Live at the Fillmore East and West

Getting Backstage and Personal with Rock's Greatest Legends

By: John Glatt

Narrated by: Peter Berkrot

In 1968, rock promoter Bill Graham launched the Fillmore East in New York City and the Fillmore West in San Francisco, changing music forever. For three years, every major rock band played the Fillmores, performing legendary shows: Jimi Hendrix, the Grateful Dead, Santana, Jefferson Airplane, Led Zeppelin, Cream, the Allman Brothers, and many more. John Glatt tells the story of the Fillmores through the lives of Bill Graham, Janis Joplin, Grace Slick, Carlos Santana, and an all-star supporting cast. Chronicling the East and West Coast cultures of the late 1960s and early 1970s - New York City with its speed, heroin, and the Velvet Underground versus San Francisco with the LSD-drenched Summer of Love - Glatt reveals how Graham made it all possible. But why did Graham shutter both Fillmores within weeks of each other in 1971, during the height of their popularity? Live at the Fillmore East and West reveals how Graham's claim that "the flowers wilted and the scene changed" was not quite the whole story.

©2014 John Glatt (P)2014 Tantor

Great inside look at the beginning and the end of an era

Great look at 60's Rock which was started with the flower power philosophy and fueled by passion and drugs, then ultimately poisoned by fame and more drugs. Fascinating and informative. A great look a Rock history and an era that can never be duplicated.

I'm no Hippy but I dig the $&@! Out of this book!

Any fan of rock culture and wants to know where sex, drugs and rock and roll began better read/listen to This book!

Good

Too many names mispronounced. Palo Alto is NOT in Marin. Dumb errors. Winter land was not a ballroom

An amazing era in music

When I think of the Fillmore East I think about that great Allman Brothers album recorded there. On some Facebook groups I see often see photos of the place with so many great names on the Marquee. I knew it was small compared to places I saw big rock bands in the 70s. I always wondered why we don’t see great bands at smaller venues. This book answered that question. It was an era before Rock got so big. After Woodstock bands saw how big their potential audience could be. They made more from one show than a weekend of four shows at Fillmore. Who can blame them. The Fillmore E and W are such an important part of rock music history and sadly this era is gone forever as is rock and roll I’m sad to say. I loved this book and recommend it to any fan of the music.

Pretty Good Book

You have to keep in mind, this is in 60's & 70's. Boring then good. All you hear about is freaking, Jefferson Airplane... ugghh. I don't care for their music... but they were hugely successful then. You hear very little about Hendrix. But the stuff about, Bill Graham was good. Shows how money, can change you...for the worse. The narrator was okay. Sometimes it could get nerve racking. But then again, this was a different time. Too bad both venues are gone now. A lot musical history there.

Kudos to John Glant and Peter Berkrot !

Live at the Fillmore East &West is a well written, informative, intriguing historical account of Bill Graham's influence and participation in, arguably, the most creative musical era the world has seen and heard to date. A descriptive and accurate subtitle could have been - The Life and Times of Bill Graham from Dylan to Present. If you have an interest in the history and influence of Rock/Pop music during the turbulent 60s and 70s in the United States, you'll appreciate this book. And contrary to other reviews, Peter Berkrot delivers an award-winning performance narrating, in my opinion. There is, however, a couple of very minor errors: The Allman Brothers Band debut album was titled, The Allman Brothers Band. Idlewild South was their second album, although it was their first album on the Capricorn Records label. Secondly, the Allman Brothers Band's live recording at the Fillmore East in 1971 was titled, " The Allman Brothers Band At Fillmore East," not At "The" Fillmore East, for obvious reasons.

Johnnie Travis, Marietta, GA, 64, Listening Level- Master (LOL)

Pretty well researched - good info

Where does Live at the Fillmore East and West rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

This must be a pretty good book - a few mistakes notwithstanding (The Allman Bros. first album was NOT "Idlewild South" - because the narrator is a joke. Overly dramatic and sounds like he has no connection to the material at all. Perhaps this is the producer/director's fault. I hate to put anyone down but this guy sounds like he's not even human ~ perhaps a computer program that reads the words. Not only does he mispronounce quite few names - but he is not even consistent - sometimes getting them right, sometimes wrong. But I enjoyed the stories - particularly learning about what was going on behind the scenes at concerts I attended.

Would you be willing to try another one of Peter Berkrot’s performances?

Hopefully I'll never have to.

HARD WORK, PATIENCE, AND GUTS PAYS OFF

Where does Live at the Fillmore East and West rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

ABOUT IN THE MIDDLE

Who was your favorite character and why?

WHY BILL OF COURSE.

What about Peter Berkrot’s performance did you like?

YES IT WAS FINE

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

NOT REALLY

Any additional comments?

MORAL DECAY, SUBSTANCE ABUSE,AND EGOS RAN WILD IN THE ROCK SCENE, BUT WE ALREADY KNEW THAT.

5 star book 0 star arrator

Only a couple chapters in, but not sure I can put up with this narrator much longer. Fake hippie accent, fake Latino accent, mispronounces words in many different ways. He changes his fake accent with each character to the region the character is fun. The majority of fake vocals sounds like tough guy meth addict from the sixties. This is good history but needs to be rereleased with a different reader. Don't buy this version unless you are very young and can't tell the difference.

what an amazing story and well worth a listen

I grew up while all this stuff was going on and I loved all the music and I know a little bit about Bill Graham but this was really interesting to hear even if the narrator's a little too hip and groovy for his own good sometimes