The Fillmore…
“Welcome to The Fillmore”…from the back gate guard….and again from the first loader to arrive. (Early). Both are roughly the size of Cleveland and exhibit an equally sized amount of pride in the venue and it’s place in music history. This is undeniably one of the most famous stages in the world. It also has one of the worst load-ins…. an outdoor scissor-lift to the third floor. Fortunately it’s a sunny day and not too cold by SF standards….mid-50’s with the ever-present breeze.
Everything is top-notch and professional. Tony B has been here since ‘91 and has seen it all. Tawney, Miss Fillmore, is the sweetest hospitality person on the whole run. Jim, the promoter, is a true gentleman. This is a GREAT place.
The entire day runs by the book…. no surprises. The band has been here before…. Jack knows the room…. Ted is up in a booth… Ant and I find a corner tavern for our pre-soundcheck communion…… the catered dinner is amazing (amidst 1000’s of concert posters from shows gone by)…. our friend Ariane video tapes from the rafters….the is crowd large, as is the guest list. I’m thrilled to have Joe Simiele as my guest tonight. His Dad is one of my dearest friends and it’s great to see him.
The green room/box above stage-right is packed with friends…. Anthony’s wife, Tone’, has joined us for these last two days. We set-up Vic’s webcam so his wife can see the show. I call my wife and offer the same…but it’ll be 12:30AM on the east coast when the show starts, so she’ll pass.
Bid farewell to a great night and head off for a quick stop at the hotel before the run down to LA…. and the final show of the tour.
Filed under: TourBlog
