Former location –
Rhode Island Auditorium was an indoor arena that opened in 1926 and held 5,300 people. Initially a sports venue, the auditorium also hosted concerts and religious events.
On their Farewell Tour, Cream performed two sold-out shows at the auditorium on November 4, 1968. The first show was set for 6:30 and sold out quickly so the promoter added a second show at 9:30. The second show was cut short due to a city imposed noise curfew.
Concert Set List
First Show
White room
Politician
I’m So Glad
Crossroads
Toad
Second Show
Spoonful
Toad
After a Sly and the Family Stone concert here in 1969, a riot broke out into the streets. This led the mayor of Providence to ban all rock concerts in the city. The ban only lasted for a few months.
Other notable acts to perform here include:
10/3/1972 – Ten Tears After
9/25/1972 – Leon Russell
7/30/1972 – Black Sabbath
3/21/1972- Humble Pie
11/4/1971 – Bill Haley and His Comets
9/15/1971 – Poco
8/14/1971 – Chicago
7/22/1971 – Black Sabbath
7/15/1971 – Creedence Clearwater Revival
2/17/1971 – Melanie
10/10/1970 – Santana
6/9/1970 – Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young
5/17/1969 – Buddy Miles Express
4/19/1969 – The Rascals
11/27/1968 – The Jimi Hendrix Experience
11/4/1968 – Cream
10/4/1968 – James Brown
12/3/1965 – Peter, Paul & Mary
10/22/1965 – Bob Dylan
5/6/1961 – B.B. King
4/17/1957 – Fats Domino
Cream Studio Discography
1966 – Fresh Cream
1967 – Disraeli Gears
1968 – Wheels of Fire
1969 – Goodbye
The auditorium was torn down in 1989 and parking for the nearby Miriam Hospital now sits in its place.
Rhode Island Auditorium
1111 North Main Street
Providence RI 02906
I set up the pa for those shows .It was in the round
Strangely as I recall and Frank Baronosky owned the pa and I as a strong 18 year old music addict
And lead singer in a band since 14 was in heaven working with Frank and his partner in the business I believe his name was Larry. We set up for all the shows there. Cream , Hendrix ,Beach Boys , The Who ,Buffalo Springfield , on and on What fun!!
Unfortunately for the Cream shows the 2 x15 Guild
Cabinets with JBLs we set up were supposed to have a crossover and high frequency horns on top but alas they did not show up from shipment so that did not help the overall sound at those shows
Still a good time was had by all.
Including me ,Nelson DeCoteau