During April of 1999, I was with two of my good friends on a used vinyl/compact disc search adventure in Milwaukee. We were looking for interesting collectibles, including obscurities like bootlegg concerts, music related books and magazines from the glorious years of our youth. While digging around in one of those book stores, we detected a stack of old cassettes under a glass shelf, with a small notice that suggested that the owners of the store had a selection of local musical concerts recorded on cassette tape. Well, we decided to ask what the selection was. Eureka, one of those listed was Blind Faith in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, 26 July 1969! Well, that was too good to pass by, although collectively, we (as serious Blind Faith collectors) already had a copy of a portion of the concert from earlier music swaps. My good buddy suggested, "Let's get this copy also, it may be an alternate, or better recording". So we did, and it was indeed, a very nice recording,
with additional performance tracks!!!
We listened to the cassette in the car on the return trip to Madison, Wisconsin, and were delighted with the audio sound we heard. And several weeks later, I reworked the cassette recording, cleaning up the background hiss, boosting the audio gain. Voila, I named this little known effort as "Blind Faith - The Lost Performance"!
The performance was on 26 July 1969. A less than sunny Saturday afternoon at State Fair Park in West Allis, Wisconsin. The happening was promoted as "The Rock & Roll Festival". Opening acts were local, followed by another British group called Taste (with Rory Gallagher), then by the Motor City (MC) 5, John Mayall, and Delaney, Bonnie & Friends. Prime time in the late afternoon was for the new super group from England, Blind Faith...........
A glimpse of BF's performance at the Midwest Rock Festival, 26 August 1969:
Blind Faith at Midwest Rock Festival, 26 July 1969
Artwork cover created to announce the lost concert performance.
Newspaper advert of the Midwest Rock & Roll Festival
Performance: Had To Cry Today; Can't Find My Way Home; Sleeping In The Ground;
Well All Right; Presence Of The Lord; Do What You Like; Sunshine Of Your Love.
Total playback time: 51:15 minutes The musical recording and information described on this page are collectible materials, not intended for commercial sale or financial gain under any circumstances. If you have questions about the lost performance, make contact through the email address below. If we learn of anyone attempting to sell this music or information for profitable intent, beware !!!
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