Open Air Celebration II was held on July 24, 1971, also at Midway Stadium.

It was one of three Open Air Celebrations, two of which actually happened.

The performers were:

• It’s a Beautiful Day
• The Allman Brothers
• Little Richard
• Richie Furay and Poco
• John Baldry
• Joy of Cooking
• Redeye
• Jam Band/Mike Quatro

 

The Insider also mentioned Lee Michaels, Rita Coolidge, Chuck Berry, the Grateful Dead, and New Riders of the Purple Sage but they didn’t come to pass.

The M.C. was Tony Glover.

As with Open Air I, the promoter was Harry Beacom.  He wore his fishing hat throughout the day for luck.  At the request of the St. Paul City Council, he installed an additional 42 portapotties.

 

Sound was provided by Magnum Opus of Boulder, Colorado, who brought a 24-channel system “the only one of its kind” with 60 microphones and 12,000 watts worth of amplifiers.

 

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An ad in the paper promised:

• Free Celebration souvenir editions of Connie’s Insider
• 100 ushers
• 24 parking lots
• Tao health food stand will make a large selection of organic health foods available.
• Footlongs and soft drinks
• 130 first aid volunteers
• One doctor
• 7 Internes
• Ambulance Service
• Complete First Aid Station
• Free posters at ticket outlets while supplies lasted

Booths were represented by:

• Y.E.S. (Youth Emergency Service)
• Pooneil Corner
• Abortion Referral Service
• Minnesota Conscientious Objectors
• American Friends Service
• Bipartisan Caucus to End the War
• S.O.U.L.
• Give and Take
• Vet’s House
• Birth Rite
• U.S. Public Health Dept.

A Jesus People group claimed they had converted 15 people during the day.

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In the poster below, the image is from Open Air I, showing John Sebastian hoisting his guitar.

 

 

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BEFORE THE SHOW

About 500 people camped near the stadium the night before in order to get a place near the stage.

The event drew 25,000 people, about the same as Open Air I.  Michael Anthony of the Minneapolis Tribune (July 25, 1971) said that people came as far away as San Francisco to attend the 10-hour event.  They “rapped, cheered, ate, played cards, or just cruised around shoeless, shirtless, and braless.”

 

 

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THE SUPERBALL

Johnny Hanson recalled the “Superball” part of the program:

As the first band hit the first chord, the Staff tossed giant inflated red balls into the crowd…big big rubber suckers, 8′ in diameter!…yow! They bounced around all day and I saw them actually knock some people down…scared the bee-jeezis out of the folks on LSD…

“Bowling For Hippies” scored a number of casualties that day…saw a ball come down on a hipster hauling six sodas back from the popstand…dropped him like a rock, like the “AppleBonkers” in The Beatles Yellow Submarine movie…yow!…

 

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THE SHOW

In the Minneapolis Star, (July 26, 1971) Marshall Fine reported that the delay between acts really was only 15 minutes, thanks to a well-trained stage crew.  He found the crowd “enthusiastic and appreciative.”

 

 

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Fine reviewed each act:

The music started with Mike Quatro/Jamband, consisting of Quatro on a giant piano and a drummer.  Not memorable.

Thanks to Robert Moore, who identified the photo below as Mike Quatro, and said, “The Jam Band open the show and ending their short set with ‘Court of the Crimson King.‘”

 

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Redeye had one Top-40 hit, but were only adequate due to their lack of originality.

Long John Baldry (he’s 6′ 7″)

started the Superball rolling with an hour of growly, bluesy material.  Baldry showed himself to be an ingratiating showman with his little raps between songs and his whiplike use of his body during vocals.

Joy of Cooking “played some of the most cooking music I’ve heard in a while.”  Vocals were by Terry Garthwaite (guitar) and Toni Brown (piano).

Poco

steamed on more than an hour early and drove the crowd with their hard-rocking, occasionally countrified sound.  They got it on more than I’ve seen them do in their last two Twin Cities appearances.

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LITTLE RICHARD

Marshall Fine:

Little Richard played for only 20 minutes.  He played well enough, but without the usual flashing eyes and teeth, without enthusiasm.  He looked like he was in pain (he has reccently been treated for stomach trouble.)

Michael Anthony:

One of the high points was a semistrip by Little Richard.  Dressed in bright red white and blue with accompanying baubles and beads, Richard came on stage to thunderous applause, performed a most sedate bow and sat down at the piano.

“I’m the beautiful Little Richard from down in Macon, Georgia.  I’m still young and I still look good.  Shut up.”

During his set, Richard climbed atop the piano and demurely removed a shoe, shirt, and some jewelry, then finished the number.

Gary Schwartz:

At one point Little Richard got up on the piano, started to take his clothes off, and threw them into the audience. [His brother] Denny ended up with one of Little Richard’s white patent leather shoes!

Another concert-goer remembered Richard spent more time tossing jewelry into the crowd than playing music.

Tom Husting:

I worked on the stage crew that day and sat on the ground with Little Richard and his bass player and we ate an entire watermelon prior to his set. Now, you don’t do that every day.  R.I.P. Richard. You have always been the King of Rock and Roll.

Gary Olson:

My brother-in-law’s band “Bluebird “ played earlier that day. He met Little Richard back stage… His comment to me about the experience…Whoa! Then his band started wearing makeup!

 

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Back to Marshall Fine:

It’s a Beautiful Day played for an hour and a half, giving a full an amazingly energetic performance.

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THE ALLMAN BROTHERS

The setlist, according to one website, was:

1.	Don’t Keep Me Wonderin’
	w/Tony Glover (harmonica)
2.	Done Somebody Wrong
	w/Tony Glover (harmonica)
3.	One Way Out
4.	In Memory of Elizabeth Reed
5.	You Don’t Love Me
6.	Whipping Post
7.	Revival

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Mark Ryan captured some footage of the event on video and has graciously allowed us to see it!

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Marshall Fine:

The Allmans were absolute magicians Saturday night, picking up the crowd and lifting it to brilliant peaks with their smooth fluidity and invigorating electricity.  Guitarists Duane Allman and Dicky Betts were untouchable.

 

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GATE CRASHERS

Beacom took extra precautions to foil the gate crashers that had invade Open Air I.  At the request of the St. Paul City Council, he installed three strands of barbed around the walls, reported Michael Anthony.  Anthony also reported:

As extra insurance, a crew was out earlier in the week greasing the outside wall of the stadium with STP, Beacom said.  A further precaution was the use of 60 police officers, 90 ushers, and a “special police squad” of 16 ex-football players and semi-professional wrestlers.

Below is a photo of the apprehension of an unfortunate gate crasher from the October 1971 edition of the Insider.

 

Despite the precautions, Fine reported that “A nervous St. Paul police captain tried to halt the festival” because of the “ticket-less people outside.”

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CASUALTIES

The ten nurses, ten medical students, and two doctors treated cut feet, burns, and about 150 bad trips according to a volunteer at Pharm House.   Comments on Facebook start with how hot it was, the sunburn afterwards, and the Orange Barrel Acid …  St. Paul Ramsey Hospital treated about 14 people, “mostly for bad trips and a few cuts,” according to an employee.

 

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THE SCOREBOARD INCIDENT…

Many people remember a young man who fell from the scoreboard, and think it was funny that he landed in the Boone’s Farm booth.  One participant remembers MC Tony Glover saying ” O.K. no more jumpin’ off the scoreboard.”

The truth was much more serious.  According to witnesses, he had threatened to jump for about an hour.  His “fall” was 30 feet down, and he was taken to St. Paul Ramsey Hospital in serious condition.  A subsequent report revealed that the 21-year-old man from St. Paul suffered abdominal injuries and multiple arm and leg fractures.

The young man’s injuries no doubt had much to do with the decision of St. Paul, and then Bloomington, to deny Beacom a permit to hold Open Air III.