12/10/72: winterland arena, san francisco, CA.

after a 2 week vacation from touring, the dead rolled into winterland for a 3-night hitch filled with the same vigor and energy that made the november ‘72 gigs so legendary. the first night of the run is my favorite, even with the sound issues and tape cuts. despite the mix changes, the recording is ultimately quite satisfying and chock-full of great ensemble playing and rich improvisation. garcia completely dominates the concert with blistering solos throughout, and the barnstorming tones of his stratocaster highlight every tune.

the soundboard recording is missing a good deal of the first set. even so, the three songs we have are more than enough to wet our appetite. bertha is revved up from the start, and jerry’s solo is ferocious. the playing in the band that follows is absolutely immense. like many of the ’72 versions of the song, it is a vehicle for boundless expression, chaos, & feedback. as the boys descend into the jam on this night, jerry is already in deep space and wastes no time digging in even deeper. about half-way through, he enters a quiet wah-wah section, which builds into a tempestuous sound explosion and then dissipates. in time, the band slowly forges their way back to the reprise, with jerry’s keening notes swirling around the sonic landscape like an atonal cloche. casey jones closes out the first set, deftly returning the audience to planet earth.

set 2 begins in standard 1972 fashion and includes a stirring early take on stella blue, which regrettably gets chopped off at the end solo. things start to heat up again with china cat sunflower > know you rider, which features a bold and inventive transition sequence. the oft-paired truckin' > the other one occupies the next 45 minutes of the set; as you might expect, the jam out of truckin' is absolutely fierce, with jerry spitting out notes at a furious pace. the entry into the other one is a bit restrained but quickly grows into a more energetic jam. garcia’s guitar phrasing is splendid at the opening of the first verse and soon morphs into a burst of feedback and unhinged freeform improvisation; the cyclical jam that follows is both haunting and unnerving. garcia continues to explore various melodies, eventually dropping into a quiet formless jam that the other musicians mine for a while. from here, an eyes-style chordal theme emerges and serves as the framework for additional themes. the result is astounding and is one of those moments that makes listening to this band so goddamned gratifying. a few rockers round out the set, including a fine uncle john's band encore with some tasty, laid-back solos from jerome.

listening to this performance from start to finish, one can’t help but gain a greater respect for jerry’s unique ability to steer the grateful dead ship into uncharted territory. the way he attacks the entire performance is not atypical of many 1972 shows, it’s just that on this night he dials it up a few more notches in his relentless introduction of new, inchoate ideas within the context of what the band is playing. it’s a wonderful example of the dead’s ability to make format out of chaos. plug in some good headphones and see for yourself. https://archive.org/details/gd72-12-10.sbd.gorinsky.5801.sbeok.shnf/gd1972-12-10d1t02.shn

4/21/71: rhode island auditorium, providence, RI.

april of 1971 is most famous for the dead’s final run at the fillmore east, despite the fact that the boys had been busy ripping it up at just about every college gym on the eastern seaboard. this performance is one of those real gems that has been unfairly overshadowed by the fillmore shows. the low generation soundboard source has a good mix with minimal hiss, and provides a wonderful definition of vocals and instruments. the gig crackles with energy from beginning to end, and surely contains highlights that could have made the cut for the skullfuck LP. down to a five-piece configuration for the first time since 1967, they were back to what jerry called ”prototype grateful dead.”

the night opens with a spirited casey jones. the band sounds loose and strong, with good harmonies. after a few more short numbers, the lads really open things up with a truckin > other one > wharf rat sequence; the improvisational explorations during the other one are intense and vital, resulting in some of the finest moments of the show. lesh’s bass dances over and around garcia’s leads, while weir, pig, and kreutzmann comp beautifully through the tangle. the complex interplay of instruments and the seamless translation between jam and spatial motifs is exquisite. it is a reminder of why the pioneering jazz critic ralph gleason once described what the dead were doing in the sixties as “really jazz, even though the sound of the electric guitars at first inhibits you from saying that.” the first set continues to heat up with a scorching take on hard to handle, loaded with a solid pigpen funk groove. jerry’s guitar break about 3 minutes in is nothing short of remarkable, not to mention phil’s syncopated baroque bass line bouncing and running over everyone. the set closes out with an up-tempo cumberland blues, an elegant birdsong, and a sweet version of me & booby mcgee with a smooth country-style into.

set 2 kicks off with a fired-up bertha with just the right amount of shoot ‘em up barroom flavor. sugar magnolia has a nice flanging effect on garcia’s guitar at the start; bobby’s vocals carry well, especially during the final jam. listening to their run through the weir-barlow number, we’re reminded why the band really liked playing this song. a few other highlights of the set include: a badass rendition of good lovin’ with plenty of mckernan mojo; a well-jammed not fade away > goin’ down the road > not fade away; and a fine uncle john’s band > johnny b. goode double encore. culled from bob mathews' 7-inch half track reel master recording, this show is meant for liberal consumption.

https://archive.org/details/gd71-04-21.sbd.kaplan.8227.sbeok.shnf/gd71-04-21d1t04.shn.shn

3/25/72: jerry garcia & friends, academy of music, new york, NY.

recently, i revisited the seven-night spring of 1972 run at the academy of music. the tapes—a mix of betty cantor-jackson soundboards and varying quality audience recordings—offer the listener a wealth of great performances, including a number of significant jams that demonstrate the band’s progression toward their europe ’72 style.

the most unusual and famous of the academy shows is the hell’s angels benefit gig on the 25th, where the dead backed bo diddley for the first set. the show kicks off with seventy-five minutes of blues tunes, medleys, and jams, highlighted by diddley’s syncopated guitar licks and signature vocals. garcia plays backseat to mr. diddley for a spell, but eventually joins in and ushers the band into some jamming that is crackling with energy. it’s clear, listening to this portion of the recording, that the dead were having a mighty fun time playing with the blues legend. pig graciously sat the first set out.

jerry opened the dead portion of the evening with "this is dedicated to the hell's angels and the united states of america.” the set started with two one-time-only jerry garcia band covers—how sweet it is, and are you lonely for me—that he’d been doing with merl saunders, before reverting to standard grateful dead fare. the early formative version of how sweet it is is something else. the second offering, the freddie scott 1967 r&b chartbuster, is even more of a treat. what a gas it is to hear jerry and donna belting out the chorus, not to mention garcia’s masterful soloing. next, pigpen returns us to the good old grateful dead with a rollicking next time you see me. the vibe is energetic throughout, highlighted by some fine solo work from jerome. after a fabulous country-picked brown-eyed women, the band launches into smokestack lightening. the last smokestack performed with mr. ron mckernan at the helm is excellent, and surely one of the finest versions committed to tape; it’s long, bluesy, and contains an amazing lead by garcia toward the end. a few other highlights of the set include: a sizzling sitting on top of the world, with jerry’s bakersfield-style guitar licks tearing up everything in sight; a beautiful looks like rain with pedal steel; particularly upbeat versions of bertha and mr. charlie; a powerful early take on black-throated wind; a deliberate and nuanced deal; and a fearlessly improvisational playing in the band, offering a few hints of what lay in store for the hunter-weir tune in the fall of the year. the band follows their beautiful take on playing in the band with a brief (22-minute) foray into turn on your lovelight, with sir pig’s exquisite rap leading the way. the show closes out with casey jones. phil introduces the tune with a nod to the angels “i think we’re gonna finish off with this one folks…this one is dedicated to all of us who are in jail.”

listening to the tapes of these march gigs one can’t fail to appreciate the new expansive direction that has taken hold of the band. on a bittersweet note, the academy shows and the upcoming european tour will become pigpen’s swansong, as he was dead within a year of the tour’s end. somehow, though, the combination of the old giving its final heave and the new looking ahead to fresh musical frontiers gave many of the ’72 shows an added spark. this night at the cozy run-down academy of music is no exception.

https://archive.org/details/gd1972-03-25.133592.sbd.miller.flac1644/gd72-03-25d3t05.flac

8/23/69: pelletier farm, st. helens, OR.

this fabulous soundboard recording captures the dead a week removed from their woodstock performance, doing what they most likely intended to do in bethel. bullfrog 2 was advertised as a three day affair featuring a swell line-up which included the dead, taj mahal, mixed blood, portland zoo, sabatic goat, bill feldman, and a pre-celebrity NRPS. the advertising also promoted petite mall lites, space balloons, rides, and fireworks. all this for $6 bucks in advance.

from the opening bars of hard to handle, it’s very clear that the boys have brought their A-game on this evening; the version is long, raunchy, and played with plenty of swagger. following this, we’re treated to the workingman’s portion of the show: a sweet countrified mama tried > high time combo, a fine casey jones with some funky swamp-blues guitar from mr. garcia, and a red-hot easy wind with pig’s keys taking center stage. the show really turns at the dark star which is, from the very beginning, a goddamn sonic satori. it’s a version that makes you very thankful that recordings of this band were made in such abundance. the tune covers relatively standard territory through the first seven minutes or so—a melody is established, and garcia states a few thematic ideas. the playing is flawless. next, the band—led by jerry & TC—starts to explore a few riffs that advance into a daring, intrepid jam that the ensemble kicks around and develops further in a 4/4 time signature, before dropping effortlessly into a delightfully weird metaphysical space that they mine for a lengthy exploration. in time, garcia deftly returns the unit to the main theme and the second verse. out of this, st. stephen bursts forth in full fury and rages into the 11, which is equally as charged and wonderful. in true good ol’ grateful dead fashion, the set continues with a hefty 30-minute lovelight, marshaled by pig’s bawdy rapping, TC’s peppery, calliope organ, and a ton of relentless jamming. after a few relatively coy comments from a festival stage manager, the crowd is sent home with a stirring take on we bid you goodnight.

the following day, the local papers reported that there were no problems or fallout from the festival. in a press briefing, columbia county DA, lou williams, was quoted as saying “if you call the open use of narcotics and drugs 'no problem,' then i guess there was no problem." another article noted that many of the st. helens’ merchants were delighted with the abundance of sales over the course of the event. the streets were packed, and business had never been so good. one store owner did complain though. he stated that “…if he played music like that, he'd be arrested.” https://archive.org/details/gd1969-08-23.sbd.2196.sbeok.shnf

12/15/72: long beach arena

the final month of a historic year filled with unbelievable tours featured five performances, four of which were played at winterland. on the whole, december of ’72 is a bit of a dark horse; the shows are loaded with technical issues, dodgy sound, and bad cuts in the tapes. even so, for those who venture within, many surprises await.

the last stand-alone grateful dead performance of 1972 in long beach, CA, finds the band playing with the same ragged intensity they brought to the fall tour. the first set is typical ’72 fare. highlights include: a country-tinged sugaree, a smoking tennessee jed with a passionate outro lead by jerry, a slow and heartfelt candyman, a few weir-led cowboy numbers, a whopping playing in the band, and a punchy casey jones. the crowning jewel of the ninety-minute first set though is the playing in the band, which rivals many of the more renowned versions on the archive. to begin with, keith is loud in the mix and this is one of those rare playing in the bands that begins with a prominent piano drone. the jam is ominous and heavy, with jerry hanging in the background releasing guitar licks from behind the fray. the result is a menacing, relentless feeling, fueled by garcia’s inspired and tortured licks arising spontaneously from the soundscape to a point where it seems that he is musically fighting the rest of the group. to make matters all the more beautiful, lesh maintains a consistent open-ended structure that appears to be facilitating the rambunctious spirit that has possessed the lead guitarist. the result is a playing in the band similar to the big ’72 november versions—it never calms down for long before a storm boils up again.

set two opens with a scathing greatest story ever told—with just the right amount of wah-wah pedal—and it’s clear the band is fully warmed up. a few numbers later, they head into an extended he’s gone; their take this evening is nearly identical in structure and intensity to the version they laid down four nights earlier at winterland. next up, we’re treated to a suite of music that, like many of the second set jams of this period, begs your full aural attention. an energized truckin’ is followed by a long improvisational jam, loaded with complex themes and varying meter signatures that slowly drifts into one of the most distinctive dark star passages committed to tape. the former vault keeper, dick latvala, once commented on his fondness for this dark star based on the unique and inventive style of playing that bookends the verses of the song and the complexity of melodies and phrasings that arise throughout the piece. garcia’s guitar work is beautiful and sinister, lesh’s bass playing is uncanny, weir’s licks are at once divergent and complimentary, kreuztmann’s polyrhythmic jazz/rock groove is unrelenting, and godchaux provides a haunting keyboard effect throughout. the last dark star of 1972 drops elegantly (and appropriately) into a poignant and inspiring morning dew. at this point in the band’s career, they could do no wrong when traversing any type of improvisational jam. this night is no exception.

https://archive.org/details/gd1972-12-15.sbd.yerys.2329.sbeok.shnf/gd72-12-15d3t03.shn

6/17/75: bob fried memorial boogie, winterland arena.

here’s another gem from the oft-misunderstood and disregarded retirement period when the dead were on a year-and-a-half hiatus from touring. this winterland gig is the second of the four bay area shows that reunited the band during the recording and release of blues for allah. i’ve written about the first and final shows of this storied year (the SNACK benefit at kezar stadium, and the exquisite bob menke field recording at golden gate park) in earlier blog entries, both of which are essential listening for anyone interested in this period. of course, the unveiling of blues for allah came on 8/13/75 at the great american music hall, and was celebrated in the first official vault release in 1991.

the second show of the year—billed as jerry garcia and friends—was a benefit gig at winterland in june. bobby’s side project kingfish and the newly formed keith & donna band also played a set before the full grateful dead ensemble hit the stage. unlike the more polished sound of the great american music hall, this performance is for people who like their jams dangerous and unpredictable; it’s the reason that dead scholars often make the claim that 1975 remains the most intriguing year in the band’s ever-intriguing history, filled with creative chances and decisions that would define the band’s next two decades.

similar to the lindley performance, this bob menke field recording places the listener directly in the shoes and experience of the audience members, a perfect balance between the band and the crowd. the show opens with the debut of crazy fingers, with garcia taking two choruses before they head back into the verses. the playing and phrasing is near perfect and it's hard to believe that this is the first time they ever performed this tune in a live setting. after a few quick numbers—including a heartbreaking peggy-o—the band launches into their first try at help on the way > slipknot > franklins tower; the resulting set closing music is beautiful, especially the only instrumental version of help on the way they would ever play.the second set of the evening is all about the b-side of blues for allah. although they encore with a few classics, it’s the blues for allah > king solomon's marbles/stronger than dirt/milkin' the turkey > blues for allah reprise that leaves my mind in stitches. the 25-minute exploration is stunning; the jamming and interplay between the musicians is magical, otherworldly, and sublimely maniacal.

listening to this tape, i’m reminded why 1975 was such an inspired and metamorphosing year for the grateful dead. it was—and always will be—simultaneously an ending, a beginning, and something completely unknown.

https://archive.org/details/gd1975-06-17.fob.menke.motb.97078.flac24

9/9/72: hollywood palladium, hollywood, CA.

the fall of 1972 is loaded with great performances, and this night is no exception. the first set is a nice mix of ballads, rockers, and some extended jams. a few highlights include a sweet and poignant sugaree, a fine black throated wind with some lovely picking and subtle wa-wa action from garcia, a rollicking deal highlighted by keith’s saloon style keyboards, and a bird song and playing in the band in their full ’72 glory. the second set is also ripe with great stuff. after a few snappy opening cuts, the band rolls out a 70-minute sequence that really smokes. he’s gone and truckin’ are played with real gusto, but it’s the other one that extends the outer limits of the cosmos. the interplay between the musicians on the weir-kreutzmann penned number is a real pleasure to witness, resulting in one of the most satisfying extended explorations of the year.

after the encore the boys squeeze out a funky little stars and stripes forever jam, which concludes with some fun stage banter from jerry: “we’d like to play some more, but some of the boys are already in tijuana…you know how it is.” we certainly do.

https://archive.org/details/gd1972-09-09.sbd.miller.105458.flac16