Ever wondered about your best gig ever (so far)? Every musician has one – and for Pat Travers, it was sharing the stage with a host of legendary names at Day on the Green, a recurring concert series at the Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum. Promoted by rock impresario Bill Graham, the series began in 1973 and drew some of the biggest acts of the era and crowds of around 65,000 people.
“The best show I ever did was 1978 in Oakland, California,” Travers tells tells Rick Beato. “It’s Aerosmith headlining, Foreigner, my band [Pat Travers Band], AC/DC, and Van Halen. Five bands starting at 11 a.m.
“So I’m not sure if Van Halen went on first, or AC/DC did. One of them did. It didn’t matter. And of course, Bill Graham was the best, and the backstage area had AstroTurf and tables and umbrellas, trailers – and everybody’s hanging out together.”…