660 Great Highway, San Francisco Family Dog On The Great Highway January 30-31, 1970: Jefferson Airplane/Osceola

To some extent, Archaeology is about uncovering mysteries, so here's one that's recently come to light for me. The above is a clip from Ralph J Gleason's San Francsico Chronicle column on Wednesday, January 28, 1970. I realize its hard to decipher, so I will quote the clip

...at the Lion's Share (San Anselmo) tomorrow night Sir Douglas Quintet, Shades of Joy...The Jefferson Airplane and Osceola will be at the Family Dog this weekend...at The Rehearsal tonight and tomorrow night John Antle, Jim Britton

Buried at the end of Gleason's usual lengthy recitation of upcoming rock. jazz and folk shows in the Bay Area in the coming days is a reference to a Jefferson Airplane show at Chet Helm's Family Dog, presumably on January 30 and 31, 1970 (Friday and Saturday).

As far as lists go, this Jefferson Airplane show is a new one for me. Without question, the best list for Family Dog shows is Ross's list, and I see no sign of it here, and the various Jefferson Airplane lists that circulate do not include it. From that perspective, its always great to add another show in the interests of accuracy. However, there are a number of aspects to this booking that make it all the more curious, with respect to both the Family Dog and the Airplane.

Family Dog, January 1970
The Family Dog's history is complex and obscure after it was forced out of the Avalon Ballroom in December 1968. Noise complaints generated a review of the venue's city issued Dance Permit, itself a strange anachronism. Helms complained in subsequent years that he could have simply paid off the police and gotten around the review but he refused to do so (there is good reason to believe this account). However, the Family Dog's finances were always tenuous after the failed effort to open another branch in Denver in late 1967, so the battle over the Dance Permit may have given Helms a chance to rethink his business.

The Family Dog On The Great Highway opened on June 13, 1969 with the Jefferson Airplane. The site was at the former Edgewater Ballroom, part of the Playland At The Beach complex. Despite the dominance of the Fillmore West, many fine bands played the smaller FDGH in the Summer of 1969. However, after a "strike" involving Light Show operators in August, 1969, the Family Dog was once again in dire financial straits. While the Family Dog continued to put on shows in their ballroom throughout the balance of 1969, the fine posters advertising the events were rarely produced, and based on contemporary newspapers advertising and promotion seemed somewhat haphazard.

Ross and I, among others, have relentlessly trolled through old flyers, Berkeley underground papers and various daily newspapers of the time, and yet we are still struggling to come up with a complete list of shows. Thus it is remarkable to find a Family Dog show in January 1970 featuring the Airplane, probably the most successful band to ever play the Dog. This "lost" Airplane show suggests that Chet Helms had found a new source of finance to re-invigorate his enterprise.

By the end of 1969, The Family Dog On The Great Highway was producing regular shows, but headliners were mostly local club bands like Osceola or Cleveland Wrecking Company.  A few old Avalon stalwarts (like Canned Heat on December 12-14) headlined some shows there, but that very well may have been as much a favor to Helms as anything else. The bills in the previous month had been

• December 26-28, 1969: Lonnie Mack/Osceola/AB Skhy
• January 1-3, 1970: Osceola/Cleveland Wrecking Company/Devil's Kitchen
• January 4, 1970: Osceola/Cleveland Wrecking Company/Mendelbaum/Phoenix
• January 11-13, 1970 Chambers Brothers and Friends

Of these groups, only the Chambers Brothers and Lonnie Mack had a national profile, and the Chambers Brothers were past their commercial prime, and in any case old regulars from the Avalon. Many of the other groups were fine bands, but they were all regulars at The Matrix rather than Fillmore West, and FDGH seemed to be a Western extension of the SF club scene.

In contrast, the Airplane show presaged an exciting month:

• January 30-31, 1970: Jefferson Airplane/Osceola
• February 4, 1970: NET TV Special, "A Night At The Family Dog" Jefferson Airplane/Grateful Dead/Santana/Kimberly (invited audience, broadcast in April 1970)
• February 6-7, 1970: Quicksilver Messenger Service/Freedom Highway/Mike Seeger
• February 13-14, 1970: Steve Miller Band/Elvin Bishop Group
• February 20-21, 1970: Big Brother and The Holding Company with Nick Gravenites/Cat Mother and The All Night Newsboys (Cat Mother replaced Rhythm Dukes)
• February 28-March 1, 1970: Grateful Dead/Commander Cody and His Lost Planet Airmen
• March 6-8, 1970: Lee Michaels/Rhythm Dukes with Jerry Miller and Bill Champlin/Robert Savage
• March 13-15, 1970: Country Joe and The Fish/Joy Of Cooking
• March 20-22, 1970: Big Brother and The Holding Company/Kaleidoscope/Devil's Kitchen
• March 27-29, 1970: Youngbloods/Commander Cody and His Lost Planet Airmen/Jeffrey Cain
• April 3-5, 1970: Eric Burdon and War/Ballin' Jack

Although many old friends seemed to be returning for Helms, all of these groups were working bands who could not readily have given up weekends for free, so their had to be some expectation of a payday. In Stephen Gaskin's 1980 book Haight Ashbury Flashbacks he alludes to attending meetings with Chet Helms at the home of some potential backer, so we know that Helms was working to find a new partner. Bill Graham (of all people) has alluded to loaning money to help Helms, but I think that was in the late '69 period. Based on the sudden improvement in bookings from January 30 to April 3, along with actual posters (which cost money), Helms clearly found someone as a silent partner. Their very silence suggests either a rich hippie or downtown businessman who preferred to not to advertise his investment, or a partner in a "business" that shunned publicity.

The other interesting event in the January/February 1970 period has to do with the Grateful Dead. While the Grateful Dead were frantically touring the country, trying to pay pack the debts they owed to Warner Brothers Records, their manager Lenny Hart was hatching a plan to merge the Grateful Dead operations with the Family Dog, and move Dead headquarters from Marin County to the San Francisco Dog. Musically and culturally, this was a very interesting idea, and if the Dead had had their own concert facility starting in February 1970, with an experienced booker like Chet Helms running it while they toured, San Francisco rock history might have taken some very interesting turns indeed.

The only problem with the Dead/Dog merger was that Lenny Hart was not an honest businessman. By the middle of February, the Grateful Dead would realize that he was absconding with their money and fire him, a difficult thing even though he was drummer Mickey Hart's father. In the end, Lenny was found to have taken $155,000 from the Dead, a huge sum for 1970, effectively bankrupting the band. The Dead were forced to tour endlessly just to make ends meet, and as a result made an entire generation of Northeastern college students lifelong Deadheads.

According to Dead biographer Dennis McNally, however, Chet Helms sniffed out Hart's perfidy while the Dead were on the road, sometime in the January-February period. Helms had a reputation as keeping sloppy back-of-an-envelope records, but he wasn't a con man. When Helms asked to see the Dead's account books and Lenny Hart refused, Helms called off the merger (the Dead were in Oregon, Hawaii, New Orleans or St. Louis).

A con man like Lenny Hart would not have wanted to merge with the Family Dog unless their were assets he could co-opt. In late 1969 the Family Dog was apparently even more broke than the Dead--and that's saying a lot--yet Lenny found the Dead's arrangements fine. Presumably having stripped their assets bare, he needed another target, and Lenny's eagerness to merge with the Dog suggests some deep pockets to pick. Helms was enough of a businessman to call off the merger and promote the Dog for one last hurrah in February and March. However, the distant location of The Great Highway and the rising costs of the rock market doomed the Dog in any case, and it only lasted through August of 1970.

Jefferson Airplane, January 1970
The activities of Jefferson Airplane in January 1970 are quite murky, and the discovery of this January 30-31, 1970 show adds a little clarity, though not much. The Airplane had released their hugely successful Volunteers album in November 1969, and they were bigger than ever. Existing 1970 Airplane chronologies put them in Hawaii from January 22-26 with the Grateful Dead, but this unlikely event did not take place (the Dead played two nights with local bands in support). In fact, it appears the band only played twice in December (Altamont on Dec 6 and Winterland on New Year's Eve) and one more time at the Family Dog, playing an abbreviated set at the NET special on February 4, 1970. The NET show appears to have been Spencer Dryden's last performance with the Jefferson Airplane.

Thus if the Family Dog Airplane shows on January 30-31 really happened, they would be the last complete concerts by the "classic" Airplane (Grace, Paul, Marty, Jorma, Jack, Spencer). Since the activities of the Family Dog in this period are always murky, and we only have Ralph Gleason's single reference to go on, its hard to say for certain whether the shows occurred or not. A couple of speculative points worthy of consideration:

• The Jefferson Airplane had played at least one "stealth" concert at the Family Dog before, on September 6, 1969, when they played with the Grateful Dead (and Owsley thoughtfully taped it).
• Although we put the Airplane today in the same category as the Dead or Country Joe and The Fish, in 1970 they were one of the biggest draws in rock and could easily have sold out the Family Dog on the basis of word-of-mouth alone. Thus the absence of a flyer is not in itself significant.
• On the other hand, the San Francisco rock scene was very much like High School, and the Airplane were not part of Chet Helms's "set." They only played the Avalon one weekend (July 22-23, 1966), and while they did play the Denver Dog (November 7-8, 1967) they did not have the long history of regular shows with Helms that some of the other bands did. This fact is another suggestion that the Airplane's show was part of a business arrangement rather than a personal favor.
• Even more oddly, the Airplane were not planning a tour and the drummer was about to quit. They had less of an incentive to play a stealth show than they might have at other times. 

Still, given the run of shows that followed the weekend of January 30-31, 1970, there is every reason to think that Jefferson Airplane made the shows. Since the show was hardly publicized--it didn't have to be--it never got reviewed, and no flyer or poster survives, but a few thousand people likely heard the last stand of the classic Jefferson Airplane at the edge of the continent in the San Francisco fog.

415 Geary Blvd, San Francisco, CA December 29, 1969: Big Brother and The Holding Company/Youngbloods/Ramblin Jack Elliott/Penny Nichols

The underground rock explosion in San Francisco in the mid-1960s was critical in turning rock into big business, for good or for ill. With a city full of bands, all sorts of efforts were made to create successful rock promotions. Many of them remain largely mysteries. The above clipping from the Datebook section of the San Francisco Chronicle of Monday, December 29, 1969 is one such mystery. The Geary Theater was and is San Francisco's premiere "legitimate" theater, but in 1969, even the Geary attempted to put on some sort of Holiday Rock Extravaganza. Lacking any other information, I will use the post to speculate on what might have been intended. Anyone with even the most fragmentary memories or information is encouraged to Comment or email me.

The Geary Theater
The Geary Theater, located at 415 Geary Boulevard near Mason Street (just East of Union Square), was completed in 1910, and has a capacity of 1,667 patrons. The great 1906 earthquake had destroyed all of San Francisco's theaters, but they were soon replaced. Although the elegant Geary has a complex and interesting history, in 1967 it became the home of the American Conservatory Theater. I am no historian of American theater, but even I know that ACT is a leading Western Theater company. It seems to have been no accident that a vibrant Theater company was established in the cultural ferment of San Francisco in the 1960s.

I can attest that by the 1970s, at any rate, when I saw their productions, while ACT put on many fine productions of 'classics' (George Bernard Shaw, etc), it also produced more cutting edge playwrights like Tom Stoppard. Today, ACT is still widely regarded, although I suspect it depends a little more heavily on more classic playwrights, like Tom Stoppard.

In any case, ACT took up residence in San Francisco in 1967, presenting year-round theater at the Geary as well as elsewhere. By 1974, ACT's reputation was so sterling that an extraordinary donation from the Ford Foundation allowed them to buy the Geary, which has remained their home ever since. I do not know the exact circumstances of the Geary Theater lease in 1969, but I have to assume that American Conservatory Theater at least generally controlled the facility, and if a rock show was put on there it was with ACT's approval if not outright cooperation. To my knowledge, this show has been the only rock show in the history of the Geary Theater.

The Concerts
The Datebook listing advertises 2 shows, at 2pm and 7pm. Although December 29 is a Monday, it is between Christmas and New Years, so there is a reasonable assumption that people will be free to attend the show. Monday night is also most likely to be the night that the regular ACT productions would be dark, so the theater would be available for a rock show. I can't help but think that the ACT business managers were looking for a chance to make a little extra money by booking a rock show on a Holiday Week Monday.

Although ACT is a well-established program today, in the 1960s all the major players at the Company were probably well shy of 40. Also, part of ACT's strength has always been that besides presenting excellent shows, they always had training programs and workshops for younger actors, so many of the participants at ACT would have been the same age as all the Fillmore rock bands. Actors and musicians always keep the same hours and are naturally inclined to each other, so I don't doubt there were many social connections between the younger theater community and the rock bands.

The Geary was presenting two shows, at 2pm and 7pm, with two different headliners and the same opening acts. The headliners were Big Brother and The Holding Company in the afternoon, and The Youngbloods in the evening. The opening acts were Ramblin Jack Elliott, Penny Nichols and The Zig Zag Follies. The choice of acts suggest a conscious effort to create a kind of "revue," which bespeaks a more theatrical approach to the show than the typical aggregation of rock bands. A look at the listing shows that it just says "Geary Theater" without an address, since the Chronicle assumes that everyone should know where the Geary was located. San Francisco exceptionalism aside, this suggests that this show was intended with more of the trappings an 'event' than a typical rock concert.

While the other performers at these concerts are known--if you're me--the Zig Zag Follies are entirely a mystery. It is self-evident today that 'Zig Zag' refers to a brand of rolling papers popular with pot smokers, but that was hardly self-evident in 1969 to people who weren't hippies. I can't help but think that the Zig Zag Follies were some of the younger members of the ACT Company, who prepared some sort of theatrical entertainment to go along with the rock bands. Even by 1971, "Zig Zag" would have been such an obvious doper reference that ACT may have frowned on (at least publicly), but at the time it was like saying "4:20"--in order to know, you had to know.

To my knowledge, this event was not repeated. I do not know whether this was due to a lack of financial success, or because of some constraint of the facility involving theatrical requirements (ACT may have been between productions, for example). Unlike many 60s stories, however, I doubt that there was any conflict between ACT, their staff and the rock bands, as they were all young, alive and living in San Francisco. Maybe this show was just another gig, but I suspec the Zig Zag Follies were more interesting than they might initially seem. Many famous actors got their start as junior members of ACT, so perhaps there are some celebrities involved in this story as well, but unless someone involved recalls it we may never know.

Notes On The Performers
Big Brother and The Holding Company with Nick Gravenites
Janis Joplin had left Big Brother in December of 1968, and the group had scattered somewhat. In Summer of 1969, the original four members of the band (Sam Andrews, James Gurley, Peter Albin and David Getz) got together again. They were a "name" band in San Francisco, but without their star attraction.

Nick Gravenites had been the leader of the Electric Flag, but his largest contribution to San Francisco rock was as a producer. He produced Quicksilver Messenger Service, and, ironically enough, Janis Joplin among many others. He actually recorded with Big Brother (on their 1970 and 71 albums), and performed with them periodically, but this is one of the few shows I know of where he was actually billed with them. He sounded very good with Big Brother, but the peculiar onus of "replacing" Janis made it difficult for the band to use different lead singers.

The Youngbloods
The Youngbloods had moved to San Francisco in September, 1967, and had established themselves as a San Francisco band. By late 1969, they were at their peak, as the re-release of their 1967 song "Get Together" had become a huge radio hit.

Ramblin Jack Elliott
Legendary folk singer Ramblin' Jack Elliott was actually a doctor's son from Brooklyn, but nonetheless he re-invented himself as a troubadour of the American West. Friend to Woody Guthrie and a huge influence on Bob Dylan and many others, by now he sounds familiar even if you've never heard him. In the 1960s, he was not widely known outside of Folk circles. He is a remarkably engaging, hypnotic performer in a way that does not translate well to recordings and is very difficult to explain to those who haven't seen him.

Penny Nichols
Penny Nichols had been an Orange County folksinger in 1965, who ended up touring Vietnam in 1966 as part of a folk duo. By 1967 she had moved to San Francisco, where she was a regular performer at the Fillmore and elsewhere (she opened for Traffic at Winterland in March, 1968, for example). She recorded a 1968 album for Buddah, and then went to England. By late 1969, she had returned, but for the next few decades she mostly wrote and recorded as a studio player (for more see here). This 1969 performance is the only one I can think of for this period, and leads me to suspect that there may have been some personal connection, as she was not a regular performer around the Bay Area at this time.

Hwy 14, Middleton, WI The Bunny Hop April 25, 1966: The Sir Douglas Quintette

Some intriguing research finds only lead to more intrigue, which may never be resolved. The above ad is from the April 25, 1966 edition of the Capital Times in Wisconsin. On a Monday night, San Antonio's answer to the British Invasion, the Sir Douglas Quintette (sic) are playing a fairly large venue called The Bunny Hop. The ad says there is seating for 599, and the address is "2 Mi. W. of Middleton-Hwy 14" suggesting a rural rocking roadhouse.

The ad also says "Bring Your Wis. ID Card." I am fairly certain that Wisconsin had a drinking age of 18 rather than 21, and Middleton was a suburb of Madison, so many University of Wisconsin students would be expected. I assume the reference to "Wisconsin ID" cards was to discourage out-of-state drinkers from Northern Illinois, but perhaps there was a different reason. In any case, the musicians of the original Sir Douglas Quintet had been schooled in tough rhythm and blues sounds before the British Invasion arrived, so they knew a little bit about keeping a crowd of beered-up kids dancing all night long.

The Sir Douglas Quintet had scored a huge hit with "She's About A Mover" in Spring 1965, and they had a modestly successful early 1966 follow-up, "The Rains Came," and they had appeared on TV shows like Hullabaloo and Where The Action Is, so they were certainly well known enough to play for University of Wisconsin students on a Monday night. On the other hand, Doug Sahm and other members of the group had been busted for marijuana at the Corpus Christi airport in December, 1965, and as a result their movements were restricted by court dates and probation. If the Quintet was restricted by probation, did they actually play Wisconsin that Monday night?

The answer, apparently, is probably not. The Sir Douglas Quintet were a hugely popular American group in the British Invasion era, when beyond a hit single no one really knew what a group was like. Initially, the Quintet was encouraged to let everyone think they were actually English. However, the Quintet's promoter was a shady, fascinating character named Huey Meaux, and his business dealings were always suspect. It appears there was more than one group touring the country under the name Sir Douglas Quintet, possibly even before the bust. Somewhere on the web (I can no longer find it), there is an hilarious memoir by a group called Larry And The Bluenotes, which includes lengthy memories of impersonating the Sir Douglas Quintet out on the road, under the direction of various doubtful operators.

Of course, its possible that the Wisconsin show was played by Doug Sahm and some Texan variation of the Quintet, but its unlikely. When Sahm moved to San Francisco in about May 1966, it was because his court case was settled with 5 years probation. However, organist Augie Meyers was apparently unable to leave the state for his probation. As a result, by mid-66 there were at least two versions of the Sir Douglas Quintet: Doug Sahm led one in San Francisco, (along with drummer Johnny Perez and saxophonist Frank Morin), and Meyers led the Texas version (along with bassist Harvey Kagan). Then add in Larry And The Bluenotes, and who knows who else, and it appears that the Quintet were movers indeed.

Probably the band that played the Wisconsin show doesn't remember it, and probably had a vested interest in forgetting it: they were impersonating a band, or they were breaking probation, or something. Oh well--as long as the band played "She's About A Mover," and all the UW students got their Monday night beer on, it was probably fine.

Initial Shock Performance List 1967-69 (Work In Progress)

(a poster for the Steppenwolf/Ace Of Cups/Initial Shock concert at the Sound Factory, Sacremento, CA on July 12-13, 1968. h/t Ross for the scan)

The Initial Shock were one of many bands who moved to San Francisco in 1967, but were more or less alone insofar as having been the only band who moved from Montana. Apparently the group was from Missoula, MT and featured members of local groups The Chosen Few and Mojos Mark IV, and at least one member was assigned to an Air Force base in the area. When the Air Force commitment was over, the band decided to move to San Francisco to be where the action was.

The  Initial Shock released two singles, but no albums.  The first, "Mind Disaster"/"Its Not Easy" (BFD 036), was recorded in Montana and released in 1966. The second, rarer single "You Been A Long Time Comin'"/I Once Asked" (BFD 2022) was released in 1967. I know nothing about the record label nor details of the recordings.

The Initial Shock was well regarded by those who were there at the time, although unfortunately the only live recorded evidence that circulates (to my knowledge) is an excellent 4-song piece of an Avalon Ballroom concert from 1968. It reveals a driving, bluesy sound, but its hard to know how representative of their material it might be. Members of the group were

George Wallace-lead guitar
William "Mojo" Collins-guitar, vocals
Steve Garr-bass
Brian Knaff-drums, vocals

While relatively little is known about the Initial Shock, they played a number of interesting shows in the Bay Area from 1967-69. I gather from various signs and portents that a journal of great importance (in my tiny Universe) will be doing an extensive article on the Initial Shock, so it seemed like a good time to begin trying to determine a list of Bay Area performance for The Initial Shock. As with most groups, it is easiest to find the most high profile shows, where posters or other evidence survives, and that may be only a small portion of a band's performances. Nonetheless, here is the information I have so far. Anyone who has additions, corrections, insights or recovered memories (real or imagined) about Initial Shock performances in the Bay Area is encouraged to Comment or email me.

Initial Shock Performance List 1967-69

September 24, 1967 Provo Park, Berkeley: Initial Shock
Free Sunday concerts in Provo Park (on Grove and Allston downtown) were a regular occurrence in Berkeley, and provided a good opportunity for new or newly-arrived bands to get heard.

October 4, 1967 Straight Theater, San Francisco: Mad River/Mount Rushmore/Anonymous Artists of America/Initial Shock
October 5, 1967 Straight Theater, San Francisco: Sopwith Camel/Black Swan/Hair/Frumious Bandersnatch/Don Garrett/Initial Shock
This was a benefit for the Haight Ashbury Medical Center.  Various poets, dancers and other performers were also part of the show.

October 7, 1967 Western Front, San Francisco:  Sons of Champlin/Frumious Bandersnatch/Initial Shock
The Western Front was one of many attempts to open a psychedelic ballroom in San Francisco. The venue, at 895 O'Farrell (at Polk), never managed to find its footing.

Although I can find no Initial Shock shows until December, I assume they were playing around various places--I just haven't figured out where.

December 1-3, 1967 Western Front, San Francisco: Youngbloods/Wildflower/Initial Shock
The Initial Shock returned to The Western Front, although its my belief that there were different promoters at this point.

December 19, 1967-January 15, 1968: Northwest Holiday Tour
Ross Hannan found a remarkable ad in the Berkeley Barb of December 22, 1967, announcing that the Initial Shock would be returning to San Francisco on January 16, "After 28 Consecutive One Night Stands."

I don't know where or how the band played 28 straight nights, including Christmas Eve, Christmas Day and New Year's Day. If this is true and not hyperbole, I have to assume they played ski resorts in places like Idaho. Given the band's Montana background, they may have gone as far afield as Montana as well.

I assume that Initial Shock had shows booked when they returned to San Francisco, but we have yet to uncover them.

March 16, 1968  Straight Theater, San Francisco: Flamin Groovies/Initial Shock

May 12, 1968 Civic Center Plaza, San Francisco: Kaleidoscope/Initial Shock/Country Weather/AB Skhy Blues Band
This was a daytime show.  It was a benefit for Haight-Ashbury Free Medical Clinic.

May 28, 1968  Avalon Ballroom, San Francisco: Crystal Syphon/Phoenix/Indian Head Band/Mint Tattoo/Initial Shock/Loading Zone
“Spring Medicine Show” Benefit for The Haight Ashbury Free Medical Clinic

June 28-30, 1968 Carousel Ballroom, San Francisco: Steve Miller Band/Buddy Guy/Initial Shock 
This show was advertised (a poster exists) but did not take place.

July 3, 1968 Straight Theater, San Francisco: Initial Shock/Allmen Joy/Indian Head Band/Phoenix

July 12, 1968 Cow Palace, Daly City: Iron Butterfly/Creedence Clearwater Revival/Vanilla Fudge/Kai Moore/Canned Heat/Sweet Rush/West/Sandy Bull  
Harmony Benefit  
A variant poster has Sandy Bull, Canned Heat, Vanilla Fudge, Iron Butterfly, West, Initial Shock, Wedge and Phoenix. Of course, Initial Shock was booked in Sacramento (below), but given that its less than two hours from San Francisco to Sacramento, they could easily have played both shows. However, since absolutely nothing is known about this Benefit, I have no idea who actually played.

July 12-13, 1968 Sound Factory, Sacramento: Steppenwolf/Ace of Cups/Initial Shock
The Sound Factory, at 1817 Alhambra, was a newly-opened venue run by Whitey Davis, the former proprietor of Portland's Crystal Ballroom as well as a critical figure at the Avalon Ballroom. This was one of the earliest shows at the Sound Factory (it appears to have opened on June 28--the July 12-13 poster is up top).

July 14, 1968 Balconades Ballroom, San Jose: Initial Shock/Womb/Phoenix/Freedom Highway/Rejoice/Day Blindness/Fritz Rabyne/Marble Gardens/Pure Funk/Uncut Balloon
The Balconades was on an upper floor of The Lyndon Building (built 1882), at 181 W. Santa Clara St. After time as a printing press for a newspapers, it had been turned into a ballroom (probably in the 1920s). It had been part of a Country and Western circuit for performers like Hank Williams and Bob Wills, back when San Jose was an agricultural center and the biggest radio station (KEEN 1370 AM) played country music.  There were a few rock shows at Balconades in 1968, although this appears to be one of the last ones.

Most of the groups at this Sunday event were club bands that played around, but weren't yet at the Avalon level. "Fritz Rabyne" was probably the Fritz Rabyne Memorial Band, a Menlo Park band that featured former Menlo-Atherton High School students Lindsay Buckingham and Stephanie (Stevie) Nicks.

July 26-27, 1968 New Orleans House, Berkeley: Initial Shock/Shiva’s Head Band

The New Orleans House, at 1505 San Pablo Avenue, was Berkeley's premier club for rock bands that played original music.

August 16-17, 1968 Sound Factory, Sacramento: Pink Floyd/Initial Shock/AB Skhy Blues Band
Road manager George Crowe (see his Comment) recalls opening for Pink Floyd in Sacramento.

August 2-4, 1968 Fillmore West, San Francisco: Iron Butterfly/Canned Heat/Initial Shock 

 (the Roger Weil poster for FD135, August 29-31 at the Avalon. h/t Ross for the scan)
August 29-31, 1968 Avalon Ballroom, San Francisco: Youngbloods/It’s A Beautiful Day/Initial Shock

October 18-20, 1968 Avalon Ballroom, San Francisco: Velvet Underground/Charley Musselwhite/Initial Shock

October 31-November 2, 1968 The Ark, Sausalito Initial Shock/Devil's Kitchen/White Lightning
A flyer recently turned up on eBay. The flyer says "Boogie--Ball." Perhaps the Marin band Boogie was on the bill, or perhaps it was just an invocation. Devil's Kitchen were recently arrived from Carbondale, IL.

The Ark was a grounded steamer docked on Gate 6 in Sausalito. It was a hippie rock club and hangout, mostly open on weekends (Halloween was a Thursday this year).

November 8-9, 1968 New Orleans House, Berkeley: Initial Shock/Orion

November 28-30, 1968 Avalon Ballroom, San Francisco: Quicksilver Messenger Service/Sons of Champlin/Initial Shock
The Avalon Ballroom had one more show after these that was still under Chet Helm's aegis, when Big Brother headlined (December 1, 1968), but Helms had to give up the lease on the Avalon due to financial difficulties and a struggle to get a Dance Permit.

The Avalon would reopen in March 1969, and members of Initial Shock were apparently part of the Avalon management team. This is just one of many tantalizing bits of history that makes their definitive story so worth looking forward to. 

December 5, 1968 New Committee Theatre, San Francisco: Initial Shock/Aum/Notes From The Underground
December 6, 1968 New Committee Theatre, San Francisco: Initial Shock/Devils Kitchen/Sanpaku
December 7, 1968 New Committee Theatre, San Francisco: Initial Shock/Notes From The Underground/Sanpaku
The New Committee Theatre was at 836 Montgomery. The Committee (an improvisational comedy troupe) was the main performer there, but various rock shows were held as well.

December 20-21, 1968  Sound Factory, Sacramento: Initial Shock/Salloom Sinclair & Mama Bear

Although I recognize that I have only been capturing highlights of the Initial Shock's bookings in 1967 and '68, the trail runs pretty dry in 1969. Given that some members of the group--perhaps all--were involved in the management of the Avalon Ballroom when it re-opened on March 21, 1969, perhaps that had an effect, but the revised Avalon only lasted until April 6, so the final year of the Initial Shock remains vague. I have to assume there were many more shows than are listed here.

January 17-18, 1969 The Matrix, San Francisco: Initial Shock

February 28-March 1, 1969 New Orleans House, Berkeley: Initial Shock/Welliver Fields

March 26-30, 1969 Avalon Ballroom, San Francisco 
Jef Jaisun and the Slow Truck, Santana, AAA, It's A Beautiful Day, All Men Joy, Youngbloods, Country Weather, Welliver Fields, Initial Shock, AB Skhy, Linn County, Conqueroo, Frumious Bandersnatch, Fourth Way, Melting Pot, Cleanliness and Godliness Skiffle Band, Clover, Shades of Joy, Alice Cooper, Pure Funk
The poster lists all the bands who will play over four nights, so I assume Initial Shock played some but not all of the shows, but I do not know for certain.

May 15-17, 1969 New Orleans House, Berkeley: Ace Of Cups/Initial Shock
The trail runs cold after this point, and future published revelations will be welcome.

Lead guitarist George Wallace apparently went on to work with Janis Joplin. Lead singer and guitarist Bill "Mojo" Collins went on to play in the group Sawbuck with Ronnie Montrose (they helped close the Fillmore West on June 29, 1971), but he relocated to Coastal North Carolina in late 1971. He remains an active and successful performer in the greater Wilmington area today.

This is a work in progress. Anyone with additional information about Initial Shock performances is encouraged to Comment or email me.

660 Great Highway, San Francisco Family Dog On The Great Highway July 25-27, 1969 Zoot Money/Poco/Charley Musselwhite

Chet Helms opened his Family Dog On The Great Highway in June, 1969 as a successor to his legendary operation at the Avalon Ballroom. Helms knew he had lost the battle to be San Francisco's leading rock entrepreneur to Bill Graham, but he also knew that he had a better ear and a different perspective than Graham, so he intended the Great Highway operation to be a sort of cultural center, focusing on rock as a medium for cultural and social development rather than mere entertainment. While the FDGH did not really achieve its goals, it still featured many interesting acts, some of which are worthy considerably more research.

One of the most intriguing bookings for the Family Dog was the July 25-27 weekend show featuring Zoot Money, Poco and Charley Musselwhite. Charley Musselwhite was a fine local blues act, probably featuring Ukiah guitarist Robben Ford by this time, but he was well-known in Bay Area venues. Poco was a new Los Angeles group started by Richie Furay and Jim Messina, formerly of the Buffalo Springfield. Their first album Pickin Up The Pieces (Epic Records) had been released in May 1969. While the album is now seen as a forward looking country rock album, at the time of its release it was not a commercial success. Poco was an excellent live group, although at this time bassist Randy Meisner had left the group, and lead guitarist Jim Messina had temporarily taken over the bass chores (in September, Timothy B Schmidt would take over as bassist, while Meisner would play in Rick Nelson's Stone Canyon Band and then join The Eagles). Poco had played a few dates in the Bay Area by mid-1969, but in general they would have been a new and somewhat unknown quantity to most Northern Californians.

However, the enduring mystery of this weekend's booking at the Family Dog was headliner Zoot Money. Organist George Bruno Money, called 'Zoot' in honor of saxophonist Zoot Sims, had led one of England's leading R&B bands in the mid-60s, Zoot Money's Big Roll Band. When psychedelia hit, Zoot and lead guitarist Andy Somers dropped the horn section and made some amazing psychedelic rock as Dantalian's Chariot. However, the Chariot never found an audience, and by Spring 1968 Money ended up in Los Angeles, joining Eric Burdon and The (New) Animals, effectively taking over as musical director from guitarist Vic Briggs. When Briggs left, Money brought in his pal Somers, and they played in the Animals until that group's demise in late 1968.

The activities of Eric Burdon and his former Animals in the year 1969 are somewhat vague. Eric Burdon brieflyt attended film school (he didn't like doing his assigned work), did a brief tour in support of a Best Of album with an unknown backing group (probably Blues Image) and finally joined the group War by July. Bassist John Weider ended up replacing Rick Grech in the group Family. Somers stayed in Los Angeles, getting a degree at Cal State Northridge and marrying a Californian, but his biography (under his better known name Andy Summers) remains very vague about this year. Zoot Money also remained in Southern California and looked into being an actor, an alternative career that he has continued to this day.

Mysteriously, however, Zoot Money headlined a weekend at the Family Dog. Who was in the group? What kind of music did they play? Was this part of a project that got stalled, or just a creative lark? The newspaper article above, from the San Francisco Chronicle Entertainment section from Saturday, July 26, 1969, offers the only information I have ever found about this venture, and its not much. It says

The Zoot Money Band, a British "classical jazz-rock" group, is making its first appearance this weekend at the Family Dog on the Great Highway

So, from knowing nothing, we now know that they considered themselves a classical jazz-rock group. That's it. At one point, I had considered the idea that the Zoot Money group was some sort of stealth Eric Burdon performance, but the timeline was all wrong, as Burdon was already working with War. I wonder who else was in the group? I have to think Andy Somers was a likely candidate, since he was in Southern California, but it still begs a lot of questions.

I know of one other Zoot Money show in California during this period, at a club called The Comic Strip in Santa Monica (on 120 Ocean Front), from June 6-8. This only adds to the peculiarity--a weekend in a tiny Santa Monica club, then a headlined weekend in San Francisco 5 weeks later, then nothing? Zoot Money did return to England, where he has continued to have a successful career as a musician, bandleader and actor that continues to this day, but his brief sojourn as a Californian band leader remains a cipher. Anyone with helpful information or entertaining speculation is encouraged to Comment or email me.