Captain Beefheart & The Magic Band
Agora Theatre, Cleveland
January 18, 1971

Lineage: AUD>Tape (unknown gen)>WAV (using Wavelab)>FLAC (level 8, using Trader's Little Helper)
Sound improvement:
- no speed reduction (though the tape runs too fast but I like it)
- instead of noise reduction I used Freefilter with the sound picture of the 1971-01-19 gig shared some months ago. (Pitch is 1327/1248 instead of 597/569 in the 1st transfer.)

Tracklist:
01. When Big Joan Sets Up (8:17)
02. Hair Pie: Bake III (3:27)
03. My Human Gets Me Blues (3:13)
04. I Wanna Find A Woman That'll Hold My Big Toe Till I Have To Go (2:05)
05. One Red Rose That I Mean (2:53)
06. Abba Zaba (2:33)
07. Hobo Chang Ba (1:54)
08. Woe-Is-Uh-Me-Bop (2:07)
09. Flash Gordon's Ape (7:00)
10. Golden Birdies (2:41)

Total length: 36:10

Quality: 7.5/10

Line-Up:
Captain Beefheart/Don Van Vliet: vocals, tenor sax, soprano sax, bass clarinet, harmonica
Rockette Morton/Mark Boston: bass guitar, guitar
Drumbo/John French: drums, percussion
Zoot Horn Rollo/Bill Harkleroad: guitar, slide guitar
Winged Eel Fingerling/Elliot Ingber: guitar, slide guitar
Ed Marimba/Art Tripp: marimba, drums, percussion

Comments:
Tom Miller: Just spoke with club owner Hank LoConti who owned the old Cleveland Agora where the Captain performed in 1971. I told him about the web sites and he was amazed there was so much devotion. He owned LaCave as well but sold it for a pool hall probably in 1969. The concert listed in January of 1971 in Cleveland was at the Agora not LaCave. I WAS THERE!!! What a trip. Love to hear from other fans.
(Radar Station)

Tom Miller: I saw the Captain perform in Cleveland, Ohio in the early seventies not at La Cave but at a place called "The Agora" I think. It was on Euclid Ave fairly near downtown. After seeing pictures of this January of 1971 concerts in Detroit, I am fairly certain that the Cleveland stop somehow got overlooked. They played from "Lick My Decals Off, Baby" and were dressed like the pictures from Detroit.
When the concert ended, the easiest way to leave was through the back where the band was. I stood right next to Don who had an "independent towel supply" towel wrapped around his throat for protection. He had a shopping bag with handles, too. I remember driving home that night with extreme difficulty due to the incredible loud music. I actually had to pull off the road once to gather my composure.
So maybe the concert you attributed to La Cave was at the Agora instead? I know I am right about the place. Is there an Agora in Columbus too?
After conferring with several friends who attended Cleveland State University in the early 70's, I learned the Agora was not on Euclid Ave. but at E. 24th and Chester Ave. (I was close). I wouldn't be entirely surprised to learn Columbus had an Agora as well. Isn't there a ticket stub shown?
La Cave was literally a basement on Euclid Ave. at approx. E. 107th St. Access was down a long set of stairs. What a deal. Most concerts were $3 to $5. I saw Ed Sanders and the Fugs..... Blood, Sweat and Tears... Canned Heat... and others in the late 60's. I graduated from high school in 69 so dating the performances isn't too difficult. La Cave didn't remain open much into the 70's (if at all), as I recall. What a place! I'm sure you're correct about the Velvet Underground appearing there. I will check with some friends who are 4 or 5 years older than me as they would have better access to that scene in the late 60's. I think a guy named Hank LoConti owned both LaCave AND The Agora. (Agora is Latin for "the gathering place" or something like that.) The area on Euclid Ave where LaCave stood was leveled years ago. LaCave also had performers in more of a Folk or "protest" type venue.
Names such as Tim Buckley, Tom Paxson, Jim Kweskin Jug Band, also come to mind as performers at LaCave. In the early 60's and before there were all sorts of jazz clubs and night spots in the E. 105th and Euclid area. All gone years ago.
I trust you have the fairly recently released Beefheart box sets.
There are some great radio interviews....especially good are the ones that he calls in and plays the harmonica over the phone while holding the receiver in his lap.
Do you own any of the Howlin Wolf recordings? It is scary how similar his voice is. What always amazed me was how Beefheart and Zappa became exposed to the blues and other sources while living in Lancaster, California in the 50's.
I'll continue to try to fill in the blanks about the Agora concert of 1971.
There were many "Agoras" in the 70's according to a well placed source at the Cleveland Agora. Same ownership of the Cleve. Agora since the 70's. They are checking their records for me about old concerts. Stay tuned.
"Agora" is Greek, not Latin, and means either "gathering place" or "marketplace." My mistake. Many US cities had an Agora apparently.