San Jose City Hall goes psychedelic to honor Grateful Dead concert

The plaza behind San Jose City Hall was filled with Deadheads and DJs on Thursday night as the city distinctively celebrated its historic connection to the Grateful Dead by illuminating City Hall in light show of swirling colors with the legendary band s music ringing out in the courtyard The festivities marked the th anniversary of a momentous night when the band just having changed its name from the Warlocks played an LSD-fueled acid test at a house on South Fifth Street on Dec In the intervening years the house was moved to make way for City Hall but a plaque commemorating the spot was unveiled Thursday night Featuring the band s famous Steal Your Face logo the plaque will be permanently affixed to the wing s south wall There s no acid test tonight but I m thinking there might be a little acid reflux looking around emcee Kim Vestal a longtime DJ now doing traffic for KCBS reported the well-seasoned crowd Dan Orloff founder and chief rock officer of San Jose Rocks poses for a photograph next to a plaque at San Jose City Hall near the site of the Grateful Dead's first concert under that name on Dec in downtown San Jose Calif on Thursday Dec San Jose Rocks lead the campaign for the plaque Nhat V Meyer Bay Area News Group Grateful Dead fans watch a psychedelic light show on the Rotunda after a plaque unveiling at San Jose City Hall near the site of the Grateful Dead's first concert under that name on Dec in downtown San Jose Calif on Thursday Dec San Jose Rocks lead the campaign for the plaque Nhat V Meyer Bay Area News Group Dan Orloff left founder and chief rock officer of San Jose Rocks and Trixie Garcia daughter of Jerry Garcia unveil a plaque near the site of the Grateful Dead's first concert under that name on Dec at San Jose City Hall in downtown San Jose Calif on Thursday Dec San Jose Rocks lead the campaign for the plaque Nhat V Meyer Bay Area News Group Mark Purdy points to the approximate location of the Grateful Dead's first concert under that name on Dec near San Jose City Hall in downtown San Jose Calif on Thursday Dec San Jose Rocks lead the campaign for the plaque honoring the Grateful Dead s first concert Nhat V Meyer Bay Area News Group Trixie Garcia daughter of Jerry Garcia speaks during a plaque unveiling at San Jose City Hall near the site of the Grateful Dead's first concert under that name on Dec in downtown San Jose Calif on Thursday Dec San Jose Rocks lead the campaign for the plaque Nhat V Meyer Bay Area News Group Ira Meltzer who attended the concert speaks during a plaque unveiling at San Jose City Hall near the site of the Grateful Dead's first concert under that name on Dec in downtown San Jose Calif on Thursday Dec San Jose Rocks lead the campaign for the plaque Nhat V Meyer Bay Area News Group Fans listen to a speaker during a plaque unveiling at San Jose City Hall near the site of the Grateful Dead's first concert under that name on Dec in downtown San Jose Calif on Thursday Dec San Jose Rocks lead the campaign for the plaque Nhat V Meyer Bay Area News Group Dan Orloff founder and chief rock officer of San Jose Rocks speaks during a plaque unveiling at San Jose City Hall near the site of the Grateful Dead's first concert under that name on Dec in downtown San Jose Calif on Thursday Dec San Jose Rocks lead the campaign for the plaque Nhat V Meyer Bay Area News Group Grateful Dead fans watch a psychedelic light show on the Rotunda after a plaque unveiling at San Jose City Hall near the site of the Grateful Dead's first concert under that name on Dec in downtown San Jose Calif on Thursday Dec San Jose Rocks lead the campaign for the plaque Nhat V Meyer Bay Area News Group The Spartan Jam Band plays after a plaque unveiling at San Jose City Hall near the site of the Grateful Dead's first concert under that name on Dec in downtown San Jose Calif on Thursday Dec San Jose Rocks lead the campaign for the plaque Nhat V Meyer Bay Area News Group Grateful Dead fan watches a psychedelic light show after a plaque unveiling at San Jose City Hall near the site of the Grateful Dead's first concert under that name on Dec in downtown San Jose Calif on Thursday Dec San Jose Rocks lead the campaign for the plaque Nhat V Meyer Bay Area News Group Show Caption of Dan Orloff founder and chief rock officer of San Jose Rocks poses for a photograph next to a plaque at San Jose City Hall near the site of the Grateful Dead's first concert under that name on Dec in downtown San Jose Calif on Thursday Dec San Jose Rocks lead the campaign for the plaque Nhat V Meyer Bay Area News Group Expand The ceremony leading up to the plaque s reveal included remarks from the two guys who have been spearheading this effort for years on behalf of nonprofit San Jose Rocks founder Dan Orloff and former Mercury News sports columnist Mark Purdy You think it s hard work trying to get a remodeling permit Try getting a plaque on city hall commemorating an event where people took LSD which as was pointed out several times Thursday was perfectly legal at the time There were a couple of surprise guests too Ira Meltzer was a San Jose State aspirant who lived at the house and talked about the wild night which had Jerry Garcia Bob Weir Phil Lesh Ron Pigpen McKernan and Bill Kreutzmann providing the music and Ken Kesey and his Merry Pranksters passing out the LSD-laced sugar cubes Another guest speaker was Trixie Garcia the daughter of Jerry Garcia and Carolyn Mountain Girl Garcia She was born nearly a decade after the night in question both her parents were there but declared she thought it was wonderful that San Jose commemorated the moment The s changed the world and what was started here in the Bay Area continues to lead the world and progressive thought and a more mindful way to exist she revealed While passerbys took pictures and marveled at the light show projected on City Hall visitors inside the Janet Gray Hayes Rotunda got to view a collection of Grateful Dead posters owned by collector Bill Guardino and get an up-close look at an original hand-drawn poster promoting the acid test The poster not long ago sold at auction for It also led Orloff and Purdy down a research rabbit hole only to discover that the historic house at S Fifth St hadn t been lost in a fire as previously thought but was repaired and moved to North Fourth Street just blocks away Related Articles New artistic director for Children s Musical Theater approaches into big role San Jose family opens home to people fleeing Valley Fair shooting Santa Claus going green at Christmas in the Park this year Miracle on First Street other San Jose pop-up holiday bars are back Giving thanks for those who helped out our neighbors in need So what does it mean that a band long associated with San Francisco played its first show as the Grateful Dead in San Jose Purdy summed it up pretty well I think the Grateful Dead are really the world s band No And No I think they are a band that was a cultural force all around the Bay Area he stated noting they started out in Palo Alto and Menlo Park had roots in Berkeley and wound up headquartered in Marin But you know what There s only one place they played their very first performance It was right here BUILDERS NEEDED Valley Wellbeing Foundation Executive Director Michael Elliott is seeking help for a good matter The foundation s Big Bike Build for its Turning Wheels for Kids initiative is coming up Dec and thanks to the assistance from the Santa Clara Family Wellness Plan and other groups it ll be the biggest one since the COVID- pandemic Last year supporters assembled about bicycles for kids who need them and this year there are ready to be put together and distributed to families for the holidays through various nonprofit and system organizations That is assuming we can get all those bikes built on Dec Elliott reported That depends on helpers We are presently at of what we need The Bike Build will take place at the Santa Clara County Fairgrounds starting at a m No experience is needed and participants are provided with tools training food and a T-shirt You can get more information at www valleyhealthfoundation org or sign up to volunteer at eventbrite com search for Big Bike Build TRIBUTE TO A PUBLIC CHAMPION Loc Vu a vital leader in the Vietnamese-American group in Santa Clara County who founded the Viet Museum at San Jose s History Park died at age on Nov A colonel in the South Vietnamese Army Vu and his family settled in San Jose after the fall of Saigon in and founded the Immigrant Resettlement Cultural Center a insufficient years later providing services including English classes job training and housing assistance to more than immigrants from Vietnam Cambodia and Laos over the next four decades His work to preserve Vietnamese tradition was realized when the Museum of the Boat People and the Republic of Vietnam opened at History Park in San Jose in distinguished by a replica of a fishing boat similar to those people used to escape Communist Vietnam Vu collected artifacts for the museum for more than years picking up certain at the flea territory and others on eBay His contributions to the Vietnamese-American society in Santa Clara County were recognized in the U S Congressional Record by Rep Zoe Lofgren in BUILDING HOLIDAY SPIRIT If you re out hunting for a Christmas tree this weekend just be glad you didn t have to build it The Master Model Builder organization at Legoland Discovery Center Bay Area in Milpitas led by Peter Kochanek-Rogers spent dozens of hours creating a -foot tree made out of Lego bricks It s the centerpiece of the Holiday Bricktacular event at the venue at the Great Mall which includes lots of holiday scenes in Miniland the Bay Area cityscape made out of Lego bricks A -foot Christmas tree made out of Lego bricks is on display at the Lego Discovery Center Bay Area at the Great Mall in Milpitas through Dec Courtesy Lego Discovery Center Bay Area Kochanek-Rogers placed the first ornament on the tree a Lego heart he created as part of the Build to Give experience where guests can also build hearts to help kids in need during the holiday season The event runs through Dec and you can check it out at www legolanddiscoverycenter com bayarea