A new decade! Who knows what wonders will unfold as 1980 made its' first Utica appearance! Yeah right! If I think real hard I recall this was a WHO YEAR!!!!! No way! The Who continued their American tour with a buncha shows in the spring of which I attended a few in Toronto. The Who love Toronto and it got to be a habit of ending tours or starting them here. Great city. I think I took the train up here and an incredible 2 nights cause they were on fire! So it was obvious I had to see more! Wouldn't ya know it! How about a trip to CALIFORNIA!!!! 5 nights of the Who and the sights and sounds of the Golden State! Somehow I got McCoy to come along and it was a moment that transcended time. My first trip out west and...... such implications in later years of a journey far from ever being over! Besides the fact The Who played almost every night, I remember the thrill of Hollywood, the ocean, Universal Studios and those crazy in case of earthquake signs. SHEESH!
And it wasn't over! One last show added to end the tour! Up in Toronto in CNE Stadium and I still remember the sheer excitement upon hearing the radio ads in Utica about THE EVENT of the summer of '80! THE WHO IN TORONTO! No way was I gonna miss this so me , McCoy and Ruffing headed up a day early just to get in line! A lot of Uticans made the pilgrimmage to Toronto and it was a splendid time. All though we were a little peeved when they opened different gates than the one we had been standing in front of for a day and a half. Me and Mccoy literally flew through the air at hypersonic speed and outraced EVERYONE and ended up RIGHT IN FRONT! DAMN! What a test of endurance! BUT it had been an extremely hot day and with no sleep for a coupla days and a pushing, roiling crowd in a raucous mood, we endure Nash the Slash, J. Geils and Heart and ended up going backwards! The crush of the crowd brought announcements to take a coupla steps back and being the civic minded person I am, stepped back and ten people took my spot! Well by the time the Who appeared, we were no longer in front and being very disillusioned headed towards some seats where the Utica contingent were seated. Bummer, man! It was over. The Who made a triumphant return from tragedy and could still rock. Even with a weak Kenny Jones, P.T. was playing with a passion that would take a few decades ever to match again! Sorry I got on a roll, but hey!
New music!!!Townshend releases a solo album of songs the Who could die for! What is going on? EMPTY GLASS contained moments of musical genius and hey the guy could still write!
Lost in all this who-hoopla, I can never forget returning from California after a week of Who-ing! That Teusday we had a softball game at Proctor High School and as I strode to the mound, probably suffering some ill affects of jet lag, the game was ready to begin. I threw that first pitch and DANG IF IT WASN"T TWO FEET WIDE OF HOME PLATE! SHEESH!! So I threw another not much closer than the first and after 6 more put two guys on base and me pondering fate as to what had transpired, I removed myself, stunned and questioning life's priorities, from the game! It was where the devastating "Gooch Syndrome" first appeared! SCARY!!
Let's take note! It was about this time I first heard I WILL FOLLOW WOW U2! The band had merit! And also some English band with a female American singer unleashed a devastating guitar album. The leather fit her pretty nicely and that dynamic look...whew what a record! So may I introduce to you.... THE PRETENDERS!
January 1981, da Raiders were Super Bowl bound! A convincing win over Philly put the Silver and Black on top again and it was great to be a Raider!
Until Al got a bug up his coolie and took our beloved OAKLAND RAIDERS southward. Sheesh! the los Angeles Raiders! Did not have the ring to it. But in 1982 they started playing in The Coliseum.
Well after an amazing stretch, cracks finally appeared in the Who armor. A lukewarm record,FACE DANCES, was released. Not a strong Who album.! Seems Empty Glass got the great songs and....uh-oh
The next 20 years of my life were definitely shaped by the events of 1982. No big deal to a non-Gooch, but in The Life and Times of...., a major hunka cataclysmic stuff!!!! Naturally, you must assume it involves The Who and YEP it does. We will keep it short here and go off on a tangent in another section. The spring release of Pete Townshend's greatest solo effort, ALL THE BEST COWBOYS HAVE CHINESE 
EYES, laid to rest the rumors of Who problems. The album was incredible and compared to recent pathetic Who lps....well! SLIT SKIRTS-my all-time fave PT song! I gotta get it out now and play it! Why were these not Who songs? As the year progressed there were rumbles of a tour and on the eve of the big 3-0 for me, The Who announced a tour of America! A FAREWELL TOUR! And then proceded to release a crappy record, It's Hard
Well the rest of the year was spent planning to see the Who tour and then seeing the 'oo for what could be the last time. (yeah, right!)
This amazing journey covered a coupla 2,3 months and spanned thousands of miles. Along the way it was a non-stop string of events. Incredible music, wondrous sights and great?!? food! HAHA Starting off in Washington DC with Carl, Jim K., and Heck Ramsey thru Philly, Buffalo and Pittsburgh, thanks to Jim's uncle and sister and Billy D. and Albert F. and to Toronto and New Jersey and Shea Stadium, thanks to Dave O., and out to St. Louis, Chicago, Milwaukee, Cleveland, Syracuse and back to Toronto for the finale... well do words exist! And topped off by meeting the Who fans extraordinaire, Jared, Marc, Allison, Sol , The Lewk, Melissa, Scott, Kasuko and the one AND only Jim Fromalbini... Itwas atrip of a lifetime and what more can I say...except
OK enough writing. I am ending this phase of Gooch's memoirs and if you continue on we will see a coupla different faces and places or you could go home and get some rest or you can question the sanity of this type writer tapper. PEACE