The Fillmore

The Fillmore East and Fillmore West were once arguably two of the most important concert venues in America. Both venues opened in the late 1960’s and were operated by legendary promoter Bill Graham. They quickly became the premier venues of choice by both artists and patrons in San Francisco and New York City respectively.

Bill Graham made the Fillmore experience special for everyone. Artists, some established and some on the verge of breaking, had a place to play in front of an audience that took music seriously. Everyone played there: The Who, Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, Santana, The Grateful Dead, The Doors, Jefferson Airplane, Led Zeppelin, Moby Grape, The Byrds, Neil Young & Crazy Horse, The Jeff Beck Group, Quicksilver Messenger Service, Ten Years After, Cream, Pink Floyd, The Allman Brothers Band, Humble Pie, The Paul Butterfield Blues Band, John Mayall, Fleetwood Mac, Miles Davis – to name a few. Some of Rock’s greatest live albums were recorded there such as The Allman Brothers Band’s “At Fillmore East” and Jimi Hendrix’s “Band Of Gypsys.” If an unknown band was being heckled by the audience prior to the headlining act, Graham wasn’t afraid to tell the audience members to be respectful (in a much more candid way of course).

Maybe Bill Graham receives too much credit for the experience; maybe it also had something to do with the fact it was in an era of music that was full of inspiration and creative development. The music wasn’t so corporate. It was fresh and exciting. It wasn’t all about the money yet (it soon would be). Of course artists, agents, managers and promoters wanted to make money, but the music took the high road. It was all about creating and performing. The audience didn’t need 50 back-up dancers on the stage with a lip-synching superstar surrounded by explosions and laser lighting; the audience expected to be entertained by musicians and artists who could really play and that could touch their hearts and souls with something special. The Fillmore venues certainly enabled this to happen.

The Fillmore East closed its doors in the summer of 1971, the Fillmore West followed years later. In the late 1980’s, Bill Graham reopened the Fillmore West (it would close due to earthquake damage, but the doors opened again in 1994).

Fast forward to 2007. Bill Graham Presents is owned by Live Nation. The Fillmore name is owned by Live Nation. Live Nation decides to dust off the Fillmore name by renaming venues in select cities. Now there are Fillmores in Detroit (formerly the State Theatre), Philadelphia, New York (formerly the Irving Plaza), Miami Beach (formerly the Jackie Gleason Theatre), and of course San Francisco and Denver. Surely more will follow.

The name means nothing in 2007. Does Live Nation think by adding venues under the Fillmore banner that somehow they are adding some sort of value to the concert experience? The original Fillmore East and Fillmore West were historic and special. They were part of an era long gone. Is it really special to see a show at one of the new Fillmore theatres? No one cares. These new theatres and the business in place at these theatres is the same no matter what you call them. The experience, music and business is not what it was between 1968-1971 – renaming a venue will not change this fact. You wonder what Bill Graham would think and more importantly, you wonder if Bill Graham would have sold his business to SFX in the 90’s when a lot of other major concert promoters sold out.

This also shows a lack of vision and creativity on Live Nation’s part. You are not going to save the concert business by renaming a venue after a legendary concert hall. If you want the experience to mean what it meant at the original Fillmore venues, then reinvent the experience. Make it special like it once was. It can start at the theatre level. Lower ticket prices, create exciting line-ups, print up show bills, etc. Hey, but Live Nation is giving out apples in the lobby like Graham did in the 60’s! How pathetic.