1/17/69: robertson gymnasium, santa barbara, CA.

early 1969 finds the dead playing in luminous improvisatory mode, served up with an overwhelming feeling of immediacy. a few weeks prior to the avalon ballroom performance that would provide part of the music for the live dead LP, this performance is a prime example of a band fully in the midst of some absolutely vital creation. the 80-minute set presents some of the most affecting music i’ve heard in quite a while. of note, the dark star > st. stephen > the eleven > death don’t have no mercy sequence is stunning, played with an intensity and spirit par excellence. of course, the mythic status afforded the material on live dead makes it almost impossible for long-time devotees to view it objectively, but rest assured, the music on this evening is of the same innovative and vociferous quality. much of the show is a dramatic flow of dynamic ideas between the band members, who repeatedly pass rhythms and phrases across the stage. the energy is high and the interplay and quick directional changes are quite extraordinary—clearly an unassailable peak in the history of the grateful dead. listen up. https://archive.org/details/gd69-01-17.sbd.miller.89798.sbeok.flac16

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3/1/70: family dog at the great highway, san francisco, CA.

the dead team up with commander cody and his lost planet airmen for 3 nights at one of chet helms’ rotating dancehall revues. the soundboard recording begins with a rare big boy pete (only four known versions from this period), recreating that rhythm & blues sound of the early 1960s. from here, the band rolls out a truly splendid take on morning dew; the jam smokes, and jerry’s singing is sweet and transformative. after noteworthy performances of hard to handle and me & my uncle, we arrive at the big jam sequence of the show. the cryptical suite is remarkable and is much more energized than the night before. they charge into it, although dogged by feedback, and the jam peaks, ebbs, and climbs again, before segueing into a thunderous Cryptical reprise which, in time, quiets down and transitions—with chiming harmonics—into a delicious black peter.

the remainder of the night is standard, top-notch 1970’s dead, and includes early arrangements of tunes from their soon-to-be-released workingman’s dead LP, tracked at pacific high recording studios just a few weeks prior. culled from bear’s 7” master reel recording, this set is really worth your full aural attention.

https://archive.org/details/gd1970-03-01.132769.sbd.master-reel.kaplan.flac16

9/16/72: two days after the first partial mix of the lagin/lesh/garcia studio recording “seastones” was submitted to clive davis at A&R records, the dead rolled into massachusetts for two nights at the boston music hall. during the saturday night performance, ned lagin sat in with the band on the dark star > brokedown palace sequence, playing a wurlitzer electric piano and crybaby wah-wah. this was the first and only time prior to 1974 that he sat in with keith godchaux playing acoustic piano. a few years back, a pristine second set soundboard recording of the show surfaced on the archive. the dark star on this evening is one of the dead’s great masterpieces, and the entire band is completely in synch from the beginning. give it a spin.

https://archive.org/details/gd72-09-16.psbd.unknown.6683.sbeok.shnf