Wolfgang's Vault

For years, I have wondered just what the Sam Hill the Internet is good for.  I’ve heard the same old arguments: The ‘net has revolutionized the way the world communicates and provides a staggering amount of information at your fingertips blah blah blah.  That’s all well and good, but since I determined some time ago that I wasn’t put on this earth to learn anything, what is the WWW to me?  The answer hit me like a rolling pin upside Andy Capp’s noggin’ when I discovered the Web site www.wolfgangangsvault.com.

Most of you are probably wondering what a Wolfgang is.  Wolfgang is the given name of Bill Graham, who, until his untimely death in 1991, was one of the most successful and creative concert promoters ever.  Not to be confused with evangelist Billy Graham, Bill was born into a Jewish, German family in 1931. Somehow he managed to avoid the Nazi concentration camps (a fate that, sadly, some of his family did not share), and eventually ended up in the United States.  After growing up in the Bronx and serving in the Korean War, Graham moved to California and eventually began promoting concerts in the mid- 60s. 

He developed a reputation for being stubborn and bull-headed, yet sensitive to the needs of both the performer and audience.  Many a fledgling artist got a shot in the arm (career-wise, that is) thanks to Graham’s support; many an audience got a great show, thanks to his innate abilities as a promoter.  In addition to operating the legendary Fillmore auditoriums and the Winterland venue, he organized countless shows over a 35-year period, both for profit and charity.  So much more could be said about the man, but that’s not the point right now.  Pick up his autobiography Bill Graham Presents: My Life Inside Rock And Out to find out more, if you like.  It’s a great read.

Bill was quite the packrat, and he saved lots of memorabilia from his shows. Those suckers are now highly prized by music collectors, and are available through the Wolfgang Web site.  Here’s the beautiful thing: Graham made a point to record as many of the shows he presented as possible.  In his archives, there are hundreds (possibly thousands) of tapes.  Some of these artists barely had a recording contract at the time, much less any kind of album.  For years, these tapes have been sitting around collecting dust, making people like me wish that they could break in with a tape player and listen to as much music as possible before the cops arrive.

Possibly sensing that there are folks out there just as nut-headed as me, the Wolfgang’s Vault people decided to start making some of these shows available online for general consumption.  The cost?  Nothing.  You don’t have to buy anything or even act like you’re window-shopping.  You have to register, but it doesn’t cost a dime.  Then, you’ll have at your fingertips a constantly growing library of classic artists performing live.  Every week or so, they add a few more shows, some from Graham’s archives, others from the King Biscuit Flower Hour and Silver Eagle live radio show tape libraries. We’re talkin’ a whole lotta music.

The variety of music that’s available runs all over the place.  Are you a fan of the psychedelic ‘60s?  Hendrix is here, as are Jefferson Airplane and the Grateful Dead, along with lesser knowns such as Quicksilver Messenger Service, Moby Grape and Terry Reid. If soul music is your bag, check out the shows by Booker T. and the MGs, Stevie Wonder, Lou Rawls or Erma Franklin.  The Classic Rock sound is represented by Aerosmith, Foghat, Led Zeppelin, the Stones and so many others.  Dig the Country sounds of Hank Williams, Jr., Dwight Yoakam or Bill Monroe and the Bluegrass Boys.

Seriously, if you like ANY kind of rock, soul, country, jazz, punk or even reggae from the last 40 years, you have got to check out this site. I ain’t lying, Jack, this site is a bona fide gift to mankind! There are literally HUNDREDS of artists represented here.

I gotta warn you, though… there’s a good chance you’ll look at some of these names and be practically moved to tears that you can hear a live performance by them.  Personally, the Procol Harum show from ’73 and the Everly Brothers show from ’69 get me a little misty-eyed.

I should clarify that in some cases the shows are not complete.  For whatever reason, the tape sometimes ran out, and parts of a show remain lost to time. It should also be noted that each show is broken down into segments by song.  This is great if you want to easily access one song.  Alas, it throws a monkey wrench into the works if you want to hear the whole show, since there’s a slight pause in between tracks.  Again, considering that it’s free, it’s a minor complaint. 

For what it’s worth, the folks at the Vault are now making some of the shows available for download for about 10 bucks each, which means you can hear them uninterrupted whenever you want.  This is also a way for them to cover what they have to pay to put this stuff up for public consumption.  Don’t fret, though, because these same shows are also available to stream for free, if you don’t mind the periodic pause while the site feeds the next song to your computer.

Forget the bootleggers.  The Vault guys make live stuff available, and somebody legitimately gets paid for it as well.  Who says capitalism doesn’t work?  Overall, the shows sound great. Some of the older ones may sound a little rough, but they’re still listenable.

The most heartwarming part of it all is that these shows are available for enjoyment by whomever, wherever and whenever.  I never knew the guy, but I’ve got a feeling that ol’ Wolfgang himself would approve.  Make a toast to the memory of Bill Graham, and then get thee to a computer so you can check out this site. 

I’ll probably see you there.  I’m the guy listening to the ’76 Band show for the umpteenth time with a big grin on my face, marveling that, for me, the Internet finally has a reason to exist.