Fillmore Venues
From the mid-1960s to the start of the 1970s the Fillmore venues operated by Bill Graham provided a platform for the bands of the day to perform in San Francisco and New York. Initially using the Fillmore Auditorium (from 1966 to 1968) which is often referred to as The Fillmore after the area where it was located. He used the name when he opened the Fillmore East (1968 - 1971) in New York. Due to the limited size of the original Fillmore he opened the Fillmore West (1968 - 1971).
Fillmore Auditorum
Originally built in 1912 it functioned as a dance hall and roller skating rink called the Majestic Hall. In 1954 it was renamed The Fillmore Auditorium. In 1965 Graham used the Fillmore's permit to put on a benefit show. He continued to use the venue for the next two years. Zappa and the Mothers regularly performed there throughout those two years:
As the Fillmore Auditorium only had a capacity of 1300 Graham would book the Winterland Ballroom, which had a capacity for an audience of over 5000, for shows expected to draw a larger audience; as was the case for the 15 - 16 December 1967 shows.