Posted on 06/17/2023 5:37:09 PM PDT by nickcarraway
If you were a major rock artist in the 1960s, you needed to come through Bill Graham‘s Fillmore East. The legendary New York concert venue wasn’t particularly big – it held less than 3,000 people at its maximum capacity. But despite its small size, the Fillmore East wound up being the perfect venue for some of the most electric live performances of all time.
The great classic live albums recorded at the venue speak for themselves. The Allman Brothers Band’s At Fillmore East, Joe Cocker’s Mad Dogs and Englishmen, Quicksilver Messenger Services’ Happy Trails, Frank Zappa’s Fillmore East – June 1971, and a whole host of some of the finest live performances the Grateful Dead ever did, assembled onto albums like Skull and Roses and History of the Grateful Dead, Volume One (Bear’s Choice).
At the tail end of 1969, another familiar face walked into the comfy confines of the Fillmore East to record a new live album. Jimi Hendrix had played the Fillmore before with the Experience, but when he entered the venue, he had a new trio with him. Bassist Billy Cox had played with Hendrix at Woodstock, and new drummer/singer Buddy Miles was also involved. This group configuration had varying names, but as it was announced at the beginning of the performance, the band was going by ‘Band of Gypsys’ by this time.
The Fillmore East was an ideal setting for Hendrix. As he played his psychedelic-tinged funk rock, the Joshua Light Show projected swirls of colours and images around him and the band. It created quite a visual experience for both artist and crowd, and Hendrix’s fuzz-filled freak-outs rarely found a venue as sympathetic to his needs as the Fillmore East.
The concerts that the Band of Gypsys played across the end of 1969, turning into 1970, would eventually become the basis for Hendrix’s final album during his lifetime, Band of Gypsys. While introducing ‘Machine Gun’, Hendrix wishes the crowd a happy new year and expects “one or two million more of them if we can get over this summer”. Sadly, Hendrix himself wouldn’t make it that far.
In September of 1970, Hendrix died from drug-induced pulmonary aspiration while in London, passing away at the age of 27. Band of Gypsys would become one of Hendrix’s final statements during his lifetime, and his performances at the Fillmore East quickly entered into legend among fans and rock critics.
Check out Hendrix’s performance at the Fillmore East on New Year’s Eve down below.
Completely different bass player/drummer from his usual band
I saw him in Houston in 69 or 70.
If you want to watch something spectacular here’s Sly and the Family Stone from the Harlem Cultural Festival, about a month before Woodstock:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uHc_jz4jsQQ
scuze me while I puke and die..
rip jimmy
Charitable.
lucky dog!
sorry, but i never got the whole Hendrix thing....for that time, the psychadelic era, i can see why. But to put him still as the greatest ever, has more to do because he died young, and was black. Just alot of feed back and distorted noise...i dont get it.
hey he was god like but not god
band of gypsys was great
I always thought Sly and the Family Stone put on the best show at Woodstock.
Loved Sly and the Family since i was a little kid. Its amazing he’s still alive.
you missed it junior
I’d love to see their entire Woodstock performance beyond whats in the movie.
Ever hear the story why they didn’t get on the stage until 4 in the morning?? Evidently Sly had a tendency to say, “I”M NOT GOING ON STAGE!!” right before the show would start. He did this at Woodstock and they tried to talk him into getting on stage, for about 2 hours. Finally one of the shows producers threw him against the wall and threatened him if he didn’t get his ass on stage- this was about 3AM.
I wouldn’t be surprised. Was there a better band in the world in 1969?
thank god....they all should have been shot on their clothes alone back then....
Have you seen or heard the Wattstax release?
I am the same way, never got into the Hendrix mania, but a couple of songs stick with me. “All along the watchtower” and “Little Wing”. Stevie Ray Vaughn did a remake of Little wing that was awesome.
I was 12. Sing a Simple Song. Loved it.
No- any links??
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