A Night at the Family Dog 1970 (2005)

Filmed on location at the Family Dog Ballroom in San Francisco in September, 1970, the show captures the heyday and diversity of the San Francisco sound with three of the most well known bands to emerge from the scene: Santana, who would release their second album at the end of 1970; The Grateful Dead, including original band member Ron "Pigpen" McKernan, who were making a name for themselves with their jam-filled performances; and Jefferson Airplane, who were at the time the biggest of the bands from the area.

San Francisco was an area of artistic creation during the mid-to-late 60's. Whether it was art, poetry or music, the Haight-Ashbury area of San Francisco was the place for like-minded individuals to explore and create. Noted jazz columnist Ralph J. Gleason took note of the exploding rock music scene and produced several television specials and documentaries spotlighting the music emerging from San Francisco. A Night At The Family Dog is one part of a two-part series (the other is Go Ride The Music) that aired on The National Educational Television Network in 1970.

The audio for this program has been extrapolated up to Stereo and 5.1 Surround Sound mixes from their original mono source! This show has never sounded or looked so good!

Track Listing:
Santana
-Incident At Neshabur
-Soul Sacrifice
The Grateful Dead
-Hard To Handle
-China Cat Sunflower
-I Know You Rider
Jefferson Airplane
-The Ballad of You And Me And Pooneil
-Eskimo Blue Day
A Super Jam
-All Star jam with members of all 3 bands!

A Night at the Family Dog

I gave this DVD as a gift, the recipient told me that the concert is awesome. The film quality is excellent. There is a petition to have Chet Helms (August 2, 1942 - June 25, 2005) founder of the Family Dog inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. [...] October 3, 2008

A night at the family dog

The video is a must have for your collection if you love old classic rock

Santana video and audio excellent. Would have been nice if they had more songs.

Grateful Dead. the camera operator must have been stoned. the first few minutes are on the drummer and the girl dancing. Shots of Jerry Garcia are from the rear. Took too long for the camera to get around to the front of the band.

The Star Airplane excellent

The end with the super jam of all three bands together jamming on stage is a classic. Would have been nice had more songs and was longer.

Best of all NO Interviews, All music. May 1, 2008

A MUST HAVE!

If you are into any or all three of these bands, this video is a precious time capsule of each of them in their earliest, and arguably best, incarnations. Filmed in a relatively small SF club, the close ups of the facial expressions and interplay of the band members is exceptional. And for the Deadheads, there's rare Pigpen footage - rocking out on "Hard to Handle." The version of "Ballad of You & Me and Pooneil" is the greatest performance by the Airplane ever caught on film. And of course, Santana, -with his original lineup - is sublime. Don't hesitate on this one. January 17, 2008

Run, don't walk, to get this disc!

I stumbled upon this Public TV one hour special in '70 as a feckless and un-radicalized 14-year old in the midwest. It was a monday night, I think. My parents were in the room. I sat and watched, and my mind was properly blown. I never forgot that bit of programming that came ... and just as quickly, went - Live From The Family Dog. A few years back I noticed it was "out there" ... but not quite ready for release. It was on my watch list in the blink of an eye, and now ... in my collection.
My initial impressions of the production hold true to this day, 37 years later; three outstanding bands, each in midseason form, playing stretched-out songs, with great sound and good visuals ... plus the hippie girls dancing ecstatically around the amps (yeah!), and the psychedelic light show, and the wild-eyed crowd, and the "jam" at the end of the night (what a wonderful mess). All in all, a high-water-mark testament to the Bay Area music scene as it prepared to devolve into something less delightful in the years to come. Watch it for the sizzling rhythm section of Santana, with the conga players in the spotlight. Watch it for Pigpen fronting the Dead as only Pigpen can, in HARD TO HANDLE. Watch it for the mind-melting Jack Casady bass solo in THE BALLAD OF YOU AND ME AND POONEIL, full of ritualistic thunder. Watch it for the Airplane all strumming hollow body axes (!?) Watch it for the Bobby Weir guitar solo on CHINA CAT SUNFLOWER. All in all, a great way to spend an hour. January 13, 2008

Good Stuff

The sound quality is great and the footage is mostly worthy. There's a tad too much footage of dancers and the whole thing leaves you aching for more music, but this is a sound investment if you like any one of the three bands. If you like more than one, you can't go wrong here. The "Super Jam", like most of its class, looks better on paper, but this is a fun musical exploration that doesn't get lost and it's great to see so many classic Bay Area musicians at their peak jamming on stage together. November 14, 2007

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