Outstanding Footage of the Duane era

It’s not new video, but the quality is incredible

Video of the Allman Brothers Band at Fillmore East on September 23, 1970 video has long-circulated. And this is the cleanest footage I’ve seen yet.

The Set

The ABB played a brisk, 4 song, 40-minute set and debuted two songs from their new album Idlewild South—“Don’t Keep Me Wonderin’” and “In Memory of Elizabeth Reed”

Problems with Gregg’s mic mar the first 2 songs—“Don’t Keep Me Wonderin’” and “Dreams.” The techs work it out during Duane’s solo on the latter, and things sound pretty good from then on. “In Memory of Elizabeth Reed” follows “Dreams.”

The Video

The band closed with “Whipping Post,” which I present to you in newfound glory courtesy of JamesCleveland on Youtube.¹

---

The Bill

Other bands that night included the Byrds, Sha Na Na, Albert King, Elvin Bishop, and Van Morrison. Producers dropped the ABB’s segment altogether for the Welcome to Fillmore East documentary, which aired October 10 or 11², 1970 on WNET Channel 13 in NYC and simulcast on WNEW-FM.

Here’s the playbill from that night. Click on the image for a PDF copy of the full program.

📷User Bill_Graham on the ABB’s Hittin’ the Web

---

Video Footage Prior to Restoration

As for video quality, here’s what I traded for on DVD back in the early 00s.

This is the full set minus Liz Reed. You can see what I meant above about problems with Gregg’s mic.³

There’s precious little video footage of Duane, this is a gift for sure.

Thanks for reading y’all.

---

1. You’re welcome.

2. Wikipedia says the 10th, the evening’s program says the 11th.

3. It’s missing “In Memory of Elizabeth Reed” for some reason. Here you go: