Yes and Peter Frampton’s 1976 San Diego show ended in 90 arrests
A sold-out Balboa Stadium bill drew thousands beyond capacity, with police reporting fence damage, injuries and dozens of arrests.
By Bianca Rossi · Entertainment Editor
3 min read
Ninety people were arrested outside a packed Yes and Peter Frampton concert at San Diego’s Balboa Stadium on July 18, 1976, after crowds pushed beyond the venue’s 35,000-person limit, according to a UPI report from the next morning.
The show landed at the peak of America’s bicentennial stadium-rock boom, when major tours were filling long summer days with multi-act bills. Rolling Stone reported that Yes and Frampton were among the acts able to pull major crowds while other giant outdoor shows were drawing complaints about heat, long waits and poor views.
Frampton was riding the runaway success of Frampton Comes Alive!, which Rolling Stone said was sitting at No. 1 on the Billboard 200. Radio was thick with “Baby, I Love Your Way,” “Show Me the Way” and “Do You Feel Like We Do.”
Yes arrived from a different kind of momentum. The band had not released a studio album since 1974’s Relayer and had spent time away from the road while members Jon Anderson, Steve Howe, Chris Squire and Alan White made solo records, Rolling Stone reported.
The group returned to North American touring in May 1976 with the Pousette-Dart Band opening. Frampton joined selected dates in Philadelphia, Washington, Anaheim, San Diego and Cicero, Illinois, pushing those stops into larger venues, according to Rolling Stone.
A packed bill at Balboa Stadium
The San Diego date also featured Gary Wright, known for “Dream Weaver,” and Gentle Giant. Rolling Stone reported that advance tickets cost $9.50, while same-day admission was $11.
A newspaper ad cited by Rolling Stone promoted the event as outdoor festival seating with concessions, parking and restrooms, and said attendance would be capped at 35,000 “for your comfort.”
That cap did not hold. UPI reported that police said the concert drew 4,500 more people than could be admitted to Balboa Stadium. Officers said most of the people arrested were young adults, and the reported charges were mainly drunkenness, drug use, resisting arrest and trespassing.
UPI also reported that crowds tore down fences and damaged areas at San Diego High School and City College, both next to the stadium. A first-aid trailer treated 100 people, while an unknown number were taken to hospitals, according to the wire service.
Footage, bootlegs and a Beatles encore
Rolling Stone reported that CBS 8 San Diego footage from the scene shows police in riot gear dealing with young fans outside the stadium. The report said the broadcast footage does not show Wright, Frampton or Yes performing, though it does include a brief look at Gentle Giant playing “Knots,” from the band’s 1972 album Octopus.
Other fan-filmed material from the night has circulated since then, according to Rolling Stone: Super 8 footage of Wright’s set, 12 minutes of Frampton, and six minutes of Yes, including parts of “Sound Chaser,” “I’ve Seen All Good People” and “The Gates of Delirium.”
Rolling Stone also reported that a recording of the full Yes set has circulated for years. The band’s encore that night was the Beatles’ “I’m Down,” identified by the magazine as one of only 15 known performances of the song by Yes.
The Yes tour ended about a month later in Fort Wayne, Indiana, in what Rolling Stone reported was keyboardist Patrick Moraz’s final show with the group. Rick Wakeman returned during sessions for Going for the One later in 1976.
Balboa Stadium changed, too. Rolling Stone reported that the original venue was demolished a few years after the 1976 concert and replaced by a much smaller stadium seating about 3,000 people.
This story draws on original reporting from Rolling Stone.