Fillmore East
40°43′39″N 73°59′18″W / 40.727509°N 73.98846°W
Fillmore East was promoter Bill Graham's late 1960s – early 1970s rock palace in the East Village area of New York City.
Located on Second Avenue at Sixth Street, this venue provided Graham with an East Coast counterpart to his existing Fillmore West establishment in San Francisco[1] Opening on March 8, 1968, the Fillmore East quickly became known as "The Church of Rock and Roll," with two-show concerts several nights a week. Known as the Village Theater for most of its previous existence, the venue had been a mainstay of the Yiddish theatre circuit; it had also been a cinema and had fallen into disrepair before Graham's acquisition. Despite the deceptively small marquee and façade, the theater had a capacity of 2,700 seats.
Graham would regularly alternate acts between the two theatres; some of those acts included the Grateful Dead, The Doors, Jefferson Airplane, The Who, Eric Burdon & The Animals, Creedence Clearwater Revival, The Beach Boys, Quicksilver Messenger Service, The Allman Brothers Band, Derek and the Dominos, Jimi Hendrix, Country Joe and the Fish, Big Brother and the Holding Company, Mountain, Lonnie Mack, Humble Pie, Led Zeppelin, Neil Young and Crazy Horse, Pink Floyd, Raven (U.S. band), Procol Harum, John Mayall, The Byrds, Frank Zappa, Canned Heat, Miles Davis and many more. It was not unusual for a band to be booked to play two shows both Friday and Saturday nights; nearly all bands were contracted to play matinee and late shows until early 1971.
The Allman Brothers Band played so many shows at Fillmore East that they are sometimes called "Bill Graham's House Band." Along with The Allman Brothers Band, Jefferson Airplane performed six shows and Taj Mahal performed eight shows at Fillmore East.[2]
Many live albums were recorded at the Fillmore East, notably At Fillmore East by The Allman Brothers Band. Jimi Hendrix also recorded a live album at Fillmore East with the Band of Gypsies. John Mayall's The Turning Point was also recorded here. Grateful Dead released a 4-disc set taken from their 5-night stint at the Fillmore East in April 1971, appropriately titled Ladies and Gentlemen… The Grateful Dead: Fillmore East — April 1971. The Grateful Dead also recorded the albums Fillmore East 2/11/69, History Of The Grateful Dead Volume One – Bear's Choice 2/13–14/70, and Dick's Picks Volume Four – Fillmore East 2/13–14/70, a 3-disc set released on Grateful Dead Records. Another famous album recorded here was Miles Davis' Live at the Fillmore East, laid down on March 7, 1970 in a rare live recording of Davis' so-called '"lost quintet".
Shortly before the venue was shuttered, Frank Zappa and the Mothers recorded a live album in June 1971, entitled Fillmore East — June 1971. The performance included The Turtles' two lead singers, Howard Kaylan and Mark Volman. John Lennon and Yoko Ono on the album Some Time in New York City included the live tracks recorded with the Mothers at the Fillmore East that same night when they jammed together. After The Mothers of Invention finished playing "Happy Together," better known as The Turtles' most famous song, Frank Zappa had this to say:
"I know that in a way it's sad that Bill Graham is closing down the Fillmore, but I'm sure he'll get into something better. It's been lovely working for you this evening, good night boys and girls."
Due to changes in the music and exponential growth in the concert industry, Graham closed down the Fillmore East. Its final concert took place on June 27, 1971, with the billed acts Allman Brothers, The J. Geils Band, Albert King, and special guests Edgar Winter's White Trash, Mountain, The Beach Boys, and Country Joe McDonald in an invitation-only performance. The concert was broadcast live by WNEW-FM with between-set banter by many of their then trend-setting DJs, Alison Steele -- The Nightbird, Dave Herman, and Scott Muni among them. The Allman Brothers set was released as the second disk of the Deluxe Edition/Remastered version of their Eat a Peach album.
The Joshua Light Show, headed by Joshua White, was an integral part of many performances, with its psychedelic art lighting in a backdrop behind many live bands.[3]
In 1980, the former Fillmore East site on Second Avenue in the East Village became the trend-setting private gay club The Saint. As of 2007, the former entrance lobby is a branch of Emigrant Savings Bank. The rest of the interior has been demolished and replaced with an apartment complex.
Live Nation brought the Fillmore name out of mothballs by opening up "The Fillmore New York at Irving Plaza" at the site of the former Irving Plaza on April 11 2007. British songstress Lily Allen was the opening act.[4] In 2008, Eric Burdon played there also.
See also
References
- ^ Shelton, Robert. "7,500 Attend Concerts at the Fillmore East." New York Times (April 1, 1968): p. 56.
- ^ Fillmore East Preservation Society (2007). "Show Listings" (html). Fillmore East Preservation Society. Retrieved 2007-05-09.
- ^ Del Signore, John, Joshua White, "The Joshua Light Show", The Gothamist, April 2, 2007.
- ^ Get On The Bandwagoner - New York Post