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Reflectio By Stephen Valk Program Director, WUSC-AM In the days prior to Woodstock, a rock concert was a novelty, with a limited, select audience com parable to the Opera or the Cinema. Rock concerts for the most part took place in concert halls and old movie theaters. The sound was superb, not painful and the audience size was small by today's standards allowing for an intimate relationship between the per former and the audiences. The Fillmore is probably the best example of what used to be the production of a "performing art". The Fillmore East, an old restored movie theater located in the heart of Greenwich Village, seated approximately 3,500 people. Ticket prices were always $3.50. $4.50, and $5.50 and this is what ou got: A 1208 Knox Abbntt Drive. F EL) nsOnTh program (just like the Broadway shows!) of the evening's show, a friendly freak usher who was only concerned that you didn't burn the place down, an excellent view of the stage where you could actually see the faces of the artists, a sound system that was the ultimate in rock concerts, a light show many times better than the "Revelation Lights" that appeared with Virgil Fox (who also appeared at the Fillmore) and three top ranking groups (how does Moody Blues, Lee Michaels, and Argent sound for an evening's entertainment?). Financially speaking, Bill Graham had roughly $16,000 to work with for each of these shows. The reason he was able to so this was due to the reasonable, low prices that the groups were asking. Today you are lucky if you can get one top name for that much, and payment is only two-thirds of the is LR Calal I,a hnne 796-1645; 3200 Two Ni ntuden Sprii -*Feb. 25, Ca2 ECTIONS - March 4, E l - March 6, Is - March 8, 2i - April 2. Inc e Conditi PAGE 4 Feb. 28, 1974 total cost of producing a concert. Where did it all go downhill? How did we get where we are today? It started sliding in the summer of 1969 with a music and arts festival in the Catskills of New York State called "Woodstock". Half a million people poured into Yasgar's farm that summer for "3 days of fun and music". Rock groups were paid sums of money at Woodstock that were previously unheard of in the business. The event, along with the movie and afood the finest. ash style tch Road. Phone 782-8806 t Gove ig Elec npaign Starts action . Run-Off ~d Run-Off utgurat wn on Of Ro album that followed, triggeredi a reaction that would change the course of the rock industry. All of a sudden millions of youths throughtout the country started listening to and buying rock albums, and they all wanted to SEE the groups they loved. Un derground FM stations sprang up overnight on the East and West coasts generating still more in terest in rock, and particularly rock concerts. Sadly; however, as the size of the rock public in creased, the calibre and maturity of the audiences deteriorated. In the words of Bill Graham, "Two years ago I warned that the Woodstock Festival syndrome would be the beginning of the end. I am sorry to say that' I was right." (Spring, 1971) When the groups saw the green, they started getting greedy. It wasn't long before the big name paid polit ELECT PHILLIP F. NEWSOM Vice President SGA SGA Cabinet Member Parking Committee Member Married student rn men tions ek Music groups priced themselves out of concert halls and into sports arenas. At the same time the groups themselves have gone sour. They have become plastic, phony, and insincere with their acts, gearing their music to sell, rather than produce quality. Bill Graham had this to say concerning the closing of the Fillmore," The rock scene in this country was created by a need felt by the people, ex pressed by the musicians, and, I hope, aided to some degree by the efforts of the Fillmores But whatever has become of that scene, wherever it turned into music industry of festivals, 20,000 seat halls, miserable production quality, and second-rate promoters -- however it went wrong - please, each of you, stop and think whether or not you supported it regardless of how little you received in return." Ical ad Phi Eta Eigma Veteran President, Phi Delta Theta