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

In a previous post, I posed the question of whether the "Banana At Noon" event scheduled for Central Park in Fremont on Sunday, June 18, 1967 actually occurred. This "mini Be-In" was held the same day as the last day of the Monterey Pop Festival, and the free concert was the first event of its kind in Fremont (a suburban town halfway between Berkeley and San Jose). The Friday before the show, the front page of the local paper suggested that the event was in jeopardy due to thinly-veiled concerns about the hippie menace. The event was organized by a Fremont band called The Wakefield Loop, who were also scheduled to perform at the event.

Those who have been reading the various Wakefield Loop posts, particularly the last one, know that the event did occur and it was quite a success. It was such a success--relatively, anyway--that it made the front page of the Fremont and Hayward papers on Monday morning (the clipping above is from the Hayward Daily Review of Monday June 19, 1967), with the headline "Happy Happening Helps Hospital." Wakefield Loop guitarist and concert organizer Denny Mahdik picks up the story

I came up with the idea that it might be nice to use "Central Park" in Fremont to stage a free concert, and in doing so we could raise money for some charity. Hippies were getting such a bad rap in the local news that I thought we could help change the public's impression.

I approached "Dawn School" which used to be on Thornton Avenue, and it used to take care of "Special Needs" kids. At first they were excited at the prospects of getting some free press, and making some money...by cleanliness standards I would not classify myself as one of those filthy hippies... but as I recall, the principal of 'Dawn School' pulled out of the event at the last minute.

I had everything in place by that time, and ended up with no charity.  Obviously my goal was to link up with a reputable organization to show the community that ALL rock bands were not 'low lifes', but "Dawn's" principal got cold feet because we were classified as a hippie band. Then he went to the press, and said something derogatory like " I initially thought it was a good idea but then the association with hippies is not what we want, I hated to break the kids heart, but..."

 

Once Dawn pulled out, I went back to the newspaper and did my best to make an issue out of the situation, as we felt slighted,  that although we were attempting to do good... they turned it into something bad. I was seeking a bit of community support. But as I recall I didn't get too far at age 17 or so.

 

However, the event did go on. A fair size crowd saw South Bay headliners The New Delhi River Band (with future New Riders David Nelson and Dave Torbert) supported by Wakefield Loop, The Collective Minds, The London Colony and Of An Ugly Nature. A careful reading of the poster (done by Wakefield Loop lead singer Cheryl Williams) tantalizingly suggests that a "surprise San Francisco group" would appear. Although Denny Mahdik talked to different groups, including The Sparrow, by showtime this was supposed to be The Sopwith Camel. The Camel and Wakefield Loop shared management in one Yuri Toporov, but in the end the Camel did not play the event.  Still, as Mahdik recalls,  in the end the event had a musical and personally satisfying resolution

Anyway the gig drew several thousand people, there were no incidents, and it came off without a hitch, a fellow Fremont musician that we hung with Steve Lynn was there with his father who was VERY supportive of all of us, and when he heard the story about Dawn School, he was pissed. Mr. Lynn got on the mic and related the entire story to the crowd, who was in total support of us... and he suggested that we go ahead and collect donations, and make the benefactor The Oakland Children's Hospital.  I don't recall how much he collected by I know it was more than $400.00.

So... The concert was a success... Dawn School received nothing, and our effort paid off for Oakland's Children's Hospital.

So the Wakefield Loop successfully introduced Fremont to the psychedelic age, and for those fans who were there, and couldn't be at Monterey, it was probably just as memorable.

(thanks to Denny Mahdik and Dan Garvey of Wakefield Loop for their memories and insights. Poster by Cheryl Williams, wherever she might be, and h/t to Dan Garvey for the poster photo)

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

After the Human Be-In in Golden Gate Park on January 14, 1967, the idea of free public rock concerts as a means of expanding consciousness and generating hip solidarity took hold throughout the West Coast. Throughout the Spring and early Summer of 1967, there were numerous free concerts, styled as Be-Ins and Love-Ins or other fancifully named events. Local authorities were tolerant, amused or threatened, depending on the circumstances. Among the most high profile events were a "Love-In" in Griffiths Park in Los Angeles (the first of several), Be-Ins in Manhattan (Tompkins Square Park) and Vancouver (Stanley Square Park), all on March 26. Numerous less famous events were held in various places, including San Jose and far flung outposts like Raleigh, North Carolina.

The Be-In phenomenon largely ended with its commercial result, the Monterey Pop Festival, held on June 16-18, 1967 at the Monterey County Fairgrounds. After a final burst of free concerts in Golden Gate Park and Palo Alto, using Fender equipment borrowed from the Monterey event, rock music blossomed into its full commercial flowering, and free concerts became just another promotional tool. Throughout that Spring, however, hippies and bands in many communities tried to have their own events with various results. The canceled free concert at Central Park in Fremont, scheduled for Sunday June 18, 1967, offers a case study in how the conditions that allowed Be-Ins in some places like San Francisco and Palo Alto couldn't always be repeated, even just a few miles away.

The clipping above is from the Friday, June 16, 1967 edition of The Fremont Argus, headlined "Hapless Hippies Hamper Happening." The first sentence says "Fremont's first happening may not happen at all." Whatever the back story may have been, the event seems to have been conceived by Fremont local heroes Wakefield Loop as a fund raiser for a local school for the mentally handicapped called The Dawn School. The featured act was Palo Alto's own New Delhi River Band. The New Delhi River Band, who were popular in the South Bay due to their regular performances at The Barn in Scotts Valley (and whose full story is forthcoming) were a swinging blues band whose memberships included future New Riders of The Purple Sage Dave Torbert and David Nelson.

The New Delhi River Band was quite popular in San Jose and thereabouts--they had played the San Jose Be-In on May 14--, and Fremont's peculiar geography made it near the South Bay scene around San Jose as well as the self-consciously hip Berkeley scene to the North, without quite being part of either. The New Delhi River Band were playing with  Wakefield Loop at Yellow Brick Road, Fremont's new psychedelic venue (at 37266 Niles Blvd), on Friday and Saturday (June 16-17), and appeared to be ending the weekend with a free Sunday concert. Other bands on the bill included Wakefield Loop's friends and rivals The Collective Mind, as well as a group whose name I can't read and the promise of a surprise San Francisco guest. Who the guest band was supposed to be can only be speculated upon, since the concert never took place, but the highest profile San Francisco bands were all much further South at the Monterey Pop Festival, held the same weekend and culminating Sunday night.

The city of Fremont seems to have initially given approval for the event, but according to the article at least, got cold feet at some of the language in the poster. Miraculously, a copy of the poster survives on the site of the lead guitarist of Wakefield Loop. The poster, drawn by Loop lead singer Cheryl Williams, including tiny lettering that said "bring incense, apples, love beads, food and flowers to share." This seditious language was supposedly enough for the director of the putative beneficiaries (The Dawn School) to disassociate itself from the event, causing the City of Fremont to reconsider permission to use the park for the event.

None of these explanations are believable; it sounds like local bandmembers got permission, and someone in City management saw a Be-in on TV and became nervous, and found some pretense for interfering with the event. The implication of the news article is that the show would not take place, although a guerilla event was not out of the question. Wakefield Loop guitarist Denny Mahdik is quoted in the article as saying a crowd of 150 to 200 was expected; the City clearly feared many more. The city's assumption was somewhat naive, since many of the likely fans were already in Monterey, but they had no direct way of knowing that. Fremont, about halfway between Berkeley and San Jose, both of whom had successfully had free outdoor concerts at city parks, wasn't quite ready for the psychedelic revolution yet.

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

Ross found this hitherto unknown poster featuring the Loading Zone headlining at the Concord Coliseum on October 11 and 12, 1968, supported by the Gettysburg Express and Bronz Inc. The clarity of the scan gave me a good look at the address of the venue, at 1825 Salvio Street. Due to the miracle of googling, I discovered some recent blog posts about the Concord Coliseum at Claycord.com (devoted to the area of Clayton, Walnut Creek, Pleasant Hill and Concord). Former and current Concord residents recall the venue and the building, as well as numerous concerts and events. Fans of old venues are well-advised to click over there, and in particular read the comments. They give a nice flavor of how exciting rock and roll was back then when it came to your town.

The Claycord site has done such a good job of evoking the building and the era that I thought I would make a brief chronology of known shows at the Concord Coliseum. The history of the building is better described on that site, but the building was a former Purity Supermarket that was taken over by Bill Vavrick and Bill Quarry. Quarry was a successful East Bay promoter, with his production company Teens N Twenties (TNT). TNT mostly focused on the Oakland-San Leandro-Hayward corridor, along East 14th Street, and his most well known venue was the Rollarena in San Leandro, where he promoted rock shows on Friday nights from New Years Eve 1965-66 through mid-1967. However, Quarry promoted shows throughout the East Bay and the Bay Area.

The Concord-Walnut Creek area is now a thriving suburb of San Francisco, with heavy commute traffic going in all directions on a huge freeway network. In the late 1960s, however, Concord and Walnut Creek were sleepy little communities, with plenty of open space and few commuters to San Francisco, and even fewer elsewhere, as much of the County was agricultural. While teenagers were certainly aware of the Fillmore and Avalon, that was perceived as being quite a bit farther away than it is today, and there wasn't as much to do on weekend evenings. The Bill Quarry model was to put on dances every Friday and Saturday night, for both teenagers and young adults (hence "Teens N Twenties"). Since no alcohol was served (I'm sure plenty was consumed) city authorities and parents were comfortable with allowing the events. According to commenters, there wasn't even really a stage at the venue, and fans could look the performers in the eye if they so chose.

While the Claycord site suggests that the Concord Coliseum put on shows almost every Friday and Saturday night, only a few shows are known based on surviving posters and newspaper clippings. Most of the bands who played were local East Bay rock bands, with periodic visits from out of town stars. What follows is a list of known shows--consider this a work in progress. Anyone with specific information about dates and performers please contact me or mention it in the comments. I have added a few notes about some of the bands (update: for the Concord Armory during the same era, see my post here)

August 4, 1967 Chocolate Watch Band/Harbinger Complex/Virtues
August 5, 1967 Roger Collins/Harbinger Complex/Virtues
[update: thanks to Commenter and scholar Kent for sending a scan of this flyer, from the collection of Juanita Chan Williams]
This was the opening weekend of the venue. San Jose's Chocolate Watch Band were both popular and a fantastic live group. Harbinger Complex were a popular TNT attraction from Fremont. The Virtues were a Contra Costa band who included guitarist Gregg Douglas (later of Hot Tuna and the Steve Miller Band). The Virtues later changed their name to Country Weather and played the Fillmore West many times.

August 11, 1967 The Mojo Men
The Mojo Men had had a hit with Buffalo Springfield's "Sit Down I Think I Love You," with vocals by drummer Jan Errico.

September 1, 1967 Rear Exit/Indian Head Band
September 2, 1967 Immediate Family/Rear Exit
September 3, 1967 The Virtues/Immediate Family
[update: thanks to Commenter and scholar Kent for sending a scan of this flyer]
Labor Day weekend in 1967 featured local bands. Rear Exit was a San Leandro band, and Indian Head Band was from Castro Valley, then quite a rural area. Indian Head Band played mostly improvised "raga-rock," featuring guitarist Hal Wagenet, who would later join Its A Beautiful Day. The Immediate Family were from Clayton, and guitarist Tim Barnes would later help found Stoneground.

September 8, 1967 The Epics
September 9, 1967 Little Richard/Dearly Beloved
The Epics were a Walnut Creek band featuring Bobby Winkelmann, later in Frumious Bandersnatch.

September 29-30, 1967 Roger Collins/The Epicureans
[update: thanks to Commenter and scholar Kent for sending a scan of this flyer]
Roger Collins was an East Bay R&B singer who had had a local hit called 'She's Lookin' Good."

October 6, 1967 Justice League/Early Mornin' Rain
October 7, 1967 Justice League/The Trend
[update: thanks to Commenter and scholar Kent for sending a scan of this flyer]
The Justice League were a Bay Area band led by guitarist Ron Cornelius, who played with Bob Dylan and others and was a successful Nashville producer. Early Mornin' Rain and The Trend are unknown to me.

October 13, 1967 Midnite Hour/Purple Haze
October 14, 1967 The Grass Roots/Bristol Box Kite
This was the second, more famous Grass Roots. They had played The Fillmore the previous weekend.
[update: thanks to Commenter and scholar Kent for sending a scan of this flyer]

October 20, 1967 Buffalo Springfield (canceled)
October 20, 1967 Martha's Laundry/Mary's Blacksheep
October 21, 1967 Strawberry Alarm Clock/King Biscuit Entertainers
[update: thanks to Commenter and scholar Kent for sending a scan of this flyer]
The poster for the Grass Roots show says "October 20-Buffalo Springfield." The band had played for Quarry before, and they did play Santa Rosa on the next night (Saturday October 21 at Sonoma County Fairgrounds), so it seems likely they played there.[update] However, as we can see from Kent's scan of the flyer, the Springfield were no longer booked, and the local band Martha's Laundry was the headliner.

Santa Barbara's Strawberry Alarm Clock were climbing the charts with their hit "Incense And Peppermints."

October 25, 1967 Van Morrison/Liquid Blues Band/Early Mornin' Rain
[update: thanks to Commenter and scholar Kent for sending a scan of this flyer]
Van Morrison, on his first solo tour, played a Wednesday night at Concord Coliseum. Van had played for Bill Quarry at The Rollarena in May of the previous year on Them's legendary American tour. It was at the Rollarena in May 1966, in the alley behind the rink, where Van met Janet (Planet) Riggsbee, his future wife and the world's Brown-Eyed Girl. By October 1967, Van had just finished a weekend at the Avalon (October 20-22), and was touring with just two other band members (a bassist and reed player). The clipping above is from the October 21, 1967 Oakland Tribune "Teen Age" section.

October 27, 1967 Purple Haze/Family Circle
October 28 , 1967 The Magnificent Seven "Giant Halloween Masquerade"
The Concord Coliseum tried to be open every weekend, whether or not headliners were available. Van Morrison's unique status meant he could play on a Wednesday, but its seems that the doors needed to be open for the local teenagers anyway. Note that on Friday, girls got in free (no word on whether women got in for free as well). On Saturday, there was a costume contest, with a $25 prize.

November 3, 1967 Moby Grape/The Blues Union
November 4, 1967 Moby Grape/Staton Bros
[update: thanks to Commenter and scholar Kent for sending a scan of this flyer]

The Moby Grape shows were highlighted in a November 4, 1967 Oakland Tribune interview with the Grape. A local band, The Blues Union, opened the show on Friday, with the Staton Brothers on Saturday.

November 17, 1967 Stained Glass/Family Circle
November 18, 1967 Maggie's Farm/Family Circle
[update: thanks to Commenter and scholar Kent for sending a scan of this flyer]

This weekend featured local bands. The key player in Stained Glass was the multi-talented Jim McPherson, a long-time pal of Mickey Hart. Stained Glass released an album, and much later McPherson wrote a lot of songs for Hart's band High Noon. McPherson passed away far too soon in 1985, but he left a great legacy of music.

November 22, 1967 Benefit for United Cerebral Palsy of Contra Costa County
[update: thanks to Commenter and scholar Kent for sending a scan of this flyer]

The night before Thanksgiving was like a weekend evening for teenagers.

November 24-25, 1967 Quicksilver Messenger Service/Martha's Laundry (24)/Zackfield Underground Railroad
Reader Kent contributed this long-forgotten Quicksilver flyer (note that it says "Dec 1 [the next weekend] GIRLS FREE")

December 20, 1967 Battle Of The Bands
[update: thanks to Commenter and scholar Kent for sending a scan of this flyer]

The flyer advertises that Wednesday will feature "Battle Of The Bands," apparently the Northern California Semi-Finals, competing for an opportunty to appear on a National show hosted by Dick Clark of American Bandstand. This would have featured local and regional bands, and the idea was that the friends of all the bands would pack the place. This was a mid-60s thing, already passe at places like the Fillmore.

December 22, 1967 Youngbloods/Staton Brothers
In September of 1967, the Youngbloods had moved from Greenwich Village to the greener and warmer pastures of the San Francisco Bay Area.

December 23, 1967 The Wildflower Christmas Dance
The Wildflower were an Oakland based group who were popular at the Fillmore and Avalon.

December 29-30, 1967 Sons Of Champlin
[update: thanks to Commenter and scholar Kent for sending a scan of this flyer]

Marin's Sons Of Champlin had played East Bay dances for Bill Quarry many times in the previous two years. By late '67, they had gone somewhat psychedelic, but they were still a very fun, funky live act.

December 31, 1967 Sopwith Camel/Savonics
The Concord Coliseum wasn't usually open Sundays, but of course it was New Years Eve. The Sopwith Camel had been the first San Francisco "ballroom" band to make it big, with the hit single "Hello Hello." They had returned to San Francisco, but although they got on the launching pad, they never managed to quite take off.

1968 (uncertain) Sonny And Cher
Sonny and Cher played a Cerebral Palsy benefit at the Concord Coliseum, but the exact date is unclear. Possibly it was the November 22, 1967 event (see the poster above).

January 5-6, 1968 Bo Diddley/The Anaudience
[update: thanks to Commenter and scholar Kent for sending a scan of this flyer]

Back in '68, Bo Diddley was still going strong, and his relentless boogieing fit in nicely with the Fillmore sound.

January 12, 1968 Box Tops/The Undecided
January 13, 1968 The Undecided/Overbrook Express
[update: thanks to Commenter and scholar Kent for sending a scan of this flyer]

Children all over the world dream of Alex Chilton, but in Concord they saw him in person, singing songs like "The Letter" with The Box Tops.

January 26, 1968 The Maze/Overbrook Express
January 27, 1968 Country Weather/Inspirations
[update: thanks to Commenter and scholar Kent for sending a scan of this flyer]

The Maze were actually from Fairfield, not far away, and eventually released an album as Stonehenge. Some of their pre-history can be found here (on the indispensable Garage Hangover site).

Country Weather was a local band, in the same county (Contra Costa) as Concord. Mostly from Lafayette, the band had mostly been known as The Virtues. The group had helped put on a legendary 1967 event in Lafayette, pretty much the only rock festival in the county. Thus calling them "formerly The Virtues" had some pull amongst the teenagers. Guitarist Greg Douglass played with Hot Tuna and Steve Miller, and co-wrote the hit "Jungle Love."

February 2, 1968 The Magnificent Seven with Rufus Miller/The Dynamics
February 3, 1968 Country Weather/The Dynamics
[update: thanks to Commenter and scholar Kent for sending a scan of this flyer]

Rufus Miller, lead singer of The Magnificent Seven, would be the first lead singer of Tower Of Power (Miller was replaced after their first album by Rick Stevens).

February 9, 1968 The Grass Roots/Benevolent Society
February 10, 1968 Family Circle/Blue Union
[update: thanks to Commenter and scholar Kent for sending a scan of this flyer]

The Grass Roots returned (this time as two words). Limited evidence suggests that the early Grass Roots played some funky Rolling Stones style R&B along with their pop hits.

February 16, 1968 Country Joe and The Fish/Oklahoma River Bottom Band
February 17, 1968 Mint Tattoo/Fabulous Malibus
[update: thanks to Commenter and scholar Kent for sending a scan of this flyer]
Mint Tattoo featured Sacramento's Bruce Stephens and Berkeley's Ralph Burns Kellogg (ex-Melvin Q Watchpocket), along with drummer Gregg Thomas. The "heavy psych" band put out a 1969 album on Dot Records. The Fabulous Malibus would evolve, after a number of personnel and style changes, into the great Latin-Rock band Malo, who had a worldwide smash with "Suavecito,"

February 21, 1968 The Fox/Tears Of Blue Washington's Birthday Dance
February 23-24, 1968 Marvin and The Uptights/Tina and The Dolls/The Quintescence/The Casanovas/The Appollos
[update: thanks to Commenter and scholar Kent for sending a scan of this flyer]
In the 60s, George Washington's Birthday (February 22) was always a schoool holiday, regardless of the day of the week, so the Wednesday night show was like a weekend night. Lincoln's Birthday was February 12, and a holiday, and they were later combined to become the third-Monday "President's Day."

March 9, 1968 Bobby Vee/The Outrage
[update: thanks to Commenter and scholar Kent for sending a scan of this flyer]
I assume that some local acts played on Friday, March 8.

Spring 1968 Nitty Gritty Dirt Band
An eyewitness recalls seeing the Dirt Band in the Spring of '68.

May 3-4, 1968 Archie Bell and The Drells/Frumious Bandersnatch/Overbrook Express
[update: thanks to Commenter and scholar Kent for sending a scan of this flyer]
Archie Bell and The Drells (from Houston, TX) had a huge crossover hit with "Tighten Up." Frumious Bandersnatch was Lafayette's leading (and first) psychedelic band. Many of the members went on to play with the Steve Miller Band.

The Teen Age column in the May 29, 1968 Oakland Tribune listed The Yardbirds as playing at the Concord Coliseum

May 29, 1968 The Yardbirds/Flamin Groovies/Linn County
The Yardbirds, near the end of their existence, featured Jimmy Page on lead guitar, and had begun to perform a few numbers (like "Dazed and Confused") that would turn up in Led Zeppelin a few months later. The Flamin Groovies were a San Francisco band who bucked convention by continuing to play in a British Invasion style, while Linn County were a blues band who had recently located from Cedar Rapids, IA.

May 31-June 1, 1968 Country Weather/Frumious Bandersnatch
Both of these groups were Contra Costa bands who were trying to break in to the Bay Area scene, and regularly gigged around the circuit. Although at the time they would have just been local heroes, whom many in the crowd probably knew, in later years Greg Douglass of Country Weather co-wrote "Jungle Love," a huge hit  for Steve Miller. Not only did Douglass tour with the Steve Miller Band (as well as Hot Tuna), but four of the five members of Frumious Bandersnatch ended up touring with Miller as well. On top of that Frumous bassist Ross Valory and road manager Walter "Herbie" Herbert achieved fame and fortune with Journey.

June 7-8, 1968 The Box Tops/Cold Blood
The Box Tops returned to Concord.  Cold Blood was part of a new breed of rocking East Bay funk bands, just getting their feet on the ground.

July 5, 1968 Big Brother and The Holding Company
Janis and Big Brother liked to play smaller places around California, and they played a gig at Concord. Cheap Thrills would have just been released, and the band would have been at the height of their powers.

July 19-20, 1968 Iron Butterfly
This booking was alluded to in Billboard Magazine (July 13 '68).

August 8, 1968 Eric Burdon And The Animals
Eric Burdon had played a number of shows for Bill Quarry in the past. This was a Thursday night show, the night before a three-night stand at the Fillmore West. Although its easy to be smug about Burdon's vocal excesses now, the "New Animals" with guitarists John Weider and Andy Somers (better known now as The Police's Andy Summers) and organist Zoot Money, were a powerful live band.

October 11-12, 1968 Loading Zone/Gettysburg Express/Bronz Inc
The Loading Zone was one of (if not the) first East Bay bands to successfully cross psychedelic rock with soul, kicking the door open for Cold Blood, Sly and The Family Stone, and numerous others. The Zone played both the psychedelic ballrooms and East Bay soul clubs. The other two acts are unknown to me, although it might be possible that Bronze Inc was Cotati's Bronze Hog.

Obviously there are numerous shows missing from this chronology, but I do not know of any after October 12, 1968. By 1969, owner Bill Vavrick had converted the building to a furniture auction warehouse, and the site is now a Petco.

Unsupported dates
The Claycord site had a link to a Teen Magazine calendar that suggested that The Who played Concord on August 23, 1968. Magazines were published months in advance in those days, and while that Concord may have been on an early itinerary, The Who did not play Concord on that day, as they were in Oklahoma City. In any case, the site misdates events of 1967 as 1968 (The Who toured with Hermans Hermits in 1967), but on August 23, 1967 The Who were in Flint, MI.

This list represents the extent of my knowledge. Check out the Claycord posts for more personal memories. I will update the list in the Comments, and do a new post if I get enough information.

The unassuming Concord National Guard Armory at 2925 Willow Pass Road, as it looks today (photo by and courtesy of Kent Wood)

[update:] Prior to the opening of Concord Coliseum, some concerts were held in early 1967 at the Concord Armory. The National Guard Armory is still there, at 2925 Willow Pass Road, not far from the Concord Pavilion, which has been Contra Costa County's leading concert venue since 1975. Thanks to Scholar and Commenter Kent, a few flyers have been rescued. Golden Star Promotions mostly worked in Sonoma County, putting on concerts in Santa Rosa and the surrounding area.

January 27, 1967 Concord Armory, Concord, CA: The Seeds/The Tame Greens/Blue Light District

February 10, 1967 Concord Armory, Concord, CA: Sopwith Camel
There is a poster circulating that has Sopwith Camel headlining a dance in Marin on this date, at the Santa Venetia (San Rafael) Armory, but the Camel were replaced by the Grateful Dead. Thus I assume that the Camel actually played Concord Armory.

February 17, 1967 Concord Armory, Concord, CA: Battle Of The Bands
The poster for this long-forgotten event was by banjo legend Rick Shubb.

February 21, 1967 Concord Armory, Concord, CA: Baytovens/Hypnotist Collectors
The Tuesday night show was the night before Washington's Birthday, so it was like a weekend for teenagers.

March 20, 1967 Concord Armory, Concord, CA: The New Breed/The Wheel
The flyer tells us that The Wheel were formerly known as Jack And The Rippers.

*

June 24, 1967 Concord Armory, Concord, CA: The Immediate Family/The Virtues
The Concord Coliseum would start up in the Fall.
[update: thanks to Commenter and scholar Kent for sending scans of these flyers]

update: for more about the Concord Armory and nearby venues, see my post here.

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

This hitherto obscure "Picnic/Festival", advertised in the June 7, 1968 edition of The Hayward Daily Review, with accompanying commentary from the "Here 'N' There" section of the same paper, delivers some surprisingly revealing information about both the expanding rock market and attempts to capitalize in the suburbs on developments in San Francisco.

This forgotten all-day concert at Bjornson Park in Castro Valley, California on June 16, 1968, was probably poorly attended, since headliners Sonny & Cher had gone from being very popular in 1965 over to becoming decidedly uncool. On top of that, the concert was delayed (from June 9) due to the tragic shooting of Robert F Kennedy. Nonetheless, for a variety of reasons, I suspect that all of the people who did show up had a pretty good time. If any readers out there actually went, or know someone who did, please comment or email m [update: thanks to intrepid reader Lois for sending a scan of the long-lost poster!]

The long-lost poster to Castro Valley's only known rock festival, on June 16, 1968 with Sonny & Cher headlining over Sly and The Family Stone. The art is apparently by Carson-Morris Studios, probably in Oakland, per the fine print

June 1968

By June 1968 the rock concert business in San Francisco was going full blast. There were no less than four major rock venues in San Francisco: Bill Graham's Fillmore, Chet Helms's Avalon, The Carousel (run by the Grateful Dead) and The Straight Theatre on Haight Street. At the same time, major rock concerts were held at Winterland in San Francisco and at the Berkeley Community Theatre. Four venues was too much for San Francisco, as it happened, and Bill Graham was about to take over The Carousel and rename it The Fillmore West, and the Avalon and Straight were struggling. Nonetheless, the rock business was booming in The Bay Area. Highlights of other concerts on the weekend of June 14 thru 16, 1968 included

June 14, 15-Winterland: Big Brother and The Holding Company (Bill Graham)
June 16-Fillmore: Big Brother/Steve Miller/Santana Blues Band (Matrix Benefit)
June 14,15,16-Carousel: Booker T and The MGs/Its A Beautiful Day
June 14, 15,16.68-Avalon: Buddy Guy/Clear Light/Frumious Bandersnatch
June 14, 15-Straight: Charlatans

Many of these groups were just underground sensations, but suburban kids would have heard the music on KSAN-fm, the leading underground rock station. Even as-yet unrecorded bands like Santana Blues Band, Its A Beautiful Day and Frumious Bandersnatch may very well have been familiar to suburban fans because they had played local High School dances. The June 14 thru 16 weekend bills were typical of any week in San Francisco throughout the Summer--nationally famous bands,  from near and afar, as well as rising local bands, at numerous venues.

However, out in the suburbs, while many kids might be able to afford to go the Fillmore, and had access to a car, they were either not allowed to go to the big city, or not confident enough to navigate it. Besides the usual prudence that parents would have towards teenage urban adventures (getting lost, bad neighborhoods, etc), rock music was associated with a host of other dubious traits: recreational drugs, disrespect for authority, long hair, Free Love and opposition to the Vietnam War being the most prominent. Since suburban audiences couldn't come to the big city, psychedelia had to make it out to the suburbs.

Castro Valley, California

Castro Valley is an unincorporated part of Alameda County, West of San Leandro and South of Hayward. Up until the 1950s, Castro Valley was a fairly rural community, known for its chicken ranches. More recently, its proximity to numerous freeways and commerce has made it a bedroom community and vastly expanded its population (57, 262 as of the 2000 census). In 1968, however, Castro Valley would have been very accessible to suburban kids, but a relatively rural setting. More importantly, parents in suburban Hayward, San Leandro or Fremont who might be uneasy about letting their kids drive to San Francisco or Berkeley (both easily under an hour from Hayward) for a nighttime concert would most likely be quite benign about letting their kids drive off to spend an afternoon in the nearby chicken farming community.

The Venue

Bjornson Park was a privately owned park in Crow Canyon in Castro Valley. It is currently called Crow Canyon Park, located at 8000 Crow Canyon Road in Castro Valley, California. I do not know the exact history of Bjornson Park, but it is plain from the clipping that it is a commercial park, with lunch available for purchase. The park is currently a private park, apparently mainly used for commercial or corporate events. There is also a nearby Crow Canyon Country Club, so it is possible the exact scope or expanse of the park may have changed since 1968. Nonetheless it is clear that Bjornson Park was a private commercial facility in Crow Canyon.

I know of no other rock shows before or after this date, suggesting the event was not enough of a success to be repeated.

The Pitch

The most interesting part of the ad is the line that says "Psychedelic Art, Jewelry, etc For Sale." Cities like Berkeley and San Francisco had "Head Shops," were tie-dyed trinkets could be purchased, but they would have been hard to purchase outside of those towns. The all-day event was built on the Monterey Pop Festival model--a complete day of performances, at a venue used to absorbing crowds, with a chance to make money from concessions. The unstated pitch here is that kids in towns like Hayward, San Leandro, San Ramon and Fremont can't or don't go the Fillmore or Telegraph Avenue in Berkeley, so it will come to them for a day.

The Monterey Pop Festival format was widely copied for about a year, but it does not seem to have been a money maker. Promoters may not have realized that all the Monterey Pop bands played for free, in the hopes of "exposure." Operating costs were covered by ABC-TV, who planned to make a TV special. It was never made, and the footage was used for the Monterey Pop movie, released in 1969. By early 1968, the first "Woodstock" model festivals had started to happen, specifically The "Piano Drop" at a farm in Duvall, Washington (April 28, 1968), which led to the first multi-day outdoor rock festival (Sky River Rock Festival and Lighter Than Air Fair, August 31-September 2, 1968, on a Raspberry Farm in Sultan, WA). The Woodstock model replaced the Monterey model, although it too was usually unprofitable, except for the original.

The all-day outdoor concert model was finally perfected with the development of "sheds" like Shoreline Amphitheater  (in Mountain View, CA) or Alpine Valley (in East Troy, WI), which provided a festival like atmosphere while maximizing access and retailing opportunities. In 1968, though, all this lay in the future.

The Bands

Sonny & Cher

Sonny & Cher were extremely popular in 1965 and 1966, with hit songs like "I Got You Babe"(peaking at #2), and even had a hit as late as 1967 with "The Beat Goes On" (#6). By 1968, however, Sonny & Cher's catchy pop music seemed decidedly unhip, as bands like The Beatles or The Doors made them seem shallow. An attempt to make movies had flopped,  and album sales for their relatively easy listening pop had plummeted, and by 1968's end they had refocused their act towards Las Vegas. While Sonny & Cher had a reputation as effective professional performers (Mac "Dr. John" Rebennack was their band leader for some years), they would not have seemed like a cool Fillmore band.

The Box Tops

The Box Tops were probably seen as an AM-radio friendly band, also too uncool for the Fillmore and Avalon. In fact, although they had had a #1 1967 hit with "The Letter", and a #2 hit in 1968 with "Cry Like A Baby," and their songs were written by their producers they were actually a very good group. Lead singer Alex Chilton, not even yet 18, had a tremendous voice (which is why, to quote The Replacements, "children by the millions sing for Alex Chilton when he comes around"), and producer Dan Penn was a great soul songwriter. So although The Box Tops may have seemed like a confectionery concoction, they were probably surprisingly good live.

The People

"The People", as advertised, were actually a San Jose band called People!, but the exclamation point was usually left off. At this time, they had a big hit with a song called "I Love You," written by Chris White of The Zombies (it was not a hit for The Zombies). People! was successful in the South Bay, and apparently had a good live act, with two lead singers and two drummers. Once again, although the audience was probably only familiar with a hit single, they were probably pretty interesting live.

The Loading Zone

Alone among the advertised bands, The Loading Zone were Fillmore regulars, and a true "underground" band. They were probably at their performing peak, with a new album on RCA and an exciting lead singer in Linda Tillery. The album, recorded some months earlier, shortly after Tillery had joined the band, was a bit stiff, but by all accounts the Loading Zone's fusion of rock and soul music, with the dynamic Tillery fronting the group, made for a very exciting band.

Brotherly Love with Jeannie Piersoll

Jeannie Piersol was a well-regarded local singer who had been in some soulful local rock bands like Yellow Brick Road and Hair. She had recorded a few singles for Cadet Concept Records. I have to confess I have never heard her recordings (their aren't many) but she was supposedly quite good.

Transatlantic Railroad

Transatlantic Railroad was a Marin band, featuring Kent Housman. What little recorded evidence (one 45) of them isn't bad, but it was typical Bay Area rock of the time.

Sly And The Family Stone

Way down in the advertisement in Sly And Family Stone. Sylvester Stewart and his family were from the nearby East Bay port city of Vallejo, but the group had formed in San Francisco. After debuting in Redwood City in December 1966, the group had played throughout the East Bay in 1967. The band had released its first album, A Whole New Thing (on Epic) in October 1967. The band's first and biggest single, "Dance To The Music," had been released in December 1967, but did not peak until March of 1968 (it peaked at #8).

Listeners would probably have been familiar with Sly's hit single, as he was always popular on AM radio. Yet in person, suburban East Bay teenagers, like everyone else in America, could hardly have expected the potent synthesis of funk, rock, psychedelia and social conscience that was Sly And Family Stone. As Joel Selvin aptly puts it, in black music there is "Before Sly" and "After Sly." Of course, by the end of the 1960s, the whole country was hip to Sly And The Family Stone, and their star only rose afterward. For most of those in attendance at this event--however many or few--seeing Sly must have been like an electric jolt, and they are still telling their friends to this day that they saw Sly when.

Conclusions

My only evidence for this concert is the advertisement and note in the graphics at the top of this post (ads in The Hayward Daily Review the week before and after have no additional information). I have tried to speculate on what this concert represented, and might have been like, based on what I knew about the time.  With that in mind, here are my assessments:

• With the rock market booming in San Francisco, this was an effort to present a hip "Monterey Pop" type event in the suburbs, with "psychedelic jewelry" for sale as a mark of hipness
  

• The projected audience was teenagers who listened to the radio, mainly AM radio, who would have not only lived in the suburbs but may not have been able to or allowed to go to venues like The Fillmore
  

• The concert was rescheduled from June 9, and the biggest "name" act (Sonny & Cher) was well past its prime, so the event was probably not well attended nor much of a success
  

• Although most of the bands are forgotten by all but rock historians, there were actually some bands that were probably pretty good live
  

• Sly And The Family Stone, one of the great bands in San Francisco music history, would have been memorable enough to make the show unforgettable for anyone who went
  

Anyone with additional information, or even amusing speculation, is encouraged to comment or email me.

7th and Market Streets, Oakland: August 7, 2009

On August 9, 1969, the City of Oakland held a Synanon-sponsored Street Fair. It featured a 14-hour free concert on two stages, headlined by Country Joe and The Fish. Just one week before Woodstock, the Oakland Tribune reported that 75, 000 people attended the event.

I have written about what I could determine about this remarkable event here. When I was in California recently, I took pictures of the site. Of course, the area has changed dramatically, both because of redevelopment and because of changes resulting from the aftermath of the Cypress Freeway collapse during the Loma Prieta Earthquake (October 17, 1989).

In August, 1969 these blocks were probably largely empty, which is why a large, free event could be held there. I have assumed that the area was slated for redevelopment, so many buildings must have been razed, but there was probably nothing yet in its place.

These photos were taken from a gas station on the corner of 7th and Market, looking across Market street. The top photo, with the tall apartment building, is the Southwest corner of 7th and Market; the lower photo, looking at a McDonald's, is on the Northwest corner of 7th and Market.

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

On Saturday, August 9, 1969, one week prior to Woodstock, Country Joe and The Fish headlined a 14-hour free concert at a Street Fair in Oakland for as many as 75,000 people. There are many remarkable things about this event, not the least that it seems to have been totally forgotten in the history of the East Bay and East Bay music. Until I discovered it recently in the archives of the Oakland Tribune, I knew nothing about it, and that made it officially obscure. This post is a brief effort to show what I have learned from the Tribune archives, as well as showing how remarkable this event appears to be.

Throughout most of the 1960s, the city of Oakland took pains to separate itself from its neighbor Berkeley, frowning on Anti-War demonstrations, long hair, rock music and everything associated with it. Berkeley had been having all sorts of free rock concerts and events for years, but Oakland remained a staid, middle class city. The Oakland Tribune was owned by the Knowland family, one of California's most powerful families, and The Trib represented Oakland's political and economic power brokers at the time. When the Tribune started giving over substantial space to promoting the Synanon Street Fair, in July 1969, a month before the event, it is clear that this event was supported by the City of Oakland at the highest levels.

Synanon was a drug rehabilitation program that put addicts to work doing a variety of community activities, thus becoming a sort of self-funding entity. Synanon had good relations with the City of San Francisco, and they had put on very successful Street Fairs in San Francisco in 1967 and '68. The Fair itself, complete with rock bands, were free, but Synanon made money through concessions and sponsorship. These events appear to be the predecessors of such San Francisco events as The Haight Street Fair or The Folsom Street Fair.

Oakland seems to have felt that the city needed such a fair, but a number of things seem to make the Oakland event different from the San Francisco events. The event was held at 7th and Market Streets, not too far from Downtown, but also part of the more African American neighborhoods that had been bisected by new roads as part of urban re-development. The trace evidence of the performers and the photos suggest that the event was intentionally structured to engage both the Black and White communities, a common effort in Berkeley but not so common in Oakland. 7th and Market was approximately in the area that had seen the founding of The Black Panthers, Oakland's most infamous export, so a multi-racial City-sponsored Rock Festival was not at all insignificant.

There were two stages, with 14 hours of almost continuous performers. According to the August 7 Tribune, the scheduled performers were:

Rock Stage (10:00am-midnight, scheduled order)

VeeJays/Southern Comfort/Phananganang/Marvin Gardens/Country Weather/Transatlantic Railroad/Synanon/Frumious Bandersnatch/Joy of Cooking/Flamin’ Groovies/Everyday People/Country Joe and The Fish/Morning Glory/Womb/The Crabs

Concert Stage (10:00am-midnight, scheduled order);

Johnny Mars Blues/Ice/Murray Music Co/Martha Young/Eddie Henderson/Gentle Dance/Harley White Sextet/Afro-Jazz Quartet/Gospel Tonics/Sounds of Synanon/Esther Phillips/QueQeg/Sebastian Moon/Orion

In an article on the day of the concert, The Cleanliness and Godliness Skiffle Band were also listed as performers, probably on the Rock Stage.

Only Country Joe and The Fish were headline performers. Most of the names were popular club bands around the Bay Area. The division of acts suggests that the Rock Stage featured mostly white rock acts, and the Concert Stage featured mostly, but not exclusively, "black" acts. I doubt there was a Free Concert or similar event prior to this that tried to appeal to both Black and White audiences, and precious few afterwards.

Articles leading up to the event suggested that as many as 100,000 people were expected. The headline article on the Sunday afterwards (August 10, 1969, from which the above pictures are taken) says that 75,000 people attended. Given the Tribune's and Oakland's vested interest in a successful event, there is reason to think this may be an exaggeration. Nonetheless, as the top photo shows, there was certainly a substantial crowd, at least early in the day, so any exaggeration may be mild. The numerous photos in the Tribune pictured a broad spectrum of attendees: children, hippies, and young and old black and white people. Regardless of who may have actually attended, it is clear that a peaceful multi-racial social event was a primary goal of the effort.

After August 10, however, I could find nothing more about this event. This leaves numerous questions unanswered. Among them:

• A huge free concert near downtown, directed at a multi-racial audience, is both radical and far-sighted, particularly for Oakland. Whose idea was it, and how did it get traction?

• Free rock concerts, starting in Golden Gate Park (on October 6, 1966), and followed by The Human Be-In (January 14, 1967), were iconic events in the 60s rock world, remembered fondly and often incorrectly by aging white hippies. What did the African American community think of this event, held near "their" neighborhood, then, afterwards and now?

• If this concert was the success the article makes it out to be, why wasn't it repeated? While I note the large crowd in the picture above, based on the schedule the picture was probably taken about 1:00 o'clock in the afternoon. How big a crowd was there at midnight, when The Crabs and Orion closed each stage?

I lack the resources to investigate this event, but it stands in stark contrast to almost every other rock festival and free concert in the Bay Area and elsewhere during the late 1960s, and it seems ripe for analysis and research.

Notes on the performers

Country Weather, pictured above, were a Contra Costa County band featuring guitarist Greg Douglass, who co-wrote the hit single "Jungle Love" for The Steve Miller Band.

Joy Of Cooking, a Berkeley band who released several fine albums on Capitol in the 1970s, had only formed a few months prior and was still mostly playing Berkeley clubs.

Frumious Bandersnatch were a band from Lafayette, popular locally but who never recorded. Members of the group were later in Journey and The Steve Miller Band.

For a current picture of the site, see here.

Provo Park, Berkeley: 1967-69 concerts

(I have re-written this post with substantially more information here)

Provo Park in Berkeley, originally named Constitution Park, lies in the center of town, near City Hall and Berkeley High School. It is bounded by Allston Way, Martin Luther King Junior Way (called Grove Street in the 1960s) and Center Street. In the mid-1960s, Berkeleyites started calling Constitution Park "Provo Park" in support of the IRA, and the name stuck. This is typical Berkeley politics, hardly noticed by residents, and almost no one living there now recalls why the park was called Provo Park.

When free concerts in the Golden Gate Park Panhandle became commonplace, many Berkeley rock bands looked to extend the idea to Provo Park. It was fun, it was cool and anyway it was good publicity for the bands. The first Panhandle show was October 6, 1966, the day LSD was declared illegal, and when The Grateful Dead, Big Brother, Wildlower and Orkustra played an unauthorized event there. By Spring 1967 the idea had spread to Berkeley, and there were apparently almost weekly shows, mostly during weekend afternoons. While many of the performers were simply aspiring local folk musicians or Berkeley High School rock bands, many larger events took place there too.

Provo Park remains fairly similar to how it looked in the day, although the buildings around have changed considerably. I took these two photos on August 11, 2009. The top photo is from near Center Street (Stage Right), looking across towards Allston. The Berkeley Community Theatre looms in the background, on the grounds of the High School. The bottom photo is taken about half way back on the lawn from the Martin Luther King Jr Way side (Grove Street), looking at the whole stage.

It would be impossible to compile a complete list of Provo Park shows in the 1960s, as many of the performances were casual. However, here are a few highlights, taken from flyers and newspaper notices at the time.

January 15, 1967 Loading Zone/Ulysses B. Crockett

March 19, 1967 Loading Zone/New Delhi River Band/Motor/Ulysses S. Crockett and The Afro-Blues Persuasion “The Reversal Of The Earth Human Be-In”

This was Berkeley's "Be-In"

April 23, 1967 Loading Zone/2 others

According to the Oakland Tribune (Apr 21, 1967), the city agreed that using Provo Park for free concerts would be good for the city, and limit confrontations between hippies and police.

September 24, 1967 Initial Shock

April 14, 1968 Country Joe and The Fish/Mad River/Loading Zone/SF Mime Troupe

May 12, 1968 Phoenix/Martha's Laundry/Creative Arts Guild Improvisational Ensemble

July 21, 1968 Sky Blue/Cleanliness and Godliness Skiffle Band/Crome Syrcus

April 6, 1969 Sons of Champlin/Lamb/Frumious Bandersnatch/Ace of Cups/All Spice Rhythm Band

April 20, 1969 Joy of Cooking

May 5, 1969 Loading Zone/All Spice Rhythm Band/This Ole World/Gentle Dance

September 29, 1969 Maximum Speed Limit/Cleanliness and Godliness Skiffle Band/The Crabs

Frenchy's, Hayward, CA January-June 1966 Show List

In the first half of 1966, Frenchy's, at 29097 Mission Boulevard in Hayward, was the only rock club between Berkeley and San Jose, and the rock club that was farthest East of San Francisco. Plenty of rock was played at High School dances and "Teen" events, but there were still very few adult rock clubs where drinks were served. Frenchy's was considerably less cool than The Matrix in San Francisco or The Whiskey A-Go-Go in Hollywood, but it was one of the few gigs available for aspiring rock bands. As a result, a review of the shows from Frenchy's in the first half of 1966 reveals an interesting cross-section of rock music.

Hayward, California, while a prosperous suburb, was still a distant enclave in 1966. Neither the freeway network nor public transportation (such as BART) was anywhere near what it was today, so there was considerably less contact with San Francisco, Berkeley or San Jose. Hayward wasn't far from its agricultural roots, and the biggest industry around was the auto plant in nearby Fremont.

Frenchy's dated back to at least 1962 (The Warlocks had played a gig there on June 18, 1965). It seemed to be run on the Whisky A-Go-Go model, with pretty girls dancing on elevated stages to lather everyone up, and bands playing dance music throughout the night. While the drinking age was 21 in California, insuring no teenagers, because food was served 18-year olds could attend in some circumstances (allowing young men to bring even younger dates). Rock music was popular with people in their twenties, but not with older people. Some of the bands who played were clearly cover bands who probably also played Las Vegas type lounges, and some were more original groups, but even the bands playing original material must have played a lot of covers to fill out the evening.

I have compiled the list for the most part from ads in the Hayward Daily Review. The ad and photo above are from the March 18, 1966 edition.

Frenchy's 1966 Show List

January 7-18, 1966 The Leaves
The Leaves were a popular band on Hollywood's Sunset Strip. The January 7, 1966 edition of the Daily Review said they were proteges of Pat Boone. Did he know their logo was a marijuana leaf? The Leaves were a pretty good band, with two albums and a hit single ("Hey Joe" which they got from The Byrds). Bassist Jim Pons was later in The Turtles and The Mothers of Invention.

Most engagements at Frenchy's were from Friday to Thursday, but The Leaves ended on a Tuesday.

January 19-27, 1966 The Liverpool Five
I don't know anything about this group, but I'll bet they weren't from England. I don't know exactly when their engagement ended, or if another group played at the beginning of February.

January 28-February 6, 1966 The Mojo Men
The Mojo Men were on Autumn Records, the label of KYA-AM dj Tom Donahue (who later founded KSAN-fm). Rather confusingly, another group on Autumn was The Vejtables, featuring the singing girl drummer Jan Errico. When Autumn fell apart in April of 1966, Errico left The Vejtables and joined The Mojo Men, and they had a hit with a Buffalo Springfield song "Sit Down I Think I Love You." At this time, however, The Mojo Men still featured bassist/singer Jim Alaimo.

February 7-17: The Vejtables
The Vejtables, with Jan Errico (Gregg Errico's cousin) on drums and vocals, had played Frenchy's often in the second half of 1965, as had their label mates The Mojo Men.

February 18-March 3, 1966 The Gauchos
The Gauchos were led by one Jim Doval. Based on the advertising, they seem to be a typical Nevada lounge act, probably quite talented in a rock/r&b style but strictly a cover band.

March 4-March 17, 1966 The Wild Ones
The Wild Ones were (according to the ad) fresh from a gig at Arthur's, a New York disco.

March 18-31, 1966 The American Beetles
How would you like to be in this band? Notice that the drum kit has "Beetles" but the club advertised "American Beatles."

April 1-14, 1966 The Mojo Men
The Mojo Men return.

April 15-21, 1966 Peter Lewis with Peter and The Wolves/Linda Carr
Peter Lewis was later in Moby Grape. I have written about this elsewhere.

April 22-28, 1966 The Sons Of Adam/Linda Clark and Randy Meek
In complete contrast to The American Beetles, The Sons Of Adam were the coolest band on the Sunset Strip. Guitarist Randy Holden was a titan, as would soon be proven in The Other Half and Blue Cheer.

April 29-May 5, 1966 The Ashes
The Ashes were a Los Angeles band who played in a folk-rock style. Drummer Spencer Dryden would shortly join the Jefferson Airplane, so there were probably some Airplane people checking him out.

May 6-May 26, 1966 The Mothers
Frank Zappa's band was known as The Mothers. His anxious record company (MGM) added "Of Invention." At this time, they would have mostly recorded Freak Out, but it would not have been released. The ad for May 6 still features The Ashes, but esteemed Zappa gigolist Charles Ulrich is confident that the Mothers gig started on Friday May 6. Ulrich has been in correspondence with Ashes guitarist Alan Brackett, who recalls hanging out with The Mothers as they came into town, so I am inclined to agree with his analysis.

At this time the Mothers lineup would have been

Frank Zappa-guitar, vocals
Ray Collins-vocals
Elliot Ingbar-guitar
Roy Estrada-bass, vocals
Jimmy Carl Black-drums

When the Mothers finished their engagement they played The Fillmore on the weekend of May 27-29.

May 21, 1966 Neil Diamond/The Mothers
I have ruminated elsewhere about the cosmic convergence of The Mothers backing Neil Diamond on a Saturday night in Hayward. Charles Ulrich has sound reason to believe that Diamond was backed by just Roy Estrada and Jimmy Carl Black (Diamond was an adequate guitarist), rather than the full band. Diamond, riding high on "Solitary Man", had flown into town to play a gig in San Leandro as well as at Frenchy's.

May 27-June 9, 1966 The Ashes
The ad for June 3 says "The Ashes-still!."

June 10-23, 1966 WC Fields Electric String Memorial Band
I know nothing about this group, but I note that they have a more whimsical psychedelic name, a sign of changing times regardless of what they played.

June 24-July 6, 1966 The Vejtables
To add to the confusion, when Jan Errico left The Vejtables to join The Mojo Men, The Vejtables continued on. This would have been the post-Errico lineup. They may have featured future Moby Grape bassist Bob Mosley at this time, but I am not certain of his chronology.

This is as much of the Frenchy's gig list as I have been able to determine. Anyone with additional information is encouraged to send it to me or include it in the comments.

After June, Frenchy's mostly featured a group called The Tijauna Rejects, and by late 1966 had gone "topless," heading away from a focus on the music. This had changed by mid-1967 (the ad says 'Topless was a big bust'), but by then Frenchy's was just another rock club in the East Bay.