Cheech & Chong, 1972
Atlanta at Sports Arena, from the Murray Silver Jr. archive
Before music consumed me some time in my budding teen years, I was a comedy guy. Almost exclusively.
While my mother was extraordinarily protective of me hearing (say) Black Sabbath or Kiss due to their "satanic overtones" (remember, it was the '70s), comedy was a different story. Again, my mom was very protective. Two years before I was born, and thanks to a raunchy stand up set by Redd Foxx in ’66 that she saw in Denver, I was forbidden to so much as gaze upon the television show Sanford and Sons. I later found out why, and my mom’s concerns were well founded.
Then again, the same could be said for any of the really outrageous comedy acts that were popular in the 70s. Fortunately for me, I found Python, Steve Martin and Bob Newhart. Of course, Dr. Demento was my entry way to so much, but that handful of comedy records I owned were thoroughly memorized by the time I hit my teens.
Enter Cheech and Chong. Again, it’s hard to think of a time where this was the case, but at least in my household growing up, drugs were verboten. (Note: both of my parents were alcoholics. Fitting.) It really wasn’t until I moved to Athens and sat at 210 Sunset with Will and Bill from the The Olivia Tremor Control and, well, I got high for the first time in 1994.
By the time I heard Cheech and Chong on Dr. Demento, they were a bonafide sensation. More like a franchise, but you get the idea. “Dave’s not here, man!” Sister Mary Elephant. Earache my eye! However, in the early ‘70s, this Pacific Northwest comedic duo weren’t the household brand they’d become as the decade evolved.
This here is a rare as hen’s teeth poster for an early (if not the first) show that Cheech and Chong performed in Atlanta at the Sports Arena in Cabbagetown/Reynoldstown at 310 Chester, 1972. Of particular interest is the listing of ticket outlets peppered across town. The show was put on by Murric Enterprises and this poster was donated by one of the promoters, Murray Silver, Jr. Thanks, Doc.
