Fillmore: The Last Days (1971) sounds cool, but it's kind of a dud. It's about Bill Graham closing down his San Francisco rock palace, the Fillmore, and semi-retiring from show biz. It includes several numbers from top SF bands and a lot of behind the scenes nonsense.
The problems: The behind the scenes nonsense is either boring or annoying. Graham could be quite a dick - maybe because people are dicks to him. One band is begging for a slot to play the last week, and Graham won't put him on. The guy from the band finally says, "Fuck you and thanks for the memories," and Bill goes off on him. C'mon, Bill, he meant that in a nice way.
Then the musical acts. They aren't that scintillating either. Maybe it's because it's all greatest hits, with no room to stretch out. We get Hot Fucking Tuna with Papa John Creach on fiddle, and it's kind of OK. Jefferson Airplane. Grateful Dead, Santana, all kind of "eh". It was fun to hear Lydia Pence and Cold Sweat - a blues shouter like Janis Joplin with a hot horn section.
About the only act I really enjoyed was Quicksilver Messenger Service - because "Fresh Air" is always hot.
Graham did tell a good story about Elvin Bishhop. Bishop's mom came to a show, and wanted Bill to tell him she was in the audience. He kind of forgot and only told him when he was going up the stairs to get on stage. Bishop panicked and said, "Tell her I'm not here!"
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