Comments from somoman

Although this site focuses exclusively on theaters, let me offer up my opinion on what I feel was the best venue in New York. The Wollman Rink at Central Park, aka the Budweiser Music Festival, then the Schaefer Music Festival and then the Dr. Pepper Music Festival. When the weather was right, and the band was up, it just didn’t get better. The Byrds in 1971 races to mind. By that time the band featured Clarence White on guitar and Skip Battin on bass. The Byrds were always feel good, and when Roger played his 12 string, the crowd would light up. Oh yeah $2.00 tickets didnt hurt the experience

farmersdtr

i’d like to swap .jpg images with you if you are willing and able to scan or take camera images of some of the items you mentioned. any chance you can get in touch with me at my home email?

I’d like to send you images of the ritz ticket stubs that I have and get your feedback. i’ll also send you some images of my stub collections.

I’m at

Thanks

x

I was a dedicated concert goer from 1969 to 1978. Having worked for Cash Box magazine (a worthy competitor to Billboard in the mid to late 60s), I went to concerts at least 3 times a week. The record companies gave out tickets generously to people like me, as they were always fishing for editorial favor, or better position on the top 100 charts. Besides, the tickets had a face value of $5-10 dollars back then, and the record labels gladly reimbursed the promoters for those freebies. Sadly, like everything else done in excess, going to concerts so often can make you lose your taste for the live experience. And don’t be fooled by the Bill Graham approach of “3 acts for $5”. In the days of the Fillmore East, those 3 bands would introduce styles and sounds that would ultimately shape the music we grew to love. But by 1976 we were being force fed crap by bands like Wet Willie or J.F.Murphy & Salt. Recycled pop version of their ground breaking counterparts.

I stopped attending concerts in 1978 having had more than my fill of music. Passion, innocence and the love of music , the founding qualities of rock and roll were long gone, replaced by a record label “corporate sensibility”. Gone were the days of LPs, soon to be know as “product”. Record store chains and retailers, who once bought albums from their local “one stop” distributors soon became slaves to the regional corporate “pipeline”, often force fed retail garbage that was imposed on them if they expected to get their Frampton Comes Alive order filled.

Punk came along to “save the day”,having injected the scene with a genuine angst ridden urgency. But those of us who grew up in the 60s couldn’t help but see that the punkers were “working too hard” at it, as if they were trying to convince themselves along with every other person they could intimidate. It smelled like a marketing scheme covertly disguised as a grass roots uprising, and financed by the major record labels. And of course it wasn’t a scheme when it first laid its roots, but punk became the property of clothing retailers just a little too soon, and a little too blatantly. The record labels spoon fed us The Knack, an innocuous, run of the mill group of wannabes,who were signed to Capitol Records after a protracted bidding war that could only be compared to the Yankees signing of Carl Pavano (who accepted a four year contract worth $39.95 million with the New York Yankees before falling off the map). The Knack, just punk enough to attract the loyalists who were looking for an icon, just pop enough to become a #1 album. I was on my knees, begging for mercy with the release of that album. If the Knack was the future of music than Lord Strike Me Deaf.

In 2002 or 2003, my buddies convinced me to see the Allman Brothers Band again. I had last seen them in 1971 at Carnegie Hall, a few short weeks after Duane died. Living in New York City I had the good fortune of choosing from a run of 12 ABB shows at the Beacon that year. At worst, I owed the band a thanks for the wealth of options. Thursday nights werre always my favorite night of the week, and so getting tickets for a Thursday was a breeze. I also began shopping on Craigslist for tickets under $100 each. When a band plays 12 consecutive nights, you’re gonna get some get choice seats for under $60. All the disdain, the greediness and the jacked up ticket prices were put aside for that night.

I had heard about this boy wonder Derek Trucks, and I had heard about this rock and roll “torch bearer” Warren Haynes. But I never expected that the ABB would find two musicians that could bring back the fire, I mean BRING BACK THE FIRE that so drew me to the band the first time around. I saw Duane Allman play with the band on 5 seperate occasions. I loved Duane, but with all due respect, Derek Trucks was a better guitar player, and he was humble, passionate, sincere, and the real article in a world or grunge posers. And Derek always paid homage to the musicians who inlfluenced him, the musicians on whose shoulders he stood.

More recently I had the good fortune of seeing Zappa plays Zappa at the very intimate Blender Theater in New York City, Maybe, just maybe it seats 500. And then I saw Warren Haynes and Govt Mule play at the Angel Orensanz theater, an acoustic, and a laid back electric show. Maybe, just maybe the Orensanz Theater ( a preserved and converted Jewish temple) sat 250 people. Was there a movement back to intimate venues again, spearheaded by the very same arena bands who got rich filling stadiums. Hmmmmm, I was beginning to see a little light here, a movement, a newfound respect for individuals like who put down their hard earned cash to listen to 2 short hours of musical entertainment. Small venues eh… a place where a band could really connect with their audience,. And was it true what I had heard on the radio? The entire Zappa band had agreed to stick around after the show and sign autographs until the very last person in the audience got his or hers? It was true. I have my Dweezil signed laminated necklace. And on the backside, a secret code that would allow me to download a free copy of the show we had just heard. Wow, integrity had returned to the music scene. My vote counted. They respected me.

Which brings me back to Woodstock. Do I think a Woodstock can ever happen again? Innocense is fleeting, and once the Genie gets out of the bottle there’s no putting it back. Do I think music will ever be the mouth piece of a political movement again, the soundtrack to a countercultural revolution. NOT IN MY LIFETIME. And will tickets ever come back to affordable? Hmmm maybe…if this recession keep up it just might.

Music will never be again what it was in the 60s. And that’s sad, but progress is progress. BUT remember on any given night a band can sneak up on you, come around the bend slow and easy, then blow you away with a musical crescendo so dynamic that it can make the hair on your back stand up. Yes there are still magic moments. And these magic moments remind us that we humans can still move still the world forward, one tiny step at a time.

Farmersdtr

LETS HEAR IT….WHAT"S ON THE BACK OF THE TICKET

Hey Farmersdtr

I’m thrilled to see some more in depth information on the Ritz. It is one of the most under-documented venues in the history of the NY music scene. Perhaps its location on Staten Island contributed to its obscurity. The Unganos were no stranger to the business, and yet very few know that it was the Unganos who operated the Ritz. I was fortunate enough to see the Allman Brothers play there. In an amazing coincidence the band entered the front of the theater along with the rest of the crowd, and there they were right in front of my buddies and me. At age 16 it left quite an impression.

In any case can I impose on you to quote the actual dates of the concerts as they appear on the posters.

Thanks

Around 1970, Ticketron or Ticket Master rolled out the first nationwide electronic ticket service. Each venue took it upon themselves to decide if they would use Ticketron style tickets, or continue to have their tickets custom printed. Bill Graham used custom tickets up to and including the final show at the Fillmore East. However In all my years going to the Academy of Music (starting in 1971), I only recall the electronic ticket. Does anyone know if Howard Stein ever used custom tickets for the Academy?

By the way, I have a custom tickets from Howard Stein’s Capitol Theater in Portchester (perforated) as well as a custom perforated one from Gaelic Park. I also have the unperforated ticket from Gaelic Park.

Wow. I’m amazed at the amount of information that has been contributed to this site. I hae 2 ticket stubs from the Rivoli and I’m looking to identify the films that were playing on those particular days:

Wednesday July 24th 1963
Wednesday January 18th 1967

If anyone wants the stubs for archival reasons, drop me an email and I’ll send them off to you at no charge.

Stephen

Anyone interested in a pair of vintage ticket stubs from the Mineola Theater? I dont know what shows were there but the dates on the stubs are Feb 6 1965 and Sept 17 1966.

Right around the time of the “No Nukes” concert at MSG (September 1979) the Palladium hosted a benefit concert for “Karen Silkwood Defense Fund”. Two guests that appeared were Jackson Browne and Bonnie Raitt, and both of them were also sponsors of the No Nukes concert. There is one item on a Bonnie Raiit site that confirms the Silkwood show, but that listing indicates to have happened on 5/9/78, and also claims another show for Silkwood at Avery Fisher Hall on 5/1/78. Since No Nukes went down in 1979, it would seem that the Silkwood concert would have happened within a day or two of the No Nukes show, and surely in 1979. Does anyone know anything about this show? Can anyone support either Silkwood show with a date.

Hey Ed

No, the asterisks were nothing more than reminders to myself that I had to return to those listings for one reason or another. I have a slightly more thorough and accurate list that I failed to post, and I will post it within the week.

As for the Band, it didn’t occur to me during the making of the list that this was the Band’s final tour (which of course it was). So I never questioned the dates. The dates are far earlier than the Thanksiving show at Winterland, but then again, a year long tour for the Band was hardly beyond their scope of capability. Looks like a little research is in order. As for the Band playing at the Palladium, I saw the 1971 New Year’s eve show with Bob Dylan. That was fun.

By the way, I picked up Last Waltz about a year ago on Ebay. It was as good as the first time I saw it, and it gave me chills all over again. The back story of how the last show became an event is briliantly told by Scorcese as part of the DVD extras. As an aside I’ve got to say that Van Morrison, who could be aweful (moody) on any given night, gave the performance of a lifetime.

Those of you who use this Fillmore East sight have probably dropped in on the Academy of Music listing here at the Cinema Treasures sight. If you have, than you may know that I’m trying to create the only comprehensive list of performnces at the Academy of Music ever assembled. Input welcome.

Despite all my harsh works about the Academy, its attrocious conditions and aweful sound, Howard Stein DID succeed at attracting the best of the best in the industry, while fighting the same financial battles that persuaded Bill Graham to get out of the business. In the end, we should all be appreciative of any promoter who had the balls to get into the music promotion business, taking the kind of financial risks they took, while suffering the intolerable behavior of those self-important prima donna rock stars, who lived to bite the hand that fed them. And in spite of the often huge profits that motivated the promoters, most of them (intentionally or otherwise) helped add structure and integrity to an otherwise lawless industry, getting the bands out of the college gymnasiums and into theaters and halls designed to enhance the concert experience.