The Monkees Live Almanac
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Monkees Circle Sky Head Salt Lake City 1968
(Photo by Henry Diltz)

HEAD (ORIGINAL MOTION PICTURE CONCERT)

Valley Music Hall / Salt Lake City, Utah

May 17, 1968


"The greatest live performance ever made by a rock band . . . "
-Blitz magazine editor Mike McDowell in 1978, commenting to Michael Nesmith about The Monkees'
live version of "Circle Sky"

Monkees Circle Sky 1968
Rehearsing backstage at Valley Music Hall

THE SET LIST

​​Circle Sky
You Just May Be the One
Sunny Girlfriend
Bach’s Two-Part Invention in F Major  (Peter on organ)
Last Train to Clarksville
I Wanna Be Free
Cuddly Toy
Forget That Girl
The Girl I Knew Somewhere
You Told Me
Mary, Mary

Monkees Jack NicholsonBackstage with Jack Nicholson (Photo by Henry Diltz)
​​The Monkees completed production of their first and only motion picture, Head, with the filming of the "Circle Sky" concert scene in front of four thousand fans at the Valley Music Hall in Salt Lake City, Utah. They performed "Circle Sky" (seen below in video) several times for the camera along with a handful of other Monkees songs.

For this particular show, Micky's Slingerland drum kit featured a unique double bass drum setup, Michael played his custom white Gibson SG guitar, Peter alternated between his Guild Jetstar bass, organ, and Ode banjo, while Davy handled percussion and also played the organ during "Circle Sky." Private home reel video footage of this concert exists and has been seen in bits and pieces over the years on releases like Rhino's Heart and Soul: The Official Monkees Videography.


Selections from this performance later appeared on Rhino Handmade's triple-disc Head deluxe edition in 2010. Since "Circle Sky" was the only song meant for release in the film,  the rest of the tapes from the show were poorly engineered. For some of the other live songs found on the Rhino deluxe edition, the mixes generally do not match the quality of "Circle Sky." 

For use in the film, Nesmith overdubbed his lead vocal on "Circle Sky" later in the recording studio over the live Monkees instrumental performance.

Monkees Lagoon
Patio Gardens at Lagoon (Photo by Henry Diltz)
​Patio Gardens, a venue housed inside the Farmington, Utah amusement resort Lagoon, was the original location for the filming of "Circle Sky." The venue was changed at the last minute to the Valley Music Hall in Salt Lake City for logistical reasons, despite fans already waiting in line at Patio Gardens. To make amends, The Monkees delivered a 30-minute set later that evening in front of a crowd of five thousand at Patio Gardens. This particular show was not filmed or recorded, and a set list has yet to surface.

The pair of concerts in Utah were The Monkees' only live performances in the United States during 1968, and they would also mark the final time the original quartet would perform together in the US until 1986.
Additional resources about the Salt Lake City and Farmington, Utah shows can be found in the archives of the Live Almanac

The Monkees' movie "Head" is also chronicled in the archives of the Live Almanac
Monkees Salt Lake City Live 1968
The Monkees onstage at Valley Music Hall in Salt Lake City

THE PERFORMANCE OF "CIRCLE SKY"

(Be advised that the video below contains a graphic scene from the Vietnam War)

PHOTO GALLERY


The video below features concert clips and behind the scenes footage from the Salt Lake City show in May 1968:

Picture
The Monkees enter Valley Music Hall

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This website is not officially affiliated with The Monkees or Rhino Records
  • HOME
  • '60s
    • 1966 PROMOTIONAL TOUR
    • 1966 - 1967 NORTH AMERICAN TOUR
    • 1967 US / BRITISH TOUR
    • "HEAD" (ORIGINAL MOTION PICTURE) CONCERT
    • AUSTRALIA & JAPAN 1968
    • 1969 NORTH AMERICAN TOUR
  • '70s
    • THE MONKEES LIVE IN 1970
    • THE GREAT GOLDEN HITS OF THE MONKEES (Dolenz, Jones, Boyce & Hart)
  • '80s
    • 1986 'SOUND OF THE MONKEES' AUSTRALIAN TOUR
    • 1986 '20th ANNIVERSARY' NORTH AMERICAN TOUR
    • THE GREEK THEATRE 1986 (all four Monkees reunited)
    • 1987 'SOUND OF THE MONKEES' AUSTRALIAN TOUR
    • 1987 NORTH AMERICAN 'HERE WE COME AGAIN' TOUR
    • 1988 AUSTRALIAN TOUR
    • 1989 EUROPEAN TOUR
    • 1989 NORTH AMERICAN / JAPANESE TOUR
    • UNIVERSAL AMPHITHEATRE 1989 (all four Monkees reunited)
  • '90s
    • 'MICKY AND DAVY: TOGETHER AGAIN'
    • 1996 '30th ANNIVERSARY' NORTH AMERICAN TOUR
    • BILLBOARD LIVE 1996
    • 1997 UNITED KINGDOM 'JUSTUS' TOUR
    • 1997 US TOUR
  • '00s
    • 2001 US TOUR
    • 2002 NORTH AMERICAN / UNITED KINGDOM 'MONKEEMANIA' TOUR
  • '10s
    • 2011 '45th ANNIVERSARY' WORLD TOUR
    • AN EVENING WITH THE MONKEES (THE 2012 TOUR)
    • A MIDSUMMER'S NIGHT WITH THE MONKEES (THE 2013 TOUR)
    • 2014 MONKEES TOUR
    • AN EVENING WITH THE MONKEES (FEATURING MICKY DOLENZ & PETER TORK)
    • GOOD TIMES: THE 50th ANNIVERSARY TOUR
    • THE PANTAGES THEATRE 2016 (Michael Nesmith's final Monkees concert)
    • THE MONKEES PRESENT: THE MIKE NESMITH & MICKY DOLENZ SHOW
  • '20s
    • THE MONKEES FAREWELL TOUR WITH MICHAEL NESMITH & MICKY DOLENZ
  • GEAR
  • BLOG
  • MISC
    • HEADQUARTERS RADIO PROGRAM
    • PRINT & WEB ARCHIVE
    • LINKS
    • ABOUT