Grateful Dead 1969 Boston Tea Party Concert Poster Graded 8.0 (AOR-3.171). ...

Description

Grateful Dead 1969 Boston Tea Party Concert Poster Graded 8.0 (AOR-3.171). An original concert poster, printed before the show to sell tickets, for San Francisco's Grateful Dead appearing at the Boston Tea Party in Boston, Massachusetts on Monday through Wednesday evenings, December 29-31, 1969. Carrying a stark photo of a woman with her arms crossed, this poster was graded 8.0 Very Fine by CGC (the Certified Guaranty Company). Measures 11" x 17". COA from Heritage Auctions.

Literature: See Grushkin, Paul, The Art of Rock: Posters from Presley to Punk, Abbeville Press, New York, 1987, p.307 (illus.).

More Information: Getting the Dead to play New Year's Eve in Boston was an amazing coup for the Tea Party, one which has only grown in importance over the years. This was the Dead's one & only NYE performance outside of California's Bay Area. Promoter Bill Graham used to love dressing up as Father Time and have all sorts of fun with the band in San Francisco every December 31, but ironically, not on the one which ended the 1960's.

According to bahrgallery.com, the haunting image of the beautiful woman looking out at you is one Kathy Spencer, who was a student at the Museum School (at the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston). The image was created by a classmate of hers (unknown), and Kathy then gave it to Bob Driscoll, who incorporated it in his design of the poster and handbill. She was also the model for an earlier Boston Tea Party poster, for the Yardbirds in 1968.

The Boston Tea Party was to Boston as the Fillmore and Avalon were to San Francisco, the Whisky was to L.A. and the Grande was to Detroit. The capacity was only about 550 but that limit was often exceeded, as many major bands played the famed venue. It was the place to see & be seen in Beantown, and drew a crazy cross-section of college students, hippies, fashion models, Brahmins, bikers, local celebrities, media people, professionals and local white and Black high school kids.

The BTP first opened in January 1967 and ran until December 1970, when it closed after a glorious four-year run as bands started playing larger venues. Similar to the format that Bill Graham used, older blues, soul, R&B and jazz acts were often paired with contemporary rock bands. Posters and fliers used to promote the shows were generally minimalist in design... in sharp contrast to the bold, psychedelic designs of the West Coast.

In addition to local Boston-area bands, groups that appeared at the Boston Tea Party included the Velvet Underground, Grateful Dead, Chicago, Kinks, Small Faces, Elton John, Jethro Tull, Neil Young, J. Geils Band, Frank Zappa, Pink Floyd, Eric Clapton, Fleetwood Mac, Allman Bros., Yardbirds, Van Morrison, Jeff Beck, Led Zeppelin and The Who.

In 1968, the legendary WBCN, the first FM rock station in Boston, began broadcasting from a dressing room in the club, as the station was owned by the same owners as the club. The frontman for the popular local group the Hallucinations, Peter Wolf (later of J. Geils), was also a late-night DJ at 'BCN.

The Boston Tea Party was started by lawyer Ray Riepen and MIT grad David Hann at 53 Berkeley St in the South End of Boston, with a typical club capacity of around 500. In July 1969 it moved to 15 Lansdowne St. in Kenmore Square behind Fenway Park, with the expanded capacity now more like 2,000. The club was first managed by Steve Nelson, who booked the bands, and then by Don Law, who went on to become a major concert promoter.


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