How to Spot a Fake Concert Poster

[Repost of an article from June 2021]

Twenty years ago or so I was in a head shop, and they had a bunch of “old” concert posters that all looked really new. Immediately, I latched onto a Frank Zappa poster from Cal. State College November 8, 1972. And immediately bells went off in my head. THIS POSTER WAS A FAKE!

How did I know? Zappa’s Petit Wazoo ten-man band was on the East Coast at that time. I KNEW because I’d seen him on Halloween in Passaic NJ and on November 10 in Philadelphia! Suddenly I became suspicious of the lot, starting with these two:

Led Zeppelin heading at Winterland November 6-7-8, 1968 with Bonzo Dog Band and Roland Kirk. PROBLEM: Zep’s first U.S. show was December 26. Their first San Francisco shows were opening for Country Joe & the Fish in January. And the picture shows Jimmy Page with the double-neck guitar, which didn’t appear for several years.

The Warlocks at Palo Alto High School September 19, 1964. Um, no. And that’s a picture of The Grateful Dead from years later.

If it looks too good to be sure, it probably is. And those rainbow rolls of color are another tipoff.

This one is for Bob Dylan in New York September 19, 1960. He didn’t move to the city until 1961.

And this one for February 13, 1966, is a scream. There was no Led Zeppelin until 1968, Eric Clapton was a relative unknown playing with John Mayall and the Bluesbreakers, Jimi Hendrix wouldn’t release his first album until the next year, and there was no Fleetwood Mac until 1967. See how stupid this is?

The Moody Blues headlining Wembley Stadium May 15, 1964, with The Kinks opening? The band had one single in the charts at the time.

A show listed as Jim Morrison and the Doors from August 4, 1966? The band didn’t have its first album out until the next year.

There are lots more to consider, but let’s circle back to Frank Zappa. Three days before the release of Freak Out! by The Mothers of Invention, the band played a pair of dates at The Fillmore (San Francisco) June 24 & 25. There is a legitimate poster for that event… and one lousy fake.