Hawkins and Bob Dylan was hatched and the guest list grew to include other performers. Robertson wanted to invite people who had been a strong influence on their music, people who represented various music styles, including New Orleans rock and roll, English blues, and Chicago blues. When he called Bill Graham, he said he wanted the concert to be a kind of celebration, the end of a chapter. With only six weeks before the planned date, Robertson called director Martin Scorsese, whom he knew loved rock music and had worked at the Woodstock Festival, to see if he would direct it as a concert documentary. When he mentioned some of the performers they had lined up, Scorsese reacted quickly: "Van Morrison? Are you kidding? I have to do it. I don't have a choice." The group promoted the concert by appearing on the October 30 episode of Saturday Night Live, where host Buck Henry introduced them by saying they were about to disband on Thanksgiving. They went into a set of "Life Is a Carnival", "The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down", and "Stage Fright" and closed out the episode with a cover of "Georgia on My Mind" with Manuel on lead vocals. Concert Promoted and organized by Bill Graham, whose home turf was Winterland and who had a long association with The Band, the concert was an elaborate affair, with over 300 workers. Starting at 5:00 pm, the audience of 5,000 was served turkey dinners. There was ballroom dancing, with music by the Berkeley Promenade Orchestra. Poets Lawrence Ferlinghetti, Lenore Kandel, Diane di Prima, Michael McClure, Robert Duncan, and Freewheelin' Frank gave readings. The Band started its concert at around 9:00 pm, opening with "Up on Cripple Creek". This was followed by eleven more of The Band's most popular songs, including "The Shape I'm In", "This Wheel's on Fire", and "The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down". They were backed by a large horn section with charts arranged by Allen Toussaint and other musicians. They were then joined by a succession of guest artists, starting with Ronnie Hawkins. As the Hawks, The Band served as Hawkins' backing band in the early 1960s. Dr. John took a seat at the piano for his signature song, "Such a Night". He then switched to guitar and joined Bobby Charles on "Down South in New Orleans". A blues set was next with harmonica