allman brother

NYC Album Art?: The Allman Brothers, Live at Fillmore East

In the past we've told you about New York album art from The Doors, Bob Dylan, The Ramones and more. You can read the past posts here, and now we move on to The Allman Brothers Band: Live at Fillmore East.

The album was recorded at a show in 1971, the year the venue shut its doors. With the cover art shot by Jim Marshall, it looks like the photo shoot took place in the back alley of the fillmore (there are even guided tours in New York which visit the spot). While many have suspected that, and that The Allman Brothers Band are the only band to have a photo of the venue on the cover of an album (which would be fitting since the Allmans played so many shows there they were often referred to as "Bill Graham's House Band"), it's not true. In actuality, the album cover shots were taken at the bands headquarters in Macon, Georgia. Marshall explains here.

About the venue: Bill Graham opened it as a counterpart to the Fillmore West in 1968, a venue known also as "The Church of Rock and Roll". The New York establishment was in the East Village at 105 2nd Avenue (map).

Currently the former entrance lobby is a branch of Emigrant Savings Bank, which includes photos of the venue. The rest of the space is an apartment complex. There's a tribute on the street pole at the corner still, mosaics make up logos of bands and music note. Here's an old torn photo of what the scene looked liked outside of the venue before the last shows.