Something for us old coots!

[Archae]

Yeah!

[Fla Dem]

1. Yep, when they were our age too!

[liberal N proud]

2. And it didn't cost $100 bucks a pop to see them

I saw a lot of bands for $25 or less.

[Lochloosa]

5. Most I ever spent for a Dead show. 43 bucks

[PufPuf23]

9. I saw many bands at Fillmore West and Winterland for $3.00 or $3.50 in 1968-1971.

$3.00 on Thurs and Sundays and one got a big poster or $3.50 on Fri and Sat with a handbill. Free apples at Fillmore West. Real light shows. All courtesy of Bill Graham.

Grateful Dead, Jefferson Airplane, Kinks, Zappa/Mothers, Pink Floyd, Country Joe and Fish, Joplin/Big Brother, Creedence Clearwater, Allman Brothers, Byrds, Elton John, Rod Stewart/Faces, Spirit, Santana, Ike and Tina Turner, ZZ Top, Joe Cocker/Mad Dogs, Bloomfield and Friends, Flamin Groovies, Quicksilver, Its a Beautiful Day, Ten Years After, The Band, Doors, Sly and Family Stone, Paul Butterfield, BB King, Hot Tuna, Poco, Free, Procol Harum, Everly Brothers, Grand Funk RR, Buddy Rich Orchestra, Buddy Guy, Electric Flag, Van Morrison, and many others and what is listed includes bands that were not headliners at the time; all between 1968 and 1971 at Bill Graham shows at Fillmore West and Winterland. I saw about 20 to 25% of the billings that usually ran for 3 or 4 evenings and had many other well known bands.

Later prices at Winterland were higher but still $15 or less except for some "special" shows (I last went to Winterland in 1979).

One could get, if so inclined, trendy chemical amusement aids for $1.00 or $2.00 from familiar faces that plied the lines from show to show.

[panader0]

15. Oh yeah.

I never made it to Winterland but saw many of the same bands at the Fillmore.
I remember Bill Graham introducing a new band - Santana- before their first
album came out. Light shows by the Family Dog and plenty of reefers making
the rounds.

[PufPuf23]

17. My first rock show was Doors / Procol Harum, Winterland November 1967

Last edited Fri Aug 19, 2016, 01:15 PM - Edit history (1)

It was said that Santana was the only band that ever headlined for Bill Graham before they had an album.

I made it to one show at the original incarnation of the Fillmore on Geary (Nitty Gritty Dirt band / Blue Cheer) and never attended a show at the Avalon Ballroom but did attend two shows (Dead and Jefferson Airplane) at Family Dog on the Great Highway and later in 1978(?) attended the Family Dog Tribal Stomp in the Greek Theatre at Cal (where I was student at the time). I went to Blues Project and Mad River shows at the Straight Theatre in the Haight in the late 60s as well.

Other bands left off the original list above for Fillmore West included Taj Mahal, Jethro Tull, Moby Grape, Love, Charlatans, Dan Hicks (post Charlatans), Blue Cheer, Savoy Brown, Georgie Fame, and more. I still have about 20 old dog eared and stapled and thumbtacked Fillmore West handbills. Wish I had paid more attention now.

I saw Hendrix at Berkeley Community Theatre (also The Band and James Taylor at BCT) in 1969 or 1970 and Cream at Oakland Coliseum (arena not stadium) in 1968.

Saw much good cheap music when student at Cal in mid 70s and later grad student at Cal in mid 80s such as Talking Heads free on Lower Spoul Plaza and two days later at Keystone and Tubes holding court before their first album at Long Branch Saloon on San Pablo.

[progressoid]

16. 15 dollars in 1979 is 55 dollars today.

3 bucks in '71 is a pretty nice deal. That's about 18 bucks today.

[qnr]

10. Much, much less n/t

[ailsagirl]

3. That's absolutely true

And I wouldn't trade those marvelous times in for anything!!

[pinboy3niner]

4. When I saw the Beatles my ticket cost me about six bucks

And that included Bobby Hebb and The Ronettes.

When I was editor of my HS newspaper there was one local venue that kept sending me free tickets to all their shows. So it didn't cost me anything to see groups like We Five and The Association (many times).

[Lochloosa]

6. Damn your old.

[pinboy3niner]

7. Ah, but...

[gratuitous]

11. Does anyone even remember The Association?

I think I had the world's most extensive collection of their LPs: Three.

[Archae]

13. Didn't they do that song, "Cherish?"

[gratuitous]

14. Yup

They also had a hit with a little pop confection called "Windy," another with the classic "Never My Love," and probably had the only chart single that used the word "psychodrama" with "Along Comes Mary." I liked them for their harmonies (which rivaled the Beach Boys in my opinion) and that they had six band members instead of the then-standard four.

[TexasBushwhacker]

8. Yup

My mother went to University after my youngest brother started elementary school back in the 70s. The basketball area (Hofheinz Pavillion) was one of the main concert venues. Tickets would go on sale to the students the day before everyone else. She stood in line many times to get tickets for me, often in the first few rows.

[Skittles]

12. five bucks to see Uriah Heep / ELO

beats the heck out 100+ bucks to see pop tarts

[OriginalGeek]

18. yeah but

I am REALLY interested in those new root beer and Orange Crush Pop Tarts. I don't want to be but I feel them calling to me...

I have been regularly attending concerts since the early 80s. My very first was Beach Boys with Delbert McClinton opening (in 81 or 82). Shortly after that was Tom Petty and then the Kinks and not long after those I started going mostly to metal shows. Iron Maiden, Judas Priest, Dio, and many more. In the early 90s I switched to clubs where I could see underground metal - death, thrash, etc and have probably seen thousands of bands since then. I still occasionally go to big arena shows - Seen Jimmy Page and Robert Plant together and apart several times over the years (But was just a smidgen too late to see them as Zep). I've seen Rush 9 or 10 times.

But I think the big arena shows back in the 80s were around 15~20 bucks. Nowadays I spend 10~20 to see bands up close but the last big arena show I saw was the Eagles and that was over 100 per ticket. So I don't do that very often lol.


I'd love to see a lot of bands from the 60s even if they are mostly all new guys with one original member. I loved seeing the Guess Who at Busch Gardens a few years ago. I didn't get to see all those great bands then so I'll settle for their ghosts now.