Pogo begins its live career at the Troubadour using a couple of different names. They immediately get rave notices for their tight, energetic, and upbeat sets. Pogo managed to bank effectively on their positive energy and what appeared at the time to be a logical extension of Furay and Messina’s work on the final Buffalo Springfield album.
| DATE | VENUE | LOCATION | ALSO PERFORMING | NOTES |
| October 14 | The Troubadour | North Hollywood, CA | The first public appearance of Pogo was at a Monday hoot night. Mondays in October were the 7th, 14th, and 21st. The Troubadour was closed for remodeling between October 1 and 8, so that eliminates the 7th as a potential date. They performed a five-song set. | |
| October 24 | The Troubadour | North Hollywood, CA | The band is billed as R.F.D. tonight as they fill in for a band who are unable to make their date. New review added. | |
| November 3 | Bovard Auditorium, University of Southern California | Los Angeles, CA | Hoyt Axton, Bob Lind, Three Dog Night | One show at 8:30 p.m. Billed as a surprise guest, R.F.D. opened the show. This show was a benefit for the LA Free Clinic. |
| November 19-December 2 | The Troubadour | North Hollywood, CA | Biff Rose | The band reverted to using the name Pogo for this stand. Their reception is tremendous and becomes legendary among LA musicians. |
| December 6-9 | The Troubadour | North Hollywood, CA | Nitty Gritty Dirt Band | Pogo’s popularity leads Doug Weston to extend their two-day booking by two more days. After being outplayed by their opening act, the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band breaks up briefly and reforms using Pogo as a model. |
| December 21 | Anaheim Convention Center | Anaheim, CA | Canned Heat (headliner), Southern Comfort | One show at 8:00 p.m. Portions of this show were telecast on Ch. 9 in Los Angeles. DJ Sam Riddle promoted the show |
| December 22 | Open Session, KRLA Studio | Los Angeles, CA | Richie and Jim are interviewed this morning at 11:00 a.m. for John Carpenter’s Open Session | |
| December 26-29 | Fillmore West | San Francisco, CA | Steve Miller Band (headliner), Sly & Family Stone | One show each night at 8:30 p.m. Pogo makes its first out of town appearance. It is less than stellar with management getting into a dispute with Fillmore owner Bill Graham. At one show, Glad bassist Tim Schmit drove down from Sacramento to see the band he’d missed out on joining during the summer. Amazed at what he saw, Schmit returned home and wrote ‘Hear That Music,’ a song that Poco would perform on their live DELIVERIN’ album after Schmit eventually joined Poco. New press added. |
| December 31 | Shrine Hall | Los Angeles, CA | Canned Heat (headliner), Lee Michaels, Black Pearl, Love Army, Sweetwater | One show at 9:00 p.m. Prior to the show, Walt Kelley slaps a cease-and-desist order on the group for use of the name Pogo. They changed it to Poco. Local reviews indicated that Pogo’s set was filmed for a local TV teen show. |
Poco 1969 Concerts
The group settles on the compromise name of Poco after cartoonist Walt Kelly threatens to sue them for using his character’s name. It takes a while for their booking agency to catch up with the change, so Pogo will occassionally show up in concert ads for months. Poco signs with Epic Records and released their first album mid-year. However, Randy Meisner’s tenure with Poco ended during the recording of the album. He participates in the early shows of 1969, but was gone by April. The shows from April to September are completed as a foursome with Messina returning to the bass. Timothy B. Schmit joins in the fall, returning Poco to a five-piece.
| DATE | VENUE | LOCATION | ALSO PERFORMING | NOTES |
| January 25 | Auditorium, Beverly Hills High School | Beverly Hills, CA | Three Dog Night, Linda Ronstadt, Ralph Plummer | One show at 8:00 p.m. Thanks to R.P. for correcting my date. He also added that Linda Ronstadt was the opening act. |
| February 4-9 | The Troubadour | North Hollywood, CA | Steve Gillette | New review added along with press and partial set list. |
| February 28 | Governor’s Hall, State Fairgrounds | Sacramento, CA | Taj Mahal, Big Foot, West | One show at 8:30 p.m. |
| March 1 | Basin Street West | San Francisco, CA | West | |
| March 18-23 | The Golden Bear | Huntington Beach, CA | Steve Gillette | |
| March 29 | Gymnasium, Ventura College | Ventura, CA | Lee Michaels, Black Pearl | One show at 8:00 p.m. Poco is billed yet again as Pogo |
| April 5 | Terrace Ballroom | Salt Lake City, UT | AB Skhy | One show at 8:00 p.m. |
| April 8 | Steve Allan Show airs in syndication beginning today in the LA market. | This is a fascinating booking, considering that Poco does not have a record released yet. | ||
| April 10 | Robertson Gym, UC Santa Barbara | Santa Barbara, CA | Canned Heat, Ace of Cups, Dry Paint | One show at 8:00 p.m. |
| April 11-12 | The White Room | Buena Park, CA | Illinois Speed Press | One show each night at 8:00 p.m. After the show, ISP guitarist Paul Cotton introduces himself to the group in the hopes that “something might click.” |
| April 12 | Veterans Memorial Auditorium | Santa Rosa, CA | Hot Tuna |  Thanks to Larry Miller who informs us that this show did not take place despite nearly 1,000 people who showed up! |
| April 18 | Civic Auditorium | Santa Monica, CA | Creedence Clearwater Revival |  Pogo cancels their appearance, Sir Douglas Quintet replaces them on the bill. |
| April 18 | Gym, UC San Diego | La Jolla, CA | Buddy Miles (headliner), Pulse | One show at 8:30 p.m. Poco booked this show after canceling in Santa Monica. Billed as Pogo. |
| April 19 | Thee Experience | Los Angeles, CA | Blues Image, Rockin’ Foo (or Southwind) | Despite the recent name change, the band is billed as Pogo. |
April 25 | Turlock Rodeo Days, Stanislaus County Fairgrounds, Exhibit Building #1 | Turlock, CA | Three Dog Night (headliner), The Portable People, The Superband | One show at 9:30 p.m. In addition to performing tonight, Poco rode horses in the Rodeo Days Parade. New press added. |
| April 26 | Turlock Rodeo Days, Stanislaus County Fairgrounds, Exhibit Building #1 | Turlock, CA | One show at 7:30 p.m. Poco headlines a concert today. | |
| May 2 | Love Auditorium, Davidson College | Davidson, NC | Ars Nova | Another great find by Stu Rosenberg. |
| May 9-11 | Boston Tea Party | Boston, MA | Family | Poco embarks on their first short tour of the East Coast. They begin in the Northeast in an area that will become a stronghold for the band for the first decade of their existence, Boston. |
| May 12 | The Bitter End | New York City, NY | A nice showcase in New York with Epic Records executives in attendance. | |
| May 12 | The Scene | New York City, NY | This was an after hours show after Poco completed their set at the Bitter End. | |
| May 13-17 | The Bitter End | New York City, NY | ||
| May 23 | International Ballroom, Lafayette Hotel | Long Beach, CA | This show was a prom dance for Servite High School. Thanks to Kevin Tyrell for providing the scan of the program! | |
| May 24 | Northern California Folk Rock Festival, Santa Clara County Fairgrounds | San Jose, CA | Chuck Berry, Santana, Jefferson Airplane | Poco plays 2nd day of the three-day festival. Timothy B. Schmit is a member of Poco, however, he does not perform with the group. Redwing guitarist Tom Phillips attends this show and confirms that Schmit had joined the band but did not yet perform live with them. |
| June 13 | The Palladium | Hollywood, CA | The Who, The Bonzo Dog Band | One show at 8:00 p.m. Paul Cotton of the Illinois Speed Press attends this show. The Who make the American debut of Tommy tonight. |
| June 17-22 | The Golden Bear | Huntington Beach, CA | Steve Martin, Cathy Smith | |
| June 22 | Newport Pop Festival, Devonshire Downs, San Fernando State College | Northridge, CA | Johnny Winters, Young Rascals, Booker T. & MG’s, Three Dog Night, The Byrds, The Grassroots, Chamber Bros., Marvin Gaye, Mother Earth | Portions of Poco’s set were filmed for a possible theatrical release on the festival. |
| June 24-June 27 | The Troubadour | North Hollywood, CA | Steve Martin | A new review posted and additional songs added to the set list. |
| June 25 | Gym, Cal Lutheran College | Thousand Oaks, CA | Sweetwater | Thanks to super-sleuth Stu Rosenberg for this one. |
| June 28 | Denver Pop Festival, Mile High Stadium | Denver, CO | Aeorta, Zephyr, Buckley, J. Winters, Creedence Clearwater Revival | Promoter Barry Fey of the Denver Festival flies Poco in and out of Denver so that they can play the festival and still make their evening show at the Troubadour. The festival itself was marred by gate-crashers and the police response. |
| June 29-July 2 | The Troubadour | North Hollywood, CA | Steve Martin | Poco arrives late from Denver and find Steve Martin playing their songs to pad his set. Their engagement is extended to July 2. |
| July 3-5 | Eagles Auditorium | Seattle, WA | The performance on the 5th was aired over a local radio station. | |
| July 12 | Tarrent County Convention Center | Ft. Worth, TX | Johnny Rivers (headliner), Southwest FOB | Poco sits for an interview with the Dallas Morning News prior to the show and reveals that the band was hoping to make it to London to play the Speakeasy Club soon. But it wasn’t to be. |
| July 18-19 | Thee Experience | Los Angeles, CA | The Baby, C.K. Strong | |
| July 25-27 | Family Dog on the Highway | San Francisco, CA | Charlie Musselwhite (headliner), Zoot Money | |
| July 29-August 3 | The Golden Bear | Huntington Beach, CA | Sunshine Company | The rhythm section of the opening act the Sunshine Company, Larry Simms on bass and Merle Bregante on drums later worked with Poco guitarist Jimmy Messina in the original Loggins & Messina group. |
| August 16 | Cal State Fullerton | Fullerton, CA | Hook, Smokestack Lightnin’ | One show at 8:00 p.m. |
| (UD) | The Fens, | Boston, MA | The Youngbloods, Livingston Taylor | This could have taken place in 1970. |
| August 22-23 | New York City Pavilion | Flushing Meadows, NY | The Chambers Brothers, Albert King | A record crowd of 14,700 attended the performances. Thanks to Keith Leavy for correcting the venue. |
| August 24 | Vancouver Pop Festival, Paradise Valley Resort | Squamish, British Columbia, Canada | The Doors, The Byrds, Led Zeppelin, Santana | Poco pulled out of this festival when it was briefly canceled. When the festival got permission to take place, Poco did not play. |
| September 2-7 | The Golden Bear | Huntington Beach, CA | Sunshine Company | Tim Schmit joins Poco for live shows around this time. Schmit had been a part of Poco’s entourage since May but only began playing with the band now |
| September 6 | Earl Warren Showgrounds | Santa Barbara, CA | Three Dog Night, Savoy Brown | One show at 8:00 p.m. Poco was a late add to this bill. New press added. |
| September 12 | Woman’s Gym, Fullerton Junior College | Fullerton, CA | Sweetbread, Pat Yungal | Poco was paid $1,250 for this performance. Check out the excellent concert memory by Darrel Perry |
| September 19 | Veteran’s Memorial Coliseum | Phoenix, AZ | Creedence Clearwater Revival (headliner), Framework, Day Spring | Roughly 13,000 attended the show, grossing $60,000 |
| September 24 | Della Reese Show airs in syndication beginning today in the LA market. | Wally Cox, Deloras Hall | ||
| September 26 | Main Auditorium, University of Arizona | Tucson, AZ | Red, White and Blues Band | One show at 7:00 p.m. New review added. |
| October 3-4 | Vulcan Gas Company | Austin, TX | New Atlantis (3rd), Water Brothers (4th) | One show each night at 9:00 p.m. |
| October 5 | Sam Houston Coliseum | Houston, TX | The Jefferson Airplane, The Grateful Dead, The Byrds | One show at 6:00 p.m. Approximately 10,000 attend this show, which ended at 10:00 p.m. with the plug being pulled on the Airplane. New ad and review added. |
| October 10-11 | Thee Experience | Los Angeles, CA | Stonehenge, Smoke | One show each night at 8:30 p.m. – 2:00 p.m. |
| October 12 | Balboa Stadium | San Diego, CA | Country Joe & The Fish (headliner), Chicago, Merryweather, Framework | 10,900 attend the Gnurl Festival. |
| October (UD) | Men’s Gym, Cal Poly | San Luis Obispo, CA | ||
| October 25 | Silverado Days, Silverado Amphitheatre, Bellis Park | Buena Park, CA | Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, Sunshine Company, Steve Martin | An interview done prior to the show reveals that Poco has five songs in the can for their next album. |
| November 4 | U.S. Grant High School | Van Nuys, CA | Poco canceled this engagement when their booking agents, Agency for Performing Arts, would not allow the group to sign the contract. | |
| November 7-8 | The Kinetic Playground | Chicago, IL | Iron Butterfly, King Crimson | One show at 7:30 p.m. A fire at the Kinetic Playground after the first show cost Poco their amps. The November 8 show was canceled due to the fire. |
| November 13 | Thelma’s | Los Angeles, CA | Jamul City | Two shows at 9:00 & 11:30 p.m. The former Galaxy, this club opened on the Sunset Strip the previous night. Poco has to hastily acquire new amplifiers and other equipment and consequently the sound is terrible |
| November 14 | Colten Auditorium, Queen’s College | Flushing, NY | Mountain | Poco cancels and is replaced by Eric Mercury. |
| November 14-16 | The Golden Bear | Huntington Beach, CA | Roxy | While Poco is onstage, manager Dickie Davis’ car was broken into and 10 boxes of the band’s new single, “My Kind of Love” was stolen. |
| November 15 | MiraCosta College | Oceanside, CA | Sopwith Camel (headliner), Glass Family, | Rain forced Poco’s set to end after 4 songs. Sopwith Camel canceled tjeor set and returned to the campus in December. |
| November 17 | Thorne Hall, Occidental College | Los Angeles, CA | Nitty Gritty Dirt Band (cancel) Maggie | Thanks to Bruce Hobbs who informs us that local band, Maggie opened for Poco. |
| November 20 | Santa Monica City College Amphitheatre | Santa Monica, CA | One show at 11:00 a.m. | |
| November 21-22 | Boston Tea Party | Boston, MA | Humble Pie | Poco cancels this date and is replaced by Mountain |
| November 21 | Sexson Auditorium, Pasadena City College | Pasadena, CA | Sunshine Company, Matchbox | |
| November 26 | Men’s Gym, Cal State Long Beach | Long Beach, CA | Sunshine Company, Glass Family | One show at 8:30 p.m. |
| November 28 | Sports Arena | San Diego, CA | Creedence Clearwater Revival, Roxy | One show at 8:30 p.m. |
| November 29 | Swing Auditorium, Orange Show Grounds | San Bernadino, CA | C.K. Strong | One show at 8:00 p.m. 1,000 attend this show. Epic Records assisted with promotion. |
| November 29 | Boss City, Channel 9, Los Angeles, CA | This was the airdate for this local TV music show. | ||
| December (UD) | Covina High School | Covina, CA | This show was subsequently canceled. | |
| December 6 | Arizona State Fair Exhibition Hall | Phoenix, AZ | Lee Michaels, Zephyr, Beans | One show at 7:30 p.m. |
| December 6 | Boss City, Channel 9, | Los Angeles, CA | Grass Roots, Thomas and Richard Frost | Poco makes a return appearance to this local Los Angeles show. |
| December 16 | The Troubadour | North Hollywood, CA | No performance. Poco throws a Christmas party. Stephen Stills, Dewey Martin, Micky Dolenz, Don Grady all attend | |
| December 16-21 | The Troubadour | North Hollywood, CA | Longbranch Pennywhistle | Longbranch Pennywhistle was Glenn Frey and John David Souther. |
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