Film: The Beatles At Chicago's International
Amphitheater September 5, 1964

©Ted Schaar 2009







 The Next Night

From Milwaukee, The Beatles flew to Chicago and gave a concert on Saturday, September 5, at the International Amphitheater on the city's South Side.  (The building was also the scene of the infamous 1968 Chicago Democratic Convention.  Opened in the 1930s, it was demolished in 1990.)

Someone captured part of the appearance on film.  Sound from another performance was added and the result uploaded to You Tube. The footage is at Beatles Chicago September 5, 1964

It's the closest I've come to seeing what The Beatles looked and sounded like when they played Milwaukee the night before.

Incidentally, the extra machine heads on Harrison's guitar and the distinctive sunburst color indicate it is probably the 12-string Rickenbacker presented to him in February 1964 when the group was in New York for the Ed Sullivan appearances. 

At "The Beatles and their Rickenbacker Guitars," Harrison describes how he came by the guitar. Look for the subhead, "An Historical Date (George Harrison's first 360/12)," about one-third down.

This guitar's ringing, two-octave twang colored The Beatles' sound during the mid-sixties and influenced bands ranging from The Byrds to Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers.
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