1966 Acid rock concert at the Establishment, San Luis Obispo. Photo by Jim Vestal/Telegram-Tribune
December 3, 1966
Memo to Hipster wannabees:
Chances are if you only get style updates from a newspaper you will be several months behind the cutting edge. While newspapers have a voracious appetite for content, by the time they find out about short lived trends the true hipster has already moved on. This story was an exception. Acid rock had staying power and while Wikipedia gives the first documented references to psychedelic and acid rock in 1964-65, there was still a lot of upside to the trend.
The Beatles brought the 12-string guitar and sitar to the fore with the album Rubber Soul released December 1965.
San Francisco bands including the Grateful Dead, Jefferson Airplane and others began to draw widespread attention in the mid-1960s transforming concerts into mind-altering events with light shows and long improvisational jams. The Byrds launched the hit single “Eight miles high” in March 1966. When questioned by authorities the band claimed it was about an airline trip but fans had a different trip in mind.
In San Luis Obispo the scene outside The Establishment looked like a Beach Boys album, with hot rods and Ye Olde Surf Shop. On the marque of the Obispo Theater across Monterey Street “The Swinger” is in a double feature with “The World of Henry Orient”.
Inside the hall the scene was closer to the Byrds and Grateful Dead. In some photos a what looks like a Fender 12-string guitar is in the hands of the lead singer and liquid light show is splashing on the walls and optic nerves.
The photos were made at two different youth dances at different halls The Establishment and The Pantry. I’m not sure what the film strip on the left of the page is about, if they are stills from a movie or if the photographer brought back images from Los Angeles’ Sunset Strip.
The thought skipping — unbylined — copy reads a little like an acid trip. Anyone who has taken an actual acid trip can provide a better analogy if one comes to mind.
If you think kids are nutty now…..
Kids are the same all over — they’re kooky.
They dress funny, talk funny, dance funny, wear their hair funny and listen to funny music. Kind of like kids did in the 30s and 50s.
City fathers are constantly being complained to about the young people’s noise, their fast cars and nutty behavior. Like in the 30s and 50s.
They talk a lot about LSD, marijuana, booze. And there is “acid music” to accompany a “light show” — sort of a pale imitation of the unreal sensations experienced while under the influence of LSD.
The student rebels of Berkeley, who talk about getting involved with the issues and call marijuana liberating, and the “teenyboppers” who defy the police on the Sunset Strip are the same. Except that they’re probably more into the latter. It’s not that easy to get into Cal.
And their behavior is explained by some who say, “They’re questioning their parents’ lives and middle-class standards.” Lives and standards that most of them will be living and adopting all too soon.
So don’t disappear. If you think kids are scary now, check this lead paragraph from a wire service story dispatched Friday:
“LAS VEGAS, Nev. (UPI)—High School seniors will be flying their own airplanes within another generation, according to a California physician.”
Picture captions include:
The latest craze at San Luis Obispo’s teen nightclub, “The Establishment,” are light shows which simulate LSD experiences to the accompaniment of “acid music.”
Dances, dress and hair styles are different but hardly the devil’s work.
Most striking thing about students dancing at the Pantry is the distance between the participants.
Teen age dances are kooky, but haven’t they always been?
Timothy Leary would visit the town in 1969 but the revolution had already begun.
Photos were by Jim Vestal
