The Who releasing 'Live at the Fillmore East 1968' for shows' 50th anniversary

This year marks the 50th anniversary of Bill Graham’s legendary East Village venue The Fillmore East which existed from March 8, 1968, to June 27, 1971 on 2nd Ave between E. 6th and E. 7th. (It’s now a bank.) There’s a nice article about the anniversary by Jim Farber in the February 26 edition of Newsday:

The Medieval Revival-style building that became the Fillmore East had opened in 1925 as a Yiddish theater. Graham, a German-Jewish Holocaust survivor, wanted to extend the venue’s theatrical history by offering specially designed programs for each show, items which have become collector’s items. Sound quality, too, was key, in contrast to most venues of that day. “When we saw the Jeff Beck Group, you could hear every note,” said James Spina, 68, editor of 20/20 magazine, who drove to the theater regularly from his Floral Park home. “My ears paid the price.”

Crucial, as well, was the psychedelic Joshua Light Show. “To watch that lighting behind bands like the Dead was incredibly trippy,” said Addabbo, who later became a Grammy-winning producer for artists like Bob Dylan and Shawn Colvin.

Drama arrived with the very first Fillmore show. The drummer for the opening act, Albert King, had been AWOL from the army; military police came to arrest him right after the show. More often the excitement happened onstage, usually at the second of two shows held each night. “The late show was the one to see,” said Fillmore regular Mitchell Cohen, 67, then a Bronx teenager, who later became a music executive at Arista and Columbia Records. “There was more opportunity there for long jams.”

After just a month open, Fillmore East hosted The Who on April 5 & 6. They were originally supposed to play two shows a night, but fears of civil unrest after Dr. Martin Luther King’s assasination on April 4, they condensed it into one performance a night. Those shows now make up The Who: Live at the Fillmore East 1968, a double disc set due out April 20 via MCA. The first disc includes an unreleased cover of Eddie Cochran’s “C’Mon Everybody” and versions of “A Quick One” and “Relax” which predate the recorded versions from The Who Sell Out. The second disc is dedicated 33-minute version of “My Generation.” Tracklist for the double album is below.

Meanwhile, Roger Daltrey is performing The Who’s Tommy on tour this year with an orchestra, including a show at Forest Hills Stadium in Queens.

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The Who Live at the Fillmore East 1968 tracklist
Disc One:
1. “Summertime Blues”
2. “Fortune Teller”
3. “Tattoo”
4. “Little Billy”
5. “I Can’t Explain”
6. “Happy Jack”
7. “Relax”
8. “I’m A Boy”
9. “A Quick One”
10. “My Way”
11. “C’mon Everybody”
12. “Shakin’ All Over”
13. “Boris The Spider”

Disc Two:
1. “My Generation”