Family Dog on The Great Highway Navigation and Post Tracker (1969-70)

The Family Dog on The Great Highway, at 660 Great Highway, ca. 1969

The Family Dog on The Great Highway, 660 Great Highway, San Francisco, CA
The Family Dog was a foundation stone in the rise of San Francisco rock, and it was in operation in various forms from Fall 1965 through the Summer of 1970. For sound historical reasons, most of the focus on the Family Dog has been on the original 4-person collective who organized the first San Francisco Dance Concerts in late 1965, and on their successor Chet Helms. Helms took over the Family Dog in early 1966, and after a brief partnership with Bill Graham at the Fillmore, promoted memorable concerts at the Avalon Ballroom from Spring 1966 through December 1968. The posters, music and foggy memories of the Avalon are what made the Family Dog a legendary 60s rock icon.

In the Summer of 1969, however, with San Francisco as one of the fulcrums of the rock music explosion, Chet Helms opened another venue. The Family Dog on The Great Highway, at 660 Great Highway, on the Western edge of San Francisco, was only open for 14 months and was not a success. Yet numerous interesting bands played there, and remarkable events took place, and they are only documented in a scattered form. This series of posts will undertake a systematic review of every musical event at the Family Dog on The Great Highway. In general, each post will represent a week of musical events at the venue, although that may vary slightly depending on the bookings.

This post will act as a Tracker for the series. The titles and links of each post are included as they are put on to the blog. Some Grateful Dead events were covered in both my Grateful Dead blogs and also as part of this series. I will include links to both.

At the bottom of the list, I am including earlier posts about the Family Dog from my other blogs.  The information from those posts will be interpolated into the new posts, but some of them have different visual materials and interesting Comment Threads.

For a complete list of Family Dog shows (including FDGH), see here

June 13-15, 1969 Family Dog on The Great Highway, San Francisco, CA: Jefferson Airplane/The Charlatans/Pulse/Devil's Kitchen (Friday-Sunday) [FDGH '69 I)

June 20-22, 1969 Family Dog on The Great Highway, San Francisco, CA: Sons Of Champlin/Congress Of Wonders/Elvin Bishop Group (Friday-Sunday) [FDGH '69 II]

June 27-29, 1969 Family Dog on The Great Highway, San Francisco, CA: Barry "The Fish" Melton/Kaleidoscope/Los Flamencos de la Santa Lucia (Friday-Sunday) [FDGH '69 III]

July 4-6, 1969 Family Dog on The Great Highway, San Francisco, CA: Big Mama Thornton/Flying Burrito Brothers/Cleanliness and Godliness Skiffle Band (Friday-Sunday) [FDGH '69 IV]
There was also a free concert scheduled at the Dog on Friday afternoon (July 4), but it's unknown who played.

July 7, 1969 Family Dog on The Great Highway, San Francisco, CA: Joan Baez/It's A Beautiful Day/West (Monday) [FDGH '69 V]
This was a fundraising concert for the (ultimately canceled) Wild West Festival scheduled for Kezar Stadium in late August. The Family Dog also produced a show at Fillmore West the same night, also discussed in this post:

July 7, 1969 Fillmore West, San Francisco, CA: Jefferson Airplane/Ace Of Cups/Fourth Way/Phoenix (Monday) Wild West Festival Fundraiser Family Dog Productions 

July 11-13, 1969 Family Dog on The Great Highway, San Francisco, CA: Youngbloods/Lamb/Rubber Duck/Mother Bear (Friday-Sunday) [FDGH '69 VI]

July 18-20, 1969 Family Dog on The Great Highway, San Francisco, CA: Sir Douglas Quintet/Shades of Joy/Bycycle/Prince Albert and The Cans (Friday-Sunday) [FDGH '69 VII]

July 25-27, 1969 Family Dog on The Great Highway, San Francisco, CA: Charlie Musselwhite/Poco/Zoot Money (Friday-Sunday) [FDGH '69 VIII]
Includes the Tuesday July 22 show with Cleanliness Godliness Skiffle Band/Congress of Wonders

August 1, 1969 Family Dog on The Great Highway, San Francisco, CA: Light Show Strike [Grateful Dead canceled] (Friday) [FDGH '69 IX]

August 2-3, 1969 Family Dog on The Great Highway, San Francisco, CA: Grateful Dead/Albert Collins/Ballet Afro-Haiti (Saturday-Sunday) [FDGH '69 X]

August 8-10, 1969 Family Dog on The Great Highway, San Francisco, CA: Country Joe and The Fish/Tongue and Groove/Tyrannosaurus Rex (Friday-Sunday) [FDGH '69 XI]
Includes the August 7 Tony Pigg Sock-Hop

August 12, 1969 Family Dog on The Great Highway, San Francisco, CA: New Lost City Ramblers/New Riders of The Purple Sage (Tuesday or Wednesday) [FDGH '69 XII]
Includes the August 14 jam with the New Lost City Ramblers and Mickey Hart and The Hartbeats

August 15-16, 1969 Family Dog on The Great Highway, San Francisco, CA: Mike Bloomfield and Nick Gravenites/Southern Comfort/Devil's Kitchen (Friday-Saturday) [FDGH '69 XIII]
Includes the Sunday August 17 show headlined by Taj Mahal 

August 19, 1969 Family Dog on The Great Highway, San Francisco, CA: New Riders of The Purple Sage (Tuesday) [FDGH '69 XIV]

August 22-24, 1969 Family Dog on The Great Highway, San Francisco, CA: Wild West Festival "Makeup shows" (Friday-Sunday) [FDGH '69 XV]
Includes the Fillmore West Wild West Festival "Makeup Shows" August 22-24, 1969 Fillmore West 

August 22, 1969 Family Dog on The Great Highway, San Francisco, CA: Freedom Highway/Seatrain/Congress of Wonders/Flamin Groovies/Phoenix/Rubber Duck Co (Friday) 7pm

August 23, 1969 Family Dog on The Great Highway, San Francisco, CA: Tree Of Life/Phananganang/Marble Farm/Joe Tate's Desperate Skuffle Band/Lazarus/Flying Circus/Sebastian Moon/Bicycle (Saturday) noon

August 23, 1969 Family Dog on The Great Highway, San Francisco, CA: Quicksilver Messenger Service/Mt Rushmore/Sons of Champlin/Jimmy Witherspoon/Devil's Kitchen/Hindu Folk Band/Commander Cody and His Lost Planet Airmen (Saturday) 8pm

August 24, 1969 Family Dog on The Great Highway, San Francisco, CA: Faun/Cold Turkey/Nazgul/Alice Stuart and Minx/Mendelbaum/Mother Bear/Transatlantic Railroad (Sunday) noon

August 24, 1969 Family Dog on The Great Highway, San Francisco, CA: Its A Beautiful Day/South Bay Experimental Flash/Youngbloods/Shag/Cleanliness and Godliness Skiffle Band/Buddy Miles Express (Sunday) 7pm

Fillmore West Wild West Makeup Shows, August 22-24, 1969 

August 22, 1969 Fillmore West, San Francisco, CA: Quicksilver Messenger Service/Youngbloods/The Committee/Ace Of Cups/West (Friday)

August 23, 1969 Fillmore West, San Francisco, CA: Jefferson Airplane/AUM/Los Flamencos de la Santa Lucia/Sanpaku/Marvin and The Uptights (Saturday)

August 24, 1969 Fillmore West, San Francisco, CA: Country Joe and The Fish/Sons Of Champlin/Elvin Bishop/Freedom Highway/Fast Bucks (Sunday)

August 26, 1969 Family Dog on The Great Highway, San Francisco, CA: The Great SF Light Show Jam [FDGH '69 XVI] 

August 26, 1969 Family Dog on The Great Highway, San Francisco, CA: The Great SF Light Show Jam (Vintage Dead: Found and Lost)
This is the Grateful Dead entry.

August 28, 1969 Family Dog on The Great Highway, San Francisco, CA: Grateful Dead/Mickey Hart and The Hartbeats/New Riders of The Purple Sage (Thursday) [FDGH '69 XVII]

August 28-30, 1969, Family Dog at The Great Highway, San Francisco, CA: Grateful Dead/Hartbeats/New Riders of The Purple Sage/Commander Cody and His Lost Planet Airmen/Rubber Duck (Archaeology) [FDGH II]
This is the more recent Grateful Dead entry for the weekend.

August 29-30, 1969 Family Dog on The Great Highway, San Francisco, CA: Grateful Dead/New Riders of The Purple Sage/Commander Cody and His Lost Planet Airmen/Rubber Duck (Friday-Saturday) [FDGH '69 XVIII]

Includes
August 31, 1969 Family Dog on The Great Highway, San Francisco, CA: Gravity/Transatlantic Railroad/Devil's Kitchen/SF Radical Lab (Sunday)

September 6, 1969 Family Dog on The Great Highway, San Francisco, CA: Jefferson Airplane/Grateful Dead (Saturday) [FDGH '69 XIX]

includes
September 1, 1969 Family Dog on The Great Highway, San Francisco, CA: Monday Night class
September 2, 1969 Family Dog on The Great Highway, San Francisco, CA: Theater of The Absurd Costume Ball (Tuesday)
September 3, 1969 Family Dog on The Great Highway, San Francisco, CA: Latin Night (Wednesday)
September 4, 1969 Family Dog on The Great Highway, San Francisco, CA: Carnival Coronation Ball for Miss Playland 1969 with Devil's Kitchen/Flying Circus (Thursday)
September 7, 1969 Family Dog on The Great Highway, San Francisco, CA: jam

September 6, 1969 Family Dog on The Great Highway, San Francisco, CA: Jefferson Airplane/Grateful Dead (What Do We Know?) [FDGH IV]
This was the Grateful Dead entry.

September 12-14, 1969 Family Dog on The Great Highway, San Francisco, CA: It's A Beautiful Day/Sons Of Champlin/Fourth Way (Friday-Sunday) [FDGH '69 XX]

includes
September 9, 1969 Family Dog on The Great Highway, San Francisco, CA: Sufi Dervish Dancing, Pakistani Fashion Show, Phoenix (Tuesday)
September 10, 1969 Family Dog on The Great Highway, San Francisco, CA: Latin Rock w/Kwane and The Kwanditos/Los Flamencos de la Santa Lucia (Wednesday)
September 11, 1969 Family Dog on The Great Highway, San Francisco, CA: Purple Earthquake/Johnny Mars Blues Band/Wisdom Fingers/Osceola (Thursday)

September 15-26, 1969 Family Dog on The Great Highway, San Francisco, CA: various bookings [FDGH '69 XXI]

includes
September 15, 1969 Family Dog on The Great Highway, San Francisco, CA: Monday Night class
September 16, 1969 Family Dog on The Great Highway, San Francisco, CA: In Search of America (Tuesday)
September 17, 1969 Family Dog on The Great Highway, San Francisco, CA: Film and Light Spectacular (Wednesday)
September 18, 1969 Family Dog on The Great Highway, San Francisco, CA: Richmond Symphony (Thursday)
September 19-21, 1969 Family Dog on The Great Highway, San Francisco, CA: Circus Of The Absurd Costume Ball: Carlos Carvajal/Moog Synthesizer of the SF Radical Laboratories/Shag/Devil's Kitchen (Friday-Sunday)
September 22, 1969 Family Dog on The Great Highway, San Francisco, CA: Monday Night class
September 23, 1969 Family Dog on The Great Highway, San Francisco, CA: Unbirthday Party (Tuesday)
September 24, 1969 Family Dog on The Great Highway, San Francisco, CA: Games Night (Wednesday)
September 25, 1969 Family Dog on The Great Highway, San Francisco, CA: Light Show (Thursday)
September 26-28 1969 Family Dog on The Great Highway, San Francisco, CA:Rhythm Dukes w/Jerry Miller/Floating Bridge/surprise group (Friday-Sunday)

October 3-5, 1969 Family Dog on The Great Highway, San Francisco, CA: Kaleidoscope/Clover/Charlie Musselwhite/Congress Of Wonders/Bycycle (Friday-Saturday)[FDGH '69 XXII]

October 7-8-9, 1969 Family Dog on The Great Highway, San Francisco, CA: Holy Man Jam [FDGH '69 XXIII]
Includes

October 7-9, 1969 Family Dog on The Great Highway, San Francisco, CA: Holy Man Jam (Tuesday-Thursday)

• Tuesday, October 7: Stephen Gaskin
• Wednesday, October 8: Malachi, Alan Watts, Michael Larimer, Rev. Hensley, Alan Noonan
• Thursday, October 9: Timothy Leary
• With the following groups during the three nights:

• Jerry Abrams Headlights, Dr. Zarkov, Holy See, Rainbow Jam, Sweet Misery, Sebastian Moon, Mayflower, Lazarus, Phoenix, Master Choy, Shlomo Carlabach, Golden Toad, Chirhanjeez, Osceola, It's A Beautiful Day, Garden Of Delights

October 10-12, 1969 Family Dog on The Great Highway, San Francisco, CA: Sons Of Champlin/A.B. Skhy Blues Band/Brewer and Shipley (Friday-Sunday)
October 13, 1969 Family Dog on The Great Highway, San Francisco, CA: Stephen Gaskin (Monday)
October 14, 1969 Family Dog on The Great Highway, San Francisco, CA: Stephen Gaskin/Chinese People/Jim Kimmel/Canterbury Fair/Cloud (Tuesday)
October 15, 1969 Family Dog on The Great Highway, San Francisco, CA:  Garden Of Delights/Horror Flicks (Wednesday)

October 16, 1969 Family Dog on The Great Highway, San Francisco, CA:Anonymous Artists of America (Thursday) San Francisco, CA:  Garden Of Delights/Horror Flicks (Wednesday)

October 17-30, Family Dog on The Great Highway, San Francisco, CA: various bookings (FDGH '69 XXIV]
Includes

October 17-19, 1969 Family Dog at The Great Highway, San Francisco, CA: Malachi/Floating Lotus Opera Company/Golden Toad (Friday-Sunday) Saturday (October 18) only plus Alan Watts

October 20, 1969 Family Dog on the Great Highway, San Francisco, CA: Monday Night Class with Stephen Gaskin
 
October 21, 1969 Family Dog on the Great Highway, San Francisco, CA: A Night of Guitar and Dance, Classical Flamenco, Folk and Rock (Tuesday)

October 22, 1969 Family Dog on the Great Highway, San Francisco, CA New Riders of the Purple Sage/Lazarus  (Wednesday) Ecological Ball

October 23, 1969 Family Dog on the Great Highway, San Francisco, CA Acoustic Stringed Instrument Night (Thursday)

October 24-26, 1969 Family Dog on the Great Highway, San Francisco, CA Osceola/Barry McGuire & the Doctor/Shag/Clover (Sat only replaces Shag) (Friday-Sunday)

October 27, 1969 Family Dog on the Great Highway, San Francisco, CA Osceola/Occultist/Phoenix/ Heavy Water/Beefy Red "Peoples Night"  (Monday) Cusp Party of Libra and Scorpio

October 29, 1969 Family Dog on the Great Highway, San Francisco, CA Johnny Mars Blues Band/The Womb "American Indian Well Baby Clinic" [Celebration of the Mended Spirit] (Wednesday)

October 30, 1969 Family Dog on The Great Highway, San Francisco, CA: "Minstrel Night" Golden Toad/Dr Humbead's New Tranquility String Band (Thursday)

November 1-2, 1969, Family Dog on The Great Highway, San Francisco, CA: Grateful Dead/Danny Cox/Golden Toad [FDGH '69 XXV]

Includes

October 31, 1969 Family Dog on The Great Highway, San Francisco, CA: Danny Cox/Alan Watts/Golden Toad/Hells Angels Own Band (Friday)

November 1-2, 1969 Family Dog on The Great Highway, San Francisco, CA: Grateful Dead/Danny Cox/Golden Toad (Saturday-Sunday)

November 4, 1969 Family Dog on The Great Highway, San Francisco, CA: Workshop with Family Circus/Rainbow Jam Sky/music by children of Mu (Tuesday)

November 5, 1969 Family Dog on The Great Highway, San Francisco, CA: Family of Man-Family of God (Wednesday)

November 6, 1969 Family Dog on The Great Highway, San Francisco, CA: Acoustic Strings Night/Pup Fisher/All God's Children (Thursday

Halloween Weekend 1969: Loma Prieta Room, San Jose State and Family Dog on The Great Highway (Oct 31-Nov 2 '69) [FDGH V]
The Grateful Dead entry for this weekend includes their Halloween show in San Jose, while the Hells Angels had some sort of party at the Dog.

November 7-9, Family Dog on The Great Highway, San Francisco, CA: Velvet Underground/Danny Cox/Maximum Speed Limit [FDGH '69 XXVI]

Includes:

November 7-9, 1969 Family Dog on The Great Highway, San Francisco, CA: Velvet Underground/Danny Cox/John Adams (Sat-Sun only)/Maximum Speed Limit (Friday-Sunday) 

November 11, 1969 Family Dog on The Great Highway, San Francisco, CA: Mellotime Review (Tuesday)

November 12, 1969 Family Dog on The Great Highway, San Francisco, CA: Anonymous Artists of America "own axe night" (Wednesday)

November 19, Fillmore West, San Francisco, CA: Steve Miller Band/New Riders of The Purple Sage/Big Brother and The Holding Company Benefit for the Family Dog [FDGH '69 XXVII]

Includes

November 14-16, 1969 Family Dog on The Great Highway, San Francisco, CA: Apple Jam/Osceola/Canterbury Fair (Friday-Sunday)

November 18, 1969 Family Dog on The Great Highway, San Francisco, CA: New Riders of The Purple Sage (Tuesday)

November 19, 1969 Fillmore West, San Francisco, CA: Family Dog Benefit with Steve Miller Band/New Riders of The Purple Sage/Barry McGuire and The Doctor/Humble, Mumble, Fumble and Dumble (formerly Big Brother and The Holding Company) (Wednesday)

November 20, 1969 Family Dog on The Great Highway, San Francisco, CA: It's A Beautiful Day/Richmond Symphony/New Tranquility String Band (Thursday)

November 21, 1969 Family Dog on The Great Highway, San Francisco, CA: Anonymous Artists of America/Devil's Kitchen (Friday)
November 22-23, 1969 Family Dog on The Great Highway, San Francisco, CA: New Riders of The Purple Sage/Anonymous Artists of America/Devil's Kitchen (Saturday-Sunday)

November 25, 1969 Family Dog on The Great Highway, San Francisco, CA: Conspiracy Of Media (Tuesday)

November 26, 1969 Family Dog on The Great Highway, San Francisco, CA: Film Orgy (Wednesday)

November 27, 1969 Family Dog on The Great Highway, San Francisco, CA: Cleveland Wrecking Company/New Riders of The Purple Sage/Lamb/Deacon and The Suprelles/East Bay Sharks/Pitschell Players/Morning Glory Theater Free City Puppet Ball (Thursday)

November 28-30, 1969 Family Dog on The Great Highway Dan Hicks and His Hot Licks/Commander Cody and His Lost Planet Airmen (Friday)/Floating Bridge (Saturday-Sunday)/Dr. Humbead's New Tranquility String Band/Vern & Ray (Friday-Sunday)

December 1969, Family Dog on The Great Highway, San Francisco, CA: Canned Heat and Lonnie Mack [FDGH '69 XXVIII]

includes

December 12-14, 1969 Family Dog on The Great Highway, San Francisco, CA: Canned Heat/Rhythm Dukes/Bob McPharlin (Friday-Sunday)

December 26-28, 1969 Family Dog on The Great Highway, San Francisco, CA: Lonnie Mack/Osceola/AB Skhy/Lambert & Nuttycombe (Friday-Sunday)

January 9-10, 1970 Family Dog on The Great Highway, San Francisco, CA: Chambers Brothers and Friends  [FDGH '70 I]

includes

January 2-4, 1970, Family Dog on The Great Highway, San Francisco, CA: Osceola/Cleveland Wrecking Company/Commander Cody and His Lost Planet Airmen (Fri-Sat)/Devil's Kitchen/Mendelbaum (Sun only) (Friday-Sunday)
January 5, 1970 Family Dog on The Great Highway, San Francisco, CA: Monday Night Class
January 8, 1970 audition (Thursday)
January 11, 1970 Family Dog on The Great Highway, San Francisco, CA: Jam with 5 bands (Sunday)

January 30-31, Family Dog on The Great Highway, San Francisco, CA: Jefferson Airplane/Osceola  [FDGH '70 II]

January 30-31, 1970: Grateful Dead/Family Dog Merger (Not To Be) [FDGH VI]

February 3, 1970 Family Dog on The Great Highway, San Francisco, CA: Jefferson Airplane/Grateful Dead (Lost and Found) [FDGH VII]
It now appears that the Dead and the Airplane played the Family Dog on February 3. Was this a rehearsal for the PBS Special on February 4--in which case there were two shows--or was the date wrong?

February 4, 1970 Family Dog on The Great Highway, San Francisco, CA: Jefferson Airplane/Grateful Dead/Santana/Kimberly "A Night At The Family Dog" [FDGH '70 III]

February 6-7, 1970 Family Dog on The Great Highway, San Francisco, CA: Quicksilver Messenger Service/Mike Seeger/Freedom Highway [FDGH '70 IV]
includes Monday February 9-Stephen Gaskin  (from Feb 15 onwards, Gaskin moves to the Cliff House)

February 13-14, 1970 Family Dog on The Great Highway, San Francisco, CA: Steve Miller Band/Elvin Bishop Group [FDGH '70 V]

February 20-21, 1970 Family Dog on The Great Highway, San Francisco, CA: Big Brother and The Holding Company with Nick Gravenites/Cat Mother and The All-Night Newsboys [FDGH '70 VI]

February 27-March 1, 1970 Family Dog on The Great Highway, San Francisco, CA: Grateful Dead/Commander Cody and His Lost Planet Airmen [FDGH '70 VII]

March 6-8, 1970 Family Dog on The Great Highway, San Francisco, CA: Lee Michaels/Rhythm Dukes/Robert Savage [FDGH '70 VIII]

March 13-15, 1970 Family Dog on The Great Highway, San Francisco, CA: Country Joe and The Fish/Joy Of Cooking [FDGH '70 IX]

March 18, 1970 Family Dog on the Great Highway, San Francisco, CA: Rolling Thunder/Hot Tuna/New Riders of the Purple Sage  [Benefit for the Sons of Thunder] [FDGH '70 X]

March 20-22, 1970 Family Dog on the Great Highway, San Francisco, CA: Big Brother & the Holding Company/Kaleidoscope/Devil's Kitchen [FDGH '70 XI]

March 27-29, 1970 Family Dog on The Great Highway, San Francisco, CA: Youngbloods/Jeffrey Cain/Commander Cody and His Lost Planet Airmen [FDGH '70 XII]

April 3-5, 1970 Family Dog on The Great Highway, San Francisco, CA: Eric Burdon and War/Ballin' Jack/Chet Nichols [FDGH '70 XIII]

includes

April 10-12, 1970 Family Dog on The Great Highway, San Francisco, CA: Albert Collins/Rhythm Dukes/AB Skhy

April 17-19, 1970 Family Dog on The Great Highway, San Francisco, CA: Mickey Hart and The Hartbeats/Bobby Ace and The Cards Off The Bottom of The Deck/New Riders of The Purple Sage/Charlie Musselwhite [FDGH '70 XIV]

April 24-26, 1970 Family Dog on The Great Highway, San Francisco, CA: Quicksilver Messenger Service/Osceola/Robert Savage Group [FDGH '70 XV]

May 1-24, 1970 Family Dog on The Great Highway, San Francisco, CA: various shows [FDGH '70 XVI]

includes

May 1-3, 1970 Family Dog on the Great Highway, San Francisco, CA: Big Brother and the Holding Company/Aum/Back Yard Mamas/Lambert & Nuttycombe (Friday-Sunday)

May 8-10, 1970 Family Dog on the Great Highway, San Francisco, CA: Commander Cody and His Lost Planet Airmen/Osceola/Southern Comfort (Friday-Sunday)   

May 15-16, 1970 Family Dog on the Great Highway, San Francisco, CA: Big Mama Thornton/Sandy Bull/Mendlebaum/Doug McKecnenie and His Moog Synthesizer (Friday-Saturday)

May 22-24, 1970 Family Dog on the Great Highway, San Francisco, CA: Shorty Featuring Georgie Fame,/Jerry Hahn Brotherhood/Fourth Way (Friday-Sunday)

May 29-June 27, 1970 Family Dog on The Great Highway, 660 Great Highway, San Francisco, CA: Various shows [FDGH '70 XVII]

includes

May 29-31, 1970 Family Dog on the Great Highway, San Francisco, CA: Indian Music Festival featuring Ali Akbar Khan, Indranil Bhattacharya, Zakir Hussain (Friday-Sunday)

June 7, 1970 Family Dog on the Great Highway, San Francisco, CA: The One Festival (Sunday)

June 13, 1970 Family Dog on the Great Highway, San Francisco, CA: First Anniversary at the Beach Party (Saturday)

June 17, 1970 Family Dog on the Great Highway, San Francisco, CA: Michael Bloomfield & Marin Music Band/Charles Musselwhite Blues Band/Sandy Bull  St Jacques Benefit for the Porcupine Family Inc drug treatment program (Wednesday)

June 19-21, 1970 Family Dog on the Great Highway, San Francisco, CA: Flying Burrito Brothers/Cat Mother & the All Night Newsboys/Rhythm Dukes with Bill Champlin and Jerry Miller  (Friday-Sunday)

June 23-25, 1970 Family Dog on The Great Highway, San Francisco, CA: 12 bands (Tuesday-Thursday)

June 27, 1970 Family Dog on The Great Highway, San Francisco, CA: Krishna festival dinner (Sunday) 

June 30-July 1, 1970 Family Dog on The Great Highway, San Francisco, CA: The Kinks/Osceola [FDGH XVIII]

includes 

July 2, 1970 Family Dog on The Great Highway, San Francisco, CA: The Kinks/Beggars Opera (Thursday)

July 14-15, 1970 Family Dog on The Great Highway, San Francisco, CA: Terry Reid/Cat Mother and The All Night Newsboys/Ace Of Cups [FDGH '70 XIX]

July 24-August 2, 1970 Family Dog on The Great Highway, San Francisco, CA: various shows [FDGH '70 XX]

includes

July 24-26, 1970 Family Dog on The Great Highway, San Francisco, CA: Indian Puddin' & Pipe/Tripsichord/Phanangawang (Friday-Sunday)

July 27, 1970 Family Dog on The Great Highway, San Francisco, CA: AC Bhaktivendanta Swami (Monday)

July 31-August 2, 1970 Family Dog on The Great Highway, San Francisco, CA: Youngbloods/Joy Of Cooking/Jeffery Cain (Friday-Sunday) 

August 14-August 22, 1970 Family Dog on The Great Highway, San Francisco, CA: The Edge Of The Western World--Journey's End [FDGH '70 XXI]

includes

August 14-16, 1970 Family Dog on The Great highway, San Francisco, CA: It's A Beautiful Day/Elvin Bishop Group/Sawbuck (Friday-Sunday)

August 21-22, 1970 Family Dog on The Great Highway, San Francisco, CA: Quicksilver Messenger Service/Robert Savage Group/Backyard Mamas (Friday-Saturday)

660 Great Highway, San Francisco, CA: Friends And Relations Hall 1971-72 (after The Family Dog, FDGH Part 50)
Although the Family Dog On The Great Highway folded in August 1970, the ballroom remained open for two more years. I document all the known shows at 660 Great Highway until it was torn down in 1972.

Previously Published Posts
Some of these posts are over a decade old, but a few have Comment threads worth reading (particularly the Grateful Dead ones)

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

August 3, 1969 Family Dog On The Great Highway, San Francisco, CA: Grateful Dead/Ballet Afro-Haiti/Albert Collins

August 13, 1969 Family Dog On The Great Highway, San Francisco, CA: New Riders Of The Purple Sage/New Lost City Ramblers
There's a chance this was either actually August 12 or August 19, but that is discussed above.

August 22-23-24, 1969 Fillmore West/Family Dog, San Francisco--Wild West 'Makeup' Shows  

660 Great Highway, San Francisco August 26, 1969 Family Dog on The Great Highway: Great SF Light Show Jam  

August 28, 1969 Family Dog On The Great Highway, San Francisco, CA: Mickey Hart and The Hartbeats

660 Great Highway, San Francisco September 4, 1969 The Playland Girls Of 1969 

September 6-7, 1969 Family Dog On The Great Highway, San Francisco, CA: Jefferson Airplane/Grateful Dead 

660 Great Highway, San Francisco Family Dog On The Great Highway: December 12-14, 1969 Canned Heat/Rhythm Dukes (w/Jerry Miller)/Bob McPharlin 

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

February 4, 1970 Family Dog On The Great Highway, San Francisco, CA: Jefferson Airplane/Grateful Dead/Santana/Kimberly
A KQED-tv special is filmed on a Wednesday night at the Dog.

April 17-19, 1970 Family Dog On The Great Highway, San Francisco, CA: Mickey Hart and The Hartbeats/Bobby Ace And The Cards Off The Bottom Of The Deck/Charlie Musselwhite/New Riders Of The Purple Sage
Some reflections on the context of a (then) newly discovered acoustic Dead tape.

 

Berkeley, Oakland and East Bay Rock History Navigation and Tracker

Oakland's first psychedelic rock venue, the Veterans Memorial Building at 200 Grand Avenue

I have published a large number of blog posts about the 1960s and 70s rock history of Berkeley and Oakland, CA. The posts are scattered about several different blogs, and go back many years. They do a tell a story, of sorts, when seen together, so I have gathered them here. I had to do this for my own purposes, so it made the most sense to make this generally accessible.

The posts below are about the rock history of Berkeley, Oakland and the East Bay. They cover landmarks, events and bands. Since bands don't really have a location, I have been broad-minded about what counts as an East Bay band. I have also included some key blog pages from the ChickenOnAUnicycle site managed by my co-conspirator Ross, since it has an Alameda County focus. I have extended my coverage out to Contra Costa County, however, since it won't have a tracker of its own.

For bands that are truly East Bay bands, like Country Joe and The Fish or the Loading Zone, I have only included posts about the bands themselves, rather than just posts about events where they played (if I included every post of a concert where Country Joe played, the post would be too long). In general, this Navigation post works in conjunction with my other Navigation posts. While there is some intentional duplication, all of my useful posts and web pages (plus some other select posts) are included in either this tracker or the ones listed below.

Lost Live Dead and Hooterollin' By Show Date

60s and 70s Rock Nightclub History

Palo Alto Rock History

Family Dog on The Great Highway
The Family Dog on The Great Highway, at 660 Great Highway in San Francisco, near Ocean Beach, was only open from June 1969 through August 1970. An ongoing project reviews every single presentation.

Grateful Dead Spin-offs/60s Rock History
Besides having a link to posts on non-Garcia Grateful Dead outfits (Bob Weir & Kingfish, etc), this Navigation post serves as the general catch-all for 60s and 70s rock history posts that don't fit logically in the other trackers.

The Jabberwock, at 2901 Telegraph Avenue in Berkeley ca 1966

Berkeley Venues

The Blind Lemon, 2362 San Pablo Avenue, Berkeley, CA
The ur-site. 

The Jabberwock, 2901 Telegraph Avenue, Berkeley, CA 1964-67
The Jabberwock was a folk club, but it gave birth to Country Joe and The Fish.

List of Jabberwock Performances 1964-July 8, 1967

Jabberwock Poster Art

The Questing Beast, 2504 San Pablo Avenue, Berkeley, CA: Performance History 1965-66
County Joe and The Fish got started at the Jabberwock, but they went electric at the Questing Beast.

New Orleans House, 1505 San Pablo Avenue, Berkeley, CA Performance Listing 1966-1970
The New Orleans, opened as a home for New Orleans-style jazz, rapidly became a rock club by 1966. It was the primary nightclub for original rock music in Berkeley throughout the 1960s. We attempt to identify every performer from 1967 to 1969, and its an excellent survey of original California rock bands just one tier below the Fillmore and Avalon.

1505 San Pablo Avenue, Berkeley, CA: New Orleans House Performers List, January-March 1967 ('67 Berkeley I) 

1505 San Pablo Avenue, Berkeley, CA: New Orleans House Performers List, April-June 1967 ('67 Berkeley IV) 

1505 San Pablo Avenue, Berkeley, CA: New Orleans House Performers List, July-September 1967 ('67 Berkeley VII)

Freight and Salvage, 1827 San Pablo Avenue, Berkeley, CA Performance Listing 1968-70
The Freight and Salvage was really a folk club, but it was founded by Berkeley hippies in 1968, and it was part of the rock music community, in it own way. We attempt to identify every performer at the Freight and Salvage in 1968 and '69, and its a primer on American music over the next 50 years.

Mandrake's, 1048 University Avenue, Berkeley, CA Performance List 1965-1973
Mandrake's, a converted pool hall on University and San Pablo, mainly presented blues and jazz, but by the end of the 1960s, it presented a lot of rock as well.
 
The Babylon, 2504 San Pablo Avenue, Berkeley, CA Performance Listings 1969-70
The Babylon featured original rock music, almost all from local East Bay bands.

The Long Branch, 2504 San Pablo Avenue, Berkeley, CA Performers Listing May-December 1971
The Long Branch, at the infamous Berkeley music address of 2504 San Pablo, expanded the building and replaced the Babylon in May 1971. This post is a detailed discussion of every performer who was known to have played the Long Branch in 1971, even if some dates are uncertain.

The Long Branch, 2504 San Pablo Avenue, Berkeley, CA: Performers Listing January-June 1972 (Long Branch II)

2504 San Pablo Avenue, Berkeley, CA: The Long Branch Performance History October-December 1973 (Long Branch III)

Keystone Berkeley, 2119 University Avenue, Berkeley, CA Performance Listings 1972
The Keystone Berkeley replaced the New Monk, going from a fraternity beer joint to Berkeley's primary rock club throughout the 1970s. This post is a detailed discussion of every performer who played Keystone Berkeley in 1972.

Keystone Berkeley, Berkeley, CA: Performance Listings, January-April 1975
The Keystone was still the second best gig in the Bay Area during this period.  

2119 University Avenue, Berkeley, CA: The Keystone Berkeley
Jerry Garcia played the Keystone Berkeley at least 243 times. His relationship to Keystone Berkeley was unique to Garcia's career, and an essential lynchpin of the club.

Bay Area Survey Rock Nightclub Survey, January-April 1974 Performance Listings
A snapshot of East Bay rock nightclubs in 1974, including analysis of performers for Keystone Berkeley (January), the Long Branch (February), Bill Graham Presents (March, at Winterland and Berkeley Community Theater) and the Freight and Salvage (April).

Berkeley Community Theater

New Orleans House Performance List August 1969 

Berkeley and East Bay Concerts, July-December 1967 ('67 Berkeley IX)

Berkeley and East Bay Concerts, April-June 1967 ('67 Berkeley VI)

Berkeley and East Bay Rock Concerts, January-March 1967 ('67 Berkeley III)

Berkeley and East Bay Rock Concerts October-December 1966 (Berkeley V)

Provo Park, Berkeley Concerts 1967-69   

Berkeley and East Bay Rock Concerts July-September 1966 (Berkeley IV) 

Berkeley and East Bay Rock Concerts April-June 1966 (Berkeley III) 

Berkeley and East Bay Rock Concerts January-March 1966 (Berkeley II) 

Berkeley and East Bay Rock Concerts October-December 1965 (Berkeley I)  

2976 College Avenue, Open Theater, Berkeley, CA 1965-1966 History  

Open Theater, Berkeley, CA (2976 College Avenue) 1965-66: early Ian Underwood 

The Albatross

Oakland and East Bay Venues

200 Grand Avenue, Oakland, CA-Veterans Memorial Building 

The Yellow Brick Road, 37266 Niles Boulevard, Fremont, CA: June 1967-January 1968 (Work In Progress)

1825 Salvio Street, Concord, CA: Concord Coliseum Performances 1967-68  

2925 Willow Pass Road, Concord, CA: Concord Armory and Eastern Contra Costa Performances 1967-69 (Concord II)  

Grateful Dead and Jerry Garcia Landmark Guide: Oakland

The Grateful Dead at The Oakland Coliseum Arena and Stadium 1974-95

East Bay Bands

Country Joe And The Fish

Loading Zone 1966-69

Loading Zone Performance List 1970 (Loading Zone I)

Loading Zone Performance List 1971 (Loading Zone II)

Loading Zone Performance List 1972 (Loading Zone III)

Cleanliness and Godliness Skiffle Band 

Commander Cody and His Lost Planet Airmen Performance List 1969: Berkeley Beginnings 

The Wildflower

Second Coming and Sky Blue

Freight and Salvage 1968-69 Performers Update: George Inskeep

Freight and Salvage 1968-69 Performers Update: Salt Creek, John Schank, Chris Kearney 

Freight and Salvage 1968-69 Performers: Update

Berkeley Events

October 15, 1962: Closing of Tsubo's, Berkeley, CA 

December 2, 1966 Pauley Ballroom, UC Berkeley, Berkeley, CA: Grateful Dead/Country Joe And The Fish

May 23, 1967 Lower Sproul Plaza, UC Berkeley, Berkeley, CA: Country Joe & The Fish
Country Joe & The Fish, with a new album out, played Lower Sproul for free. They drowned out a protest. It was the last time that Joe & Barry did this, but it wasn't the last time a free concert drowned out political action. 

August 1, 1969 The Bear's Lair, UC Berkeley, Berkeley, CA: Marmaduke with Jerry Garcia 

March 3-4, 1970 The New Orleans House, Berkeley: Hot Tuna/Dry Creek Road  

June 21, 1970 Pauley Ballroom, UC Berkeley, Berkeley, CA: Grateful Dead/New Riders Of The Purple Sage/others 

June 1971 New Monk, Berkeley, CA: The Grateful Dead with Merl Saunders
A fellow blogger pieces together some long-obscured facts and figures out the Grateful Dead showed up for a Garcia/Saunders gig at the New Monk. It's also possible, even likely, that they played again in March, 1972, by which time the venue had changed its name to Keystone Berkeley.

August 14-15, 1971 Berkeley Community Theater, Berkeley, CA: Grateful Dead/New Riders of The Purple Sage
Ned Lagin makes his Bay Area debut.

April 27, 1973 Keystone Berkeley, Berkeley, CA: Old And In The Way/Banana And The Bunch

February 2, 1974 Keystone Berkeley, Berkeley, CA: New Riders Of The Purple Sage
Jerry Garcia makes his last appearance with the Riders.

April 10, 1974 Freight & Salvage, Berkeley, CA: David Grisman and David Nichtern

February 25, 1975 Keystone Berkeley, Berkeley, CA: Good Old Boys/Soundhole
Jerry Garcia joins Frank Wakefield and David Nelson for a little weeknight bluegrass in Berkeley (and Marin, too).

October 11-12, 1975 Keystone Berkeley, Berkeley, CA: Jerry Garcia Band with Nicky Hopkins
The mysterious Tim Hensley joins the group on electric piano for both these shows.

December 31, 1975 Keystone Berkeley, Berkeley, CA; Jerry Garcia Band with Nicky Hopkins

December 21-22, 1976 Keystone Berkeley, Berkeley, CA: Jerry Garcia Band
Who was John Rich? This post interrogates the mystery of pedal steel guitarist John Rich, a band member for this weekend only. The mystery is solved when Rich himself joins in the Comment thread.

September 19, 1984 Julia Morgan Theater, Berkeley, CA: Tom Constanten/Electric Guitar Quartet
A pretty singular event.  

Oakland Events

July 12, 1967 Oakland Auditorium Arena, Oakland, CA: Grass Roots/Moby Grape "Crepuscular Happening"
The White Star Tuna company, looking to attract newly-married teenagers, sponsored two Oakland concerts with the Grass Roots and then The Doors.

November 9, 1969 Oakland Coliseum Arena, Oakland, CA: Rolling Stones
The Stones end up borrowing most of the Dead's sound system for the late show, and rock history is irrevocably changed.

March 5, 1971 Oakland Auditorium Arena, Oakland, CA: Grateful Dead

June 8, 1974 Oakland Coliseum Stadium, Oakland, CA: Grateful Dead/Beach Boys/New Riders of The Purple Sage/Commander Cody and His Lost Planet Airmen 

October 9-10, 1976 Oakland Coliseum Stadium: The Who/The Grateful Dead

August 4-5, 1979 Oakland Auditorium Arena, Oakland, CA: The Grateful Dead
Home court advantage.

January 13, 1980 Oakland Coliseum Arena, Oakland, CA: Grateful Dead/Jefferson Starship/Beach Boys/Joan Baez/Carlos Santana

April 25, 1981 Berkeley Community Theater, Berkeley, CA: Jerry Garcia, Bob Weir, Mickey Hart and Bill Kreutzmann (SEVA Sing Out For Sight Benefit) 

December 31, 1982 Oakland Auditorium Arena, Oakland, CA: Grateful Dead/The Dinosaurs
December 31, 1982 Oakland Auditorium Arena, Oakland, CA: Grateful Dead/The Dinosaurs
Two posts on this show--one on the Dinosaurs, and one speculating about an unnamed guest percussionist during the Dead's third set.

October 31, 1986 Henry J. Kaiser Convention Center, Oakland, CA: Jerry Garcia Band/Kingfish with Bob Weir

January 23, 1988 Henry J. Kaiser Convention Center, Oakland, CA: Carlos Santana and Friends/Tower of Power with Jerry Garcia and Bob Weir
Jerry still had it, for this night at least. All hail.

May 27, 1989 Oakland Coliseum Stadium, Oakland, CA: John Fogerty with Jerry Garcia and Bob Weir
Jerry Garcia gets to be just another guy in the band, perhaps for the last time, when he and Bob Weir help back John Fogerty at a high-profile benefit.  

East Bay Events

April 15-21, 1966, Frenchy's, Hayward, CA: Peter Lewis with Peter and The Wolves  

May 21, 1966, Frenchy’s, Hayward, CA: Neil Diamond/The Mothers  

Central Park, Fremont, CA, June 18, 1967: "Banana At Noon" Free Concert New Delhi River Band/Wakefield Loop/others-The Happening 

Central Park, Fremont, CA, June 18, 1967: "Banana At Noon" Free Concert New Delhi River Band/Wakefield Loop/others (canceled?)  

September 30-October 1, 1967: Frenchy's, Hayward, CA: Sly and The Family Stone plus T-Bone Walker  

June 16, 1968 Bjornson Park, Crow Canyon, Castro Valley, CA: Sonny & Cher/Sly And The Family Stone/Box Tops/Loading Zone  

February 7, 1969, Berkeley Community Theater, Berkeley: Judy Collins 

August 9, 1969 7th and Market Streets, Oakland, CA: Synanon Street Fair with Country Joe and The Fish

Contra Costa Events

October 23, 1966 Las Lomas High School, Walnut Creek, CA: Grateful Dead

July 22, 1967 Springhill Road, Lafayette, CA: Country Joe and The Fish

March 1-2, 1968 Clifford's Catering, Walnut Creek, CA: Grateful Dead
The Dead didn't play the Looking Glass, they played Clifford's. JGMF has the whole story. 

September 7, 1981 Concord Pavilion, Concord, CA: Jerry Garcia Band/The Edge/Queen Ida
On Labor Day 1981, the Jerry Garcia Band played the 9,000-capacity Concord Pavilion in the afternoon with two other bands. For a dollar.

November 12, 1970 Claremont Hotel, Berkeley, CA: Joy Of Cooking/Commander Cody and His Lost Planet Airmen/Ghetto Bros (Lost Horizon IX)

The Joy of Cooking and Commander Cody headlined the only known rock concert at Berkeley's luxurious Claremont Hotel on Thursday, November 12, 1970

Recently I have been focusing my research on rock shows in the Bay Area in the early 1970s, focusing particularly on the lower tiers. With patience, I have done good research on the Matrix, the Keystone Berkeley, the Long Branch and a few other clubs. Yet I consistently come across tantalizing details of other venues, different untold stories and an insight into the unexplained. Without further information, I am often stuck with just the hint, not anything like the actual story.

George "Commander Cody" Frayne, where he belonged, on stage--in this case at the reunion of Commander Cody and His Lost Planet Airmen at Provo Park in Berkeley, on April 2, 1978

The Claremont Hotel was Berkeley's premier luxury hotel, on a hill about a mile from the UC Campus. It had an elegant ballroom that was never used for rock and roll. Except, apparently, once. It was a Benefit for a UC Berkeley Law School (Boalt Hall) Defense Fund, probably for campus protesters. Appropriately, there were some local bands, but ones who became much more famous in later years. Particularly infamous was no less than Commander Cody and His Lost Planet Airmen, newly-relocated to the East Bay from Ann Arbor, MI, still a year shy of their debut album Lost In The Ozone. "Commander Cody," more or less, was pianist George Frayne, MFA '68 at U. Mich, former Assistant Professor at Wisconsin-Oshkosh, a role he gave up to play swinging honky tonk for hippies. Frayne  (1944-Sep 26 2021) and the Airmen created a genre that far outlasted the band, so its appropriate that they played the only rock show at the Claremont. Also its appropriate that there wasn't another rock show there, since the Airmen must have had too much fun.

Lost Horizons, 1970
My research method focuses on finding dates and venues where bands have performed, and constructing a narrative based on available sources. It sounds simple, but it reaps many benefits. Rather than assume what the motives and goals of different bands or promoters might be, I can let the evidence of actual performances tell me what is desired and what has resulted. The limits of this method, ultimately, are constrained by the limits of my available sources. From the 1960s and '70s, we don't always have that much evidence, so it can be hard to figure out the story. Not all old sources have been digitized, and in many cases a lot of shows were not advertised in any paper. If no local flyers were preserved, or there aren't other sources we can be left with very little.

The Lost Horizons posts are a series of posts that I can't complete. In some cases I wish someone else would write the post, in other cases I'm hoping someone else has already written it, and in some others I am hoping for more information so I can try and take them on. There's no real connection between any of these topics, save for the device that there was a live performance in 1970 that intrigued my interest. My blogs have an explicitly rock and roll orientation, but my methodological approach veers off in different directions. Fernand Braudel, Reynar Banham, Marcy (emptywheel) Wheeler--it's still rock and roll to me. I'm hoping that the magic of the Internet and eternal Comment Threads will yield up information hitherto unknown to me. If you have any insights, corrections or entertaining speculation, please Comment.

The Berkeley Barb
The Berkeley Barb had been founded by Max Scherr in 1965. The weekly paper made a point of documenting the local counterculture. The readership was distinct from anyone subscribing to the local daily papers (the San Fransisco Chronicle or Examiner, the Oakland Tribune or the Berkeley Gazette). The Barb reported on protests, pot busts, sexual freedom and local rock shows. The ads were for organic foods, head shops or local crafts. The Barb was an alternative paper for an alternative audience. It was sold by hippies to other hippies for a dime or a quarter.  I don't know if the Berkeley Barb was the first such "underground" paper, but it was one of them, and it was a model for such papers all over the country.

By 1970, the Barb was being read all over the Bay Area. I don't know the exact details, but I believe that even outside of Berkeley the paper was available in Head Shops, espresso joints and other hip places throughout the Bay Area. At the back of every issue of the Barb was "Scenedrome," a summary of upcoming and ongoing events in the next week that might be of interest to its readers. While that would always include shows at Fillmore West, for example, it also included performers at Telegraph Avenue coffee shops, foreign movies, political meetings, self-help groups and all sorts of other gatherings. Getting listed in Scenedrome any week was free--someone just had to call the Barb by Tuesday at noon. So for hippie events that were on a shoestring, or just free, calling the Scenedrome was the cheapest way to get publicity. 

While Berkeley events had always been posted in Scenedrome every week since 1965, by 1970 it was plain that the rest of the Bay Area was paying attention as well. The Friday and Saturday listings in Scenedrome went well beyond Berkeley, a clear indicator that the Barb had a broader readership beyond central Berkeley. So we get tantalizing hints of what was going on around the Bay Area, without really knowing exactly what it was. Most of my notices below come from little more than the barest of listings in the appropriate issue of the Berkeley Barb, with occasional supplements from other sources.

The Claremont Hotel in Berkeley, at Ashby and Domingo, built in 1915

November 12, 1970 Claremont Hotel, Berkeley, CA: Joy Of Cooking/Commander Cody and His Lost Planet Airmen/Ghetto Bros (Thursday) Benefit for Boalt Hall Legal Defense Fund 
For our last Lost Horizon entry, we get the unexpected listing of two of Berkeley's biggest hippie bands of 1970 playing at Berkeley's premier luxury hotel. The Claremont Hotel had been completed in 1915, and had been the nicest and most important hotel in Berkeley since then. After this night, I am not aware of another rock show at the Claremont. It must have been a great night.

The Claremont Hotel, at Ashby and Domingo (the formal address is 41 Tunnel Road), is on a hill above Berkeley. The hotel had been financed by Francis "Borax" Smith and others. Smith was one of the financiers of the Berkeley street car system, the Key Route. The Key System Transbay E Route Train terminated at the Claremont. That meant that patrons could ride from the Southern Pacific Oakland terminus right to the hotel, or from San Francisco via Ferry. Once the Bay Bridge was built, travelers could ride straight across from the city itself (old Oaklanders may recall the AC Transit "E" bus route, the successor to the old Key Route). The Claremont was Berkeley's premier resort destination.

I have been to the Claremont Hotel bar a few times over the years, and it's a wonderful place. If you go there, at least one member of your party has to take it easy, since the train no longer runs to the hotel, and the drive over the hill (in either direction) requires some concentration. I haven't ever been to the ballroom, per se, but I think I walked by it. The Claremont would have been a great place for a rock show. 

The Claremont had a nice ballroom and they had always had music. But the Claremont was about big bands and "real music" rather than grimy rock and roll. This one event seems to be the only exception. I don't know wny Boalt Hall (UC Berkeley's prestigous law school) needed a Legal Defense Fund, but I assume it was somehow related to endless Berkeley riots and cases associated with it. Younger law students would have had enough pull with elder relatives to obtain the Claremont ballroom for a fundraiser.

Commander Cody and the Lost Planet Airmen, ca 1969. Not your usual Claremont band.

By 1970, Commander Cody and His Lost Planet Airmen were an established Berkeley Band, even though they did not yet have an album. The Cody crew were all from Ann Arbor, MI, home of the Univerity of Michigan, Berkeley's sister university back in the day. I can say for a fact that there were so many Ann Arbor expats in Berkeley that anyone moving from Ann Arbor did not even have to make new friends, since they already would have so many living in the East Bay. So Cody and the Airmen had a following as soom as they arrived in Berkeley in 1969, and the band only got more popular after that. Both the Joy Of Cooking and the Airmen would release their debut albums in 1971.

Joy Of Cooking were an established Berkeley Band as well. Joy Of Cooking had formed as a duo in Berkeley called Gourmet’s Delight, featuring guitarist Terry Garthwaite and pianist Toni Brown.  Garthwaite was a veteran of the Berkeley folk and bluegrass scene, and Brown was an artist as well as a musician.  The group had expanded to include conga player Ron Wilson, bassist David Garthwaite (Terry’s brother) and drummer Fritz Kasten. They changed their name to Joy of Cooking and shared management with Country Joe and The Fish. Joy Of Cooking had been a regular performer weeknights at a tiny Berkeley club called Mandrake's, where they built up a solid following.

Joy of Cooking was a significant group on the Berkeley scene, because both Garthwaite and Brown were accomplished musicians. Although both were excellent singers as well, Joy of Cooking featured the same kind of lengthy jamming popular at the time, rather than short and sensitive neo-folk songs.  The group were ultimately signed to Capitol Records and would release their first of three Capitol albums in January 1971.

The Ghetto Brothers were a local band, described in a contemporary Barb listing as having an "Afro-ghetto sound," whatever exactly that meant (I see no chance that this group was any sort of predecessor to the mid-70s New York band of the same name). 

Commander Cody and guitarist Bill Kirchen (in Houston on Aug 3 '75), convincingly demonstrating that "there ain't no such thing as 'too much fun'"

So: a great location, a nice ballroom, some cool jamming from the Joy Of Cooking, some rockabilly swinging from the Lost Planet Airmen, and some funky soul music. All good for dancing, all good for fun. Yet never another rock show at the Claremont. Cody lead vocalist Billy C Farlow use to sing "ain't no such thing as having too much fun," but I suspect Too Much Fun was had at the Claremont. I was lucky enough to have seen the original Airmen open for the Grateful Dead (Oakland June 8 '74), and a quorum of the band having a reunion in Provo Park at Berkeley on April 2, 1978 (Joy Of Cooking had a great reunion set that day, too), so I don't have to take anyone's word for how good they were on stage. At the Claremont, I'm sure a lot of drinks got sold, and the Airmen probably burned a hole in the hotel ballroom. Nonetheless, it seems they were not invited back, nor was any other rock band, ever.

Musta been a really good time...too good to be repeated. Rest In Power, Commander Cody.

October 23-31, 1970 The Shelter Inn, Miramar Beach, 131 Mirada Road, Half Moon Bay, CA (Lost Horizons 1970 XIII)

The Berkeley Barb of October 23, 1970 lists Patrick Simmons playing at the Shelter Inn at Miramar Beach in Half Moon Bay. Simmons had probably just joined the Doobie Brothers at this time.

Recently I have been focusing my research on rock shows in the Bay Area in the early 1970s, focusing particularly on the lower tiers. With patience, I have done good research on the Matrix, the Keystone Berkeley, the Long Branch and a few other clubs. Yet I consistently come across tantalizing details of other venues, different untold stories and an insight into the unexplained. Without further information, I am often stuck with just the hint, not anything like the actual story.

My research method focuses on finding dates and venues where bands have performed, and constructing a narrative based on available sources. It sounds simple, but it reaps many benefits. Rather than assume what the motives and goals of different bands or promoters might be, I can let the evidence of actual performances tell me what is desired and what has resulted. The limits of this method, ultimately, are constrained by the limits of my available sources. From the 1960s and '70s, we don't always have that much evidence, so it can be hard to figure out the story. Not all old sources have been digitized, and in many cases a lot of shows were not advertised in any paper. If no local flyers were preserved, or there aren't other sources we can be left with very little. 

Lost Horizons, 1970
The Lost Horizons posts are a series of posts that I can't complete. In some cases I wish someone else would write the post, in other cases I'm hoping someone else has already written it, and in some others I am hoping for more information so I can try and take them on. There's no real connection between any of these topics, save for the device that there was a live performance in 1970 that intrigued my interest. My blogs have an explicitly rock and roll orientation, but my methodological approach veers off in different directions. Fernand Braudel, Reynar Banham, Marcy (emptywheel) Wheeler--it's still rock and roll to me. I'm hoping that the magic of the Internet and eternal Comment Threads will yield up information hitherto unknown to me. If you have any insights, corrections or entertaining speculation, please Comment.

The Berkeley Barb
The Berkeley Barb had been founded by Max Scherr in 1965. The weekly paper made a point of documenting the local counterculture. The readership was distinct from anyone subscribing to the local daily papers (the San Fransisco Chronicle or Examiner, the Oakland Tribune or the Berkeley Gazette). The Barb reported on protests, pot busts, sexual freedom and local rock shows. The ads were for organic foods, head shops or local crafts. The Barb was an alternative paper for an alternative audience. It was sold by hippies to other hippies for a dime or a quarter.  I don't know if the Berkeley Barb was the first such "underground" paper, but it was one of them, and it was a model for such papers all over the country.

By 1970, the Barb was being read well beyond Berkeley. I don't know the exact details, but I believe that even outside of Berkeley the paper was available in Head Shops, espresso joints and other hip places throughout the Bay Area. At the back of every issue of the Barb was "Scenedrome," a summary of upcoming and ongoing events in the next week that might be of interest to its readers. While that would always include shows at Fillmore West, for example, it also included performers at Telegraph Avenue coffee shops, foreign movies, political meetings, self-help groups and all sorts of other gatherings. Getting listed in Scenedrome any week was free--someone just had to call the Barb by Tuesday at noon. So for hippie events that were on a shoestring, or just free, calling the Scenedrome was the cheapest way to get publicity. 

While Berkeley events had always been posted in Scenedrome every week since 1965, by 1970 it was plain that the rest of the Bay Area was paying attention as well. The Friday and Saturday listings in Scenedrome went well beyond Berkeley, a clear indicator that the Barb had a broader readership beyond central Berkeley. So we get tantalizing hints of what was going on around the Bay Area, without really knowing exactly what it might have been. Most of my notices below come from little more than the barest of listings in the appropriate issue of the Berkeley Barb, with occasional supplements from other sources.

 

 

The Ocean Beach Motel, at 131 Mirada Road in Half Moon Bay. This infamous roadhouse was probably the site of the The Shelter Inn in 1970

The Shelter Inn, Miramar Beach, 131 Mirada Road, Half Moon Bay, CA
October 23, 1970 Shelter Inn, Miramar Beach, Half Moon Bay, CA: Patrick Simmons (Friday)
October 25, 1970 Shelter Inn, Miramar Beach, Half Moon Bay, CA: Bill Middlejohn (Sunday)
October 28, 1970 Shelter Inn, Miramar Beach, Half Moon Bay, CA: Patrick Simmons (Wednesday)
October 30, 1970 Shelter Inn, Miramar Beach, Half Moon Bay, Patrick Simmons (Friday)
October 31, 1970 Shelter Inn, Miramar Beach, Half Moon Bay, CA Paul Ziegler and Bill Andrus (Saturday)
November 1, 1970 Shelter Inn, Miramar Beach, Half Moon Bay, CA: Bill Middlejohn (Sunday)
November 4, 1970 Shelter Inn, Miramar Beach, Half Moon Bay, CA Patrick Simmons (Wednesday) 

For a few weeks during October 1970, the Barb regularly listed shows at some place called the Shelter Inn. The only address listed was "Miramar Beach." Now, Miramar Beach is in Half Moon Bay, and even now the direction "Miramar Beach" would be sufficient. Back then, it definitely would have been all you needed. I'm not certain what building the Shelter Inn was in. I hope it was the former Ocean Beach Hotel (pictured above, at 131 Mirada Road).  In any case, it was some old roadhouse. It turns out that something may really have been going on in Half Moon Bay during the 1960s.

Half Moon Bay, on a rocky coastline 25 miles south of San Francisco, had a lengthy history for a California city. There was settlement as early as the 1840s, and it was San Mateo County's first real town. Half Moon Bay, however, was on the opposite side of the Santa Cruz Mountains from the San Francisco Bay, so it was the Peninsula side of the county that was connected to the Southern Pacific Railroad. There wasn't even a good road over the mountain until 1914. Half Moon Bay's isolation, however, made it an excellent harbor for Rum Runners during Prohibition. So Half Moon Bay had a rowdy tradition, near to San Francisco but a world away.

The Ocean Beach Hotel, right on Miramar Beach, was run by one Maymie Cowley from 1918 until 1955. It was a haven for rum-runners, as well as a speakeasy and a bordello. Ms. Cowley was apparently notorious for getting into knife fights at other bars, so you can only imagine what a tough joint she ran. Although the town of Half Moon Bay was finally incorporated in 1959, like many beach communities it had a streak of--shall we say--non-conformity. There seem to have been plenty of hippies around in the late 1960s. Would I be surprised to find out that boats landed at Half Moon Bay during the 60s with other sorts of contraband? You decide.

As far as 60s music went, I only know of one rock band from Half Moon Bay. Petrus featured Jorma's brother Peter Kaukonen on guitar and singer/songwriter Ruthann Friedmann (she wrote "Windy" for the Association). Nosing around, there seems to have been one bar/coffee shop that presented music, called The Spouter. The Spouter then changed its name to The Shelter Inn. When I have read about the Spouter/Shelter, all of the locals don't identify the building since everyone knew it. That's why I think it was familiar, established building like the Ocean Beach Hotel. 

As for October 1970, the venue had just changed its name to the Shelter Inn, and was probably putting notices in the Barb to let Coastside hippies know there was music going on. There wasn't even a hippie rock club on the Peninsula side of San Mateo County, so there would have been no competition at all on the empty coast. The bookings were fairly repetitive for a few weeks, with the same names playing residencies each night. But the names turn out not to have been quite nobody.

Bill Middlejohn, who held down Sunday nights, wasn't a major local music figure. Still, he was a guitarist in various Bay Area bands throughout the 1970s. He would end up in a band with Keith and Donna Godchaux in 1979, right before Keith's tragic death. A Half Moon Bay nostalgia site remembers his playing well.

Patrick Simmons, who held down both Wednesday and Friday nights at the Shelter Inn, went on to massive world-wide success. Right around October 1970, Simmons would join a San Jose rock trio to form the Doobie Brothers. Simmons would remain the only constant in the Doobie Brothers for the next 50 years--he's still leading the band--and sell literally millions of albums, selling out thousands of concerts along the way. The timeline is hard to discern, but by October '70 Simmons was probably already hanging out with the future Doobies. They may have started playing their earliest gigs, at Ricardo's Pizza in San Jose (at 218 Willow Glen) and the Chateau Liberte as well. 

This building on Big Basin Way in Saratoga housed the Brass Knocker folk club (photo taken in 2010, the address is next door to 14523 Big Basin Way)

On Saturday, October 31, the bill was Paul Ziegler and Bill Andrus. Ziegler and Billy Dean Andrus had been the two guitarists in the San Jose band Weird Herald. Before that, In the mid-60s, Ziegler had been the Master Of Ceremonies and main performer at a coffee house called the Brass Knocker in Saratoga, just above San Jose. It was Ziegler, in fact, who had given a teenage Pat Simmons his first chance on stage, at the Brass Knocker back in '66. Whatever issues there may have been between Ziegler and Andrus--Weird Herald had fired Andrus during 1970--, Billy Dean was back playing with Paul. Billy Dean Andrus, a huge talent, was just as striking playing as a solo acoustic guitarist as he was playing sizzling electric leads. Whatever, their pasts, Paul and Billy Dean were back together at least one time. 

Billy Dean Andrus ca 1969

The SF Examiner of November 6 reported on the funeral of Billy Dean Andrus, who had died on Monday, November 2. On the night before,  the band Mountain Current had played a biker party at the Chateau Liberte. Mountain Current leader Matthew Kelly, later in Kingfish, told me the story. A big blow-out was planned--Kelly's regular drummer (Chris Herold) had a bad feeling and refused to play. Kelly got someone else, but the drummer was right. The party went on all night, with the bikers both encouraging everybody with infinite amounts of crank and discouraging everybody from leaving. Eventually, in the morning, the party died out. Kelly described leaving the event worn to a crisp from too much speed. Billy Dean Andrus, apparently, tried to mellow out with some pretty hard drugs, and overdosed. His friends and family were devastated.

Billy Dean's old pal, Jorma Kaukonen, wrote a song called "Ode To Billy Dean," and Hot Tuna was playing it within a week. They are still playing it today. At least Paul and Billy Dean had played one last gig at the Shelter Inn in Half Moon Bay, the last whiff of the Brass Knocker and Weird Herald, before Billy Dean traveled on. Pat Simmons had one more Sunday night at the Shelter Inn, too, but then he traveled onwards, too, but upwards from Ricardo's Pizza all the way to headlining the Oakland Coliseum Stadium. 

The Shelter Inn changed identities again, to the Miramar Beach Inn. They also "went electric," apparently, although it was probably the same musicians plugged in. But--something was happening at Miramar Beach in the Fall of 1970, and everyone has forgotten or just won't say.

The November 6, 1970 SF Examiner reported on Billy Dean Andrus' funeral. He was buried in Soquel.