12-19-69: fillmore auditorium, san francisco, CA. w/osceola, rhythm dukes, jef jaisun, and lightyear.

this performance is highly significant in grateful dead history in that it is the first to feature an acoustic set. by all accounts, it appears that this evening’s wooden music was necessitated because of some significant technical problems. it was enough of a hit though that they rolled it out the next week in dallas, and then again numerous times in 1970 (with and without the new riders).

the tape opens with a few comments by jerry on the topic of a missing bass player. he shares that phil “...is stuck somewhere, but he is on his way and will be here in some short time and we’ll be able to play loud and all that…in the meantime, me and bobby ace are going to regale you with some old favorites.” these early acoustic takes on monkey & the engineer, little sadie, and been all around this world come off quite nicely, similar to how they’d sound on bear’s choice. the one wild card is the vern stovall/bobby george song, long black limousine. weir, in fine voice, gets a chance to step it up on the tune, and garcia’s backing vocals are a perfect compliment. although the band played the song beautifully, they shelved it before realizing its full potential. the final performance–at the fillmore east–came just five months after this evening’s debut.

in due time, the full band is assembled and gets down to business with the electric portion of the show. it kicks off with an absolutely smoking mason’s children. from here, the lads settle into the usual late ’69 song selection with a solid black peter, a vibrant hard to handle, a rocking cumberland blues, and a funky take on good lovin’. the show concludes with a stirring other one suite that segues nicely into uncle john's band, followed by a well-jammed lovelight that spirals into a bold climax, which certainly must have left the crowd exhausted and satisfied. without question, this owsley tape is worthy of your full attention.
https://archive.org/details/gd1969-12-19.sbd.clugston.5584.sbeok.shnf/gd69-12-19d1t01.shn

5-18-68: santa clara county fairgrounds.

if you want to hear what the grateful dead sounded like six months prior to the release of live dead and the lauded 1969 line-up, this jorma kaukonen field tape is a telling record of the band’s hard-driving, opulently psychedelic 1968 soundscape. with two-thirds of the ’68 shows lost and many of the surviving documents being incomplete, this one is a real find. a caveat regarding the sound quality: the onstage microphone set-up swims quite a bit, has a number of drop-outs, and contains almost no up front vocals in the mix. despite these obvious liabilities, the music is breathtaking from start to finish. in fact, if pressed to produce a recording that perfectly documents the raging power of the grateful dead’s nineteen sixty-eight feverish, improvisatory gestalt, i strongly believe that the santa clara performance should always be in the conversation.

the american music journalist greil marcus was in attendance for the dead’s matinee outing. he remembers tom “big daddy” donahue introducing the band, announcing that their new album would be out that week, and suggesting that the dead might play some numbers from it during their set. marcus wrote: “jerry garcia smiled benignly to himself. he said they'd do 'alligator' and they did, for about forty minutes. that was their set and it blew the place wide open.”

listening to the swelling, monstrous, and brutal groove of this performance, i’d have to agree.
https://archive.org/details/gd1968-05-18.aud.jorma.gmb.sbeok.94591.flac16

8-6-71: hollywood palladium, los angeles, CA. w/ the new riders of the purple sage.

one of the best-known audience tapes from the early seventies, this rob bertrando field recording is really something. the tape, produced with a sony 770 portable 7-inch reel deck and two battery-powered ECM-22 condenser mikes, is close to perfect with soundboard quality instrument separation and a good balance of crowd noise. bertrando was one of the original grateful dead tapers who, along with relix-founders les kippel and jerry moore, worked their cunning magic in the days when recording shows demanded coming up with wily methods for getting one’s gear into concert venues. this is long before tapers’ sections were the norm at dead shows, and stories abound about the band’s sound and road crews putting the stops to every recording operation they witnessed. cords were cut, tape decks smashed, and tapes were often confiscated. it’s amazing that bootlegs like this palladium gig ever got made in the first place.

the show roars out of the gate with a fiery bertha, and the high-octane atmosphere continues throughout the performance. stellar takes on new and old tunes litter the first set, including a tight mr. charlie, a blistering cumberland blues, a fine brokedown palace with competent harmonies, and a damn pretty run through loser. the highlight of the opening frame is the tremendous hard to handle. a featured track on the fallout from the phil zone compilation, this hard to handle has long been considered in grateful dead circles as one of the best they ever played. the solo section on this evening is absolutely ablaze with power; the raw energy of this rendition is palpable, and the reflection back from the frenzied palladium audience perfectly captures the symbiotic relationship between the band and the crowd in a way that is elemental to the grateful dead’s live affect.

the second set opens with one of the last pre-vacation period takes on saint stephen. the stand alone version is full of swagger and doesn’t disappoint. a respectable truckin’ is next, replete with some downright acrobatic guitar work from garcia. from here, a quick drum solo bridges the way to the jewel of set 2—a fabulous, opulently textured other one. it’s a classic '71 version, filled with dark, ruminating jams and crackling verve—exactly what we’ve come to expect when listening to performances during this peak transitional period. me & my uncle appears midway through the song, a combination that would occur a number of times during the fall and winter tours. tonight’s take has a little something extra in the chamber and the segue is nearly perfect. after the cowboy weir interval, a free-form jam ensues and advances-with great instrumental fervor-to the final verse. the show concludes with a few rockers, a superb morning dew, and a 24-minute lovelight finale, packed with some beautiful blues-soaked riffs from jerry and plenty of righteous mckernan rap.

many early field recordings suffered greatly from being made too close to the stage. that certainly wasn’t the case with this tape. almost every note from each instrument is audible and the inflection of the band’s voices are evenly modulated. the quality of the sound recording and the sheer intensity of the performance makes this a show for the ages. warning: repeated listenings are conducive to a condition of heightened jubilance.
https://archive.org/details/gd71-08-06.aud.bertrando.yerys.129.sbeok.shnf

as an added bonus, here's a link to bertrando tape of the previous evening's performance, which ain't no slouch either. the sound quality on this recording is almost as good and well worth checking out. https://archive.org/details/gd71-08-05.aud.cotsman.9768.sbeok.shnf/gd71-08-05d1t02.shn

and i'd be remiss if i didn't include a link to the opening set by nrps, featuring jerry on pedal steel. it is the perfect compliment to the dead's performance and gives you a nice window into what a night with the grateful dead felt like in 1971. https://archive.org/details/nrps1971-08-06aud.shnf/nrps1971-08-06d2t01.shn

8/21/72: berkeley community theatre, berkeley, CA.

in the summer of 1972 the grateful dead embarked on a small west coast tour, including a four night engagement at the berkeley community theater. the entire series of berkeley performances—14,000 tickets—was sold out by the end of the second day the seats went on sale. there was no special advertising campaign, just the usual announcements in the standard bill graham adverts.

what could have been dismissed as a pedestrian monday night opener, cannot largely due to the remarkable second set dark star. this is not to say that the initial set isn’t also loaded with riches...a few high points include a bold take on the newly-penned he’s gone, a rousing china > rider, a playing in the band dripping with psychedelic adornment, and an absolutely gorgeous stand-alone stella blue. listening to the first frame it’s evident that the band is loose and happy to be playing a run of shows on their home turf. there’s plenty of space between songs, noodling about, and even a few words from phil on the topic of vegetables.

bobby ace and the cards from the bottom of the deck kick off the second set with rocking versions of greatest story ever told and ramble on rose. after a bit of cursory tuning, we arrive at the highlight of the night. this dark star begins with 9 minutes of improvisatory motoring before garcia sings the only verse. off into the deep unknown we go. the ensemble gathers steam, drops into a dissonant fold, and then enters into some full-on jazz chaos. the jamming is fierce and the group mills and spits, weaving back and forth between rapture and the dark abyss. in time, keith takes a piano solo and jerry valiantly attempts to usher the boys towards morning dew. they won’t have it and fall back into a jazzy improvisation piloted by godchaux’s keyboard scat. this interlude soon begins to resemble the beginning of any number of weir’s cowboy numbers, finally slowing down to segue into el paso. subsequently, garcia and lesh nudge the dark star theme again before jerome nods at deal. the version is slow, honey-drenched and unconfined.

as the dust clears, the boys tune up a bit while bobby, the consummate joker, throws his hat into the ring for nomination as mayor (with jerry prompting, “of freemont!”). they’re far from finished though, and jump headlong into a roaring sugar magnolia followed by stirring takes on mississippi half-step and uncle john’s band. the boys send the crowd home with a fiery one more saturday night. they did this three more evenings before heading to oregon to play a benefit for a local dairy farm, but that’s another story for another time.

culled from betty cantor-jackson’s 10-inch ½ track master reels, this recording will burn off your little ears. https://archive.org/details/gd1972-08-21.139581.sbd.miller.sirmick.flac16

8/21/69: green lake theatre, seattle, WA.

NO SHOW: UNGRATEFUL CLAMOR DIDN'T RAISE THE DEAD

the performance was originally scheduled for the previous night. the seattle times reported that “…from 6 to 7 p.m. the musicians assembled their amplification equipment on stage, sawed wood to place under the many huge speakers, fooled with the p.a. system, and tore down a sagging, ripped sheet that apparently had been intended as a backdrop. someone was blowing bubbles. another played a harmonica. at 7 p.m. someone yelled, "are ya gonna play, or not?" the cry was taken up by the audience. some cherry bombs exploded in the water. finally some rain fell—a few drops proved the highlight of the evening.” in true grateful dead fashion, the band took the night of august 20 on the road for a surprise appearance at a place called el roach on ballard ave. unfortunately, no tapes of the impromptu event can be found.

and so, on the evening of august 21, 1969, the dead, nrps, and sanpaku played in front of a moat in what proved to be the last gig at the aqua theatre. this is the first co-billing with the new riders, featuring garcia on pedal steel for anyone interested in that little snippet of dead lore. also of note is that the guest flautist who joins the band on a few numbers is none other than sanpaku's gary larkey, and not the esteemed charles lloyd as was erroneously reported in other accounts. the boys serve up casey jones as the opener. it’s slow, swampy and just messy enough to get your attention. the first taped version of easy wind is next on the docket; mckernan’s bravado is turned way up, and the band alternates between rolling blues grooves. a few more highlights from the early portion of the set include a flawless execution of bonnie dobson's morning dew, a fantastic high time that both showcases garcia's confident singing and the full-band harmonies that are really starting to come together, and an unusual new minglewood blues > china cat sunflower > doin’ that rag combination that features a fabulous transition jam peppered with larkey’s flute/scatting embellishments.

after another pigpen-sung number and a fine run through sittin’ on top of the world, we arrive at the finale of the extended green lake set. the last thirty minutes of the performance-an ultra-compact that’s it for the other one > dark star > cosmic charlie-are really something. the dark star is the shortest of the era, clocking in at less than 7 minutes with both verses. despite its brief, fleeting nature, it still packs a voltaic punch. the real news though is that the slow take on cosmic charlie is finally working, complete with assured vocals and tight playing.

taped by owsley with a fine digital transfer from j. cotsman, this set is a vital 1969 recording that shouldn’t be missed.

https://archive.org/details/gd69-08-21.sbd.cotsman.13850.sbeok.shnf

11/8/70: capitol theatre, port chester, NY.

nineteen-seventy has a vast aggregate of audience tapes, possibly more than any other year in the band’s history. in october '70 the dead stopped playing regular acoustic sets, focusing their energy on electric music, though the new riders continued to tour with them. the lone exception is the capitol theatre run in november, where the band played their last official acoustic set of the decade (unless you count the impromptu gig-billed as the bob weir band-at loyola college’s rambler room in the fall of 1978). the dead always had an infinity for the port chester club and it’s audiences. between 1970 and 1971 the band played the theater 18 times, placing it thick in the pantheon of dead venue lore.

a few year’s back, i wrote about a brilliant audience recording that ken and judy lee made during one of the dead’s june of ‘70 capitol theatre appearances. i raved about the special quality of sound they were able to capture on their field recording, most notably during the dark star suite. a year later, ken lee replied to my post with a few kind words, a funny antidote or two about the scene, a bit about recording the gigs, and eventually directed me-with much exuberance-to the evening of 11/8/70. i followed his recommendation and was, not to mince words, completely bowled over. listening to the tape, i found myself scratching my head and wondering how this performance had ever made it past my 1970 radar. i’ve since thoroughly listened to all 4 nights of the november stand. every recording is notable, although the final night is the standout show because of it’s unusual setlist and superlative second set jam.

dire wolf kicks off the wooden music, followed by a long, spiritual i know you rider. after dark hollow, weir is compelled to tell the crowd, "you realize we're all missing godzilla vs. king kong on TV-it's really good, we saw the opening scene-i didn't get to see king kong, but that godzilla, he was one motherfucker...." a few cowboy tunes later, the audience begins calling for pigpen. in due time, we’re treated to the last live performance of operator. the acoustic portion of the evening ends with two more american beauty numbers, the last wake up little suzie, and a sterling uncle john’s band.

following a strong 12-song outing from nrps w/jerome on pedal steel, the good ol’ electric grateful dead return to the stage. the opening morning dew is played and sung beautifully. after a straight-ahead me & my uncle, things really begin to get interesting when jerry leads the unit through the only versions of mystery train and my babe they ever played. the segue between the two tunes is so seamless that you’d swear they’d been performing the combo for years. the first around and around is next; bobby screams his lungs out and the band rocks it like you’ve never heard. keeping the party mood flowing, weir leads the sextet through a smoking excursion into the gary bonds 1960 hit, new orleans. it’s an ideal high energy tune for weir and it’s a shame the band only performed it one time, because it would have fit perfectly with bobby’s repertoire. new orleans transitions effortlessly into the rollicking mckernan-sung searchin,’ followed by spirited takes on it’s all over now baby blue, casey jones, and truckin.’

the electric set continues with a striking reading of dark star. after a confident exploratory opening passage, mickey nimbly plays the dark star theme on the glockenspiel as a prelude to the first verse. the band soon nudges their way into feedback. a bird call and laughter emerge from the crowd, followed by a few screams, a gong, cymbals, and more feedback. and then, with the greatest of ease, the band elegantly drops into the final recitation of the main ten. a remarkable melodic theme jam emerges from the 10-beat riff; in time, lesh and kreutzmann shift the tempo and garcia is happy to follow, steering the outfit into an excellent version of dancin’ in the streets. if all this music wasn’t enough to satisfy the capitol crowd, the band drives this behemoth of a show home with a rocking not fade away > goin’ down the road > not fade away > good lovin.’

recorded with a sony TC124s and sony cardioid mics spaced at 20 feet apart (with shielded cables along the edge of the balcony), this tape is truly one of the finest grateful dead audience recordings of the era. sadly, none of these november port chester shows exist in the dead’s vault. lucky for us, ken and judy’s field documents are alive and well, digitized and preserved on the archive. do yourself a favor and strap on a good pair of headphones and crank this beauty up. i promise that you’ll thank me for the suggestion. https://archive.org/details/gd1970-11-08.aud.lee.pcrp.26975.shnf

10/9/72: winterland arena, san franciso, CA. road crew benefit w/nrps.

nineteen seventy-two is chocked full of so many stellar performances that one can literally queue up any show on the archive and find something to really chew on. i’ve highlighted a good number of dates over the past three years in this blog, including two march academy of music gigs, some personal favorites from the europe run, a handful of unheralded december dates, and the smoldering new year’s closer from the winterland ballroom.

sandwiched in between a 12-show east coast hitch and a 10-night run in the northern midwest, the band made time for a single hometown performance in the form of an october road crew benefit at winterland. the dead were no strangers to benefits of course. beginning with the mid sixties san francisco mime troupe benefit shows, the band subtly pursued opportunities to aid various groups and causes. some of the more famous of these fundraisers were performances for the hell’s angels, the black panthers, yogi bhajan’s sufi choir, the american indians, and the springfield creamery field trip in veneta, OR. this evening’s concert raised in the neighborhood of $10,000 to reportedly help the dead’s roadies buy a house. what other band comes to mind for playing benefits so that their road crew might buy a home?

as was the case on the first and last california shows of the year, the new riders opened the festivities, followed by a more typically generous two sets from jerome and company. the first set is notable for the live debut of box of rain, which featured phil lesh in his first lead vocal for the band. other highlights of the set include nice renditions of black throated wind and friend of the devil, a well-jammed china > rider, an exquisite sugaree, and a fiery, 20-minute version of playing in the band, reminiscent of some of the more interesting takes on the tune performed during the european tour.

the second frame begins with an oddity: a brief blues jam featuring a clearly inebriated grace slick, messily adlibbing in front of the bemused band. fortunately for us, her appearance is short. the music recommences with a warm he’s gone, complete with the recently introduced vocal coda. a blistering run through johnny cash’s big river follows with some lightning picking from garcia alongside keith’s remarkable piano work. a few songs later-including a fledgling mississippi half step-we arrive at the real meat of the set via a superb truckin’ > other one > wharf rat combination. the phil and billy duet at the end of truckin’ is terrific, highlighting both musician’s extraordinary fluidity and their uncanny ability to switch tempos and styles. tonight’s take on the other one is jazzy and succinct, clocking in at a mere 10 minutes; it doesn’t pack the untethered punch that many of the ’72 versions exemplify, but is quite satisfying none the less. the wharf rat is pure early seventies august west, with that brilliant garcia bridge that moves the time signature into waltz time and back to the A-major march which perfectly translates the pathos of the narrator’s experience.

the night closes out with a strong sugar magnolia and an energized fragment of casey jones. overall, this is an exceptionally well-played show, clearly reflecting the many miles the band had logged on the road over the previous months. recorded by bear, mastered and retracked by bill guarneri, this night at winterland is worthy of a few listens. you be the judge. https://archive.org/details/gd1972-10-09.sbd.130494.MrBill.flac16