It's a genuine Triumph mystery!
Hank and I have been pm'ing behind the scenes. With his generous permission, I'm posting some interesting clues we've assembled.
The evidence so far...
Exhibit A: The MTV concert video, in which an announcer welcomes Triumph to "Toe-son," an incorrect pronunciation, and the members of Triumph are seen in the concrete corridors of a good-sized urban arena.
Exhibit B: Hank produces a handbill from MTV, which describes the concert as having taken place at the Towson Center in Baltimore, MD.
Exhibit C (courtesy of SCHRADE): TV Guide runs a blurb about the concert, taped "at the Towson Center in Baltimore." The source notes that Triumph played "Rock & Roll Machine" from their album "Allied Forces," an inaccurate reference.
Exhibit D: Any map of the Baltimore metropolitan area shows how Towson is a suburb of Baltimore outside the Baltimore city limits.
Exhibit E: Marylander chordguy has been to the Baltimore Civic Center and the Towson Center Arena. Per his eyewitness account, the MTV concert footage is of the Baltimore Civic Center, not the Towson Center arena.
Exhibit F: (Apparent) Marylander pzgorski posts about having attended the concert in question, and that it was at the Baltimore Civic Center. To pzgorski's knowledge, there was no concert at Towson Center Arena.
Exhibit G: Hank studies the MTV concert footage and determines that the video is very consistent with the seating chart of the Baltimore Civic Center.
Exhibit H: The testimony, related by chordguy, of an archivist at Towson State University's Albert S. Cook Library, is as follows: "We did not have any information on the band Triumph playing at Towson Center Arena in 1982. In fact there was no information about Triumph at all."
Case closed? Not so fast!
Exhibit I: Per Gil Moore, as relayed by Hank, who asked Gil during the Rocklahoma weekend, the concert was at "Towson State University Center." When Hank asked about the footage in the beginning of the MTV concert video, Gil couldn't answer that. He said "maybe we played both that year," and his memory didn't serve him 100%.
So, where was the concert?
For Exhibit J, I'm off to the library to see if The Baltimore Sun microfilm from February 1982 confirms the venue. Stay tuned...
Jimbo:Which MTV concert video is this to what your referring?
the one that MTV aired in, I think '82? have we concluded that it was indeed '82?
...anyway, it was shot on the Allied Forces tour
The 1982 MTV concert filmed in Maryland
Hank
And the answer is...
Exhibit J: An ad in the "Amusements" section of Baltimore newspaper The Sun, February 21, 1982, which shows that the concert was in...
Towson!
I am flabbergasted, fascinated, and flat-out wrong!
I'll try to get the image scanned and post it. It shows the double-lightning logo with a big tank-gun barrel in the center. The show was listed for that day (Sunday, Feb. 21) at 8 p.m. with "special guest Saxon," at the Towson Center at Towson State University. Adjacent to the ad are others for the Harlem Globetrotters and Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus at the Baltimore Civic Center.
So the only remaining mystery is...where were the pre-show shots filmed if not at Towson?
Meanwhile, let the record clearly state that the concert itself was at Towson Center, and that Gil Moore's memory is clear and sharp!
Hey Chordguy,
My internet server was down two days, Do you mean I was correct!!!!
What is my grand prize? Tickets for the next Triumph extravaganza?
Great job researching and getting Gil's answer from Hank.
This was too much fun.
Mark
What, "hard" evidence providing a reasonably conclusive answer isn't reward enough, Mark? Just think, if someone had taken me up on the real money (or beer) bet, I'd have had to pay up big time!
Agreed, it's fun to research these questions. But what about that pre-show footage and the concrete (non-basketball court) floor? Some mysteries just never end...
So you mean this show?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PZW14xgMoHI
Glad I looked it up. Not sure I've seen this footage until now.
Amazing!!
Here is Exhibit J, from the "Amusements" ad section of The Sun, February 21, 1982, which conclusively shows where the "Baltimore" concert took place:
http://i332.photobucket.com/albums/m351/alankard/TriumphAd2.jpg
I like the tank-gun coming out of the Triumph logo. Can you imagine yourself during the days before the Internet, finding this ad in the newspaper, and thinking, "Hey! I can see Triumph TONITE!"
Maybe more of us can do that in 2009.
chordguy:Exhibit H: The testimony, related by chordguy, of an archivist at Towson State University's Albert S. Cook Library, is as follows: "We did not have any information on the band Triumph playing at Towson Center Arena in 1982. In fact there was no information about Triumph at all."
Nice find! I've found libraries are a great place to find old stuff like this. But, you're pretty much on your own, they're not going to be much help. Did you look for a review or article printed after the show? Most of the shows that came thru my town got something like this.....
I didn't look for that, but you're right, SG, it's a good idea. I'll check next time I swing over to the library and post any findings. Ah, microfilm, brings back fond memories of searching for info before the Internet age.
I see that you updated your Triumph tour list. Nice! Just a note, though, there's no "e" in Towson. That's one thing I am sure about! Still shaking my head in wonder that it was Towson, not Baltimore...
Nice! I'm new to this board, but a long-time Triumph fan. I've got this show on videotape, we taped it off MTV at midnight or whenever it ran (or re-ran), back in 1986. It was on right around the time i got to see them on the Sport of Kings tour (Halloween 1986 in Fairfax, VA--Yngwie Malmsteen opened up).
Anyway, I've always assumed it was filmed at the Baltimore Civic Center.
I'll see if I can find the old tape......
cheers,
wade
I know this is probably settled, but I'm new to the board and just thought I'd chime in. Yes indeed, it was at the Towson Center, I was there and pretty elated to see this band being recorded by MTV...I seem to recall a large camera setup right in the middle of the crowd, as well as several roaming.
Towson Center used to have quite a few good shows, I saw BB King there many years ago as well. I sure wish they'd get back on the bandwagon for some good shows.