NRPS: January 19, 1970, Pauley Ballroom, UC Berkeley

My Blackberry takes the world’s worst pictures (see below), and there was neither scanner nor photocopier handy as I was going through a handful of Berkeley Tribes from late 1969-early 1970 today. But I found a reference to a NRPS gig on January 19, 1970 at Pauley Ballroom, UC Berkeley.

Scan from Berkeley Tribe, January 16-23, 1970, p. 28.

Here’s the translation:

DANCE CONCERT: Benefit for Center for Educ. Change. New Rider [sic] of Purple Sage, Cleanliness and Godliness Skiffle Band, lights by Dr. [illegible]. Pauley Ballroom, UCB [then either price or time].

Kind of funny that I would stumble into this today, since Corry has just posted about Pauley Ballroom and since we are discussing (here, here and here) the paucity of NRPS gigs from December 1969 possibly into April 1970.

So here we have a possible gig in January 1970. The GD were in Portland, OR on 1/18/70 and Jerry would apparently go down to LA to record the “Love Scene Improvisations” for Antonioni’s Zabriskie Point on 1/20/70. In the past I would have scoffed at the possibility of a Bay Area Garcia gig on 1/19. But the more I learn about this guy’s workaholism, the more I come to believe in the possibility of such things.

We have no earthly idea if it actually happened, of course. But if it did, then
1) we have a new NRPS gig;
2) we have a NRPS gig in the middle of what is apparently, and otherwise, a very long performing hiatus between December 1969 and, maybe, April 1970; and
3) Garcia was a nut. What’s three separate gigs, in three separate idioms, in cities a thousand miles apart, in 72 hours?


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6 responses to “NRPS: January 19, 1970, Pauley Ballroom, UC Berkeley”

  1. The Yellow Shark Avatar

    This is a great find, not only from the perspective of an additional New Riders of The Purple Sage show, but a new find for the Cleanliness and Godliness Skiffle Band. This is also the last CGSB show we currently have recorded.

    As an aside, I found that I had a Blackberry that took rotten photos until my youngest daughter removed the plastic film from the lens.

    Man I love this stuff.

  2. Corry342 Avatar

    I'll ask Brian Voorheis of CGSB about this, see if he remembers it.

    Amazing stuff.

  3. Corry342 Avatar

    Brian Voorheis doesn't recall the show, but he says that doesn't mean it didn't happen.

    I found the listing in Ralph Gleason's column, too. That only means that Gleason got the same press release, but it at least eliminates a certain kind of mistaken listing.

  4. Anonymous Avatar
    Anonymous

    I've contacted N.R.P.S. Webmaster about a show (Feb. 18,19,20 '72)@ Fox Theater in Long Beach, Cal., he does'nt believe me I guess, will not post to concert history. I attended 18th & 20th shows…even e-mailed copy of handbill !!!

  5. Corry342 Avatar

    And I should add that the Feb 18 '72 Fox show was reviewed in the Feb 20 Long Beach Independent, if not very favorably (reviewer Denise Kusel does not like either the Flying Burrito Brothers or the Riders).

  6. Andre Avatar

    I think the lighting was Dr. Zarkov. It looks sort of like that and Dr. Zarkov is a character from old Flash Gordon stories: definitely someone who may have been used as a stage night for a light show company.

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