The Psychedelic Supermarket

Last updated

The Psychedelic Supermarket was an underground music venue in Boston, Massachusetts, that was open in the 1960s, and became one of the core establishments of the city's psychedelic rock scene. It stood at 590 Commonwealth Avenue inside a parking garage that was converted into a club by promoter George Papadopoulos in 1967. The Psychedelic Supermarket was active for two years, before its closing. [1]

The venue was established in August 1967 by promoter George Papadopoulos. Papadopoulos, who was already an owner of a popular Boston-based folk club called the Unicorn, hastily put together the Psychedelic Supermarket in an abandoned parking garage to cash in on the scheduled performances dropped by the Crosstown Bus after it was shut down by police. [2] On September 8, 1967, the Supermarket opened to an eight-day stay by Cream, just as the psychedelic rock group was preparing to record their second album Disraeli Gears . Cream utilized this time to practice their new material, including "Sunshine of Your Love" and "Strange Brew", before showcasing themselves to a national audience. [3] Donna Summer, at the time using her real name Donna Gaines, debuted in this venue as lead singer of a rock band named "The Crow".

However, for what it offered with major musical acts, the Psychedelic Supermarket's greatest shortcoming was its need of renovation and refurbishing. The venue was described as a "very industrial place" that had walls littered with album covers, no windows, and could hold between 200 and 300 patrons, but in its beginning stages the Supermarket had no seats installed. [4] Perhaps the only positive of being situated in a parking lot was the elevated ceiling which allowed for more lucrative light shows. Throughout its existence, the venue featured a mixture of nationally recognized acts such as the Grateful Dead, Moby Grape, and Country Joe and the Fish, and local Boston bands like Eden's Children, the Freeborne, and Listening. [1]

In 1969, Papadopoulos closed the original site of the Unicorn Coffee House (733-825 Boylston Street, Back Bay, Boston) and moved its operations into the Psychedelic Supermarket. The venue did not stay open for too long thereafter as Boston's psychedelic rock scene, also known as the Bosstown Sound, was on a decline. The building was converted into a movie theater known as the Nickelodeon, before being demolished for a science lab for Boston University. [1]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Psychedelic rock</span> Music genre

Psychedelic rock is a rock music genre that is inspired, influenced, or representative of psychedelic culture, which is centered on perception-altering hallucinogenic drugs. The music incorporated new electronic sound effects and recording techniques, extended instrumental solos, and improvisation. Many psychedelic groups differ in style, and the label is often applied spuriously.

Garage rock is a raw and energetic style of rock music that flourished in the mid-1960s, most notably in the United States and Canada, and has experienced a series of subsequent revivals. The style is characterized by basic chord structures played on electric guitars and other instruments, sometimes distorted through a fuzzbox, as well as often unsophisticated and occasionally aggressive lyrics and delivery. Its name derives from the perception that groups were often made up of young amateurs who rehearsed in the family garage, although many were professional.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Acid rock</span> Subgenre of psychedelic rock music

Acid rock is a loosely defined type of rock music that evolved out of the mid-1960s garage punk movement and helped launch the psychedelic subculture. While the term has sometimes been used interchangeably with "psychedelic rock", acid rock also specifically refers to a more musically intense, rawer, or heavier subgenre or sibling of psychedelic rock. Named after lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD), the style is generally defined by heavy, distorted guitars and often contains lyrics with drug references and long improvised jams.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">American rock</span> Overview of rock music in the United States

American rock has its roots from 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, rhythm and blues, and country music, and also draws from folk music, jazz, blues, and classical music. American rock music was further influenced by the British Invasion of the American pop charts from 1964 and resulted in the development of psychedelic rock.

Rock music entered the Peruvian scene in the late 1950s, through listening to performers like Elvis Presley, Buddy Holly and Bill Haley, who popularized rockabilly in the United States. The first Peruvian rock bands appeared during this time. They included Los Millonarios del Jazz, Los Stars, Conjunto Astoria, Los Incas Modernos, and Los Zodiacs.

Ultimate Spinach was a short-lived American psychedelic rock band from Boston, Massachusetts which was formed in 1967. In terms of style and national recognition, the band was one of the most prominent musical acts to emerge from the "Bosstown Sound", which was a marketing campaign posing as a regional attempt to compete with the San Francisco Sound. During the group's existence, they released three albums, with their self-titled debut the most commercially successful.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Middle East (nightclub)</span> Venue and restaurants in Massachusetts, US

The Middle East is an entertainment complex consisting of five adjacent dining and live music venues in the Central Square neighborhood of Cambridge, Massachusetts. Its three dedicated concert spaces, Upstairs, Downstairs, and Sonia, sit alongside ZuZu and The Corner, two restaurants that also host live music. Having featured a huge variety of musicians since 1987, the establishment was described in 2007 as "the nexus of metro Boston's rock-club scene for local and touring bands" by the Boston Phoenix.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Metcalf Center for Science and Engineering</span> Classroom Building in Boston, Massachusetts

Metcalf Center for Science and Engineering (SCI) is a building owned by Boston University named for Arthur G.B. Metcalf. Metcalf founded what would later become the university's College of Engineering and served as its chair. He also donated millions of dollars toward the construction of the building. SCI contains offices, classrooms, and laboratories primarily used by the Physics, Chemistry, and Biology Departments of the College of Arts and Sciences. Its facilities are also used for biomedical research. Boston University boasts that there is a waiting list for researchers wanting to conduct research in the building.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Boston Tea Party (concert venue)</span>

The Boston Tea Party was a concert venue located first at 53 Berkeley Street in the South End neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts, and later relocated to 15 Lansdowne Street in the former site of competitor, the Ark, in Boston's Kenmore Square neighborhood, across the street from Fenway Park. It operated from 1967 to the end of 1970. Its closing was due in part to the increasing cost of hiring bands who were playing more and more at large outdoor festivals and arena rock concerts.

The Cellar was a short-lived music venue in Arlington Heights, Illinois outside of Chicago that provided live early rock music in the mid-1960s to young people in the Chicago area. Founded in 1964 by Paul Sampson, a local record store owner who later became a music promoter and manager, The Cellar primarily featured early rock and roll acts, although some Chicago blues bands also performed there. The Cellar closed in 1970.

Barry Fey was an American rock concert promoter from Colorado who was best known for bringing prominent music acts to the United States for the first time.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">T.T. the Bear's Place</span> Former live music venue in Cambridge, Massachusetts

T.T. the Bear's Place was a live music venue in Central Square in Cambridge, Massachusetts that operated from 1973 until July 25, 2015.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Apple Pie Motherhood Band</span> American psychedelic rock band

Apple Pie Motherhood Band was an American psychedelic rock band formed in Boston, Massachusetts, in 1967. One of the several groups involved in the "Bosstown Sound", a commercial ploy designed to compete with the San Francisco Sound, the band developed a blend of psychedelia, blues rock, and hard rock, which was exemplified and expanded upon on their two albums. The group went through several line-up changes before disbanding in 1970.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Lemon Fog</span> American garage/psychedelic rock band

The Lemon Fog were an American garage rock/psychedelic rock band from Houston, Texas who were active from 1965–1970. They were one of the earliest bands to emerge from the Houston psychedelic scene, and recorded several singles for Orbit Records. The group also recorded a handful of outtakes and demos which, along with their issued singles, have been released on the anthology The Psychedelic Sound Of Summer With The Lemon Fog.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Index (band)</span> American garage/psychedelic rock band

The Index were an American garage rock/psychedelic rock band from Grosse Pointe, Michigan who were active from 1966-1969 and are known for a sound characterized by droning guitars, as heard on their two albums, both released in 1968. Though they remained largely unknown for a number of years, since the 1980s they have come to the attention of garage rock collectors and fans.

The Lost was an American garage rock and psychedelic band from Plainfield, Vermont who were active in the Boston rock scene 1960s. They were initially an interracial rock band, one of the few at the time, and, along with the Remains and the Rockin' Ramrods, later became one of the most popular live acts in Boston, landing a contract with Capitol Records. In spite of having a regional hit with their first record, they were unable to find greater commercial success and broke up in 1967. In the intervening years their work has come to the attention of garage rock collectors and enthusiasts with the release of the anthology, Early Recordings and Lost Tapes, on Arf! Arf! Records.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bosstown Sound</span>

The Bosstown Sound was the catchphrase of a marketing campaign to promote psychedelic rock and psychedelic pop bands in Boston, Massachusetts, in the late 1960s. The concept was conceived by the record producer Alan Lorber as a marketing strategy intended to establish several underground musical artists native to the city on the national charts and compete with the popular San Francisco Sound. Lorber chose Boston for his plan because of the several bands developing in the city, the abundance of music venues, and the proximity of MGM Records, which had signed the core groups.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Tangerine Zoo</span> American psychedelic rock band

The Tangerine Zoo was an American psychedelic rock band formed in Swansea, Massachusetts, in 1966. Encompassed in Boston's psychedelic scene and considered a part of the Bosstown Sound, the band became popular regionally, and released two albums on Mainstream Records during their recording career. The Tangerine Zoo had an opportunity to achieve national recognition at the Woodstock Festival, but was forced to decline the invitation. Nonetheless, the group's material has been reinstated into the public conscious after 1960s psychedelic music collectors have discovered the Tangerine Zoo's work years after their disbandment.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Barbeque 67</span> Music festival

Barbeque 67 was a music event held in the market town of Spalding, Lincolnshire, in the East Midlands of England. Despite the presence of many well-known artists among its lineup, the event remains largely unknown. It is considered by some to have been the first rock festival.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Family Dog Denver</span> Former music venue in Denver, Colorado

The Family Dog Denver was a concert dance hall located at 1601 West Evans Avenue in Denver, Colorado. Opened from September 1967 to July 1968, it is regarded as a seminal music venue that launched Denver on its trajectory to its current status as a major concert destination by introducing never-before-seen acts like The Doors, Van Morrison, Jimi Hendrix, Cream, Buffalo Springfield, Janis Joplin, Chuck Berry, and many others. Many acts, like The Doors and Van Morrison, for example, had yet to become famous when they played The Dog, evidenced by the poster artists having to stylize the names of their leading songs into the poster art for the shows. The Family Dog is also seen as a cultural turning point in Denver from the conservative, western-minded sensibility of the early and mid-20th century to the current, liberal-minded climate. The venue's history, surrounding drama and ultimate impact had been largely unknown and unrealized until it was unearthed and detailed for the first time in the 2021 documentary The Tale of the Dog, produced and directed by Dan Obarski & Scott Montgomery and distributed by Cinedigm. As there are no useful photos, no video and little written history remaining of the Family Dog Denver, the film's oral history format told in first person by the people who were there serves as a definitive reference for “The Dog.”

References

  1. 1 2 3 "The Psychedelic Supermarket Boston, MA". rockprosopography.com. Retrieved November 25, 2015.
  2. "Getting Cream at the Psychedelic Supermarket". mmone.org. Retrieved November 25, 2015.
  3. "The Psychedelic Supermarket". Angelfire . Retrieved November 25, 2015.
  4. Lovell, Peter. "The Psychedelic Supermarket". punkblowfish.com. Retrieved November 25, 2015.

42°20′56″N71°06′00″W / 42.349°N 71.100°W / 42.349; -71.100