Recorded on the Summer 1968 tour when the band was promoting
The Hangman's Beautiful Daughter, this live recording
captures the Incredible String Band arguably at their peak. The
success of Hangman's had catapulted them into larger
concert halls. Even the Beatles and the Rolling Stones would
turn out to see the ISB at the Albert Hall in London. At the
time the band was still just Mike and Robin with girlfriends
Rose and Likky yet to join them as performers. Even though the
ISB was not well-known in the US, they had already started to
attract a cult following on the back of 5000 Spirits as
well as a recent live radio appearance. The Filmore gig was also
a benefit for the WBAI listener-funded radio station.
While there were just two members in the Incredible String
Band, Mike Heron and Robin Williamson, they played a variety of
different instruments from guitars and organs to sitar and even
bells. The track listing reads like the closest the ISB will
ever get to a "greatest hits". This covers from the first album
with October Song through 5000 Spirits to
Hangmans and Wee Tam & the Big Huge. The latter album
had not yet been released but some of the tracks such as
Ducks on a Pond are given an airing. Further experiments
follow with early snippets of Puppies and Maya. It
has been suggested that this version of the much-loved Maya
may have been the first time it was ever played live. One
of the outstanding tracks is Chinese White from 5000
Spirits that gains a massive roar of approval from the
crowd. As the opening track of the album this was the first
track heard heard by many String Band devotees.
The Incredible String Band were a great live experience and
certainly very different from what the concert halls were used
to. A regular feature, revived when Mike and Robin started
playing together again in 2000, was inviting audience members
onto the stage to play bells. A young Salman Rushdie was one of
those invited onto the stage.
Of course, just over a year later the Incredible String Band
played Woodstock.....
The CD includes sleeve notes from Robin, Adrian Whittaker
(helped by Mike Heron and Joe Boyd) as well as the band's bass
player later in their career Stan Schnier who was house manager
at the Filmore East the night of this gig. His insights into how
the String Band audience differed from the usual Filmore East
crowd make interesting and amusing reading.
