Quicksilver Messenger Service Concert

SkipKnox | Tuesday, May 12, 2009 | 2:26 pm

These guys were my first real rock concert (not counting a very weird encounter with the West Coast Pop Art Experimental Band). Saw them at the fabulous Crystal Ballroom in Portland, Oregon some time around the time of this show (winter '67). They opened for the Grateful Dead. I fell in love. Liked them much better than the Dead, despite an excellent show from the latter. Gold and Silver was downright spiritual. I saw them again in the early 70s and was bitterly disappointed. But the memory of that rainy night, with a crowd of only a few hundred, remains as one of the best rock n roll experiences of my life. So good to hear that sound again!

Anonymous | Sunday, February 22, 2009 | 10:42 am

QMS was as good a live band as I ever saw--Haunted their concerts at Filmore, Avalon, Family Dog and the high school gym in Chico! You hear their melodic lines in songs today and the two lead guitars were always extraordinary. Thank you Wolfgang's for bringing these psychedelic memories back to us--even the photos.

Anonymous | Friday, January 09, 2009 | 8:51 pm

yessirree, have agree with everyone on this one,its great and really gets to the essence of the sound at that time.

Anonymous | Friday, January 09, 2009 | 6:58 pm

i wrote to the fan club address on the back of happy trails pertaining to booking them, back in the late '60s, to come east and play at my high school,thinking this would be so cool and could be a start of a career in promotion,only to never hear anything, and being crushed. i was young and got over it (i think), and still love QSM. great to hear them again live so many years later. there 's so much more in life to be crushed about,it eases the angst.

roadrocket | Wednesday, January 07, 2009 | 3:31 pm

During this period, Quicksilver Messenger Service was the group that drew the biggest crowds, whenever and wherever they played. On any given night, QMS could wipe the floor with any of the others; And I am a huge fan of Big Brother, the Dead, the Airplane, Country Joe and the Fish, Charlatans, It's A Beautiful Day, etc. But, Quicksilver were the Masters of their Domain. Two examples and reference points I offer as proof: Just go by the timeline of these gigs and by the dates of recordings by other bands of the day. Where do you think The Doors got their inspiration for their version of "Back Door Man"? Just remember when the 1st Doors LP was recorded and then look at the dates of these early QMS gigs and their versions of all these classic blues tunes. Also, Mike Bloomfield and Al Kooper cut a live LP at the Fillmore West called "The Live Adventures of ......" in 1968. They jammed out on a jazzy instrumental tune called "Her Holy Modal Highness"; Guess what? It's almost the EXACT arrangement of "Gold and Silver" heard here. Who copied who? Who influenced who? I'm also a HUGE Mike Bloomfield fan, but you've got give credit where credit is due. Gary Duncan was, in my estimation, the most technically superior guitarist on the scene back then. He could cover it all: Rock, Jazz, Blues and even some country stylings. When he took the stage and plugged in, he had no equals. John Cipollina was the perfect counterpoint and compliment to Gary. He was a true Original and unparalleled innovator in his own right. On any given night, Gary and John were the two Kings of Electric guitar, bar none. I just wish Gary would get some of the accolades and credit most critics and guitar enthusiasts direct only to John. If you were there or if you truly listen to these incredible recordings, you KNOW already. Gary was also an amazing Blues singer/shouter. All of these early renditions of "Smokestack Lightning" bear testimony to Duncan's homage and tribute to traditional electric Chicago Blues. Howlin' Wolf would be so proud. Of all the drummers during this period, Greg Elmore was the only one to utilize a large double-bass kit onstage. His dynamics on "Who Do You Love" and "Gold and Silver" are brilliant. He is another musician of this era who has slipped under the radar of historians and music critics. He and David Freiberg were the PERFECT rhythym section; A rock steady base of support for the explorations of Cipollina and Duncan. Quicksilver and the other San Francisco bands created music that is just as important and innovative as the Jazz Greats of the 40s and 50s. The audio techniques and sound quality is a little rough around the edges in these concerts, but what a fantastic and remarkable document to an incredible era.

Ishmael | Friday, January 02, 2009 | 3:45 pm

I couldn't score tickets for this show since it was sold out for months. I DID get to see the whole thing on TV though as KQED broadcast this New Year's Eve Show. I WAS able to attend the 11/7/68 QMS show that Happy Trails was recorded from. I've seen QMS, The Dinosaurs and Fish and Chip many times over the years and have seen the greatest guitarists of our time. From Peter Green, Clapton, Beck, Page, Jorma to Andres Segovia and Paco de Lucia. NO ONE has ever been able to sound like John Cippolina. On another note, There is a great website dedicated to the BEST radio stations that ever were. The seminal underground rock stations from San Francisco, KMPX and KSAN at this link: http://www.jive95.com/ Among their audio archives are an early Big Brother show from the Avalon Ballroom, A Big Daddy Tom Donahue radio show promoting the Monterey Pop festival as well as a host of other goodies including the infamous Magnolia Thunderpussy ads and the KSAN station promos. Norm Davis, who hired Tom at KYA and worked at KSAN for many years, has put this archive together. Check it out. you won't be sorry.

BigAL1 | Wednesday, December 31, 2008 | 8:44 am

Great to hear "Who do you Love", one more time, for old time's sake....Rock on QMS

Nels | Tuesday, December 30, 2008 | 9:25 pm

Needs pitch correction - it's about a semitone (half-step) too high. Gary Duncan's vocals on Mona sound Chipmunk-ish.

Wee Willy Wilson | Tuesday, December 30, 2008 | 6:19 pm

I forgot How Much I liked them!

tmyawtb | Tuesday, December 30, 2008 | 1:40 pm

Now we're talking! A lot of the other QMS relaeases on the Vault have been interesting in a historical context, but here they are completely in their power, the way I remember them.