shadowplays.com

Known as the “Paris of the Plains,” the Kansas City of the late 20’s and 30’s was a wide open town that reveled in its own debauchery. “If you want to see some sin, forget about Paris and go to Kansas City,” wrote Edward Morrow. And into this air of indulgence rose the burgeoning Kansas City jazz scene with clubs such as “Club Reno”, and the infamous, “Chesterfield Club” populating its streets. The Jazz Scene would also gain admittance to the larger venues such as the Pla-Mor and El Torreon. The Pla-Mor would eventually succumb to the wreaking ball in 1972, but the El Torreon survived, and would eventually become the Cowtown Ballroom

Opening it’s doors on December 15, 1927, the 3-storied building was originally called El Torreon (The Turret) and became a focal point for the Kansas City Jazz scene. Big Band and Jazz greats such as Duke Ellington, Count Basie, and Cab Calloway all performed at the historic venue. The ballroom’s interior decor was equally impressive:

The El Torreon sported a Spanish Mission motif with floating clouds and glittering stars on the ceiling accentuating the exotic atmosphere of a Spanish courtyard. A “crystal ball” with 100,000 mirrors illuminated a dance floor that could accommodate 2,000 dancers. — Club Kaycee

The place has undergone several revisions since it’s grand opening. In 1936 the El Torreon became the Avalon Supper Club and then in the early sixties, the El Torreon Roller Rink. By 1971 the building had returned to it’s musical roots and become the popular rock and roll venue, the Cowtown Ballroom. With the mirrored ball still suspended from its historic ceiling (*editor’s note: the mirrored ball was later donated to the Kansas City Museum in 1978), the open floored, and generally seat-less ballroom lent itself to a near festival like atmosphere, with concert goers pulling up a blanket or quilt and staking out their bit of floor space to watch the show.

The first show was on July 16, 1971, a concert by the Flying Burrito Brothers, and the Ballroom would host a wide variety of Rock ‘n Roll acts before it would close down for good on September 16, 1974. Rory Gallagher, Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, Frank Zappa and the Mothers of Invention, Grateful Dead, and King Crimson were just a few of the name bands that performed there. The building still stands today. Until recently the downstairs was being used for Nite Club acts, small concerts, and practice space for musicians with the famous upstairs ballroom being used as a storage facility for the most recent owners of the building. Unfortunately, at this writing, the El Torreon Ballroom has shut its doors, and it is unknown whether the famous ballroom will ever return to its former glory. The Cowtown Ballroom refuses to be forgotten however, and there is a documentary film being made about the legendary venue titled, ‘Cowtown Ballroom: Sweet Jesus’ planned for release in the spring of 2009.

Although it’s listed on the bootleg jacket that Rory performed at the Cowtown Ballroom in August of 1974, probably the concert was given several months earlier. An image of the concert ticket stub found on a Kansas City memorabilia web site gives the concert date as Sunday evening, March 24, 1974. Special thanks go to Brenda O’Brien for finding this ticket stub. The opening act for the show that night was a regional favorite called, “Tide”, originally fronted by guitar slinger Jim Stringer. The band played the Cowtown Ballroom often, and has since been inducted into the Kansas City Music Hall of Fame. They were no match for Rory however:

I remember that concert. Jim (Strider) had left the band. We had a female singer named Becky Reed who cried after our set because the crowd kept yelling for Rory. I remember being impressed by how good Rory played and sang. That was how rock ‘n’ roll was supposed to sound. — Paul Miller, bass player for Tide

Whatever the actual date of this concert, Rory gives a timeless performance that makes this bootleg concert one of the finest live recordings out there.

• Listen to the concert, HERE
• Download an mp3 of the show, HERE.

Trackback URI | Comments RSS