Sussudio: 21 Jump Street, Toledo Style

In the 1983-84 school year, Toledo Police officer Phil Toney went undercover in the Toledo Public School system as part of an effort to crack down on  a drug ring that had been operating freely within the district. A pretty common crime-fighting tactic at the time, Toney's tenure is notable for one potentially disastrous slip: When it came time to build his cover, he, either by Freudian slip or sheer absent-mindedness, chose to go with the name "Phil Collins." (You can read the original story at 13ABC.) While the then 31-year old Toney's recent admission at least partially explains the difficulties toke! and his pals had scoring quality product during that time, the real story is how his "Phil Collins" alias escaped the scrutiny of both his TPD associates and the NARC-dar of the local High School drug gentry. "[It] Never really dawned on me until I first told somebody my name," remembers Toney, "and they said, 'Oh, yeah. Like the drummer in Genesis!"  Stoners-sometimes it seems the only thing they can do properly is screw themselves. 

My name? Robert. Robert Marley, nudge wink.

Actual names of dealers I've met and/or T-shirts I've seen: Dr. Feelgood, The Snowman, Queen of Green, Clown of Brown, Mr. Green, Boo Boo, Snitches are a dieing(sic) breed.

Also: Phill Collins as "Phil the Shill" on TV's hit drug drama, Miami Vice.

05.29.71 The Stooges and Bob Seger at the Toledo Sports Arena.

Power to 'em. The people, that is.

Last gig with the five piece line-up of Iggy, Ron and Scott Asheton, James Williamson, and James 'Jimmy' Recca on bass. The next two gigs scheduled for Pittsburgh and Los Angeles were cancelled because Williamson quit. They'd regroup as "Iggy and the Stooges" in 1973.

11.22.56 Elvis Presley, Thanksgiving Day at the Toledo Sports Arena

Onstage at the Toledo Sports Arena

For a boatload of photos and the complete details of the King's T-Town visit, stop by the website of Elvis's right hand man and the undisputed master of the Gibson Super 400, Scotty Moore. For some reason, Moore has retained encyclopedic-like knowledge of the Toledo Sports Arena, and sets the record straight on the fisticuffs big E got into in the lobby of the Commodore Perry Hotel after the show. Here's a hint: Colonel  Parker rigged it.

UPDATE! 12.29.73 John McLaughlin and the Mahavishnu Orchestra, Toledo Sports Arena

Note to bands who wish to keep performing with their original lineup: Stay the hell out of private aircraft and Toledo.














John McLaughlin and the Mahavishnu Orchestra's December, 29th gig at the Toledo Sports Arena  was the fusion groups last performance with the original line up. For some reason, Elliott Sears -- the bands road manager and FOH engineer -- has repeatedly refereed to this historic Toledo date taking place on the 30th of December, not the 29th as advertised.
Does anyone know if the gig was rescheduled?

This just in (01/11/12), direct from the aforementioned Elliot Sears, Mahavishnu Orchestra road manager and sound engineer:

December 29, 1973 at the Toledo Sports Arena was the Mahavishnu Orchestra's second to last concert.  The following night, December 30, 1973 was the bands last performance which was held at the Masonic Auditorium in Detroit

The following link is a list of the original Mahavishnu Orchestra's concerts taken from my itineraries and verified other sources.  Although far from complete it is for the most part accurate.  There are 2 listing that came from outside sources but I question their validity especially April 9, 1972 at Philharmonic Hall in New York.

The MO gig list can be found at the link below.

http://label.abstractlogix.com/?page_id=79

KISS, Toledo Sports Arena 12.16.79: Kitty-Kats Last Stand

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Peter Criss' last concert with the kabuki-faced rockers until the 1996 reunion tour, captured on the video above during the group's 1979 Dynasty tour. One viewing and it's clear the entire band is suffering from a case of road-borne malaise. Peter's "official" departure date was May, 18th, 1980. A week later, Criss married Debra Lynn Svensk (aka Debra Jensen) in Los Angeles.

As Toledo's preeminent temple of arena rock worship for decades, the Sports Arena had seen it all by the time it was demolished in 2007. If the walls could talk, they'd probably say things like: "Hey burnout, quit urinating on me," and "Styx again?" or most likely, "It's a free clinic, your parents will never even know."

Let's take a look at some of the video's highlights:
0:11 Rent a Cop: "Sure the security gig doesn't pay much, but I'm making buku cash selling oregano to these suburban dopes."
0:36 Tallow-necked and mustachioed security guard performing the East-Side Heimlich on a 12-year old in the name of crowd control. 
0:42 Maumee High School Panther Band Jacket-REPRESENT!
0:44 Ace and Paul's lethargic windmilling ala Townshend; they know they're onstage, right?
0:52 "Cool" older kids filtering just before showtime: "Kiss suck, but it'll be a party."
1:18: "They like to get in, they ask us to get in, but we just can't let them in."

Amazing photograph from the same concert 
by Toledo's own John Rockwood. tumbler

"Plenty of Tickets Available at the Door!"-Toledo Blade.