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Sunday, February 16, 2014

25 Days of Harrison Day 15- Tours





Throughout his solo career George Harrison had toured only twice. His first tour was called Dark Horse, in 1974, where he toured North America. This tour had received both harsh reviews by critics and bad vibes from George Harrison. His next tour would be in 1991 when friend of Harrison's, Eric Clapton, had asked George if he'd tour again, he did.

Dark Horse Tour
In 1974 was eventful for George Harrison, George starting his own record label called Dark Horse, his first wife and him started their break up, he met his future second wife, Olivia, cocaine addiction, laryngitis, and did his first tour; in fact it was the first time since The Beatles break up (10 April 1970) that any Beatle had toured in the United States.

The Dark Horse Tour started in Vancouver, Canada on 2 November when George Harrison and members played the Pacific Coliseum. Members include:George Harrison (Guitar), Ravi Shankar (Sitar), Billy Preston (Keyboards), Jim Keltner (Drums), Robben Ford (Bass Guitar), Andy Newmark (Drums), Emil Richards, (Percussion), Tom Scott (Horns), Jim Horn (Saxophone),Chuck Findley (Trumpet), and a band of Indian musicians conducted by Ravi Shankar.Olivia Arias Trinidad, working at A&M Record at the time, was invited on this tour by George Harrison where the two started their relationship. Olivia would later in 1978 give birth to her and George's only child, and marry George Harrison. The following video is George Harrison and members preforming "Give Me Love (Give Me Peace On Earth)" and "In My Life" during the Dark Horse Tour,( apologies for sound quality):


The tour was decided to promote Harrison's album, Dark Horse. During this time Harrison had suffered through laryngitis making his voice sound weak and rough, critics were very harsh on him for this. It was also during the time that George was heavily into cocaine, which didn't help his voice at all. The Tour moved on across North America stopping in twenty-seven cities;
Dark Horse Tour
  • 2 November- Pacific Coliseum- Vancouver, Canada
  • 4 November- Center Coliseum- Seattle, Washington
  • 6 November- The Cow Palace- San Francisco, California
  • 7 November- The Cow Palace- San Francisco, California
  • 8 November- Oakland Coliseum- Oakland, California (preformed Day&Night)
  • 10 November- Long Beach Arena- Long Beach, California
  • 11 November- L.A. Forum- L.A., Califronia
  • 12 November- L.A. Forum- L.A., California (preformed day&night)
  • 14 November- Tuscon Community Center- Arizona (preformed day&night)
  • 16 November- The Salt Palace- Salt Lake City, Utah
  • 18 November- Denver Coliseum- Denver Colorado (preformed day&night)
  • 20 November- St. Louis Arena- St. Louis Missouri
  • 21 November- Civic Center- Tulsa, Oklahoma
  • 22 November- Tarrant Country Convention Center- Fort Worth, Texas
  • 24 November- Hofenz Pavilion- Houston, Texas (preformed day&night)
  • 26 November- Louisiana State University Assembly Center- Baton Rouge, Louisiana
  • 27 November- Mid-South Coliseum- Memphis, Tennessee
  • 28 November- The Omni- Atlanta, Georgia (preformed day&night)
  • 30 November- Chicago Stadium- Chicago, Illinois
  • 4 December- Olympia Stadium- Detroit, Michigan (preformed day&night)
  • 6 December- Maple Leaf Gardens- Toronto, Canada (preformed day&night)
  • 8 December- Montreal Forum- Montreal, Canada (preformed day&night)
  • 10 December- Boston Garden- Boston, Massachusetts (preformed day&night)
  • 11 December- Civic Center- Providence, Rhode Island
  • 13 December- Capital Center- Largo, Maryland (preformed day&night)
  • 15 December- Nassau Coliseum- Long Island, New York (preformed day&night)
  • 16 December- The Spectrum- Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
  • 17 December- The Spectrum- Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (preformed day&night)
  • 19 December-  Madison Square Garden- New York City, New York
  • 20 December- Madison Square Garden- New York City, New York (preformed day&night)
 The Following video is "What is Life" preformed on the Dark Horse Tour, George Harrison video during the tour from Martin Scorsese's Living In the Material World documentary:


 

The band played various songs from Beatles hist like "While My Guitar Gently Weeps" and "Something" also including his own version of John Lennon/Beatles song "In My Life". The tour included  Harrison's solo's like "What Is Life", "My Sweet Lord", "Dark Horse", and more. Also, songs by Ravi Shankar, and Billy Preston presenting his own work. George put on the tour while recovering and fighting  laryngitis  Critics came in with harsh remarks saying his voice was gone, George also realized that the people in the audience weren't connecting with what he was saying and were only their to hear Beatles hits instead of the sitar and Indian styling of Ravi Shankar.  This tour would have Harrison quitting touring after hearing of the reviews. 

George Harrison and Eric Clapton 1991

In 1991, Eric Clapton was going on tour and asked George if he was interested in touring again. George decided to try touring again and the two headed off to Japan to preform ten concerts;
George Harrison and Eric Clapton 1991
  • 3 December- Osaka-jo Hall- Osaka, Japan
  • 5 December- Nagoya International Showcase Hall- Nagoya, Japan
  • 6 December- Hiroshima Sun Plaza- Hiroshima, Japan
  • 9 December- Fukuoka Kokusai Center- Fukuoka, Japan
  • 10 December- Osaka-jo Hall- Osaka, Japan
  • 11 December- Osaka-Jo Hall- Osaka, Japan
  • 12 December- Osaka-jo Hall- Osaka, Japan
  • 14 December- Tokyo Dome- Tokyo, Japan
  • 15 December- Tokyo Dome- Tokyo, Japan
  • 17 December- Tokyo Dome- Tokyo, Japan
George Harrison had received great reviews from critics on this tour, even putting out an album in 1992 called Live In Japan. Although, Harrison received great reviews this tour was the last tour George Harrison ever did. The following video is Eric Clapton and George Harrison preforming "Taxman":



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