11-8-69: fillmore auditorium, san francisco, CA.

much has been written about 1969 dead. it was a year packed with great performances, to say the least. discerning listeners point to a few essential tapes from the year, including the famed fillmore east dates w/janis joplin and her cosmic blues band, two remarkable evenings at the dream bowl, a number of fillmore west shows (highlighted by the late february and early march gigs that would grace the landmark double LP, live dead), three raging nights at the ark, two big rock pow wow shows at the seminole indian village in west hollywood FL, a handful of nights at the family dog and winterland arena and, of course, a much celebrated festival in bethel, NY. this list is far from being comprehensive.

a few years ago, i stumbled onto an essay by renowned taper jim wise about his relationship with dick latvala and a certain ’69 grateful dead recording. around the time the two met, latvala was pitching november 8, 1969 to john cutler and jeffery norman as the next dick’s picks release. the music was stunning, as was a flaw in the master recording—a continuous clicking sound throughout. dick left a 2-track recording he’d converted to DAT from bear’s 7-inch master reels with wise to see what he could do with the technical issues. wise went to work and was eventually able to remove the clicks from the right channel of the disc, resulting in the sound on the transfer you’ll hear on this archived recording. of course, the fidelity of the revamped sound was a hit with jeff norman too, as evidenced on dick’s 16.

the tape is an odyssey. it is considered by many dead historians as one of the finest early performances by the band. i heartily agree. the true journey of the show begins with an elegant dark star, masterfully played and underscored by deeply ruminative improvisations. after the first verse, the ensemble drifts off into space before garcia wanders into a fantastically potent jam. lesh, the consummate opportunist, intricately shapes the dark star jam into a new theme and soon begins to hint at the other one. the momentum is indomitable and the musical interplay sets the band at a tremendous energy level. the transition into the other one is sudden and arresting; several compelling jams occur before the first verse, adroitly led by phil’s maniacal bass and some absolutely sinister guitar work by jerome. in time lesh hints at a caution theme, but garcia has other plans and soars back into dark star. phil isn’t done though, and leads the group into a surprising instrumental take on uncle john’s band. the short jam is ineffably joyful, and the uptempo interpretation is a perfect bridge to the final verse of dark star.

the remainder of the set is equally as satisfying. the saint stephen that arises out of the dark star suite is played to perfection, with a particularly torrid final jam. the eleven is next, and it is one of the few times the band has played the dark star > saint stephen > eleven trilogy since the introduction of the new aoxomoxoa material into their repertoire that april. this evening’s take on the eleven is sterling, offering a swath of deep improvisational territories. in time, lesh again has his way and steers the outfit into caution. the playing soon becomes downright psychedelic—combined with an ideal portion of distortion—before mckernan brings the band back to earth with a long and detailed vocal discourse. and if there hasn’t been enough twists and surprises, a rare main ten jam is introduced, explored, and discarded for a scorching caution reprise. the evening concludes with an extended feedback and a bittersweet and slightly out of tune we bid you goodnight finale.

in a year of incredible peaks, this show is one of the exceptional outings. it embodies the essence of 1969 grateful dead—roaring, pulsing, nefarious, and sublime. it’s easy to see why mr. latvala was so in love with this tape. queue it up and see for yourself. my only counsel is that you dial the volume up to an unreasonable level to ensure maximum enjoyment. https://archive.org/details/gd1969-11-08.sbd.wise.17433.shnf/gd69-11-08d2t02.shn

5/3/69: winterland arena, san francisco, CA. the dead play a saturday night show with jefferson airplane and afro-cuban percussionist mongo santamaria.

bear recorded everything in 1969. there was always a tape being made. something that could be played back and critiqued. the music would run through the soundboard and into his trusty nagra reel-to-reel. not only that, but in '69 he frequently taped shows on reels and cassettes at the same time. for some odd reason though, a soundboard of this winterland date doesn’t seem to exist in the vault. fortunately for us, george jackson was perched on the lip of the stage near the keyboard position with a sony 770, 7 ½ ips quarter track and two condenser mics. the result won’t go down as the greatest 1969 show in history, but it surely can be counted as one of the best audience tapes ever.

the quality of this tape eclipses the performance. the opening he was a friend of mine is absolutely gorgeous, although somewhat uneven. the other one suite that follows is pure energy, and is not to be missed. san francisco’s samurai seven assault the crowd with a complexity of sound that is their gestalt—fluid meters, incessant innovation, and opulent noise. garcia’s endless inventive guitar drives the various themes; his playing is at once fiendish, manic, and furtive. the cryptical reprise is elegantly drawn out and striking. from here they drop seamlessly into a fine early take on doin’ that rag. the boys really nail it and, even with the tune's abrupt chord changes and pacing, sound like they’ve been playing the aoxomoxoa number for years.

there’s nothing to regret here aside from the fact that the tape runs out way too early in the show. despite its brevity, it is a must recording for any collection.

https://archive.org/details/gd1969-05-03.139575.pcm.miller.flac16

7/31/71: yale bowl, new haven, CT.

for years the only way to listen to this show was via a marty weinberg audience recording. weinberg showed up at yale with 6 hours' worth of 5-inch reels in his pack, and recorded the whole affair at 7 ½ speed on his trusty Uher 4000L portable. in 2008, a vault release (as part of the road trips series) featured outtakes from the performance. part of weinberg’s tape was used to patch a flip in the dark star, which sounded quite good in context. three years ago, as it often does in grateful dead land, the soundboard finally reared its head.

the concert opens with a standout version of truckin,’ deftly played and loaded with clout. next, the boys break out a pair of first-timers. the sugaree is perfectly succinct; garcia’s tone is bright, with just the right amount of distortion and sustain. mr charlie is at its filthy best. pig’s raucous vocals and jerry’s badass, gun slinging guitar take this one over the top. the set continues in standard ’71 fashion with a rollicking mama tried, an extended version of big railroad blues, and an early, heavier, jam-free version of playing in the band. surprisingly, the moment the weir-barlow number ends, the lads launch right into dark star. a first set rarity, this one is a real doozy.

the piece begins with the quintet immediately plunging into the depths of the music—in the first few minutes they flirt with several ideas without settling on anything. as they begin the verse riff, garcia changes his mind and they wander off again on a little side-trip into the void, suspending the momentum to hew something else. in time, lesh nudges the theme once more and they drop into the first verse at the 10 minute mark. from here the ensemble gathers steam, forcefully pushing their way into the abyss. the space is menacing, and the jam that ensues is turbulent, eerie and raging. at this juncture, jerry is so energized that he sounds as if he might burst, but the band manages to channel their focus into a new melodic jam that slowly settles down, out of which the dark star theme returns. the musicians groove on the theme, introduce another quieter jam, and then garcia decides to abort the second verse, signaling the others to stop, and they blast right into birdsong instead. this is the first time the hunter-garcia tune is connected to another song, and the only time they ever joined it to dark star. the arrangement on this day is delivered confidently with a real rocked-out feel throughout. the pairing is certainly the apogee of the show and, unquestionably, rates as one of the most interesting improvisational excursions of the year.

the second set of the dead's ivy league visit is packed with the same vitality and ragged festivity as their first 100 minutes on the bandstand. along with a hefty supply of stage banter, a few highlights include a solid bertha, a fantastically charged china cat > know you rider with a unique bridge jam, a restrained, lilting sing me back home, the customary not fade away > goin’ down the road > not fade away, replete with tight, zesty rhythms (and a short, final foray into the short-lived youngbloods inspired darkness jam), and a heartfelt uncle john’s band > johnny b. goode double encore.

recorded by rex jackson and digitally transferred by mr. charlie miller, this afternoon in new haven is worthy of repeated listenings. hitch your ears to it and see for yourself. https://archive.org/details/gd1971-07-31.132730.sbd.miller.flac16/gd71-07-31d2t10.flac

8/14/71: berkeley community theatre, berkeley, CA. this pristine soundboard recording is loaded to the gills with great music. the performance, missing from the dead’s vaults, made it’s way onto the archive in april of 1997 when the brother of former GD staffer, bonnie parker, discovered a few rich sounding cassette tapes in a box of miscellaneous belongings he inherited from his sister after her untimely passing. the word is that the tapes were a gift to bonnie from jerry garcia. a damn nice office perk, to say the least.

much has been written about how the band loved playing in berkeley, and this night proves this in spades. everything the lads touch sparkles with energy from the opening bertha, to the johnny b. goode > uncle john’s double encore. stage banter abounds and phil’s bass is prominent in the mix—two aspects of 1971 grateful dead i’ve always adored. the first set is typical for the period; the tunes are presented with authority, including compact early versions of sugaree and playing in the band. other highlights include a lilting brokedown palace that is close to perfect. the three pig pen numbers are delivered with confidence and power, including a full-speed-ahead hard to handle that sizzles with mckernan verve.

what makes this night even more special is the set 2 appearance of MIT-trained biologist and electric keyboard specialist, ned lagin. lagin is most well known in grateful dead circles for his seastones work with phil lesh, not to mention a handful of way out bio-music intermission performances during the wall of sound era. lagin also sat in on a few other documented 1970-71 shows on both coasts, most notably the 2/18/71 gig at the capitol theatre when he accompanied the band for dark star, wharf rat, and candyman on the clavichord.

in a 2001 interview with david gans, lagin was chatting about his time with the dead and shared a tidbit about the august 14th berkeley gig: “when the band got into the truckin’ into the other one jam, pigpen waved me over to the organ and got up so i could sit in.” the outcome, as rapturous as the great bodhisattva departure, is one that would surely satisfy a good number of the ancient sages. the enlightened quintet throws down the lotus sutra of other one suites, beginning with one of the most engaging and powerful introductions, followed by a deep, polyrhythmic bridge jam, and an extremely tight climax. listening to the interplay amongst the musicians, it’s clear that the band was inspired by lagin’s presence, his inventive contributions and, most likely, some other radiant, guiding narrative.

recorded by betty cantor-jackson, with a digital transfer from the esteemed mr bill guarneri, this is a show that’ll set you straight. https://archive.org/details/gd1971-08-14.sbd.130871.MrBill.flac16

the following night's performance ain't half bad either: https://archive.org/details/gd1971-08-15.sbd.130890.MrBill.flac16

6/10/73: robert f. kennedy memorial stadium, washington, DC.

in the summer of 1973, the dead joined the allman brothers for two memorable performances in the 45,000 seat multi-purpose arena, two miles due east of the u.s. capitol building. doug sahm and wet willie opened the festivities on saturday and sunday, respectively.

the shows used the dead’s prototype wall of sound with a stereo PA system with JBL speakers inside Alembic cabinets, plus a stereo auxiliary PA. on the second night, the dead played a powerful, lengthy—4 ½ hour—set that included extended takes on birdsong and playing in the band, a lovely eyes of the world > stella blue pairing, and a dark star suite that surely sent many of the psychedelic rangers in attendance into a state of supreme delectation. toward the end of the evening, allman’s guitarist dickey betts joined the band for a few tunes, including a scorching run through the arthur big boy crudup tune, that’s alright mama.

president richard nixon chose not to attend either night.

https://archive.org/details/gd1973-06-10.sbd.miller.89640.sbeok.flac16

4/16/72: aarhus university, denmark.

midway through their european vacation, the dead venture to the tiny college town of stakladen and play one of the most unusual shows of the fabled tour. reviewers often point to the london, frankfurt, or paris dates when highlighting the notable outings of the europe run, and rightly so. for some reason, the aarhus gig often goes unmentioned. looking at the setlist one might assume that this is just another typical grateful dead show from 1972. upon close listening though, it reveals itself as one of the most unique performances of this era.

the first set is standard ’72 fare with a solid sugaree, a few robust cowboy tunes, an extremely beautiful early take on black throated wind, and a playing in the band that is just starting to take off. the meat of this show, is found in the set 2 jams. the second frame begins with a smoking good lovin’ with all the necessary pigpen raps. a few tunes later, the weirdness really kicks in. truckin’ is arguably the best of the tour, plump full of brilliant garcia solos. the reprise jam is goddamn remarkable and the train soon becomes completely unhitched before the ensemble somehow finds it within themselves to latch onto the other one theme. this version of the other one contains an atypical structure, with a number of quiet passages and is played largely without drums. me and my uncle provides an excellent bridge before the lads dive back into the other one proper, though lacking the second verse. the end result is nearly forty minutes of unexpected twists and turns, intriguing dead ends, and a satiable helping of inspired improvisation. a rocking not fade away > goin’ down the road feeling bad > not fade away closes out the set in good ol' grateful dead fashion, with the crowd in a frenzy and no room for an encore.

recorded by betty cantor-jackson, this one is a winner from top to bottom. unfortunately, the first set on all the archived recordings is a bit muddy and suffers from numerous cuts. i’ve linked the best sounding cassette source here, via uli teute and hanno bunjes. the second set transfer from mr. charlie miller is of much better quality. of course, i’ve been listening to the exceptional jeffery norman remastered version culled from the original 16 track recording. i suggest that you take it out for a spin and see for yourself. i’m guessing you’ll b-line it to the itunes store and download this nordic beauty posthaste.

https://archive.org/details/gd72-04-16.sbd.pset1.hanno.19861.sbeok.shnf/gd72-04-16t05.shn

https://archive.org/details/gd72-04-16.sbd.miller.18103.sbeok.shnf/gd72-04-16d2t04.shn