At Fillmore East jazz. "Fusion is a term that came later, but if you wanted to look at a fusion album, it would be "Fillmore East". Here was a rock 'n' roll band playing blues in the jazz vernacular. And they tore the place up," said Dowd. Announcer Michael Ahern opens "At Fillmore East" with a simple introduction: "Okay, the Allman Brothers Band." Duane Allman biographer Randy Poe describes it as "the only low-key moment over the course of the [show]." The cover of Blind Willie McTell's "Statesboro Blues" which opens the set showcases Duane Allman's slide guitar work in open E tuning.
At Fillmore East led to what I suppose are inevitable comparisons to the Dead in its better days." In a less enthusiastic review for "The Village Voice", Robert Christgau gave "At Fillmore East" a "B–" grade and said the songs "sure do boogie", but ultimately found it musically aimless: "even if Duane Allman plus Dickey Betts does equal Jerry Garcia, the Dead know roads are for getting somewhere. That is, Garcia (not to bring in John Coltrane) always takes you someplace unexpected on a long solo. I guess the appeal here is the inevitability of it all." In a retrospective review, AllMusic editor