Wanted: Gary Moore August 28th, 1987 (video or audio)
Way back in 1987 (otherwise known as the ‘dark-ages’) live recording trades were carried out on cassette tape via postal mail. We used to find potential trades by exchanging printed lists and located like-minded traders through the classifieds section of Goldmine. Wow things are so much easier today! Anyway… I was a big fan of Gary Moore and when I heard that he was going to be coming to the United States in support of his “Wild Frontier” album I knew I had to see him… somehow… somewhere. I didn’t know anyone who was anywhere near the locations Gary was playing but I had traded tapes with a guy in Upper Saddle River, NJ which wasn’t too far of a drive from The Chance theater in Poughkeepsie! I knew this guy was also a Gary Moore fan so I contacted him about the show. I was in Colorado at the time but I would be in New Jersey when the show date rolled around. He agreed to pick up a ticket for me and gave me directions to get to his place. From there he’d drive to Poughkeepsie.
When the 28th rolled around I took the long drive from mid-western NJ to Upper Saddle River and met a person I had previously only exchanged a few tapes with. I can no longer remember his name, but this guy had the LARGEST collection of RoIO’s I’ve ever seen. Every drawer, closet, shelf, nook and cranny was overflowing with cassette tapes and VHS videos of shows he had either taped or traded for! It was amazing.
I remember getting to the venue and making our way upstairs to see if the balcony was full. It wasn’t. We ended up at a small table, dead center of the stage with a perfect view. While we settled in I noticed this guy had brought a small bag in with him. Inside he had a Video Camera which he positioned at the rail with a perfect shot of the stage area. When Gary came on it was an unbelievable performance! We were so close you felt like you were the only one in the audience! It was mesmerizing! Phenomenal! Fantastic! And my host had caught it ALL on VHS video tape!
The only other things I remember about that night was that I bought BOTH shirts that were available, and that I drove home very late and rather disappointed! The show and experience was awesome… but my taper host turned out to be a hoarder! I can’t hold it against him, but he was the kind of guy that didn’t want to trade so he would have the only copy of the show. He said he might eventually let it out… but not right away. I tried bargaining with him… but no luck. I never obtained a copy of that show.
Since then I’ve been on the lookout for this show. Gary Moore at The Chance theater in Poughkeepsie, NY on August 28th, 1987 on VHS. I do not know if anyone else in the audience was taping that night, but I’ve not come across this show in Audio or Video form. If you have this show I’d love to hear from you!
