FIRST OFF . . .

Late Thursday afternoon--just after promoter Bill Graham thanked his Soviet hosts and guitarist Carlos Santana waxed eloquent about the “harmony, health, trust (and) joy” surrounding the scheduled Fourth of July American/Soviet pop concert in Moscow--Graham became furious when one Soviet televison reporter requested and received 150 press passes, and the pop mogul threatened to cancel the show. Graham, who arranged for the Doobie Brothers, James Taylor, Bonnie Raitt and Santana to perform in Moscow’s Izmailovo Stadium on the Fourth, had insisted that the American contingent handle ticket distribution to the concert. “No tickets, no concert!” Graham thundered. “Who gave you (a minor official in the Soviet Peace Committee) the authority to distribute those tickets?” Eventually, senior Soviet peace officials smoothed over the dispute and handed the passes over to the Americans. Stay tuned, though; there are still 36 hours to go until show time.