Fillmore: The Last Days

Fillmore: The Last Days
1972
Directed by Richard T. Heffron



SYNOPSIS

Legendary concert impresario Bill Graham has had enough and decides to shut the doors of the legendary Fillmore West in San Francisco. The final week of shows was captured on film showcasing many of the Bay Area's finest of the era. Santana, the Grateful Dead, Jefferson Airplane, Hot Tuna (see video above) and the Quicksilver Messenger Service are just a handful of bands that perform. It is as much a concert film as it is a profile of Bill Graham, and the viewer gets to see what his life/ job was like and who he was as a person.

MY THOUGHTS

I'm your typical t-shirt and jeans guy and I have short hair, but at heart, I'm a long haired dirty hippie. This documentary took place a few years before I was even born, but I dug this, man.
Though this is far from the perfectness of concert films like "Monterrey Pop," "Woodstock" and "Gimmie Shelter," but the music in top notch. The film apes the side-by-side image style famously used in "Woodstock" and helps move the film along.

The performances kick off with Cold Blood delivering probably their most known song, a cover of Sam And Dave's 'You Got Me Hummin.'
Hot Tuna was another highlight, as was the Quicksilver Messenger Service. It's a shame classic rock stations don't play more of these groups. Lesser known groups like Lamb and It's A Beautiful Day (performing their only hit 'White Bird') also deliver.
The Grateful Dead deliver one of their most famous songs 'Casey Jones.' The Dead follow that with a rollicking performance of 'Johnny B. Goode.' I've listened to a lot of the Dead's music, but I'm not sure if I ever heard them do anything that uptempo.
The music concluded with 2 songs from Santana, including a cover of Miles Davis' 'In A Silent Way.'

Interspersed between the music throughout is a profile of Graham.
Bill Graham comes across as a very complex and difficult man. I'm not sure if he would have been someone I'd want to know but he's fascinating to watch.
At times, he's a hard-ass. Some of his intense telephone calls are equally hilarious and horrifying, especially (presumably) to the manager of Santana. (It's a shame they didn't get reaction shots from the other side of the phone.)
Other times, like when he's with his son, or telling stories, he seems like a very warm likable person.
I only knew OF the man prior to viewing this, and now I feel I know him and somewhat understand him.
(Graham wound up reopening the Fillmore in the mid 80's and ran it until his death in a helicopter crash in 1991.)

DVD

The images on this recently released DVD from Rhino are very grainy due to the film being shot on 16mm film, so visually it looks on par with "Monterrey Pop" or "Ziggy Stardust & The Spiders Of Mars." It doesn't detract from the film. The film's dual images may be a pain for those with standard-def televisions, but the anamorphic video helps to fill an HD screen nicely

The DVD is missing a supposedly electrifying performance from singer Boz Scaggs that many say was a highlight of the film. It's a shame it wasn't included.
If only this DVD contained gobs of bonus performances like the Criterion Collection's edition of "Monterrey Pop." It's not clear if any extra footage still exists, though the Jefferson Airplane music and Jerry Garcia's rehearsal with New Riders of the Purple Sage are apparently new additions to replace Scaggs.

There are no special features of any kind. This is sad. Not even a trailer or all-text production notes/bios that were common in the early days of DVD.
Hopefully Rhino can revisit this release in a few years and beef it up.

FINAL THOUGHTS

Though not a seminal event in rock history like "Woodstock," Fillmore delivers great music and the story of a fascinating man, and shoud not be missed.




The soundtrack offers even more great music from that week.