Orange Groove - 1968

This ethereal image was created by the late Bob Fried. It is a very rare poster. It has been said that Bob Fried attempted to visually recreate the plasticity of time he felt while under the influence of LSD. Curiously, the poster doesn't advertise for specific bands but rather for weekend Dance Concerts at the Orange County Fairgrounds in Southern California. It was printed using a split fountain technique allowing colors to blend into one another.

In August of that year a large 2-day event, the Newport Pop Festival, had been held at the Orange County Fairgrounds and it was somewhat of a disaster, as organizers prepared for 20,000 people and 100,000 showed up. So it is a bit surprising that the local officials would let these weekend shows happen in the first place. Perhaps it was blind faith on the part of the organizers as only one weekend of shows occurred!

The Grand Opening was pegged as October 18 and 19 and “Steve Miller’s Band” headlined for “Chicago Transit Authority (C.T.A)” A permit to conduct further “Orange Groove” concerts was apparently never approved because these were the only shows that took place.

The Steve Miller Band had just released their second album, “Sailor,” that month which produced the well known hit, “Living in the U.S.A.” Chicago Transit Authority, later just Chicago, was yet to release their first album which came out in April 1969 but they had moved from the Windy City to Los Angeles in June 1968 and they had been playing regularly at the Whiskey a Go Go.