WHO'S 'TOMMY' PAYS VISIT TO MAGIC CIRCUS

By Michael Etchison

Los Angeles Herald-Examiner

For $5 a ticket, local rock fans had a chance Friday night to attend the inauguration of the Magic Circus and the first Los Angeles performance of the Who's miss-called "rock opera" "Tommy." At least 5,000 did.

The circus is in temporary quarters at the Hollywood Palladium, when Lawrence Welk goes on tour it will be there both Friday and Saturday nights, and maybe ticket prices will go down.

The opening night performers were well-chose. The Bonzo Dog Band, an English sextet, recalled the Mothers without that group's aggressive sociological slant. Poco, now a quartet with half-ex-Buffalo Springfielders, provided strong country-colored rock. The Who combined power and artistic ambition.

The use of falsetto in rock began with the Everly Brothers, to all practical purposes, spread to the Beach Boys, the Beatles and the Byrds. In Poco it reaches its conclusion: At times they sound like a bluegras s band record played too fast. This has always be a little annoying, and the absence of original member, Randy Meisner, shows that he contributed much in giving body to their stratospheric excursion.

Other than that, Poco has two virtues: Richie Furay's buoyant songs and Rusty Young's marvelous steel guitar. Their arrangements are simple, allowing ample opportunity for both virtues to be exercised.

MAGIC CIRCUS GLITTERS

By Pete Senoff

Los Angeles Image

Opening night at Hollywood's new Magic Circus offered a study in contrasts to the casual viewer of the Los Angeles rock nightclub scene.

The premiere Magic Circus show presented the Who, Poco, and the Bonzo Dog (Doo-Dah) Band. From the standpoint of pure etnertainment, it was one of the most potent shows put together in Los Angeles since the days of Pinnacle.

...Poco came next, and proved just as potent as ever. (They've since lost Randy Meisner, who joined Ricky Nelson. Ricky Nelson ?!?) Richie Furay's singing still excels and the group's harmonies really can' t get any better than they are. They performed most of their new Epic album material, dropping Richie's Buffalo songs that they were performing a couple months back. Listening to Poco - particularly the pedal stell guitar virtuosity of Rusty Young - one can't help but marvel at the inherent logevity of the twang of country music. With Johnny Cash on the tube and groups like Poco and the Flying Burritos combining rock with country, whole new audiences are discovering more of the music roots.

But Poco emerges as just four guys having a hell of a good time singing (Their music publishing logo is Little Dickens Music). The audience couldn't get enough.