DrumBob
Senior Member
Yes, Woody Herman and his big band. I also saw Buddy Rich opening for Steppenwolf at the Fillmore. Woody's band was very hip at the time. They were playing modern arrangements, not swing classics. I met Buddy that night at the Fillmore. He was awesome.Led Zeppelin and Woody Herman on the same bill?!
Yes, Bill Graham presented diverse acts all the time in pairings you would have thought unworkable, but usually, they worked just fine. Also, audiences were much more receptive to acts they didn't know, more accepting, and willing to listen respectfully. That started to change around 1970, when audiences started booing opening acts on occasion. Bill saw it happening. It's one of the reasons, he closed the Fillmores down.
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