May 1, 1971
San Jose Pavilion, Santa Clara County Fairgrounds
San Jose, California, U.S.A.

My friend and I couldn't believe we were actually going to see Badfinger there. They were the special guests between Tower of Power and Lee Michaels. This was Tower of Power's home town and they got a rousing reception, but when Badfinger came on they had all kinds of technical problems. For "We're For The Dark", there was feedback on the acoustic guitar. The crowd started shouting 'Boogie! Boogie!' It was only when they did a rock 'n' roll medley that they really got a reception. They were great, but it was a difficult pairing.

Scott McCaughey (future member of the bands Young Fresh Fellows and REM)
from "Without You, The Tragic Story of Badfinger" by Dan Matovina, p. 127-128

My buddy Scott McCaughey and I saw Badfinger at The San Jose Pavilion, at the Santa Clara County Fairgrounds, on May 1, 1971, w/ Lee Michaels headlining, Tower of Power, and Badfinger opening! It was $4.00, and I have small flyer from the show.

Gary Norris

I did remember that I did have the chance to see Badfinger once. It was in San Jose. Perhaps around their 3rd album. They were the undercard for Ten Years After. The crowd (lots of Hell Angels to avoid among the student and hippie audience) were there mainly to hear "Going Home" to the annoyance of that band, and to me because Badfinger's set was pretty short - 45-55 minutes? But even with the poor acoustics, the band sounded great. Live, their double guitars really cooked. Pete really impressed me. While Joey was the Rock guy and good, Pete ripped out the licks with speed, and I guess in hindsight with "taste" (melody & tunefulness?). I did get the BBC disc that's out, and it helped validate the old memory banks. Still, it was the vocals and tunes that I have always been into (like Crowded House) and the guys sounded fine, particularly in the acoustic set.

Tom Hill

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