June 5, 1979
Opry House
Houston, Texas, U.S.A.

Badfinger's "Airwaves" tour got kicked off on June 5, 1979 at the Texas Opry House in Houston. This was a small concert venue with rows of chairs in the front and tables at the back where patrons could order drinks. There was a good turnout for the concert. The "Airwaves" LP had been getting some airplay in Houston prior to the concert. I had heard "The Winner" and "Love is Gonna Come At Last" on the radio and was excited that Badfinger was going to carry on.

Joey and Tom had recruited Tony Kaye (keyboards - formerly of Yes) and Pete Clarke (drums) for their new edition of Badfinger. I think it would have been better if the person playing keyboards could have switched over to guitar on some of the familiar Badfinger classics that were more guitar-driven, but Kaye did a respectable job of arranging those songs for keyboard.

Tom and Joey seemed a little too looped. Their playing was tight but their singing was rather sloppy that night. It seemed to me that they only grudgingly included any of Pete's songs and did not really give them a sincere performance. Their set was all Rock with no ballads at all. They played quite a few songs from "Airwaves", along with some of the Badfinger hits, and finished up with some Chuck Berry.

The concert achieved its desired effect because I did rush out and purchase "Airwaves" the next day!

Bill Thompson

Got to meet them before the show in the parking lot (we were early) where they signed my Straight Up LP! Also, ticket holders got a free copy of the Airwaves LP before the show signed by Tom, Joey, Tony Kaye & Peter Clarke!

Alex Rodriguez (2020)

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