Cab Calloway at The Mosque - 1947

Here's a great ad from the Richmond Afro American - 66 years ago today Cab Calloway played The Mosque (now The Landmark Theater). Tickets were $1.88 to $3.13, including tax! Wish I could have been there...

Ella Fitzgerald & Dizzy Gillespie at The Mosque - 1947

On January 15th, 1947 Ella Fitzgerald and Dizzy Gillespie played The Mosque (now The Landmark Theater). 56 years ago today. Tickets were $1.50 and $1.85...amazing.

Second Best Thing You Ever Put Into Your Mouth

Hee's a great ad for The Chicken Box from the October 19-25, 1982 issue of VCU's Commonwealth Times. Looks like this building is now occupied by the Eastern Express. LOVE their tagline...

Ad courtesy of VCU Libraries

Fan Holiday House Tour - 1969

The 50th annual Fan Holiday House Tour is today and tomorrow. Here's a great poster for the 1969 tour:

Ad courtesy of The Library of Virginia

Frank Zappa at The Richmond Coliseum - November 2nd, 1974

38 years ago tonight Frank Zappa played the Richmond Coliseum:

Ad courtesy of the University of Richmond's Boatwright Library/Digital Initiatives

Santana - Richmond Coliseum - October 22nd, 1971

41 years ago tonight Santana played the Richmond Coliseum:

Photo courtesy of the University of Richmond's Boatwright Library/Digital Initiatives

Bill's Barbecue menu - 1970

Bill's Barbecue opened their first location in 1931. They closed their last 3 restaurants yesterday. Here's a 1970 menu from Bill's.

Click the photo below for the high resolution image.

Photo courtesy of The Valentine Richmond History Center

Beautiful Ginter Park - 1907

This 1907 ad for the Lewis Ginter Land & Improvement Company claims that Ginter Park has "Highest elevation of any suburb, thus ensuring pure air and good health." Note how few lots have houses, and that the trolley goes up Chamberlayne Ave, turning West on Laburnum Ave and crossing Brook "Turnpike."

Click the photo below for the high resolution image.

Ad courtesy of The Library of Congress

Sugar at The Flood Zone - 1992

Since Bob Mould has resurrected Sugar and is playing the Copper Blue album in it's entirety in random cities around the world, I thought this post was fitting. Twenty years ago today--July 14th, 1992--Sugar played the Flood Zone.

Ukrop's - 1965

Bellevue Park - 1907

Here's a great ad from 1907 for lots in Bellevue Park in Northside, now essentially a part of Bellevue. John Pope Ave is listed on this map (now just Pope Ave), as well as Virginia Ave (now Princeton Ave). Also listed is Rosetree Ave. Those familiar with Bellevue know this road doesn't exist today. Anyone know if it was ever built?

Ad courtesy of The Library of Congress

Thalhimers "Hippie" ads - Early 1970s

Some great Wrangler Jean/Thalhimers ads from 1970 and 1971. Gotta love that tagline: Wremember the "W" is Silent.

1970:

1970:

1971:

Ads courtesy of the University of Richmond's Boatwright Library/Digital Initiatives

Arlo Guthrie at The Mosque - May 5th, 1972

May 5th, 1972—40 years ago today—Arlo Guthrie played The Mosque.

Photo courtesy of the University of Richmond's Boatwright Library/Digital Initiatives

KISS and Rush at The Richmond Arena - 1975

On April 27th, 1975 (37 years ago today), KISS played the Richmond Arena with openers Rush, Brian Auger and Oblivion Express & M-S Funk. KISS was supporting Dressed To Kill, Rush was supporting Fly By Night. Tickets were 5 bucks. Anyone at this show? Although I was fortunate enough to see KISS in the 70s, it wasn't until 4 years later.

Benny Goodman at The Mosque - April 23rd, 1939

73 years ago today Benny Goodman and his Orchestra played the Mosque. Tickets were a whopping 75 cents to $1.50 each. And how nice of Richmond in the Jim Crow era: We made "Accommodations For Colored Patrons." Anyone want to take a guess as to what those were? Top row of the uppermost balcony? Nah, too nice. Maybe that walkway on each side of the top balcony, the one with no seats? Thankfully we've come a long way since 1939.

Photo courtesy of the University of Richmond's Boatwright Library/Digital Initiatives

fIREHOSE at The Flood Zone - April 13th, 1993

Today's concert flashback is from 19 years ago today. I pulled it off of a pole the week of the show, and have had it ever since. Anyone remember Digits and Peaches? Firehose just started playing shows again (for the first time since 1994) in the past few weeks. They formed out of the ashes of of The Minutemen in 1986. This flyer is from their show at The Flood Zone on April 13th, 1993 with Jettison Charlie & Crackerbash. Below the flyer is a review I found online of the show, as well as the video for the song Blaze, off Mr. Machinery Operator, the album they were supporting at this show.

REVIEW:
Jettison Charlie are local Richmond, have been around for upwards of six years, and appear on the verge of taking a decisive step forward. They've had a change in bass personnel and haven't lost a step, while putting a different kind of punch behind their songs. This was their first gig at the Zone, which has the best sound in Richmond (although that's not saying much), and I was excited to see them LOUD. They were, and they were also spot on. They ripped through a fiercely tight 45 minute set or so, mixing the heavy with the lilting. To make a lame attempt at comparison (and to compare them with a band few humans have heard), they do a lot of the same fussing with dynamics of tempo and volume that Hassan Chop! do, but a lot more seamlessly and with fewer jaunts into the odd. They also are fond of starts and stops. One guitar, somewhat metal-ish bass, and crisp, busy drums. They're doing a bunch of shows up and down the coast of East end of this month/beginning of next month in places like Balt, NY, Brooklyn, Portchester, Hartford, Boston, etc. Go see them. They're good.

Crackerbash were a surprise--I had expected Helios Creed, who had done support on either side of this gig, but in the end I'm sure HC wouldn't have been as enjoyable. Crackerbash are from Portland and have an album coming out on Empty Records. The lead singer looks like Joe Strummer with dyed blond eyebrows and a snootful of crank in his brain. The drummer weighs about 300 pounds and is active enough to make me ashamed that i don't thrash myself around as much as he does. Anyhow, the music seems deceptively simple but rocks really hard, mostly due to the guitar, which squeals and skronks its way through the whole set. The bass is left to carry the melodies, strummed in chords. The whole band has an abundance of energy and really infects a crowd. By the end, folks were well enamored of Crackerbash. The final song was done with Watt joining in on bass--I'd feel like the coolest guy on the planet if I was playing guitar and looked over to see Watt thunking away with me on bass.

I was hoping that the new material from the Hose would be better live than it sounded on record. I must now entirely blame J Mascis for fucking up Mr Machinery Operator, because it's the same old Hose. The new stuff is harder and a shade less funkdriven, but I like that stuff better. They showed a lot of chutzpa to play some of their quieter material, though, for a crowd that wanted to push and sweat.

During the set, Mike or somebody in front put a beer bottle down on a monitor. I guess it fell over or something, because the stage volume sound guy rushed over in the middle of a song to retrieve it and mop up. Watt lambasted him for doing too much coke, and nearly pushed him off stage into the crowd. He continued to yell at the guy the whole set. They did all the fave standards--Chemical Wire, Brave Captain, Honey Please, Slack Motherfucker, Revolution, etc. During Revolution, a fracas ensued between a man and a woman. The man was being overly slamhappy (I guess--the crowd seemed kind of tame to me), and she was talking to him about it. He pushed her away, I guess, because when he turned around again she popped him one right on the jaw. fIREHOSE only saw the guy pushing back, and gave him grief for hitting a girl. Oi. Oh, also, Watt kept getting shocked by the mike throughout the set, so they chose this opportunity to just quit.

If you're disappointed by the new album, go see them live. You'll feel better about yourself, and the world too. In fact, you'll probably go right out and donate to charity.

Jon Stewart at a Dead Kennedys show in Richmond?

The interwebs are all abuzz the last 24 hours with this supposed pic of Jon Stewart from The Daily Show in the pit at a Dead Kennedys show in Richmond on July 23rd, 1982 (center, behind the 3 guys with their arms interlocked):

The full lineup that night: Dead Kennedys, Void (Washington DC), White Cross (Richmond) and Front Line (Norfolk). The show was at Casablanca (later Rockitz, now Empire). Quite a show but just slightly before my time. Old timers in Richmond are skeptical this is really Jon Stewart, I'll post an update if a definitive answer emerges.

1975 Richmond Billboard

"This billboard proclaimed a slogan adopted by the Richmond Chamber of Commerce in early 1975."

It wouldn't be the 70s without a rainbow...

Photo from the book Richmond: Her Triumphs, Tragedies & Growth

Bruce Springsteen with Steel Mill - 1969

Here's a poster for an early show from Bruce Springsteen's band Steel Mill. They played at The Center on the corner of Laurel & Broad Street near VCU on November 20th, 1969...42 years ago yesterday. A great story about the show can be found here from the guitarist of Richmond's Mercy Flight, who opened the show. The Center eventually became Rockitz in the 80s, then The Metro and The Factory in the 90s. Empire is now downstairs, the upstairs has been closed for years. Only 2 bucks for this show!

Free ATM demonstration and Big Mac - 1979

With all the talk lately of monthly fees to use your debit card, I thought this Virginia National Bank ad from a 1979 issue of the University of Richmond's newspaper The Collegian was pretty fitting.

Not only did you not have to pay a monthly fee for your "cash flow card," but you also got two all beef patties, special sauce, lettuce, cheese, pickles and onions on a sesame seed bun...

Ad courtesy of the University of Richmond's Boatwright Library/Digital Initiatives