Thee Image and The Miami Rock Scene, March 1968-April 1969

The recent discovery of some "lost" Grateful Dead gigs at Thee Image in Miami on April 12-13-14, 1968, springing from an AP Wire Service story about an Easter Sunday "Love-In" at Greynolds Park in North Miami Beach (right, from the Colorado Springs Gazette of April 15, 1968), pointed out the paucity of prosopographical analysis of Thee Image and the psychedelic rock scene in Miami in the late 1960s. I am attempting to rectify the gap with this post.


Overview
Thee Image was Miami's biggest and best known psychedelic rock club, even though it was only open for about 13 months. It was located in a former 32-lane bowling alley at 18330 Collins Avenue, just North of Miami in Sunny Isles Beach. It was principally operated by a band from Tampa, FL, originally called The Motions, who had changed their name to Blues Image in an homage to The Blues Project. Blues Image were reputedly hip Florida's best live band, with twin drummers and a funky, swinging sound. Besides helping operate the club, they were the house band and apparently played just about every weekend there, whether or not they appeared on the bill.

Thee Image opened on March 15, 1968 with The Mothers of Invention, and the last gig that I can find was April 26, 1969 with Ten Years After. The club had three stages and multiple rooms, along with a wall of Ampeg speakers, so it wasn't just a converted building. The club seems to be remembered fondly by performers and fans, but there is very little in the way of photographs or live tapes, and only a few posters circulate.

Visiting bands were impressed with the Blues Image, but Frank Zappa suggested that they would have to go to New York or Los Angeles to make it, and Eric Burdon invited them to Los Angeles, so in Spring 1969 they closed Thee Image and moved to Los Angeles. They briefly backed Burdon and went on to some success with the hit single "Ride Captain Ride" in 1970.

Background
The one really interesting source on the late 1960s Florida rock scene was a multi-page site by one GL Sullivan, full of fascinatingly detailed information including detailed line drawings. This site is no longer accessible on the web, so while I will quote from it liberally, any information on links to his material would be very welcome.

The South was slow to open itself to psychedelic rock, not due to lack of interest from young people, but due to the more conservative nature of the region and police hostility to long hair, drug use and draft resisters.  Miami, while very much part of the South, was also primarily a resort town and a destination for many people from the Northeast, and it had the relaxed informality of most seaside communities. While not necessarily hippie friendly, and while not yet quite Margaritaville, it was less conservative than other port cities in the South, so its not surprising that Miami was one of the first places in the South to attract a critical mass of hippies.

The World, Biscayne Blvd at NE 142nd Street
According to Sullivan

Previously in South Florida, before The World had opened in 1967, the only concert venues had been Code One and Tiger's Den (Masters) in Ft. Lauderdale and The Place
in North Miami. The World, sponsored by radio station WQAM and hosted by DJ Rick Shaw, was built in an old National Guard Armory hanger building off of Biscayne Blvd.
at NE 142nd St.  Admission was $1.75. 

It was total Psychedelia. There were 5 or 6 stages high up over the dance floor.   Black lights, strobe lights and oil/slide light shows were everywhere.   The house band was The Kollektion, a Super Group made up of members of the best local bands in South Florida, such as the Mor-Loks, the Shaggs, Sounds Unlimited and Dr. T & the Undertakers. 

Several bands would play every Wed., Fri. & Sat. nights, with a host of national acts, such as:  Spirit, Spencer Davis Group, Iron Butterfly, Mitch Ryder, Wilson Pickett, Moby Grape and Wayne Cochran.  Today, the building is a warehouse.

I only have a few performance dates for The World:

• May 3-4, 1968 Iron Butterfly/The Seven Of Us/Echo
• May 10-11, 1968 Clear Light/Blues Image/Bangles

Based on the bands mentioned by Sullivan, the venue probably did not last beyond the middle of 1968. As the rock market evolved, Miami hippies first needed a cooler place, which they found at Thee Experience, and then a bigger place and The Blues Image helped put together Thee Image. Sullivan:

The World had started to become too big and many of the local "hippies"  needed a smaller, cooler, hipper more private place to hang.  Soon, Thee Experience opened up a few blocks down the road, in a biker bar. The better San Francisco and West coast bands were playing there, instead of The World. 

Then, Thee Experience had booked the Mothers of Invention to appear.  The club was too small, so they found an old 32 Lane Bowling Alley on Collins Ave. and opened up Thee Image.  The Mothers of Invention opened thee Image on March 15/16, 1968 and the rest is history.   

Thee Image was the ultimate experience.  There were 3 stages with black lights and day glow paint everywhere.  A shop sold all your psychedelic needs.  And, of course there was the Meditation Room...   The house band was the Blues Image.   It was open Fri., Sat., & Sun. nights, with the admission price between $2 and$3, depending on who was performing. The  list of famous bands that performed there was endless, including: 
the Grateful Dead, Led Zeppelin, Cream, Loving Spoonful, the Velvet Underground, Country Joe & the Fish, Big Brother & the Holding Company, The Yardbirds, TheTroggs, Procol Harum, Ten Years After, The Electric Flag, Paul Butterfield Blues Band, James Cotton Blues Band (James jammed with the Blues Image until the Sun came up), Cactus,
Elvin Bishop Blues Band, Savoy Brown and the US premiere of Magical Mystery Tour... 

Often, the band would put on a free concert Sunday afternoon at Greynolds Park.  Today,  the building is a  Publix  supermarket...

As near as I can tell, the operator of the initial, smaller Thee Experience club was one Marshall Brevetz. Brevetz was also involved with the Blues Image in the operation of Thee Image as well. Its hard to be certain what role he played, but it seems that Brevetz was more of a manager and booking agent, and Blues Image were more involved in the daily operation of the club.

I have no idea which "West Coast" bands played Thee Experience, and I would very much like to know.

Correspondent Ryan sent in a scan of the poster for the first concert at Thee Image, The Mothers of Invention on March 15-16, 1968

Rock Band Performances, Miami, FL March 1968-April 1969
It is reasonable to presume that Thee Image was open every weekend, with Blues Image and/or regional bands, but these are the dates I have been able to uncover. Anyone with additional information or memories (real or imagined) is encouraged to Comment or email me.

March 15-16, 1968  Thee Image, Miami, FL Mothers of Invention/Blues Image

March 23, 1968  Thee Image, Miami, FL Lovin Spoonful/The Bangles/The Kollection/Blues Image
Note that The Kollection were the house band at the competing club The World.

April 5-6-7, 1968  Thee Image, Miami, FL Country Joe and The Fish
There is a poster for the week of April 5-14.

April 8-9-10, 1968 Thee Image, Miami, FL Yardbirds/Blues Image/The Kollection/The Bangles
This was a rare Monday-Tuesday-Wednesday billing for the Jimmy Page-era Yardbirds.

April 11, 1968 Thee Image, Miami, FL Cream/Blues Image
As numerous Commenters have observed, Cream played a surprise show at Thee Image on this date, and apparently rattled the walls.

April 12-13-14, 1968 Thee Image, Miami, FL Grateful Dead
April 14, 1968    Greynolds Park, Miami, FL Grateful Dead/Blues Image
I have discussed these shows at length elsewhere.

April 19-20-21, 1968  Thee Image, Miami, FL Grateful Dead/Blues Image

May 3-4, 1968 The World, Miami, FL Iron Butterfly/The Seven Of Us/Echo

May 10-11, 1968 The World, Miami, FL Clear Light/Blues Image/Bangles
May 10-11, 1968 Thee Image, Miami, FL Procol Harum/Fantasy/The Kollection
Note that the two "House Bands," The Blues Image and The Kollection, are playing at their "opposite" clubs this weekend, a sign that the bands and promoters were cooperating.

May 18-19, 1968 Gulfstream Park, Hallandale, FL Miami Pop Festival
Jimi Hendrix Experience/Mothers of Invention/Blue Cheer/Crazy World of Arthur Brown/John Lee Hooker/The Crowd/The Bangals
Marshall Brevetz and Michael Lang, the owner of Coconut Grove's first head shop, put together the Miami Pop Festival at a horse racing track (Gulfstream Park) in nearby Hallandale. Criteria Studios in Miami helped put the sound system together, as they had for Thee Image. The show was a financial disaster, mainly due to bad weather, and the second day was canceled altogether. Hendrix, Zappa and many other unoccupied musicians spent the day jamming in a bar. Lang went on to organize Woodstock.

May 25, 1968 Dinner Key Auditorium, Coconut Grove, FL Vanilla Fudge/Ojus Philharmonic
Jim Morrison’s notorious exposure incident took place here in 1969.

June 7-8, 1968 Thee Image, Miami, FL Vanilla Fudge/Fantasy

>July 2-7, 1968 Thee Image, Miami, FL Fleetwood Mac
Fleetwood Mac was booked, but canceled. They hung out in San Francisco this week.

July 14, 1968 Thee Image, Miami, FL Blood, Sweat & Tears/Blues Image
David Clayton-Thomas had already joined, as founder Al Kooper had recently left.

“Summer 68”  Thee Image, Miami, FL Spirit/NRBQ
“Summer 68” Thee Image, Miami, FL Amboy Dukes/NRBQ/Fantasy
“Summer 68” Thee Image, Miami, FL Canned Heat/NRBQ/Blues Image

September 20, 1968 Thee Image, Miami, FL Chambers Brothers

October 5, 1968 Thee Image, Miami, FL NRBQ/Blues Image/Fantasy

October 11, 1968 Thee Image, Miami, FL Blue Cheer

October 14, 1968  Thee Image, Miami, FL John Mayall
 From the Mayall Fan Club. Not confirmed—date approximate, venue assumed.

October 26, 1968 Sports Arena, Miami, FL Cream
Cream was the biggest live rock act in the country at the time. Numerous eyewitnesses say that Cream played Thee Image as well, although exactly when remains in dispute. It was probably considerably earlier than this show. Apparently, unscheduled shows were common at Thee Image, and often sold out by word of mouth. Jimi Hendrix Experience also apparently made a surprise appearance one night as well. This isn't as far-fetched as it might seem--touring bands often used Miami for a kind of time-out, sometimes when they were recording at Criteria Studios as well (update: April 11, 1968 seems like a plausible date, and a photo exists of Cream performing at Thee Image).

November 2, 1968 Thee Image, Miami, FL Canned Heat

November 15-16, 1968 Thee Image, Miami, FL Jeff Beck Group/NRBQ
According to various sources, Jimmy Page jams with the Jeff Beck Group on the first night. I really hope this is true, but of course Led Zeppelin plays Manchester the next night. I still prefer to believe its possible.

November 22-23, 1968 Thee Image, Miami, FL Steppenwolf
The date is from Billboard (Nov 16, 68). Possibly November 30 also.

November 24, 1968 Miami Beach Convention Hall, Miami, FL Jimi Hendrix Experience/Cat Mother and The All Night Newsboys
 
December ?, 1968  Thee Image, Miami, FL Iron Butterfly
According to Sullivan (who was there), guitarist Erik Brann collapsed on stage, and left in an ambulance.

December ?, 1968  Thee Image, Miami, FL Fever Tree/Fantasy

December 14, 1968  Thee Image, Miami, FL Amboy Dukes

December 21, 1968 Thee Image, Miami, FL Blues Image

December 28-30, 1968 Hollywood Pop Festival, Gulfstream Park, Miami, FL
I'm not certain who were the promoters behind this version of the Miami Pop Festival, but I believe Marshall Brevetz played a key role.

December 28, 1968: Jose Feliciano/Country Joe and The Fish/Buffy St. Marie/Chuck Berry/Infinite McCoys/Wayne Cochran/Dino Valente/Fleetwood Mac/Pacific Gas & Electric/Terry Reid
 
December 29-30, 1968:  Procol Harum/Three Dog Night/Steppenwolf/Marvin Gaye/Grateful Dead/Hugh Masakela/Flatt & Scruggs/Paul Butterfield Blues Band/Joni Mitchell/James Cotton Blues Band/Richie Havens/Box Tops/Iron Butterfly/The Turtles/Canned Heat/The Grass Roots/Junior Walker and The All-AStars/Sweetwater/Joe Tex/Ian & Sylvia/Charles Lloyd Quartet
 
February 14-15, 1969 Thee Image, Miami, FL Led Zeppelin/Fantasy
There are interesting descriptions of seeing Zep at Thee Image at the Zeppelin concert site.

February 21-22, 1969 Thee Image, Miami, FL John Mayall

March 1, 1969 Dinner Key Auditorium, Coconut Grove, FL The Doors
In a notorious incident, Thee Image promoters Ken and Jim Collier put on a Doors show at the large Dinner Key Auditorium, apparently a converted airplane hangar. Jim Morrison, quite out of it, reputedly exposes himself to an ugly crowd. Morrison is subsequently indicted for indecent exposure, and the effect is bad for both The Doors and rock music in the South. Since Thee Image were the promoters, contemporary Florida papers suggest that there is pressure on the venue to close.

April 25-26, 1969 Thee Image, Miami, FL Ten Years After
(Note: of the groups referred to by Sullivan above who are not otherwise on this list, the well-researched Big Brother, Electric Flag and Velvet Underground lists do not include Thee Image or Miami, although anything is possible. The Troggs toured America in Spring 1968, and Savoy Brown and Elvin Bishop toured America in early 1969, and Butterfield Blues Band toured constantly, although I cannot pin down exact dates).

(the building on the left is the "Sunny Isles Bowl," opened in 1962, and converted in 1968 to Thee Image. The postcard image is from an exceptional Led Zeppelin site, and includes a photo of Cream at Thee Image)

Appendices: The Blues Image and Marshall Brevitz

It is worth adding a few words about The Blues Image and Marshall Brevetz, some of the principal entities behind Thee Image.

Blues Image

Blues Image were a 6-piece R&B band called The Motions from Tampa, Florida, with two drummers, one of several acts around the country who started playing with two drummers, including the Dead in San Francisco and Clear Light in Los Angeles. There seems to be a good argument to make that The Motions were first in 1966, but in any case none of the bands seemed aware of each other. The Motions moved to Miami because they felt they had a better chance to make it. They changed their name, too, and Blues Image was an homage to Al Kooper and The Blues Project, at that time an ultra-hip band (and rightly so). The best known members of Blues Image today are guitarist Mike Pinera, still rocking it today, and drummer/percussionist Joe Lala, active for many years as a session man and best known for working with Stephen Stills Manassas (not to mention a lengthy acting career).

When Thee Image opened in March 1968, Blues Image were not only the house band, they ran the club. It appears that Blues Image played pretty much every weekend at Thee Image, whether or not they were on the poster. Visiting musicians were very impressed with the group, and both Frank Zappa and Eric Burdon told them that they had to move to New York or Los Angeles to make it. Since Zappa and Burdon were both based in Los Angeles, Blues Image moved to Los Angeles. They released a few albums, enjoyable blues rock for the most part, but clearly somewhat tamer than their impressive live reputation, a typical result of 60s record production.

After their self-titled debut album on Atco in 1969, Blues Image's second album in 1970 was called Open, and it featured the single "Ride, Captain, Ride" a worldwide monster hit. Mike Pinera had actually left the band he helped found by that time, but he went on to play with Iron Butterfly, Ramatam, New Cactus, Alice Cooper, Ted Nugent and many others. After a final album in 1971 (Red, White and Blues Image) the group broke up for good. 

Marshall Brevetz
Although the Blues Image ran Thee Image, one of the key participants was a promoter named Marshall Brevetz. He seems to have been a big mover and shaker on the Florida rock scene in 1968. He organized two outdoor concerts in 1968 at Gulfstream Park (May 18-19 and December 28-30) in Hallandale, FL. Hallandale is fairly near to Thee Image. The Dead played the Hollywood Pop Festival in December 1968 (Hollywood is a small town near Hallandale). Brevetz worked with future Woodstock promoter Michael Lang on these concerts.

Brevetz, too, was looking for a larger stage than Miami could offer at the time, and he moved with The Blues Image to Los Angeles in April 1969. With the house band and staff gone, Thee Image closed. Brevetz opened a hip Hollywood (California) nightclub called Thee Experience, at 7551 Sunset Boulevard (between Stanley and Curson), with the name a shout out to the prior club. Blues Image initially were the house band at Thee Experience, until they were rapidly snapped up by Atco, just as Zappa and Burdon had predicted (Blues Image apparently backed Eric Burdon for a tour as well, in mid-1969).

In 1970, Thee Experience closed, and Brevetz replaced it with a venue called Thee Club, with his signature "Thee" intact. Thee Club was somewhat ahead of its time, an upscale restaurant and rock club, but the rock market was not ready for it. Still, Brevetz opened Thee Club with an appropriate bang, bringing in the acoustic Grateful Dead to open the venue on August 28, 1970.

Thee Club did not last long either, however, and Brevetz moved on to artist management, where his primary client was Bobby Womack. Womack was successful as a performer, producer and writer in the 1970s, but Brevitz died in 1986, and his intriguing career was cut short.

(update: a very interesting Forum thread mostly populated by Miami folks has some very interesting memories about Thee Image, and is well worth a look)

The Animals Summer 1966 American Tour (Expanded)

Although the Animals had agreed to break up in May 1966, they undertook a scheduled American tour in support of Herman's Hermits. Thanks to a diligent correspondent, we have most of the dates. I discussed the first leg of the tour in a previous installment, but I am now presenting a much more complete list of the tour (thanks to Joe Mc for all the dates)  
(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 Rowberry-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.

The Animals Summer 1966 American Tour

(Thanks to new information, I have updated and expanded this post)

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.

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 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 MO   Memorial Auditorium (evening show)
July 12 Sioux Falls SD      unknown (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

Orpheum Theater, Madison, WI: Eric Burdon and The Animals, March 8, 1967

This picture from the February 21, 1967 edition of Madison, Wisconsin's Capital Times promotes two  shows by Eric Burdon and The Animals at the Orpheum Theater in Madison on March 8, 1967. The caption says

The young rock 'n' roll veterans have recorded nine hit singles, including the million platter seller, "House of the Rising Sun." and also "Don't Bring Me Down," "Cee Cee Rider," "We Gotta Get Out of This Place," and "Bring It On Home To Me."

While the blurb about the Animals recording history is correct, it was a somewhat misleading promotion. The Animals were one of the biggest "British Invasion" bands in America, and only The Beatles, The Rolling Stones and The Dave Clark Five could fairly be marked as bigger. However, except for lead singer Eric Burdon, the previous Animals were a different entity. The new group, initially called Eric Burdon and The New Animals, were a different creature entirely.

The Animals had visited San Francisco in July of 1966, where Eric Burdon experienced that rare natural occurrence, a warm San Franciscan night. After visiting the Fillmore and hanging out with the bands, Eric underwent a sort of conversion experience. When the Animals "broke up"--not least because bassist Chas Chandler had discovered Jimi Hendrix in Greenwich Village and planned to become his manager--Eric formed a "new" Animals with an entirely different sound.

While the original Animals had played very basic blues to great effect, the new Animals were a musically sophisticated group ready to stretch anything out in true psychedelic style. Eric sang in his powerful,  over the top style, but instead of swirling organ he was supported by the twin guitars of Vic Briggs and John Weider. Weider had a driving blues sound, which contrasted nicely with Brigg's jazzier stylings. Danny McCullough and Barry Jenkins held down the rhythm section. Surviving tapes suggest the band sounded somewhat like Quicksilver Messenger Service. Interestingly,  none of them (save Burdon) would have ever heard Quicksilver, who had neither recorded nor played outside of San Francisco at that point.

Although the group typically performed a few Animals hits, like "House Of The Rising Sun," "See See Rider" and "When I Was Young" (their current single at the time), they also performed extended versions of songs like "Tobacco Road," "Roadrunner" and "Rock Me Baby." What few recordings survive suggest that they were a tremendous live band, well ahead of their time but perhaps not entirely what their fans expected.

Eric Burdon transformed himself from a British Beatster to a psychedelic ranger, and the Animals even went so far as to entirely relocate to California, unique among 60s British bands. Their concert history has remained all but entirely untold up to now, but Ross and I have rectified that with a Family Tree and Performance History for Eric Burdon and The New Animals of 1967 and 1968.

November 18-19, 1967, Cow Palace-Hollywood Bowl: Free Concerts

November 18, 1967 Cow Palace, Daly City, CA
November 19, 1967 Hollywood Bowl, Los Angeles, CA
The Association/The Animals/Everly Brothers/Sopwith Camel/The Who/Sunshine Company

These two concerts stand out on lists of old rock concerts, for any number of reasons. The 1967 rock market was quite small, and the 11,000 seat Cow Palace (at 2600 Geneva Avenue, just South of San Francisco) and the prestigious 17,000 seat Hollywood Bowl (at 2301 North Highland) was on a substantially larger scale than the Fillmore or equivalent venues. The Association, The Animals and The Who had all headlined the Fillmore, the Everly Brothers, while past the prime of their radio popularity, were still very well known, and Sopwith Camel had had a radio hit ("Hello Hello").

What is particularly different about these rock concerts was that they were effectively free. The article above is from the Oakland Tribune 'Teen Age' section of November 8, 1967, and it says

Tickets to the musical extravaganza are free with the purchase of any one M-G-M or Warner Brothers stereo album at any Bay Area White Front store, sponsor of the event.

White Front was a large department store, like Sears or Macy's, and there were quite a few around the Bay Area. Thus you could have gone into the store and purchased, say, Freak Out by The Mothers of Invention (on MGM), or the first Grateful Dead album (on Warners), and gotten a free ticket. Of course, in those days, the record sections of stores had considerably fewer albums, and you might find yourself having to buy a considerably less attractive album.

The article also says the show was scheduled to run for two and one-half hours. With six acts, even with a shared sound system and rapid equipment changes, bands could be playing for no longer than 25 minutes. The groups who had gotten used to the Fillmore, with its Owsley Stanley designed sound, intimate setting and two hour-long sets, must have found these shows to be trivial and alienating.

Notes on the bands
The Association
The Association were one of the most commercially successful folk-rock bands. While they were all fine musicians, they wore suits on stages, and did coordinated dance steps and little skits between songs, like a Las Vegas act, so they were roundly dismissed by the hip underground. Their big hit in the Summer had been "Windy," and their current hit was "Never My Love." They were on Warner Brothers Records.

The Animals
The Animals had been one of the biggest acts of the British Invasion. However, the "new" Animals were very different creatures indeed than the minimalist R&B combo of the mid-60s. With twin guitarists Vic Briggs and John Weider and Eric Burdon's powerful if histrionic vocals, they had a big hit with the psychedelic "San Franciscan Nights" (how good was Owsley's acid if Eric thought a San Franciscan night was warm?). On stage, the band sounded like a cross between the original Animals and Quicksilver Messenger Service. They were on MGM Records.

Everly Brothers
The Everly Brothers had been one of the biggest acts of the early 1960s, and they were a huge influence on The Beatles and many other groups. They were all but single-handedly responsible for showing that the traditional brother harmonies of old time country music (originated by the likes of The Delmore Brothers) could be effectively transposed onto popular rock music, a lesson the Beatles took very well. Although the Everlys were still making fine albums, they were no longer pop hitmakers in America. They recorded for Warner Brothers Records.

Sopwith Camel
The Sopwith Camel had formed at 1090 Page Street, the same hippie rooming house that spawned Big Brother And The Holding Company. Although the Camel was one of the original ballroom bands, they had been signed quickly by Kama Sutra Records, and had an early 1967 hit with their song "Hello Hello." The Fillmore underground rather unfairly dubbed them "sell-outs", and they missed being attached to the underground wave that they had helped begin. Reputedly they were a pretty good live band, with a tough twin guitar sound somewhat at odds with the Lovin Spoonful-ish style of their album.

The Who
The Who hardly need an introduction here. Similar to the Animals, The Who spent 1967 converting themselves from a pop-oriented British Invasion band to a serious Underground band. The band had already headlined the Fillmore (June 16-17, 1967) and played Monterey Pop (June 18), but they had spent the next eight weeks touring America with Herman's Hermits. The band's most recent album was A Quick One, released in America in May 1967 (December 66 in the UK). Their current single was  the great "I Can See For Miles", from their forthcoming classic The Who Sell Out. This show was the beginning of an American tour where The Who still played "teen" venues, but by 1968 they had evolved into serious rock musicians who played the Fillmore East. The Who recorded for Decca Records.

The Sunshine Company
The Sunshine Company played a sort of psychedelic pop music native to Los Angeles, with catchy tunes, nice harmonies and quirky arrangements. They had a modest hit with "Back On The Street Again." They recorded for Imperial Records. The Sunshine Company may not have played the Hollywood Bowl.

Notes On The Venues
The Cow Palace 2600 Geneva Avenue, Daly City, CA
The Cow Palace, originally the California State Livestock Pavilion was built in the depression and completed in 1941. A local politician was quoted as saying "People are starving, and we're building a palace for the cows," and the name stock. With a concert capacity of around 11,000, it was the biggest indoor concert venue in the Bay Area until the completion of the Oakland Coliseum in 1966. The Beatles played there twice, and the Rolling Stones played there as well. Although it became increasingly outdated, many fine rock concerts were held there when better venues were filled up (I saw great shows there by Pink Floyd, Neil Young and Nirvana, to name a few, and a dreadful Iron Maiden/Twisted Sister show). The building is currently slated for demolition.

Hollywood Bowl, 2301 North Highland, Los Angeles, CA
The 17,000 capacity Hollywood Bowl is an outdoor venue carved out of a natural amphitheater on a hillside above Los Angeles. It was used in a basic form for outdoor concerts as early as 1922, but a substantial and distinctive bandshell was constructed in 1929. The Hollywood Bowl has always been a prestige venue in Hollywood, for those acts big enough to play there. It remains an active venue to this day.