| Bill Graham hated the monster he created | ||
In booking acts for both Fillmore theatres (East & West), a performer would agree to 6 shows (4 in NY) for the weekend, two shows per night. The fee was reasonable and everyone had a good time. Woodstock changed all that. Why play multiple days when you could play one big event and charge a small fortune? He published an open letter  in The Village Voice explaining why he was closing his venues. | ||
Fillmore East closing |
On June 27, Bill closed the
Fillmore.jpg) East.jpg) . The private closing show (broadcast live on WNEW-FM and taped by hundreds) had this line-up:
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| The Allman Brothers portion of the show was released on the deluxe CD of Eat A Peach. It's one of the best sets they ever did. If you can find the J Geils set on the internets, get it—you will not be disappointed. |
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Planet Presents A Tribute To The Fillmore December, 1971 Click to see the issue |
Fillmore West closing |
| Graham laid out a big party in San Francisco, showcasing new and established bands for a week (Jun 30-Jul 4, 1971). His roots in the Bay Area music scene went back to 1965 and he was proud of what he helped create. Click the "Blue Note" for the daily band line-ups. |
This 3-record set contains some of the highlights from that week. A documentary film.jpg) was released in July, 1972.
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Fillmore: The Last Days |
| Fillmore Records 3XS-2637 | |
| 6/72 BB [UK: ?/72] | |
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 Side One | ||
| John Walker | Introduction | 2:12 |
| Lamb | Hello Friends | 3:16 |
| Elvin Bishop Group | So Fine | 3:52 |
| Elvin Bishop Group | Party 'Til The Cows Come Home | 3:16 |
| Malo | Pana | 8:27 |
| Side Two | ||
| Sons Of Champlin | Poppa Can Play | 5:00 |
| It's A Beautiful Day | White Bird | 9:07 |
| Quicksilver Messenger Service | Fresh Air | 4:47 |
| Quicksilver Messenger Service | Mojo | 6:02 |
| Side Three | ||
| Bill Graham | Introduction | :58 |
| Tower Of Power | Back On The Streets Again | 6:35 |
| Boz Scaggs | Baby's Callin' Me Home | 8:59 |
| Cold Blood | I Just Want To Make Love To You | 6:28 |
| Side Four | ||
| Stoneground | Passion Flower | 3:53 |
| New Riders Of The Purple Sage | Henry | 4:12 |
| Grateful Dead | Casey Jones | 6:03 |
| Grateful Dead | Johnny B Goode | 4:05 |
| Side Five | ||
| Bill Graham | Introduction | :49 |
| Hot Tuna | Keep Your Lamps Trimmed And Burning | 7:47 |
| Santana | Incident at Neshabur | 5:39 |
| Santana | In a Silent Way | 7:58 |
| Side Six | ||
| Taj Mahal, Elvin Bishop, Boz Scaggs & Friends | We Gonna Rock | 6:46 |
| Taj Mahal, Elvin Bishop, Boz Scaggs & Friends | Long And Tall | 12:32 |
| Bill Graham | Goodbye/Greensleeves | 3:32 |
Note: Included in the package was this bonus 45, old ticket stub, poster, booklet
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Words With Bill Graham / Words With Bill Graham |
| Bill Graham (8:36) / Bill Graham (8:25) | |
| Fillmore Records AS7 1049 | |
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And: A single was released from this box set:
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Grateful Dead—Johnny B Goode / Elvin Bishop Group—So Fine Berry (4:05) / Otis (3:52) Warner Bros/Fillmore WB 7627, 9/72 |
Note: Several CDs have been issued that have more complete sets, like Santana (bonus tracks on III)
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| Great nights with Great shows | ||
| Many great shows were recorded and released as albums. Sure, most had some studio "sweetenin'" done to compensate for a bad mic or hangover. But, they did capture the crowd excitement and the interaction betwixt musicians and fans. If only they could package the light shows that evolved with the music. That was the real thrill of going to the Fillmore East. A near-total immersion you won't find at an arena!
Turns out Wolfgang's staff recorded just about every show at both Fillmores, and thru the Wolfgang's (no longer a Vault) web site, you can stream or outright buy these shows. They have new artists, as well.
Since the turn of the century, many of these shows have been released by real legitimate record companies. There are quite a few of these in the artist listings, and they look like this: ➜ Live: 5/3-4, Fillmore East; released 1998: Live At The Fillmore East Among those released concerts is an outstanding show by Neil Young & Crazy Horse (recorded during the Everybody Knows... tour). Don't forget two Jefferson Airplane shows: Sweeping Up the Spotlight (11/69, same weekend as The Youngbloods—great show!) and Live at the Fillmore East (5/68, still working on Crown), Derek & The Dominos (10/70 shows were combined to release an LP in 1973 and an expanded CD in 1994), Aretha Franklin & King Curtis (3/5-7/71, a blistering set called Aretha Live at Fillmore West, released in May of 1971—but get the deluxe 4-CD set to get the real goods). A lot of the records listed here have had their own "deluxe" CD editions: Airplane's Bless It's Pointed Little Head, John Mayall's Turning Point, Joe Cocker's Mad Dog shows, and Jimi Hendrix' New Years Eve show. Tread lightly around The Allman Brothers, though. Two remixes and they still haven't gotten it right! Get the deluxe edition of Eat A Peach for the Allmans burnin' down the joint on the closing night. It's better. Oh, and there were other famous venues that our bands played in that have their crowds attitude preserved: Bill's other places: Fillmore Auditorium & Winterland, Grande Ballroom in Detroit, The Matrix in San Francisco, The Whiskey in LA, and others. See the Details/Help page for more info. Sure would be cool if there was some way to see what bands were playing at these fabled places (well, NY and SF, anyway). It'd be even better if it was laid out in a calendar format. It could even list festivals! Dreams did come true, and its been upgraded it to a full menu item! This link will take you to one of five starter pages—enjoy! In the records listed below, I've updated the event details to the latest accurate dates and venues (not including the old Fillmore Auditorium). | ||
| The Allman Brothers Band | ||
| Live At Fillmore East | Fillmore East, 3/12-13/71* | |
| Michael Bloomfield | ||
| Live At Bill Graham's Fillmore West | Fillmore West, 1/30-31/69 | |
| Joe Cocker | ||
| Mad Dogs And Englishmen | Fillmore East, 3/27-28/70* | |
| Country Joe & The Fish | ||
| The Life And Times Of...(portions) | Fillmore East, 11/15-16/68 Fillmore West, 1/9-12/69* |
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| Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young | ||
| Four Way Street(portions) | Fillmore East, 6/2-7/70 | |
| Faces | ||
| Long Player(portions) | Fillmore East, 11/10/70 | |
| The Fugs | ||
| Golden Filth | Fillmore East, 6/1/68 | |
| Grateful Dead | ||
| Live/Dead Grateful Dead (portions) |
Fillmore West, 2/27-28, 3/2/69* Fillmore East, 4/26-29/71 |
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| Nick Gravenites | ||
| My Labors(portions) | Fillmore West, 1/30-31/69 | |
| Jimi Hendrix | ||
| Band Of Gypsys | Fillmore East, 12/31/69-1/1/70* | |
| Humble Pie | ||
| Performance: Rockin' the Fillmore | Fillmore East, 5/27-28/71* | |
| Jefferson Airplane | ||
| Bless Its Pointed Little Head | Fillmore West, 10/24-26/68* Fillmore East, 11/28-30/68 |
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| Taj Mahal | ||
| The Real Thing | Fillmore East, 2/13/71 | |
| John Mayall | ||
| The Turning Point | Fillmore East, 7/12/69* | |
| The Mothers | ||
| Fillmore East—June 1971 | Fillmore East, 6/5-6/71* | |
| Mountain | ||
| Flowers Of Evil(portions) | Fillmore East, 6/27/1971 | |
| The Nice | ||
| Nice(side two) Elegy(portions) |
Fillmore East, 4/9-10/69 Fillmore East, 12/19-20/69 |
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| Pacific Gas & Electric | ||
| Pacific Gas & Electric(portions) | Fillmore West, 12/28/68 | |
| Quicksilver Messenger Service | ||
| Happy Trails(portions) | Fillmores East & West, 1968 | |
| Johnny Winter And | ||
| Live(portions) | Fillmore East, 10/3-4/70* | |
| The Youngbloods | ||
| Ride The Wind | Fillmore East, 11/26,28-29/69 | |
2023 Update: * expanded or complete concerts subsequently released
Several recordings claiming to be from either Fillmore were actually recorded at other venues:
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| Something For Everybody | ||
| Bill Graham liked to present diverse artists, here are several other recordings from the Fillmore East. | ||
| Lorin Hollander (classical pianist) | |
| At The Fillmore East |
Fillmore East, 2/23/69 |
| Virgil Fox/Heavy Organ | |
| Bach Live At Fillmore East |
Fillmore East, 12/1/70 |
| Buffalo Bob Smith (Howdy Doody fame) | |
| Live at Bill Graham's Fillmore East |
Fillmore East, 4/4/71 |
| Miles Davis | |
| Miles Davis at Fillmore |
Fillmore East, 6/17-20/70 |
| Lending A Helping Hand | ||
| Bill was truly involved in his communities. His whole career began after putting together a benefit show in San Francisco in 1965. Here are some of the benefits and political events Bill hosted at both locations. There might be more of these benefits at that dream spot mentioned above (I'd look for weekday events, myself). | ||
| VDC Study Group Benefit | |
| with Dead, Grape, Sly, Notes | Fillmore Auditorium, 2/12/67 |
| WBAI Radio Benefit | |
| with Incredible String Band | Fillmore East, 6/5/68 |
| Benefit For Sing Out Magazine | |
| with Happy & Artie Traum, Pete Seeger, David Peel | Fillmore East, 10/27/68 |
| Benefit For Oddysey House | |
| with Duke Ellington & New York Rock 'n' Roll Ensemble | Fillmore East, 12/4/68 |
Links!
Fillmore East Preservation Society, includes show lists