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Splatt Gallery's History of Michigan Concert Posters
Volume Five - 1969 - Page Twenty-One
A full-page ad on the back cover of the October 1969 issue of CREEM magazine by unknown artist for the Black Arts Festival, Halloween night, October 31, 1969, at the Olympia Stadium in Detroit, Michigan.
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This full-page newspaper ad for the Black Arts Festival, Halloween night, 1969, at the Olympia Stadium in Detroit is hi-lighted to show the only seven acts out of the announced twenty-two that actually performed.
As described in the earlier post, five of them (MC5, Pink Floyd, Arthur Brown, Kim Fowley, and Satan himself) had never even been contacted, or actually agreed to be booked for the show. Another three (Alice Cooper, Bob Seger, and Bonzo Dog) had to cancel. Timothy Leary was banned, and for unknown reasons, another four (Pleasure Seekers, All the Lonely People, Sky, and magician Ralph Adams) also were no-shows.
In addition, the show was ended at 1am as per the city’s curfew (and not 3am as advertised), so the set by Savage Grace was cut short and the two final acts, Frost and The Amboy Dukes, were not allowed to play. So from the total twenty-two acts advertised, fifteen of them failed to appear.
On the other hand, there were four acts (Plum Wine, Pluto, Sweetwater, and Frijid Pink) that did appear who were not advertised. (We might give promoter Mike Quatro the benefit of doubt in thinking that maybe he meant Frijid Pink when he said Pink Floyd.)
By many accounts, it was still a great show, but charges of false advertising were leveled against Quatro in press reports that also described an angry crowd that refused to leave and caused $1,500 worth of damage before the police cleared the scene.
And last, but not least, a poster by Al Shamie (Bad Dog) for the Black Magic Rock & Roll Show on Halloween night, October 31, 1969 at the Olympia Stadium in Detroit, Michigan.
Another full-page newspaper ad by an unknown artist for the Black Arts Festival at Olympia Stadium on October 31, 1969.
While 12,000 kids were being ultimately disappointed by Mike Quatro’s over-promised Black Magic show at the Olympia Stadium in Detroit, Halloween night, October 31, 1969, a crowd of equal size filled Cobo Arena across town for a concert by Simon & Garfunkel. It had been two years since the duo’s last tour and during that time S&G had dedicated their efforts to the studio recording of their masterpiece album “Bookends” and riding the wave of success from The Graduate soundtrack.
Just as they had done at the Masonic Temple in 1967, S&G captivated the arena simply with the sound of a single acoustic guitar and two harmonizing voices. A newspaper review noted that they introduced a new song, called “Bridge over Troubled Waters”. It would be the last time that S&G would perform in Michigan until a reunion tour fourteen years later.
Simon & Garfunkel – The Boxer (live 11/15/69)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bb3TyhlhriY
Another show on Halloween night, October 31, 1969, in Ypsilanti, Michigan and a poster by an unknown artist, with Brownsville Station and free pizza!
Another show on Halloween night, October 31, 1969, at the University of Michigan Homecoming Dance in Ann Arbor, with performances by Napanaw’s Pottery Shop, Love’s Alchemy, and the Floating Opera.
Two ads for the Eastown Theater in Detroit, Michigan, with Canned Heat, Spirit, and Bloodwyn Pig appearing on Halloween night, October 31, 1969 and other upcoming shows.
Poster for a 1969 Halloween Weekend Special at the Ludlow Garage in Cincinnati, Ohio, featuring bands “from San Francisco”, “from England”, and Catfish “from Detroit”. Schehera the belly dancer (with her 12 foot python) may have been a local attraction.
A collection of ads by Dennis Preston featuring his pipe smoking man from October 1969.
Vanguard Records released the second Frost album of the year, titled “Rock And Roll Music”, a mix of studio tracks and live tracks recorded at the Grand Ballroom back in August. The text in the ad reads. “The most important music in this country today is coming from Detroit.” Here are two of the tracks:
Frost – Rock & Roll Music (1969)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J8OgoVfSuBE
The Frost – Help Me Baby (1969)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GE-yAwuL5YI
The front cover of the eleventh issue of CREEM magazine, which is numbered as Vol 2, No. 6, published in November 1969. With this good image, we can see the photo is credited to Charlie Auringer and the subjects emulating the Beatles crossing Abbey Road are WKNR radio station manager John Small, with DJ's Dan Carlisle and Russ Gibb.
“The Paul McCartney death hoax and how it grew” is a story that we have previously documented thoroughly, but there is an odd thing about this shot. If the three-some were meant to imply that McCartney was gone, they have actually eliminated Ringo if you compare it to the album cover. And, Small is imitating McCartney with the bare feet and the cigarette.
“Death City Comix” #2 by Steve Mackay, from the eleventh issue of CREEM magazine, Vol 2, No. 6, published in November 1969. The comic plays off the issue’s story on the “Paul Is Dead” hoax.
A cartoon ad for the Plum Pit by Dennis Garascia in the first November 1969 issue of CREEM magazine.
Photo of Mark Farner of Grand Funk Railroad by Todd Weinstein on the front cover of the Vol.2, No.7 issue of CREEM magazine, in November 1969.
“Death City Comics” #3 by Steve Mackay, from the Vol. 2, No. 7 issue of CREEM magazine, the second issue in November 1969.
A full-page ad for posters from American Academic Environments, Inc. in Detroit, Michigan in the November 1969 issue of CREEM magazine.
Photos by Charles Auringer for the cover story on Grand Funk Railroad in the November 1969 issue of CREEM magazine. In the interviews, manager Terry Knight describes GFR’s first show as taking place in Buffalo, New York, where “they caused a riot on stage. A chick was so warped by the show she took off her clothes and headed for the stage”. (Remember, this is Terry Knight talking.)
Nevertheless, a GFR online tour archive has May 4, 1969 as their first show, at the Limelight Gallery in Buffalo, NY, with four more shows at the venue May 9-17, followed by two shows at Gilligan’s in Buffalo, May 21 and 24, followed by a show at the Rockpile in Toronto on May 25, for a total of eight shows before the Rock & Roll Revival at the Michigan State Fairgrounds on May 31.
An ad for Teenage Death Lust comic book in the November 1969 issue of CREEM magazine.
A great shot by Richard Siegel of a very skinny Ron Asheton performing with the Stooges in the “Rock & Roll News” section of the second November 1969 issue of CREEM magazine.
Photo of John Small, Dan Carlisle, and Russ Gibb by Charles Auringer for the feature article on the Paul McCartney death hoax in the November 1969 issue of CREEM magazine.
An ad for the Plum Pit by Dennis Garascia and a subscription form offering a choice of albums by Frost, Lord Buckley, and Alice Cooper as premiums in the second November 1969 issue of CREEM magazine.
Dave Baker, Ann Arbor artist whose cartoons were featured regularly in The Ann Arbor Argus newspaper, made the November 1969 monthly calendar that had become a feature in The Fifth Estate newspaper with a different artist each month. Baker had also just released Issue #1 of his Grossout Comix book.
It appears that there were at least two issues of Dave Baker’s Grossout Comix, but we believe these are the front and back covers of Issue #1.
Another collection of ads by Dennis Preston for the Free Spirit community of boutiques in Lansing, Michigan from October and early November 1969. So many shoes, and we don’t think we’ve repeated any so far.
Re-using the same image as the week before with a modification to the text, yet still calling it a “Grand Opening”, this poster by Al Shamie (Bad Dog) for the November 1, 1969 show by Bob Seger at Borderline in Monroe, Michigan.
Poster/ad for Blood, Sweat & Tears at the Jenison Fieldhouse in Ypsilanti, Michigan, November 1, 1969, by unknown artist Robert Daniel. BS&T had just played the Homecoming dance at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor the night before, the homecoming dance at Central Michigan in Mount Pleasant the week before that, and at the homecoming dance at the University of Detroit the week before that.
Blood, Sweat, & Tears – Spinning Wheel (1969)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SFEewD4EVwU
Poster for Grand Funk Railroad in Dallas, Texas on November 1, 1969.
A full-page Invictus Records ad in the November 1, 1969 special 75th Anniversary issue of Billboard magazine.
An ad for a single by Ted Lucas & the Horny Toads on Zonk Records in the November 1969 issue of CREEM magazine.
A full-page ad in the November 1969 issue of CREEM magazine for the second album by Frost.
Poster/ad by an unknown artist for the Norman James Band at Alvin’s in Detroit, Michigan on November 2, 1969.
Poster for anti-war events including a rock concert by Savage Grace at the Grande Riviera in Detroit, Michigan, November 4, 1969.
An ad for a Frank Sinatra TV Special, sponsored by Budweiser, broadcast on November 5, 1969.
The cover of the November 7, 1969 issue of LIFE magazine debunking and dispelling the hoax of the Paul McCartney death rumors which germinated in Ann Arbor, Michigan and took root on Russ Gibb’s Detroit radio show, however leading to new rumors surrounding the ghost baby in Paul’s arm.
A sweet illustration by Gary Grimshaw, accompanying a poem by Joy Marcus, in the November 7, 1969 issue of the Berkeley Tribe newspaper in Berkeley, California.
The weekend of November 7-8, 1969 launched the official re-naming of the Village Pub in Birmingham, Michigan to the Birmingham Palladium, with this poster by an unknown artist, and the occasion brought the original rock and roll pioneers, Toledo, Ohio’s Johnny & the Hurricanes back to the Motor City for the first time in a number of years.
The Village Pub, which had presented its last show six months earlier, in May, 1969, had lasted just over a year since its opening in April, 1968. It had been an initial favorite of the MC5 who played there three times in the first three months, four times over all.
Third Power, Stuart Avery Assemblage, Red, White & Blues, and The Train had been the most frequent acts at the Pub, most of the top Michigan bands, Frost, Amboy Dukes, Pleasure Seekers, SRC, the Rationals, Frut, and Frigid Pink played there at least once, but it was also notable for an interesting draw of touring acts such as James Gang, Procol Harum, the Hallucinations (pre-J. Geils), and the Bubble Puppy.
The Village Pub had a good run of posters during its year of operation before re-opening as The Palladium. The first poster was by artist Ron Schugglee, the MC5 posters were by Greg DeHike, then there was a run by James Render and five by an unknown artist(s) before the baton was passed to artist Mary Partridge and her art partner Phil for the final three.
One last comment on the Village Pub in Birmingham, Michigan, here is a list of the forgotten bands, with great names, who only appear once in the concert database, for a single appearance at the Village Pub:
Jade Angel, House of Josef, The Zue, Grey Fogg, Soul Sextet, Meditation, Seven Sounds, The World, Professor Cain’s Experiment, and The Fat Cat.
From April 1968 through May 1969, the old Birmingham/Bloomfield Teen Center at 136 Brownell in Birmingham, Michigan was known as the Village Pub. Although the Teen Center had been in operation for over two years, there is very little information on the shows that took place there, whereas we know much more about the Village Pub because of the artists that regularly made posters for those shows. Here are three posters for the Village Pub that were made by James Render.
From April 1968 through May 1969, the old Birmingham/Bloomfield Teen Center at 136 Brownell in Birmingham, Michigan was known as the Village Pub. Although the Teen Center had been in operation for over two years, there is very little information on the shows that took place there, whereas we know much more about the Village Pub because of the artists that regularly made posters for those shows. Here are four posters for the Village Pub that were made by Mary Partridge (aka Mary Phil).
From April 1968 through May 1969, the old Birmingham/Bloomfield Teen Center at 136 Brownell in Birmingham, Michigan was known as the Village Pub. Although the Teen Center had been in operation for over two years, there is very little information on the shows that took place there, whereas we know much more about the Village Pub because of the artists that regularly made posters for those shows. Here are posters for the Village Pub for which the artists are unknown or are as noted.
A poster by Mary Partridge and Tom Wall for “Krinks”, which was apparently a sub shop that operated during the daytime hours in the location of the Palladium club in Birmingham, Michigan, where Punch Andrews had begun operations as a concert club in November 1969, previously the site of the Village Pub, and before that, known as the Birmingham/Bloomfield Teen Center.
Published near the end of 1969, Notes From Underground 3 was an anthology of writings by authors such as Charles Bukowski, John Sinclair, and others, with a cover illustration by Gary Grimshaw.
Full-page cartoon by Gary Grimshaw that appeared in the Notes From Underground 3 anthology.
These ads that appeared in The Fifth Estate newspaper are a source of confusion regarding the weekend of November 7-8, 1969. The Grande Ballroom had been dormant since the October 13th benefit show for The Ann Arbor Argus with Allen Ginsberg and The Stooges, and “Grand River at Joy” is actually the location of the Grande Riviera.
Furthermore, sources also show that Joe Cocker did not perform at the Eastown, but rather, also at the Grande Riviera. The concert database combines the two line-ups at the Grande Riviera, but without Dr. John (some sources even say Elton John), but we’d go with the account by Jerry Younkins, who was back in Detroit, working with the Magic Veil Light Show again, and makes no mention of The Kinks, or either of the Johns. Younkins also, somewhat begrudgingly, admits that the best band of the night was Grand Funk Railroad, “I don’t get their sound, but they put on one Hell of a Show”.
The most intriguing act on the four-act bill (with Joe Cocker, James Gang, and GFR) was the Liverpool Scene, described as a “poetry-rock band”, appearing on their only tour of the US, led by Adrian Henri. Dig these crazy scenes:
The Liverpool Scene – Batpoem (1969)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m0GUbAImHuw
The Liverpool Scene – Gully Foyle (1969)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1gmpQC2BNfg
Tour poster for Joe Cocker’s late 1969 US tour with three Michigan shows, giving Cocker a total of ten in the state for the year. The itinerary lists one of our favorites, the show at King Animal Land, listed on the poster as Grand Haven, it’s close enough to actual location of Richmond on October 26th. Then it was two more shows in Detroit, listed as being the Eastown Theater, but from previous posts we concluded that the venue was actually the Grande-Riviera Theatre on November 7-8, 1969.
Volume Five - 1969 - continues - HERE
