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The Grateful Dead comes East for the 1st time...
The Grateful Dead comes East for the 1st time...
Item # 701134
June 08, 1967
THE VILLAGE VOICE, New York, June 8, 1967
* Grateful Dead - first Eastern tour begins
* Very 1st performance in the East w/ photos
* Jerry Garcia - Bob Weir - Ron "Pigpen" McKernan
* A truly historic issue at the inception of this band
A terrific issue of this famous counter-culture newspaper as the front page has an article headed: "Frontier on Tompkins Square - p. 14" with subhead: "The Youthquake and The Shook-Up Park" with lead-in: "Tompkins Square" This lengthy article continues on the inside pages with mention of the band performing a free gig at Tompkins Square Park in the East Village of Manhattan. This was the same day they began their very first Eastern tour at a club in Greenwich Village that night.
But what is overwhelmingly historic in music history is a full page pictorial (pg. 14) of that performance in the park which includes the 3 main members of the band. Also a advertisement for their very first scheduled performance in the East at the "Cafe Au Go Go" in Greenwich Village. (see images)
SEE BELOW FOR FURTHER DETAILS I FOUND ONLINE.
A terrific issue on this iconic rock band in it's infancy. I suspect this to be an extremely rare item because their was really no reason to save it at the time.
It is worth noting that "The Village Voice" was an American news and culture paper, known for being the country's first alternative newsweekly. Founded in 1955, the Voice began as a platform for the creative community of New York City.
Other interesting items from the counter-culture era. Complete in 40 pages, tabloid-size, one crease across the center, nice condition.
source: Lost Live Dead: The Grateful Dead's first Eastern tour began with an eleven-day booking at the Cafe Au Go Go, a nightclub in Greenwich Village on 152 Bleecker Street. The Au Go Go was a small (400 capacity) place with low ceilings, not an ideal venue for the band, but the Dead were unheard legends from the West, and the Village was where it was all happening.
Interestingly, however, thanks to careful research by an esteemed scholar, it appears that the Dead's first appearance in New York City was actually at Tompkins Square Park, on Thursday June 1. I have seen allusions to the Dead's performance in Tompkins Square Park, but until now I have not had it pinned down. However a careful review of the June 8, 1967 Village Voice, in a lengthy story about police hassling hippies and free concerts in the city, reveals this paragraph:
"June began on Thursday, and the Grateful Dead were in town, and, despite some rumble rumors from the Puerto Ricans, the prospects for peace looked promising. A happy, scruffy parade of 80 marched down St. Mark's Place, complete with police escort, to present the Dead with a white carnation key to the East Village, graciously accepted by Pigpen. And the Tompkins Square bandshell rocked with San Francisco glory until a noise complaint was lodged in the late afternoon. Rather than tune down, the Dead turned off"
Provenance note: This issue comes from The Village Voice's own archives, part of their in-house collection used to create their digital archive.
Alert: Many issues of The Village Voice contain articles and/or photos which some consider offensive, and are certainly inappropriate for children. Please purchase with discretion.
Category: The 20th Century
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