Buffalo Springfield 1966 Redondo Beach, CA Concert Poster. ...

Description

Buffalo Springfield 1966 Redondo Beach, CA Concert Poster. An original and homegrown psychedelic concert poster for Neil Young, Stephen Stills and the Buffalo Springfield performing in the Los Angeles seaside town of Redondo Beach, CA on Friday and Saturday evenings, October 14 & 15, 1966. The Third Eye was the name of the venue, and the co-headlining band was the Count Five out of San Jose, who were currently enjoying their one & only hit single, the highly influential "Psychotic Reaction" - which is plugged in the upper right corner.

This was quite early in the career of Buffalo Springfield, still a month before the release of their debut album. Besides Young and Stills, their line-up was rounded out by guitarist Richie Furay, bassist Bruce Palmer and drummer Dewey Martin. They had formed in March 1966; recorded their first single in July ("Nowadays Clancy Can't Even Sing," written by Neil Young but sung by Furay); that 45 was released in August, but flopped; they recorded their debut album, Buffalo Springfield, in August & September; then this poster fell in October; in November, that debut album was released; and in December, they recorded "For What It's Worth." Still, 1966 ended without the Buff ever touching Billboard's music charts in any form.

And at the time of these shows, BS had never played a gig outside of California, and only once outside of Southern Calif. They would eventually appear on five Bill Graham concert posters 400 miles to the north, but this Redondo Beach poster predates even the first one (BG-36, where they were third-billed to Bola Sete and Country Joe).

The second-billed Count Five threatened to upstage the Buff; their classic hit "Psychotic Reaction" had just reached #5 in Billboard when these shows took place, so that song must've certainly received the most rousing reception of the evenings. "Psychotic Reaction" was once voted the seventh-best garage-rock song of all time, and it remains an evergreen to this day, so it's a big bonus that it's mentioned on the poster.

The poster's artwork is a typical nonsensical psychedelic design of the era, with possibly a European city being the basis for the pink photo montage in the center, which also features faces, eyeballs and you-name-it. Robbie A. Park was the graphic artist, who gave himself a credit under "Torrance."

Measures 14 1/4" x 22 1/2" and grades to Very Good Minus condition. Other than overall toning to the once-white paper, the primary damage here is outside of the image area. Most obvious is the 5/8 x 5/8" tear-away at the top center. There are also half-a-dozen pinholes scattered across the top. But the most unusual damage here is the lifting of paper, from tape once applied, across the top left of the poster, about halfway down the left side, down most of the right side, and then coming on strongly across the bottom. But again, this all misses the purple & pink artwork. There are pinholes in each lower corner area and a pair of staple holes to the right of "15" in the bottom center of the artwork. Typical surface creasing is evident, most notably through the "BU" of "Buffalo" and then the middle of "Springfield." The upper right has a couple of 3 ½" horizontal creases. The poster's verso has a little tape residue in the upper left corner and a tape lift in the upper right corner area. COA from Heritage Auctions.

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