FIVE ROCK GROUPS PLAY HERE SUNDAY
Five of the greatest rock groups in the Bay Area will play at the Greek Theater this Sunday afternoon from 1 to 6 p.m. Canned Heat will head the bill with the Grateful Dead, Mad River, Linn County, and Stonehenge filling out the concert. Buddy Miles Express also will make a probable appearance for a special jam session.
This is the largest rock "festival" ever held on the campus. Student prices for the concert have been reduced to $3 in advance and $3.50 at the door, instead of the $3.50 and $4 prices previously announced. Student tickets may be picked up at the ASUC box office.
(from the Daily Californian 10/15/68)
OUTSTANDING LOCAL ROCK BANDS PERFORM:
GRATEFUL DEAD, MAD RIVER, CANNED HEAT
What is considered to be one of the country's finest rock bands will be playing the Greek Theatre Sunday, from 1:00-6:00, accompanied by several other fine groups; the Grateful Dead, faithful to the in life-style, promise to present an afternoon of unusual experiences and irresistible musical power.
Canned Heat, an L.A. based group with three albums on the Mercury label, will appear, supposedly headlining the show.
Three groups representative of San Francisco's reinvigorated musical scene will complete the program: Stonehenge, Mad River - a long time Berkeley favorite which has just released its first album on Capitol - and Linn County, originally formed in Chicago, now headquartered in S.F., and soon to begin their second album for Mercury.
Tickets are on sale now at ASUC box office, and ticket agencies throughout the Bay Area, for $3 in advance and $3.50 at the door.
(from the Daily Californian 10/17/68)
*
ROCK AT YOUR LEISURE
There were a great many people who predicted complete failure for SUPERB's rock concert last Sunday. And in at least one category, they were correct: economically, the show was best left forgotten. In tacit testimony to the intensity of Bay Area audience competition, the Greek Theatre was at no time more than half-filled.
Quantitatively, the show lost that competition; qualitatively, it won. Despite its size, the crowd was a crazily cohesive patchwork of Gypsy Jokers, students, hippies, adults, groupies, animals, street-people, children, and musicians, all happily cavorting under a warm, glass-clear sky. In contrast to the city's ballrooms, those who so chose, danced all day long. Weed, of course, flowed freely through the ampitheatre, doing its substantial share of creating a picnic atmosphere.
Although they were making little money, the musicians obviously enjoyed working in such a climate, thereby constructing a very loose, casual audience-performer communication. The first band to play, after an exasperating delay of nearly an hour, was Stonehenge: a trio from Palo Alto, their music is much in Cream's vein, complete with a rather tiring, Clapton-based lead guitarist, who is forced to compete against his over-volumed rhythm section. They are mildly enjoyable, but essentially undistinguished, brand of hard rock.
Linn County, formed in Chicago, now San Francisco-based, were next. Their album will be reviewed next week: it is sufficient to say here that they are one of the very best reasons why this area is still a musical stronghold. All those who admire professional ability should see them soon - they're just beginning to climb.
The process of a concert's development is always fascinating; as each successive band appears, the audience warms with increased familiarity and enthusiasm. When established Berkeley favorite Mad River stepped onto stage, they received noisy welcome from their faithful; when they introduced their first song as "just good old-fashioned Mad River rock and roll," a good throng rose to dance. The show was gaining momentum. Their music is unquestionably rock, which they play in an exciting, very speedy style that falters only when the band becomes a dime-bag too eager. Of all surprises, their math duplication happens strongest in Amphetamine Gazelle, a number so quick it seemed to set Greek on a turntable - at 78 rpm.
In typical fashion, nearly late, generally disorganized, but clearly undaunted, the Grateful Dead managed to arrive. Once set up, they proceeded to play a stormburst of music in their hardest fashion.
(by Raymond Lang, from the Daily Californian, October 25, 1968)
A review from the UC Berkeley student paper. Lang's review seems abruptly cut off at the end - he never mentions Canned Heat, who were the headlining band supposed to close the show. My guess is he went over the word count or page space and the editor lopped off the last paragraph or two. The Dead make a brief but memorable appearance - "nearly late, generally disorganized, but clearly undaunted."
ReplyDeleteGarcia made a stage announcement: "After a long airline flight, a long hassle with the airport with the computer, we finally managed to...get here to Fresno. Or is it...wait a minute, I thought this was Turlock."
The Dead had played Las Vegas the day before. This may have been Pigpen's first show back with the Dead - he'd taken the week off from shows to stay with his "old lady" Veronica, who was being hospitalized after a stroke.
The Dead only had time to play a condensed hour-long set here, which they weren't very happy with. Weir told David Gans in 1981, "I've wanted to play [the Greek] for so long and I've encountered a lot of resistance. We played there a long time ago, and we didn't play so well, and so we blamed the place. I kept remembering it as not being that way - the place sounded OK, we just didn't have it in us that day... It took us 12 years to get back around to playing there."
I like the sly blurb in the announcement: "the Grateful Dead, faithful to the in lifestyle, promise to present an afternoon of unusual experiences."
It's doubtful that Buddy Miles appeared for a jam, but despite the place being half-empty it sounds like a pleasant afternoon.