tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5195590583641426943.post4434219351483345839..comments2024-03-26T23:10:34.814-07:00Comments on Grateful Dead Sources: December 6, 1968: The Spectrum, PhiladelphiaLight Into Asheshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06943335142002007213noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5195590583641426943.post-10951127572436061122020-12-20T22:40:33.957-08:002020-12-20T22:40:33.957-08:00Ok, so I was at that show. I was a senior in high ...Ok, so I was at that show. I was a senior in high school in State College, PA (where Penn State University is located) so we had a pretty vibrant scene. A local hippie went by the name of Buttonman. He sold buttons, stickers, rolling papers and the like from a rolling cart on the sidewalk across the street from the university. He hit on the idea of buying a block of show tickets, chartering a coach, and selling seats for the show and ride to Philly and back, for about $20.<br /><br />I went on Buttonman's junkets and they were a blast. And of course we took advantage of having a professional designated driver. Buttonman did these for Cream's last tour, the Quaker City Festivals, and for the 1969 Stones show.<br /><br />Most sources insist that CCW canceled for Quaker City #2, but that isn't my recollection. I distinctly recall CCW, the Dead, Iron Butterfly, Sly and the Family Stone, and Steppenwolf all playing. And Al Kooper did MC.<br /><br />The Dead played from a stage set up on the lower bleachers and I was behind and a bit to the right of them. And this was the original lineup. Jerry, Pigpen, Phil, Bobby, Billy, and TC -Tom Constanten. I can't remember much of the set lists, but I do remember Pigpen doing "Good Morning Little Schoolgirl" because it one of my favorites from the first album and I was stoked that they played it.<br /><br />I met Goldy McJohn, the keyboard player from Steppenwolf a few years ago and we talked about that show. We joked that the revolving stage was like putting the whole band in a Leslie speaker. Remember that this was very early arena rock and promoters were still trying to figure out how to make it work. I guess this was intended to emulate a "theater in the round" idea filling most of the seats and with the revolving stage intended to enable everyone to see the bands. <br /><br />But was CCW there? I believe they were. But it was more than 50 years ago, and we did have our designated coach driver. So... Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5195590583641426943.post-79130013837730781722017-12-28T18:08:32.457-08:002017-12-28T18:08:32.457-08:00A couple audience memories on dead.net:
"I r...A couple audience memories on dead.net: <br />"I remember Al Kooper being the MC but also sitting with a local band and jamming blues to fill in for Creedence who did not show up."<br />"Al Kooper was the MC and he covered Donovan's Season of the Witch with the Philly band American Dream who replaced CCR."<br /><br />(Kooper himself doesn't remember playing, by the way: "I'm pretty sure I MC'ed that concert and did NOT perform.") <br />http://www.dead.net/show/december-6-1968<br /><br />Normally I'd trust the newspaper article over distant memories, but here I think it more possible that the reviewer didn't know or care that a different band was replacing CCR. He didn't know who Al Kooper was, after all, though others in the audience knew, and Al had a hit record out! He mentions the song 'Susie Q,' but is referring to the single since he calls it "a two-parter" (the way the single was edited) - otherwise he says nothing about what the band actually played. So in this case why trust him that it was Creedence? Light Into Asheshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06943335142002007213noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5195590583641426943.post-42988542262458665852017-12-28T09:20:25.027-08:002017-12-28T09:20:25.027-08:00How do we know that wasn't Creedence?How do we know that wasn't Creedence?Fate Musichttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05648291938690043423noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5195590583641426943.post-10257067094425384412017-06-29T02:31:38.966-07:002017-06-29T02:31:38.966-07:00One attendee said the Dead left "no big impre...One attendee said the Dead left "no big impression," another that the stage setup "diminished our first Dead experience," and they didn't become fans til the '70s. <br />As the least-known among the bands playing (no hit singles), the Dead may have been a little out of place playing for this teenage audience. However, the Electric Factory promoters must have liked the Dead or thought they had an audience, since they booked them for a "Baltimore Rock Festival" in Feb '69, followed by a weekend at the Electric Factory, just two months after this show. (Then again, the Dead were then on Bill Graham's Millard Agency, which may have aggressively sought east-coast bookings.)<br />For more on the Dead's history in Philadelphia, see: <br />http://lostlivedead.blogspot.com/2015/12/the-grateful-dead-electric-factory-and.html Light Into Asheshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06943335142002007213noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5195590583641426943.post-37291450730896615162017-06-29T02:02:31.409-07:002017-06-29T02:02:31.409-07:00The Dead's first show at the Spectrum. Though ...The Dead's first show at the Spectrum. Though the Dead are only mentioned in one paragraph, I've posted the full review partly because it's an obscure show, and partly because the article is quite interesting. <br />(It was printed in a Wilmington newspaper; I wonder if any Philadelphia papers also ran reviews.)<br /><br />The first Quaker City Rock Festival had been on October 19, 1968 (also with five bands) - the "festivals" were put on at the Spectrum by Electric Factory promoter Larry Magid, and there were a couple more in 1969-70. <br />Al Kooper was the MC at this event - perhaps the annoying announcer mentioned in the review. The news about the Stones coming to play the Spectrum in March was about eight months premature, but they were eagerly anticipated!<br /><br />The Spectrum had a rotating stage (which bands didn't like). One young witness remembered, "Sly and the Family Stone stole the night. Steppenwolf headlined. Stage was in center and rotated. Dead used own PA...so wouldn't let it rotate. Place wasn't full so they encouraged those sitting behind to come around." (The review mentions the Dead on the "revolving stage," a minor discrepancy.)<br />The dead.net page has a number of other reminiscences - oddly contradicting the newspaper review, they say Creedence didn't play: <br />"There was a round stage in the middle of the floor of the Spectrum that rotated slowly. However the Dead didn't dig the rotating thing, so they set up their own sound, and I was directly behind the band but up in the regular seated area. One thing I do remember is Al Kooper being the MC but also sitting with a local band and jamming blues to fill in for Creedence who did not show up."<br />"Kooper was the MC and he covered Donovan's Season of the Witch with the Philly band American Dream who replaced CCR."<br />"We really had gone to see 'InAGaddaDaVida' by Iron Butterfly but I personally was awed by Sly and the Family Stone... The Dead played at a different stage while the other bands played 'In The Round'."<br /><br />It's possible that the reviewer didn't know or care that the first band appearing wasn't actually Creedence. His sneer that Creedence had one decent song and would never do better was quite unprophetic, as they started turning out one hit after another in '69.<br />The kids attending also seem to have been more impressed by Sly & the Family Stone than he was. Iron Butterfly was already a huge success, and along with Steppenwolf were probably the main draws. <br />The reviewer was older than most of the audience, accounting for his disenchanted remarks. Much of the crowd was high-school or younger - the age range of the dead.net attendees was from 11 to 15. He notes that the young crowd were fairly reserved and polite, not going wild with enthusiasm, though I wouldn't entirely trust his observations. (Oddly, the review of the 5/5/68 Central Park show also mentioned the "V sign" popular at the time.)<br /><br />He wasn't impressed by the Dead, sniffing that they're not in the same class as the Doors or the Airplane (no catchy songs!), and I'm not sure what to make of his reference to transistors and radio parts. On the other hand, he favorably compares Garcia's "high, feedback-augmented chords" with Stravinsky - an unexpected classical comparison! (No telling what the 20-minute song was.) <br />It looks like the Dead only got to play 45 minutes or so - the event started at 7, and they played second and were done by 9. Perhaps the audience of kids was "politely bored" - with the poor sound, and the promise of more exciting bands to come, it seems the Dead didn't stand out.Light Into Asheshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06943335142002007213noreply@blogger.com