In 1969 and 1970 I saw Jethro Tull in concert three times. Looking back on the first show, the venue seems so unlikely given their later worldwide success. It was in a small club under a Pegnataro’s Supermarket just off the highway in downtown New Haven, Connecticut.
The place was called The Stone Balloon and was fashioned directly after the Cafe Au Go Go in New York. It was a long, narrow room with a low ceiling. Tables and chairs took up most of the audience area in front of a small stage on the right-hand side wall toward the front half of the room. Unlike the Au Go Go it was brightly lit between sets. The Au Go Go was always like a cave.
They served no alcoholic beverages, just fruit drinks, soda and snacks, again much like the Au Go Go. Still, this club had an amazing array of talent pass through it in what I believe was perhaps about a year of being in business. We saw John Hammond, Taj Mahal and his band with Jesse Ed Davis as well as Tull, and others such as Neil Young & Crazy Horse passed through.
It was February, 1969 and Jethro Tull had just released their first album in the States, This Was, and would soon start recording the classic Stand Up. This Was was admittedly not fully representative of the band, according to front man Ian Anderson. It was yet another blues-oriented take from a British band, and original guitarist Mick Abrahams had departed after that release, wanting to stay in the blues groove. Anderson and company wanted to break out of it. And they certainly did.
They were at the Balloon for four nights, the 20th-23rd, two shows a night. We went the last night, a Sunday, and although a touring site states only about 30 people showed up for each of these shows I believe that’s underestimating a bit. That may very well have been the case on the Thursday but by Sunday there were perhaps 100 people in the club. Still a relatively paltry crowd and it was quite easy to find a table close to the stage.
As mentioned above, the stage was tiny and perhaps for that reason, Anderson didn’t display a lot of the showmanship he became noted for through stage movement. Nonetheless he was charasmatic and new member Martin Barre filled the vacancy at guitar quite well, thank you. They used HiWatt amps, which looked like Marshalls, but I don’t recall them being overpowering for that room. It was very listenable. Of course, maybe my ears were more resilient then.
I don’t recall the entire set, but I do remember My Sunday Feeling, from the first album, was the opener, and A Song For Jeffrey and Beggar’s Farm were in the set along with drummer Clive Thacker’s brilliant drum showcase, Dharma For One, toward the end of the show.
Two songs that made the biggest impression though were, Anderson said, coming up on the next album, Back To The Family and For A Thousand Mothers. I loved the contrast between the verse and chorus of Family and the furious, driving rhythm in 6 of Mothers was not only interesting it was a step forward in the rock genre.
I wouldn’t see Tull again for more than a year, and what a difference it was. Stand Up was released in September, 1969, and had made a much bigger impact than This Was. It charted in the top 20 in the U.S. and was No. 1 in the U.K. By early 1970, when Tull had arrived in Hartford at the Bushnell Auditorium on May 20th, a Wednesday, they were quickly becoming one of the biggest rock acts around and their stage show, mainly Anderson, was now fully developed.
My girlfriend, Archer Rowbottom, and I had seats about 20 rows back on the floor of the middle section of the ornate theater. John Sebastian opened the show. There was another band Clouds but I remember little of them. Sebastian was very good and very funny in his tie-dyed outfit, looking like he just walked off the stage at Woodstock. He kept calling his portion of the show a Cheapo-Cheapo production because it consisted of just him and his acoustic guitar with a tiny amplifier in back of him. A memorable and very humorous performance.
Tull’s was also memorable. It made a huge impression on me in terms of stage presence. Anderson simply blew me away with the way he commanded the stage and the crowd. His movements were unique, his dress now with long coat and knee-high boots iconic, and the image of his flowing wild, long hair and beard and standing on one leg while playing the flute with a breathy technique was indelible. John Evan, dressed in a milk man’s outfit, had been added on keyboards, giving the band a fuller sound.
Most of the material was from Stand Up and a few from Benefit, which we were already familiar with since it came out in April, but there was one big suprise. They opened with Nothing Is Easy and included New Day Yesterday, Bouree, Dharma For One, For A Thousand Mothers, My Sunday Feeling, an acoustic segment with Fat Man, and from Benefit an overpowering version of To Cry You A Song and With You There To Help Me.
The surprise was My God, which Anderson said would be the title track from their forthcoming album. Of course, it didn’t happen that way. Tull historians may know the complete story, but it would seem that the appearance of a boot in local record shops, complete with a white, non-discript album cover a few months later thwarted this. The tune, a long and impressive composition employing a mix of Tull’s influences in their new musical direction, had been lifted straight out of the studio. In the end, My God did appear on the somewhat delayed next album a year later, but Aqualung was the title track.
I guess Anderson and Tull had the last laugh there.
Jethro Tull was so good in Hartford, I did something I rarely do. I had to see them again, so Archer and I settled for terrible seats in the balcony that Saturday night at the Fillmore East, the last of a three-night stand. The impact wasn’t as great sitting so far away but it quenched my thirst for more of Anderson’s stunning stage show.
Some tour itineraries on the web list Clouds and Sebastian as the supporting acts but that wasn’t the case. Fat Mattress, with Noel Redding from the Jimi Hendrix Experience on guitar, were the opener. Sadly, they were a bit disappointing. The crowd then went wild for Grand Funk Railroad, just beginning their surge to stardom. Again, Grand Funk never really hit a chord with me. I suppose because I had been influenced greatly by Cream, Paul Butterfield and later Hendrix and to me Grand Funk fell short of being in the same league.
At any rate, Jethro Tull performed a very similar set and show to the one in Hartford and even from the cheap seats put on a staggering performance. I wouldn’t see them again until nearly 40 years later despite liking a lot of what they had been doing in the meantime. When I did catch them at the Oakdale in Wallingford, Connecticut in 2001, they were still very much on top of their game.
Very cool article. This is a great blog.
Thanks very much Tom. And thanks for stopping by.
I happened to find this website while searching for info on the Stone Balloon. I was at one of those Tull shows as well as a Neil Young, Son House and other shows at that venue. Great memories of the club including a fondness for coffee ice cream which they served. Who knows, maybe we sat near eachother. Now living outside of Albuquerque, NM and still going to shows. Just saw John Hammond (at age 67) at a great venue called Low Spirits in Abq.
Hi Rob,
There’s a good possibility we did sit near each other. It was a small place. I didn’t get to see Neil Young or Son House, but I did see John Hammond there playing solo. He was excellent.
Paul
Rob,
You may have been thinking of … Pulse. We did a number of tunes as a trio. For instance covers of Cream’s version of Spoonful and two of Beau Segal’s tunes, I Can See and She’s Killing Me were both played by three of us, Peter, Beau and me, guitar, drums and bass with Carl Donnell usually singing lead. Or perhaps you are thinking of someone else. But I don’t remember any power trios in New Haven at that time.
Thanks for stopping by.
Paul
I bet you it was Pulse that we saw then. Thanks for letting me know you occasionally played as a trio. Recently came across some info on Randy Burns and the Skydog Band. I saw them play at the Exit Coffee House in New Haven several times. I found a couple of their CDs on iTunes so I downloaded them. I have this great hippie moment that I remember well. I was driving down Whalley Ave. in NH in the summer in my dad’s convertible, my long hair flying with the top down. Randy Burns and a couple of his band mates were hitchhiking and I picked them up. They climbed in and what comes on the WYBC but Sunshine of Your Love. We groved to the green where I dropped them off. The road goes on forever…..
I too saw Tull at the Stone Balloon back in 1968/1969. They were amazing. The Stone Balloon was great. I remember listening to Joni Mitchell while sitting about three feet away. Wow was it an intimate concert!
It was too bad the Stone Balloon went out of business so quickly.
Doug Voorhies
It was an amazing club. That we had it right in New Haven seems incredible. Taj, Joni, Neil, John Hammand, Jethro Tull and many more.
Hi Paul..your blog is amazing! I actually was able to attend this concert, as well as Neil Young, Taj Mahal and a couple others. The club was owned by the previous owner of the Exit coffee house. (I also remember seeing your band Pulse, at the Exit, and dated Peter Neri a couple of times!) I later worked at the Oxford Ale House and I know you also played there several times. Was the band Napi Brown? Wow great memories!
Thanks Cathy,
Yes, Pulse played at The Exit a few times in both incarnations, six-piece and four-piece bands. I did play the Oxford Ale House many times as well as Toad’s and the Arcadia Ballroom in New Haven with a late ’70s band called Napi Browne. You have a great memory. They were great times, both the late ’60s and ’70s, when bands could work frequently and build a regional following. Thanks for stopping by.
Paul
Paul,
Wow – I’m sitting here getting familiar with your website while listening to Buddy Guy and I stumbled on your article about the Stone Balloon. The first time I saw Buddy Guy was in Peg’s basement on York Street – a few blocks from the White Rabbit:)
It was wonderful to talk with you at the reunion – I’ll try to visit more often.
Charlie
Hey Charlie,
Thanks for stopping by. I also enjoyed our talk at the reunion immensely and would love to see you again. Buddy Guy at the Stone Balloon. That must have been something, especially in the early 1970s. I didn’t get to see him until much later at Toad’s Place and I loved his set. Great sense of humor and brilliant playing.
Paul
Sweet blog! I found it while browsing on Yahoo News.
Do you have any tips on how to get listed in Yahoo News?
I’ve been trying for a while but I never seem to get there! Thank you
NEIL YOUNG & CRAZY HORSE The Stone Balloon, New Haven, Connecticut with Jennifer’s Friends
Saturday,May 10,1969.
I was 17 years old and did occassional roadie work for Jennifers Friends / formerly – Zyme who were on Buddah Records. Anyhow – I was able to accompany them that Saturday (they opened for Neil for about 5 days at S/B).
I was able to sit about 4′ from him that evening, got to hang out with the rest of Crazy Horse at the end of the night.
Neil opened up by himself, acoustic – 2nd set with Crazy Horse.
Just found this blog – great.
Saw Pulse open for the Who at Oakdale if my memory serves me right (don’t think it was the Cream show)
They did a terrific cover of the Beatles “Day In The Life”
Hi,
I’m writing The Encyclopedia Of Jerry Garcia Music Venues. I’m interested in locating a photo of The Exit Coffeehouse. I’d need it at least 1mb or larger. Garcia played there in the Spring of 1964. His first east coast performance.
Please email me at slipnut01@gmail.com.
Thank you
Harry Angus
Harry, there is an Exit page on Facebook with multiple photos.
We used to go to the Stone Balloon in ’68-’69. Saw Jethro Tull, Taj Mahal, Junior Wells, John Hammond, and Jimmy Cotton as I recall. I have to say, the best live band I saw there was Rhinoceros (twice). I could never figure out why they didn’t survive, and thrive as they were one of the hottest rock bands I have ever heard. A previous poster mentioned the Oakdale where I saw Cream, and The Doors. The Boxtops opened for the Doors, and some of the audience booed The Doors as they favored the Boxtops. The Doors played ‘Strange Days’ in advance of their 2nd LP. I’m prejudiced, but that was the best 2 years of music in my lifetime.
Great clubs in the area in that day.A bit before my time , but have an older brother that filled me in. I grew up in Northford and remember a club called the Trapazoid. No liquor but they had some good bands play there. Wildweeds for sure. Can anyone name some others?
I saw Jethro Tull at The Stone Balloon and it was a real thrill to sit that close to a band that freaking good. I was a freshman at Yale, “working” at WYBC, and after the show my buddy and I got to interview Ian et al in the tiny dressing room. I was shocked by how much stage make-up they needed to wipe off; they were made up to look as old as I am now. If I remember correctly, they said that was their first performance in the US. Thanks for this great blog, which brought back sweet memories.
Many thanks Richard.
My brother Jack and I (along with my ex-wife Toni) started the Stone Balloon in New Haven in the fall of 1968. Joni Mitchell and Livingston Taylor were our first attractions and the club operated until the spring of 1969. Most of the great acts we had were relatively unknown and drawing an audience was really challenging. Not being able to serve liquor didn’t help either. Both Jack and I moved on to careers in the theater but in 2012 my partners and opened a descendant of the Stone Balloon called 54 Below that presents Broadway-related performers. It’s been around for 10 years now and represents a lot of lessons learned from the Stone Balloon.
Hi Tom,
Thanks for stopping by and for the great story about the Stone Balloon. Your new club looks beautiful and I will have to come by sometime. Thanks again.
Paul