Golden Bear reunion concert lineup strong

Written by Corky Carroll | October 13, 11

A pair of Golden Bear Reunion concerts is to take place Friday and Saturday nights, Sept. 25-26. For those of you not around in '60s and '70s, the Bear was a premiere small concert venue. All the top acts - except The Beatles and Rolling Stones - in rock, blues and folk music played the Golden Bear at one time or another. Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, Elvin Bishop, Linda Rhondstat, Jackson Browne, the Turtles, the Tubes, Paul Butterfield Blues Band, Jefferson Airplane, the Grateful Dead, and on and on. It was a great club, and it was right here in Huntington , a block south of the pier on PCH.

I saw many great shows at the Bear and wound up playing there myself a number of times when I was a struggling musician in the '70s. The place is legendary in music circles.

The reunion shows are at Waterfront Hilton and feature some bands and musicians that often played the Bear.

The lineup on the 25th includes Honk, one of my favorite bands and a hugely popular act around here in the early '70s. They toured with the Beach Boys and Chicago. On the same bill that night are David Lindley, Ray Manzarek and Jack Tempchin, who wrote hit songs for the Eagles including Peaceful Easy Feeling, Slow Dancing and Already Gone.

On the 26th, the lineup is the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, Chris Hillman & Herb Pedersson, and Steve Noonan. The Dirt Band needs no introduction. Hillman was a main player in the Byrds.

Each show will seat less than 300 people, just like the Bear did. Info: goldenbearreunion.com/tickets