Memorial Coliseum

October 15, 1974

By the time Traffic came to Tuscaloosa, the band had formed, lost original members, added new personnel, broken up, and reformed. They released When the Eagle Flies in September and it immediately shot to the top of the charts. However, critics complained it was uneven and a bit dark, even though it included “Something New,” a bright spot among the new songs. Traffic’s line-up was formidable. While singer-songwriter Dave Mason had moved on years earlier, original members Jim Capaldi, Steve Winwood, and Chris Wood all made the trip to Tuscaloosa. The Tuesday evening concert was a short court set-up in Memorial Coliseum which felt more intimate than the larger scale shows. Little Feat released “Feats Don’t Fail Me Now” in August and was knee-deep in performing songs from the album, as well as earlier music. Songs including “Rock and Roll Doctor,” “Oh, Atlanta,” “Skin It Back,” the medley of “Cold Cold Cold/Tripe Face Boogie" as well as the title track dominated the set. Singer-guitarist Lowell George was a top form spreading his tasty slide guitar lick through the show. Pianist Billy Payne and the band’s excellent rhythm section were a highlight. Traffic and Little Feat had performed on October 12 in Fort Worth, TX, and on October 13 in Houston before the concert in Tuscaloosa. The night after the UPC production in Memorial Coliseum, the bands performed at the Omni in Atlanta. By the time they took the stage, the mood had turned. The show started with a rousing version of “Glad” from John Barleycorn Must Die, and other songs from previous albums. Twenty-six-year-old Steve Winwood was the star of the show. He sang and played electric and acoustic guitars and keyboards moving around the stage throughout the show. Chris Wood, who died in 1983, seemed to stumble around much of the show but added interesting flavors to songs like, “Sometimes I Feel So Uninspired,” and others from albums, including The Low Spark Of High Heeled Boys, and Shootout at the Fantasy Factory. The band also released a live album, On the Road in 1973, recorded in Germany with a sensational band that featured members of Muscle Shoals’ fabled Swampers line-up of musicians. Winwood and Capaldi were undoubtedly the highlights of the show. The multi-instrumentalist and the talented drummer made up the bulk of the group’s songwriting. In Tuscaloosa, they were excellent in their lead roles and, for the most part, kept an otherwise meandering show on point. Eventually, the band fizzled, and the shows booked from November 1 through the end of the tour, which included five dates in Florida, were all canceled, marking the end of an era, and a future Hall of Fame band.