Wow

By Jerry Powers

Miami Free Press, July 18, 1969

Hollywood has always been famous for its' parties, mostly the plastic playboy ones. So, too, is Miami famous for its' swimming pools, bathing beauties and hotels. And so Sunday night in Miami saw just another one of those extravagant Miami parties. A tribe of Hollywood/Florida flippy hippies armed with champagne, oranges and acid, endeavored to experiment with some of the less subtle aspects of a homespun Hollywood party in Miami ... purely experimental, you understand.

The Parliament Room in the Sheraton Ambassador will never be the same and neither probably will the early morning clean-up staff. As the evening wore on, the rooms Parliamentary carpet took on a pink-speckled look with lots of funny golden looking strands of what must have been just some frilly fancy touch, or could it have been a few pounds of the hum just sitting on the floor?

Now, really, I mean Mr. Sheraton Ambassador Manager, what kind of place are you running? We have a decent city here in Miami. It can't happen here.

The champagne punch bowls were so pretty, bu they, too, bore the pink speckled look.

The gracious guests drank of the some, tasted the tea and to be indecently honest and to the point ... they tripped out intensely.

If you were at the Sunday night performance of the Jazz Festival and you stayed late enough to watch the entire "Mother's" set, then you were one of the small number who found out where jazz is really at. If you stayed till the very end and you even gawked around the stage area after the show, then maybe the presence of your company (I think that's how it is said in finer circles) was requested at the party.

They were the ones who were heard later to ask, "How am I doing?" Straight question ... insane party.

The guests arrived directly following the concert and all were offered tiny pink, speckled appetizers. Psyche-a-mother-fuckin'-delic. Some of the guests ate.

As the party wore on, Frank Zappa was seen in the Parliament Room. Zappa is such a naturally freaked out soul that he is said not to do any dope, but unaware of the champagnes potency, he drank lustily. He was even heard to abruptly refuse a toke with a disenchanted, "No -- man!" Moments later, finally aware of what he had drunk, he was heard to say unappreciatively "I can't make this scene." Well, maybe it wasn't Zappa's scene, but maybe it wasn't anyone's scene. It was just an experiment in people and Life Situation Directly.

The experiment was a huge success ... and, oh yes, one of the hotel's guests was said to have been indecently offended when the after hours clean-up man asked "How am I doing?"

In some unusual experiments the weirdest situations even produce NORMAL reactions.

1. This article is on Miami Jazz Festival after-party, which happened on Sunday, June 29, 1969. This festival was reviewed in the same Miami Free Press issue and the final part of the review is here:

To wrap up the jazz extravaganza, which, by the way, fell well short of the expected attendance, the "Mothers of Invention" performed.

Zappa with his incredible funny raps and beautiful music "tickled our fancy all night long."

Roland Kirk and Gary Burton who jammed with the "Mothers" is a superior set, fit in with the group perfectly.

Here's hoping it can happen here. The Jazz Festival was a groove and it opened up a few more channels of expression in Miami. I just hope that Miami's so hip, will support this event next year as they failed to do this year.

Read by OCR software. If you spot errors, let me know afka (at) afka.net