On Wednesday, September 20, Gary's Gig will present "The Last Waltz", one of the greatest documentary concert films ever made. The Last Waltz, a concert by the Canadian-American rock group The Band, was held on November 25, 1976, at Winterland Ballroom in San Francisco. Advertised as The Band's "farewell concert appearance", Robbie Robertson and the group were joined by more than a dozen special guests, including Ronnie Hawkins and Bob Dylan, as well as Paul Butterfield, Bobby Charles, Eric Clapton, Neil Diamond, Emmylou Harris, Dr. John, Joni Mitchell, Van Morrison, Ringo Starr, Muddy Waters, Ronnie Wood, and Neil Young. Robertson initially wanted to record the concert on 16 mm film so he recruited Martin Scorsese to direct based on his use of music in Mean Streets. The film grew into a full-scale studio production with seven 35 mm cameras.
"The road was our school. At the end it was our sense of survival. It taught us all we know. There's not much left that we can really take from the road. We've had our share of, or, maybe it's just superstitious."
-Robbie Robertson