Last Thursday, at my wife’s urging (Happy Birthday!), we saw Josh Ritter perform at The Fillmore in San Francisco. Although I didn’t know any of Josh Ritter’s songs (not really my style) going into the evening…I must admit, I had a really great time at the show and enjoyed seeing a concert in a smaller venue like the Fillmore (capacity is only 1,150 people).
The Fillmore has TONS of history behind it, but one of the aspects that I found rather interesting (and that my wife pointed out) was that the Fillmore is also well known for its concert posters by artists. Copies of the night’s poster are given to fans free of charge as they exit shows (for some reason, I didn’t take a Josh Ritter poster on my way out of the show…and my wife let me hear all about it).
A collection of all these posters (thousands) is also on display in the auditorium today…we tried to view the collection after the show, but to no avail (this will be a must on our next trip). Other quirky traditions that are carried on at the Fillmore is a large tub of free apples for concert goers positioned near the entrance along with a greeter who welcomes each guest as they enter…Welcome to the Fillmore!
While waiting for Josh Ritter to go on stage, my mind started to race. The following picture that I captured reminded me of something…
Who’s the band?
Back in the late 1990’s/early 2000’s, Miller Genuine Draft had a Blind Date promotion going on in which bands that typically played in large stadiums would now perform for small audiences in intimate club settings (Large Bands – Small Clubs – Big Mystery…was the slogan). These Blind Date promotions took place in cities like San Francisco, Los Angeles, and Chicago. While MGD ran an exhaustive slate of national TV, print, and radio ads, as well as tie-ins with bars and restaurants…I can’t for the life of me (or the Internet, which I find hard to believe) find any of these ads. But the quote…who’s the band?…I remember being all over radio and television (mainly because I wanted to be one of those lucky people).
On our drive home, I got to thinking (again, scary)…was the Fillmore used for this MGD Blind Date promotion? Well, look what I found here (this time, the Internet does win)…
The Foo Fighters!
Yes, the Foo Fighters (relative new comers at the time) performed at the Fillmore as part of the MGD Blind Date promotion…and of course, here’s the poster from that July 18th, 1997 evening (it was a Friday). That had to be one of the coolest moments in any concert goers overall music experience (the lucky few that actually saw it)…but, as always, there is someone that is tough to please…and in this case, a Dave Matthews fan strikes again!
Other MGD Blind Date gigs that I could find (through exhaustive research) included: Bush, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Creed (come on, really?!), David Bowie (RIP), Incubus, Third Eye Blind, and Stone Temple Pilots (also RIP).
Please, Miller Genuine Draft, bring this promotion back! And an MGD sounds like the beverage of choice this evening. Cheers!