Guest Book

I know I missed the 33rd Anniversary of the 2/11/70 Fillmore East late show, but thanks to several emails and pms I received, I've posted my recollections of the concert/jam on the calendar. If anyone wants to read it, here it is. Sorry, I'm not a writer like Marley! Okay, here's my recollections of this unbelievable night. I had just turned 18, and was home during a college break for the week. I drove in from the 'burbs, and went to the late show. I had heard the Allman's 1st album in 11/69 on Scott Muni's WNEW-FM show, and loved it. I was playing it on my college radio show, so was familiar with the music. I really went to the show to see Love, who were my favorite band at the time, and this was one of their rare NYC shows. The Allman's opening the show was like icing on the cake. I got down to the Fillmore during the early show, and hung outside, which was a real scene. The Allman Brothers Band opened, and I was really blown away. It's great that we all have the CD from those shows. When they started doing Mtn. Jam, I recognized the Donovan melody, and couldn't believe what they were doing. I had seen Cream in Spring '68 at Hunter College in NYC, and thought they couldn't be beat for jamming/improvising. Well, the ABB were something else. I had never seen or heard anything like Duane and Dickey, Gregg's voice, Berry's bass (I was a bass player, but stopped playing after this show!) and Jaimo & Butch. Having played in rock bands since 1964, and knowing what it's like to try and "hit the note," I couldn't believe the magical music these guys made. I remember the crowd going crazy, wondering who these guys were - they blew everyone away. Fortunately, I was straight and sober that night, so I new the music was for real. Love was second on the bill. They would have been pretty good under normal circumstances. Unfortunately, they weren't up to following the ABB. I kept thinking about how good the ABB was throughout Love's set. By the time the Dead came on, it must have been around 2am. I remember them being so-so, actually kind of boring. I fell asleep for a while, but woke up when they started Dark Star. The jamming was really good. Then one by one, the ABB and Fleetwoood Mac joined the Dead. (Fleetwood Mac had opened for Sly & The Family Stone at Madison Square Garden earlier in the evening. I had seen Mac at the Fillmore in 11/69, 2nd billing to Joe Cocker & The Grease Band. King Crimson opened!). Duane, Dickey, Gregg, Berry, Peter Green, Jeremy Spencer and Danny Kirwin on stage with the Dead. During the jamming, Mick Fleetwood (young, skinny w/ long hair) danced around the stage with a scarf. It was at least 4am, probably later, when the show ended. I walked out of the Fillmore and walked past the stage door. Two members of Love came out and walked in front of me. I followed them for a while so I could hear what they were saying - they couldn't believe what they had just seen and heard! They were in awe of the ABB and the jam, and were wondering why their band wasn't that good. It's unbelievable that so much of the music from that night is on CD - the ABB's CD, the Dead's CDs, the bootlegs of the jam - even Love put out a CD (now out of print) with songs from their shows. If you want to see photos from the jam, get the Fillmore East photo book. Here's a quote from an Amazon.com reviewer: "... live concert photos are revelatory, especially that Holy Grail photo of the Dead, Fleetwood Mac and the Allman's onstage for their incredible, once in a lifetime jam. Also, go to this site: http://www.fillmore-east.com/. Get the book, look at the photos, and play the CDs from this night - relive it after 33 years!