You know it will be considered John and Yoko's bed in for peace from May 26, 1969 on the 17th floor of the Queen Elizabeth Hotel.
But you can have a yin without a yang. Like every rock song needs harmony and dissonance, rhythm and melody, this city has another event to serve as a counterpoint to the hippie bed in.
(Are you ever going to get to any point whatsoever? - Chimples)
The other side of the Bed in for Peace occurred four and a half years later one block south.
The event doesn't have a name, maybe it could be the Hotel Demo for Rock, or the Bed Out for Violence... or... (give up! - Chimples)
On Dec. 2, 1973 British rock heroes The Who, namely Pete Townshend, Keith Moon and John Entwhistle (singer Roger Daltrey appears to have been absent) convened in room 1308 of the Bonaventure, a suite of rooms rented by music impresario Donald K. Donald for an after show party.
If you don't know who The Who is, they were one of about four bands (Alice Cooper, Led Zep, The Stones) who could fill arenas and stadiums wherever they went at that time.
They had just grossed about $50,000 rocking out to 20,000 fans at The Forum.
Hangers on and journalists were in attendance at the hotel as the band became increasingly silly.
It started when gonzo drummer and hotel room demolition expert Keith Moon, (who not surprisingly died young) tossed a bottle of ketchup against the wall.
“I thought it looked aesthetically pleasing. Someone should frame it," Townshend later wrote in his biography.
Moon then broke a painting and put it on the wall and Townshend cut his hand and smeared blood on the wall for the art effort.
Someone tossed a sofa out the window, a TV into the swimming pool and Townshend smashed a marble table through a wall and so on it went.
Police came and arrested the band and 14 associates.
“I believe I booked a suite,” Moon repeatedly uttered when arrested..
Montreal rock reporter Bill Mann was at the party and offered this description to Cooloolis.
It was a drunken, loud party. I remember Issac Hayes with his bling being surrounded with women. I left early. Next morning, Saturday, I went with Donald K. Donald go bail out The Who from an East end jail. They had trashed their rooms. They were singing Brit soccer songs. Real classy. Towshend and Moon looked the most wasted at the party. I'm sure there were drugs, but didn't actually see them. I was probably stoned! But ...I could drive home.
The event became part of rock legend and inspired a solo song by John Entwistle’s Cell Number Seven, “Me and Moonie were in cell number seven / He dribbled on my jacket in cell number seven," he sings.
The band was released at about 1:15 p.m. and none were charged with any crimes as the hotel did not lodge a formal criminal complaint but they claimed about $6,000 in damage.
The band settled up and although they missed their flight to Boston, they still managed to rock the Boston Gardens on time.
The band settled up and although they missed their flight to Boston, they still managed to rock the Boston Gardens on time.
Although the event registers loud on the scale of rock excess of the 70s, it has failed to stick as a major pivotal event in Montreal cultural history, alas. Indeed La Presse didn't even note the event at the time.
But next time you think about the bed in for peace, remember how The Who accomplished the reverse not long after.
Their roadies were worse.
ReplyDeleteI went to a Who concert in, I think, 1969 at the now-defunct Autostade where the stage was set up mid-field. After they finished their set, my friend and I approached the stage while their roadies were cleaning up and gathering their drums, amps, and other stuff, including a beautiful embroidered guitar strap. A young French-Canadian fellow was sitting on the stage and, in broken English, asked one of the roadies if he could have the strap. The roadie replied very sweetly, pointing to the strap in his hand: "Oh, you mean this?" as he approached the young man. As he got up to him, he feigned giving the strap to the young man, who reached up for it. Instead, the roadie swiftly kicked him in the face, causing the young man to fall to the ground, all the while cursing him.