The following are archival reports of concerts and concert-going from someone who was very fortunate to experience them personally.  No embellishments were needed.  We were all aware that the times were special, but were having too much fun to fully appreciate the magnitude of music history we were witnessing. We were living it! Through hindsight one can truly appreciate the cultural peak of the entire music scene and concerts specifically, from the mid-'60s up to the mid-'70s. This was an incredible time for all us music-loving concert-going fiends!  In 1969 I was 18 and had an art job for the Government near LAX; on the opposite end of the country was Woodstock, so I missed-out.  I made up for it by going to see as many rock icons as possible when they played L.A. I have included an LP cover or handbill header indicating material popular at the time or featured on tour. In many cases, these concerts were performed at the creative height of the artist/ bands' careers when they were making history!  Although I have always had an extremely broad interest in music, you'll see that for a glorious decade Rock Ruled Supreme! And for a short period prior to big business smelling the money in our music; concert tickets were scaled anywhere from $ .50 up to the outrageous $7.50!  Remember, that although much of the music of this era is considered classic now and served as the basis for all that came after; we were hearing this music, these songs, for the first time, it was new uncharted territory!   There were no precedents!* Try and put yourself in this frame of mind; you have never heard the Beatles, the Stones or the Who, no Dylan, Zeppelin or Doors, and no Hendrix, weird world, huh?  Then imagine the fun, fresh, thrilling and wonderfully strange impact this music, the LPs and the concerts had on us.  Everyday was a celebration, everyday held forth excitement just to be living during this mass evolvement of the youth culture.  And music led the charge, and I followed.  People say everyone remembers where they were when they first heard about JFK's assassination; well, that I don't recall, but I do know exactly where I was the first time I heard Bob Dylan's "Like A Rolling Stone"!  No apologies; I was, am and always will be a music fiend.  As an artist I have had the luxury to control my environment and I can say that I've been listening to and enjoying music for the better part of the day for the better part of my life; and I'm definitely better for it!
Although most of these concert reviews are written in the first person, they generally reflect the universal reaction, enjoyment and feelings of the group of friends I ran with back then and could easily translate to include like feelings  in many of our concert-going tribe during those high times.
For the record: That lame statement, "If you can remember the '60s, then you weren't there", is meant as a comment on memory loss due to the drug use of the era.  The people that generally use this quote are those who sadly sat on the sidelines and therefore have no memories, while the rest of us were enjoying that precious fun time to its fullest and created memories.  My memory of the '60's (and '70s) is vivid; I had my eyes open, my ears open and my mind open.

Terry L Lattimer  2007

*(African American Rhythm and Blues roots respectfully and rightfully-noted as the basis for all R 'n' R, R & B and Jazz.  I refer to the cultural impact of this new music scene as a whole.)

SET TWO: 18 CONCERTS (1970-1972)

The Who
Leon Russell
John Sebastian
Blues Image
06-14-70  Anaheim Stadium, Anaheim
All Time “Top 10” Concert Award
"Sit back my children and you shall hear, of the legendary experimental concert that had us grinning from ear to ear,..."  This was truly an altered state of consciousness concert event.  By that I mean all parts created an alternate universe for a day.  Anaheim (outdoor baseball) Stadium had just been host to a live Donny and Marie Osmond concert – all went well.  So the venue powers-that-be decided to test a rock act next.   Outdoor concerts were "happening", so the idea was "festival seating" on the whole baseball playing field facing the stage at home plate with all the seats in the whole stadium vacant.  Sounds cool, doesn't it?  It was.  Now imagine staking your claim to Third Base, just 90 feet from the stage early on with your good group of friends who have all dropped Double-Dome acid (a proven concert and all around fun enhancer) and everything’s groovy until gradually as the concert progresses you realize that there are helmeted police standing in all the front rows of the seating sections around the whole stadium(!?)  The storm troopers stood motionless throughout the concert.  Alternate universe?  Absolutely!  Maintaining reality under these conditions was not easy - but then the Who took the stage and the whole field was swept away to Rock Heaven!  The Who were riding high with two LPs at the time; "Tommy" and "Live at Leeds".  "Leeds" was/is still, easily within the top ten live LPs of all time!  It was during the wondrously exquisite fully-extended version of "My Generation", the part with the delicate echo breaks, that the crowd was so awestruck, so quiet; you could hear a jaw drop!  I slowly turned and looked through the masses and realized and felt that not just my group at Third Base, or the group at Second, or Right Field, but everyone was on psychedelics!  I mean Everyone!  I had never before or since encountered a mass-mindset that created a sense of non-verbal communication and strange unity.  We kind of had that back then on a daily basis, it was called trust, but this was different, with the current "crazed killer- hippies" (thanks, Charlie) and "US National Guard student-killers" (thanks Uncle Sam) atmosphere,  the lines were drawn and authority was like, "give us a reason", guess what, we didn't have one.  That day we were above it, way above it; an alternate universe above it!  The truly great supporting artists; Blues Image, "Ride Captain, Ride", John Sebastian, the heart and soul of the Lovin' Spoonful, and Leon Russell, "A Song For You", "Roll Away The Stone", that led up to the Who were just right for the afternoon, but as early evening arrived it was time to cut loose and freak-out at one of the best (and in retrospect one of the most intimate) concerts, ever!  The Who played hits from "Tommy" and "Live at Leeds" and even with all of the incredible music we had enjoyed, they climaxed with the most perfect send-off songs in the history of rock concerts: "Summertime Blues", "Shakin' All Over", "My Generation", "See Me, Feel Me" and “Sparks”!  It was as if the whole stadium was apart from this world and the Who's sound was the exquisite energy that powered our wedge of the world and charged our bodies and minds.  No shit!  It was the coolest!  We were all in total awe and exhilaration!  I would like to try and convey this; on a scale of 1 to 10 on the "perfect meld of psychedelics and music working together to create a transcendent orgiastic aural and physical experience at a rock concert" meter, this was easily an 11!  On that day the Who created sound that was an aural psychedelic.  Listen to the "Live at Leeds" original release, (not the new extended version), with studio earphones or just at high volume on a good system; you can hear the ambient sound around the Who awash in LSD-tinged elements throughout and is the best "substitute" for what we all experienced on that incredible day.
Lineup: Roger Daltry (vocals, guitar, harmonica), Pete Townshend (guitar, vocals, keyboards, piano), John Entwhistle (bass, vocals) and Keith Moon (drums, vocals).
Setlist: Heaven and Hell, I Can't Explain, Young Man Blues, Water, The Seeker, Overture, 1921, Amazing Journey, Sparks, Eyesight To The Blind, Christmas, The Acid Queen, Pinball Wizard, Do You Think Its Alright, Fiddle About, Tommy Can You Hear Me, There's a Doctor, Go To The Mirror, Smash The Mirror, Miracle Cure, I'm Free, Tommy's Holiday Camp, We're Not Gonna Take It, Summertime Blues, Shakin' All Over, My Generation, See Me, Feel Me, Touch Me, Sparks.
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Ten Years After
Grand Funk Railroad
Pacific Gas & Electric
07-22-70  Fabulous Forum, Inglewood (Capacity: 17,000)
All Time “Top 10” Concert Award
The group I ran with back in the day were all big TYA fans from their first LP on up through Undead” and  “Stonedhenge” and now with "Ssssh" we had reason to celebrate; this was a stand-out rock LP (on heavy rotation at the pad) perfect for the times!  The Grand Funk Red album was also a stand-out rock LP perfect for the times, and  although I was not a fan of GFR this album was lysergic!  Real over the top rock,  Personally I feel that this time period was thee highpoint of creativity in both bands' careers.
Opening act PG&E were a great rock-funk outfit!  We had very good seats, to the right of, and even with the stage but angled enough to get a good shot of the whole stage.  So we approached this concert as we did for all concerts of this magnitude; psyched and psyched - never knowing that what we really were going to see was a World-Class Rock 'n' Roll Battle of the Bands!
This was the first and only concert I had experienced where the second act, in this case, Grand Funk, delivered such an awesome show that some among us questioned TYA's ability to live up to headliner status! I mean, Whew!  GFR were that good!  I remember "Inside-Looking Out" literally surging through my body, not like the concussion from today's speakers, but purely from the music grabbing hold!  The fans were all on their feet, the Forum was madness!  This was before GFR were saddled with the "American Band" moniker and the spontaneity and freedom of spirit showed. GFR finally left the stage with thunderous requests for the second act to do an encore!  Sheesh!  How must Alvin Lee & Co. felt?  Pressure?  I can say that we almost forgot about TYA, it was as if GFR were the headliners and after a performance like that, you're ready to leave for the night!  Sensing the crowd reaction, TYA now had a mission; they had to not only top GFR, but leave an even bigger lasting impression!  TYA would have to pull a "better than Woodstock" to satisfy these fans!  So there we were – witnessing a World-Class Rock 'n' Roll Battle of the Bands! A look at TYA's setlist* does not reveal what was truly performed; each piece was the supercharged version of the song.  Virtuosity guitar?  Smoldering!  Tight jamming?  Churchill, Lyons, R. Lee were all in top form - had to be!  Even Alvin knew he'd have to leave the "boogie" at home; the masses of music fiends wanted rock and TYA delivered!  Each musical excursion was a masterpiece, pushed to all corners of the envelope!  They pulled it off!  So, the evening's winner in the World-Class Rock 'n' Roll Battle of the Bands was TYA!  But the real winners were the fans who's hard-core, "Nosebleed or front row, I just want to see the show!" devotion to sound and music paid off, historically!!  We had just experienced the fulfilled expectation of concert-going: to catch those magical moments, like the perfect wave, which we all knew were out there.
GFR Lineup: Mark Farner (guitar, vocals), Mel Schacher (bass) and Don Brewer (drums).
TYA Lineup: Alvin Lee (guitar/vocals), Leo Lyons (bass), Chick Churchill (keyboards) and Ric Lee (drums).
TYA Setlist: Love Like A Man, Good Morning Little School Girl, No Title, Hobbit, Scat Thing, I Can't Keep from Crying Sometimes, I'm Going Home.
Encore: Sweet Little Sixteen.
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Frank Zappa & the Mothers of Invention
Tim Buckley
09-25-70  Pepperland, San Rafael
I was on a road trip with three guys named Mike, from L.A. to Oregon.  Whenever I would say, "Hey, Mike!" they would either all reply or no one would.  One of our destinations was in Santa Cruz (future "Lost Boys" site) and we stayed with surfer friends there.  We soon found out that Zappa was playing at a small venue in nearby San Rafael and fortunately snagged some tix.  We missed opener Lisa Kindred, but caught Tim Buckley and had a drink with Frank at the juice bar just before he went on!  He joked about it being his birthday; it wasn't.  The evening highlights visually stand out, there's always a lot to see as FZ keeps his band members busy.  I attended the Zubin Mehta/Zappa orchestral "200 Motels" concert earlier this year and the "200 Motels" film was still very fresh in my mind, so to see the rock band versions of those tunes was a hoot!  My old high school alumni’s and ex-Turtles, ex-Crossfires, Volman and Kaylan were getting a workout on stage under Frank’s direction.  I've always loved FZ's whole satirical approach to rock 'n' roll, but even more so for his respect for the art of music that does not compromise.
Epilogue: A great serendipitous concert experience, totally unexpected and a great time was had by all that night.  We went back to the surf pad and smoked opium until out of about eight people who had passed into dreamland, it got down to me and a Mike – and that's all I remember.
Lineup:  Frank Zappa, Mark Volman, Howard Kaylan, Jeff Simmons, Aynsley Dunbar, George Duke, Ian Underwood.
Setlist: Call Any Vegetable, Pound For A Brown, Sleeping In A Jar, Sharleena, The Air, Dog Breath, Mother People, You Didn't Try To Call Me, King Kong, Lonesome Cowboy Burt, Penis Dimension, Bwana Dik, Little House I Used To Live In, Mudshark, Would You Like A Snack?, Holiday In Berlin, Cruising For Burgers, Wino Man, Willie The Pimp, Concentration Moon, Mom & Dad, Daddy Daddy Daddy, Do You Like My New Car?, Happy Together, Who Are The Brain Police?
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The Big Sur Folk Festival – Celebration at Big Sur
Joan Baez
10-03-70  Monterey  
I was on a road trip with three guys named Mike, from L.A. to Oregon.  On the way back from Oregon to L.A., we stopped off at the Big Sur Folk Festival in Monterey, wandered in and caught a couple songs by Joan Baez; "The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down" and "Let It Be". 
We had to get back on the road as we were low on cash and stash.  Fortunately, lower on cash, for as we all know, "Weed will get you through times of no cash; better than cash will get you through times of no weed!"
Other artists featured that we didn't get to see were; Linda Ronstadt, Merry Clayton, the Beach Boys, Taj Mahal, Country Joe McDonald and Kris Kristofferson.  No offense to all but I would have liked to have seen Taj Mahal; “And take a giant step outside your mind”.
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Savoy Brown

Humble Pie
Sea Train
Ry Cooder
12-4-70 Fillmore West, San Francisco (Capacity: 1100)
All Time “Top 10” Concert Award
What a serendipitous concert this was!  I was on another road trip with two good friends; we had no real destination in mind other than North of L.A.   The driver had customized a step-van and turned it into a mobile home.  We made it to San Francisco and found out that two of our personal favorite bands at the time were playing the Fillmore West that night!  Savoy Brown and Humble Pie!  Our road trip funds were tight and in order to buy the tickets $3.00 each (!) we had to sacrifice food.  So we all chipped-in for a bottle of sloe gin and a package of Oreo cookies for our dinner meal before the concert.  Hey, it was classic Frisco, but instead of "livin' on vitamin C and cocaine", we were "livin' on Oreos and sloe gin"!  That left us enough gas money for the return trip to L.A.   Once inside the Fillmore, we grabbed several unused legless chairs (sorta like beach chairs) that were up against the back wall and settled-in on the floor and lit up a joint.  I took a hit and passed it on, when it came back to me I took a big hit and mid-way through the inhale a bright flashlight blinded me and all I could hear was, "Alright!  Let's go!", "C'mon, get up!"   Sheesh!  Busted.  And out of town, what a drag!  But then I heard words of relief, "Put the chairs back!"   What?  "Let's go, put 'em back!"   I was puzzled, the chairs?  We got up and put the legless chairs back where we found them. That may have just been a routine they'd pull on the out-of-towners, but it worked; whip-lashed emotions.  Anyway, the entire concert kicked-ass!  Ry Cooder was great; a legend in the making as we all now know.  Sea Train were more in league with The Band; great musicians, homespun pieces with violins and flutes, rockin' all the time, they won us over big-time.
Humble Pie featured songs from their current LP "Humble Pie" with great cuts like, "Live with Me" and "I'm Ready" - the whole album was a gem and a big personal favorite.
Savoy Brown were a really great blues band and an extremely tight rockin' combo.  I believe they were somewhat marginalized by the "boogie" imprint they so enthusiastically endorsed; I felt they were better than that.  In any case, SB were immensely under-rated in their prime time.
SB should have been much bigger than they ever were; but in some ways it’s good – lower-level success keeps bands creatively honest, so to speak.  Kim Simmonds' lead guitar had a distinct sound (like many greats’ that have their “signature” sound of recognition), Lonesome Dave Peverett's voice was a good fit as a replacement for classic Chris Youlden (check out; “A Step Further” LP and listen to: “Life’s One Act Play” followed directly by “I’m Tired” both collectively just under 10 minutes of the rawest most beautifully honest lyrics, voice, instruments and emotion portrayed.  ”Life’s” lays the down-tempo side of the theme of life and “I’m” rebels, up-tempos and righteously tells it like it is!   Chris Youlden; the blackest white man to ever sing the blues, hands down!  Their current "Looking' In" LP was featured as well as songs from "Blue Matter", such as the smokin', rockin' blues classic, "Louisiana Blues".  Whew! 
It didn’t hurt that SB’s “Looking In” LP and Humble Pie’s self-titled LP were two that made an indelible stamp on a specific time period.  I played them both – a lot. Cool imprints!  This was a big contributing factor in the fun we had that night; we were overly-familiar with two out of four bands’ music and our close proximity to the stage created a party atmosphere for us!  Good times!
Note:  Peverett, bassist Tone Stevens and drummer Roger Earl would later form another successful band; Foghat with Rod Price. 
Epilogue:  The only side-effect to our "dinner" of sloe gin and Oreos the night before was that the next morning we all left black oil slick souvenirs in the toilets of San Francisco.
HP Line-up: Steve Marriott (guitar), Peter Frampton (guitar), Greg Ridley (bass) and Jerry Shirley (drums).
SB Line-up: Kim Simmonds (lead guitar), Lonesome Dave Peverett (guitar and vocals), Tone Stevens (bass) and Roger Earl (drums).
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KPPC / Warner Brothers Peoples' Concert
Captain Beefheart & his Magic Band
Doobie Bros.
Little Feat
Ry Cooder
KPPC DJs
3-20-71 Pasadena Civic Auditorium, Pasadena
Definition of a Classic Hippie: #1 Live with your working girlfriend.  #2 Bulk deliver the L.A. Times from 2 AM to 6 AM at LAX.  #3 During the day, make candles to supply to local retailers.  #4 Get high and listen to KPPC while doing #1, #2 and #3.  Yeah, that was me, once again gifted to be traveling through an incredible space in time - for about a year that was my schedule and for eighteen months L.A. was treated to a once in a lifetime true radio phenomenon; KPPC.  We didn't know how good we had it.  Everyday brought forth something new and exciting in a time when the social environment almost demanded these events to manifest!  And so they did!
Originally broadcast from a Pasadena church basement, KPPC was the first rock underground radio station in Southern California.  It was a station for the people, the counter-culture; totally hip, fun, intelligent and casual. High-larious satirical Improvisational news casts by the Credibility Gap (Michaeel McKean, David L. Lander, Richard Beebe, and Harry Shearer), acapella radio spots by the Persuasions, early Dr. Demento, and all the relevant music we needed to hear.  I "lived" via the airwaves with the KPPC family of DJs while I made candles and "got to know" them as they were with me all day and all night!  The vibe of the station fit my life-style perfectly.  Magic!  The concert was a gathering of loyal KPPC listeners and we were treated to a day of great uplifting rock 'n' roll by new bands we had grown to love.  And the artists were treated to a very enthusiastic audience of appreciative people.  Peace.
Epilogue: I left L.A. and KPPC and moved to the rugged wilderness community of Mammoth Mountain in the Fall of 1971 for about six months.  Ironically, on a quick turnaround trip to L.A. while listening to KPPC at a friends' on the evening of 10-24-71, I heard B. Mitchell Reed speak of the threatened mass-firing of the entire air-staff that evening!   He said he'd talk and play music that evening until they pulled the plug, which they did; ending forever an incredible station, KPPC, and an incredible era.
Line-up:  Listed above.
Set list:  Mostly cuts from the first LPs of these bands, possibly from the Capt.’s 2nd or 3rd LP.
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Mahavishnu Orchestra
w/John McLaughlin
-71 Santa Monica Civic Auditorium, Santa Monica (Capacity: 3,000)
Before and after I was a rack-jobber for a record and tape distributor in L.A.; I was a record store manager.  At either end of supplying music to retailers, promo LPs and tapes from just about every label were available to us, so I was always up on thee latest releases and literally sampled everything from rock, soundtracks, jazz, comedy, show tunes, anything, everything, every day brought new releases.  This is how I came by this spiritually intense jazz/rock music.  Whew.  Few LPs have had the ability to move me in the way these pieces do; at times very intense and unrelenting but at the same time powerfully graceful and transcending.
Like with most concerts, hearing and seeing pieces played live is a real treat.  In this case, the LP just whet the appetite for what was to come.  And like with Zappa's music, these sophisticated tunes are not jingles that repeat in your head.  These are tunes that come alive,  the music engulfs you and the performance that you hear on LP, while excellent, is far surpassed as each band, (in this case orchestra) member's virtuosity surges forth.  It was an entertaining and exhilarating performance/experience!
Line-up: John McLaughlin (devoted guitarist), Jan Hammer (keyboards), Jerry Goodman (electric violin), Ron Laird (bass) and Billy Cobham (drums).
Setlist:  Cuts from their only LP; “The Inner Mounting Flame”.
Turn-On: Billy Cobham's 1973 LP release, "Spectrum" has a stellar line up with future "Miami Vice" keyboardist Jan Hammer; veteran studio musician Lee Sklar on Fender bass; and Tommy Bolin on guitar.  Bolin has been recognized as at the height of his short but dazzling career and at the top of this game on this LP.  There's some musician wizardry going on here by all.  Classic and highly accessible jazz/rock; leaning heavily on the rock, …no on the jazz, …no on the rock, …
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Lee Michaels
6-71  Santa Monica Civic Auditorium, Santa Monica (Capacity: 3,000)
This concert was taped live for a documentary on Lee and featured songs from his current LP release, "Barrel".  Lee Michaels has always been a favorite artist of mine, his early '68 debut, "Carnival of Life", was one of the first LPs, along with the Doors, Them, the Ventures' "In Space" and Dick Dale's "Surfer's Choice" that started my album collection in earnest. The opening to "Hello!" just floored me the first time I heard it: with each massive organ whomp there is a jacked-up organ grind to bring the massive whomp down again.  Loved it!  And the whole rest of the LP too; all really great tunes!  Plus Lee had a unique voice; melodic, charming and bluesy; a natural "blue-eyed soul".
Inside the "Barrel" album were photos of Lee walking with his big cats, cheetahs I think, on his wildlife compound in Northern California.  I was envious; I love big cats!  A few months later I actually caught the TV documentary on Lee with the concert footage, with his big cats and on his wild(life). "Barrel" was an LP with a conscience, with Lee in righteous protest mode over the Vietnam war ("What Now America?", "Thumbs", When Johnny Comes Marching Home"), injustice, ("Mad Dog" "Murder In My Heart (For The Judge)"), and a couple of bittersweet love songs, ("Didn't Know What I Had", "Day Of Change") and the classic, "Ummm My Lady" to balance-out the album.  Excellent!
Line-up: Lee Michaels (Hammond organ, keyboards, guitar, vocals),  either Joel Larson or 'Frosty' (Bartholomew Eugene Smith-Frost) (drums), and possible unknown guitarist. Setlist:  Do You Know What I Mean?, Mad Dog, America, Uummmm My Lady, Day of Change, I Wonder, Stormy Monday, Who Could Want More, Didn't Know What I Had, Oak Fire, Heighty Hi, Rock Me Baby
Epilogue:  I am very glad to have seen Lee live.  He is a true example of a seminal artist that never received his due in regard to his influence, creativity and place in rock history.  The current whereabouts of Lee Michaels is clouded in mystery since he withdrew from the music scene over 20 years ago.  Theories of hearing loss, retreating to Hawaii, etc. are unfounded. The current "best truth" is that he is the owner of a small franchise of "Killer Shrimp" restaurants in Southern California.  I pass by the one that borders Marina Del Rey and Venice on trips back and forth from visiting my mother.  The restaurant ("killer" logo by the way!) has now become a sense memory trigger of the days I listened and rocked to Lee's music; which always brings a welcomed smile.
Note:  LP cover icon not representative of the time period, just a classic cover!
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Emerson, Lake & Palmer
3-23-72 Santa Monica Civic Auditorium, Santa Monica (Capacity: 3,000)
I was a big fan of King Crimson's first two LPs “In the Court of the Crimson King” and “In the Wake of Poseidon” featuring Greg Lake, played them a lot.  I remember rockin’ to “21^st Century Schizoid Man” back in ‘69 at my drafting table as an artist at a government-sponsored artist job at SWRL: Southwest Regional Laboratories for Educational Research and Development.  I also had several early Nice LPs (Keith Emerson) and an Atomic Rooster (Carl Palmer) import; so I was eager for the first release of Emerson, Lake and Palmer, a classic from day one! 
At this concert ELP were featuring songs from the as yet released,” Trilogy" LP.  Our seats were to the left of center, the side where Emerson was set up so we caught him doing his signature dagger-jam-into-the-keyboard move to sustain a note while jammin’ on a couple other keyboards.  Lake’s singing has to be one of the most heart-rending, but commanding voices in rock; just beautiful, a great match for their unique style.   Palmer proved himself more than just a drummer; with the classical beats and tempos incorporated in their music, his reach and mastery was beyond normal rock drum requirements.  Great music, loud and the whole show was real entertaining.
Lineup:  Keith Emerson (Hammond organ C3, Steinway piano, Zoukra, Moog synthesizer IIIC, Mini Moog Model D), Greg Lake (vocals, bass, electric & acoustic guitar), Carl Palmer (drums, percussion).
Set list:  Intro, Fanfare, Tarkus – Eruption, Stones Of Years, Aquatarkus, Trilogy, Take A Pebble, Abbadon's Bolero, Pictures At An Exhibition, Rondo (cut).
Note: The LP icon is not representative of the time period, just a classic cover!
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Alice Coltrane
Thelonius Monk
Herbie Hancock
00-00-72  Santa Monica Civic Auditorium, Santa Monica (Capacity: 3,000)
I came by the wonderful music of Alice Coltrane as a return LP at the record store I managed.  I played it and fell in love with it.   Electronic harp!  Real cerebral, strong, moving, ethereal psychedelic pieces; great ambient music for the time.  The classic psychedelic album art was appropriately –designed by Peter Max!  In addition to the electronic harp, Ms. Coltrane also played piano and Wurlitzer organ.
Our seats for the concert were center and middle. I was so into the music that it took a while before I realized that we were some of the very few white boys in the whole audience.  Not that it bothered us, we were there for the music, as was everyone else and “in the presence of music we are all brothers” which shows how music obscures, crosses and connects all lines of race; it's the universal language.  That's one reason why music and marijuana go so well together; they both break down the ego and uplift the spirit!
Lineup: These are the "World Galaxy" musicians; of these fine musicians I cannot remember exactly who performed with Alice that night: Pharoah Sanders, Joe Henderson, Frank Lowe, Carlos Ward, Rashied Ali, Archie Shepp, and Jimmy Garrison.
Setlist: My Favorite Things, Galaxy Around Olodumare, Galaxy In Satchidananda, Love Supreme, Galaxy In Turiya.
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the Rolling Stones
Stevie Wonder
6-9-72  Hollywood Palladium, Hollywood (Capacity: 3,500)
All Time “Top 10” Concert Award
If you've ever been to the Hollywood Palladium you know that it's a terrific venue for concerts.  With a maximum capacity of 3,500; it's just large enough to accommodate a select concentration of true believers who made the cut, as well as small enough to create a relatively intimate party atmosphere where "the bands and the fans can rock the house".  With that in mind you may wonder, out of a population of seven million in L.A. County with at least a few hundred thousand Stones fans, how did I get tickets for myself and a group of close friends?
The tickets were available on a first come first serve basis from information in an ad in the L.A. Times Saturday edition.  The first 3,500 people, whose check inside the mailed requests were received, got tickets. I had an L.A. Times distributor connection, (See previous KPPC/WB Peoples' Concert, 3-20-71, Pasadena Civic) and obtained a few Saturday copies on Friday night, around midnight.  I can clearly remember as if it was yesterday; I cut open a bundled stack of newspapers as if it was the lid on a treasure chest!  And it was!  A rock 'n' roll treasure chest!  For inside were assured early-access-to-Stones-concert-tickets gold!  I passed out the ads to friends on stand-by and we had our requests for tickets in the mail - before anyone else in L.A. even received the paper!  That’s right, we’re talkin’ ‘bout the Midnight Rambler; the one that scored ticket gold!
Meanwhile, back at the concert: opening for the Stones was a legend, Stevie Wonder!  I was twelve in 1963 when I first heard thirteen year old "Little" Stevie Wonder's rousing "Fingertips (pt.2)" with the knockout harmonica!  This night’s performance Stevie was reveling in the success of his "Music of My Mind/Talking Book" highpoint, with “Living For The City” and the classic funk-electro-rocker "Superstition", what a thrill for real!
Once the Stones took the stage it was party time!  Our group, about eight of us, had staked-out an area in the middle of the Palladium floor about ten to twenty deep back from the edge of the stage, which put us within 20 to 40 feet of the Stones the whole evening!  This was during a good, clean, fun cocaine phase and we came prepared!  There was no search-at-the-door back then and we literally crouched down and did cocaine pow-wows throughout the concert.
Mick and his band mates were hyped, they knew who they were about to perform for; that's right, the hard-core L.A. Stones fan that made it to this concert!  Joints were passed; joints were received and the Stones rocked the house!  This was a rejuvenating time for the Stones with their double LP, "Exile on Main St." as a return to their rock ‘n’ blues roots and punkish attitude that attracted us to them so much in the first place.  Although initially panned, (we knew better) the "Exile On Main Street" LP fucking rocked hard and dirty, just the way we liked our Stones - and is now not only considered a classic high-point but possibly the last "classic" Stones release to date.  So, we rocked just as hard ‘cuz from our viewpoint it literally felt as if the Stones were the live entertainment for a small party that got out of hand!  Wow!  The Best!
To prove the intimacy of attending this concert of 3,500; the Stones next L.A. area gig was the Long Beach Arena (capacity: 13,500) and then two nights at the Forum, Inglewood (Capacity: 17,000).  So nearly 50,000 fans saw the Stones but only 3,500 saw them intimately.
Epilogue: A rare, fun and memorable classic concert in Rock 'n' Roll History.  Sigh.
Lineup:  Mick Jagger (Vocals and Harmonica), Keith Richards (Guitars and Vocals), Mick Taylor (Guitars), Bill Wyman (Bass), Charlie Watts (Drums), Nicky Hopkins (Piano and Organ), Bobby Keyes (Saxophones), Jim Price (Trumpet and Trombone).
A Classic Kick-Ass Set: Brown Sugar, Bitch, Rocks Off, Gimme Shelter, Happy, Tumbling Dice, Sweet Virginia; You Can't Always Get What You Want, All Down the Line, Midnight Rambler, Jumping Jack Flash, Street Fighting Man.  Whew!
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Pink Floyd

9-22-72  Hollywood Bowl, Hollywood (Capacity: 18,000)

ALL TIME “TOP 10” CONCERT AWARD

Ah yes, the Masters; Gilmour, Waters, Wright and Mason!  My all time favorite group!  Consistently innovative, hard-rockin, melodic, superb musicians with an admirable rock star image of blue-jeans and t-shirts worn by true sophisticated pioneers and masters of psychedelic space-rock!

The world got to know and love Pink Floyd's music in 1973 when "The Dark Side of the Moon" LP took everyone by surprise and went on to become the longest charted album in history; a record 741 weeks on Billboard's top 100; that's fifteen years!  And justly so, their contribution to rock history previous to this LP was simply incredible, but with DSOTM PF transcended their own peaks and created another level where they unveiled an emotionally-moving masterpiece, a perfect blend of light and dark, of outward observation as well as inward.  Filled with heavenly choruses and acapella solos, stratospheric guitar excursions, sexy and savage keyboard riffs, lyrics that I'm sure changed lives; ("...ten years have got behind you, no one told you when to run; you missed the starting gun.") and the dreamiest, saddest, ecstatic and coolest saxophone passages ever!  This music opened PF to millions of instant fans who would never have had the introduction.  On the other hand, I had been enjoying PF since their earliest LPs with Syd Barrett and literally played "The Piper At The Gates Of Dawn", "A Saucerful Of Secrets",  "Music from the film More", "Umma-Gumma", "Atom Heart Mother", "Relics", "Obscured By Clouds" (the soundtrack to the French film "La Vallee") and “Meddle” so much that I replaced new copies regularly and had stashed copies of virgin-vinyl imports for special occasions.

PF started the concert off with the debut of their new LP; "The Dark Side of the Moon", in its entirety.  "Money" blew everyone away as the cash-register sounds circled the Bowl in quadraphonic sound!  Once again, history in the making!  We were hearing "The Dark Side of the Moon" for the first time, and the LP wouldn't be available for another six months! 

The "Meddle" LP was/is a personal favorite; I just love "Echoes", easily one of my all time Top Ten "singles".  "One Of These Days", a compact, beautiful attack on the senses opens with a swooping Bolero intro that builds to a crunching climax that releases a growl of lyrics that cut loose a bursting dam of psychedelic fury and high-flyin' rock.  Righteous! 

I rarely brought a camera to concerts but we had good box seats so this time I did and caught a classic Pink Floyd moment through my Minolta SRT 101 during "Careful with that Axe, Eugene" as the crescendo builds, and just as Waters screams;  pink-lit smoke bombs explode and fill the stage! 

To see that rare classic concert moment: CTRL + click here: http://www.imagekind.com/Showartwork.aspx?IMID=737dbf6f-429d-4752-8685-ff3b96bcf7ae
Epilogue: This was my virgin PF concert; I should have seen these guys earlier in their career but I was still in Jr. High and early High school, with little or no transportation and less cash.  When I had the car and cash I was too involved with my life and missed the "Atom Heart Mother" tour, shame on me!  But I vowed to see them every time they came to town in the future; and while I did miss the "Animals" Tour, I had FRONT ROW SEATS, that's right, absolutely no one between me and Pink Floyd, for the first three nights of five sold out shows at the L.A. Sports Arena on 4-23/24/25-75!!!  And while that was a once in a lifetime experience; the setlist for this concert was an almost dream-designed hand-picked set of songs – absolute gems!    

Lineup: David Gilmour (guitar, vocals), Roger Waters (bass, synthesizer, vocals), Nick Mason (drums), Rick Wright (keyboards, synthesizers).

Set 1: "Dark Side of the Moon" - Breathe, On The Run, Time, Breathe Reprise, The Great Gig In The Sky, Money, Us And Them, Any Colour You Like, Brain Damage, Eclipse.

Set 2: One Of These Days, Careful With That Axe, Eugene, Echoes, A Saucerful Of Secrets.

Encore: Set The Controls For The Heart Of The Sun.
Note:  I went to "Filmex", the Sundance Film Festival of its day, to see the movie, “La Vallee”, and gave a standing ovation when PF's credits hit the screen and enjoyed the film very much as well as the opportunity to hear PF's terrific “Obscured By Clouds” music amplified at the Chinese Theater on Hollywood Boulevard!
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