![\"The](\"http:\/\/siliconeer.com\/current\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/PAGE-TRAVEL-AL-BILLGRAHAM02-02.jpg\" "\\"\\"")
<\/a>But, rock and roll is as much about the people moving through the turnstiles as the larger-than-life figures blasting away on the stage. The people strolling the CJM halls were my target on my second visit to the Bill Graham memorial, if you will. I wasn\u2019t disappointed as the stories were as colorful as were the storytellers. The first impression an enquiring reporter gets is the large number of visitors, mostly of senior status, who have no history or passion for rock and roll. But the awareness of Bill Graham\u2019s impact on their social life and the Bay Area\u2019s led them here to learn who this man was.<\/p>\n When you enter these chambers and, if you\u2019re lucky, you will be greeted by one of the knowledgeable docents found everywhere. One told me meeting so many interesting Deadheads (fanatical Grateful Dead followers ) who return practically every day. She added one that does show up daily is a larger-than-life Deadhead known as \u201cMouse.\u201d Jerry Garcia and his band members still live in this body of groupies is well-known. While working rock and roll shows is an emotional and physical force, Dead Heads are not only a happy m\u00e9lange, but always giving. I think of my collection of gifted crystal and beads offered over the years of concerts.<\/p>\n My first visitor, we will call him John, confessed he has small history with rock and roll, but growing up in Chicago his first concert was a Bob Dylan event. \u201cI remember at the show someone took his clothes off and streaked up to the front. (I remember it was on Madison Street, a big stadium.\u201d<\/p>\n An attractive senior named \u201cPre,\u201d related an intriguing tales of a sister who \u201c\u2026was a friend of Peter Coyote and traveled across America to \u2018Turkey Roost,\u2019 a farm in Philadelphia and owned by Peter Coyote\u2019s father. She ended up living on the farm with two other couples and my niece was born there.\u201d Pre continued with her story of living on Robert Crum\u2019s farm. Crum was one of the most influential and well-known Hippy cartoonist of the time who created the icon \u201cKeep on Truckin\u2019\u201d cartoon. \u201cI traveled to (Robert\u2019s) farm\u201c, continued, \u201cin Potter Valley near Ukiah and spent a weekend with Robert on his farm. I didn\u2019t live in San Francisco (at the time), but saw a lot of concerts out of the area (such as) Santana and Country Joe MacDonald.\u201d<\/p>\n When asked if she had any favorites, Pre answered \u201cNot really. I was 17-18 at the time living in Palo Alto and I remember a concert in Redwood Estates with Hot Tuna. I had eyes for Marty Balin (a bright chuckle at the memory) and I remember a problem with the acoustics. When I was about 16 my older sister would come up from Los Angeles and she\u2019d tell me stories of what was going on.\u201d<\/p>\n The highlight interview came with a San Francisco couple enjoying life in the neighborhood years of 60 or so. Let\u2019s call them Bill and Helen. She began her story: \u201cI first worked with the Navy in Washington D.C. and would travel to New York and see the bands at Fillmore East.\u201d At that point, Bill nudge Helen and told her to tell her story when she was at Woodstock. Helen obviously, by then, was an authentic rock and roll groupie. Her memory of Woodstock was encyclopedic, remembering mostly the performance of Fleetwood Mac. \u201cThere was music everywhere, either with the fans and, of course, on stage. It was my first experience dropping acid.\u201d<\/p>\n The curators of the Jewish Museum in concert with the creators of the Bill Graham Rock and Roll Revolution have taken this human pageant of one man\u2019s life to a wide-ranging introspection beyond the man. An almost nightly program of seminars, group discussions and two-way conversations add a encyclopedic dimension to the daily public display of Graham and the genre. A docent at the retrospective told me these evening gatherings are practically SRO every night. I wasn\u2019t disappointed as the stories were as colorful as were the storytellers.<\/p>\n The curators of the Jewish Museum in concert with the creators of the Bill Graham Rock and Roll Revolution have taken this human pageantry of one man\u2019s life to a wide-ranging introspection beyond the man. An almost nightly program of seminars, group discussions and two-way conversations add a encyclopedic dimension to the daily public display of Graham and the genre.<\/p>\n A docent at the retrospective told me these evening gatherings are practically SRO every night. Past programs have included The History of the Mime Troup; screening of Monterey Pop; Peter Coyote and David Talbot in conversation. Coming up are: Rabbi Langer & Bill Graham Menorah Project; Beyond the Fillmore and more. For full information on these and the retrospective go to thecjm.org Website.<\/p>\n MENUTIA<\/p>\n Contemporary Jewish Museum ADMISSION: Adults, $12; Seniors, $10; Students, (w\/valid ID) $10; Under 18-years, free; Members, free; Thursday (after 5 pm), $5. First Tuesday of month, Free; Discount for groups of 10 or more.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" John Olson, \u201cRock promoter Bill Graham onstage before the final concert at Fillmore East, New York, January 1, 1971.\u201d Chromogenic print, The LIFE Picture Collection\/Getty Images. \u201cBill Graham and the Rock & Roll Revolution\u201d is organized and circulated by the Skirball Cultural Center, Los Angeles, California. On view March 17\u2013July 5, 2016 at The Contemporary…<\/p>\n<\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a>
\n736 Mission Street
\nSan Francisco, CA 94103
\nTel: 415.655.7800 | email: Info@thecjm.org<\/a>
\nwww.thecjm.org<\/a><\/p>\n