Fillmore West-the cool ritual of concert going-and a Zeppelin surprise

In San Francisco, the mid 1960's were three constant concert venues; the Avalon Ballroom, the original Fillmore, and Fillmore west 1968-71. The Tuesday night jams were basically cool because of the surprise bands that would debut. Location was Van Ness and Market, whereas the original Fillmore was on Fillmore and Geary within the Fillmore district, and was brought to you by Bill Graham and the Avalon Ballroom brought to you from Family Dog Productions.
When Fillmore West opened, it was the subject of when you were of concert mind conscientious which more often than not...would give you the feel of going to a Tuesday night jam.
Those venues were where you went to not only see the concert but socialize, who's moved, who's in jail, what was the new drug of the week, any outside concerts, where's whom and like that.
Well it's Tuesday and getting to be around seven pm so it's time to prepare for the concert...
the pre-concert preparation dress for the evening was akin to a sacrificial rite of sorts...now there were always different types of attire...there was the Haight Ashbury style jeans fry boots, tie dyed shirts or skirts or suede fringe jackets often with the famed patchouli oil that wafted at you-then the gypsy-rock style which varied, there were goth-like (not yet a coined phrase) guys who donned black eyeshadow, black fingernails, see through fabrics over shirts sometime glitter on hair-I wouldn't challenge their masculinity-only idiots would. There were the form-fitting shirts in antique satin, unique cloths (many seamstresses supplied stores or you could go and find a reasonable one) and imported from England or France (or at least the designs) and velvet pants or leather to go with walking shoes or soft leather boots.
There were plenty of shops (thrift wasn't trendy then) so you would see really unique antique dresses and outfits at a pittance, homemade or from a seamstress-unique one of a kind dresses, skirts and blouses, gypsy princess like with shawls and scarves, whole ensembles (concerts were a way of self-expression) from no makeup to Sousie and the Banshees makeup (before they existed) red eye shadow-bold lipstick-glitter reflecting from lips or faces, arms, backs, fronts or even clothes.
This one Tuesday night jam, as with any concerts rumors as to who might also be there, a fun rumor mill, apart from locals, but locals were, the Dead...Big Brother…Blue Cheer...Beautiful day..Moby Grape..Blue Cheer… so that one night I remember only the name Wonderbread, which as many times had no relation as to who was there...but the cool thing was many headliner bands would play their first at the Tuesday jam before they would headline within a week or so at the main Fillmore.
Now once you were ready to go, many times you would go to a local diner to have coffee, as it was to be a long night, perhaps tea for some, maybe a bite to eat and for some a blaze of glory so to speak with a choice of their poisons.
So once our chatting and food or drink was happily met....off we went to the Fillmore West.
As we walked and made our way down Market Street, could be two, three, or several couples walking, some would remember as we walked, which was another ritual after the diner when we were reminded that Blue Cheer was playing. We had gone later than usual that evening and they were playing already and that was heard, without exaggeration three blocks away and slowly became louder as we approached the venue.
We finally reached the entrance of the Carousel Ballroom at the Fillmore West, which if memory serves me, was above a car dealership. When dealerships were in buildings moreso than lots…San Francisco always had a premium for land....
You headed upstairs, can't truly remember if you paid downstairs but I believe it was at the top of the stairs...and in grand style, you made your entrance to the concert floor.
You'd head up the stairs and you hit the landing where people would look without looking: some would hazard a glance...always the quiet but obvious whispers...high school giggles all gatherings of any sort had that empty headed little clique that felt the name cool was truly named after them (a prelude to the Rainbow, Whiskey, Starwood Roxy but that's L.A. and another story)...
To the left was a dining room of sorts you could drink, much happy banter of things, of people (sometimes katty) stores that opened, concerts or rumors thereof, who moved where banter of a thousand years passed into a few moments...
Stepping on further there was a long bar that had sodas, juices and some snacks. You could lean on the bar and people watch or drift off for a few moments...listen to the bands and sorta see them or more often than not, converse with people you knew or someone just there…talk of one band or another…being there...for some reason thinking of that Wonderbread band...the smoke of rumors.
Out on the ballroom floor, many stood, some sat, there was always an area where people danced...usually with a black light or strobe light...some people using florescent chalk to write or draw on the floor...some people seemingly flowed on an endless parade thru the concert floor, some wanting to be noticed...some not sure where they were...stage lights always lit up the stage and usually a light show in cadence with the songs or on their own secret rhythm it would be naive or dishonest not to say there was an array of drugs, but mainly pot, hashish or kif....the epitome of wine then was a large jug of Red Mountain...with some stragglers who preferred harder booze, Southern Comfort was around, mainly because Janis drank it....psychedelics always around and just depending on your tastes...heroin and cocaine was slowly drifting into the Haight and other areas, always in ghetto-poorer areas, Hunters Point, Fillmore, Mission, etc....remember Air America and the China-white heroin coming into America, many died because of its purity, so the draw to it was hindered by the deaths, but in time it was a moot point as more flooded the states and reached into areas other than poor or minority.

That being said, as I was leaning on the bar.....there was a sudden hush (can't swear to it but I believe it was "good times, bad times") and I headed to the concert floor and had my first good taste of live Led Zeppelin, mouths were open (as when Jimi Hendrix and Pink Floyd did their debut at the Fillmore) and to say we were blown away is the understatement of the day....Zeppelin played their set and Bill Graham came on stage to say they were going to headline at the Fillmore-either that weekend or the weekend after, after this debut and their album, it would be beyond a packed concert....
Everyone had their comments, guys mainly liked their music, ladies mostly loved their music, and some loved one or two band members after that....
And so on an unsuspecting Tuesday...at the local jam night...Led Zeppelin...made everyone's music evening...let us see legends as they started.....as an aside Led Zeppelin was actually the next set of the Yardbirds.....other members Jeff Beck.....and Eric Clapton went on in their own endeavors.....add Jimmy Page and you have a wealth of guitarists......Jimi Hendrix not withstanding not a member but a force of innovation for guitarists and Keith Richards and the list goes on.....