Amarillo: The Lost Show

[phfromprospertx]

Hey folks,

Help, please. A good friend and I went to see Jimmy and the band play in Amarillo years ago at the auditorium (Great show and fun.). We think it was '75 or '76 when we were juniors/seniors in high school. I know it has been a long time ago. But, niether of us can remember exactly which year it was. Hard to believe it was 36 years ago. We've scoured the internet looking for anything on that Amarillo show and have checked tour histories and show dates ranging from '74-'80. The trouble is we can't find any tour history that includes the existance of that Amarillo show.
A couple years later (@'77-'78) I worked with Phillip Fajardo's dad, Phil at the Sears warehouse in Amarillo. Phil spoke of his son playing drums and beginning to work in the Gatlin Brothers' Band. So, I am guessing that Phillip convinced Jimmy to come to Amarillo.
As for our sanity... We might have been seniors in high school back then. But, we are not senior citizens, yet. Not that senior citizens have memory issues or any like that. Heck, back then in Amarillo the drinking age was 18. So, a few memories are a bit foggy.
So here is the favor to ask...
Is there anyone out there that also attended this Lost Amarillo Show?
Or, maybe anyone that could get a question to Jimmy or Phillip confirming they made a stop in Amarillo, the year/date, etc.?

[pair8head]

Only place I could think to check is buffett.jokelben.us
But it's not listed there. Sorry

[phfromprospertx]

Thanks for trying!

[conched]

Welcome to BN, fellow Texan!

You might try asking Roger Bartlett through email or message on youtube. He has posted this video from THOSE days and may have some info for you.



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1rE_37I4nzU

If you go to youtube, the uploader of the video is Roger.

[urlcenter]

I have reviewed the setlist databases both on this site and the other site and there is no evidence of a show in Amarillo. There were however several shows at a venue called The Armadillo World Headquarters in Austin in 1976. Perhaps that is where you saw Jimmy play.

There is also the possibilty that Jimmy appeared as a guest at another artists show which he often did in the 70's and 80's.

[Tiki Torches]

I have reviewed the setlist databases both on this site and the other site and there is no evidence of a show in Amarillo.

With all due respect to all the hard work that went into assembling the setlist database here, there's at least a couple of shows I attended over the years that aren't listed so it's far from accurate. First would be tour prior to the release of Volcano in '79 when he played Kenan Stadium in Chapel Hill in the spring of that year as part of Apple Chill Weekend. One more would be the tour for Coconut Telegraph in '81 when he played Minges Coliseum on the campus of East Carolina University in Greenville.

[urlcenter]

I have reviewed the setlist databases both on this site and the other site and there is no evidence of a show in Amarillo.

With all due respect to all the hard work that went into assembling the setlist database here, there's at least a couple of shows I attended over the years that aren't listed so it's far from accurate. First would be tour prior to the release of Volcano in '79 when he played Kenan Stadium in Chapel Hill in the spring of that year as part of Apple Chill Weekend. One more would be the tour for Coconut Telegraph in '81 when he played Minges Coliseum on the campus of East Carolina University in Greenville.

That is why I also consulted the setlist database over on BW!

[phfromprospertx]

Thanks. It was definitely Amarillo (not Austin's Armadillo Club). I will try to use that YouTube tip (from conched(Nancy) and reach Roger Bartlett via YouTube.
We (Scott, my buddy from high school days and I) think there might have been some connection to Hastings Books and Records who had/has stores in the Texas panhandle. So, I have reached out to them, too. While I was at it, I went ahead and puched an email inquiry over the the folks at Margaritaville.com.

[phfromprospertx]

Well, Nancy (conched). I just shot a note to Roger. I will let ya'll know what, if anything, I get back from him.

Thanks!

My buddy, Scott, who is mentioned in the original post is heading to Vegas tomorrow morning for the show. If any of you are going, let me know. i will tell him and, perhaps, you can meet each other.

[phfromprospertx]

I heard from Roger right away. While he recalls a music festival in north Texas or Oklahoma during that timeframe, it was just he and Jimmy, not the band. He will check with "Fingers" and Phillip and get back to me.

[springparrot]

I heard from Roger right away. While he recalls a music festival in north Texas or Oklahoma during that timeframe, it was just he and Jimmy, not the band. He will check with "Fingers" and Phillip and get back to me.

How cool is this!

Yes, Amarillo is a very long way for the Amadillo World Headquarters

[phfromprospertx]

Quick update...
In case this jogs some foggy memory banks...
Hastings Books and Records was a part of Western Merchandisers "back in the day". Western Merchandisers had a reputation for pulling in great performers to Amarillo.
Also, in hopes that JB and Arnie can pull some detail from the anals of Buffett history, I posted an entry on the Last words of "Jim Buffett" thread.
We did manage to find one other person who attended (there could not have been many as that old Amarillo auditorium was not very large) the Lost Amarillo Show. Her recollection is that the show took place in the latter part of '75.
Thanks!

[phfromprospertx]

Well, within about an hour I heard from "JB" via the message stream Last posts from "Jim Buffett". Thanks "JB".
Seems that Arnie is no longer with the organization. Not sure if that means "JB" will not be looking into this question any further. In the meantime, I have reached out to the management team at the Amarillo Civic Center/Auditorium to see if they have any of the information we are seeking.

[springparrot]

Well, within about an hour I heard from "JB" via the message stream Last posts from "Jim Buffett". Thanks "JB".
Seems that Arnie is no longer with the organization. Not sure if that means "JB" will not be looking into this question any further. In the meantime, I have reached out to the management team at the Amarillo Civic Center/Auditorium to see if they have any of the information we are seeking.

I hope you can find the answer.

I *think* the first concert at the Amarillo Civic Center was Glen Campbell....and I was there.

[FunkHouse9]

I have reviewed the setlist databases both on this site and the other site and there is no evidence of a show in Amarillo.

With all due respect to all the hard work that went into assembling the setlist database here, there's at least a couple of shows I attended over the years that aren't listed so it's far from accurate. First would be tour prior to the release of Volcano in '79 when he played Kenan Stadium in Chapel Hill in the spring of that year as part of Apple Chill Weekend. One more would be the tour for Coconut Telegraph in '81 when he played Minges Coliseum on the campus of East Carolina University in Greenville.

If you know of shows that aren't on there, then perhaps you could share the show info so the database can be more complete and subsequently help others who are looking for info just like this thread here.

As for the question of long-lost show details, that's why I've made such a point to hold onto every ticket stub I get. Memory just can't be trusted.

[Tiki Torches]

I have reviewed the setlist databases both on this site and the other site and there is no evidence of a show in Amarillo.

With all due respect to all the hard work that went into assembling the setlist database here, there's at least a couple of shows I attended over the years that aren't listed so it's far from accurate. First would be tour prior to the release of Volcano in '79 when he played Kenan Stadium in Chapel Hill in the spring of that year as part of Apple Chill Weekend. One more would be the tour for Coconut Telegraph in '81 when he played Minges Coliseum on the campus of East Carolina University in Greenville.

If you know of shows that aren't on there, then perhaps you could share the show info so the database can be more complete and subsequently help others who are looking for info just like this thread here.

I have. Though, without a ticket stub, it would be next to impossible to provide the exact date.

[phfromprospertx]

A quick little update...
I heard back from the Marketing Administrator at the Amarillo Civic Center Complex who recommended I contact the Amarillo Public Library and seek some help from a research assistant. So, it is now on to the next path and a new contact to be made.

Library? Library? Wish I had thought of that myself and sooner. Sounds like a good source. We'll see.

[FunkHouse9]

A quick little update...
I heard back from the Marketing Administrator at the Amarillo Civic Center Complex who recommended I contact the Amarillo Public Library and seek some help from a research assistant. So, it is now on to the next path and a new contact to be made.

Library? Library? Wish I had thought of that myself and sooner. Sounds like a good source. We'll see.

Never give up on the Internet having the answer somewhere. I worked on a personal project where I went back and started filling in the blanks for opening acts I had seen since I didn't originally keep track of that. I literally got down to one act left and that was it. I was in contact with the venue (the Birchmere), the headliner's (Deana Carter) management and everyone was very helpful and truly tried to help get me the answer, but nobody could. I kept browsing online every once in a while, checking newspaper articles and concert setlists/reviews and eventually found a long-abandoned website that some guy made for his own amusement with a hit counter at right about 27 despite the obvious age of the site. He made some passing reference to seeing Deana Carter at some point the Birchmere and the opener being one of the Birchmere bartenders. I emailed the guy and much to my amazement, he still had his ticket stub from the same show and written on the back was the name of the bartender.

So... The answer may be out there somewhere. You just need patience, determination and luck.

[Bicycle Bill]

A quick little update...
I heard back from the Marketing Administrator at the Amarillo Civic Center Complex who recommended I contact the Amarillo Public Library and seek some help from a research assistant. So, it is now on to the next path and a new contact to be made.

Library? Library? Wish I had thought of that myself and sooner. Sounds like a good source. We'll see.

Back in the days when I was still a teen-aged 'keet I used to work as a reference aide at the main branch of our public library. We had all of our old daily newspapers for over 100 years preserved on microfilm, so if you've got an approximate date — month and year should be good enough to start with — check through the old Amarillo papers from that period. Seems to me there would have been some advertising, or a story following the show, or something giving the specific date and location. Added benefit — maybe get a laugh out of how much it cost to see Bubba then vs. how big a dime we have to drop today!

We tend to get too wrapped up in the idea that everything is on the 'net, and maybe someday it will be. But trust me, that's not yet the case and we sometimes have to fall back on the older, more physical forms of technology....like microfilm readers or digging through the musty old stacks of newspapers and clippings in the archive rooms of the library and so on.

-"BB"-

[phfromprospertx]

Thanks for the encouragement.
I called the Amarillo Public Library and spoke with a couple of really nice people. One of them at the Reference Department spent a while listening to our endeavor. We laughed a bit and told each other a few stories. He told me a very interesting story about Little Richard making a trip to Amarillo. Of course, that trip was quite a few years before Jimmy's trip.
Good news is that 1) the library has reference files from '75 & '76 and 2) this library staffer has done this very type of thing (searching for past performances/concerts) before. The bad news is that the Amarillo newspaper used to be pretty poor at running anything that had to do with musical artists.
Why do we feel like a ship on an old familiar ocean and we are tacking from one spot to another as we find our way forward? We are having a blast doing it, though. And filling in the old fog banks with long forgotten detail as well as new and fun stories.