1980

On April 1, 1980 the Grateful Dead put on a fun show at the Capitol Theater in Passaic, New Jersey. They open this show with a special version of Promised Land that features the whole band on different instruments in celebration of April Fools. For this song Bob Weir is on keyboards, Brent Mydland and Jerry Garcia are on drums, Bill Kreutzmann is on bass, Mickey Hart on rhythm guitar and vocals, and Phil Lesh on lead guitar. This fun little April Fools gag gets the audience excited and sets the stage for the rest of the show!

This prank can also be in a way reminiscent of the Grateful Dead’s beginnings with their involvement with Ken Kesey and the Merry Pranksters and the Acid Tests in the San Francisco Bay Area during the mid-60’s. Ken Kesey was an American author and counter-culture figure who was responsible for providing a link between the beat generation of the 1950’s with the hippie movement of the 1960’s. He took part in government studies of hallucinogenic drugs, namely LSD and mescaline, and wrote his most famous book, “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest”. The Merry Pranksters comprised of Ken Kesey and others are probably best known for their illustrious and lengthy road trip they took in the summer of ’64 across the United States organizing parties and giving out LSD along the way in a psychedelic painted school bus.

In 1965 the Merry Pranksters became the primary organizers of the Acid Tests and originally hosted these parties, that focused on the use of and the advocacy of the drug LSD, in the San Francisco Bay Area, California. How could the Grateful Dead involved in all these shenanigans you might wonder? The Grateful Dead were in fact the primary house band for these Acid Tests, playing music as entertainment along with strobe lights, black lights, and fluorescent paint. These Acid Test parties would become the proprietors of the LSD based counter-culture movement of San Francisco area and the subsequent transition from the beat generation to the hippie movement.

A fun prank that starts this show on the right track, lets take a look at the set list for this show at the Capitol Theater:

Set 1: Promised Land, Candyman, Me & My Uncle > Big River, Friend Of The Devil, It’s All Over Now, Don’t Ease Me In, Looks Like Rain > Deal

Set 2: Feel Like A Stranger, China Cat Sunflower > I Know You Rider, Estimated Prophet > He’s Gone > The Other One > Drums > Stella Blue > Around & Around, E: Shakedown Street

Set one opens up with the Dead’s amusing April Fools prank, all of them playing different instruments for Promised Land, obviously because of this it’s not the greatest version of the song out there but what can you expect from a gag like this! However right after this they all get back at it on their respective instruments and give Promised Land another shot, this one sounds a quite better and the Dead carry on after this. Candyman slows the pace down a bit and sounds nice, Friend Of The Devil comes a bit later and showcases some good jams, Jerry is especially good on this one. There’s also a shakin’ and electric Don’t Ease Me In included in this set as well which is pleasant, Brent’s little solo and work on this one deserves some attention too.

Set two is up next and Feel Like A Stranger takes us into the second half, nothing wild about this version, but still nonetheless enjoyable. China Cat Sunflower into I Know You Rider is next on the list, this is a good version, pretty groovy and has some good jams during Rider. The rest of the highlights from this set would probably be Estimated Prophet, He’s Gone, and to a certain degree Shakedown Street as the encore, the rest of the songs are really give or take and painfully average.

This show isn’t too bad, a fun opening to celebrate April Fools but other than that not much else that makes this show all that memorable, granted there are some good parts it just takes a bit of patience.

Take a listen to everyone’s favorite Merry Pranksters today at the Capitol Theater on April 1, 1980: https://archive.org/details/gd80-04-01.sbd.bertha-ashley.26178.sbeok.shnf/gd80-04-01Berthad1t01.shn

Grateful Dead Live at Nassau Coliseum on 03/29/1990

On the date March 29 comes a legendary show from the spring of 1990 and an even better one than the march 26 show might I add. On March 29, 1990 the Dead played at Nassau Coliseum in Uniondale, New York, this is a really special Grateful Dead show, sought after and highly praised it really captures the Dead at a high point in their career. This show also has a brilliant guest appearance from saxophonist Branford Marsalis who adds a much appreciated fresh and rejuvenating flavor to the show.

Branford Marsalis is an American saxophonist, bandleader, and composer known for his jazz and work in the Branford Marsalis Quartet. This would be his first time playing live with the Grateful Dead where he would go on to do several more times between 1990-1995. Prior to this Grateful Dead bassist Phil Lesh was the only member of the Dead who had heard of Branford and invited him to join the Dead for this show. Branford did an interview for Rolling Stone on this show with the Dead in 2014 where he recounted,

“I walked backstage and Phil goes, “Hey, man, glad you could make it.” The rest of the guys were like, “We don’t know who you are, but it’s nice to meet you.” [Laughs] I came up for “Bird Song,” and after the set was over, I said, “Thanks for letting me play, guys.” And they’re like, ‘No, no, stay! Play the second half of the show. We’ll do ‘Dark Star.’”

That had no significance to me. I’m like, “‘Dark Star’? Okay. What is it?” “Oh, you’re gonna love it. It’s free, it’s out.” Great, I can play out.” [Laughs] They start playing that lick, and the audience goes fucking bananas. Later, I started getting these phone calls on my private number: “Man, you were great last night. Thanks for getting them to play ‘Dark Star’. They haven’t played it in six months.’ I’m like, “Who are these people?”

Read the whole article here: https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/branford-marsalis-on-his-unlikely-collaboration-with-the-grateful-dead-233484/

This show would go on to become taper’s gold and rightly so for its exquisite performances from Branford and the whole band on songs such as Bird Song, Dark Star, and most importantly Eye’s Of The World. This version of Eye’s would be included on a compilation of live Dead performances recorded throughout October 1989-April 1990 on the album “Without A Net” released September 1990. The whole masterpiece of a show would eventually be released in full as a 3 CD live album tilted “Wake Up To Find Out” in September 2014.

Now lets get into the whole show, here’s the set list for tonight at Nassau Coliseum:

Set 1: Jack Straw, Bertha, We Can Run, Ramble On Rose, When I Paint My Masterpiece, Bird Song, Promised Land

Set 2: Eyes Of The World > Estimated Prophet > Dark Star > Drums > Space > Dark Star > The Wheel > Throwing Stones > Turn On Your Love Light, E: Knockin’ On Heaven’s Door

The first set starts slow and peaceful with Jack Straw that moves at a steady pace for most of the song, however near the end there is a complete explosion of sounds, the whole band bursts out creating a picture that builds and builds right until the end. Then comes Bertha, whatever the Dead released in Jack Straw comes back with a vengeance and the show takes off from here. We Can Run is up next and the Dead slow down for bit, Brent takes lead vocals and delivers a strikingly powerful performance for this one. After a some time Branford Marsalis joins the Dead on stage beginning with Bird Song, this version is spacey in the most jazzy kind of way, Branford creates this aura that you can’t help but be sucked in by. Next up is Promised Land, it’s intense, fast, and packs a punch, Brent leads the way half way through the song with an exhilarating solo I think too. With that the Dead close the first set leaving you wanting more and more from Branford!

Set 2 opens up with none other than Eye’s Of The World, what more can I say than wow. This performance is breath taking, it’s airy, loose, free and overall out there. The sax that Branford contributes to this song is unmatched, absolutely enthralling musicianship delivered from this one song. We can’t forget the rest of the Dead though for this song, it’s not without the help of everyone else that this song is able to soar. After a righteous Estimated Prophet leads the way for an even better Dark Star, it’s psychedelic, but at the same time jazzy thanks to Branford, probably one of the best versions from the Grateful Dead’s later years. After Drums and Space the Dead treat us with a fantastic sequence of The Wheel > Throwing Stones > Turn On Your Lovelight that makes for superb show closing and then with a Knockin’ On Heaven’s Door encore!

This show deserves all the praise it gets, definitely one of the highlights in the Grateful Dead’s career that show they can still deliver an out of this world show well beyond what many Deadheads would consider the band’s prime. There’s no stopping the Dead tonight with the help of Branford Marsalis!

Make sure you listen to this beyond phenomenal Grateful Dead show here: https://archive.org/details/gd90-03-29.sbd.nawrocki.3389.sbeok.shnf/gd1990-03-29d1t01.shn

Grateful Dead Live at Knickerbocker Arena on 03/26/1990

Today’s show is from Spring 1990, at the Knickerbocker Arena in Albany, New York on March 26. This show was included along with five other great shows from spring of 1990 in the “Spring 1990” box set that was officially released in August 2012, songs from this show had also previously made an appearance on another official release “Dozin at the Knick” that was released in October 1996. This show is an exceptional example of one of the best periods of the Grateful Dead concerts, late 80’s/early 90’s are where the Dead really find their rhythm and put on consistently good shows night after night.

This show is also a prime example of Grateful Dead keyboardist Brent Mydland’s talents, after being in the band close to eleven years at this point, and ultimately having the longest tenure of any other Grateful Dead keyboardist, he really finds his voice in the Dead and cements his legacy among the band. Unfortunately this would be his last year playing with the Grateful Dead as he would suffer a speedball overdose in July 1990 after the band’s summer tour.

Although Brent would pass away in July 1990 it is important we remember the music he gave us through touching shows such as this one.

Here’s the Dead’s set list for tonight at the Knickerbocker:

Set 1: Hell In A Bucket, Dupree’s Diamond Blues, Just A Little Light, Black Throated Wind, Big Railroad Blues, Picasso Moon, Row Jimmy, Blow Away

Set 2: Built To Last, Victim Or The Crime, China Cat Sunflower > I Know You Rider > Man Smart (Woman Smarter) > Drums > Space > I Need A Miracle, Dear Mr. Fantasy > Gimme Some Lovin’ > Morning Dew, E: Brokedown Palace

Set 1 brings the ruckus with Hell In A Bucket, a strong pick that gets the show going on the right track, and it only gets better from here. Dupree’s Diamond Blues comes next and is some good stuff, Brent does a particularly good job with an excellent solo on this track. At this point we’ve already seen some shining moments from Brent on the keys but then Just a Little Light comes in and Brent shows us he’s here to show his skills beyond the keyboard, on this one he takes lead vocals and proves he’s here to put on a show with his powerful singing. Black Throated Wind is on deck and this one definitely has the energy that just gets you into the song. A little bit after comes the end of the first set, which coincidentally is also the height of this half of the show with Blow Away. Again Brent takes the wheel and gives us an enthralling vocal and keys performance, nothing short of amazing that warrants a listen!

Set 2 opens with Built To Last, this being the last time the song was played live by the Grateful Dead with Jerry Garcia, as it was played once more on the Fare Thee Well tour on July 15, 2015 at Soldier Field. The switch from Victim to China Cat is chilling and China Cat Sunflower into I Know You Rider is great as always. Post Drums and Space Dear Mr. Fantasy slows things down and Brent takes to impress us yet again with his amazing musical prowess tonight, the organ he wails on is especially captivating. The show closes with Morning Dew and a Brokedown Palace encore, both these songs coupled together make for magnificent and emotional show closing.

It’s fair to say much of the spotlight for tonight is on Brent Mydland and his skillful execution of some killer Dead tunes with his own twists making the songs even better!

Listen to the Grateful Dead dozin at the Knick on March 26, 1990 here: https://archive.org/details/gd1990-03-26.FM.richp.Keo.112093.Flac2496/gd1990-03-26.FM.t01.flac

Grateful Dead Live at Compton Terrace Amphitheater on 03/25/1983

On March 25, 1986 the Grateful Dead played their first show of 1986 at the Compton Terrace Amphitheater in Tempe, Arizona. This is a really solid show, although there does prove to be moments that make it clear the Dead are getting back into the swing of playing live since their last show on 12/31/1985, this mostly seen with few issues of the band out of sync here and there. Not only is this the first show of 1986 but there’s also a few other things that make this show interesting.

First off this is the first live appearance of the song “My Brother Esau” which was written by John Perry Barlow and Bob Weir. This show would be the first appearance of the song and would later appear, not on the LP or CD versions, but on cassette of the Dead’s twelfth studio album In The Dark. The opening lyrics of the song have also been described as referring to the stabbing of Meredith Hunter in 1969 during a Rolling Stones concert at the Altamont Free Concert in Northern California by Hell’s Angels member Alan Passaro, they are as follow, “My brother Esau killed a hunter back in 1969”.

Secondly with this show is the first time the Grateful Dead broke out the enthralling suite from their album Blues For Allah, “Help On The Way > Slipknot! > Franklin’s Tower” since October 11, 1977. Despite this being the first time since October 1977 that the whole suite was played the Dead had played Franklin’s Tower on its own a decent amount of times during the hiatus.

With that lets look at the set list for the whole show:

Set 1: Cold Rain & Snow, New Minglewood Blues, Dire Wolf, My Brother Esau, Big Railroad Blues, Me & My Uncle > Big River, Tennessee Jed > Let It Grow

Set 2: Help On The Way > Slipknot! > Franklin’s Tower > Playing In The Band > Drums > Space > Throwing Stones > Not Fade Away > Black Peter > Sugar Magnolia, E: Don’t Ease Me In

The first set starts off a tad rough with Cold Rain & Snow, however New Minglewood Blues is up next and it really does bring a bouncing rhythm and makes up for Cold Rain & Snow. After Dire Wolf the Dead break out My Brother Esau which isn’t too bad for the first time played live, it moves along steadily and is overall a good debut. The last song of the first set, Let It Grow, is probably the best song from the first half, its electric, psychedelic, and just absolutely mind-numbing. If all else fails and you don’t have time for the first set at least give Let It Grow a listen!

Set 2 jumps back with the long awaited return of Help > Slip > Franklin’s and it is cohesive, crisp, and wonderfully executed. The move from Help On The Way into Slipknot! is especially quite well done despite not being played live for six years, right from these few songs it seems clear this is a show highlight with out a doubt. After this comes Playing In The Band and this one sounds really interesting, it definitely brings a different flavor than other versions of this song so that’s something to listen to. Next up is an alright Drums and Space, but the best part is definitely when the band come out of this and into Throwing Stones.

All in all this is a pretty good show, some memorable moments that are really quite interesting and take you for an enjoyable ride!

Give this show a listen here: https://archive.org/details/gd83-03-25.fob-senn.willy.7350.sbeok.shnf/gd83-03-25d1t01.shn

Grateful Dead Live at Rainbow Theater on 03/21/1981

On March 21, 1981 the Grateful Dead played at the Rainbow Theater in London, England. Perhaps overshadowed by several other shows on this date I’d say this show could be described as a hidden gem, it definitely has more highlights than low points and the Dead seem to be bringing their A-game for this show. I really have nothing bad to say about this show, it all blends well, is very pleasant, and overall just a blissful Grateful Dead show!

Here’s the set list for this one:

Set 1: Alabama Getaway > Promised Land, Peggy-O, Me & My Uncle > Big River, Tennessee Jed > Little Red Rooster, Althea, Let It Grow > China Cat Sunflower > I Know You Rider

Set 2: Jack Straw, Ship of Fools, Estimated Prophet > Eyes Of The World > Drums > Space > Not Fade Away > Black Peter > One More Saturday Night, E: Don’t Ease Me In

The first set might just be the best part about this show, very fine selection of tunes and some well done transition jams to add to it. The show takes off with a rapid fire of Alabama Getaway that immediately blends into Promised Land. Both these songs feature some good work by the whole band, especially keyboardist Brent Mydland who really sounds like he’s making the songs his own with the solos. Speaking of excellent Brent performances tonight, we can’t forget his good work on Little Red Rooster from this night either. The apex of the first set comes after this with Althea and the songs that follow. Althea is wonderfully executed, everything about this version is perfect, it’s coherent, and the jams near the end are particularly enthralling. Then Let It Grow bursts in, it breaks down the wall that Althea set up and takes off with passion. If that didn’t seem to do it the Dead then break out a classic China Cat Sunflower that seamlessly as always goes into I Know You Rider to finish off that first set.

Set 2 is quite stellar too, this set is really upbeat altogether and brings some good energy from the band. The best part of this set would have to be Eyes Of The World, really beautiful and Jerry does a phenomenal performance on this one. As I said this show is definitely one that deserves more attention compared to the other shows that took place on March 21 and shows from 1981 too.

Check this one out here: https://archive.org/details/gd1981-03-21.114710.mtx.franka.t-flac16/gd1981-03-21mtxd1t03.flac

Grateful Dead Live at Hampton Coliseum on 03/20/1986

Today’s Grateful Dead concert comes from Hampton Coliseum, Hampton, VA on March 20, 1986. I don’t want to say this show is a complete train wreck, because it most certainly isn’t, but there are definitely some moments that prove the Dead aren’t in the right state of mind tonight.

Songs come and go from the Dead’s set lists over the years and there’s a noticeable trend of songs from say early 70’s compared to late 70’s or even the 70’s as a whole compared to the 80’s or 90’s, but on a rare occasion the Dead will come out of left field with a song we haven’t heard in a long time. This show is a good example of the Grateful Dead taking us for an unexpected trip, as they unleash Box Of Rain on us, the first time playing this song since July 1973.

Box Of Rain has always been an interesting and heartfelt song, composed by Grateful Dead bassist Phil Lesh and band lyricist Robert Hunter, this song was the first official release by the band to feature Phil as a lead vocalist. A strong meaning behind this song, Phil wanted something to sing to his father who had terminal cancer. The studio version of the song features Bay Area musician Dave Torbert on bass, Phil Lesh on vocals and acoustic guitar, New Riders of the Purple Sage member David Nelson on lead guitar, and Jerry Garcia on piano. The song was debuted live in September 1970 with that being its first and last appearance until fall 1972 where it would be played here and there before being entirely dropped in July 1973. During the time in between Phil would rarely sing with the band, confining his vocal contributions to the harmony on “Truckin'”. This was mainly due to vocal cord damage he had endured due to improper singing. Ultimately, at long last Box Of Rain makes its long awaited come back 33 years ago today on March 20, 1986 at the Hampton Coliseum.

Here’s the set list for today’s show:

Set 1: Touch Of Grey, Little Red Rooster, Friend Of The Devil, It’s All Over Now, Row Jimmy, Me & My Uncle > Mexicali Blues, Althea, Box Of Rain

Set 2: Iko Iko > Estimated Prophet > Eyes Of The World > Drums >Space > Wharf Rat > Throwing Stones > Not Fade Away, E: U.S. Blues

Set 1 takes off pretty shaky with Touch Of Grey, it’s clear Jerry falls off a bit with the lyrics some way through but he finds the words he’s looking for not too long after and the Dead trudge on. Little Red Rooster isn’t too bad after the minor Touch Of Grey mishap, Brent and Bob both sound in control with this one I think. The songs after that seem to be going fine, nothing crazy going on but still enjoyable enough. Then Althea comes in and we see this song go off the rails completely, lyrics are forgotten through a large part of the song and you can’t help but feel bad for Jerry on this train wreck. After Althea Bob takes to announce, “now we’ll show why practice makes perfect”, what could that mean? Unbeknownst to the crowd the Dead take off with an important song, the intro isn’t easily identifiable at first, but then Phil takes his place at the mic, “look out of any window…”, could this be? Box Of Rain? The crowd goes absolutely wild for this and energy at Hampton Coliseum goes through the roof! After 777 shows since July 1973 the Dead dust off Box Of Rain and let the audience have it! With that the Dead wrap up the first set after a landmark performance of Box Of Rain.

Set 2 ramps up with a jumping Iko Iko and pushes the set forward for some pretty smooth sailing after the hiccups in the first set. Just before Drums Brent with Micky and Bill spend some time jamming out and make some pretty far out there sounds which is worth a listen. After Drums and Space the show closes with a sequence that starts at Wharf Rat and ends up at Not Fade Away, while this isn’t bad it can sound a bit lackluster.

At the very least give this show a chance with a listen of Box Of Rain, and maybe stick around for the rest if you’d like: https://archive.org/details/gd86-03-20.sony.lai.3906.sbeok.shnf/gd86-03-20d1t101.shn

Grateful Dead Live at Winterland Arena on 03/19/1977

1977 was a fantastic year for Grateful Dead shows, ask any Deadhead what the best year(s) for the band were and they might tell you late 60’s/early 70’s or ’72-’74 or maybe even late 80’s as Bob Weir would suggest, but there’s no denying that eventually the year 1977 will come up. This year yielded consistently good shows from the Dead, night after night the Grateful Dead were producing the most mind-numbing shows that they maybe ever did, proving their worth, and cementing their legacy as more than a typical psychedelic/hippie rock band.

However, that’s not to say there weren’t any problems either, there were drugs, lots of drugs. Keith Godchaux and Jerry Garcia had taken to using opiates, Phil Lesh was becoming more and more reliant on alcohol, and Donna Godchaux was regularly using cocaine with wine. This all mixed with the failing marriage of Bill Kreutzmann and the separation of Bob Weir and longtime lover Frankie Weir the year prior. To say the least 1977 was also a year of turmoil in the band, but this can be hard to tell, especially when looking at the excellent shows the Dead were putting on in ’77.

March 19, 1977 at the Winterland Arena in San Francisco, California brings a good example of just phenomenal the Dead were doing as far as live shows go in ’77. Shows like this one really are just pure magic and are good examples of why Deadheads consider 1977 to be one of the best, if not the single greatest, years in the Grateful Dead’s career.

Here’s the set list for the show:

Set 1: Bertha, Mama Tried, Loser, Big River, They Love Each Other, Looks Like Rain, Tennessee Jed, Estimated Prophet, Terrapin Station > Playing In The Band > Samson & Delilah-> Playing In The Band

Set 2: Eyes Of The World > Dancin’ In The Streets > Wharf Rat > Franklin’s Tower > Sugar Magnolia, E: One More Saturday Night, E: Uncle John’s Band

Set 1 swings into motion with a good Bertha, a standard pick as we’ve come to realize for the Dead, leading the way for a just as good Mama Tried. A tight They Love Each Other follows soon after and then brings a touching Looks Like Rain. Once they finish up Tennessee Jed it almost feels as if the Dead would look to go for a set break, however, this is where they change things up a bit, coming out of the gate running with Estimated Prophet, then to a magnificent as always Terrapin Station. Terrapin leads into Playing In The Band, bringing what sounds like an almost aimless noodling jam near the end of Playing, but this isn’t done without a purpose, far from it. Just when you’d expect the Dead to wrap up the first set they ramp it right back up again with a roaring Samson & Delilah that takes us back to Playing In The Band to actually close the first set now.

Thrown for a loop a couple times in the first set the Dead come back for round two with the aim to somehow live up to that mind blowing first set, and do they succeed. Eyes Of The World kicks in and we can instantly tell the Dead mean business, Eyes then goes into a funky Dancin’ In The Streets. The pace slows down and Jerry takes his place to control the aura that is Wharf Rat, his exceptional guitar and vocal performance shines tonight on Wharf Rat with out a doubt. Not only do the Dead wrap up tonight with a jumping, speedy, and overall enthusiastic Franklin’s Tower > Sugar Magnolia, they treat us with a double encore, first with One More Saturday Night and then Uncle John’s Band.

This night is full of surprises from the Grateful Dead, from the seemingly endless first set, seemingly endless mean’t in the best way possible, to the fruitful double encore, the Dead are looking to put on a spectacular show tonight and just like may other shows from 1977 the Dead absolutely tear this one up!

I’d highly recommend giving this amazing show a listen: https://archive.org/details/gd77-03-19.sbd.chinacat.255.sbeok.shnf/GD77-03-19D1T1.SHN

Grateful Dead Live at Winterland Arena on 03/18/1967

An early Grateful Dead show for today, a show from the Winterland Arena in San Francisco, California on March 18, 1967. This show is raw and primitive to say the least, the Dead unleash tunes for this show that could only characterize the formative years for the band. This show also comes one day after the official release of the Grateful Dead’s debut studio album, The Grateful Dead, on March 17, 1967!

This show is one of the few surviving live recordings of the song “Golden Road To Unlimited Devotion” that was released on the Dead’s debut studio album. This song is credited as being written by the band as a whole which is interesting as that’s not something you’ll often come across with regards to Grateful Dead writing credits. This song came into conception when Warner Bros. suggested that the Dead write a more “single” oriented track for the album, soon after the band took to it and created this oddity of a song.

Here’s a look at the set list for the show:

Set 1: Me & My Uncle, Next Time You See Me, He Was A Friend Of Mine, Smokestack Lightning, Morning Dew, It Hurts Me Too, Beat It On Down The Line, Dancin’ In The Streets

Set 2: Golden Road To Unlimited Devotion, Cream Puff War, The Same Thing, Cold Rain & Snow, Viola Lee Blues, Death Don’t Have No Mercy

The show opens with an energetic Me & My Uncle, the third time the Dead played this song live too. Next Time You See Me comes in and Pigpen tones this one down it seems, but its still gets the groove going so it has my approval. Other highlights for the first set would be the raunchy and bluesy Smokestack Lightning that Pigpen and the whole band kill mixed with the bouncing and down right rock n’ rolling Dancin’ In The Streets that closes the first set.

The second set comes soaring in with the fast paced Golden Road To Unlimited Devotion that sets the energy for Cream Puff War, this song comes in fast but it also has its slow spacey moments as well. The Same Thing comes as a slow blues tune at first but eventually it transcends into an interesting psychedelic jam. The show comes to a close with Death Don’t Have No Mercy, always a haunting Grateful Dead song, eerie and chilling and an excellent choice to end the show.

This is a really good Grateful Dead show that showcases the band at some of their earliest moments, check it out: https://archive.org/details/gd1967-03-18.sbd.sacks.1594.shnf/gd67-03-18d1t01.shn

Grateful Dead Live at Hilton Hotel on 03/15/1969

March 15, 1969 brings us a really tasteful and primitive Grateful Dead show from the Hilton Hotel, San Francisco, CA. This show was set up in part as a fundraiser for the San Francisco Symphony, under the name of The Black and White Ball. The chair of the entertainment committee was Grateful Dead’s rhythm guitarist Bob Weir’s mother, noting the Dead were probably included in an attempt to appeal to a younger audience for such an event. The Dead had arrived on time for their performance, however Owsley “Bear” Stanley was responsible for a delay in set up, and as soon as they were ready the Dead took the state and played for about an hour. During their performance the Grateful Dead were apparently not received well by the crowd, this could perhaps be in part due to the fact the whole band came in costumes (Jerry and Phil were pirates in case you were wondering). Ultimately this event was not a success and the local society columnist spoke unkindly towards the Dead, referring to them as the “Ungrateful Dead”. The Black and White Ball was not held for another close to 20 years after this, but when it was revived again in 1987 Bob Weir was a featured guest. Although at the time this show was not well received I’d have to say it is in fact a really strong Grateful Dead show, very primitive and out of this world in a spacey-esque kind of way.

Here’s the set list for the show:

Morning Dew, Alligator > Drums > Alligator, Hard To Handle, Good Morning Little School Girl, Dark Star, Saint Stephen > The Eleven > Turn On Your Love Light

Unfortunately I haven’t been able to find the first few songs from the show as the archive versions only have Hard To Handle onward. Maybe I’m just not looking hard enough but if anyone knows if a recording of the first few songs even exists I’d love to know where to find it!

Despite the lost parts of the recording and some slight hiss throughout this show is still pure Grateful Dead psychedelic magic! Hard To Handle is a funky one, no doubt about it, and Good Morning, Little School Girl is pretty flawless tonight too. The Dark Star is stellar too, it packs a punch when it needs too, but it is also eerie and spacey at other times. St. Stephen is well done as always and sets the way for a classic The Eleven into Turn On Your Love Light sequence. All in all this is definitely a trippy Grateful Dead show that gives off the pure 1969 vibe from the band.

Of course we can’t forget another important event that happened today either, its Phil Lesh’s birthday! Phil was a founding member of the Grateful Dead responsible for playing bass throughout the band’s 30 year career. He was also responsible for writing a number of classic Grateful Dead sons such as “New Potato Caboose”, “Box Of Rain”, and “Unbroken Chain”. Happy Birthday Phil!

Check out the Grateful Dead live Hilton Hotel on March 15, 1969 here: https://archive.org/details/gd69-03-15.sbd.cotsman.4280.sbeok.shnf/gd69-03-15d1t01.shn

Grateful Dead Live at Camp Randall Field House, University of Wisconsin on 03/14/1971

48 years ago on March 14, 1971 the Grateful Dead played at the Camp Randall Field House, University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI. This show is a crisp and clear recording, often hard to come across for Grateful Dead shows in the early 70’s. The whole band sounds on the ball tonight, but the lights are shining bright on Pigpen especially for this show. In my eyes Pigpen was one of the most important members in the early years for the Dead, his singing was one of the best and when he passed it was a tragic loss for the Grateful Dead. The in between songs are nonetheless still well done but emphasis should be put on Pigpen tonight.

Here’s the set list for the night:

Set 1: Truckin’, Me & My Uncle, Hurts Me Too, Bertha, Me & Bobby McGee, Hard to Handle, Loser, Good Lovin’

Set 2: Casey Jones, Sugar Magnolia, Wharf Rat, Greatest Story Ever Told > Johnny B. Goode, E: Uncle John’s Band

Set 1 is the real meat and potatoes for this show I think, after all it is where we see all of Pigpen’s stellar performances tonight. Pigpen’s first appearance tonight comes in on Hurts Me Too, a soulful and gripping tune where Pigpen absolutely wails on harmonica and vocals, really top notch stuff, the rest of the band tie the whole song together all around as well. Next on the list: Hard To Handle, what a song this one is too, I’d say even better than Hurts Me Too, not only does Pigpen take this one but the whole song just gets better the longer the Dead jam on it. The first set comes to an end with a beast of a song in the form of Good Lovin’ that clocks in at over 21 minutes. Probably the highlight of the show, the whole band makes the song their own, Pigpen’s amazing vocals, Bill’s killer drum solo about 3 minutes in, great guitar work by Bob and Jerry, and of course the thick and tight bass from Phil. I swear this song just gets better the longer it goes on!

Set 2 comes around and it proves pretty challenging for the Dead to top a spectacular first set like that one. They carry on though and still manage to turn out some decent songs in the second set, attention for this set should be turned to Wharf Rat and Greatest Story Ever Told. Both of these songs have their own vibes and the Dead manage to bring out the best of them tonight. Interestingly enough 1971 was also the first year the Dead debuted Wharf Rat live, with this show being the 8th time the Dead played it. The first time the Grateful Dead played Wharf Rat live was on February 18, 1971 at Capitol Theater, Port Chester, New York, it’s a pretty good show so if you have time check it out here.

As I said this is definitely Pigpen’s night, so make sure to at least check out his songs for this show: https://archive.org/details/gd71-03-14.sbd.cole.6115.sbeok.shnf