NRPS: November 26, 1969, Poppycock, Palo Alto

A few years ago Corry uncovered a whole trove of previously unknown NRPS shows in 1969. Among others, these included gigs in their old Palo Alto stomping grounds, playing the Poppycock (135 University Avenue, Palo Alto, CA, 94301) on consecutive Thursdays in November (November 13, 1969 and November 20, 1969). I am still hiatus, so I don't have time to contemplate these guys playing Palo Alto in 1969 at the Poppycock --about which, of course, Corry is also authoritative-- for very long. But it sure does have a lot of intuitive appeal.

So, this new to The List is for him: a Wednesday night NRPS gig at the Poppycock. The night before Thanksgiving. November 26, 1969.

entertainment listings, Good Times vol. 2 no. 45 (November 20, 1969), p. unknown.

Recall that the NRPS reprised the night-before-Thanksgiving gig the next year, 11/25/70 at the Keystone Korner. That, of course, would be an auspicious occasion: the first booking with Freddie Herrera, who would be the second cornerstone of Garcia's non-GD professional musical life (after John Kahn, the rock of the church) until Garcia left for Bill Graham and a bigger room in 1987. But gigging with friends around Thanksgiving does seem to have been a nice little tradition. Sure wish I could have been around to hear them on this night, on well-trod ground, in 1969!

New to The List

I'll be posting some new-to-The-List dates ad seriatim.

JGMS: Wednesday, December 9, 1970, Matrix

San Francisco Chronicle, December 9, 1970, p. 62.

 JGMS: Wednesday, January 6, 1971, Matrix

Wasserman, John L. 1971. A Talent Bigger Than Her Name. San Francisco Chronicle, January 6, 1971, p. 38.

NRPS: Monday, January 11, 1971, Lion's Share
JGMS: Tuesday, January 12, 1971, Matrix
JGMS: Wednesday, January 13, 1971, Matrix

Wasserman, John L. 1971. John Lennon's Windy Candor. San Francisco Chronicle, January 11, 1971, p. 38.

"Opening Today," San Francisco Chronicle, January 12, 1971, p. 35.

Wasserman, John L. 1971. Big Names on the Peninsula. San Francisco Chronicle, January 13, 1971, p. 44.

JGMS: Monday, February 8, 1971, Matrix. Note that the Chicken's Matrix List shows a second night on Tuesday, February 9, but that is contradicted by the Chronicle listing, which tips John Lee Hooker.

Wasserman, John L. 1971. The Man Who Picks The Hits. San Francisco Chronicle, February 8, 1971, p. 42.

 JGMS: Thursday, March 25, 1971, Keystone Korner.

Wasserman, John L. 1971. On the Town: Some Travesties in the Music Biz [Something Else]. San Francisco Chronicle, March 24, 1971, p. 42.

"Strung Between Dreams and Reality": June 4, 1968, Carousel Ballroom

Handbill for Jam at Carousel Ballroom, Tuesday, June 4, 1968.

The "Tuesday Night Jam" on May 21, 1968 [JB ] shnid-22727] is the uhr moment for Garcia On The Side (GOTS), representing the first time that Garcia was billed under his own name since the birth of the Dead in 1965. The 1968 Side Trips have a feeling all their own, for sure. Much, much more to say about all of it. (For a taste, see my post on 10/30/68 and Hartbeats as Tempo Études.)

Here, because I am going through some San Francisco Chronicle scans I gathered, I wanted to provide some lengthy quotes from Ralph Gleason to provide some context around the seemingly-similar Tuesday Night Jam from June 4, 1968. The handbill identifies Jerry Garcia, Elvin Bishop, Barry Melton, Tim Davis, Lonnie Turner, Steve Miller, Fred Walk, Dino, Marcus Magnificent Malone, plus others.

This was the night that Robert Kennedy was shot, of course. Ralph Gleason (1) offers a pretty good snapshot of the yin and yang of the night, which can of course be taken as capturing some essential things about the hippie dream and, darkly, life itself.

At midnight Tuesday night it was a beautiful scene at the Carousel Ballroom. People came in off the street with late election news and inside there was a long jam session going on with all kinds of guitar players and saxophones and rhythm men and on the floor there was more dancing than I've seen anywhere in months. Throughout the ballroom an outstanding feature was the peacefulness and the joy as a wondrous assortment of people relaxed. There were Hells Angels and hippies, many black people and many men long-hair youth [sic]. It seemed for a moment like the hope of the future.

And then I went outside, got into the car and punched the radio button only to hear a voice saying 'When Senator Kennedy was shot tonight ...' and the terrible real world came crashing in on me again.

And, late the next night:

[a] man slowly died ... this terrible feeling came on again, the feeling of doom I had lost in the Carousel the night before, and the country seemed fated to keep spinning out of control down some grim spiral to madness.

REFERENCE:
(1) Gleason, Ralph J. 1968. Strung Between Dreams and Reality. San Francisco Chronicle, June 7, 1968, p. 49.

 

Gleason, Ralph J. 1968. Strung Between Dreams and Reality. San Francisco Chronicle, June 7, 1968, p. 49.