THE TEXXAS JAM
Outdoor shows have never been my idea of a good time. You’re at the mercy of the weather, victim to heat, cold, and bloodthirsty insects. The visibility sucks, there’s too many people knee deep in debris, and morons drink too much and can’t make it to the facility in time to send it back up the way it went down.
THE TEXXAS JAM
SHRIEK ATTACK!
BOSTON AEROSMITH WHITESNAKE POISON TESLA FARRENHEIT Dallas, Texas June 20, 1987
Elianne Halbersberg
Outdoor shows have never been my idea of a good time. You’re at the mercy of the weather, victim to heat, cold, and bloodthirsty insects. The visibility sucks, there’s too many people knee deep in debris, and morons drink too much and can’t make it to the facility in time to send it back up the way it went down. What with the sweating and waiting, no thanks! This changed back in 1985 when PolyGram graciously sent me to my first “Texxas World Music Festival” at the Dallas Cotton Bowl. The Texxas Jam hosts 80,000 folks and 1985’s was indeed an event,with Deep Purple headlining. Obtaining credentials and interviews was easy, everyone was in a festive mood and the press was treated like royalty. The particulars were equally noteworthy: everything from a couple getting married onstage after Grim Reaper’s set (they’ve since divorced) to some enthusiast pitching his artificial leg—complete with sock and sneaker—on stage with DP, then showing up backstage to reclaim his appendage, which the band obligingly autographed.