Tuesday, December 28, 2021

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.

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)

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 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

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.

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

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.

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