Emerson, Lake & Palmer performed on this day in 1978 at the Fairgrounds Coliseum in Columbus, Ohio. It was their fourth tour date of the year, as well as the first one to take place in the United States.
ELP showed on this particular leg of the Works Tour that despite their status as super stars, they had not lost touch with what had brought them such fame in the first place: simple hard work. The days of playing two shows might’ve been behind them, but there is no doubt that traveling long distances between Montreal and Kitchener, then Kitchener and Columbus, was difficult (Google maps suggests a time of six and a half hours for the former and six hours for the latter by road). Moving the gear would have been similarly difficult.
There is no known recording of this concert.
There is not much information about the Coliseum at which they performed beyond the fact that it is today known as “Taft Coliseum” and can seat around 7000 (source). It is part of the larger Ohio Expo Center, at which the state fair is held each year.
