32 year ago today, the Dead played one of their top shows of the fine year of 1978. April 15th, 1978 found the band playing a gig at William and Mary College in Virgina. While an unexpected venue for a monumental show, that is often how it goes on tour and certainly for the Dead who had a knack for blowing the big gigs while bringing the heat at the strangest of times.
Jerry in 78'
The show features the year’s only Morning Dew and what a ‘Dew it is! This is not to be missed, Jerry lays it all on the line with in a truly heart-wrenching show of emotion and beauty. The perfect complement to the rocking Not Fade Away that preceded it, this Dew is just about perfect. This Not Fade Away -> Morning Dew sequence is the exclamation point on this smoking show, a true gem of 78.
Egypt 1978
The Grateful Dead ~ 4/15/1978 ~ William and Mary College Hall Williamsburg, VA
Set 1: Mississippi Half Step, Passenger, Friend Of The Devil, El Paso, Brown Eyed Women, Let It Grow, Deal
Set 2: Bertha-> Good Lovin’, Candyman, Sunrise-> Playin’ In The Band-> Drums-> Not Fade Away-> Morning Dew-> Around & Around,
1982 is an often overlooked year for the Dead, but it was an incredibly solid year for the band. Brent Mydland, who joined the band in 1979, was really settling in and finding his place in the tunes. Jerry’s playing was as strong as ever and his voice was aging beautifully. In his own right, Bobby was gaining steam and really starting to take his rhythm work to another level after some shaky times in the early-mid 70s.
Show Flyer - 8/10/82
To get a sense of how the band was sounding in 82′, give a listen to this wonderful recording of a summer 82′ show at the Iowa City Fieldhouse. The show is rock-solid from front to back, but some highlights include an extended and trippy Feel Like a Stranger opener, a haunting Friend of the Devil, and a unique pre-drums sequence of Lost Sailor->Saint of Circumstance->Eyes of the World. Unusual for 82′, this stand-alone Eyes (without the common Estimated Prophet precursor) is just top-notch and smoking with exciting and exploratory jamming. Other high points include a seamless Miracle->Bertha 1st set closer, and an always fun China->Rider set 2 opener. Check out the download below, it’s an absolutely sparkling Charlie Miller Matrix mix of the show – a gem for any head’s collection.
The Dead - Summer of 82'
The Grateful Dead
8/10/82
University Of Iowa Fieldhouse
Iowa City, IA
SET 1
Feel Like A Stranger
Friend of the Devil
New Minglewood Blues
Tennessee Jed
Cassidy
It Must Have Been The Roses
On The Road Again ->
BIODTL
Stagger Lee
I Need a Miracle ->
Bertha
SET 2
China Cat Sunflower ->
I Know You Rider
Lost Sailor ->
Saint Of Circumstance ->
Eyes Of The World ->
Drums ->
Space
Iko Iko ->
Truckin’ ->
Stella Blue ->
Sugar Magnolia
ENCORE
It’s All Over Now, Baby Blue ->
Johnny B. Goode
Today we celebrate the one year anniversary of Welcome To Now! Founded on March 25th, 2009, WTN has been there over the past year along with all you freaks out there, sharing in the groove and digging the wonderful music taking place all across this great land. In honor of this special day, let’s look back at the 10 biggest musical moments of the past year in Jam:
1. PHISH RETURNS
Phish @ Hamtpon - 3/07/09
Phish returned to the stage in 2009, with a more than triumphant year of playing. The reunion began with a historic 3 show run at Hampton Coliseum in March. Things just got better as the year went on for The Phish – the band released a new album, ‘Joy’, and hit the road for a big 2-leg summer tour, Halloween at Festival 8 in Indio, CA, an East Coast fall tour, and New Years in Miami. All in all, 2009 was a great year to be a Phish-head!
Hampton Fluffhead
2. PHIL AND BOBBY GO FURTHUR (JOHN K. LEAVES DSO)
Lesh, Weir, and Kadlecik - Dec. 09'
Phil Lesh and Bob Weir shocked deadheads everywhere in August of 09′ when they announced their newest post-Jerry Dead project: Furthur. Unexpected to all, Phil and Bobby called on John Kadlecik, aka ‘Faux Jerry’, aka ‘The Ghost of Jerry’, DSOs long-time axe-man, to join the band. The new project laid to rest indefinitely both Phil Lesh and Friends and Ratdog, and dealt a major blow to DSO, leaving them without a front man. In the 6 months the band has been together, they’ve played a big coming out 3-show run in Oakland, a brief Northeast December tour, New Year’s run in San Fran, and a smoking Winter tour of the East Coast and Midwest. Coming up in 2010, the band will hit the stage for a Memorial Day Festival and a mini-tour of the Northeast in late June and early July.
Furthur NYE 2009 Poster
3. THE DEAD REUNITE FOR TOUR
The Dead - Spring 09'
Months before Furthur, the Core Four reunited for the first time in over 5 years for a one-off Spring Tour across the US. The boys were joined by Warren Haynes on lead guitar and vocals, and Jeff Chimenti of Ratdog on the keys. Check out a few tour highlights below for download!
The Disco Biscuits closed out a fantastic year of playing with their second Annual 5 show run at the Nokia Theater in New York City. By all accounts and from personal experience, this string of shows was top-notch and a real exclamation point on the year for the band. Check out choice downloads, videos, and news from 2009 in the Bisco Archive.
Bisco NYE Run 09 Flyer
5. PHISH FESTIVAL 8 & ROLLING STONES MUSICAL COSTUME
Phish - 10/31/09 Set 1
Phish re-launched two traditions on Halloween weekend 2009 with their first festival of Phish 3.0 along with a highly anticipated Halloween musical costume set – The Rolling Stones’ ‘Exile on Main Street’. Breaking new ground, the band also performed an intimate and picturesque acoustic set at Noon on Sunday, with complimentary donuts and coffee for phans. Truly a magical weekend, and it’s now going to be seen like never before in a full length 3D film being released April 30th. Check out this crisp video/audio stream of the Sunday acoustic set here!
6. ABB BACK WITH A VENGEANCE: BEACON, MOUNTAIN JAM, AND MORE
ABB Beacon Marquis 2009
After canceling their annual Beacon run in 2008 due to Greg Allman’s battle with Hepatitis C, the band returned in 2009 with a guest-filled 40th anniversary run at the Beacon Theater. The run included guest stops from a star-studded cast including Clapton, Lesh, Weir, Helm, Scaggs, Anastasio, and McConnell. The band kept trucking in 09′ with spring and summer festival appearances including Wanee and Mountain Jam as well as big summer and fall tours. The band just wrapped up a fantastic 9 show run at the United Palace in New York city, is sounding better than ever, and has more shows plotted for 2010 already. Check out setlist, vids, and a review of the final night at the United Palace here.
Haynes, Trucks, and Clapton - Beacon 2009
7. PHIL LESH CELEBRATES 70TH BIRTHDAY WITH SPECIAL PHRIENDS
Lesh, Robinson, Weir, Greene, and Kadlecik - 3/12/10
On March 12th 2010, Phil Lesh celebrated his 70th birthday (technically 3/14/10) with a big bash at the Bill Graham Civic Auditorium in San Francisco, CA. The evening featured a fun 3 set format complete with an opening acoustic set and 2 raucous electric sets featuring special guests from throughout Phil’s solo career including John Molo, Chris Robinson, Jackie Greene, and Steve Molitz. Give it a listen here:
Breaking with long-standing tradition, Phish played their first mainstream festival with 2 separate appearances (an extended late night set and a 2 set show) at 2009’s Bonnaroo festival in Manchester, TN. The band realized a long time dream and provided the festival’s highlight with a big collaboration with Bruce Springstreen, who also headlined the festival in 09′. The boss and the boys treated fans to a fun cover/bust-out of ‘Mustang Sally’, as well as performances of Bruce’s own songs ‘Glory Days’, and ‘Bobby Jean’. To re-live this special moment, check out this smoking video of Glory Days:
9. STRING CHEESE REUNITE FOR BIG ROTHBURY GIG
SCI @ Rothbury 2009
The String Cheese Incident reunited for a special one-off show at 2009’s Rothbury music festival. The band put on a massive spectacle of a show enhanced with massive light and art installations. The show went off with flying colors, so much so that the band has decided to tour further in 2010, with gigs at Red Rocks and beyond already announced and more in the works. To get a taste of the Cheese to come, buy the Soundboard of the Rothbury show here.
SCI at Red Rocks
10. TREY BRINGS BACK CLASSIC TAB
Markelis, Lawton, Anastasio, and Paczkowski
Having brought back the core four of his Classic Tab Band – Russ Lawton, Tony Markelis, Ray Paczkowski, and, of course, Big Red himself – in the Fall of 2008, Anastasio hit the road with a bigger-and-better Classic TAB band a few months ago in the Winter of 2010. For the tour, Trey added to the core four with a 3-piece horn section featuring TAB vets Jeffier Hartswick and Russell Reminton along with new-comer cutie Natalie Cressman. The tour was a massive success and featured some of the most enthused and passionate guitar work from Trey since Phish’s 2009 return. Check out lots of downloads, setslits, vids, and more in the TAB Winter Tour archive, enjoy!
Ronald “Pigpen” McKernan, founding member and original leader of The Grateful Dead, died 37 years ago to the day on March 8th, 1973. Pigpen died at the young age of 27, due to the debilitating effects of Biliary Cirrhosis. Pig was the original bandleader, main vocalist, and persona of the band – growling out blues, jug, and rock tunes like nobody else could. To celebrate his life and amazing contributions to the Dead community, enjoy the following “best of Pig” mix – 3 discs full of choice Pigpen cuts, with all tracks tagged, good quality, and even album artwork taboot!
THE BEST OF PIGPEN (1966-1972)
DISC 1
1. Good Morning Little Schoolgirl (5-14-70)
2. Operator (9-18-70)
3. Smokestack Lightning (2-19-71)
4. Easy Wind (9-20-70)
5. In The Midnight Hour (2-14-68)
6. It’s A Man’s World (4-12-70)
7. Pig’s Kiss
8. Alligator (1-22-68)
DISC 2
1. She’s Mine (5-15-70)
2. Katie Mae (5-15-70)
3. Next Time You See Me (9-20-70)
4. Hard To Handle (4-21-71)
5. Good Lovin’ > (4-17-71)
6. Drums > (4-17-71)
7. Good Lovin’ (4-17-71)
8. Ain’t It Crazy (The Rub) (electric) (4-5-71)
9. I’m A Hog For You (4-6-71)
10. Big Boss Man (7-16-66)
11. I’m A King Bee (2-24-71)
12. Pain In My Heart (7-16-66)
13. Ain’t It Crazy (The Rub) (acoustic) (11-6-70)
DISC 3
1. Turn On Your Lovelight (9-19-70)
2. Mr. Charlie (12-6-71)
3. Chinatown Shuffle (5-13-72)
4. It Hurts Me Too (5-11-72)
5. The Stranger (Two Souls In Communion) (3-23-72)
6. Good Lovin’ > (4-14-72)
7. Caution > Who Do You Love > Caution (4-14-72)
8. Good Lovin’ (4-14-72)
9. Big Boy Pete (?)
10. Searchin¡ (8-29-69)
With all the great music making going on these days, it’s easy to forget about the history of great music over the past half century. Countless musician’s creativity, hard work, and inspiration have laid the foundation for today’s musical explorers – providing the musical framework and vocabulary for new jams and grooves. In the spirit of looking back at some of those musical pioneers, let’s groove on a classic Dead show from the summer of 1974.
The Dead in the Summer of 74'
This show is one of the band’s final before their few-year hiatus that began later in the year. The show features the Dead playing their famous ‘Wall of Sound’ speaker rig and the sound is just perfect – a clear and rich mix of everyone. Check out a solid audience recording stream/download below! The band busts out ‘Let It Rock’ for the only time ever, and Phil and Ned Lagin debut their electronic music composition ‘Seastones’ between sets. This show is a gem and a must-have for any true Deadhead’s collection.
The Wall of Sound (courtesy of Richard Pechner)
The Grateful Dead
6/23/1974
Jai Alai Fronton
Miami, FL
Set 1
Ramble On Rose
Black Throated Wind
Mississippi Half-Step Uptown Toodeloo
Beat It On Down The Line
Row Jimmy
Jack Straw
Let It Rock
Cumberland Blues
El Paso
To Lay Me Down
Weather Report Suite Prelude ->
Weather Report Suite Part ->
Let It Grow ->
China Doll
Set 2
Seastones
Ship Of Fools
Big River
Black Peter
Around And Around
Dark Star Jam ->
Spanish Jam ->
U.S. Blues
Uncle John’s Band ->
One More Saturday Night
The early 70s were an interesting time for the Grateful Dead – a period of massive songwriting, creative, and musical growth and at the same time an era of sadness over the loss of Pigpen and growing weariness due to building troubles of years on the road. The weight of these troubles would eventually lead to the band’s brief hiatus in the mid-seventies.
It never ceases to amaze me that the band onstage continued to build on each night’s performance, with unbridled abandon, regardless of what was going on in their world. This show from 1971 is a great example of this relentlessness. This is one of Keith’s first shows with the band, filling in for the ailing Pigpen. Despite some sound issues early on, this show is pure bliss from start to finish. Give it a go and see for yourself.
11/07/71
Harding Theater
San Francisco, CA
Set 1: Truckin’, Brown Eyed Women, Beat It On Down The Line, Hideaway, Sugaree, Jack Straw, Tennessee Jed, Cumberland Blues, El Paso, Big Railroad Blues, Comes A Time, Mexicali Blues, One More Saturday Night
Set 2: Ramble On Rose, Me And Bobby McGee, Loser, Sugar Magnolia, Dark Star-> Drums-> The Other One-> Me & My Uncle-> The Other One, Deal, Brokedown Palace, Playin’ In The Band, Casey Jones, Not Fade Away-> Goin’ Down The Road Feelin’ Bad-> Not Fade Away, E: Johnny B. Goode
As we speak, the Empire State Building is being lit up in tye dye colors in honor of the Grateful Dead. Specifically, the celebration is for the opening of an exhibit at the New York Historical Society honoring the band and cataloging the career and accomplishments as of one of America’s most socially influential bands. On Wednesday night, Bob Weir and Phil Lesh will attend a charity fundraiser to celebrate the opening of the exhibit.
On a side note, rumor has it that Phil will be sitting in with Bobby tonight for the first of his 5 Ratdog shows in the city this week. Today is truly a proud day to be a New York Deadhead!
It’s official. Dark Star Orchestra’sJohn K. will abandon his band and his fans to play two shows with Phil Lesh and Bob Weir as ‘Furthur‘ in SF for NYE. Phil Lesh once said the Grateful Dead lives forever – is it worth reaping havoc with the heirs to the throne for one last hurrah with old man Bobby behind the wheel? See what HiddenTrack has to say about it here… Starheads everywhere are outraged, especially those that bought tickets to see DSO NYE over the last month(!) prior to the annconcment that they were onsale.
While Phish has been pumping out the tricks, mysteries, and secrets like it’s their job as of late, they aren’t the first to adopt this cosmic humor.
Back up 20 years, the Grateful Dead make a historic return to none other than Hampton Coliseum – The Mothership (and yes, hippies were calling it that long before Phish debuted there) – by booking a secret 2 night run under the name “Formerly The Warlocks”. The Dead had been banned from the historic arena years earlier due to the unruly parking lot/line scene. The circumstances surrounding these shows is historic in and of itself and the band really brought it both nights with top-notch playing and many long-shelved songs being reborn. This is a piece of Dead lore’ not to be missed…
The Warlocks, 1965
Formerly the Warlocks
Hampton Coliseum
Hampton, VA
October 8th and 9th, 1989
10/8/89
Set 1:
Foolish Heart
Walkin’ Blues
Candyman
Me and My Uncle
Big River
Stagger Lee
Queen Jane Approximately
Bird Song
The Promised Land
Set 2:
Help on the Way >
Slipknot! >
Franklin’s Tower
Victim or the Crime >
Eyes of the World >
Drums >
Space >
I Need a Miracle >
The Wheel >
Gimme Some Lovin’ >
Morning Dew
10/9/89
Set 1:
Feel Like a Stranger
Built to Last
Little Red Rooster
Ramble on Rose
We Can Run
Jack-A-Roe
Stuck in Mobile with the Memphis Blues Again
Row Jimmy
The Music Never Stopped
Set 2:
Playing in the Band >
Uncle John’s Band >
Playing in the Band Reprise >
Dark Star >
Drums >
Space >
Death Don’t Have No Mercy >
Dear Mr. Fantasy >
Hey Jude Reprise >
Throwing Stones >
Good Lovin’
In a surprise move yesterday, Phish announced a special ‘crack of Noon’ acoustic set to take place at high noon on day 3 of Festival 8. The band also released the official schedule for their Halloween weekend jamboree as part of the announcement. In other Festival 8 news, Trey gave two radio interviews this week to discuss the upcoming festival and the Phish reunion at large. For the most part, these interviews seems to be marketing tactics for the Festival which has been rumored to be struggling with below-desired ticket sales. As a result, these interviews are mostly fluff (not the good kind), though one interesting tidbit was revealed: the band had chosen a musical costume and learned half of it when Page vetoed the selection sending the band back to the drawing board. Some sources are reporting the shelved selection was none other than the Grateful Dead’s ‘Workingman’s Dead’…
Speaking of the Dead, let’s not forget the critical role the band played in defining many of the now ingrained traditions of the jam world – from LSD soaked audiences to following fanbases to tie-dyes to the rarely played ‘acoustic set’. Let’s look back in time 29 years ago to the day to one of those special evenings where the Dead treated their fans to a special acoustic set (followed of course by a raging electric set for set 2) on their home turf at the Warfield in San Fran. Stream the crispy SBD here or download an audience recording here.
The Dead acoustic in 1980
The Grateful Dead
9/25/80
The Warfield Theater
San Francisco, CA
Set 1 (Acoustic): Bird Song, I’ve Been All Around This World, Dark Hollow, Rosalie McFall, Monkey & The Engineer, It Must Have Been The Roses, Jack A Roe, Ain’t No Lie-> Ripple
Set 2 (Electric): Alabama Getaway-> Greatest Story Ever Told, Friend Of The Devil, Mama Tried-> Mexicali Blues, Loser, Little Red Rooster, Althea, Jack Straw, Deal China Cat Sunflower-> I Know You Rider, Samson & Delilah, Ship of Fools, Playin’ In The Band-> Drums-> Wharf Rat-> Around & Around-> Good Lovin’
Welcome To Now 