Madame Butterfly

Bob Schnepf created this beautiful green-and-purple poster referencing the headliners, Iron Butterfly and the Velvet Underground (or in this case, the velvet is under the woman).

The Velvet Underground were touring steadily, crisscrossing the U.S. rotating through the important psychedelic ballrooms of the day including the Boston Tea Party, the Shrine in Los Angeles, the Hippodrome in San Diego, La Cave in Cleveland and here at the Avalon in San Francisco. Notably absent were any shows in their hometown of New York because Lou Reed was trying hard to shed the previous connection with Andy Warhol. In fact, several weeks after these shows in Vancouver the band was opened advertised as “Andy Warhol’s Velvet Underground even though the band had severed ties in November 1967.

San Diego-based Iron Butterfly formed in 1966 and in December 1967 they released their first album, “Heavy”. Despite not having a hit single to provide an entry point for the casual listener, “Heavy” was a commercial success, reaching number 78 on the Billboard charts and eventually going Gold in the US.

Iron Butterfly’s 17-minute "In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida", the title track of their second album, became a top-30 hit (the single was edited down to 2:52) in the U. S. The album stayed on the Billboard charts for 140 weeks and ultimately sold over 30 million copies.

Any idea what "In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida", means, or the story behind it? Good trivia question!

Chrome Syrcus formed in Seattle in 1966, but moved to San Francisco soon after to start their career. The band released the vast majority of their music in 1968, including their sole album, Love Cycle. The disc was influenced by the early psychedelic pop/rock sound, while also including elements that showed their artistic expression beyond the boundaries of a standard pop song. Chrome Syrcus loved confusing arrangements, classical references, orchestrations and pastoral flute sequences, and wild guitar solos.