'I recall feeling bad about how the crowd treated him.' Attendees remember Bob Saget's 1979 show in Las Cruces.
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LAS CRUCES - Why did promoters sandwich a stand-up comedian between two rock groups at a 1979 show at the Pan American Center?
We may never know the answer, but that odd choice was likely the reason Bob Saget — then a 22-year-old comedian without much name recognition — was purportedly booed off stage in his first and seemingly only visit to New Mexico State University.
Saget, who would go on to enjoy an illustrious acting and stand-up comedy career beginning in the mid 1980s, died Jan. 9. He was 65.
The few thousand fans who attended the March 21, 1979 concert headlined by hard rock band Head East at NMSU's Pan American Center were welcomed by opener Richie Lecea, a guitarist with a groovy rock sound.
Saget took the stage next and his show was so poorly received that the comedian allegedly told the crowd he was going to go on a late-night TV show and bash Las Cruces. Then, the comedian wrote a letter to the editor of The Round Up, the NMSU student newspaper, apologizing somewhat for what he told the crowd that night.
The letter, which was published March 26, 1979, begins: "I'd like to go on the record for saying that I actually do like your school, even though I wasn't exactly welcomed with open arms … It's a shame that 1,900 students had to ruin it for the other 100."
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Saget goes on to thank his fans and then promises, "I will not slander your school or town on the Tonight Show this summer."
He ends his letter by stating: "I wish to sincerely thank those of you who tried to hear my act and enjoyed it," and then he offers to get "free water" for anyone who visits him at The Comedy Store in Los Angeles.
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The Las Cruces Sun-News recently published a story about the 1979 show and asked residents who may have attended to shine some light on the night. We received two responses:
Michael Moore, who graduated from NMSU in 1982, commented on the odd pairing of a comedian at a rock show:
"I was a sophomore student at NMSU during that timeframe and I did attend this concert at the Pan Am Center. I recalled that there was an opening act for Head East, a stand-up comedian. I did not recall his name at the time but now realize it was Bob Saget. What I do recall was that the crowd was hostile to his appearance and performance. I can remember the people I went with were not in the mood for a comedian as a warm-up act. They wanted to see a music performance, so when Bob took the stage, the vitriolic reaction was virtually immediate. Every diatribe/joke Bob would work through was rebuffed by the audience. I'm not sure why as some his material was actually funny. He worked hard that night trying to sway the audience. I recall feeling bad about how the crowd treated him onstage. I thought, "what a tough way to make a living...".
Tammie Zierden (Simmons in college) also remembers Saget giving an enjoyable comedy show to an unappreciative crowd:
"I was a freshman at NMSU and attended the Head East concert the night Bob Saget performed. I was pretty far up in the seating. I remember it was just half of the floor because not many tickets were sold. After the concert, we were talking and thought they should have had Bob Saget at the beginning of the concert to warm up the first band. Because whoever it was, they came out and really WARMED US UP … for Head East. Then, Bob Saget came out — and not many students had heard of him yet and they were there for MUSIC! I thought he was very funny, from what I could hear over the drunk/high, rude folks. But his placement in the line-up was very questionable, in my opinion."
The 100 or so attendees who paid attention to Saget's show got a treat — they got to enjoy a budding comedian before he made it big. Unfortunately, most in the venue were there to jump around and bang heads while imbibing on adult substances and be entertained by a band that never did make it to prime-time. In hindsight, the joke's on the boo birds who didn't appreciate a comedy legend.
Lucas Peerman can be reached at lpeerman@lcsun-news.com or @LittleGuyInATie on Twitter.
This article originally appeared on Las Cruces Sun-News: Bob Saget in Las Cruces: Attendees recall comedian's 1979 show
