LIVE AND IN PERSON

Listed below are confirmed and unconfirmed dates, times and locations of Link's live gigs.  If you have any articles, reviews, pictures, video or audio tapes of any of these dates, please get in touch!

1940s    1950s    1960s    1970s    1980s    1990s    2000s
 

1940's

1958

JULY

12, 7:30pm

Fredericksburg, VA

Fredericksburg Arena, Link and the Raymen with The Diamonds.

1959

SUMMER

DATE UNKNOWN

Maryland

Fireman's Carnival

1960's

1970

 

SEPTEMBER

1,2,3 and 8,9,10

Sunnyside Queens NYC

Popcorn Pub with the Magic Tramps

1978

MAY

4	NYC	Palladium with Robert Gordon & Blondie
6	Long Island, NY	Calderone Concert Hall w/Robert Gordon & Blondie

DECEMBER

2

New York University

Loeb Student Center with Robert Gordon & Professor Longhair

1979

AUGUST

11	Canada	El Mocambo
24,25	Amsterdam	The Paradiso

1985

MAY

18

Long Beach, CA

Fenders Ballroom with Rank and File

DECEMBER

27

London England

Unknown Location

1995

OCTOBER

21

London England

The Bottom Line, Shepard's Bush

1997

JUNE

13		Helsinki, Finland
14	Down By The Laituri-festival	Turku (Finland?)
15	Seinäjoki Provinssirock-festival	location unknown
24	Tucson, AZ	Club Congress
28	Denver, CO	Bluebird Theater
29	Crested Butte, CO	Center For The Arts

JULY

2	Portland, OR	Crystal Ballroom
3	Seattle, WA	Backstage
4	Vancouver, BC	Virgin Megastore afternoon, Starfish Room evening
7	San Francisco CA	Bimbo's 365 Club
9	San Jose, CA	The Usual
10	W. Hollywood, CA	House Of Blues
12	Solana Beach, CA	Belly Up Tavern

 

1998

MAY
 

28

Kansas City MO

Grand Emporium

OCTOBER

19	Northhampton, MA	Iron Horse Hall
20	Burlington, VT	Toast
22	Cambridge, MA	Middle East
23	New York, NY	Tramps
24	Amagansett, NY	Stephen's Talkhouse
25	Providence, RI	Met Cafe
26	Philadelphia, PA	Trocadero
27	Alexandria, VA	Birchmere - CANCELLED
29	Pittsburgh, PA	Graffitti Showcase
30	Cleveland, OH	Peabody's
31	Dayton, OH	Gilly's

 

NOVEMBER

1	Kalamazoo, MI	Club Soda
3	Chicago, IL	House Of Blues
4	Ames, IA	Maintenance Shop
5	Iowa City, IA	Gabe's Oasis
6	Minneapolis, MN	First Avenue
7	Madison, WI	O'Cayz Corral
8	Bloomington, IN	The Lafayette
9	Detroit, ME	Majestic Theatre
10	Indianapolis, IN	Vogue
12	Memphis, TN	Automatic Slim's
13	Nashville, TN	To Be Announced
14	Atlanta, GA	Star Bar
15	Atlanta, GA	Star Bar

1999

MAY

26 - Wednesday	CA	The Coach House
27 - Thurday	CA	The Foothill

 

SEPTEMBER  
 

2	Kansas City MO	Grand Emporium
5	Chicago IL	House of Blue

 

2000

JULY

19

Worchester MA

The Grind at Clark University

NOVEMBER

9,10,11

Spain

with Deke Dickerson, Phantom Surfers and the Church Keys

 

2002

JULY

3 - Wednesday	Columbus OH	PROMO WEST PAVILION
5 - Friday	Toronto CA	HORSESHOE TAVERN
6 - Saturday	Ottawa CA	CISCO SYSTEMS BLUES FESTIVAL

"To see such a living legend is such a treat.  He started his hour long set with A killer "Jack The Ripper" an finished off the set with the theme from Batman.  I'm not sure of the other songs but it was quite a sweet show. "

7 - Wednesday	Chicago IL	THE ABBEY PUB
9 - Tuesday	Rochester, NY	MONTAGE GRILL
10 - Wednesday	Cambridge MA	THE MIDDLE EAST CLUB
11 - Thursday	Hoboken, NY	MAXWELLS

" It's 3:30 AM so I can only say a couple words...The man I saw a few hours ago is more vital and more energetic and more intense and more inspired than any 20 year old I know! The House had to literally pull the plug on Link at 1:30 AM 'cause he just wouldn't stop playing! Julie and the band were exhausted, but Link was ready for more! It was extraordinary in every way imaginable. After the show I spoke with Link for a few seconds outside Maxwell's and I gave him a small gift I had brought for him. It wasn't a big deal, but he seemed so appreciative."

12 - Friday	Philadelphia PA	NORTH BY NORTHWEST
13 - Saturday	New York NY	VILLAGE UNDERGROUND
15 - Monday	Cleveland OH	BEACHLAND BALLROOM AND TAVERN

"It was a really nice show.  I am so glad that I went because Link is very important to the history of rock and roll." " The show was awesome.  There were two opening acts...then came Link...the crowd was pretty psyched at this time...but as soon as Link came out the crowd went wild.  Young and old were tearin' up the dance floor!  Around 1 AM people started to slowly get tired...and you could tell.  It was way too much energy....at 23 I was tired and Link was still groovin'.  That guy can rock!  My friend was like..."(Link) kicks ass."  She was totally amazed...I was amazed...it was awesome."

16 - Tuesday	Ferndale MI	The Magic Bag CANCELLED
19 - Friday	Atlanta GA	Variety Playhouse
21 - Sunday	New Orleans, LA	The Shim Sham Club
22 - Monday	Austin TX	The Continental Club
23 - Tuesday	Houston TX	The Continental Club

"Link rocked a small but attentive crowd at the Continental Club last night.I really lucked out with a business trip to Houston that coincided with the Linksters stop in Texas.  Link opened with Rumble (as usual) and proceeded to ramp up the volume as he tore through Rawhide, Ace of Spades, Jack the Ripper and The Sweeper. Link elongated Mr. Guitar and a few of the other gems like Black Widow.  Mid show Link did a nice electric version of Home Is Where the Heart Is.  Rumble on the Docks and Batman where both well received and at about this time Link's band mates where cashed.  Link closed with a comment about people using Rumble in movies and he gets "no fuckin money", as if he gives a shit. The show was at least an hour and a half and Link was more energized in his second crack at Rawhide and Rumble as the opening renditions.  Link's voice and guitfiddle chops are amazing for his time in life his stamina was increasing during the show as the second Rumble take was more menacing than the first.  During a quiet moment (is this possible?) I yelled to link that "we love ya Link".  The message was received and understood cause that what its all about for the man more so than the "fuckin money"".

26 - Friday	Spartanburg SC	THE HANDLE BAR
27 - Saturday	Tampa FL	SKIPPER'S SMOKEHOUSE

"Skipper's is a great place to see a show. It's near north Tampa. A great restaurant inside and a unique venue outside that holds about 800. Always a lot of talent gets booked there. Link came on at about 10:20. The announcer warned that the show would be loud.  He wore the black leather jacket, sunglasses and sorta stalked around the stage like a man in control of his audience. He seemed to break strings quite a bit, but the guitar tech was always there to hand him a freshly re-strung axe. He seemed to really be having a good time even though it was hot. It had rained earlier in the day and Skipper's Smokehouse is set under a few trees, so the humidity was up. In fact, I was worried the mic would get too much condensation and not work properly.  He would wander over to the left side of the stage where there was a big fan blowing.   During some of the solos, he'd let folks in the crowd pick at the guitar with their fingers. During "Batman", he motioned to the crowd to take the mic-stand. They did and sang "Batman" while he played. He seemed to really enjoy this.  There was a bass player, drummer, and a woman with long hair and leather pants that seemed to help Link with his hair when it got in the way.  She also played some tambourine.   If that woman is his wife, wow, she's much younger than he is.....Go Link!!!!!  He played up 'till the midnight curfew and was really having a great time.  I go to see shows there quite a bit because you get to see great shows for a great price. Link was $15.00!!! I must admit, I had heard the name before and even heard "Rumble", but I was in no way prepared to be BLOWN AWAY!!!  Yes, he is indeed an unsung Rock & Roll icon. Best of it all......he can still jam!! and still tours and shares his gift."

2003

FEBRUARY

12 - Wednesday

Detroit MI

THE MAGIC STICK

"We saw Link last night at the Magic Stick. Light turnout but a great show...The Jet City Fix says they have an album coming out in April... My friend was waving my copy of Wray's Shack 3 Tracks and Link stopped the show and mentioned that he saw the record...I grabbed it and pushed my way up to the front and handed it to him.  He took it, kissed the picture of his mom.  Olive came over and looked at it...I handed him a felt marker, he signed it and handed it back.  Man that was great!  He broke a string and we got that too!!! He played almost 2 hours."

14 - Friday

Cudahy, WI

Vnuk's Lounge

As usual , Link was in great form.  The place was packed and Link opened with a few slams on his fender Strat (Screaming Red has been mysteriously absent last tour and this one too) and went right into Rumble, then Batman and Jack The Ripper.    Link also played Spiderman (the Black Widow) ,  Ace Of Spades , Run Chicken Run and several others...all in all,  about a 2 hour show.  He is also playing a new song called Viva Zapata ( this one is from the '89 Ace Release Wild Side of the City Lights), where he plays a few chords as only he can with the occasional shout out to Apache, Sioux and of course, Shawnee.  He was playing this song for about 20 minutes last time I saw him in Chicago, along with some very uncharacteristically vocal opinions about the recent terrorist attacks.  Make no mistake , Link is a very proud Veteran and American!

15 - Saturday

De Kalb, IL

OTTOS, 118 East Lincoln Highway

The Jet City Fix absolutely rocked the place , lots of high energy RNR. They did not commit the cardinal sins of babbling incoherently about politics , shoe gazing , moaning about how miserable life is or wasting time between songs. It was one rockin tune after another , big standouts for me were  , jet city rockin , dumb luck and sick of drugs , fun songs about girls , relationships and having a good time. Link came on and despite the lackluster turnout , played like the place was packed. Justin and Dana from JCF are doing a great job backing Link,  they only had 2 rehearsals to learn 50 songs before the tour opener. And as you will see , Link ain't playing like those sissy guitar heroes you always read about. He plays every song as if he's never gonna be able to play it again , not wasting time between songs , it's 1-2-3-4 ! start the next one. Maybe this is where The Ramones got their inspiration.

16 - Sunday

Madison, WI

LUTHER'S BLUES, 1401 University Ave

...Link got off to a winning start with his signature tune, ‘Rumble’, which simultaneously mesmerized and energized the ample crowd. People  who enjoyed him 40 years ago joined with twentysomethings to hoot, holler and cheer him on. Chants of ‘Link, Link’ brought him back for reprises of ‘Jack the Ripper’, ‘Run, Chicken, Run’ and ‘Rumble.’ Link  may even have gotten more proficient over the years, technically, but tonight his ‘50s twang was fused with ’90s grunge for a delicious course of pure decadence.

17 - Monday	Minneapolis MN	FINE LINE MUSIC CAFE, 318 First Ave N
19 - Wednesday	Chicago IL	Abbey Pub, 3420 W Grace (at Elston)
21 - February	Cleveland OH	Beachland Ballroom, 15700 Waterloo

It was a great show last night. Everyone had a great time. Link is perfect for this venue. A good crowd was on hand. Bill Kirchen opened (and the Jet City Fix before him). They were all great.

22 - Friday	Pittsburg PA	MOONDOGS , 378 Freeport Road
23 - Saturday	Rochester NY	MONTAGE GRILLE 50 Chestnut Plaza

I will say this about the show in Rochester: it was THE GREATEST ROCK & ROLL PERFORMANCE I have ever seen. As a point of reference: I've been going to shows since 1963 and I average over 50 shows a year since 1978, including 2 years where I saw over 100 shows each year (lately it's about 30-40 per year).

25 - Sunday

Buffalo NY

MOHAWK PLACE, 47 E Mohawk St

(Link) started to play and it was like someone turned on the power switch.  It was killer. In the audience was Bobby Comstock, a singer and guitar player from the 50's and early 60's who lives in the Buffalo area.  Link saw him and pulled him up on stage and they did a few numbers.  They had been friends back in the day and hadn't seen each other in about 25 years. It was great. Link stayed till the last autograph seeker and was so gracious.

27 - Thursday	New Haven CT	Toad's Place 300 York St.
28 - Friday	Farmingdale, NY	Downtown Bar and Grille, 190 Main St.

MARCH

1 - Saturday	Philadelphia PA	North by Northwest, 7165 Germantown Av
2 - Sunday	Piermont, NY	The Turning Point, 468 Piermont Av

Link Wray played to a full house last night at the show at the Turning Point and he kicked our asses good.  It was one of the most killer shows I've ever seen, and I've seen Link 7 times since 1977.  He's always hot, but man, oh man!  This was the show!  He's in tip top shape at 73. He did 'em all...Jack the Ripper, Rumble, Raw-Hide, Batman, The Swag and a whole bunch of ones I knew, but never knew the names of and a bunch I've never heard.   He was in a real good mood, having lots of fun, talking and telling stories after every song.  He was talking Jimi Hendrix and it was coming out in his music, a little Jimi mixed with Link Wray music.   Link is a true master, with power and clarity in every note.

3 - Monday	Northhampton MA	Iron Horse Music Hall, 20 Center St.
5 - Wednesday	Asbury Park, NJ	THE STONE PONY
6 - Thursday	Glenville (Albany) NY	The GLENVILLE Spot, 442 Saratoga Rd
7 - Friday	Maynard MA	SIT 'N BULL PUB, 163 Main St.
8 - Saturday	New York NY	VILLAGE UNDERGROUND, 130 W 3rd St.