Blue Oyster Cult’s Godzilla. Watch the video if you don’t know the song or Godzilla hisself

On March 16, 1978, Blue Oyster Cult played at the University of Bridgeport during a period of time when I lived in Bridgeport, CT, worked at Queens College, and volunteered at local radio station WPKN-FM, where I did on-air work. Opening for BOC at UB was The Jam. Fellow PKNer and longtime friend Pat Hennessey and I went to the show because we both wanted to see The Jam, who lasted for about 25 minutes while the audience ignored the band and strongly called for Blue Oyster Cult.

This was Bridgeport, of course, and not NYC, Boston, SF, or LA.

In my case I knew how good BOC could be, having seen the band five years earlier on July 16, 1973 at the Schaefer Music Festival in Central Park, which more than fifty years later remains the best concert I ever saw, and I’ve seen a bit, from Strawberry Alarm Clock through The Amboy Dukes through The Kinks (twice) through The Chambers Brothers (five times) through Terry Reid (three times) through The Doors through Led Zeppelin (four times) through Robyn Hitchcock (many times, including with The Soft Boys and twice in the past three years). I haven’t seen it all, but I’ve seen a fair share.

At the time at UB, BOC was experimenting with laser lights with a projector set up behind its drummer, who was outfitted with a large Godzilla head while the band performed Godzilla, with the result being that the laser beam created the type of pixilated effect – around the drummer’s exaggerated and thrashing movements – that mirrored the cheap and lurching animation motions found in mid-1950s imported horror films like Godzilla, Rodan, Mothra, and others of that ilk (I’ve always preferred the term ilk to genre, and besides, films like Godzilla barely rise to the kevel of anything, let alone a claim as a genre). On a backdrop screen, images of Godzilla (from the film itself) were projected. We watched Godzilla writhing about playing drums while the song Godzilla was performed and scenes from Godzilla were shown in the background. Not exactly high art, but very interesting, visually, and pretty funny.

Unfortunately, the laser was aimed in such a way that the flickering light was aimed directly at members of the audience and not FAR above the heads of audience members. Not good, and you didn’t have to be an optical engineer, a laser physicist, or an ENT specialist to know that there was a strong possibility that a direct hit from a laser projector might cause damage to your eyesight (and maybe your brain), but to the best of my knowledge neither Hennessey nor I were direct targets that night. In fact, I spoke to Hennessey a few days ago and he seems OK to me, but what do I know?

Aaahhhhhhh … lasers aimed at the eyes of audience members … such good times.