2201 Arch Street, Philadelphia, PA The Electric Factory: Concert List July-December 1968 (Philadelphia II)

[this post continues the series about rock concerts at the Electric Factory in Philadelphia in the 1960s]

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania is one of America's great cities, but its proximity to New York has always made an unfair comparison. Philadelphia has an exciting music history, and an exciting rock music history in the 1960s, but that history can only be documented in the most fragmented of places. These posts about the Electric Factory marks the beginning of my effort to organize and analyze Philadelphia rock history in the 1960s. There are considerably more dates to be found, but these posts will make a good starting point.

The Electric Factory, 2201 Arch Street
The Electric Factory, a former tire warehouse, opened in early 1968 at 2201 Arch.  The owners were the Spivak brothers, all experienced bar owners in the Philadelphia area. Their booker was Larry Magid.  They rapidly dominated the concert scene in Philadelphia, and the Electric Factory were the most important promoters in Philadelphia until they ultimately were purchased by larger corporate interests in the 1990s.

The Electric Factory was a critical stop on 60s concert tours, and an integral part of the "Premier Talent" (Booking Agency) circuit that included both Fillmores, the Boston Tea Party and Chicago's Kinetic Playground. Philadelphia was a big, important city and Philadelphia fans were not shy about showing their appreciation or displeasure (a trait that has endured). However, since the Electric Factory did not generally use posters with collectible art for advertisements, the venue has been somewhat lost to 60s rock history. There were many relatively trivial 60s venues that had a famous poster or two, often printed in The Art Of Rock or otherwise promulgated, that are recalled much more often than the Electric Factory. Outside of Philadelphia, the early history of the Electric Factory is largely ignored, and I am attempting to begin to correct that here.

This post represents my best efforts at determining late 1968 shows at the Electric Factory, as well as shows promoted by Electric Factory concerts. Anyone with additional information, insights, corrections or recovered memories (real or imagined) is encouraged to Comment or email me, and I will update the list accordingly. This post presents the lists of Electric Factory concerts from July through December 1968, as well as major Philadelphia rock events during that period.

(For earlier efforts at psychedelic ballrooms in Philadelphia as well as the first half of 1968 for the Electric Factory, see here)

Electric Factory, Philadelphia July-December 1968
I have almost no dates for the Electric Factory throughout the Summer of 1968. However, I believe they put on concerts every weekend, and probably many weekdays as well. They also probably put on at least some free concerts at the Belmont Plateau in nearby Fairmount Park. Nonetheless we have almost no record of any of these events. I am assuming that this was because the Electric Factory rarely used colorful, artistic posters to advertise the shows. Our knowledge of shows at venues like the Fillmore, the Avalon or Detroit's Grande Ballroom comes from the wonderful (and collectible) posters that lived on in dorm room walls long after the venues ceased operating. I think the Electric Factory advertised on the radio and with print-only ads in various newspapers, making it harder to discern their schedule.

This list includes what concerts I have found for the second half of 1968, and I have included a few other major Philadelphia rock concerts as well.

July 17, 1968 JFK Stadium The Rascals/Country Joe and The Fish/The Box Tops/Delfonics
Schmidt’s Beer Presents The Philadelphia Music Festival
I do not know if the Electric Factory had any involvement in this early effort to have a rock show in a huge football stadium, but I am including it anyway because it is such an interesting bill. The Rascals were a popular East Coast band, while Country Joe and The Fish were one of San Francisco's leading musical exports. The Box Tops, while in fact an excellent band, were marked as sort of a "pop" band, and The Delfonics were a major Philadelphia soul band. Their big hit at this time was "La-La-La Means I Love You."

This was quite a daring booking, as white rock and black R&b acts rarely played on the same bill, but I don't know anything about the concert itself. The show was on a Wednesday night. According to the excellent book The Who Concert File (McMichael and Lyons, Omnibus Press 1997), a series of concerts were held at JFK Stadium throughout the Summer (see July 24 below). I presume these concerts made up "The Philadelphia Music Festival."

JFK Stadium (formerly Philadelphia Municipal Stadium), at the far Southern end of Broad Street (at Pattison), was built in 1925 and had a maximum football capacity of 102,000. The Beatles had played there on August 16, 1966. From the late 1970s onward, many rock concerts were held in the stadium, most famously the American half of Live Aid (July 13, 1985). The stadium was torn down in 1992.

>July 19-21, 1968 Electric Factory Fleetwood Mac
Fleetwood Mac were booked for these shows, but canceled and never played them, as Mac had returned to England by July 18.

July 24, 1968 JFK Stadium The Who/The Troggs/Mandala/Pink Floyd/Friends of The Family
This seems to have been another part of the series of concerts at JFK Stadium.  Pink Floyd had replaced Procol Harum, who couldn't get work visas. An attendee reports that rain began during Pink Floyd’s set, and there were no provisions to cover the stage, and the show was abruptly halted.

Once again this show was on a Wednesday night. I'd be very interested to find out who played the other shows of this "Festival."

I have been unable to find out anything about other Electric Factory concerts in the Summer of 1968. Its not impossible the venue took some kind of hiatus at some point, but I would be surprised if there weren't quite a number of shows yet to be found.

September 13-14, 1968  Electric Factory  Butterfield Blues Band/Eric Andersen/American Dream

September 20-21, 1968  Electric Factory The Nazz/Velvet Underground/Colwell-Winfield Blues Band
By this time Todd Rundgren had joined The Nazz.

September 27-28, 1968  Electric Factory Amboy Dukes/James Cotton Blues Band/Elizabeth

October 4-5, 1968  Electric Factory Moby Grape/Albert King/Woody’s Truck Stop

October 16, 1968 Electric Factory John Mayall
From the Mayall Fan Club, via Christopher Hjort's fine book Strange Brew. Not confirmed—date approximate.

October 19, 1968 The Spectrum “Quaker City Rock Festival”
Big Brother and The Holding Company/Moby Grape/Vanilla Fudge/Buddy Guy/Chambers Brothers/others?
The Spectrum was at 3601 S. Broad Street, just across from JFK Stadium. It was an 18,000 capacity indoor arena that had opened in Fall 1967. Electric Factory promoter Larry Magid had put on the first event at the Spectrum, the Quaker City Jazz Festival, on September 30, 1967. The Spectrum was also home to the NBA's 76ers and the NHL's Flyers. The Quaker City Rock Festival appears to have been an effort to book some larger acts that may have been too big to play the Electric Factory.

There appears to have been two ‘Quaker City Rock Festivals’ at The Spectrum in 1968 (see December 6, 1968 below), and time seems to have confused the memories of various eyewitnesses.

October 25-26, 1968  Electric Factory Jeff Beck Group

November 1-2, 1968  Electric Factory Big Brother and The Holding Company
This must have been some weekend in Philadelphia, with Big Brother riding high on top of Cheap Thrills, and Cream on their 'Farewell Tour.'

November 1, 1968 The Spectrum Cream/Sweet Stavin Chain
This show was near the end of the American leg of Cream's 'Farewell Tour' (the last show was in Rhode Island on November 4). For some pictures of the show, see here. Note that Cream were in the center of the floor, on a revolving stage. Note also the comparatively tiny amount of equipment. Ginger Baker's drums seem to have very few or possibly no microphones.

[update 16 February 2023: David Starobin, former bass player of Sweet Stavin Chain gives us the 411 on the band: 

I was the original bass player with my brother Danny’s band, Sweet Stavin Chain.

We were managed by Lew Linnet and played at The Second Fret, the Philadelphia Folk Festival and the Kaleidoscope,  Temple’s Amber Campus outdoor venue with Lucas Foss and the Pittsburgh Symphony, a gay club in town (I forget the name), a concert hall in NYC and other venues.  By the time I was replaced with another bass player the band was playing the Factory regularly.  I remember them opening for The Chambers Brothers, Country Joe and The Fish, opening for Frank Zappa and The Mothers of Invention at the Academy of Music on Mother’s Day and playing the Spectrum.  By this time they were managed by Larry Magid, hence their “in” with The Factory and The Spectrum. 

November 7-8, 1968  Electric Factory Moody Blues/Ars Nova

November 15-16, 1968 Electric Factory Steppenwolf
From Billboard (Nov 16, 1968). Not necessarily a conflict with the Airplane, as they could have played together (below), although given Steppenwolf's popularity by this time it seems surprising that the bands would be double billed.

Novmeber 16, 1968  Electric Factory Jefferson Airplane

November 27-28, 1968 Electric Factory The Byrds/American Dream/Yum Yum

December 5, 1968 Civic Center Chambers Brothers/Spirit
The Philadelphia Civic Center, an Art Deco landmark at 3400 Civic Center Blvd (near U. Penn), was built in 1931 and was the main Philadelphia venue for sports and events until 1967 (The venue was also known as The Municipal Auditorium and The Convention Center, depending on the exact configuration). Once The Spectrum was complete, however, the building nearly became obsolete. However, the 12,000 capacity hall was still used for some events. It was torn down in 2005.

The Chambers Brothers were particularly big at this time, as their single "Time" had re-entered the charts.

December 6, 1968 The Spectrum “Quaker City Rock Festival”
Grateful Dead/Sly and The Family Stone/Iron Butterfly/Steppenwolf
Al Kooper remembers being the MC.  Apparently Creedence Clearwater Revival canceled, but this edition Festival had a distinctly West Coast feel, with two bands from San Francisco and two from Los Angeles. This show was the Grateful Dead's first of 53 appearances at The Spectrum.

Various eyewitnesses remember The Chambers Brothers and Vanilla Fudge, but its not clear whether those bands played, or the memories were conflated with the previous Quaker City Rock Festival (see October 19, 1968), or else the Civic Center show from the day before.

December 29-30, 1968   Electric Factory Fleetwood Mac
Guitarist Rick Vito described seeing the group in Vintage Guitar, quoted at length in Chris Hjort’s Strange Brew. Apparently, the band was a Peter Green-led powerhouse the first night, and a Jeremy Spencer-led bunch of goofballs the second night.

Anyone with additional information about Philadelphia rock concerts in 1968 should Comment or email me, and I will update the posts accordingly. See here for shows at Philadelphia's Electric Factory in the first half of 1969.

Kinetic Playground: 4812 N. Clark St, Chicago, IL Performance List 1968 (New! Improved!)

(h/t Brad for the scan of the July 24, 1968 poster)

[I have received so much great information about the Kinetic Playground that I am updating my original post]

Chicago is one of the world's great cities, by any accounting, and it has a musical heritage to match. While today it is mostly renowned for introducing electric blues to the outside world, Chicago has made memorable contributions to jazz, soul, folk and rock music as well. Chicago had always been a critically important outpost for any touring act, regardless of the style of music. While the weather in Chicago can be daunting, there has always been excellent public transportation and fearless cab drivers, so a patron can always get home at 4am when the bars close.

In the 1960s, Chicago was an essential stop for any rock band looking to make it big. Chicago fans love a good time, but they have high standards too, as the blues band playing down the street in Chicago was better than most blues bands headlining in London or San Francisco. The pace of the city and the barriers of the weather make Chicago fans enthusiastic about good performers and ferociously dismissive of pretenders. Any discussion about music with a Chicago rock fan will immediately lead to stories of over the top concerts that seem to happen every month (a friend of mine once described seeing fans tear apart the Chicago Opera House during a 1970 Iggy and The Stooges concert by saying "If I was born the night I saw Iggy, I'd be old enough to drink now"). Nevertheless, the history of sixties rock in Chicago remains unnecessarily scattered, so I will begin to rectify that now.

Despite, or perhaps because, of its financial importance, Chicago did not have a single venue that was Nationally recognized like The Fillmores. The city of Chicago had numerous old buildings that could easily be converted to rock concert duty, even if all of the buildings had a variety of flaws. As a result, the late 1960s and early 1970s saw numerous venues rise and fall, such as The Cheetah, which became The Aragon Ballroom (at 1106 N. Lawrence) and the Chicago Coliseum, which became The Syndrome (on Wabash Avenue). Other venues were also regularly used for rock shows, like The Auditorium Theater and  the International Amphitheatre. However, Chicago's principal stop on the 60s rock circuit was The Kinetic Playground, at 4812 N. Clark Street.

4812 N. Clark Street was originally known as The Rainbo Gardens, and it was a sort of dance hall and entertainment center. It was used for various functions over the years, but in 1968 Brooklyn-born promoter Aaron Russo (then 24 years old) took over the ballroom. The building itself was somewhat larger, and included a skating rink, but Russo opened a rock nightclub in the former Rainbo Gardens Ballroom on April 3, 1968, and named it the Electric Theater. Russo had worked in his family's garment business and put on rock shows as a High School student, so despite his young age he was well prepared for the cutthroat rock business.

The Electric Theater opened in April of 1968, and by June, 4812 N. Clark Street in Chicago was an essential stop on the "Fillmore Circuit." Bands that played such venues as the Fillmores, the Boston Tea Party and The Electric Factory always played on N. Clark Street as well. Talent agent Frank Barsalona, all but single-handedly responsible for breaking English bands in America, made The Electric Theater a critical stop for his bands, and many of the most legendary concerts in Chicago were early appearances by groups like Led Zeppelin, Jethro Tull and Ten Years After.

What follows is my working list of known performances at 4812 N. Clark Street, as both the Electric Theater and later the Kinetic Playground. It appears that it was only open on weekends, but there may have been additional shows that I am not aware of. This list has been constructed from surviving handbills and from the chronologies of the various bands. The existing handbills for the venue are primarily just lists of upcoming shows, with little in the way of collectible or interesting artwork, so Chicago handbills did not stay on people's dormitory walls the way posters did from San Francisco or Detroit, making research somewhat harder.

I believe the venue was open every weekend, even in the Winter, from April 3, 1968 until November 7, 1969, so there are many more shows to be discovered. Anyone who has additions, corrections and memories (real or imagined) regarding shows is encouraged to Comment or Email me. Thanks again to everyone who sent me amazing clippings, recollections and corrections in order to improve my previous post.

April 3-5, 1968 Electric Theater The Paupers
The Electric Theater opened on April 5 1968 with Toronto's Paupers as the headline act

April 23, 1968 Electric Theater Harumi

April 26-28, 1968 Electric Theater Little Boy Blues/The Rush

May 3-4, 1968 Electric Theater Siegal Schwall Blues Band

May 10-11, 1968 Electric Theater Finchley Boys

May 17-19, 1968 Electric Theater Canned Heat

May 21, 1968--according to the Chicago Tribune, the police raided the Electric Theater and shut it down. I do not know for sure how long it was closed, but at least some of the following shows must have been canceled. I suspect they were up and running by the next weekend (Friday May 24), although the Friday entertainment music listings in the Tribune (below) had probably been prepared in advance.

May 22-26, 1968 Electric Theater Steppenwolf/Influence

May 31-June 2, 1968 Electric Theater James Cotton Blues Band/Holy Om
According to the Chicago Tribune (h/t Joe), James Cotton seems to have replaced Muddy Waters.

June 7-9, 1968 Electric Theater Love/Chicago Slim Blues Band

June 10, 1968 Electric Theater Loading Zone 
This was a Monday night show, probably a relatively rare occurrence. The Loading Zone were a San Francisco band getting a big push from RCA behind their debut album. The record company probably rented the hall for the night and distributed some (or all) tickets through radio stations.

June 12-15, 1968  Electric Theater Rotary Connection
Rotary Connection was a popular "psychedelic soul" band from Chicago. They recorded for a Chess subsidiary, and featured singer Minnie Ripperton. 

June 26-27, 1968 Electric Theater Hello People
June 28-30, 1968 Electric Theater Blue Cheer/Hello People
The Hello People were a peculiar mixture of mime, vocal harmonies and rock. I believe they headlined themselves on Wednesday and Thursday (26 and 27). Blue Cheer, at the time, touted itself as the loudest band in the world, with a tower of Marshall Stax turned up to the max. Who do you think Chicago liked better?

July 3-4, 1968 Electric Theater Country Joe and The Fish/Hawk
Besides being Berkeley's leading rock export, Country Joe and The Fish were acutely aware that the 1968 Democratic Convention would be held in Chicago from August 25-29.

July 5-7, 1968 Electric Theater Rotary Connection/The McCoys/Growin Concern
Rotary Connection seems to have been the only Chicago-based headliner in 1968, but of course since we do not have a list yet of every show, I don't know if that was entirely true. The McCoys, from Indiana, were trying to remake themselves into a psychedelic blues band, which was a long way from "Hang On Sloopy."

July 12-14, 1968 Electric Theater Spirit/Peanut Butter Conspiracy/T.I.M.E
Although the dates are slightly approximated (the Chicago Tribune said "this weekend"), all the groups were from Los Angeles. Spirit were rising stars, and Peanut Butter Conspiracy somewhat fading ones. T.I.M.E was connected to the Steppenwolf/Toronto crowd, now relocated to LA.

July 17-21, 1968 The Electric Theater Earth Opera/Sunshine Company (19&20)
Thanks to a Commenter, we know from a flyer that Peter Rowan and David Grisman's baroque-psychedelic-folk rock band, Earth Opera, headlined for a four day stretch, joined by the airy pop of the Sunshine Company (from LA) for the last two days.

July 24, 1968 Electric Theater Jefferson Airplane/Iron Butterfly (two shows)
Note the nice poster above. I don't know how many shows had custom posters.

July 25-28, 1968 Electric Theater Iron Butterfly

August 1, 1968 Electric Theater The Who 

Soon after the opening of The Electric Theater, a well-known New York "hippie discoteque" called The Electric Circus had sued the Electric Theater for copying its trademark (or something like that). For whatever reasons, Aaron Russo ultimately changed the name of his club to The Kinetic Playground. Some flyers still included some representation of the name Electric Theater (like "The Electric Theater Presents At The Kinetic Playground"). It appears that the sound company associated with the club retained the name Electric Theater, and many Chicagoans seemed to have used the names Electric Theater and Kinetic Playground interchangeably. 

August 9, 1968--the club officially changed its name to The Kinetic Playground (per the Trib)

August 14-15, 1968 Kinetic Playground Mothers Of Invention/Canned Heat
Earlier ads featured Julie Driscoll and Brian Auger, but it appears that Canned Heat took their place.

(a clip from the Chicago Tribune entertainment listings for Tuesday, August 16, 1968--h/t Joe)

August 16-17, 1968 Kinetic Playground Mothers Of Invention/Them
This would have been a Tuesday and Wednesday night, but Frank Zappa was much beloved in Chicago and this would have still been a very big deal. Van Morrison had left Them two years earlier, but the 1968 configuration was still apparently a pretty good live band.

August 18, 1968 Kinetic Playground Them/Litter

August 24, 1968 Kinetic Playground Litter/Bangor Flying Circus

August 30, 1968 Kinetic Playground Litter/Nova

August 31, 1968 Kinetic Playground Nova/Chicago Slim Blues Band
Chicago Slim Blues Band replaced Chicago Transit Authority, who had been advertised earlier.

September 1, 1968 Kinetic Playground Litter/Nova
The groups replaced Pink Floyd, who canceled. 

September 2, 1968 Kinetic Playground Eric Burdon and The Animals

September 6-7, 1968 Kinetic Playground Procol Harum/Mandrake Memorial
September 8, 1968 Kinetic Playground Mandrake Memorial

Mandrake Memorial were Philadelphia's leading underground psychedelic band. 

September 13-14-15, 1968 Kinetic Playground Illinois Speed Press/Pride
Pride was the new name for the Lemon Pipers  

September 20-22, 1968 Kinetic Playground Kensington Market

October 4-6, 1968 Kinetic Playground John Mayall/Pacific Gas & Electric

( a clip from the music listings of the Chicago Tribune for Thursday, October 10, 1968--h/t Joe)

October 11, 1968 Kinetic Playground Jeff Beck Group/Pacific Gas & Electric/Fever Tree

October 12-13, 1968 Kinetic Playground Rotary Connection/Pacific Gas & Electric/Fever Tree
P,G & E were a Los Angeles blues-rock band. Fever Tree was often thought to be a Bay Area band, because of their hit "San Francisco Girls" but in fact they were from Houston, TX.

(a clip from the Chicago Tribune entertainment listings on Friday, October 18--h/t Joe)

October 18, 1968 Kinetic Playground Steppenwolf/Ten Years After
October 19-20, 1968 Kinetic Playground Ten Years After
At this time, Steppenwolf were huge stars, and Ten Years After were just another up and coming English band. They were probably on their second American tour at the time. Ten Years After made it big by touring constantly, and no city loved them more than Chicago.

October 21-22, 1968  Kinetic Playground Moody Blues/Rotary Connection

October 25-26, 1968 Kinetic Playground Quicksilver Messenger Service/SRC

November 1-2, 1968 Kinetic Playground Moby Grape/Eire Apparent/Rotary Connection (1 only) 

November 8, 1968 Kinetic Playground Spencer Davis

November 9, 1968 Kinetic Playground Canned Heat

November 15-16, 1968 Kinetic Playground Moody Blues/Charles Lloyd

November 22-23, 1968 Kinetic Playground Blue Cheer/Creedence Clearwater Revival

November 27-28, 1968 Kinetic Playground Grateful Dead/Procol Harum/Terry Reid

November 29-30, 1968 Kinetic Playgroud Tim Buckley/Terry Reid/Canned Heat

December 6-7, 1968 Kinetic Playground Buddy Miles Express/Deep Purple
Buddy Miles was the headliner, as Deep Purple was not yet well known. This was the original version of Deep Purple, best known for the song "Hush," and featuring Rod Evans on vocals.

December 13-14, 1968 Kinetic Playground Iron Butterfly/Group Image

December 20-21 Kinetic Playground New York Rock and Roll Ensemble/Amboy Dukes/Charlie Musselwhite

December 22, 1968 Kinetic Playground Rotary Connection

December 31, 1968 Kinetic Playground The Byrds/Muddy Waters/Fleetwood Mac

For 1969 shows, see the original post here. I will continue to update this post as more information comes in, and re-post when there is enough information. Thanks again to everyone who helped.

2201 Arch Street, Philadelphia, PA The Electric Factory: Concert List February-June 1968 (Electric Factory I)

(An ad for shows at Philadelphia's Electric Factory starting on March 24, 1968, from the April 1968 issue of Distant Drummer [#5]--h/t Joe for the scan)

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania is one of America's great cities, but its proximity to New York has always made an unfair comparison. Philadelphia has an exciting music history, and an exciting rock music history in the 1960s, but that history can only be documented in the most fragmented of places. This post about the Electric Factory marks the beginning of my effort to organize and analyze Philadelphia rock history in the 1960s.

1967: Early Philadelphia Psychedelia
Philadelphia had an exciting music history, with Dick Clark's American Bandstand and great soul and jazz music, and Philadelphia was an important stop on the Folk music circuit in the early 1960s. As a result, however, psychedelic rock came a little later to the city.

The Trauma
The Trauma was at 2121 Arch Street, near Logan Square. The proprietor of The Trauma was Manny Rubin, who also ran The 2nd Fret on Sansom Street, Philadelphia's leading folk club. The Trauma was a pretty small place, more like a club than a ballroom. Rubin seems to have figured out that the market was moving away from folk towards rock, and his timing was excellent. A number of excellent and interesting bands played The Trauma, although details are hardly complete.

The first show I know about at The Trauma was February 24-26, 1967 with Lothar and The Hand People. The last I can confirm was The Mothers of Invention playing 6 nights at The Trauma at the end of 1967 (December 26-31). Unfortunately, Rubin's excellent timing merely provided a "proof of concept" for the Electric Factory, which opened up in February 1968, just a block away. Apparently The Trauma survived into early 1968, but it could not compete with its larger rival.

The Kaleidoscope
Another early Philadelphia area psychedelic venue was a club called The Kaleidoscope, in a converted movie theater n Main Street in the Philadelphia neighborhood of Mayanuk. I do not know the exact address. The proprietor was one David Carroll. I'm not sure how long it was open (a Commenter reports that it opened after The Trauma). Among the only groups that I know for sure that played The Kaleidoscope were The Mandrake Memorial, who was one of (if not the) founding underground groups on the Philadelphia scene, and The Ultimate Spinach (from Massachusetts). A New Jersey garage band called The Satyrs recalled opening for the Spinach and Mandrake Memorial at The Kaleidoscope, but other than that I know little about the venue. Apparently the Kaleidoscope did not survive the opening of the Electric Factory.

The Electric Factory, 2201 Arch Street
The Electric Factory, a former tire warehouse, opened in early 1968 at 2201 Arch.  The owners were the Spivak brothers, all experienced bar owners in the Philadelphia area. Their booker was Larry Magid.  They rapidly dominated the concert scene in Philadelphia, and the Electric Factory were the most important promoters in Philadelphia until they ultimately were purchased by larger corporate interests in the 1990s.

The Electric Factory was a critical stop on 60s concert tours, and an integral part of the "Premier Talent" (Booking Agency) circuit that included both Fillmores, the Boston Tea Party and Chicago's Kinetic Playground. Philadelphia was a big, important city and Philadelphia fans were not shy about showing their appreciation or displeasure (a trait that has endured). However, since the Electric Factory did not generally use posters with collectible art for advertisements, the venue has been somewhat lost to 60s rock history. There were many relatively trivial 60s venues that had a famous poster or two, often printed in The Art Of Rock or otherwise promulgated, that are recalled much more often than the Electric Factory. Outside of Philadelphia, the early history of the Electric Factory is largely ignored, and I am attempting to begin to correct that here.

This list represents my best efforts at determining early 1968 shows at the Electric Factory, as well as shows promoted by Electric Factory concerts. Anyone with additional information, insights, corrections or recovered memories (real or imagined) is encouraged to Comment or email me, and I will update the list accordingly.

Reader Alex, a scholar and a gentleman, sends along a scan of a handbill given out on the opening night of the Electric Factory

February 2-3, 1968  The Chambers Brothers/First Borne
This was the first show at The Electric Factory (confirmed by Commenter Alex). I assume there was a show the next weekend, too (before the Peanut Butter Conspiracy on Feb 16)  In the Winter, the Electric Factory usually just had shows on Friday and Saturday night, although sometimes for bigger acts they played other days of the week as well. Sometimes there were Saturday afternoon matinee shows (3-7 p.m.). I assume there were shows every weekend, but I have not been able to locate all the dates.

FIrst Borne, the opening act, is unknown to me.

February 16-17, 1968 Peanut Butter Conspiracy/Woody’s Truck Stop
The Peanut Butter Conspiracy list has the group playing the entire week (February 13 thru 18, Tuesday thru Sunday) but weekend gigs only seem more likely.

Woody’s Truck Stop had featured teenage phenom guitarist Todd Rundgren, but he had left by this time.

February 21-22, 1968 Jimi Hendrix Experience/Soft Machine/Woody's Truck Stop
Jimi Hendrix played early and late shows both nights. These dates were a Wednesday and a Thursday, so presumably other acts played the weekend.

March 1-3, 1968 Country Joe and The Fish

March 15-17, 1968 Big Brother and The Holding Company

March 22-24, 1968 Mothers of Invention/Nova Local
The handbill says that each Saturday has a matinee show from 3 to 6, so the Mothers would have played both afternoon on Saturday March 23. I assume many of the other billings had Saturday afternon matinees as well, but I haven't yet pinned that down for sure.

March 26-31, 1968  Muddy Waters American Blues Band/American Dream
American Dream was a Philadelphia band featuring lead guitarist Nick Jameson, who became the bassist for Foghat in the late 70s.

There would have been a Saturday matinee show on March 30.

April 2-4, 1968 Beacon Street Union
The flyer (above) has Boston's Beacon Street Union as the headliner from Tuesday through Thursday. A different source has legendary jazz guitarist Wes Montgomery (along with locals The American Dream) from April 1-4 (Monday through Thursday). These aren't actually incompatible. If Montgomery actually played the Electric Factory, it would have been his only known performance at a rock club. Montgomery was a truly epic guitarist; when he died on June 15, 1968, the Grateful Dead dedicated "Dark Star" to him at the Fillmore East, the only time they ever dedicated that song to anyone.

April 5-7, 1968  Butterfield Blues Band/Pandora’s Box
April 8-11, 1968  Butterfield Blues Band/Hugh Masakela
Butterfield Blues Band would have headlined a Saturday matinee on the afternoon of April 6.

>April 12-14, 1968 Cream/Woody’s Truck Stop
Cream canceled, and played the next week.  Its not clear if there were shows these nights.

April 16, 1968 American Dream
This was a Tuesday night. It appears that as Spring came on, the Electric Factory made an effort to be open six days a week, at least some of the time.

April 17-18, 1968 Stan Kenton & His Neophonic Orchestra ‘Concert and Lecture’
West Coast Big Band leader Stan Kenton was a very important figure in jazz, although he was never a huge commercial success. It does appear there was an effort to book jazz artists on weeknights (given the April bookings for Wes Montgomery, Hugh Masakela and Kenton).

April 19-21, 1968 Cream/Woody’s Truck Stop
Cream was rescheduled from April 12-14. Cream would have headlined the Saturday matinee on April 20.

>April 19-21, 1968 Blood, Sweat & Tears/Elizabeth
Al Kooper had just quit Blood, Sweat and Tears, so they canceled out.  It appears that Cream took over BST’s dates because Kooper had quit.

April 22, 1968 ‘Dance Marathon’
This would have been a Monday afternoon show, probably featuring local bands.

>April 23-28, 1968 Woody's Truck Stop/American Dream/Elizabeth/Edison Electric
This was billed as "The Sound of Philadelphia" on the March poster (above), but the Grateful Dead ended up as headliners for the weekend. Perhaps these four groups still played Tuesday thru Thursday, before the Dead moved in as headliners.

(An ad for shows at Philadelphia's Electric Factory starting on April 26, 1968, from the May 1968 issue of Distant Drummer [#6]--h/t Joe for the scan)

April 26-28, 1968 Grateful Dead/Amboy Dukes/Edison Electric Band/The Amazing Beymont
Based on the two advertisements, the Grateful Dead seemed to have been added rather hurriedly. I have written about the peculiarities of the Dead's April 1968 itinerary elsewhere--suffice to say it appears a Miami sojourn was cut short.

Grateful Dead manager Rock Scully has an hilarious description in his book of the Dead's stay in Philadelphia on their first visit to the Electric Factory. The Dead were housed in a "hotel" that appeared to be a house of prostitution on top of a blues bar. The boys in the band were very unsettled by this, and forced Scully to find students willing to put them up for the week--except for Pigpen, who loved the place and spent the whole time hanging out and playing blues at the bar. Since the Grateful Dead continued to work with the Electric Factory throughout their entire career, presumably better accommodations were provided in later visits.

The Amboy Dukes, a Detroit band featuring lead guitarist Ted Nugent, were riding a big hit with the newly-released "Journey To The Center Of Your Mind."

May 1-3, 1968 Blue Cheer/Elizabeth/Henry Crow Dog
Blue Cheer had cachet insofar as they came from San Francisco, but their music was pretty far from the sinuous folk rock improvisations typical of the Fillmore. Blue Cheer was a loud, loud, loud and proud power trio, playing through veritable wall of Marshall Stax amps. Their first album Vincebus Eruptum, and their hit single "Summertime Blues" were mostly regarded as curiousities except by those who thought they were awesome. Although Blue Cheer was modeled on Cream, their overwhelming sonic assault sort of prefigured Led Zeppelin and Heavy Metal.

May 8-10, 1968 Iron Butterfly/Henry Crow Dog
Iron Butterfly was a Los Angeles-based band (they were actually from San Diego) whose debut album on Atco was fairly popular. The band's mega hit album In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida and the accompanying title track would not come out until the next month (June 1968). Iron Butterfly are somewhat unfairly recalled as one-hit wonders today, but in fact they were probably the second band to break out of the Los Angeles underground and tour nationally (after The Doors) before they hit Platinum record status (the Platinum record was invented by Atco for Iron Butterfly, incidentally).

My sources run dry for identifying any shows for the rest of May and June, except for the Canned Heat show. I have every reason to believe there were shows at the Electric Factory every week, and probably most weeknights throughout the Summer. At some point during the Summers, the Electric Factory held free concerts at the Belmont Plateau in nearby Fairmount Park, advertised as "Be-Ins." They apparently mostly featured the local groups like American Dream, Elizabeth and Edison Electric Band, but I don't know precisely who played, and if any of the National headliners ever showed up.

June 7-9, 1968 Canned Heat
Canned Heat was another band that had broken out of the LA underground and was touring Nationally. They had had a big hit with "On The Road Again" in late 1967, and they were a very popular live act.

For the next entry in the Electric Factory series, see here.