(Note: Joe Mc has modified the dates of the August leg somewhat, and I have changed the post accordingly)
We have written extensively on the touring history of the second incarnation of The Animals, the psychedelic outfit known as Eric Burdon and The Animals. The Animals had been a very successful "British Invasion" style band, but Burdon remade the group into an inventive Fillmore style band. This decision came from his frustration at the limitations on the original Animals, and a trip that Burdon made to San Francisco around August 1966.
A thoughtful correspondent has sent us the dates of the last American tour of the original Animals. The band had already decided to break up in May 1966, but they agreed to do a contracted American tour. They shared a bill with Herman's Hermits, and each stop probably included several local bands. The Animals probably played 20 or 30 minute sets, and only Burdon's vocals would have gone through the house PA, with the band's guitar amps provided the only other amplification. While that sort of sound system could work in a nightclub, it had to sound pretty tinny in a big civic auditorium.
At this point, the Animals were
Eric Burdon-vocals
Hilton Valentine-lead guitar
Dave Roweberry-keyboards
Chas Chandler-bass
Barry Jenkins-drums
Herman's Hermits/Animals US Tour, July 1966 (h/t Joe Mc for the list)
July 1 Honolulu HI HIC Arena
July 2 San Jose CA Civic Auditorium
July 3 Los Angeles CA Sports Arena
July 4 TTG Studios, Hollywood-recording
Bruno Ceriotti points out another historical fact from this tour:
On a day off from the tour the band entered the "T.T.G.Studios" in Los Angeles to recorded with Tom Wilson as producer, Frank Zappa as arranger and Ami Hadani as engineer, two songs titled: "The Other Side Of This Life" (maybe with Zappa on bass?) and "All Night Long" (maybe with Zappa on guitar and/or bass?) with the help of four local sessionmen: William Roberts(guitar), Lawrence “Larry” Knetchel (organ), Carol Kaye (guitar) and John Guerin (drums). Both tracks were released in their US album "Animalism"(November 21, 1966) and the only song "The Other Side Of This Life" is also released as single by Eric Burdon & The Animals: "The Other Side of This Life /It's All Meat" (August 21, 1967).
July 6 Denver CO Bear Stadium, Denver University
July 7 Lubbock TX Coliseum
July 9 Salt Lake City UT Lagoon Terrace Ballroom
July 10 Minneapolis MN Auditorium Convention Hall (afternoon show)
Kansas City KS Memorial Hall (evening show)
July 12 Sioux Falls SD Arena (afternoon show)
Des Moines IA Veterans Memorial Auditorium (evening show)
July 13 Lincoln NE Pershing Auditorium
July 14 Tulsa OK Assembly Center
July 15 Little Rock AR War Memorial Stadium
July 17 Houston TX Sam Houston Coliseum
July 18 Corpus Christi TX Memorial Coliseum
July 19 Jackson MS Civic Auditorium
July 20 Atlanta GA Municpal Auditorium
July 21 Memphis TN Mid-South Coliseum
July 22 Montgomery AL State Coliseum
July 23 Birmingham AL Municipal Auditorium
July 24 New Orleans LA City Park Stadium
July 25 Richmond VA Syria Mosque
July 26 Winston-Salem NC Municipal Auditorium
July 27 Canton OH Municipal Auditorium
July 28 Detroit MI Olympia Stadium
July 29 Montreal QUE unknown venue (probably the Forum)
July 30 Baltimore MD Civic Center
July 31 Chicago IL International Ampitheatre (afternoon show)
July 31 Milwaukee WI Milwaukee Arena (evening show)
August 1 OFF (the Hermits playd three days at Atlantic City NJ Steel Pier
August 2 West Hyannis MA Cape Cod A-Go-Go
Bruno Ceriotti has confirmed that after this show, The Animals fly back to New York City, and Chas Chandler meets Linda Keith (Keith Richard's girlfriend) at a club called Ondine's, and she tells him about a guitarist playing in Greenwich Village.
August 3 New York NY Wollman Rink Central Park
Chandler goes to the Cafe What to hear Jimi Hendrix, playing as Jimmy James and The Blue Flames. Jimi's second guitarist is Los Angeles teenager Randy Wolfe, in Long Island for the Summer, who Jimi has dubbed "Randy California."
August 4 Fort Wayne IN Memorial Coliseum
August 5 Boston MA Boston Arena
August 6 Toronto ONT Maple Leaf Garden
August 7 Pittsburgh PA Civic Arena
August 8 Providence RI Rhode Island Auditorium
Eric Burdon almost certainly went to San Francisco during this break in the tour. After a brief break, the Animals continued playing concerts until early September, finishing on September 5 at Atlantic City NJ Steel Pier. I believe those were their last shows as a band.
At some point, probably after August 9, Eric went to San Francisco, where he experienced that rarest of natural occurrences, the 'Warm San Franciscan Night.' When the Animals tour ended in September, Chas Chandler met again with Jimi Hendrix, and the next chapters for both Burdon's and Chandler's careers begin soon after.
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I have discovered a listing for The Animals at The Veterans Memorial Auditorium in Santa Rosa, CA on August 15, 1966, supported by New Breed and California Girls. I haven't been able to confirm this yet, but it would make sense that Eric vacationed in San Francisco before the tour picked up again in Northern California.
ReplyDeleteI was at that concert at the Vet's 'Hall' Auditorium in Santa Rosa for that one, so yes, this gig did happen. It was not a widely promoted concert. Tickets came up for it with short notice. I had seen The Animals in July at the LA Sports Arena just the month before. The sound was better at the Sports Arena for their set than it was at the Santa Rosa venue. The LA Sports Arena had enhanced sound over a normal sports or auditorium, making it a very good place to hear some of the early touring groups...long as the screaming fans eventually calmed down. The LA Sport's Arena gig in July you could hear The Animals really well, but not when Herman's Hermit's set came. HH did not have the guitar power backing & the fan noise was a lot louder in that half of the concert.
DeleteThe last date of The Animals US Tour.....
ReplyDeleteAugust 17-23 New York City, NY
August 24 Phoenix, AZ
August 25 Manatu Beach, MI
August 26 Harbor Springs, MI
August 27 Midland, MI
August 28 Benton Harbor, MI
August 29 Mendon, MA
August 30-September 5 The Steel Pier resort, Atlantic City, NJ
I have ticket stubs for Herman's Hermits and Animals for July 16, 196? in Dallas...was that this tour? Can't remember?
ReplyDeleteSupposedly yes, Emmylou!
ReplyDeleteI was at the concert at the Santa Rosa Vet's Auditorium in August 1966. I was 13 years old and it was the very first rock concert I ever attended!
ReplyDeleteWow I was at the July 1 concert in Honolulu, my first concert ever.
ReplyDeleteI was at Cape Cod A-Go-Go on the night of August 2, 1966, age 9 years. My older brother's band, The Beau Brines, played a Battle of the Bands there that night with Herman's Hermits and The Animals. I remember that night as if it were just last week.
ReplyDelete-Dale Bryant
I'd like to note, here that the venue was not West Hyannis, Cape Cod, Massachusetts but West Yarmouth, Cape cod, Massachusetts. The building still exists, today, as a Baptist church.
Deletethe August 8 Providence RI show was not cancelled - I was there.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
ReplyDeleteI attended the tour at the Siuox Falls Arena on July 12, 1966. It was general admission, and I've always thought I was the only young rocker at 15 there to just see The Animals. "House" was the first song I learned to play guitar and sing in public. That "fuzz" on Dont Let Me Down just blew my mind, like Keith and the Stones.
ReplyDeleteThe animals were the second group I had seen after the yard birds
ReplyDeleteLooking to confirm that The Animals played a matinee in April 1966 at Boston College High in Dorchester, MA
ReplyDeleteI saw them in Jackson, MS, but it was not at the Coliseum but at the Auditoruim down town!
ReplyDeletemy cousin and i attended the july 15 concert in little rock barry jenkins of nashville teens played drums as john steel had left the group at that time-the best song by the animals was hey gyp,a blues rendition of a donavan folk song-richard
ReplyDeleteI was at the July 10th 1966 evening show, except it was at Memorial Hall, Kansas City, Kansas. Not Memorial Auditorium in Kansas City, MO; there is no such place. There is a Municipal Auditorium in KCMO but this concert was not held there.
ReplyDeleteThanks for this. I updated the list with the correct venue (and picked up the other shows from the Comments too).
DeleteI was at the show in Central Park and vividly remember Mitch Ryder making a guest appearance. Equally vivid is the memory of Eric Burdon handing Mitch a dead microphone into which Mitch screamed his best but still could not be heard.
ReplyDelete“Chandler goes to the Cafe What to hear Jimi Hendrix”. It’s probably just an auto correct typo but it was not the Café What, it was the Café Wha?
ReplyDeleteThe Toronto concert was held at Maple Leaf Stadium not Maple Leaf Gardens. The stadium was built for baseball and torn down long before the Blue Jays came to Toronto
ReplyDeleteMy dad took me and my brother to see "The Battle of the British",The Animals and Herman's Hermits,July 26,1966 in Winston Salem, NC..It was great.
ReplyDeleteI posted the set list for the Animals and Herman's Hermits from the July 31 Chicago show on setlistfm website. I found the info handwritten by a fan inside a Herman's Hermits tour book that I picked up at an antique shop. Apparently, a 5 piece band called Rooks opened the show. I have their set list too. Can't find any info on them.
ReplyDeleteI would love a photo of the setlist for the Rooks. My dad was a guitarist in the band. I've been looking for memorabilia.
Deletehttps://video.search.yahoo.com/yhs/search?fr=yhs-att-att_001&hsimp=yhs-att_001&hspart=att&p=the+rooks+you+tube+lost+and+found#id=1&vid=1a5a66f84a57613071f51e4367e161e3&action=click
DeleteJuly 24th city park stadium New Orleans, I was there! Saw Jimi there as well a couple years later, was just a teen
ReplyDeleteI was at the concert on July 24th 1966 in New Orleans city park stadium it was my first concert I was 10 years old and had a date with me
ReplyDelete