BG-141 Iron Butterfly 1968 Fillmore West Concert Poster Signed by Victor Moscoso, Graded 9.8. ...

Description

BG-141 Iron Butterfly 1968 Fillmore West Concert Poster Signed by Victor Moscoso, Graded 9.8. First-printing San Francisco concert poster for Iron Butterfly, the Sir Douglas Quintet and Sea Train playing at the Fillmore West on Friday thru Sunday nights, October 17-19, 1968. Known as BG-141 in the Bill Graham numbered series and designed by two legendary graphic artists, Rick Griffin and Victor Moscoso, this poster was signed by Moscoso in gold pen at the bottom center. The poster was then graded an iron-clad 9.8 Near Mint/Mint by CGC (the Certified Guaranty Company). Measures 14" x 21." From the David Swartz Concert Poster Collection. COA from Heritage Auctions.

More Information: Rick Griffin and artist Victor Moscoso created this image and that of their previous poster, BG-140 (Jimi Hendrix), together as a true collaboration. The two artistic masters sat side-by-side with both art boards in front of them, and based their work on what they had designed together for Zap Comix. There are significant differences between the two, but they're still considered siblings of sorts, being so generally alike. The two posters were for consecutive weekends in San Francisco promoted by Graham, but at different venues. Hendrix was the bigger draw so he was at Winterland, whereas these gigs for Iron Butterfly were held at the smaller Fillmore West.

Iron Butterfly may not get a ton of critical love half a century later, but in the fall of 1968 they were riding the crest of a wave called In-a-Gadda-da-Vida (translation: In the Garden of Life). The shortened single was in the national Top 40 right now, but it's the album that changed the underground world with its 17-minute title track. "In-a-Gadda-da-Vida" was played incessantly in hippie pads, and the LP was currently nestled in the national Top 5. Between that album and its follow-up, Ball, it's said that Iron Butterfly outsold the Beatles and Stones in 1969.

The Sir Douglas Quintet, featuring that Texas tornado himself Doug Sahm, was a mainstay on the S.F. live-music scene. The Tex-Mex outfit was in between AM radio hits "She's About a Mover" and "Mendocino." And Sea Train was a Capitol Records act whose biggest claim to fame was being produced by George Martin, the first rock act Martin had taken on since the breakup of the Beatles. They were comprised of two members from Blues Project, one from Mystery Trend and one from the Jim Kweskin Jug Band, plus a saxophonist. But despite those credentials, they never gelled and gained traction in the commercial market.


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