February 13-14, 1970 Family Dog on The Great Highway, 660 Great Highway, San Francisco, CA: Steve Miller Band/Elvin Bishop Group [FDGH '70 V]

 

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.

If anyone has memories, reflections, insights, corrections or flashbacks about shows at the Family Dog on the Great Highway, please post them in the Comments.

660 Great Highway in San Francisco in 1967, when it was the ModelCar Raceway, a slot car track

The Edgewater Ballroom, 660 Great Highway, San Francisco, CA
As early as 1913, there were rides and concessions at Ocean Beach in San Francisco, near the Richmond District. By 1926, they had been consolidated as Playland-At-The-Beach. The Ocean Beach area included attractions such as the Sutro Baths and the Cliff House. The San Francisco Zoo was just south of Playland, having opened in the 1930s. One of the attractions at Playland was a restaurant called Topsy's Roost. The restaurant had closed in 1930, and the room became the Edgewater Ballroom. The Ballroom eventually closed, and Playland went into decline when its owner died in 1958. By the 1960s, the former Edgewater was a slot car raceway. In early 1969, Chet Helms took over the lease of the old Edgewater.

One of the only photos of the interior of the Family Dog on The Great Highway (from a Stephen Gaskin "Monday Night Class" ca. October 1969)

The Family Dog On The Great Highway
The Great Highway was a four-lane road that ran along the Western edge of San Francisco, right next to Ocean Beach. Downtown San Francisco faced the Bay, but beyond Golden Gate Park was the Pacific Ocean. The aptly named Ocean Beach is dramatic and beautiful, but it is mostly windy and foggy. Much of the West Coast of San Francisco is not even a beach, but rocky cliffs. There are no roads in San Francisco West of the Great Highway, so "660 Great Highway" was ample for directions (for reference, it is near the intersection of Balboa Street and 48th Avenue). The tag-line "Edge Of The Western World" was not an exaggeration, at least in American terms.

The Family Dog on The Great Highway was smaller than the Bill Graham's old Fillmore Auditorium. It could hold up to 1500, but the official capacity was probably closer to 1000. Unlike the comparatively centrally located Fillmore West, the FDGH was far from downtown, far from the Peninsula suburbs, and not particularly easy to get to from the freeway. For East Bay or Marin residents, the Great Highway was a formidable trip. The little ballroom was very appealing, but if you didn't live way out in the Avenues, you had to drive. As a result, FDGH didn't get a huge number of casual drop-ins, and that didn't help its fortunes. Most of the locals referred to the venue as "Playland."

The Family Dog In 1969
Chet Helms had opened the Family Dog at 660 Great Highway to much fanfare on June 13, 1969, with a packed house seeing the Jefferson Airplane and The Charlatans. One of the goals was that the Dog would feature mostly San Francisco bands and a variety of smaller community events and groups. Since so many San Francisco bands were successful, and had record contracts, this didn't confine the venue to obscurity. A lot of great bands played the Family Dog in 1969, but the distant location and the gravitational pull of major rock events hosted elsewhere in the Bay Area kept the Family Dog isolated. We know only the most fragmentary bits about music played, events and audiences throughout the year.  Despite the half-year of struggle, Helms had kept the Family Dog on The Great Highway afloat. He had entered the new year of 1970 with a new plan.

• For a complete list of Family Dog shows (including FDGH), see here
• For the previous entry (February 6-7, 1970 Quicksilver Messenger Service) see here
  
• For a summary and the link to the most recent entries in this series, see here

February 13-14, 1970 Family Dog on The Great Highway, 660 Great Highway, San Francisco, CA: Steve Miller Band/Elvin Bishop Group (Friday-Saturday)
At the end of January 1970, the Family Dog on The Great Highway had reconstructed themselves and apparently re-financed themselves. While a merger with the Grateful Dead organization had been scuttled (fortunately for both sides, since Dead manager Lenny Hart was busy ripping off the band), the Dog was on firmer footing. Even though the Dog focused on Bay Area bands, for each weekend in February and March, the Family Dog had the type of acts that would headline the Fillmore West as well. San  Francisco was established enough that the "local heroes" had major label record contracts, and in many cases genuinely successful albums.

Steve Miller, for example, had moved to San Francisco from Chicago in October, 1966, seeking greener musical pastures. He had found them. Miller had rapidly formed a band in Berkeley featuring transplants from his days in Madison and Chicago. The first real paying gig for the new Steve Miller Blues Band had been when Chet Helms paid him $500 to play a weekend at the Avalon in late December, 1966. Miller used the money to take his band out to dinner and to rent an apartment on College Avenue in Berkeley, since he had been living in his VW Microbus. So Miller was original Avalon if anyone was. 

Steve Miller Band debut album Children Of The Future (Capitol June 1968)

In the intervening years, Miller had added another old friend to his band, one Boz Scaggs from Texas. In 1967, after shrewdly waiting for the market to ripen for San Francisco bands, the Steve Miller Band had signed a lucrative contact with Capitol Records. The band's excellent debut album Children Of The Future, recorded in London, had only come out in June, 1968. It's successor, Sailor, recorded at the same time, had come out in October and peaked at #24. Scaggs had then left to go solo, leaving the band a trio (along with drummer Tim Davis, ex-Madison, and California bassist Lonnie Turner). The radio-friendly Brave New World, with the enduring title track and "Kow Kow Kalkulator" had been released in June of 1969, reaching #22. The underrated Your Saving Grace had been released in December of 1969, still managing to reach #38. These chart numbers weren't what the Steve Miller Band would achieve in the mid-70s, but his records hadn't been ignored. 

Ironically, the Steve Miller Band still hadn't played the Family Dog on The Great Highway prior to this weekend. Miller was loyal, and had headlined the November 19, 1969 benefit concert that helped save the Family Dog, so he knew who his friends were. But the fact that the Steve Miller Band hadn't headlined a weekend in 1969 was an implicit indication of the shaky finances of the Family Dog during the prior year. Here in February of 1970, the Steve Miller Band was finally on top of the bill for the whole weekend.

At this time, Miller was mostly working on recording his follow-up to Your Saving Grace, which would be released later in the year as Number 5. Tim Davis was still the drummer, but Lonnie Turner had finally left the band after three years. Replacing him on bass and vocals was Bobby Winkelmann, formerly of the East Bay band Frumious Bandersnatch. The Frumious had come from Contra Costa County, just over the Berkeley hills. At the time, there were plenty of teenagers there, but not many bands. The group was part of Bill Graham's Millard Agency, and played a lot of gigs opening for bands at Fillmore West and the like, but they had never made it over the hump. On September 29, 1968, Frumious Bandersnatch had opened a free concert in Palo Alto for the Steve Miller Band, which is where they met. Frumious Bandersnatch packed it in sometime in 1969. Ultimately, however, 4 of the 5 members of the band would end up joining the Steve Miller Band (Winkelmann, guitarist David Denny, bassist Ross Valory and drummer John King).

The Steve Miller Band were premiere Bay Area headliners, and the Family Dog on The Great Highway was finally in a position to book them. The only cloud on the horizon was that Bay Area concert promotion had a pecking order, and Bill Graham was always the top rooster. The Steve Miller Band had headlined the Fillmore West two weekends earlier (January 29-February 1, Thursday through Sunday), supported by Sha Na Na. According to Ralph Gleason's Chronicle column, it had been very well attended. That meant, of course, that the Family Dog was getting leftovers, if tasty ones. The Fillmore West booking also explains why there was almost never any "coming soon" promotions (like posters) at the Family Dog. Graham, like all promoters, would have insisted that a headliner like Miller could not advertise another Bay Area show until his Fillmore West dates were complete. Steve Miller probably still drew a pretty good crowd to the Family Dog, but Graham was getting first bite.

The Elvin Bishop Group were regulars at the few Bay Area rock nightclubs, like the Keystone Korner and The Matrix. But Bishop had just played the Fillmore West, too, second on the bill to Chicago on the weekend of January 8-11. Now, it's even less surprising that the Elvin Bishop Group gave the favorable booking to Bill Graham, since Bishop recorded for one of Graham's record labels and was booked by Graham's Millard Talent Agency.

Elvin Bishop had been an original member of the groundbreaking Paul Butterfield Blues Band, going back to 1965. When the Butterfield band first played the Fillmore back in February '66, the twin guitars of Bishop and Mike Bloomfield, and the slashing harmonica of Butterfield made for an unforgettable front line. The Butterfield Blues Band would play their signature song "East-West" for 15 or 20 minutes, with beautiful modal jamming, while contemporary San Francisco bands were still figuring out electric instruments. When Bloomfield had left the Butterfield band in early '67 to move to San Francisco, Bishop had taken over the front line as Butter's main foil. After two more albums (Resurrection Of Pigboy Crabshaw and In My Own Dream), Bishop himself had moved to San Francisco in mid-68.

By the end of 1968, the Elvin Bishop Group was playing regularly around the Bay Area. Bill Graham had not one but two record labels, in partnership with producer David Rubinson, and Bishop was signed to Fillmore Records, distributed by CBS. The Elvin Bishop Group album had been released in mid-1969. The Millard Agency booked Elvin Bishop all over Northern California, on the premise that even if suburban teenagers might not be allowed to come to San Francisco, Millard could bring the Fillmore West bands to them. At the time, the Elvin Bishop Group would have been

Elvin Bishop-guitar, vocals
Jo Baker-vocals
Stephen Miller-organ, vocals
Kip Mackerlin-bass
John Chambers-drums

Organ player Stephen Miller, from the Elvin Bishop Group, had released a solo album on Phillips in 1970

Stephen Miller (the "other" Stephen Miller) was from Cedar Rapids, IA, and had led the band Linn County, which had moved to San Francisco. Linn County had released three albums on Phillips (a Mercury subsidiary), while Miller had played with the Bishop Group when he could. Their last album had been Til The Break Of Dawn, released in late '69. Linn County still existed in early 1970, sort of, and played the occasional show, but Miller was full-time in the Bishop Group by now. Miller would release a solo album on Phillips in 1970, featuring members of both Linn County and the Bishop Group, probably fulfilling an obligation to the label. 

The Millard Agency and Bill Graham was happy to book the Elvin Bishop Group at the Family Dog, even though the Dog was a competitor to the Fillmore West. It was probably a good paying gig, and in any case the Fillmore West had the dominant position. As I have stated in previous posts, I think Bill Graham was happy with Chet Helms as a weak but competent rival across town, rather than leaving an opening for a better capitalized threat.

For the next post in this series (Feb 20-21, 1970 Big Brother), see here

 

505 Parnassus Avenue, Steiniger Auditorium, UC Medical Center Auditorium, San Francisco, CA March 4, 1967: Big Brother and The Holding Company/Steve Miller Blues Band/Robert Baker

March 4, 1967 Steiniger Auditorium, University of California Medical Center, San Francisco, CA 
Big Brother and The Holding Company/Steve Miller Blues Band/Robert Baker

This relatively obscure Spring 1967 event is interesting mainly for its venue. One recurring theme of San Francisco underground rock was how sympathetic fans of bands found gigs for them in unlikely places, which could not be repeated once the long-haired bands were revealed in the flesh. In particular, many educational institutions had an "entertainment budget" that allowed students (usually on some school appointed committee) to hire acts that were popular with the student body. In 1960s California, this generally meant folk or jazz music, and perhaps some Beatles-style rock bands for a dance. It did not usually include psychedelic weirdness.

This specific instance is interesting because the University of California at San Francisco was and is strictly a medical and professional school. While part of the University of California system (then including Berkeley, UCLA, Davis, Santa Cruz, Santa Barbara, San Diego, Riverside and Irvine), UCSF had no undergraduate component. All the students were studying for advanced degrees in medicine, to become doctors or other professionals. It was still the 1960s, however, and somehow some aspiring doctors managed to get the Med school's auditorium for a Benefit concert. Big Brother and The Holding Company were rising stars, and had been Fillmore and Avalon headliners for some time. The Steve Miller Blues Band, while based in Berkeley, were also up and coming (Robert Baker was a hip comedian).

UC Medical Center was within walking distance of the Haight Ashbury. While I am unable to determine the current name of Steiniger Auditorium (which may in fact have been remodeled or replaced), I am fairly certain that it was at what is currently known as "The Parnussus Campus" at 505 Parnassus (at 2nd Avenue). This is just up the hill from The Panhandle and The Haight. As a result of some peculiar features of Haight Ashbury geography, if Janis Joplin was coming from the apartment she shared at the time with Joe McDonald on Lyon Street, it would have been quicker for her to walk rather than drive.

I do know of one other rock show at UC Medical Center, at the Student Union on Arguello and Parnassus (which don't precisely intersect, but close enough). Sopwith Camel and The SF Mime Troupe played a show there on May 27, 1967, but even then that was a smaller deal than Big Brother. Still, the Med School seems to have caught on, and after 1967 aspiring doctors seemed to have had to go the Fillmore and Avalon like everyone else.

Springhill Road, Lafayette, CA July 22, 1967: Casa Loma Swim Club "Fantastic Flight Of The Mystic Balloon"

(update: some photos turned up that appear to be from this show)

The Summer of 1967 in the Bay Area offered a peculiar paradox for aspiring rock promoters. On one hand, it was plain to anyone who wasn't completely deaf and blind that the San Francisco rock scene was the coolest thing happening in the country. On top of that, not only were there numerous Bay Area bands, musicians were flocking from all over to start or join bands, and there weren't enough gigs at the Fillmore and the Avalon to go around. As for the audiences, kids outside of San Francisco, Berkeley and San Jose were dying to see happening rock shows, as many as they could. The only problem in the way was the absence of suitable rock venues, and the resentment and suspicion with which hippies and their music were greeted by the so-called "older generation."

This article from the July 26, 1967 edition of the Oakland Tribune describes a long-forgotten, ambitious and somewhat unsuccessful event, the "Fantastic Flight of The Mystic Balloon," a planned 12-hour Happening with a dozen bands, outdoors at the private Casa Loma Swim Club in suburban Lafayette, just over the hill from Berkeley. While Lafayette today is a somewhat upscale suburb, in the 1960s it was considerably emptier and less wealthy (though hardly poor). On the other hand, the community had more of a small town sensibility than that of a town full of urban commuters. According to the article, producer Eric Town expected to draw 6000 people (at $3 a head) to his extravaganza, to see the following bands:

Country Joe and The Fish/Steve Miller Blues Band/New Salvation Army Band/Roger Collins/Majestic Sound/Don Holland/Clark Miller Trio/Maggie’s Farm/The Virtues/Blue Union/Frumious Bandersnatch/Opus Three

The Casa Loma Swim Club had six open acres land at the deadend of Springhill Road. However, according to article, a residential group, the Springhill Improvement Association, voted to encourage District Attorney John Nejedly in declaring the promoter and the bands a "Public Nuisance," alleging a violation of zoning ordinances. A judge filed a temporary injunction,  but the show went on as planned. Nonetheless, according to the promoter, the show was "ruined," and only six of the twelve scheduled bands performed. The District Attorney and the homeowners prevailed in preventing a follow up event the next Saturday (July 29).

While complaints were alleged about excessive noise--probably with some justification--the principal issue seemed to be the threat of the "hippie element." The paper interviews one homeowner--

Alan Stanley, 33, a county engineer who lives near the club at 1200 Martino Road, said the residents were not concerned about hippies attracted to the music, but were concerned about safety.

He conceded some residents were "jumping up and down" about the hippie element. He said there were "an awful lot of psuedo-hippies, you know, kids who were trying to act like hippies." He said only about ten percent of the crowd could be considered hippies.

Its hard to parse these comments without feeling that the homeowner was trying awfully hard to find a way to explain that he feared hippies near his property, like they were some sort of species of marauding wildlife, but everyone is free to draw their own conclusions. In any case, the next weekend's shows were canceled, and Lafayette returned to its quiet sylvan state. I could find no trace of the Casa Loma Swim Club on the satellite map.

Notes On The Bands

Country Joe and The Fish were Berkeley's leading rock band. At this time, they had released their successful first album Electric Music For The Mind And Body (Vanguard) and were regular Fillmore and Avalon headliners.

Steve Miller Blues Band were a popular local group, but a year away from their first album. Steve Miller had come from Madison (via Chicago) and imported friends from there in order to start his band. At this time, Boz Scaggs was about to join the group, or may have already, as original guitarist Curly Cook had fallen ill.

New Salvation Army were a San Francisco band. They released two albums under the name Salvation, as the actual Salvation Army objected to their name.

Roger Collins was an East Bay soul singer who had some minor local hits.

Majestic Sound are unknown to me

Don Holland was a popular lounge act, probably in an R&B style. They may have backed Collins.

Clark Miller Trio are unknown to me.

Maggie's Farm appear to have been a Pleasant Hill garage band. At some point they had a keyboard player from Berkeley (Mark Batterman, formerly of Haymarket Riot), but they seem to have been a Contra Costa band.

The Virtues featured guitarist Greg Douglas (who co-wrote "Jungle Love" for Steve Miller many years later). This group evolved into Country Weather.

Blue Union are unknown to me.

Frumious Bandersnatch arose from a band called All Night Flight, founded at Diablo Valley College in Pleasant Hill. This was the first lineup, featuring drummer/vocalist Jack King, guitarists George Tickner and Brett Wilmot, bassist Brian Hough and singer Kaja Doria. This lineup broke up after their equipment was stolen in late 1967 from an Oakland warehouse. King reformed the group in 1968 and went on to play with Steve Miller in the 1970s. Tickner was a founding member of Journey, and is now apparently a doctor.

Opus Three are unknown to me.