Doesn’t that look like Kid Rock?
m.a. h’s Leon Russell post has inspired me
http://open.salon.com/blog/m_ah/2010/01/31/my_on_stage_moment_with_leon_russell---its_grammys_night
I believe that she wins the Leon Russell round, however…..
It was the “best of days”, my Fillmore days. As fate would have it, this venue was only open from 1968 to 1971. The “glory days” of music and I frequented those hallowed halls, yes, from 1968 to 1971. Age 18 to 21. (Youth is wasted on the young)
A few years ago I received the book “Live at the Fillmore East –A Photographic Memoir”. There are pictures of the bands, the fans, the groupies. Bill Graham, backstage, balcony, and halls. Tech crews, light booms, everything that was “Fillmore”. You could almost smell the sweet scent of marijuana, just by turning
the pages. (scratch & sniff, anyone?)
The Fillmore East was once a seedy old movie house called the Loews Commodore. The best part of the Fillmore? There were only 2600 seats. Seats! Yes, reserved seats, and only 2600 of them. A quote from my book explains, “it formalized the rock experience into a theatrical event” $5.50 would get you the best one in the house. Oh those were the days, my friend.
At the back of the book are the concert dates. The first concert being March 8, 1968. Janis Joplin with Big Brother and the Holding company. Unfortunately, my first foray to the theater was to see The Vanilla Fudge! (oh, you don’t remember them?) June 21, 1968.
This is where I was going to imbed a video for you, but is there nothing worse than a You Tube Video from 1968? Your Welcome.
The Fillmore East closesd on the night of June 27, 1971. The final concert was by invitation only. I was at the final concert not needing an invitation. June 26, 1971. A night hard to forget.
The Allman Brothers (with Duane, who would be gone just four months later); the J. Geils Band and Albert King. It seemed there were a whole lot more people who showed up on stage to say goodbye but I can’t remember who. I was too stoned excited.
.
Duane Allman at the Fillmore East
Coming: Part 2: “The concert I can’t prove ever happened”
The Grateful Dead, The Jefferson Airplane, New Riders of the Purple Sage & Hot Tuna. All together, all night long.
©All Photography by Amalie R. Rothschild
But I HAVE to leave you with some music. Here’s one of my favorites.
I know I promised, but this is Live @ The Filmore East and with Duane, and I was probably there and probably so was m.a. h.!
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The formatting of this is driving me crazy, but everytime I try to fix it, it gets worse, so I'll just leave it.
Since you asked, I've been trying to recall all the concerts I attended there---Santana, Mountain, Leon---of course---and the Allman Brothers, who seemed to perform there every other week.
I look forward to part two. So that wasn't *your* photo? Why is my brain now remembering something about knowing that there was a photo out there, published, of one of our mutual friends?
m.a. h: Are you talking about the photo I emailed you? That was not mine, it was from the book. We used to get "high" in the ladies room. Actually, we just used to get high in our seats, didn't we?
1st, what a great subject for a post.
2nd, rated for that piece of concert film. I didn't even know that even existed.
Time travel is awesome!
-r-
At first I thought you said "second for the price" but you said "piece"..of concert film. Glad you liked it, although, as I said, video from this time period really sucks.... but the fact that it exists is awsome.
Eva - thanks (for making me feel old) you know all these posts are about me turning 60, don't you? Seriously, though, thanks :)
Ardee: Glad to share that second hand smoke.
If that wasn't enough, the next time they were at the Fillmore, I wandered over again, and he said: Where Ya' been mark?
I told Him that I had caught Him at Golden gate Park (a free concert, where hordes of people made approaching Him prohibitively impossible).
Once again, we puffed and passed and chatted.
Jerry was a real person, and I still miss him dearly. Many old tapes recorded by listeners are aired weekly on Pacifica WBAI's program "Morning Dew."
Thanks for a trip back to the good times, Trilogy and rated.
R
Buffy: "full frontal memories" I won't ask. We need to do a "MUSIC MONDAY". Ther eare a lot of us from this generation who really cared about the music. And some good music writers, like MJ Wycha - love his stuff.
http://open.salon.com/blog/mjwycha/2010/01/18/the_dylan_files
Thanks Joan & Owl for stopping by
And Thank you Daniel. Very clever.
Love Jefferson Airplane, Gracie slick, et al! Great post and love Music Monday!
Spent a lot of time at the Russian Bathhouse on 10th St, where I became acqauinted wuth Bill Kuntsler's law partner, and then the great man Hiself (may He r.i.p).
Was involved in the police riot at the park around the corner on Ave A.
Was a volunteer researcher for Ramsey Clark's book on american war crimes in Gulf War I, and then a major organizer under Him for the war crimes tribunal held at MLK H.S. upper East Side.
etc. etc. etc.
VERY cool remembrances. Both my husbands made it to the Fillmore but I never did..shoot!
Can't wait for more and the why you didn't need an invite....hmmmm
Mark: pretty impressive. I was just a teen from the Bronx, taking the 7th Avenue IRT to the City. I was back this fall (after 35 years!!!) (I know) and all the trains had different names, what's with that? I take it you live in Japan now? Markinjapan?
Romance was a secondary consideration to activism, although a couple of decades of serial monogamy served me well, when I met THE One, a tiny Okinawan woman with a heart as wide as the Grand Canyon.
With a non-existent racist family that understatedly did not like my support for the legitimate aspirations of the Palestinian peoples, I did NO research, presumed a sub-tropical island would be similar to my days in Casablanca, and brought my wife back to be with her elderly parents.
No problem maintaining activism here, when I discovered the existence of THIRTY-NINE american military making life all but inhabitable for the native population.
Military crime occurs on a dialy basis, most of which is never heard of, as if the perpetrators in question can get behind the safety of the base gates, it is never heard of again.
As for Casablanca life, recently I paid $4.50 for a medium sized peach for the Cute One -- I could eat 3 gourmet meals in Casablanca for that and still have change left over for whatever recreational abundances which exist there.
My first Fillmore experience, about 1968 was Van Morrison opening for Quicksilver Messenger Service.