The Attack at the Grande Ballroom, wtf Van?

I was the bass player in a rock group called, "The Attack". Chris on guitar, Dennis on drums. We did a lot of Hendrix covers. On February 21, 1969, a few months before Woodstock, we played the Grande Ballroom. I was nineteen years old. The oldest one in the band. And, was scared out of my mind. You see, the Grande was one of the hottest venues in the country.

You walked in, traveled up the stairs, bought your ticket from a guy sitting in a bathtub. Entering the ballroom, you were engulfed in a haze of marijuana and incense.

Headlining this evening were Van Morrison, and the Paul Butterfield Blues Band. Backstage, Paul Butterfield walked in and set down two eight packs of Bud, and said, "Help yourself".

We went on first, and were greeted with encouraging, modest applause. I was grateful and relieved. Van Morrison was next. We all looked forward to it, until....Van went acoustic that February night.

He played Spanish guitar, accompanied by stand up bass, and drummer using brushes. Not what the crowd wanted. Instead of "Brown Eyed Girl", or " Here Comes the Night", we were treated to the sullen, introspective, Van. The people that did not boo, were silent.

We had gone over better than Van Morrison!!

Oh yeah, Paul Butterfield, "Blew the roof off."

Thanks for reading.