I'd LOVE to hear about ANY of Mike Bloomfield shows from those who were lucky enough to see him live (with Al Kooper, or Electric Flag or Paul Butterfield or any incarnation).   

Hi Peggy,
I used to do sound at the Bodega in Campbell working for Suave Productions.  I worked with Mike several times, unfortunately we never thought to record any of the shows untill after he was gone.  Interestingly, on the side of the Bodega building, where the bands all loaded in, someone had spray painted "Here Blomfield Pissed" in big letters and it was there for years until the club became Gilbert Zapps.  Mike was kind of a mess then but he could still play. You just didn't know if he would show up or not. When he would show at the last minute he would walk in with a guitar case and a Fender Princton amp  wherever he put it on the stage was where it lived for the rest of the night. So he would walk in put it down I would mic it while he opened his guitar case and plugged in and away we'd go.  I loved that, it was a geat time, I saw a lot of great shows there.

Whit

Oh Whit!  Thank you!!  That is exactly the kind of feedback I'm looking for.  Mike was genuine.  I never had the privilege of seeing him live, but after reading every possible thing I can about him I feel like I know him.  Appreciate your input so much!!  Thanks again!

Peggy

Hi Peggy,
I sent you a reply via email but don't know if you'll get it or not.

Campbell is a suburb of San Jose, CA I lived there from 1976 to 1991 Worked for Suave Production most of that time.  I started working for Elvin Bishop in 1982 so I have some insight into the Butterfield band.and it's members

Whit

Whit,
check your private messages. 

Whitlo: My friend and high school mate Grant Fellerson worked at the Bodega for years. Bet you know him.

I saw the Electric Flag in Dec 1967 with BB King and the Byrds.  I will give a brief overview.

 

The Bryds were at the top of the bill, but they were reduced to a trio for a few months and they were simply not up to the task.  No big sound, no great 4 part harmonies.  They did their best, but....

Bloomfield's Flag has been around for about 6 months and I think this was maybe their 2nd or 3rd Bill Graham show.  They simply blew us away.  Bloomfield's playing was at his peak, as I think his years with the Butterfield band and the Flag were his greatest, and he was a very emotive player too.  Here was a guy who grew up watching legends on the small club stages of Chicago and their influence, to be emotive was evident.  The song "Texas" was a highlight for sure, with Bloomfield doing a long solo that brought down the house. 

Mike got to introduce BB King for his set and you could tell that really jazzed him.  He had that way of talking fast and with some urban hipness that was very characteristic (you can get a feel for it in the movie Monterey Pop).  King's performance was top-flight and the Winterland crowd adored him.

 

I have to run, but let me finish with a few words about Bloomfield. There is an excellent biography of him written by two guys. Google it.  It's worth reading.  I recently found out that one reason for his decline was that he had arthritis in his hands.  I caught this in an interview Nick Gravenites did a couple of years ago.  You can hear Bloomfield with the Butterfield Band on websites that stream old live concerts.  I just heard their "reunion" gig in 1978 and clearly, Bloomfield's playing had slipped.  Elvin Bishop's playing was almost at good by that point.  But, Mike was a very sweet guy, very insecure, and humble.  I miss his stage energy and he will be remembered by anyone who knows anything about playing blues guitar.  His tone and dynamics are instantly recognizable and much copied by subsequent players.

I, too, love hearing stories about Mike Bloomfield, especially first-hand stories of those who knew him, worked with him, etc.  I really have yet to find a forum totally dedicated to Bloomfield as his official website forum seems to have been shut down in '03.

Anyways, I'm a HUGE Bloomfield fan, have all the official releases and have unofficial bootleg releases (by trade, not sale) also.  The book, If You Love These Blues by Jan Mark Wolkin & Bill Keenom, is excellent.  Apparently there's another book out there but is out of print; however, rumor has it the dates & facts may be incorrect but it does have some rare pictures.  I dont remember the name of it but did find it somewhere (back when I did know the name..) by a book dealer for $125.

Being a lover of any & all things music and being a collector of music (began collecting Grateful Dead bootlegs), I sure wish I could run into more Bloomers fans.  A forum I frequent is mainly dedicated to the Grateful Dead; however, once in a blue moon the discussion occasionally turns to Bloomfield, his contributions & the like.

It would be great if this forum would attract more of us Bloomers fans!  I look forward to checking back here to see what transpires.  But before I go, here are my thoughts on his music:

Never has a guitar sound struck such emotion in me & pierced my soul like Mike Bloomfield.  Sure, there are a lot of excellent guitar players out there, now & back in the 60's.  But when I put on Bloomfield, his music stops me in my tracks.  It makes me notice.  The sound he could get outa that Les Paul, the way he made it scream.  It just leaves me speechless.  The other day I was listening to the 4/6/74 Miami show which contains a heart-stopping version of "Jelly Jelly/Stormy Monday."  The show I have is a rough audience copy but the sound of his guitar & Jellyroll Troy's voice made me have to sit down and take notice, yet again, of this great great guitar player.  Such a sweet, flawless, haunting sound that song is to me.... simply WOW.

So there's my 0.02.  Now -- go crank up the blues!!

 

I just discovered Bloomfield about six months ago (I'm new to the game) and six then, I have been obsessed, buying any vinyl that he's graced. My favorite is the little guitar solo that begins "I Wonder Who" on the Adventures of Mike Bloomfield and Al Kooper. It's piercing. The 4-6-74 show you have- tape? CD? vinyl?

Lion - the 4/6/74 I have on CD.  It's a fairly widely circulated bootleg, a pretty good-sounding, albeit a bit rough at times, audience-recorded bootleg (as opposed to a patch into a soundboard).  The only vinyl I have of Bloomfield is the Bill Graham Presents Live at the Fillmore West:  Mike Bloomfield which is now out of print.  Got that back in the late 70s some time when I was in high school.  Unfortunately after I moved out the house, I accidentally left it behind, along with tons of other vinyl, and my parents got rid of them.  AAGGGH!  I had some great rare vinyl, too!! 

 

Mia:

.....The only vinyl I have of Bloomfield is the Bill Graham Presents Live at the Fillmore West:  Mike Bloomfield which is now out of print. 

 

I always liked that album, too, and remember buying it for a buck in the cutout bin way back when. The shows that provided the material for that album were not that far removed from The Electric Flag sound, as it was essentially Bloomfield and Gravenites choosing the material and fronting the band.

If you haven't done so already, have a listen to the two sets from that 1969 run that are on our Concert Vault right now. They are listed under Michael Bloomfield and have some great material not used for that album, as well as alternate versions of some of the tracks that did make it.

I've logged several other recordings from this run that we'll likely feature down the road, but the material didn't vary all that much, so the two sets up now will give you a good taste of what this band was up to.

I'm another who considers 1965->1968 to be the peak years of Bloomfield's career. He was rarely less than astonishing during that era and his playing was loaded with passion. However, these early 1969 sets catch him at the tail end of that era when his passion still burned bright.

Have a listen and enjoy! MrBB

Thanks Mr. BB.  I also have those shows from '69 on CD as they're widely circulated soundboard bootlegs.  There's definitely a great collection of music here on the Concert Vault!!

 

Yes, Bloomfield's playing from 65 through early 69 definitely is my favorite.  There are some great shows from the '74 tour but a bit  more hit & miss, in my opinion.  I was watching Bob Dylan's "No Direction Home" again last weekend & to hear Bloomfield backing up Dylan on "Maggie's Farm" at the Newport Folk Festival in '65 is pretty hilarious.  That loud, obnoxious, stand-up-and-take-notice sound that Bloomfield made definitely made people notice  LOL..

 

Hi Mia,
Boy, you sound like me!  I can never get enough of Michael's music.  I totally get what you're saying about the Newport gig.  LOVE IT!!   You HAVE seen the DVD titled Festival,  I hope.  There is a lot of footage of Michael  (with Dylan, with the Paul Butterfield Blues Band and also an interview with Michael).   It's a MUST  HAVE for any Bloomfield fan.  

The out-of-print book you mentioned in a previous post is called The Rise and Fall of an American Guitar Hero Michael Bloomfield by Ed Ward.  I have seen used copies available anywhere from $75 to $350,  depending on the seller.  I recently purchased one on Ebay for $100.  There are many pictures I hadn't seen before.  It was worth every penny.  I was informed recently of yet another book written by Dave Shorey, who played bass guitar in Bloomfield & Friends in the late 70's.  The book is titled Tell On It - The Compendium of Obscurity.  "TELL ON IT was the expression Mike Bloomfield used to get us to open up and get to the present tense reality, and cut to the chase".  My copy will be shipped this week.  Can't wait!!  http://books.google.com/books?id=FED3BDTb974C&pg=PA2&lpg=PA2&dq=tell+on+it&source=web&ots=i3rEJchSfD&sig=jPVcS0WACy9v3wRXXwbeeTltlwc#PPP1,M1

Hi Peggy ~  Thanks for the heads up about the books.  I'm definitely gonna get that new one "Tell on it."  Thanks for the link!

 

Yeah, I've got "Festival" as well as "Monterey Pop" with Electric Flag.  Great to see Michael clapping happily after Butterfield's set, the scene of him addressing the crowd, "It's really groovy, man... Monterey, man... it's... it's really groovy, man" (or however it went... LOL!).  I sure wish there was more footage available from the Flag's Monterey performance.

 

I threw on Red, Hot & Blue tonight.  Love hearing that acoustic side of him, too.

 

Do you ever read the old forum on mikebloomfield.com?  Even though it's shut down, there's a lot of old posts that are really interesting to read.  Some stories from people who saw him live & the like..  Actually, if you're like me, you've probably searched high & low to find out any & all information regarding him -- LOL! 

Mia:

Do you ever read the old forum on mikebloomfield.com?  Even though it's shut down, there's a lot of old posts that are really interesting to read.  Some stories from people who saw him live & the like..  Actually, if you're like me, you've probably searched high & low to find out any & all information regarding him -- LOL! 

 

I'm always searching!!  And yes, I read that old forum.  I wish Allen would reopen it.  It would be great to connect with more people like you. 

 

 

My Bloomfield  experience started when someone dropped the tonearm on the Flag's "Killin Floor" and the experience hasn't stopped. 
 I never saw him play. Mike has been one of the most consistent and strong influences on my playing since that day in the late 60's.
 One book I read within the last few years Is titled "Mike Bloomfield, If you Love these Blues, an oral history. By Jan Mark Wolkin & Bill Keenam,  Miller Freeman Books.  I found it informative and satisfying to read. Theres a CD included with the book Bullet Rag, Kingpin, J.P. Morgan, Blues for Ray, Country Boy, Intermission Blues, & Gotta Call Susie.
 I've accumulated a fair amount of Bloomfield material, some issued, some boot. I will go back and listen to some of your suggested listening.
 Thanks for letting me share my experience.

dez
nyc
(Living in the town where Alan Peter Kuperschmidt grew up)