Thursday, March 13, 2008
The Late 1960's
Does anyone besides me remember the Electric Theater? Later on, it was renamed the Kinetic Playground. It was on Clark Street near Lawrence Avenue. I saw the most amazing shows there in 1969 or so. The Who played Tommy there before the album came out. I remember seeing The Paul Butterfield Blues Band and Alice Cooper. What a magical year for music. Joni Mitchell played a little hall at Northwestern University, as did the Grateful Dead and Janis Joplin. I also saw Joe Cocker at the Aragon Ballroom, and Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young at the Auditorium Theater. Amazing acoustics! Also at the Auditorium, the bands Yes, and Emerson, Lake, and Palmer, both on the same night. There was also a hall called the Chicago Ampitheater, but the only band I remember seeing there was Jethro Tull. My gosh, Frank Zappa and the Mothers of Invention played at Ravinia, of all places. Ravinia is an outdoor summer music venue that mostly features the Chicago Symphony. Frank Zappa was awesome. I tried to describe the late 60's to my kids. I told them to picture someone smoking a joint in New York, then passing it to someone in Chicago, who passed it to someone in California. In case you're wondering, I don't use drugs now. I outgrew them by the time I hit my 20s. The late 60's was a magical time. Or does everyone feel that for their late teen years?
Wednesday, March 12, 2008
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