Rare Fillmore East program for Procol Harum and Byrds concerts on June 27 and 28, 1969, 5.5 x 8.5, which also features a two-page advertisement and ticket order form for the Woodstock Music & Art Fair set to occur later that summer in Wallkill, New York. The program also includes a “Bill Graham Presents in New York” schedule for July and August that lists concerts by Jeff Beck, Jethro Tull, Iron Butterfly, John Mayall, Creedence Clearwater Revival, Crosby, Stills & Nash, Canned Heat, Santana, and Jefferson Airplane. In fine condition, with the lower portion of a few central pages cleanly detached. Accompanied by an original ticket stub for the Procol Harum and Byrds concert at the Fillmore East on June 28, 1969.
This year is the 50th anniversary of the closing of the now legendary Fillmore East. Janis Joplin, Jimi Hendrix, The Doors, The Grateful Dead, The Who, Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd, John Lennon, Frank Zappa and the Mothers of Invention, Ray Charles, Miles Davis, Joni Mitchell, The Band, Derek and the Dominos, the Allman Brothers Band and so many more performed at the Fillmore, most on several occasions. Unlike its counterpart the Fillmore West in San Francisco, which was a ballroom (it was a former dance hall) like most music venues were at the time, the Fillmore East was a theatre and it was a totally different experience for both the artist and the audience. Going to the Fillmore East was going to the theatre... a theatre that was built originally for vaudeville shows, which was perfect acoustically and seating wise for rock concerts. With the addition of a custom-made sound system and the visually mesmerizing Joshua Light Show (Joe's Light's later), it was a concert experience like no other. The Fillmore East itself is gone now, though its legend lives on and anyone who was ever fortunate enough to perform or attend a concert there can attest to the magic that occurred in that much missed theatre.
