An authentic, genuine January 1966 San Francisco Mime Troupe Dance-Concert poster, held at the Fillmore Auditorium in S.F. Although it doesn’t say it anywhere, this item is oftentimes referred to as the S.F. Mime Troupe’s Appeals III poster.

Famous San Francisco rock promoter Bill Graham presented the show marketed on this S.F. Mime Troupe Dance-Concert window card, and his name is printed in the upper left – the first time Graham’s name ever appeared on a Fillmore concert poster, so that’s historic in itself.

Perhaps the most unusual aspect of this S.F. Mime Troupe concert poster is the fact that there’s no picture of The Grateful Dead, unlike the other musicians. Since they had just recently changed their name, Graham felt compelled to remind people that they had previously been known as The Warlocks.

Without the Dead pictured, that leaves Grace Slick as the brightest star shown on this S.F. Mime Troupe show poster… she’s in the Great Society’s photograph, of course, rocking back on her boot heels.

When you compare this collectible to the Mime Troupe Appeals Party I or II handbills, it’s fascinating how this S.F. Mime Troupe Dance-Concert announcement doesn’t use the words “benefit,” “appeal” or any such verbiage. A good guess is that Bill Graham realized by now that the music was drawing the crowds, not the fact that it benefited some small, local group of radical actors.

This S.F. Mime Troupe Dance-Concert broadside is thought to probably be the only concert advertisement to mention both the Warlocks and the Grateful Dead in the same breath… because it was right after (by about one month) the band’s name change.

Only one catchy color – besides the usual black and white – was used by the printer on this S.F. Mime Troupe Dance-Concert placard. The designer chose pink, and used it generously… only about seven words were printed in black.

Down in the lower-left corner, the price for admission was given as $2.00, labeled a “donation” on this S.F. Mime Troupe event poster.  The price had been just $1.00 for the first Mime Troupe benefit and $1.50 for the subsequent one, but this time Bill Graham decided to pay his performers a modest fee – scale – and thus he charged a bit more for people to attend.

Jefferson Airplane collectors would be somewhat interested in obtaining this S.F. Mime Troupe Dance-Concert window display for their collections because the Great Society’s lead singer, the previously mentioned Grace Slick, would go on to join the Airplane about nine months later.

Anyone who follows the history of San Francisco rock should appreciate the fact that The Mystery Trend are shown on this S.F. Mime Troupe Dance-Concert show placard. They were a seminal Bay-Area rock band that played at the very first informal S.F. rock dance anyone can recall, back in May 1965 when they were called The Terrazzo Brothers. Unfortunately, there is no known Terrazzo Brothers concert poster or handbill from the Primalon, where that dance took place.

As usual, the year is not given on this 1966 S.F. Mime Troupe Dance-Concert telephone-pole poster, because the lifespan of old concert posters like this was only a few weeks, not a matter of years.

The measurements for this S.F. Mime Troupe Dance-Concert ticket poster are 14 x 22”, and it was printed on cardboard, not paper.

However, nobody knows which printing company made this S.F. Mime Troupe Dance-Concert sign, but it was probably done by someone in the Bay Area, not out of town.

The entire wording found this vintage, collectable Bill Graham Presents concert poster, as it reads from top to bottom:

Bill Graham Presents (then switch to black print) S.F. Mime Troupe Dance-Concert (back to pink print) with The Great Society, Sam Thomas & The Gentleman’s Band, The Mystery Trend, The Grateful Dead (formerly The Warlocks) and many other friends.

Friday, January 14, 9 pm til ? – Fillmore Auditorium (in black print), Fillmore and Geary Streets  donations: $2.00  information CA1-1984

In the upper left-hand corner, “Bill Graham Presents” appears in three pink words on this S.F. Mime Troupe Dance-Concert billboard. At last, Graham had worked his name onto the third and final of his three Mime Troupe benefits. Graham’s name had not appeared on the marketing materials for the first two events, not even the fliers.

It’s worth remembering that by the time this S.F. Mime Troupe concert placard was printed, however, Bill had separated himself from the radical organization and was keen on starting up his own series of concerts at the Fillmore Auditorium. The rest is history!

This S.F. Mime Troupe boxing-style concert poster is displayed and discussed with great enthusiasm by known collector Pete Howard (805-540-0020 or pete@postercentral.com thru email). I, Pete, will pay the very best top dollar for this poster or any similar to it from S.F. rock’s earliest days.

To view some other rare and collectable concert placards from the golden psychedelic era, just click over to this page located within these pages right here on my Web site: http://www.postercentral.com/psychedelic.htm