9/20/70: fillmore east, new york city, NY.

this show echoes the famous and much loved february 14th gig from earlier in the year, that would be enshrined in dick latvala’s pick #4. it’s that good and, in a way, is a bit of a farewell to their ’69-style psychedelic performances. what makes this show even more special is the quality of the sound; it is, hands down, one of the best field recordings i’ve ever heard. marty weinberg recorded many of the dead’s performances in the early days of the fillmore, armed with a Uher 4000L mono reel-to-reel and an AKG D190E microphone. weinberg worked hard on improving his tapes, eventually taping at 7 ½ speed in 1970, on 5-inch reels. the sound of his recordings were often marginal compared to the versions created by the fillmore east stage crew who patched reel-to-reel machines into the PA feed under the stage. this one is definitely an exception.

set 1: this acoustic set is arguably one of the best the dead played in 1970. for starters, dave grisman adds a beautiful touch to the first two numbers on mandolin. next, bobby weir introduces david nelson with “…another mandolin,” for an unusually slow big railroad blues, and spirited versions of dark hollow and ripple. following this, is an achingly beautiful to lay me down, featuring some outstanding piano work from garcia. also, of note in the first set, is a rare acoustic version of an embryonic truckin, a swell rosalie mcfall, and a damn nice new speedway boogie.

set 2: the electric portion of the night is just as good. after a few nice intro tunes (including an uptempo sitting on top of the world), the band rolls out the rarely-played big boy pete, followed by a rousing and lengthy easy wind, the best sugar magnolia of the run, and a poignant attics of my life. the final jam-not fade away > caution (do not stop on the tracks)> feedback-is quite special. after about 7 minutes of inspired aural feedback-looping weirdness, the boys drop into a full length we bid you goodnight to close the book on the evening. this performance is some very good, good ol’ grateful dead. give it a listen.

https://archive.org/details/gd70-09-20.aud.remaster.sirmick.27583.sbeok.shnf