! I also still recalled that the local newspapers did cover the event so.... I got up off of my piggy bank (sob, sniff) and sprang for access to whatever archived articles I could get to...I was able to find an article in the Chicago Tribune dated 5/14/1969...
Among the stuff I forgot or didn't know: The article's author, David Young, gave an estimate of 20,000 attendees....I've been the lonesome one in crowds of various sizes through the years, and my overall perception is that the crowd size was more like 50,000....and that has nothing to do with with my enthusiam for matters JA...
Other tidbits from the report... The two hour concert was "donated" and set up by JA itself....In charge was road manager Bill Laudner...The site was at the old concert bandshell that there's a glimpse of in film footage of the police riots during the Dems Convention in 1968. There's more closeup footage of the venue in the movie "Medium Cool" ...Stage security was handled by the Andy Frain company....If you're not an old time Chicagoan, Andy Frain usually employed stiffly uniformed ushers to handle the ticket holders at orderly, jewelry rattling concerts with reserved seating, etc...In this case, only a skeleton crew was sent from AF for the given task...I know I don't remember seeing any of them during the show....In any case, as time progressed, in spite of a set stopping plea from Laudner, the crowd had overwhelmed the ushers as it surged within a few feet of JA...At one point a fistfight happened between the ushers and some guy who wanted to stand next to the group as it played....
As for the music, it was typed that "Gracie Slick sang", "Spencer Dryden pounded away" and "Jack Casady made his bass guitar sound like a submarine blowing its ballast" There were no words about the rest of the band....Along with the article was a photo showing some of the fearless fans climbing way up to perch on the lighting pole next to the stage...
So far, this is all I've been able to pull up online about the show....I know that other newspapers had articles and photos on it, but they've long been out of business and it would take some digging to find all of their archives....The Chicago Sun-Times only has online access going back to 1986...I guess I'd have to fly in and look for whatever they have in person....Ya do what you can...
!
By the way, browsing around today I found a JA photo circa 1968 at the Newport Pop Festival where Jorma K. obscured Marty Balin's face with his guitar neck...oh, no!!!
! Enjoy at the link below!:
http://www.lisciandro.com/groups/VNC08.htm
My mouth would likely water at the prospect and possibility of seeing whatever else is out there from this concert....There were lots of photographers, and maybe even tapers (!), be still my beating heart...?
! The case still cold remains open and the search continues...Stay Tuned! Best Regards! ~John B. Krug
Jack ,sorry for that bad joke, realy...
