfortunately, despite his consummate skills as a musician and his legendary prowess on stage, Rory Gallagher has yet to be honored at this museum. This despite some kick ass shows he has done in Cleveland throughout the years; shows at, the Allen, the Agora and this month’s “boot of the month” venue, the Empire club!

The Empire opened in 1990 in downtown Cleveland, directly across from Jacobs Field, the home of major league baseball’s Cleveland Indians. The club was owned and operated by John and Tony Ciulla who had managed the shows at Peabody’s DownUnder, one of the pre-eminent concert clubs of the 80s in the Flats. The club had a seating capacity anywhere from 350 to 800, depending on the act, and would often exceed that limit much to the ire of the local Fire Department. Unfortunately, the club’s ability to “pack them in” would prove their downfall and the Empire lasted only 3 short years from 1990-1992. Tony Ciulla would later manage Marilyn Mason, while his brother, John, would become the Special Projects Director for the House of Blues Concert Series, Smirnoff Centre, Dallas, Texas.

There was always something crazy going on, but we just chalked it up to rock n roll. After a Buddy Guy overcrowding situation the fire department reduced the capacity. At that point we started a new venue, (and)…a sports bar took over for a few years after Empire–John Ciulla, former owner of the Empire.

On March 21, 1952, the city of Cleveland put on the very first Rock and Roll concert, Allen Freed’s Moondog Coronation Ball. Almost 39 years to the day, on March 24, 1991, Rory comes to Cleveland and shows the town what Rock and Roll is Really about. This is one of the last concerts on Rory’s final tour of the United States. So kick off your shoes and have a listen as Rory tears down the Empire.

• Read Judy Black’s article from the Cleveland Scene previewing Rory’s 1991 concert at the Empire, HERE.
• Listen to the concert, HERE
• Download an mp3 of the show, HERE.

“You have to stick with what’s in your heart,” says Irish guitar virtuoso Rory Gallagher. “We’ve gone through so many big changes musically without ever losing the basic roots–not the source of it. It’s still emotionally bluesy. Rhythmically, it gets quite rocky. In 14 albums we have gone off on certain tangents and tried certain things. I think we’ve progressed. I wouldn’t say it’s the same music as it was in the beginning, but I wouldn’t like the spirit that was there at the start to be synthesized now or commercialized or hammered into something else.”

In a career that has found him hailed as one of the greatest contemporary blues and rock artists, Rory Gallagher has acquired a fan base as broad as his touring schedule. He first came to notoriety with a three-piece group known as Taste. The blues rock band was the pioneer of the ’60s rock trio sound, along with Cream and the Jimi Hendrix Experience.

Leaving in 1971 to pursue a solo career, Gallagher has relied on the strength of his music, not an image, to keep him in the concert clubs and recording studios for nearly two decades. Ironically, it has been within the last several years that Gallagher is rediscovering the essence of the soul in his music.

“I think with the last two albums, DEFENDER and FRESH EVIDENCE, because there was a gap recording-wise and otherwise of a couple of years, it gave me a chance to reassess what we were doing. We weren’t touring as hard as we were, for a while, which wasn’t a bad thing because when you’re doing constant touring you don’t get a chance to assess what you’re doing or what you could be doing–you can’t get a third eye view of yourself.”

“I’m basically a blues player,” he continues. “If I’m playing at home it’s usually blues phrases and ideas. but I’m also quite proud to be a rocker. I like to excite an audience, and I’m not ashamed to rock and roll if necessary. There’s a very thin line between where blues joins rock. Let’s put it this way: If I’m doing a traditional blues number, I do it with reverence. I’m not a rocker doing a blues song,. But then again, if I’m doing a song that is crossing into rock and roll, I’m not going to make it too laid back. I let it rock.”

FRESH EVIDENCE contains, 10 tracks, two of which are instrumental. Gallagher wrote nine of the tracks and produced the entire album. After 14 albums, and a catalog of hundreds of songs, choosing what to include on a new album is not always the easiest task.

“It’s quite hard sometimes to be honest with you,” says Gallagher with a laugh. “People expect the first track to be very obvious. I found that any one of five or six of the songs could have been the opener on either side. That would have cast a mood over the rest. I came up with the best blend I could think of at the time.”

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