Bear's Lair, UCB, Berkeley

The Bear's Lair opened in the Martin Luther King, Jr. Student Union building on Lower Sproul Plaza of the UC Berkeley campus in the 1962. The Bear's Lair was regularly used as a music venue during the second half of the 1960's. Later, the Bear’s Lair saw Robin Williams, Talking Heads, No Doubt, Green Day and many others play on Lower Sproul.  However, in early December 2012, the Bear's Lair has been closed as part of a renovation of the Lower Sproul Plaza area. Eshleman Hall will be razed and the Martin Luther King Jr. Student Union, will be rebuilt, along with other renovations. The end of an era? I hope not. There follows a partial list of performances in the era we care for:

 

02/08/1963    Vince Guaraldi Trio
10/04/1964    Vince Guaraldi Trio
23/10/1965    Hoot with Chris Selsor
30/10/1965    Hoot with Chris Selsor
05/11/1965    Carl Shrager (Advertised as "Ballad and Bawd")
12/11/1965    Caberet 
13/11/1965    Hoot with Chris Selsor (Filmed by ABC Television)
20/11/1965    Hoot with Chris Selsor
04/12/1965    Hoot with Chris Selsor
19/02/1966    Chris Selsor
26/02/1966    Hoot with Chris Selsor
11/03/1966    Jesse Fuller, Mike Thatcher Jazz Trio, Mystic Children
18/03/1966    Dragon's Seeds, The Skins, The Exiles (Advertised as "The New Trip")
25/03/1966    Wildflower, Ken Kesey's "Acid Test" Tape, Sassy Sophies from El Cid, Go-Go Limbo, Bethlehem Exit (Advertised as “Frantic Folk-Kick”)
15/04/1966    Bethlehem Exit, The Answer, The Exiles (Advertised as "Trip Dance")
22/04/1966    Mance Lipscomb, PH Phactor Jug Band, A-Go-Go dancing with Mystic Children
29/04/1966    Musa, Kaleem Quartet
12/05/1966    Plastic Mobius Concert 
14/10/1966    Vince Guaraldi Trio
07/01/1967    Big Mama Thornton
17/05/1968    Phil Ochs
21/02/1969    Jorma Kaukornen and Jack Casady
07/03/1969    Vince Guaraldi Trio
11/04/1969    Gary Burton Quartet
11/07/1969    Elvin Bishop 
23/07/1969    NRPS 
01/08/1969    NRPS  
10/10/1969    Fourth Way  
24/10/1969    Mose Allison 
05/12/1969    Dan Hicks And The Hot Licks with David LaFlamme plus Richard Greene 
24/10/1970    Boz Scaggs  
30/10/1970    Elvin Bishop
04/12/1970    Mose Allison  
24/05/1974    Upepo    
25/05/1974    Upepo 
29/05/1974    Holy Smoke
30/05/1974    Garbonza Brothers             
31/05/1974    Jeffrey Cain, Ron Maranian
01/06/1974    Jeffrey Cain, Ron Maranian 

Babylon, 2504 San Pablo Avenue, Berkeley, CA

 

 

A Performance History (as we know it right now)

20 July 1969	Opening Night
24 July 1969	Purple Earthquake
25 July 1969	Purple Earthquake
26 July 1969	Purple Earthquake
29 July 1969	Purple Earthquake
30 July 1969	Purple Earthquake
22 August 1969	Purple Earthquake
29 August 1969	Purple Earthquake
09 September 1969	Peace Bread and Land Band
16 September 1969	Peace Bread and Land Band
19 September 1969	Wilderness
23 September 1969	Peace Bread and Land Band
26 September 1969	Purple Earthquake
27 September 1969	Purple Earthquake
28 September 1969	Peace Bread and Land Band
30 September 1969	Marriah
01 October 1969	Fantazia Turkish Billy Dance Group
02 October 1969	Something New
03 October 1969	Purple Earthquake
04 October 1969	Purple Earthquake
05 October 1969	Peace Bread and Land Band
06 October 1969	closed
07 October 1969	Marriah
08 October 1969	Belly Dancers
09 October 1969	Jim Carter and Dale Jerred
10 October 1969	Purple Earthquake
11 October 1969	Purple Earthquake
12 October 1969	Peace Bread and Land Band
14 October 1969	Marriah
15 October 1969	Belly Dancers
16 October 1969	Jim & Dale (Flamenco dancers)
26 October 1969	Peace Bread and Land Band
03 November 1969	Peace Bread and Land Band
09 November 1969	Peace Bread and Land Band
14 November 1969	Purple Earthquake
15 November 1969	Purple Earthquake
16 November 1969	Sonny Street Blues Band
19 November 1969	Belly Dancers
20 November 1969	Sonny Street Blues Band
21 November 1969	Purple Earthquake
22 November 1969	Sonny Street Blues Band
23 November 1969	Peace Bread and Land Band
25 November 1969	Marriah
26 November 1969	Bedia, Khalifa, Zania, Hoda (Belly Dancers)
27 November 1969	Sonny Street Blues Band
30 November 1969	Peace Bread and Land Band
11 December 1969	Lazarus
11 December 1969	Lazarus
15 December 1969	Lazarus
15 December 1969	Lazarus
18 December 1969	Lazarus
27 December 1969	Grand Canyon
30 December 1969	Andrew Hallidie
31 December 1969	Bedia, Khalifa, Zania, Hoda (Belly Dancers)
01 January 1970	Lazarus, Purple Earthquake
02 January 1970	Lazarus, Purple Earthquake
03 January 1970	Alistair Crowley
04 January 1970	Hades Blues Works
05 January 1970	Surprise band
06 January 1970	Belly Dancers, Canterbury Fair
07 January 1970	Lazarus
17 January 1970	Alistair Crowley
18 January 1970	Hades Blues Works
23 January 1970	Purple Earthquake
24 January 1970	Backwater Rising
25 January 1970	Hades Blues Works
26 January 1970	closed
27 January 1970	Tide
28 January 1970	Black Ghost, Zephyr
29 January 1970	Black Ghost, Zephyr
30 January 1970	Purple Earthquake, Robert Savage Group
31 January 1970	Purple Earthquake, Robert Savage Group
01 February 1970	Purple Earthquake, Robert Savage Group
03 February 1970	Emily
04 February 1970	Sunrise
05 February 1970	Day And Night Blues Band
10 February 1970	Thompson Brothers
11 February 1970	Hades Blues Works
12 February 1970	Johnny Mars Blues Band
13 February 1970	Purple Earthquake
14 February 1970	Black Ghost
15 February 1970	Purple Earthquake
17 February 1970	Aba-z-Aba
18 February 1970	Hades Blues Works
19 February 1970	Flying Circus
20 February 1970	Hades Blues Works
21 February 1970	Purple Earthquake
22 February 1970	Hades Blues Works
23 February 1970	closed
24 February 1970	Mike Wolff Quintet
25 February 1970	Artichoke Jones
26 February 1970	Backwater Rising
27 February 1970	Purple Earthquake
28 February 1970	Backwater Rising
01 March 1970	Rags
03 March 1970	Sunrise
04 March 1970	Faun
05 March 1970	Sunrise
06 March 1970	Purple Earthquake
07 March 1970	Alistair Crowley
10 March 1970	Nymbus Motherfred
11 March 1970	Hades Blues Works
12 March 1970	Sunrise
13 March 1970	Rags, Thompson Brothers
14 March 1970	Purple Earthquake
15 March 1970	Rags, Thompson Brothers
17 March 1970	Bartley
18 March 1970	Hades Blues Work
19 March 1970	Rags
20 March 1970	Jonny Mars Blues Band
21 March 1970	Purple Earthquake
22 March 1970	Johhny Mars Blues Band
03 April 1970	Purple Earthquake
04 April 1970	Cleveland Wrecking Company
05 April 1970	Black Ghost
07 April 1970	Bus, Auditions
08 April 1970	Backwater Rising
09 April 1970	Canyon
17 April 1970	Robert Savage
18 April 1970	Black Ghost
19 April 1970	Black Ghost
21 April 1970	Virgin Forest, Auditions
22 April 1970	Chambray
23 April 1970	The Roaches
24 April 1970	Purple Earthquake
01 May 1970	Purple Earthquake
02 May 1970	Cleveland Wrecking Company
03 May 1970	Day and Nite Blues Band
06 May 1970	Chambray
07 May 1970	Blackwater Rising
05 June 1970	Foxglove
06 June 1970	Foxglove
26 July 1970	Foxglove
28 July 1970	Ofoedian Den
29 July 1970	Cookin' Mamas
30 July 1970	Livinstone
31 July 1970	The Crabs
01 August 1970	The Crabs
02 August 1970	Crazy Mike and His Bad All Stars
14 August 1970	Harbinger
15 August 1970	Mendelbaum
16 August 1970	Fine Arts
17 August 1970	Fine Arts
18 August 1970	Hoot
19 August 1970	Poor Edgar
21 August 1970	Crabs
22 August 1970	Crabs
23 August 1970	Loose Gravel
24 August 1970	John Bettis
25 August 1970	Carol Towers, Meadows
26 August 1970	Marriah
27 August 1970	Marriah
28 August 1970	Harbinger
29 August 1970	Harbinger
16 September 1970	Shake
17 September 1970	Charlie Musselwhite
18 September 1970	Harbinger, Beans
19 September 1970	Harbinger
20 September 1970	Sambo Annie
21 September 1970	Charlie Musselwhite
22 September 1970	Prince Bakaradi, Milk & Cookies
23 September 1970	Naked Lunch
24 September 1970	Harbinger
25 September 1970	Harbinger
26 September 1970	Crabs
01 October 1970	Sambo Annie
02 October 1970	Harbinger, Sambo
03 October 1970	Shine and Co
04 October 1970	Shine and Co
05 October 1970	closed
06 October 1970	Metro Sound Company
07 October 1970	Rubber Band
08 October 1970	Sunny Street
09 October 1970	Sunny Street
10 October 1970	Foxglove
11 October 1970	Foxglove
14 October 1970	Grayson Street, Carol Towers
22 October 1970	Prince Bakardi
23 October 1970	Full Moon (formerly Womb)
24 October 1970	Full Moon (formerly Womb)
25 October 1970	Nazgul
26 October 1970	Acoustic Concert
28 October 1970	John Lee Hooker
29 October 1970	Cleveland Wrecking Company
30 October 1970	John Shine & Co
31 October 1970	Sunny Street
01 November 1970	Acoustic Concert
02 November 1970	auditions
03 November 1970	auditions
04 November 1970	Berkeley Brickyard, Joe Crime and the Joodoo Rhythm Devils
20 November 1970	Earthquake
21 November 1970	Earthquake
22 November 1970	Jazz