Many Houstonians will remember Hofheinz Pavilion as the House that Elvin Built (but never played at) or the spot where Phi Slama Jama held court.

But the arena, which shuts its doors for good Sunday to be reborn as the Fertitta Center, was also where one could catch some of the hottest acts of the 1970s.

The Rolling Stones, Led Zeppelin, Elton John, Yes, Elvis Presley, Alice Cooper, George Harrison, Bob Dylan and The Band, and Fleetwood Mac were just a few of the big names to toil there.

Not all of those shows went smoothly. It was near the end of a 1970 Led Zeppelin concert when fans rushed the stage.

"'Whole Lotta Love,' a demanded encore, resulted in pounding chaos," wrote the Houston Chronicle's Jill Melichar in her review. "Freaked-out fans swarmed the stage and the Zeppelin barely escaped. [Robert] Plant turned to run, but whirled around for a final bravado with head thrown back, body arched and arm raised tautly."

Wrote Donna Gaye on the Bayou City History Facebook page:

"I am the infamous 'little bird' who jumped up on Led Zeppelin's stage Easter night, 1970, and scrambled behind their huge speakers, dancing on my knees for the rest of the concert.

"A big roadie protected me from the angry police, and standing in the delivery access driveway, I got a sweet kiss on the cheek by all the band members."

A few months later, gate crashers posed a headache for security at the Traffic/Mott the Hoople/Mountain concert. According to the Houston Post, they caused $2,000 in damages to the box office and Hofheinz floor. As a result, the University of Houston put a moratorium on rock concerts there.

Not every concert resulted in chaos. Wrote Amy Proctor:

"I saw Elton John there with my late sister. ... [H]e was awesome. It was during his crazy hats and glasses days so he made many colorful costume changes. It was a very different experience than the Summit because you were so close to the stage."

Joel Berry and his wife went to see the Who there in 1970. They watched the show mere feet away from guitarist Pete Townshend.

"Since they had announced a few weeks before the show that they weren't going to play 'Tommy' again, we were surprised when Townshend stepped up to the mic and said, 'We don't feel like playing anything else right now, so I hope you don't mind if we play this.'

"With that, they launched into 'Tommy.' They played the entire album, uninterrupted. It was spectacular. We had seen them a couple of times before that, and several times since, but this remains one of our favorite Who experiences."

The Rolling Stones -- with Truman Capote, Ahmet Ertegun and Terry Southern in tow -- pulled into Hofheinz during the band's infamous 1972 North American tour.

"I saw the Rolling Stones there," wrote Patrick Gutierrez. "I ran into a guy at a friend's house the day of the show who had a ticket and couldn't or didn't want to go. Bought the ticket for $20 and was pretty close to the stage."

In the 1980s and beyond, Madonna, the Clash, the Blues Brothers and Prince would play Hofheinz. Other venues would eventually open and concerts there would become fewer and far between.

Now, the old arena will hold a spot in Houston concert history with other long-gone venues, such as the Sam Houston Coliseum, the Music Hall, the Summit, and, going way back, the old City Auditorium.

For a fuller look at concert photos from Hofheinz Pavilion, check out RockinHouston.com.



