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Splatt Gallery's History of Michigan Concert Posters
The Grande Ballroom Posters - Page Ten
The above collage of shows at the Grande Riviera in October/November 1969 is a good visualization of the puzzle of the venue’s short tenure. The story in The Metro entertainment newspaper with the illustration by Al Shamie (Bad Dog) described the entanglements of promoters Russ Gibb, Bob Bageris, and Aaron Russo, and the situation was confusing.
To make a long story short, it appears that there were five weekend shows at the Grande Riviera following the Grand Opening weekend of October 10-12, 1969. The list would be:
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Lonnie Mack – October 17-18
Lonnie Mack – October 17-18-John Mayall – October 21-22
John Mayall – October 21-22-Kinks, Joe Cocker, James Gang, Grand Funk Railroad – November 7-8
Kinks, Joe Cocker, James Gang, Grand Funk Railroad – November 7-8-The Band – November 14-15
The Band – November 14-15-Johnny Winter – November 21-22
Johnny Winter – November 21-22At any rate, Gibb seems to have given up on the Grande Riviera, closing it down at the end of November. He re-opened the Grande Ballroom for a New Year’s Eve show on December 31, 1969 with Frost, Sky, Richmond, Virgin Dawn, and McKenna Mendelson Mainline.
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Newspaper events column with Frost, Sky, Richmond, Virgin Dawn, and McKenna Mendelson Mainline at the Grande Ballroom on New Year’s Eve, December 31, 1969.
A newspaper events calendar with two shows at the Grande Ballroom, January 9-10, 1970, with Brownsville Station, Virgin Dawn, and Bedlam Riff on Friday, January 9th. The Saturday show was changed to the MC5 and Kaleidoscope, who moved from the Eastown due to a fire on January 9th.
A newspaper events calendar with two shows at the Grande Ballroom, January 16-17, 1970, with the Stooges, the Attack, and Wilson Mower Pursuit on the first night, and Golden Earring, Blackwood Drake, Plain Brown Wrapper, and Sky on the second night.
Probably the most unique event in the history of the Grande Ballroom occurred on January 23, 1970, when long-time MC Dave Miller got married in his beloved second home. A gorgeous flyer/wedding invitation was created by Donnie Dope, whom we haven’t seen since his last poster for Fleetwood Mac in December 1968, signing the piece with his real name, Forsyth. Music at the celebration was provided by Blues Train, Richmond, UP, and the Woolies.
A close-up of the wedding invitation showing the signature Forsyth, aka Donnie Dope.
An events calendar in the Detroit Free Press newspaper with an announcement of the Miller Wedding at the Grande Ballroom on January 23, 1970.
A classic by Gary Grimshaw, his first poster for the Grande Ballroom in eight months, for the nation-wide Free John Sinclair Day on January 24-25, 1970. Grimshaw was finally able to use the artwork he had originally planned as the cover to the first MC5 album, rejected because of objections to the artwork of a burning American flag, in addition to the marijuana leaf.
It was Grimshaw’s 62nd Grande Ballroom poster, but his first since Sun Ra in May 1969.
The event was planned over two days, with a show at the Grande Ballroom on January 24th, and shows at both the Grande and the Eastown on the 25th. The line-up was a stellar collection of the top Michigan groups. The line-up at the Grande on the 24th included Blues Train, Floating Circus, Früt, Jagged Edge, Richmond, Shiva, Shakey Jake, Sky, UP, and Virgin Dawn. Neither Abbie Hoffman nor Ed Sanders made it to the shows.
The line-up at the Grande Ballroom on the 25th included the Amboy Dukes, Brownsville Station, Frijid Pink, SRC, the Sun, the Sunday Funnies, and Third Power.
Over at the Eastown, the line-up on the 25th was All The Lonely People, Commander Cody & His Lost Planet Airmen, Mitch Ryder & the “Detroit Wheels”, MC5, Wilson Mower Pursuit, the Rationals, and the Bob Seger System.
Corner of Gary Grishaw’s poster for the “Free John Sinclair Day” poster, showing that he was still in California at the time. The original poster was about 16 x 21 inches in size, a later reprint, without the “Berkeley Graphic Arts” stamp, was smaller, about 13 x 18 inches. The reprint is also more blue than purple.
Another detail from Gary Grishaw’s poster for the “Free John Sinclair Day” poster, showing the nice texture of the light blue circle and introducing the new STP coalition. We really can’t say enough about this poster, truly one of the very best.
The 2nd Edition version of Gary Grimshaw’s poster for Free John Sinclair Day on January 24-25, 1970.
A poster by Al Shamie (Bad Dog) in the Ann Arbor SUN newspaper for the Free John Sinclair Day, January 24-25, 1970, with shows at the Grande Ballroom and the Eastown Theater.
Full-page poster from the Chicago Seed newspaper, explaining the new STP coalition and providing a review of the shows at the Grande Ballroom and the Eastown Theater, January 24-25, 1970.
A version of the famous Allen Van Newkirk/Leni Sinclair poster with “Grande Ballroom: and “Jan. 24” printed on top that may have been sold at the events, or made to commemorate them later.
A newspaper events column with two shows at the Grande Ballroom, January 30-31, 1970, with NRBQ headlining two nights, with support by Blackwood Drake with Tiers, and UP with Jagged Edge.
The cooperative agreement between Russ Gibb and Bob Bagaris and Aaron Russo of the Eastown Theater in October, 1969 when Gibb opened the Grande Riviera had led to much confusion, as we’ve seen, among promoters, the bands and the fans. For some reason, when Gibb closed down the Riviera and re-opened the Grande Ballroom, Bagaris felt that the agreement had been broken.
Gibb had gotten the Grande back onto a regular weekly schedule throughout January, 1970, and there seemed to still be a degree of co-operation. For example, when a fire at the Eastown Theatre cut the MC5’s set short on January 9, the band moved over to the Grande for the next night’s show while the Eastown underwent repairs. Nevertheless, at the end of January, Gibb agreed to fully divest himself from the Grande Ballroom and turned the operation over to a group called The Grande Family. Aaron Russo returned to Chicago.
The Grande Family managed to keep the Ballroom running through February, 1970 until it was closed down for the rest of the year. The Grande Family also revived the practice of making posters for the shows (handbills, actually, as they had been for years), with “The Grande Family Presents” in place of the old, familiar “Uncle Russ”. All of the posters were made by Darlene Pond, this is the first of them, for February 6-7, 1970.
SRC headlined two nights, with support by the Bhang with Frijid Pink, and All The Lonely People with the Tribal Simphonia and the Toby Wesselfox Band.
When the MC5 returned to Detroit, after a two-week East Coast tour, they went back to the Grande Ballroom, February 13-14, 1970. The second in the series of poster/handbills by Darlene Pond. MC5 headlined two shows with the Flamin’ Groovies, with Shakey Jake (a band with vocalist Dave Gilbert, not the Ann Arbor “Man of the World”), and with Virgin Dawn.
Darlene Pond’s third and final poster/handbill in the Grande Family series for the Grande Ballroom, these shows, February 20-21, 1970, would be the final shows to be held at the ballroom for the next eight months. Frost headlined two shows with support by Blackwood Drake both nights, Little Train, Little Sunny, Blackstone Row, and Ohio Power.
On October 2, 1970, the doors of the Grande Ballroom were re-opened for the first time since the end of February, for a John Sinclair Birthday Celebration. It was Sinclair’s 29th birthday, he’d been imprisoned for fifteen months at this point. It is unknown who provided the music. Poster by J.P.S. Stoddard.
Announced as a “re-opening”, the Grande Ballroom, which had been dormant since the end of February, appeared to be back in business with this New Year’s Eve concert, December 31, 1970, MC Dave Miller had even returned. Performing with the MC5 were the Amboy Dukes, SRC, Jam Band, and Cradle (formerly the Pleasure Seekers, the band formed by the Quatro sisters, their brother Michael was also on the bill with his Jam Band). Poster/handbill by an unknown artist.
Cradle – Ted (live at the Grande Ballroom) (12/31/70)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oQ_KiuKHLWY
Newspaper ad by an unknown artist for the “re-opening”, the Grande Ballroom, New Year’s Eve, December 31, 1970. There had been less than 20 shows at the Grande Ballroom through all of 1970, and all of those had been in the first two months of January and February.
The end of January 1971 was particularly politically active in Michigan, with a Life Culture Week in Ann Arbor in support of the CIA Bombing Conspiracy defendants, and a week of benefits to raise funds for the upcoming Winter Soldier Investigation in Detroit.
To start things off, there was a show at the Grande Ballroom, January 23, 1971 with Phil Ochs, supported by the bands Insanity’s Horse and Justice Colt. The next night, January 24, Ochs went out to Ann Arbor for an appearance at Hill Auditorium, which originally was planned as the closing event for the Life Culture Week, but ended up being the opening event as the schedule shifted in support of striking AFSCME workers.
There was an appearance by Jane Fonda on January 28 at the Unitarian Church in Detroit, and finally, a concert by David Crosby and Graham Nash on January 30 at the University of Detroit.
Ad by an unknown artist for a benefit show for the Ann Arbor Argus newspaper at the Grande Ballroom, January 30, 1971. This show does not appear in the database, so we’re not sure who the “killer Motor City Rock & Roll” bands were, or if the show actually happened. We’ll give it the benefit of a doubt and count it as a show.
A welcome return to semi-regular shows at the Grande Ballroom, after being closed for nearly the entire year of 1970, this show on February 24, 1971, was its third show in the past eight weeks. The poster, made by an unknown artist signed Collins, even gives a nod to the old trumpet flyers that Russ Gibb found, abandoned from the dancehall days, when he first laid claim to the building in 1966.
Assemblage (formerly Stuart Avery Assemblage) released their debut single, a cover of the Rolling Stone’s “Satisfaction”
This also seems to be the earliest poster with the band Stonefront, the house band of the infamous Garwood Mansion.
The line-up included Frut, who seemed to be everywhere at once. The band Holy Ghost, in this only appearance we have found, is the mystery band of the poster.
An amazing poster/handbill by an unknown artist that cops a portion of Carl Lundgren’s 1968 poster for Lyman Woodard for a show at the Grande Ballroom on March 10, 1971, with Teegarden & Van Winkle, Universe, Maxx, and the ever mysterious, yet ubiquitous, Tacklebox.
A poster/full-page ad in The Fifth Estate newspaper for a benefit show at the Grande Ballroom in Detroit, Michigan on March 17, 1971. The performing bands were Frut, Mike Quatro’s Jam Band, John Drake Shakedown, Mutzie, and UP.
Poster/flyer by Collins for a Wednesday night show at the Grande Ballroom with Jagged Edge, Salvage with Dallas Hodge, Stonefront, and Walpurgis “Doing Their Rock Opera” on March 31, 1971.
Previously all we had of this poster was a grainy image of a grainy thumbnail, less than an inch in size, which at the time, we remarked that was the perfectly apt portal into one of the strangest Michigan music stories. A show that is missing from the Concert Database, on March 31, 1971, with Jagged Edge, Salvage, Stonefront, and “doing their rock opera”, the band Walpurgis.
Walpurgis was the band behind the legendary 1974 album "Phantom's Divine Comedy" and the enigmatic singer/songwriter Arthur Pendragon. There is no better authority on the complex history of “the Phantom” than writer R.D. Francis, who has written two books and numerous articles on the subject. You can find him at his Facebook page here - https://www.facebook.com/rdfranciswriter/
The Walpurgis set from this Grande Ballroom show was recorded and released as a CD several years ago. Although we no longer have the link to the full album, the link below will put you on the trail of most, if not all, of the set.
Walpurgis – Live at the Grande Ballroom, Detroit, Michigan (3/31/71)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W_PRQ4ENXJM&list=PL5B22C3C69215C162
The cover art of the CD of Walpurgis live at the Grande Ballroom.
A newspaper ad with a show at the Grande Ballroom on Easter Sunday, April 11, 1971, with SRC, Frut, Third Power, and Moreefa.
A handbill, measuring approximately 4” x 7”, by an unknown artist Bruce Gibson, for the Grande Ballroom, April 14-15, 1971. A couple of benefit shows for the MCCC Drop-In Center, with Jagged Edge (possibly their last known show), the Iron Horse Exchange, Proud Flesh, The Jets, The Coming, Joust Limited, and Washing Machine.
Poster by Gary Grimshaw, for the Grande Ballroom in Detroit, Michigan, June 6, 1971. It was Grimshaw’s first poster for the Grande Ballroom since the January 24, 1970 Free John Sinclair Day, but picking up the count, it was his 63rd poster for the venue.
The band line-up was Carnal Kitchen, Detroit, Flamin' Groovies, and UP.
This was at least the ninth show that San Francisco’s Flamin’ Groovies played in Detroit, they opened for Alice Cooper at the Eastown Theater four times, including the two nights before this show at the Grande. It was their third show at the Grande Ballroom, having opened for the MC5 twice in February 1970, an experience which changed the course of the band, according to band member Roy Loney:
“The first time we got into Detroit, it just clicked. Just did. We walked into the Grande and there was the MC5, and “What the FUCK is that? I wanna do THAT!” It really turned us around quite a bit. It radically changed our sound. We got HEAVIER after the Detroit experience. We saw the Stooges, the Frost, you know we just said “Wow, this is GREAT, this is SOMETHING ELSE AGAIN.” So it hardened up our sound quite a bit. I think “Flamingo” (the band’s second album) is pretty much an offshoot of the Detroit experience.”
This is their third album, which had just been released in March/April of 1971:
Flamin’ Groovies – Teenage Head (album) (1971)
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL8a8cutYP7fq0PHWgGXcuyK-SfrYdvVMi
A green print version of the poster by Gary Grimshaw, for the Grande Ballroom June 6, 1971 show.
The back side of the green print poster was a coupon for reduced admittance to the Grande Ballroom show on June 6, 1971 that was apparently handed out at the Ann Arbor Sunday Free Concert.
Newspaper version of the poster by Gary Grimshaw for the Grande Ballroom June 6, 1971 show.
Newspaper ad for the June 6, 1971 show at the Grande Ballroom, also announcing along the bottom, an upcoming follow-up show on June 13th.
Flyer for the Grande Ballroom show on June 6, 1971, also with the announcement for the following week.
Gary Grimshaw’s 64th poster for the Grande Ballroom in Detroit, Michigan, June 13, 1971. Bands were Assemblage, Frut, UP, Guardian Angel, Brat, Barbara Holliday, and Still Eyes.
An uncut sheet of Gary Grimshaw flyers for the “Free John Now! Rock And Roll Marathon” at the Grande Ballroom in Detroit, Michigan on June 13, 1971. Featuring the groups Assemblage, Frut, UP, Guardian Angel, Brat, Barbara Holliday, and Still Eyes.
Gary Grimshaw’s 65th poster for the Grande Ballroom in Detroit, Michigan, July 29, 1971. Bands were MC5, Frijid Pink, UP, Carnal Kitchen, and Trunion Brothers.
A Gary Grimshaw ad for the July 29, 1971 show at the Grande Ballroom.
This might be the last poster that we’ll see with a nice band photo, so let’s stick this one here:
MC5 – Sister Anne (1971)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vu32QpGkO2A
Gary Grimshaw two-sided handbill for the Grande Ballroom in Detroit, Michigan, July 29, 1971, with the backside for an August 3, 1971 show at the Union Ballroom in Ann Arbor.
Gary Grimshaw’s 67th poster for the Grande Ballroom in Detroit, Michigan, August 5, 1971. Bands were Detroit with Mitch Ryder, UP, Third Power, Pride, Rumor, and Iron Horse Exchange.
Gary Grimshaw handbill for the Grande Ballroom in Detroit, Michigan, August 5, 1971. The band Salvage are listed in place of Rumor on the previous poster.
Another flyer for the Grande Ballroom in Detroit, Michigan, August 5, 1971. Both bands, Salvage and Rumor are listed, while Pride and Detroit with Mitch Ryder, who were on the earlier two posters are missing here. This could have been the earliest of the flyers for this show as it promises, “stay tuned in for some big last minute surprises”.
Poster by an unknown artist for a benefit to support a People’s Ballroom, at the Grande Ballroom in Detroit, Michigan, September 6, 1971. Bands were SRC, UP, Brat, Frut, and Harvey Khek.
Handbill by an unknown artist for the People’s Ballroom benefit at the Grande Ballroom on September 6, 1971.
The Grande Ballroom Posters - continues - HERE
An ad for the benefit to support a People’s Ballroom, at the Grande Ballroom on September 6, 1971.
