50th Anniversary: 1967 Monterey International Pop Festival: Performance-By-Performance

Who will break the guitar first???

 

Interesting! My forthcoming bio on The Association provides further insight on their appearance at the festival, and whilst Jules Alexander had left the band prior to their performance he was still in evidence on the Monterey stage, before he began his Indian travels, in another rarely discussed line-up. But we'll let the OP continue on with his overview before we jump ahead too much...

 

By all means go for it! We already got through them anyway and I was planning on getting it all done by the anniversary so it really doesn't matter that much if someone wants to discuss someone we haven't gotten to yet. We'll be ploughing through these anyway it such a short span of time.

 

Hmm, so it was. I guess the myth got attached because it was released in the US the day after Monterey, and it didn't start to chart until late August.

I can't tell you how many Owsley articles I read, looking for one where his proper name 'Bear' was prominent. That Hendrix anecdote was repeated several times. (once as a rebuttal to the claim that the song was about the strain of marijuana with the same name.)

 

Looks like they signed a sponsorship deal with Thomas Organ to use Vox exclusively.

Interesting also that the Who and Hendrix used their own amps, but I don't read anything about the Grateful Dead insisting on their own equipment. Their (Owsley designed) PA was state of the art, and even in 67 they were infamous for that being a sticking point with them.

 

Thanks for this, my 1997 4-CD box left this and Gin House off.
Trippy light show, should have a seizure disorder warning.

 

Oh, yeah, thanks for this, fascinating musical history from an eye-witness.

The footage of Pete vs the Wall of Super Beatles is classic.

 

Yeah, it'd be interesting to know more about their Monterey appearance as there is some mystery around it.

 

I found a good amount of stuff; I've got a fair bit ready to deploy when the time comes!

 

Bill (Graham) : I drove down to Monterey myself and I was there for a week. I don't know how or why but I had access to everywhere. They gave us some kind of pass. I do remember that early on there were some financial problems. Something broke down or something fell out and they needed money, which I gave them. I guess that was why I had backstage access. That backstage pass cost me ten grand.

Eighty percent of my time I spent in the audience. Because it was like the Fillmore times X...Thousands bought tickets and thousands didn't and they were all there together. There was no pressure to see the act. They were just there together. They were in the same space...So much of Monterey had nothing to do with logistics or planning. The bird just landed there. No rules, no instructions. It also said a lot to me about Northern California. So much of it could never have happened anywhere else.

From Bill Graham Presents: My Life Inside Rock and Out. (pp. 189-90)

Grace Slick: My idea of a good festival, the best festival of all time, was Monterey. They had these little booths where you could actually walk up if you wanted to buy something, with artists' stuff on display. You could get food. You could go to the bathroom. People could see things. It wasn't too big. When it was over and you wanted to go home, you could just get in your car and drive there.

 

A few perspective comments regarding the Association's appearance......

Terry......."we had been working for months on the new album. Coming in and back out on the road to work on this stuff and we were exhausted. We didn't even have Requiem for the Masses or "Never My Love" worked up enough yet to play live, so we couldn't do either at Monterey. In fact, we left the studio, barely had time to get packed, and then flew to the festival to appear"

Jim.... "we had no clue what this festival was going to be like.....we were fed to the wolves... first act so they could get the sound system levels"

Terry..."I vehemently said "we can't do the Machine" tonight. Not here... and da** if Brian didn't walk up to the mic and start the routine anyway, leaving us no choice but to follow"

 

This thread is awesome. Now I have to re-watch the Criterion Collection again.

 

I am fascinated with the Monterey Pop Festival, for the music, for the significance and also for the visual pleasure.

Most of the artists were in much better shape musically than in Woodstock 2 years later. Also in physical appearance - just take a look at Joe McDonald and Grace Slick. With hindsight, the 1967 innocence wasn't there in 1969.

It is also very interesting to discuss the SF vs LA syndrome. This was essentially brought up by the SF musicians from what I have read. I think that this had to do with politics, image, attitude but certainly not musical quality. The top LA artists were recording music of a very high level and on a par or better than their SF counterparts. Of course, I would understand if Garcia & Co didn't appreciate the subject matter of the lyrics of some the LA guys but I am sure he could identify good music easily. The Beach Boys, the Mamas & Papas, the Monkees and even the Association were producing excellent music. The Springfield and the Byrds were also excellent of course but they had a tougher image. And I would be very surprised if the SF gang had thought Tim Buckley or Spirit or the Mothers of Invention or Captain Beefheart or the Doors were plastic.

All food for thought in the endless saga of Monterey Pop.

 

Jerry Garcia was not a fan of the Doors at all - he doesn't use the word 'plastic,' but that's the sentiment:
'To me, when the Doors played San Francisco they typified Los Angeles coming to San Francisco, which I equated with having the look right, but zero substance. This is way before that hit song, Light my Fire. Probably at that time in their development it was too early for anyone to make a decent judgement of them, but I've always looked for something else in music, and whatever it was, they didn't have it.'

This was from an interview in 1981 by Blair Jackson in BAM magazine.

On the LA mentality:

Garcia: Spencer Dryden came from the L.A. scene. See, now, L.A.'s different again. It's like a whole nother trip down there. It's that thing of 'Watch out for the sharpies, man, because them mother****ers...' You know what I mean? Look out for the sharpies man. Down there they've got that ultra-paranoia, especially if there's money involved. "Watch Out!" You know? They're really on that trip down there. I mean, they're seriously weird about that ****. Spencer was like a model of those guys who go 'They're going to burn you. Those ****ers will burn you every time.' Which of course they then always do. You know?
(from Bill Graham Presents p. 223 )

There was plenty of cross-pollination - Dryden was obviously the Airplane's drummer, and later joined Garcia's first spinoff band, the New Riders of the Purple Sage. Kantner, Freiberg, and David Crosby lived together in Venice before the Airplane and Byrds formed. QMS and the Dead shared a bill with Zappa and the Mothers in 66 and there was a jam in LA with the Mothers and another in NY in 67. Later in 69-71 CSN, the Airplane and the Dead kind of became this axis that produced a lot of great music including Crosby and Kantner solo albums.

But there were serious cultural differences too - the LA groups were mostly considered 'straight' by the SF groups, even when they were musicians or had hippie exteriors. San Fransisco groups were living together, dropping acid, playing music together, giving free concerts, etc. It was a world apart even from the Fillmore and Avalon to the hip scene in LA at the Whiskey, never mind a band like the Monkees, put together from central casting with writers etc. Something like that was put on, inauthentic, which the SF groups already thought the 'hip' LA scene was.

Chet Helms (Avalon Ballroom/Family Dog Promoter) : Basically we all resisted Monterey Pop because we felt it was kind of slicko L.A. hype. We felt that they were coattailing a bunch of L.A. acts on the success of what was happening in San Fransisco. (Bill Graham Presents p. 193)

 

From sfgate dot calm: Revisit the 1967 Monterey International Pop with these historic photos.

 

Some great comments from everyone. Just giving a heads up that I'll be speeding up the pace some starting today so we'll finish in time or a little ahead of time.

 

We all know about Big Brother & The Holding Company getting signed by Columbia on the basis of their performances at Monterey and everybody has seen the famous clip of Janis Joplin performing 'Ball and Chain' on the Sunday evening show, wearing a chic trouser suit. I've never been able to find out much about their first performance on Saturday afternoon, though. Never did find a set-list, even though there are a few recordings on the 4CD Monterey Box set and another on track on the Janis 3CD set. Some reports say that Janis was dressed in full-on hippy gear but I've never seen a single photograph of the group from their first performance at a major event and I've often found that quite strange.

 

SIMON AND GARFUNKEL (Introduced by John Phillips)

1 Homeward Bound (A)
2 At The Zoo (B)
3 The 59th Street Bridge Song (Feelin' Groovy) (A-)
4 For Emily, Whenever I May Find Her (A)
5 The Sound of Silence (A)
6 Benedictus (B-)
7 Punky's Dilemma (A-)

Simon & Garfunkel close the first night with an all-acoustic performance similar to that of their later live 1967 release. After a highly successful 1966 with the Parsley Sage Rosemary and Thyme album, and hit singles including “The Sound of Silence”, Simon went into a songwriting slump and was not sure about doing The Graduate soundtrack by the time the duo performed at Monterey. The recent single “At the Zoo” and “Punky’s Dilemma” are both here and while the performances aren’t as crisp as the Live 1967 CD, they are solid-because it’s S&G, that usually means great. Simon jokes throughout and is talkative but his guitar work is not totally on point and it is the only instrument. Still, the vocals were what everyone focused on and they were resonant. “The one and only Billy Shears” Simon jokes knowing he has 2 minutes left to perform something before they get crowd laughter from every line of “Punky’s Dilemma”. It’s a fun, intimate and enjoyable performance with their voices ringing through the night to close Friday’s festivities.

 

Well we got through Friday night's artists but before we get to Saturday, I just wanted to mention a couple of things.

If you check your local theaters, a number of them around the country are going to be playing the film of the 1967 Monterey for the anniversary. The tickets are on sale for a number of them.

Also we all know they are holding Monterey Pop 50 this year and a number of artists will tribute the ones from 1967...


Tributes:

• Jack Johnson honoring Steve Miller Band
• Leon Bridges honoring Otis Redding
• The Head and The Heart honoring The Mamas & The Papas
• Gary Clark Jr. honoring Jimi Hendrix
• Jim James honoring The Who
• Nathaniel Rateliff & The Night Sweats honoring Big Brother & The Holding Company
• Nicki Bluhm & Dirty Dozen Brass Band honoring Jefferson Airplane

 

A few vibe reminders if you weren't around, breathing in the summer of love (I was, so I'll let you on my magic carpet for a minute). Perhaps helpful for enabling you to click in now and feel how fleeting it all was. Ready?...Just think for a moment about Sgt Pepper being a big deal right now in 2017...close your eyes... and....

Sgt Pepper was released about two weeks ago here in 1967. Quite a lot of magazine and newspaper articles are mentioning the album. I haven't seen anything on tv news, but so what else is new.

Judy called and told me about Monterey being on the way. Wow. So last minute. So that will be my activity next week....

And of course, no mention of that either in the mainstream. These LBJ days are as bad as the Eisenhower days. Such stuffy people at the top.

"Light My Fire (as a single) is out of nowhere, all over the radio in the past few days. Such a cool track. So different and yet so cool to hear alongside stuff like The Letter etc. Even the Association... who one may pan for Monterey... slam back with Requiem. It is not un-noticed and even on fledgling FM stations, the song is pounced on by DJs. This little b-side is everywhere that summer. And of course, so is Never My Love... cohabiting on the charts nicely with Light My Fire and more as we get into July......

All You Need Is Love and Baby You're a Rich Man will hit and saturate the airwaves in less than two weeks...Such an unexpected, second punch to our senses just weeks after Pepper.....and just after Monterey closes. Monterey... largely and temporarily unknown to the larger world even now in late June.... even though it just ended.

An incredible July will unfold as the Hendrix tsunani sweeps (first) every guitar player I can think of on the west coast. No mention in the news. He will have to wait until September for the stuffy people to catch up. Judy covers the entire festival of course, and emerging impact Jimi is having on LA guitarists .. and if not for her........

On August 1, something will click... off. I can't describe what it is. A lot of people feel it. An afterglow will expand for the new five months. A nova after the collapse of a star system.

Eight weeks. That's all it was. Breathe and feel (right now) how short eight weeks is this summer.

Paul Kantner ends up with an on-target description of that little window of time....and how it let us all in for eight weeks and then....zapped close before our eyes. He'll tell the short story, complete with his so-cool dry humor. Although I think Paul makes the window at 4 weeks instead of 8.

You dreamily move on through the years, never forgetting the vibe of the summer of 1967.

And as to Woodstock two years later, I like a comment I heard somewhere that Monterey was the beautiful, innocent teen wedding. Woodstock was the messy, cloudy divorce.

All just my internal/external cosmic experience, but hey.....

 

And the video for Simon & Garfunkel's "The Sound Of Silence" and "Feelin' Groovy (59th Street Bridge Song)...

 

The whole SF-LA rivalry is interesting and I'm surprised it took place but maybe it felt farther away than it would today. I'm not from the area being on the east coast but it seemed like they were far away enough for both cities to feel like the other was a different culture than their own.

 

Saturday, June 17th 1967





SATURDAY, June 17. (Afternoon)


CANNED HEAT (Introduced by John Phillips)
1 Rollin' And Tumblin' (B+)
2 Dust My Broom (B)
3 Bullfrog Blues (B+)


· Bob "The Bear" Hite – vocals
· Alan "Blind Owl" Wilson – rhythm and slide guitar, vocals, harmonica
· Henry Vestine – lead guitar
· Larry "The Mole" Taylor – bass
· Frank Cook – drums

Canned Heat had not released an album yet when they rolled and tumbled into Monterey to bring some bullfrog blues while they dusted their brooms. The frantic playing shook off the dust and they rock hard. Very fluid guitar solos complimented by walking bass on the mega-tight “Rollin’ and Tumblin’” and “Dust My Broom”. They keep things upbeat on these three selections and Harry Vestine on lead guitar is excellent. They advertise the “new Liberty album” before the tracks start. The album released soon after is all blues rock and one of the more memorable albums of the year. “Bullfrog Blues” is the only group composition on the debut. “I know a lot of you woke up with bullfrogs on your mind” says Bob Hite and the audience has no reaction. “If you didn’t you have no soul!” There was a lot of humor and good vibes I’m hearing on a lot of these sets. Canned Heat proved themselves to be professionals and while I’m not a huge straight blues fan, I can appreciate the tight band work, enthusiasm and fun time the band provide. Monterey gave the band a push further into fame when all is said and done.

Canned Heat- Rollin' and Tumblin'

 

There is a picture by Hal Marshall on pg. 239 of A Perfect Haze, Harvey Kubernik's book on the Monterey Festival, of drummer Frank Cook fronting Canned Heat on vocals. Perhaps it was a rehearsal shot, but it seemed odd.Larry Taylor is in the shot, and both men are in the same stage clothes they wore in the actual performance. Does anybody know if Frank Cook was ever known to come out from behind the drums to sing, and did he do so during Canned Heat's Monterey set?...

 

Just to keep the vibe and memory logistics of this important topic correct, "Monterey" was on the charts and all over the airwaves in 1967......at the same exact moment for example, as "Summer Rain".

For all of us who were on that amazing fall/winter floatdown from summer and the festival, we could tune in to the radio in those surreal weeks before Christmas .......remembering the summer we had just emerged from...and be reminded hour after hour by Eric that "I think that maybe I'm dreamin".....