San Francisco Rock: A Night At the Family Dog

April 6, 2016 12:39 AM

Santana, Jefferson Airplane and the Grateful Dead were filmed on February 4, 1970 by WNET. Each band had two songs on TV, and then they all jammed together. Not a single word: just music. Article about the show. The set list for the show with a video of each song is inside.

It aired nationwide on April 27th, 1970 and/or December 13, 1970, depending on who you believe.

Opening act: Kimberly

Santana
Incident at Neshabur
Soul Sacrifice

Jefferson Airplane (drummer Spencer Dryden's last show)
The Ballad of You and Me and Pooneil
Eskimo Blue Day

Grateful Dead
Hard to Handle
China Cat Sunflower => I Know You Rider


A Super Jam! (I know, corny title. I didn't make it up.)

Bonus material:
Jefferson Airplane concert at Wally Heider Studios earlier on the same day
The Grateful Dead's entire set (for sale): Hard to Handle, Black Peter, Me & My Uncle, China Cat => Rider, St. Stephen => Not Fade Away => St. Stephen =>Midnight Hour, plus 3 bonus tracks from different shows.
Most of that show streaming for free, except Black Peter & Me & My Uncle.

posted by msalt (18 comments total)

Aw, it's Pigpen!
posted by teponaztli at 2:05 AM on April 6, 2016 [1 favorite]

Thank you. It's be a long night and it's good to be reminded that I can always listen to early Dead.
posted by rdr at 4:00 AM on April 6, 2016 [2 favorites]

Great image quality for early seventies TV video.
posted by octothorpe at 5:05 AM on April 6, 2016

A Super Jam! (I know, corny title. I didn't make it up.)

Far out! Anyone know where we can get some muggles?
posted by thelonius at 5:35 AM on April 6, 2016

Jesus now I want to get stoned and it's only 8 in the morning.
posted by bukvich at 6:11 AM on April 6, 2016 [3 favorites]

It aired nationwide on April 27th, 1970 and/or December 13, 1970, depending on who you believe.

Are they over 30? Don't trust any of 'em.
posted by Floydd at 7:26 AM on April 6, 2016

While on leave from the Army, I went to the Avalon on my 21st Birthday (December 16, 1966), where I saw The Youngbloods ("Get Together"), The Sparrow, who later changed their name to Steppenwolf and had several big hits, and my friends the Sons of Champlin.

After I got out of the Army in 1968, I became the roadie for The Sons of Champlin for the next 42 years until I hung it up in 2010. Worked a number of shows at the Avalon, the most memorable being one with the Grateful Dead in which the Rick Griffin poster for the gig became the cover for the album Aoxomoxoa.
posted by Repack Rider at 8:09 AM on April 6, 2016 [5 favorites]

Wow. What do you remember of the Family Dog venue? It was out on the Great Highway (ie at the beach), right?
posted by msalt at 8:31 AM on April 6, 2016

I had a friend who had a big crush on Grace Slick. They Airplane was going to be in town, and I told him if he really wanted to meet her, he could. He didn't believe me, so I figured at about 4:00 in the afternoon of the day, they would be in the Salt Palace, setting it up, and getting the feel of the place. They were, and we walked into the venue and I walked him over to them, and he met her, he could barely move. We were teens, maybe 17 or so. I stood back and watched the whole thing. I loved him so much at the time, and it was the gift I could give. So to speak. He never knew my side of that equation.
posted by Oyéah at 8:39 AM on April 6, 2016 [3 favorites]

I came here from the Babymetal thread and I gotta say, it's like a blast of fresh nag champ-scented air.
posted by Ber at 8:59 AM on April 6, 2016 [2 favorites]

What do you remember of the Family Dog venue? It was out on the Great Highway (ie at the beach), right?

The Family Dog moved its productions from the Avalon Ballroom to the Great Highway around 1970, not sure of the exact date. It was also where Steve Gaskin gave a weekly talk that spawned a movement.
posted by Repack Rider at 9:08 AM on April 6, 2016

Of course there's much more to listen to after this, but my go-to destressor is the 2-hour + PERRO Jam session with Garcia, Crosby, Slick, and a few other names you'll recognize if you've read this far.
posted by morspin at 10:23 AM on April 6, 2016 [2 favorites]

hippies



and I mean that in the best possible way
posted by philip-random at 11:48 AM on April 6, 2016

Of course there's much more to listen to after this,

I suspect I'll be digging out some Allman Bros, from when they were still immortal ...
posted by philip-random at 11:51 AM on April 6, 2016 [1 favorite]

Please!
posted by msalt at 12:09 PM on April 6, 2016

Yeah morspin Jerry Jorma duets are the best.
posted by bukvich at 12:14 PM on April 6, 2016

Just in case anyone is hesitating about watching these, the bass-solo in "You and Me and Pooneil" is the best and most exciting base solo I've ever heard -- and I hate bass solos (and love the young Grace Slick. Holy cow.)
posted by Modest House at 7:54 PM on April 6, 2016 [1 favorite]

I've always felt like Jefferson Airplane never reached their potential -- they had everything they needed to be great, instrumental talent, 3 excellent voices, a sound, a scene they pioneered, hit songs, fame, money and that elusive ability to jam -- but never put it all together. Probably due to personalities, drugs and ineffective songwriting.

If you don't know them though, check out their first album with the late Signe Andersen singing, and the first 3 songs on Early Flight. Pretty amazing.
posted by msalt at 12:54 AM on April 7, 2016