• Concerts •

From joeymolland.com:
"Tim Schools, internationally renown artist, is doing a painting of Joey, on (top of) a painting by Joey. He will have a show in the next few years in a Gallery along with his other works. Tim Schools will be coming back to town this summer with 500 posters of his finished painting of Joey, over the painting of peace signs by Joey. They will both sign the posters and put them up for sale."

Update from Kathie: (During the rebroadcast) Joe will have the finished painting by Tim Schools behind him, as he answers questions. We have the posters now available, signed by Tim Schools and Joey. We just received it last night. Tim is also doing a painting of George Harrison (and it's fantastic!) along with John Lennon. We'll be marketing copies of Joe's painting through Independent Artists. The original painting will hang in a show in the future at the University of Paris, along with others, like Nelson Mandella. We will start marketing the prints now for $25.00 plus $5.00 s/h. These are signed by Tim and Joe and individually numbered. The paper is superb. Joey painted the peace signs and Tim painted Joe's portrait on top. It was a joint effort. Attached is a photo of the original. Tim has also started painting George and John. The George one is just fab!!! But it's not complete yet. We are obviously very excited about this painting. He's going to do one of me too. Oh yes, the print may turn out to be the book cover. -Kathie

Joe Mo in Kokomo - 2002 Concert season begins!

...As 11:00 PM rolled around, Joe and the rest of the band enter the club. Joey yells some encouragement to the fans before disappearing to the dressing room. Billy walks by our table and Barb calls his name. He turns around and says, "Barb!" We spend the next few minutes talking with Billy and catching up on some future dates and what has been going on lately. At about 11:30, Billy says, "Time to go to work" and heads for the stage. Mark, John and Steve are already there and Billy joins them. Five minutes passes, ten minutes, Billy hops off stage and back over to our table and shrugs. "Joe is watching the Lakers' basketball game in the dressing room..." Another five minutes goes by, Joe runs out with a huge grin on his face, looks our way as Barb asks, "Who won." "The Lakers'! Yeah!!!" shouts Joe as pumps his fist and he leans towards us and adds "Go Lakers!" Joe is fired up for the evening!

This was only the second time the band has played together this year, so some parts were a bit free-flowing. That made for some great impromptu guitar work from Joe during several songs, which was great to hear him stretch out. This set list is very close to what Joe played for last year's shows and we were a bit surprised when he skipped over "Meanwhile Back At The Ranch/Should I Smoke." We could't have that! So during "Midnight Sun," Barb grabs a piece of paper from me and scribbles down "Meanwhile Back/Should I Smoke - Please!" During the break between songs, Barb walks to the stage and hands Joe the note. With the stage lighting being a bit dark and Joe without his glasses on, Joe tilts the note to the light and states, "We have a request from.... Paul!" ""Should I Smoke" by Peter Ham." Back at our table, I look at Barb and we both say, "Paul?!?" Barb comments; "I wrote "please" at the bottom of the page and when I handed him the note I said it was a request from the audience. I guess without his glasses he assumed it was the requester's name..."

Both Billy Davis and Mark Healey handled their songs with gusto and heartfelt feeling - you could just tell. Mark really took the stage with his singing of the song "Midnight Caller." And Billy, as usual, was all over the stage, dancing and jumping about and really into this gig. We asked him later if a smaller audience made any difference. Billy shook his head and stated that it really didn't, as long as the fans that were there, appreciated the show. Every time I meet Billy, I am always impressed with his professionalism and his devotion to what he is doing. I hope this live band sticks together for quite a while. They are a good unit, all.

  Joe Mo in Kokomo  

Joey Molland, Denny Laine and American English in Puerto Rico

The Caribe Hilton in San Juan, Puerto Rico was the site for one of the most amazing gigs in this island's Rock and Roll History. On Saturday September 28th, 2002 Joey Molland of Badfinger, Denny Laine with the original horn section of Paul McCartney's Wings and the world famous Beatles tribute band, American English played to a crowd of hundreds of enthusiastic 60's and 70's Rock music fans. Joey arrived with Denny Laine on a flight from Chicago on Thursday evening and was greeted by José Nieves - a Badfinger fan since they released Come And Get It, as well as Maribel Rios who produced the event. A press conference was held the next morning and was covered by Telemundo - the top TV station in Puerto Rico and member of the Telemundo network - reaching Hispanic households throughout the continental U.S. as well as People magazine and local radio stations. Two articles appeared with interviews of Joey in major island newspapers.   Joey en Puerto Rico

Agora! Agora! Agora! - The 1990 "Day After Day" Release Party / Concert

Cleveland, Ohio - October 5, 1990 - The Agora Ballroom - Badfinger Live!

"...Upon walking in the club you caught sight of a huge red neon Agora sign mounted behind the stage area. The room was jam packed! We must have arrived within minutes of showtime as the announcer was doing his thing and introduced a Rykodisc records person - who introduced Badfinger!" (Paul Nyman)

"The place was packed, and the crowd very enthusiastic. The band consisted of: Joey Molland - Guitar; A.J. Nicholas - Bass; Mike Lichey - Guitar; and Scott Tate - Drums. ...it was a flawless performance." (Brenda Hornberg-Watkins)

"...it was a great show and the whole band was prepared and in good spirits all night. The sound itself was really good in that small room, but man, was it loud! - my ears still ring to this day!" (Paul Nyman)

"After the show all of us were asked to come backstage and see the band. The Cleveland Scene did a write up and was there covering the show, so we lingered for a while backstage..." (Paul Nyman)

"...Quickly grabbing two bananas from a nearby dressing room fruit bowl, Joe offers one to drummer Scott, and challenges him to a duel! Scott gets in the first "shot" and Joe falls dramatically to the floor, lying flat on his back with his feet wavering in the air..." (Brenda Hornberg-Watkins)

"We visited until it was time for all of us to make the long drive home. We all headed outside together. I remember Joey instructing me to drive carefully - when I told him Paul was driving, he asked which car was Paul's, and gave it a thorough inspection - just short of kicking the tires!" (Brenda Hornberg-Watkins)

Here is your 'backstage pass' to preview the new BWR feature:
26 new photos! - The Rykodisc Press Kit! - The Cleveland Scene article

  Agora! Agora! Agora!  

The Sykesville Ag and Youth Fair - Badfinger in concert - PHOTOS POSTED!!!

Okay... Did you like the ChiliFest show? Great wasn't it! But I have news for you, you haven't seen anything yet! I just got my photos back from the most phenomenal Badfinger show that I have seen so far! Joey's Badfinger was scheduled to appear on Friday night at 7:30 PM. So I made the 6.5 hour trip from Ohio to Sykesville to see the show. I knew that I wanted to see Joe and the band at least one more time this summer, and this looked like it would be a good show... And how right I was!

The concert is about to begin. Joe walks up to the mic, looks out over the audience, (of several hundred) and jokes: "Is everyone else at the school bus demolition?" "When I first heard that it was a school bus demo, I thought that you were going to pick out the new school busses for next year!" (laughs) "I didn't know that you were going to smash them up!" (laughs) Joe has just captured the entire audience. Joe spins around and kicks into the first song - the evening begins...

"Come And Get It" is the opening number and the band sounds great, the lighting is terrific, and the audience is up and cheering! Wow! What an opening! After that song, Joe goes through the band line-up for 2001. Billy Davis - Guitars; Mark Healey - Bass; John Richardson - Drums; Steve Wozny - Keyboards; and Joe Molland - Guitars...

  Sykesville Badƒinger Concert  

"The photos are really great, man. They are the best I have ever seen of the band. They are also currently my screen saver on my computer. My favorite is the one with the reflection on Joe's guitar. I can't wait to see what you do with them." -Sir Barb

Cincinnati ChiliFest Concert Series - Hugh Blow-out!

( Click the above 'Joey' photo to see the show! )

The greenish glow in the sky in downtown Cincinnati that was witnessed by thousands at 9:00 PM brought in many calls to the Cincinnati police on July 15th. Was it a rare occurrence of the Northern Lights? Or maybe the fireworks show after the Reds game? No! It seems that during a concert show featuring Joey Molland's Badfinger, concert-goers by the hundreds, in unison lit their lighters in tribute to the band. Big mistake! After thousands of people digested thousands of pounds of chili, the inevitable happened... The not-so-sweet smell of success...

And now if you believe that, try following this story...

My "Lost Weekend" (or The 'Sir Barbaronius Maximus' Factor)

  ChiliFest Concert - Photo Review!  

Joey's Badfinger rocks Ohio!

It was labeled as a "Party in the Park - Taste of" Event - Saturday, July 15, 2000 The weather was almost perfect. Beautiful blue sky, white puffy clouds, low 80's and a nice steady breeze from the Northwest. The crowd was appreciative and Joey's Badfinger made an hour pass so very quickly! Here is a complete run-down on the Badfinger concert in Ohio on July 15, 2000. I have created a special page for viewing these photos. I cropped them all but left them at full resolution so that the downloads will take longer, but the pictures are of a much higher quality...So please be patient! It is worth it! Come and join me at the concert...Joey's Badfinger is just now setting up...   Your Badƒinger Concert Ticket

Akron Rubber Bowl concert series rocked 1972

The rock band Three Dog Night opened a concert series at the Akron Rubber Bowl on June 16, 1972, just two years after the city "sold" the 35,000-seat stadium to the University of Akron for $1. The Belkin Brothers' series also featured appearances by Rod Stewart, BADFINGER, the Osmond Brothers, Alice Cooper and the Allman Brothers -- and would have included Chicago if that concert hadn't been rained out.

But the happening of that summer season was a sold-out July 11 concert by the Rolling Stones. An estimated 6,000 fans camped out at the Rubber Bowl the night before the concert; a convenience store near the stadium sold $1,500 worth of beer by 4 p.m. the day of the concert and 26 of 42,000 fans were arrested and seven police officers were injured in a melee over drug arrests before the show started.
-Russ Musarra (Published Friday, June 16, 2000, in the Akron Beacon Journal).

The Akron Rubber Bowl was exceptionally chilly that afternoon - just a few hours before The Faces, Cactus and Badfinger concert was about to begin. That was July 3rd, and fireworks were to be heard going off in all directions. But behind the right side of the field the atmosphere was almost sullen; it was a depressing day. Enter one scene reporter into Badfinger's dressing room, (me). At first, the place, (just a locker room at that) seems empty save for some equipment cases and a cooler full of refreshments (of assorted potencies).

However, upon hearing someone else in the locker area one Pete Ham - leader of Badfinger and "the one everybody knows from Bangla Desh concert with George Harrison" - I ask if the Capitol promo man has been here at all. Negative. But obviously he didn't care if he ever came, "they usually don't make it anyway" says Pete. Pete is more than willing to talk. "The others will be here shortly also" he adds. While stringing his Gibson SG, Pete says he is pleased with the way their stage act has been going. However he commented that ".....the smaller hall, the better we sound. I prefer to play to about 5000 people or less, but this tour, (in arenas of large size) is it just to get as many people as possible. It wouldn't be so bad if they could have gotten a good piano adapter.... to be used to amplify a regular piano and still get a good tone..." says Pete, "but their's is always breaking down or lost." Such are some of the perils of the road. The obvious place to start would have to be the cause of Badfinger's newly found fame - Bangla Desh with George Harrison: "well, George was in New York and he rang us up and presented the idea; six hours later we were on a flight to New York. The whole thing was put together very quickly, but it came off real well." I had often wondered why Badfinger as an entity didn't play - they played only acoustic guitars on the side of the stage. "Again, it was just because George had this idea and it was his show, we just helped him out and we were glad to be there."

Pete, of course, played a duet of "Here Comes The Sun" with George (at both shows). This got him off - he was glad I brought it up.. "George just wanted to keep it simple, so he just told me he used a capo on it and what changes were important. Then, I went back to the hotel and listened to the "Abbey Road" tape, we never really rehearsed it at any time."

Was it true that Badfinger Mike Gibbins had left? "Yes actually. We were five weeks away from this tour and we had no drummer. Although we had several auditions, none seemed to work. Finally in Detroit we met Rob (Stowinsky, a native of Detroit) and that was it. We did a lot of rehearsing."

Badfinger recently had a lot of single success, "Baby Blue" and "Day After Day" from "Straight Up" were solid hits. Both songs were seemingly, born out of some kind of loneliness. "Both were written for the same girl, a girlfriend of mine from Witchita, Kansas. And was her name Dixie, as in 'my Dixie dear....'? Yes, I wrote "Baby Blue" after not seeing her for a few months, I thought she was angry for not calling. But by the time was completed, we had already gotten back together. I kept the song anyway because it could apply to a lot people." Indeed, that just may be the thing about Pete Ham's compositions, they're universal songs - in a classic sense of pop music - and, thusly, come comparisons between his songs and Paul McCartney's. More Beatles syndromes are predicted, but the group keeps progressing. For example is their stage show, not a rundown of their hits. As Pete says: "Some numbers like "Suitcase" can go on for 15 minutes."

Since Badfinger first gained prominence for their work in "The Magic Christian" film, where they did McCartney's "Come And Get It", I wondered how the group got along with Paul McCartney, (he also produced the first five tracks they ever recorded). "He kind of set the direction and helped us get the sound we wanted, but at first he was very much in control. He was the pro, we were the beginners." Now after three albums (the soundtrack, "No Dice," "Straight Up"), Badfinger had three different producers. George Harrison, who did "No Dice" and the original recording of "Straight Up," hasn't really got the time to do another album with them. Todd Rundgren - who did the final mixing of "Straight Up," was, according to Pete, "a little too domineering, he's a little accustomed to working things his way."

The alternative: "We'd like to get a very good engineer and then do the production ourselves. Since we won't be recording until fall, I'm sure we'll get along okay."