The Poster That Sparked The Memories
I visited an attorney last week who had quite a bit of memorabilia strewn about his office. In mid conversation, an old concert poster laminated to a piece of plywood caught my eye and I had to stop our chat and take a picture of it. Oh the memories. Or lack thereof. I actually attended the concert back in 1973 and so had the attorney, but sadly, after researching it, I realized that I don’t remember it nearly as well as I wish I did. The things I remember most are the music, the fact that I should never have been there in the first place, and the realization even then, that I was witnessing an historic event.
In July of 1973 I was just shy of my sixteenth birthday and visiting a cousin in New Jersey. He and his friends were going to the concert, and I was invited to tag along. My uncle insisted I get permission from my parents, but having attended numerous concerts by then, I was not concerned that they would object. Shockingly, my Dad, The Silver Fox, required considerable convincing before he eventually acquiesced. He was concerned 
that I was too young for a rock festival, because of course, I was. Dad was right, and was also right about everything else he ever said. I truly had no business being there at fifteen years old. Fortunately, we enjoyed the concert without any drama and made it home safely.
As a Southern teenager I was quite familiar with The Allman Brothers Band and The Band. Both are still favorites and their music stood the test of time such that it still sounds fresh and original. I’ve seen the ABB perform many times across many line-ups, and have also seen The Band at least five times. I lament never having seen Duane, but he died in ’71 a full two years before the Watkins Glen show. I was not nearly as familiar with Grateful Dead’s music at the time, but the show was a great introduction to their ethereal, improvisational melodies that sound awesome even forty years later.
According to Wikipedia (edited): The Summer Jam at Watkins Glen was a 1973 rock festival which once received the Guinness Book of World Records entry for “Largest audience at a pop festival.” An estimated 600,000 rock fans came on July 28, 1973, to see the Allman Brothers Band, Grateful Dead and The Band perform. An enormous traffic jam created chaos for those who attempted to make it to the concert site. Long and narrow country roads forced fans to abandon their vehicles and walk 5–8 miles on that hot summer day. 150,000 tickets were sold for $10 each, but for all the other people it was a free concert. Although it was scheduled to start on July 28, thousands of music fans were already at the concert site on the 27th. Robbie Robertson of The Band requested to do a soundcheck, but was perplexed that so many people were sitting in front of the stage. Bill Graham allowed the soundcheck with the crowd of people in front, and The Band ran through a few numbers to the delight of the audience. The Allman Brothers Band did their soundcheck next, playing “One Way Out” and “Ramblin’ Man“. The Grateful Dead’s legendary soundcheck turned into a two set marathon, featuring familiar tunes such as “Sugaree“, “Tennessee Jed” and “Wharf Rat”. On July 28, the day of the concert, 600,000 music fans had arrived in Watkins Glen. Grateful Dead performed first, playing two long sets. They opened with “Bertha” and played many hits such as “Box Of Rain“, “Jack Straw”, “Playing in the Band“, “China Cat Sunflower” and “Eyes of the World”. The Band followed the Dead with one two-hour set. Finally, the Allman Brothers Band performed for three hours. Their performance included songs from their soon-to-be-released album Brothers and Sisters, along with standards “In Memory of Elizabeth Reed“, “Statesboro Blues“, “Les Brers in A Minor” and “Whipping Post“. Following the Allmans’ second set, there was an hour encore jam featuring musicians from all three bands. The jam featured spirited renditions of “Not Fade Away“, “Mountain Jam“, and “Johnny B. Goode“.
I do remember that it was hot, and that we walked a lot, but we could definitely see the stage and the sound was surprisingly clear and loud. Good times. At the last Dead related (post Jerry) show I attended at Lakewood, a kid in the bathroom looked at me and said “you dressed kinda preppy for the show, Dude”. Well, a Ralph Lauren inter-lock cotton polo with a three button neck and banded sleeves, worn with khakis and tan Top Siders is about the closest thing I have to hippie clothes these days. I should have told him “It’s been a long, strange trip, Dude”. The photos I found are all black and white, but Dude, the colors……. -afb
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