Category Archives: Fillmore East

TICKETS TORN IN HALF:August 9,1969-JEFFERSON AIRPLANE/JOE COCKER&The Grease Band @ FILLMORE EAST

09 Thursday Aug 2018

Posted by in Fillmore East, Jefferson Airplane, Joe Cocker, Kevin Patrick, Rock music, Ticket Stubs, Uncategorized, Woodstock

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TICKETS TORN IN HALF:August 9,1969-JEFFERSON AIRPLANE/JOE COCKER&The Grease Band @ FILLMORE EAST

IT’S BEAUTY THAT KILLED THE BEAST: It’s a week before those “3 Days of Arts, Music and Fun” aka WOODSTOCK that Fillmore East hosts Jefferson Airplane and Joe Cocker., both acts which would be stars on stage and later screen. SPONTANEOUS SOUND, a one man percussionist (if that’s what he was) ran amok on the stage, banging, hitting cymbals, drums, bells, the works, with long hair flowing and with no shirt; What an idiot, I thought.  After his fifteen minutes of fame was over I was both confused and amused.  Joe Cocker was up next and having had his first LP on heavy rotation in my room, Cocker turned out to be not what I expected at all. He was a visual experience, hands gesturing as he sings, yet this British white dude sounded like Ray Charles. Familiar cover songs he introduced were played and each seemed to take on a new persona, they became Joe Cocker tunes: LET’S GO GET STONED, FELLIN’ ALRIGHT, BYE BYE BLACKBIRD and of course WITH A LITTLE HELP FROM MY FRIENDS.

The AIRPLANE was a trip, really a trip. I had been waiting a long time to see these guys, since that NEWSWEEK article and that conversation with my neighbor many months ago and now here I was. As the final scene from the King Kong movie played behind the band, they tuned up and  “It wasn’t the airplane, it was beauty that killed the beast” and away we went with Ballad of You, Me and PoohNeil with The Glenn Mc Kay Headlights behind the band projecting images on the screen.The amps cranked up really loudly, three vocalists, a bass player who stalked around, a drummer who with his cowboy hat looked like a sheriff and a guitarist making the strangest feedback. Was I high or where they THAT good? They were that good.

 

TICKETS TORN IN HALF:August 7,1982 ELTON JOHN/QUARTERFLASH@Madison Square Garden

07 Tuesday Aug 2018

Posted by in Elton John, Fillmore East, Madison Square Garden, Rock music, Ticket Stubs, Uncategorized

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TICKETS TORN IN HALF:August 7,1982 ELTON JOHN/QUARTERFLASH@Madison Square Garden This is my 7th ELTON JOHN show. My first was his NY debut opening for LEON RUSSELL @FILLMORE EAST way back when. Tonight,Quarterflash opens,Dull. I haven’t seen Elton since 1976 when he toured with his ROCK OF THE WESTIES band but tonight Davey Johnston returns to the band,with Nigel on drums Dee on bass,and a few others. The quartet is all I need for this the last night of his tour and last of 3 nights at MSG. Elton opens with FUNERAL FOR A FRIEND/ LOVE LIES BLEEDING, follows with ALL THE GIRLS LOVE ALICE, SOMEONE SAVED MY LIFE TONIGHT, some new stuff, his tribute to JOHN LENNON and an oldie but goodie WHERE TO NOW ST. PETER, with plenty of hits before closing out with a medley of WHOLE LOTTA SHAKIN GOIN ON/I SAW HER STANDING THERE/TWIST AND SHOUT. It was well worth the night out.

 

 

ROCK’S IN MY HEAD- CHAPTER 28: TWO WEEKS BEFORE WOODSTOCK

06 Monday Aug 2018

Posted by in #WhiteBoyBlues, Albert Grossman, Bethel Woods, Canned Heat, Cat Mother, Creedence, CSNY, Fillmore East, Grateful Dead, Kevin Patrick, Ray Charles, Rita Coolidge, Rock music, Ten Years After, Uncategorized

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ROCK’S IN MY HEAD- CHAPTER 28: TWO WEEKS BEFORE WOODSTOCK

Not much happening on the concert circuit as the FILLMORE was closing down in anticipation of WOODSTOCK. My first festival, not WOODSTOCK, was a one night event called the LONG ISLAND ROCK FESTIVAL @ Freeport Race Track, August 6,1969 (2 weeks before Woodstock) featuring CANNED HEAT, TEN YEARS AFTER, CAT MOTHER AND THE ALL NIGHT NEWSBOYS, and a Boston band ORPHEUS. TEN YEARS AFTER was the tease for me. In total after all is said and done, I have seen TYA eighteen times with this being the first time. Prior to attending this “festival” I put in a full day at work and a short visit to the doctor. While working the “hi-lo”moving skids filled with boxes from the floor to the high shelving area I inadvertently almost cut off two fingers. Slightly bleeding but breaking the skin to the bone, the nurse in the factory took care of the wound and suggested a shot from the doctor. Tetanus and novocaine were administered, and I was given the rest of the day off, big deal 15 minutes. At home, I quickly dressed for the show hoping to get out of the house before my parents saw my bandaged fingers. And I did.

ORPHEUS was good with a nice version of their hit record CAN’T FIND THE TIME. CAT MOTHER, a New York ensemble did their hit GOOD OLE ROCK AND ROLL and finally TEN YEARS AFTER, the band I really wanted to see. They were unbelievably good, remember this is two weeks before their legendary performance at Woodstock. They played SPOONFUL, GOOD MORNING LITTLE SCHOOL GIRL, HOBBIT (drum solo), I CAN’T KEEP FROM CRYING, HELP ME, and I’M GOING HOME.

After an extensive intermission CANNED HEAT, the full ensemble with the Blind Owl in tow, closed the show. A 45 minute boogie was a bit much for me as the novocaine didn’t work any longer. I nodded off while laying on a blanket with my girlfriend. TYA made my night.

A few nights later the evening news showed horrific scenes depicted later to be labeled as the TATE-LOBIANCA murders, aka Charles Manson and family.

IT’S BEAUTY THAT KILLED THE BEAST: It’s a week before those “3 Days of Arts, Music and Fun” aka WOODSTOCK that Fillmore East hosts JEFFERSON AIRPLANE and JOE COCKER. SPONTANEOUS SOUND, a one man percussionist (if that’s what he was) ran amok on the stage, banging, hitting cymbals, drums, bells, the works, with his long hair flowing and having no shirt on; What an idiot, I thought.  After his fifteen minutes of fame was over I was both confused and amused.  Joe Cocker was up next and having had his first LP on heavy rotation in my room, Cocker turned out to be not what I expected at all. He was a visual experience with hands gesturing wildly as he sung, yet this British white dude sounded a bit like Ray Charles. Familiar cover songs he introduced and as they were played each seemed to take on a new persona, they became Joe Cocker tunes: LET’S GO GET STONED, FELLIN’ ALRIGHT, BYE BYE BLACKBIRD and of course WITH A LITTLE HELP FROM MY FRIENDS.

The AIRPLANE was a trip, really a trip. I had been waiting a long time to see these guys, back since that NEWSWEEK article and that conversation with my neighbor many months ago. Now here I was. As the final scene from the King Kong movie played behind the band, they tuned up and  “It wasn’t the airplane, it was beauty that killed the beast” and away we went with Ballad of You, Me and PoohNeil with The Glenn Mc Kay Headlights behind the band projecting images on the screen.The amps were cranked up, three vocalists sang, a bass player stalked around the stage,  while the drummer who with his cowboy hat looked like a sheriff meshed with a guitarist who was making the strangest feedback. Was I high or where they THAT good? They were that good.

ROCK’S IN MY HEAD- CHAPTER 27: GOD IS BACK IN TOWN

03 Friday Aug 2018

Posted by in #WhiteBoyBlues, Cream, Creedence, Fillmore East, Jimmy Page, Kevin Patrick, Led Zeppelin, Madison Square Garden, Rock music, rock music trivia, TERRY REID, Ticket Stubs, Uncategorized, Vinyl Records

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ROCK’S IN MY HEAD- CHAPTER 27: GOD IS BACK IN TOWN

For the Summer of 69 the next concert up was CREEDENCE CLEARWATER REVIVAL with TERRY REID and AUM, July 19, 1969 at FILLMORE EAST. With my kid brother, a fan of Creedence, at my side, I was there to see the undercard, Terry Reid, having loved both of his albums. San Francisco’s AUM opened the show and closed their set with GOD IS BACK IN TOWN, a song which was getting some air play at the time. Terry Reid hit the stage announcing that his favorite Les Paul guitar was stolen the previous night and he begged for its return. Despite not having his trustworthy axe, Terry had the place on its feet by sets end. Then the hit makers nicknamed CCR rocked the house. Dressed like rich hippies with flannel shirts, jeans and boots, these swamp rockers closed it all out with a 20 minute version of  “KEEP ON CHOOGLIN”. Even with my limited experience I knew this band would not be playing for the East Village hippies much longer. Bigger pay days in shittier sounding, larger halls would be their destiny.

The very next night after CREEDENCE my girlfriend had invited two friends over to her house and we four sat in her mother’s bedroom to watch the APOLLO 11 moon landing on television. Amazing, the SPACE RACE is finally settled. But the events leading up to it were amazing. July 16 APOLLO 11 was launched,on the 19th it passed behind the moon to enter the lunar orbit, the 20th the Lunar Module separated from the command module and lands on the moon’s surface in THE SEA OF TRANQUILITY. On the 21st of July,1969  Astronaut Neil Armstrong stepped onto the moon’s surface. Buzz Aldrin joined him a few minutes later. While that in itself is amazing my thoughts at that moment were “How do they get back to the module AND if and when they do, how do they get back to Earth? Yes is the answer of course as on July 24 they splashed down in the Pacific.

Estimates put the number who watched or listened to the Moon landing between 1/2 and 1 billion people around the world

Having dug Terry Reid so much at The Fillmore the weekend before we traveled to the Action House in Island Park, not far from my home, to see him again. While in a less than capacity house Terry was off to the side of the stage prior to his set when I engaged him in a conversation and found him to be just a delightful person, one appreciative of the crowd coming out to see him and he made me feel comfortable when I introduced myself to him. I must say I was a bit apprehensive but I needed to know and  NO he did not get his Les Paul returned.  His set that night was much longer than Fillmore’s and just as tasty.

It was about this time that the verdict came down convicting MUHAMMAD ALI, aka Cassius Clay, aka World’s Heavyweight Boxing Champ (stripped of his title), a Conscientious Objector, of draft evasion. AND Senator Ted Kennedy pleads guilty to leaving the scene of an accident, CHAPPAQUIDDICK, where his aide MARY JO KOPECHNE drowned. Teddy received a “two month SUSPENDED sentence”. Ali is convicted yet the politician Ted pleas….HMMMMM

Led Zeppelin Times Eight

31 Tuesday Jul 2018

Posted by in #BuddyGuy, #WhiteBoyBlues, Blind Faith, Cream, Delaney,Bonnie and Friends, Eric Clapton, Fillmore East, Jeff Beck, Jethro Tull, Jimi Hendrix, Jimmy Page, Led Zeppelin, Madison Square Garden, Nassau Coliseum, Rita Coolidge, Rock music, rock music trivia, Ticket Stubs, Uncategorized, Vinyl Records

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Overall,I witnessed the act known as Led Zeppelin a total of eight times over eight years (1969-1977),from the first album through their last official tour of the US. I bought all the albums up to PRESENCE. After that record I stopped buying their albums until the recent (vinyl) re-mastered collections. Every time I attended their show, each one was a unique experience. This band of four changed musically throughout the years, gaining momentum and a rabid fan base with each new release. From a blues based band which rose from the ashes of THE YARDBIRDS, a band playing for recognition as a new unit and up to the mega-band which could sell out many nights in a row at the WORLD’S MOST FAMOUS ARENA in a moments notice,they were truly something to behold, collectively.

January 12,1969: LED ZEPPELIN is released.I almost burnt that record out. It replaced JETHRO TULL’s “This Was” on my turntable.

(1)May 30,1969@Fillmore East: For me the first time and in the best place in NYC, FILLMORE EAST was THEE venue to see LED ZEPPELIN. The talk since late January was how this band from England, the undercard on the bill, destroyed IRON BUTTERFLY which was the headliner for this weekend of shows. The buzz was that Led Zeppelin left IB stunned in the wings awaiting to hit the stage,left only to play their hit IN A GADDA DA VIDA to the chagrin of many. The schism is now widened as a new sound is in town. One must know the background of LED Zeppelin to understand how this one weekend enchanted the NY crowd.

For those who only know of the power and popularity of Led Zeppelin of later days, let me take you back to a time before their very first album hit the stands.

Jimmy Page was one of the “three”, the Triumvirate of Rock Guitarist Gods who moseyed through a British band of some renown named THE YARDBIRDS. This band, legend states took their name from Charlie YARDBIRD Parker, was somewhat known in the USA, but more popular in their homeland of Great Britain. Without giving the long history of the Yardbirds let’s just say they got a CRAWDADDY (a club) gig when the spot was vacated by THE ROLLING STONES, a band on the move. Eric Clapton was the YARDBIRDS guitarist at that time, one who became uncomfortable with the band veering away from it’s blues roots by heading into a pop direction. Clapton leaves and suggest Jimmy Page take his spot. Page was the “go to studio guitarist” at the time and didn’t want to vacate that profitable role, so PAGE suggested JEFF BECK who took the gig.

With BECK’s influence the YARDBIRDS moved toward a psychedelic route with fuzz tones, feedback, and his overall guitar virtuosity. By 1966 JEFF BECK was voted Melody Maker’s GUITARIST OF THE YEAR.When the bass player drops out of The Yardbirds JIMMY PAGE steps in for a spell. When a new bassist is recruited PAGE stays on for a BECK/PAGE “new” dual guitar attack approach. Beck gets sick, misses a few gigs and ultimately leaves the band to Page.With the lead singer Keith Relf’s alcoholism and the band not having any more hits, as well as with the rise of CREAM and JIMI HENDRIX, soon most of The Yardbirds disappeared, leaving Jimmy Page with the name. To fulfill  some contractual commitments,with a new manager PETER GRANT on board, the band hits the road as THE NEW YARDBIRDS.

Page had recruited TERRY REID as vocalist but he, with a new MICKIE MOST contract, could not leave. Reid suggested a friend, ROBERT PLANT who brought along his drummer friend JOHN BONHAM. Page called his studio buddy JOHN PAUL JONES for bass and keyboards and after a short tour of Scandinavia, the NEW YARDBIRDS hit the studio to record what would become LED ZEPPELIN’s debut.

The album is released January 12,1969. Some of the tunes hit the New York FM airwaves before but especially immediately after the band’s now legendary performance as the opening act for IRON BUTTERFLY at FILLMORE EAST January 31 and February 1, 1969. This is Led Zeppelin’s first US tour. My buddy Pete attended one of those shows that weekend. He raved about this new band who blew Iron Butterfly off the stage, leaving Iron Butterfly to play just one song, their hit IN A GADDA DA VIDA, and according to Pete, Led Zeppelin came back out due to the booing of Butterfly and the calls for  “MORE” Zeppelin. I have never been able to verify that but Pete said it, so…it must be true.

It is now Memorial Day weekend of 1969, a new beginning for a group of us as we copped tickets (5 bucks each) to see Led Zeppelin at Fillmore East, the early show on a Friday Night of a Holiday Weekend.The crowd outside on line awaiting admittance to the sacred hall was a buzzed. Finally, in and seated, house lights go down and BOOM, Woody Herman’s Big Band was way too cool. Followed by DELANEY,BONNIE and FRIENDS with the beautiful RITA COOLIDGE, oh my. The JOSHUA LIGHT SHOW afforded a great back drop, something that I had never witnessed before. Then, “OHHHHH, I CAN’T QUIT YOU BABE” with a power chord which shook me to the core. This tune followed by Dazed and Confused, White Summer, How Many More Times, a drum solo, and the crowd cheering “MORE,MORE”… The encore was short, yet loud, COMMUNICATION BREAKDOWN.(Contrary to any set list including on Zep’s website, the band did not open with THE TRAIN KEPT A ROLLIN’)

(Show #2)August 30,1969@ NYS Pavilion (Former World’s Fair Site

My END OF THE SUMMER celebration show was to finish the season where it started with Led Zeppelin exactly three months to the day of my first experience seeing the band live. Tonight would be LED ZEPPELIN, BUDDY GUY &JR. WELLS and RAVEN (August 30,1969). Originally to be held at The Singer Bowl this show was rescheduled for the opened air, standing room only, former site of New York State Pavilion at The World’s Fair. This night would prove to be a totally different experience for me. Standing Room Only, first come first in, no reserved seating and I was very reluctant. Yet, we got there early enough to be one of the first in line, standing outside prior to opening the doors, hoping to find a viewing spot in front, maybe at mid stage. When the doors opened, we got a spot stage right, in front of where I knew Jimmy Page would stand. RAVEN (not the metal band of years later) was as most opening acts would be, an opening act and forgettable when they finished their set but Buddy Guy/ Jr. Wells was a great addition to the bill. Buddy played angelically, and nasty as sin when need be. At one point a balloon from the audience was bounced to him mid song to which he captured and used as a slide on his guitar. To my amazement the balloon did NOT break. This spot where we were standing became dangerous as LED ZEPPELIN time grew nearer, and more so as the show progressed. About the time they performed MOBY DICK, I had had enough and was up stairs walking around the balcony area having given up our prime location. And yes, this IS the show where Bonzo collapsed on the drums to end the night. The set list was similar to the May show @ Fillmore East. NOTE: My ticket stub is featured on the LED ZEPPELIN website.

October 22,1969 LED ZEPPELIN II is released.

(Show #3)September 19,1970: Led Zeppelin @Madison Square Garden.One year later from when I last saw them and the boys have hit the big time doing an unusual afternooon/ evening performance with one show at 2pm and then another at 8pm. We had four tickets for the 8pm show, where they opened with IMMIGRANT SONG. Geez, the band was so good and getting bigger by the moment. With two albums under their belt,  and the third LED ZEPPELIN III to be released a few weeks after this gig.

October 5,1970 LED ZEPPELIN III is released.

(4)September 3,1971: Led Zeppelin @ MSG This was advertised as a “2 and1/2 hour show with no opening act” and became a disaster of an evening almost immediately. SOLD OUT in a matter of hours. The show was marred by a huge protest mob (riot) developing outside due to “overpriced” tickets $5:50 – $7:50. Inside we were treated to a (dangerous) fireworks show as some idiot was tossing M-80’s from the upper balcony toward the ceiling in the Garden, each exploding just before it landed close to those seated below. Then the stage collapsed.Show over, lights on. Didn’t know if I wanted to experience that again.

November 8,1971 LED ZEPPELIN IV is released.

(5)June 15, 1972: Led Zeppelin @ Nassau Coliseum was advertised as a 3 1/2 hour show and as I was still shaking from the MSG fiasco (9/3/71) less than a year ago so I had NO intentions of going to this venue to see Led Zeppelin especially in this new arena which made headlines by have the Nassau PD bust scores of concert goers in the parking lot for drinking (tailgating) and smoking before a GRATEFUL DEAD show only a few weeks before. BUT at the Todd Rundgren show only a few days before, my girlfriend found two tickets for LZ next to the gear box in my VW. Strange as it sounds she did not place the tickets there and to this day I still never found who or why, but we went to the show, with me looking over my shoulder the whole time. (Great review by Robert Christgau in NEWSDAY- see LZ website for setlist and review of this 2 night stand.)

March 28,1973 HOUSES OF THE HOLY is released.

Rolling Stone: Gordon Fletcher (June 7,1973)

For me, Led Zeppelin began as the epitome of everything good about rock: solid guitar work, forceful vocals and rhythmic backing, devotion to primal blues forms, and most of all, thunderous excitement on stage and vinyl. But as superstardom came to them, so too came the gradual evaporation of those qualities from their sound. In the same way that the Rolling Stones evolved into a senior, “safe” bizarro-perversion band, Led Zeppelin has become a senior, “safe” heavy-metal band. But by its very nature safety cannot coexist with heavy-metal fire and macho intensity (or bizarro-perversion, for that matter), which is probably why Houses of the Holy is one of the dullest and most confusing albums I’ve heard this year.

So with that note by Mr. Fletcher for an album released a few weeks before we enter the HOUSES OF THE HOLY aka Madison Square Garden for my sixth time seeing LED ZEPPELIN, who are probably the most popular band in the world at this moment in time.

(6)July 28, 1973 LED ZEPPELIN @ MSG open with ROCK N ROLL and while my handwritten notes in my journal are limited this very performance was filmed for the  THE SONG REMAINS THE SAME. However, this is the stop (NYC) on the tour where $203,000.00 was missing from the band’s hotel safe. Also MSG had decided it safer to sell all tickets for the 3 shows via Money Orders sent to the box office(SASE) rather than deal with the nasty crowds at the box office.

(7)February12,1975: LED ZEPPELIN @ MSG Opened with ROCK AND ROLL, No QUARTER, SONG REMAINS THE SAME,DAZED AND CONFUSED, STAIRWAY TO HEAVEN,MOBY DICK, WHOLE LOTTA LOVE, BLACK DOG, HEARTBREAKER

February 24,1975 PHYSICAL GRAFFITI is released.

March 31,1976 PRESENCE is released.

October 1976 THE SONG REMAINS THE SAME is released.

(8)JUNE 14,1977: LED ZEPPELIN (8th and my last time)@ MSG The NY radio station WPLJ gave away LED ZEPPELIN buttons celebrating the bands six (6) sold out shows.This will be a 3 hour extravaganza when it starts as we were delayed an hour before the band took the stage. In total they played 18 songs opening with  THE SONG REMAINS THE SAME, had an acoustic set thrown in for good measure, the obligatory  Moby Dick, Jimmy Page violin solo, Achilles Last Stand, Stairway to Heaven, Whole Lotta Love and closed out with Rock and Roll. This was the last US tour for the original foursome.

September 25,1980 Drummer John Bonham dies.

No matter how many rumors hit the streets, no matter how many times it might be said that LED ZEPPELIN is reuniting, I can’t or won’t go see that band. John Paul, Robert, and Jimmy playing with PHIL COLLINS hurts my ears, and Bonham,Jr… well no thanks.  RIP Led Zeppelin and thanks for the memories.

ROCK’S IN MY HEAD-CHAPTER 25: CAN’T EXPLAIN

30 Monday Jul 2018

Posted by in #WhiteBoyBlues, Albert King, Chuck Berry, Fillmore East, FillmoreEast,BillGraham, Rock music, The Who, Ticket Stubs, Uncategorized, Vinyl Records

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ROCK’S IN MY HEAD-CHAPTER 25: CAN’T EXPLAIN

After finding out how easy it was to obtain tickets for shows at FILLMORE EAST, I ordered two  seats for CHUCK BERRY and ALBERT KING, for the Friday night early show, June 6. I was especially looking forward to hearing Albert King live as I wore out his LIVE WIRE BLUES POWER album. The tickets arrived in record time.

When I attended the Zeppelin show I looked for where I would be seated for the Albert King show(fourth row aisle seat on the left) the following week. Too cool, really nice sight lines. Then it happened. At the  Led Zeppelin show, the stage announcement was made that an additional act would be added to the Albert King Chuck Berry bill, headlining now would be…. THE WHO. OMG… I was ecstatic…But How?

Actually, The Who had played the Fillmore East only two weeks prior to the Led Zeppelin show. During their performance that weekend a fire occurred in the adjoining building. A Fire Marshall, not in uniform, attempted to evacuate the premises of the Fillmore by taking the stage. Pete Townshend  The Who’s guitarist got into an altercation with the  “undercover” official. Townshend thinking that this guy was a nut job hit him and an arrest of Pete Townshend abruptly ended the show. So this new show, the one I had two tickets for was labeled as THE TRIUMPHANT RETURN OF THE WHO.

 

Their album which has been labeled a “rock opera” TOMMY was released only a few short days (May23) before this rescheduled performance and the songs from TOMMY were already in heavy rotation on the radio. So there I sat four rows back from  Albert King, he dressed to the nines in a dark suit, white shirt and tie, while playing a short but sweet set on his Flying V guitar,  BORN UNDER A BAD SIGN, PERSONAL MANAGER,AS THE YEARS GO PASSING BY and STORMY MONDAY.  I was amazed at his performance, his grace, and his size, the man was HUGE.

Chuck Berry, a rock and roll legend was up next doing what I found out years later was his traditional set list. It was nothing too outstanding for my eyes and ears except seeing him doing his duck walk. Chuck was a visual performer and closed with MY DING A LING a really stupid sing along song which I found embarrassing. He reappeared for an encore and was gone and forgotten by me almost that quickly.

THE WHO on the other hand was fantastic. I sat in awe the entire time, mouth opened kind of awe brought on by the sheer power of the band. Daltry, dressed in fringe was swinging his microphone, Townshend windmilling on the guitar, Entwhistle’s magical fingers running up and down the frets on his bass, and then Keith Moon on the kit, all amazing, and so very loud. CAN’T EXPLAIN, New TOMMY stuff, SUMMERTIME BLUES, MAGIC BUS, needless to say my very limited concert experiences just had a new threshold to beat and that would be… THE WHO. Live music to me became a real education and soon an obsession.

It was now the next to last week of June, school is almost out, and graduation for some of my friends is in a few days time when we get the news that one of my neighbors, a guy I played baseball with, a brother to a girl I went to school with since first grade, had been killed in Vietnam. My dad took this death particularly hard. As Dad prepared to go to my neighbor’s house to pay his respects we learned that another friend, an Altar Boy buddy of mine, the son of the local high school principal was also killed. Two deaths in one day, This town would never be the same. Dad was not so forceful in his pro Vietnam stance any longer. These deaths occurred only a few days after President Nixon announced the withdrawal of 25,000 troops from Vietnam.

TICKETS TORN IN HALF JULY 26,1969:  TERRY REID @ THE ACTION HOUSE,

26 Thursday Jul 2018

Posted by in Fillmore East, LES PAUL, TERRY REID, Uncategorized

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TICKETS TORN IN HALF JULY 26,1969:  TERRY REID @ THE ACTION HOUSE, Island Park, NY Having dug Terry Reid so much at Fillmore East only the weekend before, this night we traveled to the Action House in Island Park, not far from my home, to see him again. While in a less than capacity house Terry was off to the side of the stage prior to his set when I engaged him in a conversation and found him to be just a delightful person, one appreciative of the crowd coming out to see him He made me feel comfortable when I introduced myself to him. I must say I was a bit apprehensive but I needed to know  if his guitar which was stolen last weekend was returned. NO he did not get his beloved Les Paul back. His set this particular evening was much longer than at  the Fillmore’s but it was just as tasty.

ROCK’S IN MY HEAD -CHAPTER 24:  DAZED AND CONFUSED:

26 Thursday Jul 2018

Posted by in #WhiteBoyBlues, Delaney,Bonnie and Friends, Eric Clapton, Fillmore East, FillmoreEast,BillGraham, Jeff Beck, Jimmy Page, Led Zeppelin, Rock music, TERRY REID, The Yardbirds, Ticket Stubs, Uncategorized, Vinyl Records

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CHAPTER 24:  DAZED AND CONFUSED:

Just before I cleaned out my high school hall locker for one last time, with me anticipating the long needed summer break from a pretty smooth junior year at school I saw a Fillmore East ad in the Village Voice announcing a Led Zeppelin performance for Memorial Day weekend 1969. That ad, combined with having had “Led Zeppelin” on my turntable for what seemed like an eternity (since February), I contacted my concert going friends and we all agreed “this is the one”. Running down to the local drug store I purchased a $20.00 money order, and with a Self Addressed Stamped Envelope (SASE) enclosed I mailed the package out to 105 Second Ave, NY requesting four (4) seats for Woody Herman’s Thundering Herd, Delaney Bonnie and Friends, and the headliner, LED ZEPPELIN, scheduled for May 30, 1969.To my surprise the tickets arrived a few days later, as did my friend’s who also requested four, we had eight tickets in total.

For those who only know of the power and popularity of Led Zeppelin of latter days, let me take you back to a time before their very first album hit the stands.

Jimmy Page was one of the “three”, the triumvirate of rock guitarist gods who moseyed through a British band of some renown named THE YARDBIRDS. This band ,who legend states took their name from Charlie YARDBIRD Parker was somewhat known in the USA, but more popular in their homeland of Great Britain. Without giving the long history of the Yardbirds let’s just say they got a CRAWDADDY (a club) gig when the spot was vacated by THE ROLLING STONES, a band on the move. Eric Clapton was the YARDBIRDS guitarist at that time who became uncomfortable with the band veering away from it’s blues roots, heading into a pop direction. Clapton leaves and suggest Jimmy Page take his spot. Page was the “go to studio guitarist” at the time and didn’t want to vacate that profitable role, so PAGE suggested JEFF BECK who took the gig.

With BECK’s influence the YARDBIRDS moved toward a psychedelic route with fuzz tones, feedback, and overall guitar virtuosity. By 1966 JEFF BECK was voted Melody Maker’s GUITARIST OF THE YEAR.When the bass player drops out of The Yardbirds JIMMY PAGE steps in for a spell. When a new bassist is recruited PAGE stays on for a BECK/PAGE new dual guitar attack approach. Beck gets sick, misses a few gigs and ultimately leaves the band to Page.With the lead singer Keith Relf’s alcoholism and the band not having any more hits, as well as with the rise of CREAM and JIMI HENDRIX, soon most of The Yardbirds disappeared, leaving Jimmy Page with the name. To fulfill  some contractual commitments,with a new manager PETER GRANT on board, the band hits the road as THE NEW YARDBIRDS.

Page had recruited TERRY REID as vocalist but he, with a new MICKIE MOST contract, could not leave. Reid suggested a friend, ROBERT PLANT who brought along his drummer friend JOHN BONHAM. Page called his studio buddy JOHN PAUL JONES for bass and keyboards and after a short tour of Scandinavia, the NEW YARDBIRDS hit the studio to record what would become LED ZEPPELIN’s debut.

The album is released January 12,1969. Some of the tunes hit the New York FM airwaves after the band’s now legendary performance as the opening act for IRON BUTTERFLY at FILLMORE EAST January 31 and February 1, 1969, this being Led Zeppelin’s first US tour. Pete my buddy at Dubbings Electronics attended one of those shows that weekend. He raved about this new band who blew Iron Butterfly off the stage, leaving Iron Butterfly to play just one song, their hit IN A GADDA DA VIDA, and according to Pete, Led Zeppelin came back out due to the booing of Butterfly and the calls for Zeppelin. I have never been able to verify that but Pete said it,so…it must be true.

A few days later while at work Pete asked me to join him to see LED ZEPPELIN at THE SCENE a club in Manhattan. With little provocation I agreed to go to the Wednesday night show. But alas, the shows were cancelled due to John Bonham’s son falling at home in England and Bonham was needed there. So, I made due by purchasing LED ZEPPELIN and listening to the debut album, over and over again.

Meanwhile, the news was reporting that thousands of Americans were preparing to join across the nation during Easter weekend for massive demonstrations in protest to the war in Vietnam. On April 4th,1969 our United States combat casualties had now surpassed the totals for the entire KOREAN WAR and an end to The Vietnam Conflict was not in sight. During a four day visit to South Korea, South Vietnamese President Nguyen Van Thieu told reporters he would “never” agree to a coalition government with the National Liberation Front (NLF). Then, President Nixon announced a plan to replace the hated draft system with a lottery that would induct 19-year-old boys first. The stakes for me and my friends have changed.This is getting real and fast.

Students rebelled at Harvard, Stanford, Columbia, and New York’s Queen’s College with dozens being injured during these sit-ins and strikes. The 1969 spring semester had 292 American campuses hosting anti-war rallies; one-quarter of them included violence. The nation stood polarized between pro-war hawks and anti-war doves. I was all of 17 years of age stuck between a pro war dad and  my neighbors dying in the jungles of SouthEast Asia.

In May, 300 hundred policemen in Berkeley, California cleared students out of a small patch of land called People’s Park. The incident sparked a week of violent protest. On May 16th, 2,000 Berkeley demonstrators battled with police. Rioting spread to other campuses while in Vietnam the gory battle for “Hamburger Hill” was reaching a peak.

The only good read for me that month was the May 26, 1969 edition of NEWSWEEK which featured Janis Joplin on the cover with the headline JANIS JOPLIN:REBIRTH OF THE BLUES. The story mentioned HENDRIX, BB KING, ALBERT KING, BIG MAMA THORNTON and a host of others.

It is now Memorial Day weekend of 1969, only a few weeks away from the burial of my girlfriend’s brother who was killed in Vietnam. Yet, it was also a new beginning for a group of us as we copped the 8 tickets to see Led Zeppelin at Fillmore East early 8 PM show on a Friday Night of a Holiday Weekend. A freshly cashed paycheck loaded my wallet, a pack of Marlboro Red, bottle of wine (purchased by an age appropriate friend) and a gift from Pete to help “lighten” up my mood and I was set. Four on the train, meeting four more there, we were a Rock and Roll army outfitted with new jeans, new Chuck Taylor high tops, and hair getting longer by the moment. “See you tomorrow, Mom”.

So “The Eight”  had planned a beautiful start to a long holiday (Memorial Day) weekend. Orange Julius on West 8th for a bite to eat, a few head shop visits along our walk to Second Avenue, a record store here, and a shoe shoppe there (more on the shoes in September), and we strolled peacefully toward our East Village destination. Still not knowing exactly where we headed I followed the lead of the others and we landed up far away from our appointed destination but still with plenty of time on hand. Show time 8PM would find 4 of us in one section, with another four in another section a few rows back, but all eight in the house. The crowd outside on line awaiting admittance to the sacred hall was a buzzed. Finally, in and seated, house lights go down and BOOM, I fall in love. Rita Coolidge of Delaney/ Bonnie was the most beautiful woman I had ever seen,well that night anyway. The JOSHUA LIGHT SHOW afforded a great back drop, something that I had never witnessed. Woody Herman’s Big Band was way too cool. Pop would have been proud as I recognized a few of Woody’s tunes from our family’s record collection.

Then, “OHHHHH, I CAN’T QUIT YOU BABE” with a power chord shook me to the core. This tune followed by Dazed and Confused, White Summer, How Many More Times, a drum solo, and the crowd cheering “MORE,MORE”… The encore was short, yet loud, COMMUNICATION BREAKDOWN. The performance bar was now set for this 17 year old youngster on his musical journey. Sweating profusely we leave into the warm May air at a bit before midnight. Walking through the East Village, then Greenwich Village, we get a bite to eat,maybe a gift or two,then taking the E train to Penn Station in time for the midnight train. Arriving home I felt like a new person, never to return to the old one.

TICKETS TORN IN HALF: CREEDENCE CLEARWATER REVIVAL with TERRY REID and AUM, July 19, 1969 at FILLMORE EAST. 

19 Thursday Jul 2018

Posted by in Aum, Creedence, Fillmore East, Kevin Patrick, Rock music, TERRY REID, Uncategorized

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With my kid brother, a fan of Creedence at my side, I was there to see the undercard,Terry Reid, having loved both of his two albums. San Francisco’s AUM opened the show and closed their set with GOD IS BACK IN TOWN, a song which was getting some air play at the time. Terry Reid hit the stage announcing that his favorite Les Paul guitar was stolen the previous night and he begged for its return. Despite not having his trustworthy axe, Terry had the place on its feet by sets end. Then the hit makers CCR rocked the house. Dressed like rich hippies with flannel shirts, jeans and boots, these swamp rockers closed it all out with a 20 minute version of  “KEEP ON CHOOGLIN”. Even with my limited experience I knew this band would not be playing for the East Village hippies much longer. Bigger pay days in shittier, larger halls would be their destiny..

 

Set List (CCR)

BORN ON THE BAYOU

GREEN RIVER

NINETY-NINE AND A HALF(WON’T DO)

BOOTLEG
COMMOTION

BAD MOON RISIN
PROUD MARY

I PUT A SPELL ON YOU

NIGHT TIME IS THE RIGHT TIME

KEEP ON CHOOGLIN’

(ENCORE) SUZIE Q

The very next night after CCR my girlfriend had invited two friends over to her house and with me, we four sat in her mother’s bedroom to watch the APOLLO 11 moon landing on television. Amazing, the SPACE RACE is finally settled.

Having dug Terry Reid so much at The Fillmore the weekend before we traveled to the Action House in Island Park, not far from my home, to see him again. While in a less than capacity house Terry was off to the side of the stage prior to his set when I engaged him in a conversation and found him to be just a delightful person, one appreciative of the crowd coming out to see him and he made me feel comfortable when I introduced myself to him. I must say I was a bit apprehensive but I needed to know and  NO he did not get his Les Paul returned.  His set that night was much longer than Fillmore’s and just as tasty.

It was about this time that the verdict came down convicting MUHAMMAD ALI, aka Cassius Clay, aka World’s Heavyweight Boxing Champ (stripped of his title), a Conscientious Objector, of draft evasion. AND Senator Ted Kennedy pleads guilty to leaving the scene of an accident, CHAPPAQUIDDICK, where his aide MARY JO KOPECHNE drowned. Teddy received a “two month SUSPENDED sentence”. Ali is convicted but Ted pleas….HMMMMM

ROCK’S IN MY HEAD: CHAPTER 20: 1968-BE INS, TEACH INS, and ASSASSINATIONS

16 Monday Jul 2018

Posted by in Albert King, BigBrotherHoldingCo., Fillmore East, FillmoreEast,BillGraham, Jimi Hendrix, Monterey Pop 67, Rock music, THE MOTHERS of INVENTION, Uncategorized

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ROCK’S IN MY HEAD: CHAPTER 20:1968-BE INS, TEACH INS, and ASSASSINATIONS

1968 polarized me. The news, not only in print but on TV and radio, had vivid news footage with reporting from the field of the Vietnam Conflict. Gun shots could be heard while the reports were being taped. The newspapers and magazines did not concentrate solely on the war abroad but also on the conflict developing on the home front, particularly the protests against the war occurring in every major city. The Anti-War movement was big news. Campus sit-ins, teach-ins, black arm bands, fist salutes, you know “the long hairs versus the hard hats”the hard hats being the ones who despised most protesters as being ANTI-AMERICAN.

“You faggots, you commies, you pussies, you… whatever”… shouted out in the streets. The news, the War, the demonstrations, the politics, the dynamics, I was absorbed with this which finally led to the proverbial, mostly unpleasant, verbal exchange during dinner with my WorldWar 2 Naval Veteran father. He who did NOT understand my opposition to our involvement in the conflict and he actually thought I was too young to understand, which pissed me off to no end. I was not too young, and I understood more than he wanted me to and probably more than he understood. I was 16, only two years away from the draft.

North Vietnam and the Viet Cong troops launched the TET OFFENSIVE  on The Lunar New Year, late January striking villages and towns throughout South Vietnam. More and more I began to understand whom we were fighting. My dad did not see it as I did, he did not understand that the North Vietnam Army and The Viet Cong were NOT the same army but rather two separate armies which coordinated this event. There was a huge difference between guerrilla warfare of the Viet Cong and uniformed soldiers of the NVA, both whom we were fighting. Dad fought in WWII and questioned my anti-war stance. Why should we not fight these Commies, North Vietnamese? I told him I did not want to die in a rice paddy killed by an enemy whom I could not identify.

The My Lai Massacre occurred  March 16 but was not news until later that autumn, somehow it never made the news when it occurred but when it did, WOW. The My Lai Massacre was a mass execution of between 347 and 504 unarmed civilians of South Vietnam; men, women, children and infants killed by U.S. Army soldiers under the leadership of Lieutenant William Calley, Jr. These soldiers, our soldiers, did not hold back, showing no remorse. Women were gang-raped, bodies mutilated. Twenty six soldiers were charged with criminal offenses but only Lt. Calley was convicted. He himself had killed 22 villagers and was given a life sentence. It was a short life in the slammer as he served only 3 1/2 years under HOUSE ARREST and then released.

My alarm clock was set to my favorite FM radio station which usually woke me up most morning, sometimes I needed an extra nudge but usually just the radio . One morning in April  I was awaken to the news that Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr , the Nobel Prize winner, was killed. I was a bit depressed, how could any man kill another human. I was confused. This assassination made no sense, Dr. King was a Man of The Cloth, a Man of Peace. Somehow my parents didn’t get upset like I did, not that they were racists, but….

Then the morning the news that Robert Kennedy was assassinated. Those two in rapid succession affected me tremendously.  Kennedy was at least a white Catholic so I saw a few tears shed at our dinner table.

LBJ signs the Civil Rights Act of 1968, USSR invades Czechoslovakia, and LBJ ends the “Rollin Thunder” bombing of North Vietnam. He also announces he will “not seek” another term for President. The BLACK POWER salute is seen during the Summer Olympics in Mexico, viewed throughout America  and the world in “living color”.

Students overtake Columbia University (thanks Mark Rudd, Dad will never let me go there now), Apollo 8 orbits the moon, and The Beatles release THE BEATLES aka as the White Album. And what was I doing?

I was listening to the Small Faces OGDEN’S NUT GONE FLAKE and SUPER SESSION.

A blurb written in Howard Smith’s SCENES in the Village Voice (February 17) addressed a Janis Joplin performance at The Anderson Theatre. Wherever The Anderson was to this Long Island boy, it could have been on Mars. I remember being amazed at how Smith described the show. This Big Brother and The Holding Company gig, with B.B. King on the bill,was meant to be a “coming out” party, NY style for the recently (8 months ago) herald band’s performance at Monterey. Smith compared Joplin to Bessie Smith (whom I never heard at that point in time), Areatha Franklin, and James Brown.  Janis, is a white girl. Hmmmm, this had to be good.

At this point in time besides the VOICE with it’s legendary Howard Smith (SCENES) and Richard Goldstein’s POP EYE column, I read CRAWDADDY , RAMPARTS, ROLLING STONE (newspaper format)and EYE magazine along with the weekly hit paraders that the local stations produced, GO(WMCA), etc. I vividly remember THE MOTHERS OF INVENTION ads run that summer in THE VOICE for their Garrick Theater performances. Also, the first Rolling Stone magazine with John Lennon gracing the cover and pictures from Monterey Pop. However, the risk of bringing home or to work a copy of THE EAST VILLAGE OTHER (EVO) was always a challenge. I only consider reading the EVO in the sanctity of my own room as some folks in my home, or anywhere in fact would deem even the comics a bit obscene. Mom would have freaked. I loved it.

But I digress, let’s go back a few months to when FILLMORE EAST opens. The  Village Voice, last week of February 1968, announced a show featuring Big Brother and The Holding Company, Tim Buckley, and Albert King at a place called Fillmore East. I needed to find out where that was. Then a friend at school brought in a program from Fillmore East for a DOORS show he had seen there. Now, I definitely need to go.

See you next time….Chapter 21:Can’t See A Thing Til’ You Open My Eyes . Comments? jazzbus@gmail.com