7/7/69: piedmont park, atlanta, GA, with spirit, chicago, the allman brothers, delaney & bonnie, and hampton grease band.

the fact that the dead played a free show that had them flying to atlanta for the gig is a bit strange, given that their financial resources were quite tight at that juncture. i can only imagine that this was a publicity thing, as the dead had no real following in the southeast at that time.

the performance is a real barn burner and it's not to be missed. from the opening morning dew, you can tell the lads came to play. some other highlights include a sublimely poignant take on high time, a funky early version of casey jones with a very groovy intro, and a colossal dark star suite that'll leave your brain in ashes. and if that wasn't enough mojo, they still have room in the tank for a 37-minute lovelight finale with gregg allman on keys, probably duane on guitar, and perhaps the chicago horns. recorded by the esteemed augustus owsley stanley, with a masterful transfer from mr. charlie miller, this one is as fine an example of good ol' 1969 dead as you'll ever hear. plug in some headphones and queue this baby up.

https://archive.org/details/gd1969-07-07.123468.sbd.miller.flac16/gd69-07-07d1t05.flac