8/19/70: fillmore west, san franciso, CA. w/the new riders of the purple sage.
another acoustic-electric curiosity from the grateful dead's storied history is this fine gene taback field recording. dupes of the master cassette made it into trading circles very early and, based on the rarely taped american beauty songs, on-point harmonies, pigpen's piano, and great setlist, the tape is essential listening for any devotee of the era.
the first premeditated acoustic sets of 1970 occurred during the late shows of the last two nights of the dead’s legendary february run at the fillmore east. portions of these sets were released in 1973 as part of bear’s choice, including pig's note-perfect take on the lightnin' hopkins country blues number, katie mae. acoustic sets became the norm after this, and were featured nightly in the "an evening with the grateful dead" set structure (acoustic grateful dead, new riders of the purple sage, electric grateful dead), before ebbing to a close the following year during spring tours to midwest and northeast towns and colleges.
in late july, the dead returned to bill graham's fillmore east for another run prior to heading home for the remainder of the summer to work on american beauty. in between studio sessions, they managed a number of gigs, many in very small venues, as they introduced much of the new material, and some additional covers, into their repertoire. they also experimented with a format incorporating just the acoustic dead set and the new riders at some of these shows. this gem of a recording, courtesy of raoul duke, is a nice window into one of those nights.
the whole acoustic set is sheer joy. billy adds some drums & pig plays lively, soulful upright piano on how long blues, dark hollow, candyman, ripple, truckin,' and new speedway boogie. there's a long gospel/bluegrass portion with NRPS, but the set centerpiece is unquestionably the stunning ripple > brokedown palace pairing with big outro vocals. the electric portion of the show gets a waggish introduction by an enthusiastic emcee: “out of the backwoods of marin county sometimes known as the kodiak woodchuck motherfuckers, the grateful dead!” the set is straight ahead ramble and boogie, including a slow, funky cold rain and snow, a robust st. stephen > sugar magnolia, an outstanding good lovin', with fiery garcia licks and full-on mckernan swagger, solid takes on new minglewood blues and casey jones, and a 39-minute not fade away > turn on your lovelight finale that features a wobbly david crosby on rhythm guitar.
this night at the old fillmore west is archetypal 1970 grateful dead—a large helping of countrified blues choogle, with a side of imperious electric-ensemble sonic contortion. it might be the best '70 acoustic sets you’ve ever heard. you be the judge. you may even come back for a second or third listen.
https://archive.org/details/gd1970-08-19.aud.taback.cdjones.81775.sbeok.flac16
