otto48313 Posted April 26, 2015 Share Posted April 26, 2015 Mark Farner & Ace Frehely were guests on VH1 That Metal Show last night. During the interview Farner told a story of how Peter Grant pulled the plug on Grand Funk Railroad, who opened a 1970 show at Detroit's Olympia Stadium. He claimed the fans were a pissed and that Zeppelin played to half a house once they got on stage 90 mins later. Couldn't find any truth to this story on the forum. thx, Otto Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
the chase Posted April 27, 2015 Share Posted April 27, 2015 It's a story that the members of Grand Funk love to tell. They also had a whole segment about it on their Behind The Music special. GF were huge and were playing in their home state, so for them to have the crowd in their corner at that gig is reasonable. Mark Farner also mentioned that he couldn't take his eyes off of Page during Zeppelin's entire set.. Much more generous than Bassist Mel Schacher's version.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NealR2000 Posted April 27, 2015 Share Posted April 27, 2015 Yes, it's a well-told story. I'm not so sure about the half-house bit, though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mithril46 Posted April 27, 2015 Share Posted April 27, 2015 A shame it's so hard to get to the bottom of this. One thing that could be mentioned is that Grand Funk was well known at least from what I read as a pretty killer live band. Anybody see them early on ???? Forget YouTube. You Tube is awesome, but It is not the authentic concert experience., neither sound wise or visually. Not raggin' the Tube; I love it, just don't jump to conclusions from it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
the chase Posted April 27, 2015 Share Posted April 27, 2015 A shame it's so hard to get to the bottom of this. One thing that could be mentioned is that Grand Funk was well known at least from what I read as a pretty killer live band. Anybody see them early on ???? Forget YouTube. You Tube is awesome, but It is not the authentic concert experience., neither sound wise or visually. Not raggin' the Tube; I love it, just don't jump to conclusions from it.I never saw Grand Funk live. But, I've been a fan for a number of years... From what I've seen and heard, they were a great live act. That being said, for this to be their main bragging point after selling out Shea stadium and selling millions of albums.. The thing they brag about most now is a home crowd rooting for them (in 1970) over Led Zeppelin. It sems kind of desperate.. and in some ways a compliment to LZ.. For Peter Grant to pull the plug on a band for getting a good reception .. and make the crowd wait an hour and a half ...if true.. Is ridiculous. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jimmie ray Posted April 27, 2015 Share Posted April 27, 2015 Grand Funk must have been something in their heyday. I've only recently seen the current touring version (without Mark Farner, of course), and Mel Shacher had that bass absolutely pulsating about halfway through the set. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
otto48313 Posted April 27, 2015 Author Share Posted April 27, 2015 I am lucky to have grown up in Metro Detroit and I have older brothers who saw GFR live a few times locally, but not this show. They were the biggest band in Detroit at the time in terms of sold out shows and FM airplay. Kinda sounds similar to the Kid Rock following that is unique to Detroit nowadays. THanks for the replies ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NealR2000 Posted April 28, 2015 Share Posted April 28, 2015 They were one of a few bands that seriously, but briefly, challenged Zep's position as the world's biggest band. However, Grand Funk's time in the spotlight was relatively short-lived. I seem to recall that GF were embraced by a lot of Zep fans who felt Zep had lost its heavy edge with the release of Volume III, only to resume their faith with the release of Volume IV. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zafreth Posted May 11, 2015 Share Posted May 11, 2015 What i read for the Billy James book is that PG threat Terry Knight, the GFR manager and said to him that if it repeats again (the great GFR show) he will punch in the face. GFR actually opened to LZ in two shows. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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