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Festivals, Music et al, Music of the 60s

1969 Midwest Rock Festival

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1969 Midwest Rock Festival

July 25,  26, &  27, 1969

State Fair Park, Milwaukee, WI

1969 Midwest Rock Festival

1969 Midwest Rock Festival

1969 Festival #29

The same weekend as the Seattle Pop Festival and coming in at number 29 on my list of 1969 rock festivals, we have the 1969 Midwest Rock Festival. And there will still be three more before getting to the “one” rock festival of that year.The same weekend as the Seattle Pop Festival and coming in at number 26 on my list of 1969 rock festivals, we have the 1969 Midwest Rock Festival. And there will still be three more before getting to the “one” rock festival of that year.

Once again, a stellar line up of bands and performers languishes in history because of its location (not New York, San Francisco, or Los Angeles), smaller number of attendees (not a half-million), not recorded, and not filmed.

There are some recordings, but like so many others outside those of the Woodstock Music and Art Fair, the quality is poor.

1969 Midwest Rock Festival

The scheduled line-up

Friday 25 July

  • Led Zeppelin
  • Buffy Sainte Marie
  • First Edition

Saturday 26 July

  • Blind Faith
  • John Mayall
  • Delany and Bonnie and Friends
  • Shag
  • Taste
  • MC5
  • SRC

Sunday 27 July
  • Jim Schwall Blues Period
  • MC5
  • Zephyr
  • Shag
  • LItter
  • SRC

You will notice that some bands played on multiple days. Some were local bands given exposure in a large setting.

1969 Midwest Rock Festival

Notes

  • Led Zeppelin would leave after their Midwest Pop Festival performance to fly to Seattle for the Seattle Pop Festival and play that Sunday.
  • Johnny Winter played on Sunday. He was everywhere that summer.
  • Joe Cocker, Sweetwater, and Winter would all be in Bethel, NY the next month for the Woodstock Music and Art Fair.
  • Like most festivals, the Midwest Pop Festival  was held in an enclosed area–a racetrack in this case. And the stage was simply a flatbed trailer. 
  • there was a total attendance of about 45,000 and it cost $15 for the 3 days.
  • rain cancelled the Sunday performances of Jethro Tull, Jeff Beck and the Bob Seger System.

The djtees site had this description: The coverage of the festival in newspapers mentioned widespread pot-smoking in the stands(well, duh!), and afterward a state legislator from West Allis, Robert Huber, took strong exception to that, saying the weekend “would make Haight-Ashbury blush.” Dude, you need to loosen up and get with the programme. For 3 days in the summer of 69 what made Milwaukee famous was not beer but kick ass rock ‘n’ roll.

There is also a site dedicated to this event with more information. Check it out: Midwest Rock Festival

1969 Midwest Rock Festival

Next 1969 festival: Atlantic City Pop Festival

Beatles, Marijuana

Beatles Say Legalize Grass

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Beatles Say Legalize Grass

July 24, 1967

Beatles Say Legalize Grass

Beatles Say Legalize Grass

Controversy and the Beatles

Beatles Say Legalize Grass

By 1967, the Beatles were used to media scrutiny and controversy. Sometimes the media thrust it upon them; sometimes the Beatles put themselves out front. John’s 1965 comment comparing the Beatles’ popularity to that of Christ resulted in some radio stations banning their music and some record stores refusing to sell their records.

The original 1966 album cover for “Yesterday and Today” with them sitting in bloody butcher smocks holding pieces of meat and broken baby dolls was so controversial that Capital Records immediately withdrew the album, re-covered it, and only then re-released it.

Beatles Say Yes To Grass

Beatles Say Legalize Grass

John Hopkins

In 1967, most people and their govenments continued to view marijuana as a gateway drug, addictive, and deadly. While research had already suggested that none of those views were accurate, society continued to legislate against its use, sale, and production.

Those familiar with the substance saw it in a different light.

John “Hoppy” Hopkins was a British photographer, journalist, researcher and political activist. He used marijuana and a jury found him guilty of its possession and use. The judge sentenced Hopkins to 9 months in prison.

A “Free Hoppy” movement resulted.  [2015 Guardian obituary]

Beatles Say Legalize Grass

Stephen Abrams

Stephen Irwin Abrams was an American drug policy activist living in the United Kingdom. He led the “Free Hoppy” movement and wrote a full page advertisement that demanded cannabis law reform.

Beatles Say Legalize Grass

Beatles join

Among the dozens of researchers, academics, scientists, and other well-known people, Abrams sought out the Beatles imprimatur. They not only granted the use of their names to the petition, Paul paid for the advertisement in  The Times. Paul did not want it known he had done so, but having such an illustrious person sponsoring such a controversial piece in a major paper meant the secret was poorly kept.

The text’s lead sentence read, “The law against marijuana is immoral in principle and unworkable in practice.”

It went on to speak to the view of marijuana’s danger and dispute those views.

64 signatures appeared.  After each of the Beatles’ names, the initials M.B.O. appeared: Member of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire. Queen Elizabeth had honored them with the award on October 26, 1965.

Click on the following to view the entire text, from the excellent Beatles Bible site.

Beatles Say Legalize Grass

John Lennon, ex-M.B.E

Two years later, on Nov. 25, 1969, John Lennon returned his MBE medal stating, “Your Majesty, I am returning my MBE as a protest against Britain’s involvement in the Nigeria-Biafra thing, against our support of America in Vietnam and against ‘Cold Turkey’ slipping down the charts. With love. John Lennon of Bag”

Likely, many of the same people who had criticized the Queen’s honoring John with the award because they felt him unworthy, again criticized Lennon for returning it.

Gosh darn it. The Beatles: damned when they do. Damned when they don’t.

Beatles Say Legalize Grass
Music et al, Music of the 60s, Rock venues, Today in history

Straight Theater San Francisco

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Straight Theater San Francisco

1702 Haight Street, San Francisco

Straight Theater San Francisco

Straight Theater San Francisco

Rock Venues

Rock shows were not unusual by 1967, but rock venues still were. The notion that someone could open an establishment solely for the presentation of rock and roll events was risky.

The beginning of such venues centered in San Francisco: the Matrix, the Avalon, and most famous of all were Bill Graham’s Fillmores: the Fillmore Auditorium (later “moved” to become the Fillmore West). And of course there was Graham’s equally famous NYC venue, the Fillmore East. The challenge of keeping such venues maintained as well as profitable forced Graham out of those venues within years of their opening.

Straight Theater San Francisco

Haight Theatre

The Haight Theater was originally, as were so many rock establishments, a movie theater.

Straight Theater San Francisco

With the influx of “hippies” into the Haight neighborhood by the mid-60s, it made sense to convert the failing building into a rock venue. Such an enterprise required permits which the city of San Francisco was reluctant to issue. The idea of having a “dance studio” with live music cleverly skirted the legal issues.

Straight Theater San Francisco

Straight Theater

And so the Straight Theater(1702 Haight Street at Cole) came into being in mid-1967 competing with the established Avelon and Fillmore.

After weeks of renovation, it’s private christening was on June 15, 1967. From Lost Live Dead: The “Straight Theater Christening” was a private event–thus not requiring a permit–to celebrate the opening of the Straight. …The two acts performing at the event were Oakland’s Wildflower and a neighborhood band, the Grateful Dead (it was that kind of neighborhood).

The night… was particularly momentous. The hugely anticipated Monterey Pop Festival would begin on the next evening (Friday June 16), in which numerous local San Francisco underground bands, most without even records, would share the stage with major acts from Los Angeles, New York and London. The Who were playing the Fillmore of June 16 and 17, and heading down to Monterey for their Sunday (June 18) show. Most of the famous Haight Ashbury bands still lived in the Haight, for the most part, so the Straight Theater Christening was apparently the coolest of the cool parties, and in some ways the last night before Monterey Pop irrevocably expanded the San Francisco scene beyond the City’s borders.

Straight Theater San Francisco

July 21, 1967

The Straight’s official opening night featured Quicksilver Messenger Service, Mount Rushmore, Salvation Army Banned, Mother Earth, and The Dossier with Lights by Reginald

According to the Deadlists Project site, the Dead played the Straight three times: two nights later July 23, 1967 and on September 29 & 30 that same year. They had apparently also used the site as a rehearsal hall, being so close to “home.” Surprisingly for the Dead, the only recording is a Neal Cassady “Rap Jam” from the July 23 show exists.

With fits and hesitations and reboots, the Starlight Theater continued with music and supplementing with movies and dance lessons. Many “big names” played including Steve Miller, Lightning Hopkins, Quicksilver Messenger Service, John Fahey, The Charlatans, Santana Blues Band, Charlie Musselwhite, and the James Cotton Blues Band

Big Brother and the Holding Company, Sons of Champlin, Congress of Wonders, Curley Cooke’s Hurdy Gurdy Band, Indian Head Band, Ace of Cups, and Phoenix (with Lights by Straight Lightning) all played on an 24 April 1968 show to help save the Straight, but only for a year.

Straight Theater San Francisco

Denouement and demolition

Straight Theater
The Straight Theater in 1978. Photo: San Francisco History Center, San Francisco Public Library

The Straight Theater’s last show was on April 5, 1969 [Sons of Champlin, Passion, Marvin Gardens, The Angels Own Band Chorus, Bicycle, Asoke Fakir, Morning Glory, Congress of Wonders, Rush, Last Mile, Glass Mountain] and on August 13, 1979 the building was demolished.

Here is a video interview with three former workers at the Straight Theatre with lots of information about the Straight’s birth.

Straight Theater San Francisco