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

ŠTed 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 was at Beatles Chicago September 5, 1964.  But, recently I noticed it was no longer available.  Instead, clicking on the link produces the following:  "This video contains content from EMI, who has blocked it on copyright grounds."

Too bad because is was the closest I've come to seeing what the Beatles looked and sounded like when they played Milwaukee the night before.

Harrison was shown with a guitar that had extra machine heads and a distinctive sunburst color, which  indicates it probably was 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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