They weren't supposed to headline. But after one Thursday set, half the crowd walked out on Johnny Winter — and the Allman Brothers had all the time they needed. “Fillmore East was one of the first places that the audience really got it. ⁠You know why we were able to record At Fillmore East? We actually weren't the headliner that weekend. You go back and look; we were the special guests for Johnny Winter. But after we played our first set on Thursday night, half the audience got up and walked out. ⁠Steve Paul, who was Johnny Winter's manager, said, 'Well, I guess Johnny is gonna be opening for the Allman Brothers from now on because we can't have that happen again.' ⁠If that hadn't happened, we absolutely wouldn't have had all that time to do all the stretching out that led to At Fillmore East. We only had 90 minutes." Butch Trucks