The Life And Times Of The Red Dog Saloon (2011)

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This documentary pays tribute to the contributions and importance of the title watering hole in the creation of the psychedelic dancehalls that littered the West during the late '60s and helped launch such super groups as The Grateful Dead, Jefferson Airplane and The Quicksilver Messenger Service.… More This documentary pays tribute to the contributions and importance of the title watering hole in the creation of the psychedelic dancehalls that littered the West during the late '60s and helped launch such super groups as The Grateful Dead, Jefferson Airplane and The Quicksilver Messenger Service. The Red Dog Saloon had its genesis in 1964 when a group of free-thinking, LSD-enhanced Northern California students and young folks had a party and began thinking about starting up a saloon that would evoke the old West. They decided to build their saloon in Virginia City, Nevada, a once prosperous town that was by then nearly empty. The ambience of the saloon blended Old West sensibilities with modern psychedelia, go-go girls, the origins of the light show and plenty of mind-altering substances. The film goes on to show how this dawn of psychedelic rock followed three of these free-spirits from the Red Dog back to the bay area, inspiring them to start a new project - The Family Dog. The film is comprised of interviews with surviving founders, actual archival footage, a history of the poster art of the era and performances of some of the musicians who appeared at the Red Dog and in the dancehalls of San Francisco.