The Who 1969 Boston Tea Party Concert Poster Graded 9.2 (AOR-3.172). ...

Description

THE WHO ON THE "TOMMY" TOUR, PLAYING MOST OF THAT ALBUM

The Who 1969 Boston Tea Party Concert Poster Graded 9.2 (AOR-3.172). An original concert poster, printed before the show to sell tickets, for England's The Who plus jazz-fusion group The Tony Williams Lifetime appearing at the Boston Tea Party in Boston, Massachusetts on Tuesday & Wednesday evenings, November 11 & 12, 1969. Designed by Eric Engstrom, this poster was graded 9.2 Near Mint Minus by CGC (the Certified Guaranty Company).

This has always been one of the Tea Party's most popular posters because of its stark black & white appearance and the action-packed, blurred image of guitarist Pete Townshend in mid-air, taken in 1967. It's arguably as popular an image as the famed U.K. Marquee Club photo of Townshend with his arm pinwheeling; call this the Stateside bookend. Measures 16 7/8" x 22". From the David Swartz Concert Poster Collection. 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: Just imagine The Who performing 21 songs from their latest album Tommy plus classics like "I Can't Explain," "Heaven and Hell," "Tattoo" and "My Generation" at a 1960's show in a pretty small venue. It's the stuff dreams are made of.

These concerts were part of the Tommy tour as the album was released in May and the band played it in its entirety except for "Cousin Kevin," "Underture," "Sensation" and "Welcome," as they weren't considered suitable for live performance.

This was the band's third time playing Boston that year, as they had already played the Tea Party in May and Boston University in October to start this five-week Fall tour.

BACKGROUND: 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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