Early rock concerts ~ 1968

Tadhg · Post by **Tadhg** » Sun Sep 09, 2007 2:45 am

Well, thanks to Slimy and others, I've been watching you tube vids tonight, starting with Brad Paisley with the Shat and then some early Jackson 5.

Inspired by a conversation with Frank Mentzer at the LGGC ~

I started thinking about my first concerts - circa 1967 or 1868 at the Kinectic Playground in Chicago up on Clark street.

$5.00 to get in for 2 to 3 bands.

Here's a couple that I saw back then. And yes, we did have long hair, wear nehru jackets or east Indian shirts, wore bell bottoms, had wide belts, beads, peace symbols, etc.

And yeah, everyone was in a band.

Frank is a pretty good guitarist from what I understand.

Me, I had an acoustic, 12 string Rickenbacker (the George Harrison model), Electric Fender Bass and a drum set among other instruments.

Was I good? Heck no, I sucked. But I learned enough to be blown away when I saw or listened to these tremendous musicians of our day.

So, here are some of the many rock bands I saw back then ~

The Who:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DUu0B63q ... ed&search=

Again:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=poezx4BSj6Q

Jethro Tull:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9oK3CF33dwA

Led Zeppelin:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kvU2kYHNoIQ

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AGNKim · Post by **AGNKim** » Sun Sep 09, 2007 6:48 am

Ah, 1968... I remember my first concert that year. This guy:

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Treebore · Post by **Treebore** » Sun Sep 09, 2007 7:39 am

I love Pinball Wizard!! I used to go into this bar/restaurant up on Kelly's Island put a couple of dollars worth of quarters into the Jukebox and sellect this song however many times the money allowed me. Then I would go over to the Silver Surfer Pinball machine and see if I could play on one quarter for as long as the song kept playing, over and over again.

Wayne, the owner of the place at the time (The Village Pump), groaned every time I came in and went to the Jukebox.

Sorry Rhu, but this was when I was a teenager in the late 70's and early 80's.

Your an old man.
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Treebore · Post by **Treebore** » Sun Sep 09, 2007 7:43 am

So what do you think about Led Zeppelin announcing they are reforming?
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SirClarence · Post by **SirClarence** » Sun Sep 09, 2007 8:13 am

Treebore wrote:
So what do you think about Led Zeppelin announcing they are reforming?

I really hope they won't. With Bonham dead and Plant unable to sing the old tunes properly with the high-pitched voice that he had back then, it will most likely be a disappointment. They should let their own legend rest in peace.

Orpheus · Post by **Orpheus** » Sun Sep 09, 2007 1:22 pm

Thanks for the Tull! Still one of my absolute favorite bands. I could just sit and listen to Ian Anderson talk.

Geleg · Post by **Geleg** » Sun Sep 09, 2007 1:35 pm

isn't youtube amazing? great stuff there.

incidentally, I was 2 when Rhu was out living the rock and roll lifestyle, so I am mucho jealous.

G

Treebore · Post by **Treebore** » Sun Sep 09, 2007 5:30 pm

Geleg wrote:
isn't youtube amazing? great stuff there.

incidentally, I was 2 when Rhu was out living the rock and roll lifestyle, so I am mucho jealous.

G

Sounds like we are the same age.
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Julian Grimm · Post by **Julian Grimm** » Sun Sep 09, 2007 7:13 pm

There is a slight problem here. Rhu remembers going to those concerts. A true fan from that era lists the concerts he doesn't remember.
BTW my parents were 10 in '68 so I only know this from people that have told me about those days.
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Tadhg · Post by **Tadhg** » Mon Sep 10, 2007 12:56 am

Treebore wrote:
So what do you think about Led Zeppelin announcing they are reforming?

I think it's very cool, depending on ~ venue and price. A smaller place will be easier for Plant to sing. Huge outdoor arenas will be a disaster and bad news for fans. Also pricing.

I'm reminded of the Stones. Mick had trouble with his vocals 30 years ago when live, and so the idea of paying huge prices to see them recently in an outdoor venue was simply insane.

[And cool that John Bonham's son will most likely be on drums is - great.]

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Tadhg · Post by **Tadhg** » Mon Sep 10, 2007 1:13 am

Julian Grimm wrote:
There is a slight problem here. Rhu remembers going to those concerts. A true fan from that era lists the concerts he doesn't remember.
BTW my parents were 10 in '68 so I only know this from people that have told me about those days.

Yes, partly true. Back in '68, Tull and Zeppelin were not well known, so we didn't pay that much attention or remember the concerts like we did with The Who and others that were "bigger". Plus the concerts had strobe lights, black lights, projected psychedelic images flashing and "drugs"

The headliners back then, that I saw were:

Vanilla Fudge

Rotary Connection

Canned Heat

Johnny Winter

Muddy Waters

The Who

Traffic

Joe Cocker

Savoy Brown

others that I can't remember at the moment. Somewhere I did write them down.

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"Enjoy a 'world' where the fantastic is fact and magic really works!" ~ Gary Gygax

"By the pricking of my thumbs, Something wicked this way comes:" - Macbeth

Geleg · Post by **Geleg** » Mon Sep 10, 2007 1:28 am

@ treebore: yup, sounds like it. Two '66 boys, it seems.

At Rhu: I am VERY jealous. Some great bands you got to see. I had a sheltered upbringing to an extent, and never made it to a pop concert until I was 17, and then very infrequently. In fact I turned down an opportunity to see the Dead on the classic '77 tour: my parents and I were too nervous about the 'hippie' scene. Now, of course, I kick myself, and the Dead are one of my favorite bands.

BTW, your clips cost me 1.5 hours today watching old classic rock songs on youtube. some great Tull on there, and some awesome Who!

For Zeppelin, though, you need to pick up their amazing 2-DVD set http://www.amazon.com/Led-Zeppelin-Robe ... 836&sr=1-1

Very cool Zep video from early (69), mid (70, 73, 75), and late (79).

G

Tadhg · Post by **Tadhg** » Mon Sep 10, 2007 1:42 am

Treebore wrote:
I love Pinball Wizard!! I used to go into this bar/restaurant up on Kelly's Island put a couple of dollars worth of quarters into the Jukebox and sellect this song however many times the money allowed me. Then I would go over to the Silver Surfer Pinball machine and see if I could play on one quarter for as long as the song kept playing, over and over again.

Wayne, the owner of the place at the time (The Village Pump), groaned every time I came in and went to the Jukebox.

Sorry Rhu, but this was when I was a teenager in the late 70's and early 80's.

Your an old man.

Yes, older, but all those rockers are older than me!! Haha.

The Who debuted Tommy in 1968, in NY, Chicago and LA, so it was definitely magical. Thee loudest band I've ever seen, but maybe the best.

The chaotic most powerful drummer of all time.

The most amaziing and fastest bass player and master of hammerons.

One of the strongest and great lead vocalists.

And one of the greatest writers, singers and lead guitarists of any rock band ever.

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Count Rhuveinus - Lejendary Keeper of Castle Franqueforte

"Enjoy a 'world' where the fantastic is fact and magic really works!" ~ Gary Gygax

"By the pricking of my thumbs, Something wicked this way comes:" - Macbeth

Tadhg · Post by **Tadhg** » Mon Sep 10, 2007 1:48 am

Geleg wrote:
For Zeppelin, though, you need to pick up their amazing 2-DVD set http://www.amazon.com/Led-Zeppelin-Robe ... 836&sr=1-1

Very cool Zep video from early (69), mid (70, 73, 75), and late (79).

G

Hey Geleg. If you're a Zeppelin fan, you may know or be interested in the Yardbird angle. The Yardbirds were such a super monster group when I was young and they were "underground" and "psychedelic" and English to the max.

And for those that didn't know, Eric Clapton, Jeff Beck and later Jimmy Page played with them. Jimmy took the remnants of that band and forged Zep.

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"Enjoy a 'world' where the fantastic is fact and magic really works!" ~ Gary Gygax

"By the pricking of my thumbs, Something wicked this way comes:" - Macbeth

Geleg · Post by **Geleg** » Mon Sep 10, 2007 11:16 am

Thanks for the tip, Rhu. I was a huge Yardbirds fan in the '80s. Had all the stuff on vinyl (For Your Love, Over Under Sideways DOwn, the Roger the Engineer album, etc). Was also a big Clapton fan then, and listened to Bluesbreakers a lot. In fact, I was a blues and blues-rock, guitar-worshipping kinda guy then. So although I missed it live, I mined classic rock pretty heavily!

Geleg · Post by **Geleg** » Mon Sep 10, 2007 11:25 am

From this middle-aged standpoint (can't speak for my younger self), I am most jealous of your having seen the Who and Traffic. Two of my absolute favorites (and very different, of course).

I saw Johnny Winter much later, in the early 80s. He was so-so. Blazing fast, but not much subtlety. Also saw John Lee Hooker in the late 80s (during one of his revivals) - he was old, but could still boogie. Also in my blues phase I saw Stevie Ray Vaughn (awesome!), Roy Buchanan (mindblowing), Mose Allison (so-so), Robert Cray (great), and some others. Much more recently I finally saw BB King.

But my first concert experience was a new wave band - Squeeze! Good popsters, with some very good songs, but at that time I preferred blues-rock.

anonymous · Post by **anonymous** » Mon Sep 10, 2007 8:05 pm

I am just a wee bit younger than you lot ( I only got a few months in during the 60's being a '69 baby) but my musical tastes often run to bands prominent during that era. Many I have had a chance ot see live at some point including Yes (about 7 or 8 shows, plus a Steve Howe solo show), King Crimson 8 or 9 times, plus 2 different line ups of Pojeckts shows, plus solo/side projects shows by Robert Fripp, Trey Gunn, Tony Levin, and Bill Bruford's Earthworks), Jethro Tull (4 or 5 different shows over the years though the earliest I saw was from the Roots to Branches tour). Never got to see Zep, but I did catch John Paul Jones when he was openig for Crimson in New Haven a few years ago, supporting his Thunderchief CD. I did get to see Floyd as well, but it was the Momentary Laspe of Reason tour, so post Waters, but I had seen Waters solo supporting Radio KAOS earlier that year as well, so it was almost like seeing classic Floyd
The first concert I remember catching was a rock and roll revival show with Chuck Berry as one of the headliners in the early to mid 80's.

So where was this Zep announcement? Rumors of them reuniting with Jason Bonham on drums have been floating around for years, but they have always been just that-rumors. From what Jonesy said during his solo show he was a bit miffed at Page and Plant (he called them up to see if they wanted to do a Zep reunion tour/project and they said no, then went on to do an album and tour together sans Jones) and said the likelihood of him doing a reunion show with them was slim to none. If there was an official announcement, I missed it, but I have been swamped with work and writing projects lately and haven't been keeping up on rock news. Any links to press releases or coverage of the announcement?

-M

Treebore · Post by **Treebore** » Mon Sep 10, 2007 8:32 pm

Michael Proteau wrote:
I am just a wee bit younger than you lot ( I only got a few months in during the 60's being a '69 baby) but my musical tastes often run to bands prominent during that era. Many I have had a chance ot see live at some point including Yes (about 7 or 8 shows, plus a Steve Howe solo show), King Crimson 8 or 9 times, plus 2 different line ups of Pojeckts shows, plus solo/side projects shows by Robert Fripp, Trey Gunn, Tony Levin, and Bill Bruford's Earthworks), Jethro Tull (4 or 5 different shows over the years though the earliest I saw was from the Roots to Branches tour). Never got to see Zep, but I did catch John Paul Jones when he was openig for Crimson in New Haven a few years ago, supporting his Thunderchief CD. I did get to see Floyd as well, but it was the Momentary Laspe of Reason tour, so post Waters, but I had seen Waters solo supporting Radio KAOS earlier that year as well, so it was almost like seeing classic Floyd
The first concert I remember catching was a rock and roll revival show with Chuck Berry as one of the headliners in the early to mid 80's.

So where was this Zep announcement? Rumors of them reuniting with Jason Bonham on drums have been floating around for years, but they have always been just that-rumors. From what Jonesy said during his solo show he was a bit miffed at Page and Plant (he called them up to see if they wanted to do a Zep reunion tour/project and they said no, then went on to do an album and tour together sans Jones) and said the likelihood of him doing a reunion show with them was slim to none. If there was an official announcement, I missed it, but I have been swamped with work and writing projects lately and haven't been keeping up on rock news. Any links to press releases or coverage of the announcement?

-M

I saw it online about a week ago as AP wire releases on the internet news sites.
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Tadhg · Post by **Tadhg** » Wed Sep 12, 2007 12:20 am

Geleg wrote:
I saw Johnny Winter much later, in the early 80s. He was so-so. Blazing fast, but not much subtlety. Also saw John Lee Hooker in the late 80s (during one of his revivals) - he was old, but could still boogie. Also in my blues phase I saw Stevie Ray Vaughn (awesome!), Roy Buchanan (mindblowing), Mose Allison (so-so), Robert Cray (great), and some others. Much more recently I finally saw BB King.

Excellent ~ BB/Lucille and Robert Cray!

Hmm, it had occurred to me after reading your post and thinking about it, so very many of those bands were very "Blues" oriented. Not sure if that was a coincidence or preference of Aaron Russo who owned the club/palace.

Other "blues" bands or blues inflenced that played there, that I saw or might have seen include:

Paul Butterfield

Fleetwood Mac (back then - very bluesish)

Amboy Dukes

Moody Blues

Pacific Gas & Electric

Blue Cheer

Mike Blumfield

Spencer Davis

Procol Harum

Deep Purple

Howlin' Wolf

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"Enjoy a 'world' where the fantastic is fact and magic really works!" ~ Gary Gygax

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Tadhg · Post by **Tadhg** » Wed Sep 12, 2007 12:31 am

Michael Proteau wrote:
I am just a wee bit younger than you lot ( I only got a few months in during the 60's being a '69 baby) but my musical tastes often run to bands prominent during that era. Many I have had a chance ot see live at some point including Yes (about 7 or 8 shows, plus a Steve Howe solo show), King Crimson 8 or 9 times, plus 2 different line ups of Pojeckts shows, plus solo/side projects shows by Robert Fripp, Trey Gunn, Tony Levin, and Bill Bruford's Earthworks),

Very cool. I missed King Crimson when Greg Lake was the man, but did manage to see Emerson, Lake & Palmer and was completely blown away, when I saw them in '74 at the Miami Jai-Lai Fronton.

Emerson was on in the air on the swinging piano and running down the aisles with a mini keyboard jammin' away. Carl Palmer's drug playing was some of the strongest and tightest I've ever witnessed and Greg Lake - well he can sing beautifully and he surprised us with his guitar playing as he played bass in Crimson while Fripp handle lead guitar.

I saw Yes that year as well in the Miami baseball stadium. Fantastic beginning - several limousines sped onto the field from the side entrance to stop in front of the stage set at about 2nd base.

The boys got out and climbed the stairs. Wakeman in a sequinced robe, excellent stage with giant artistic statutes that light up from inside (Roger Dean) and Steve Howe with his double necked guitar on a beautiful Florida night. "I've seen all good people turn their heads each to satisfy I'm on my way . . " or something like that.
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Count Rhuveinus - Lejendary Keeper of Castle Franqueforte

"Enjoy a 'world' where the fantastic is fact and magic really works!" ~ Gary Gygax

"By the pricking of my thumbs, Something wicked this way comes:" - Macbeth