Legendary Venues: The Fillmore

You may have heard of The Fillmore if you live in Philadelphia, Detroit, DC, Baltimore, or Charlotte, but The Fillmore name actually started in San Francisco at a venue located on the corner of Fillmore Street and Geary Boulevard and it still exists today. The Fillmore originally opened in 1912 as a dance hall under the name “The Majestic Hall and Majestic Academy of Dancing”. Through the 1930’s the legendary venue continued to operate as a dance hall under various names and management. It became a roller rink through the 1940’s, but in the 1950’s the venue transformed into a place where live music filled the space between walls.

In 1954 The Fillmore began operating as a music venue under the leadership of Charles Sullivan. Sullivan began booking some of the best names in black music at the time such as James Brown, Ike & Tina Turner, and Bobby “Blue” Bland. By the 60’s, San Francisco was at the height of hip culture in the United States and The Fillmore was just a small piece in that thanks to then up and coming concert promoter, Bill Graham.

Graham began using the venue with the approval of Sullivan in 1965 to book bands. Bill Graham was responsible for giving The Fillmore a name due to his ability to hire and promote bands who played new, creative styles of music (which became known as psychedelic music). Some of those bands were Jefferson Airplane, Moby Grape, Santana, Quicksilver Messenger Service, Big Brother and the Holding Company, the Butterfield Blues Band, and legendary jam band, the Grateful Dead. Other notable bands and musicians who came through the doors of The Fillmore thanks to Graham were Jimi Hendrix, Otis Redding, Cream, Muddy Waters, The Who, The Doors, Steve Miller Band, Led Zeppelin, and Pink Floyd.

It was during Graham’s era at The Fillmore that many of the venue’s traditions which are still in place today began. The Fillmore always has a greeter at the door who welcomes music fans with a cheery, “Welcome to The Fillmore!” There’s also always a large tub of free apples located near the entrance. The last tradition which still takes place at the venue might be the coolest of all. Upon exiting, all fans receive a poster from the night’s show. In the 60’s, the posters were designed by two artists who became leaders in psychedelic poster design, Wes Wilson and Rick Griffin.

In the 70’s, The Fillmore became a private neighborhood club, but in the 80’s Paul Rat pioneered the punk rock movement at The Fillmore. He brought in punk rock bands like The Dead Kennedys, Black Flag, and Bad Brains. Bill Graham again took hold of The Fillmore by the mid-80’s, but in 1989 the venue was closed because of the damage it took from the Loma Prieta earthquake. Two years later, Graham died in a helicopter crash. It was one of his final wishes to reopen the venue where he first began his career.

In 1994, it happened. On April 27th, The Smashing Pumpkins played a secret show at the newly reopened venue followed by Primus, who played the first official show the following evening. The Fillmore has been in operation since. In 2007, Live Nation began to lease and operate the original Fillmore location and have since branded the name at old and new venues throughout the country. In my opinion, there’s nothing like the original though especially with all the history it represents and traditions that are still kept alive to this day, making The Fillmore in San Francisco a legendary venue.

 

The Film Playlist: School of Rock

When I was a freshman in high school, I had a solid 7th period Algebra class. My teacher was in his 20’s and an alumni of my high school, so he made at least one class in our transition to a new school pretty relaxed. I learned a few things in his class, all unrelated to math. I found out what it was like to live in NYC and work on Wall Street (his former profession before he became our Algebra teacher), that Pat’s makes the best cheesesteak in Philly (this was a lie because they don’t), and that School of Rock was a great movie (based on his and a fellow classmate’s recommendation). Out of those few things the most useful to me was that School of Rock was indeed a great movie and a must-see for any music lover.

Directed by Richard Linklater (Boyhood and Dazed and Confused), School of Rock was released October 3, 2003. It was the highest grossing musical comedy of all time until recently when Pitch Perfect 2 surpassed it this year. The movie stars Jack Black as rock singer/guitarist Dewey Finn, who gets kicked out of his band, No Vacancy. With no job and no way to afford rent for the apartment he shares with his friend and former band mate, Ned Schneebly (Mike White, also writer of the film), and Ned’s girlfriend, Patty (Sarah Silverman), Dewey poses as a 4th grade substitute teacher at a prep school to make some money. The school’s principal, Rosaline Mullins, who Dewey befriends to earn the job, is played by Joan Cusack. After Dewey hears his class during their music lesson, he concocts a plan to transform the class into a band to compete at Battle of the Bands and win against No Vacancy, who is also competing. He assigns the class (starring a young Miranda Cosgrove as one of the students) various roles either in the band or as stylists, roadies, groupies, production team members, security, or managers, and preparation for the event takes over normal class time. Obviously his plan is destined for struggles along the way, but through everything, he teaches the students some important life lessons.

The film features a stellar classic rock soundtrack with an original song and AC/DC cover (“It’s A Long Way to the Top (If You Wanna Rock N’ Roll)”) played by the cast. Linklater actually searched for and cast young, talented musicians to play the roles of the kids in the band. The soundtrack also features songs by Led Zeppelin (who rarely distribute the rights to their songs for use in film or television), Stevie Nicks, The Who, The Doors, Cream, The Black Keys, and The Ramones. Many other classic rock songs by bands like AC/DC, Deep Purple, and The Clash are featured in the film as well.

After seeing School of Rock, I purchased the movie to add to my collection, since I enjoyed it so much. It became a movie night film I would turn to time after time (whether that be by myself or with friends). I even downloaded the original song “School of Rock” or “Zach’s Song” as they say in the movie. It’s still on my iTunes to this day. The film was a great ode to music, specifically rock n’ roll, and taught us all how to “stick it to the man”. The Film Playlist series wouldn’t be complete without it, despite it being just an average, funny, music oriented film. For any music fan, it’s worth checking out though, even if you only want to learn Dewey’s rock n’ roll handshake. Let’s rock, let’s rock. Today.

(** If you have seen the film, check out this amazing 10 year reunion performance of “School of Rock” from the cast.**)

The Film Playlist: Almost Famous

Yesterday morning I caught part of the talk show Live! With Kelly & Michael. Kate Hudson was a guest on the show to promote her new movie Rock the Kasbah. Every time I see Kate Hudson anywhere, whether it be on TV, in a movie, in a magazine, etc., I always think to myself, “Kate Hudson will never be as good as she was in Almost Famous.” Today was no exception, but it did also give me a good idea for a new blog series. The series will combine two of the topics I cover on this thing. I wish I thought of it sooner. I’m calling it “The Film Playlist.” In the series, I’ll write about movies with music plots. But no musicals! Okay, maybe I’ll throw in a musical or two (cause there’s only two musical films I actually like), but don’t hold your breath. Anyway, to begin the series, I figured I should write about one of my favorite music movies and the inspiration for “The Film Playlist”, Almost Famous.

Almost Famous was released in 2000 starring Billy Crudup, Kate Hudson, and Patrick Fugit. It was written and directed by Cameron Crowe. Crowe won an Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay for the film. It also featured a bunch of well known and up and coming actors like Frances McDormand, the late Philip Seymour Hoffman, Zooey Deschanel, Jimmy Fallon, Rainn Wilson, Jay Baruchel, and Eric Stonestreet. The film is set in the early 70’s. It tells the story of 15 year old William Miller (Patrick Fugit), who has a strong love for rock music and spends his time writing for underground newspapers. After William is given the chance to cover a Black Sabbath concert by rock journalist Lester Bangs (Philip Seymour Hoffman), he meets and befriends the mysterious groupie or should I say “Band Aid”, Penny Lane (Kate Hudson). Her connections with the opening band at the Sabbath concert, Stillwater, and former relations with the lead singer of Stillwater, Russell Hammond (Billy Crudup), open a door for William. His Black Sabbath article earns him an opportunity with Rolling Stone. After he begs to do the piece on Stillwater and has his wish granted, he is told to travel on tour with the band to get the full scoop on the rock group. The journey he embarks on is truly a coming of age tale filled with sex, drugs, rock & roll, and life lessons.

Four years ago, my friend Caylee, who was my go-to for good music recommendations, told me I should see this movie. At the time, I recently subscribed to Netflix so I put it on my DVD list. I watched and instantly appreciated it. It was a great movie and as I still say to this day, Kate Hudson’s best work. It’s filled with many legendary quotes and memorable scenes, especially the scene where the entire tour bus sings along to “Tiny Dancer”. It’s just a fantastic moment in the film.

Almost Famous is a quality film that surrounds music, the music industry, and the tour life of a 70’s rock band. The soundtrack even won a Grammy. Of course, most of the music is that early 70’s rock & roll era style. On the soundtrack you’ll hear Led Zeppelin, The Who, The Allman Brothers Band, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Simon & Garfunkel, Rod Stewart, The Beach Boys, and David Bowie to name a few. Sure it’s not my current favorite kind of music but you have to appreciate classic rock, just as you have to appreciate this movie.

Like Caylee did to me four years earlier, I now recommend this movie to all of you. It’s the first in “The Film Playlist” series and a must see for any music lover. I also suggest you “listen to Tommy with a candle burning and you’ll see your entire future,” but only after you check out Almost Famous.

“I always tell the girls never take it seriously, if you never take it seriously you never get hurt, if you never get hurt you always have fun, and if you ever get lonely just go to the record store and visit your friends.” -Penny Lane