The Kinetic Playground was a short-lived nightclub located in the Uptown neighborhood of Chicago, Illinois.
The club was opened on April 3, 1968 as the Electric Theater[1] by Aaron Russo and was located at 4812 North Clark Street (NW corner of Clark and Lawrence). The building was constructed in 1928 and at one time included a dance hall, entertainment center, and ice and roller skating rinks, all known as Rainbo Gardens.[1][2]
Russo was sued by the owners of the Electric Circus in New York, and changed the club's name a few months after the Chicago club's opening, just prior to the performance of Nova Express and Little Boy Blues on August 9–11, 1968.[3]
The club became a driving force in the music business, hosting famous rock bands and musicians such as The Doors, Jimi Hendrix, Pink Floyd, Led Zeppelin, The Who, The Byrds, Janis Joplin, Black Sabbath, The Mothers of Invention, The Grateful Dead, The Small Faces, MC5, Jethro Tull, Deep Purple, Iron Butterfly, Buffy Saint Marie, Fleetwood Mac, Rotary Connection, Savoy Brown, Vanilla Fudge, Muddy Waters, and Jefferson Airplane.[1][4]
The interior of the venue was featured the film Medium Cool (1969). The movie was filmed on location during the 1968 Democratic Convention and many members of the Playground crew were hired as extras.
Iron Butterfly, Poco, and King Crimson had been booked for a three-night gig at the Kinetic Playground on November 7, 8, and 9, 1969, but a fire took place in the venue after the November 7 performance. The remaining dates for this line-up were cancelled, and the venue never reopened.[1][2]
The building was demolished for condominiums in 2003. There is no relationship between the 1968-69 Kinetic Playground and the venue by the same name currently operating at 1113 W. Lawrence in Chicago, not far from the original.