I really wish the GD merch dept would offer more than 300 of the U.S. Of Dead shirts - I really would have liked to have gotten the Illinois and Mass shirts but they sold out in like seconds. I mean total 300 shirts - what's that 60 shirts per size ? That's ridiculously low!
Those shows were the Fillmore East debut of the Jeff beck group who by most accounts stole the show. I wonder what the beck crowd thought about this particular dead set.
Totally getting sucked into Cornell '77 with New Minglewood Blues. This is the best show ever. Stop arguing with me.
To add to the "river" discussion here (or was it another thread?) Jerry plays on Bruce Hornsby's album A Night On the Town, on the tune "Across the River" He also plays on "Barren Ground" perhaps ground where a river once flowed?
Beach Boys sound painfully weak and unhip compared to The Dead. Especially without Brian. Mike is painful to listen to and their songs have zero power. You can almost sense that they are eagerly waiting for GD to come back on during Rhonda. Further proves what level GD were playing at live.
Haha an archive reviewer says essentially the same thing: Brian Wilson had nothing to do with this, he was long gone by this time. This was Mike Love and the new management dumping the Boys in at the deep end of their new audience. You can hear their mounting panic near the end of Help me Rhoda when they practically beg the Dead to come back since they've been gone since Riot. This is where the Dead come back and do the anti-hippie screed "Okie From Muskogee" and Jerry rips the tune a new ******* with some of the scathingest fills ever torn into this song. Then Carl Wilson "hopes this will be a good boogie" and you can almost hear his chin hit the ground as Jerry tears into the "Johnny B. Goode." Carl screams "whoooooo" as they launch into it and the Beach Boys learn how to get a crowd to boogie.
The Beach Boys actually started making a comeback in the US through their live performances in 1971. By 1972 and 1973 they were cooking and had become a hit act with a setlist mixed between new tunes and their oldie classics from the ‘60s. No, they weren’t a top-level improv band like the GD (then again, who was?!), but they were very good at their own thing.
Beach Boys - “Heroes and Villains” 1971 I dig it! Not as hip as the Grateful Dead (was anyone?) but possibly hipper than Bread, Carpenters and Three Dog Night.
But you can tell they aren't there yet and trying desperately to fit in with their new audience without Brian (who probably was the reason they had a new audience). I think the Dead did them a solid in introducing them into their scene and getting them some support going forward. One of the BBs says they had been asking to do a show with GD for 2 years prior so they probably too knew that if GD could back them they'd stand a better chance with the hippies and Bay scene.
I mean hipper than those 3 is a low bar. And tbf Mike Love and Al Jardine and Bruce are tough sells in the hip category. Especially the try hard speech Mike made about getting high with Buffalo Springfield or something lol. The Wilsons were pretty naturally cool in their own weird way.
When they got Ricky and Blondie to join the band, their live shows went next level. Check out Blondie’s guitar playing on this take of “Leaving This Town”. Sorry for the off-topic diversion, but just felt the need to counter Om’s statement a bit. Undoubtedly, their guest spot during the Grateful Dead show at the Fillmore East was not their finest moment. But…
Absolutely! And it worked. They had been extremely unpopular in USA for a few years and those shows to hippie rock crowds in 1971 were a big part of their comeback as a live act.
Yep. Mike Love is a goofball. Al Jardine might not be very hip, but I love his singing, songs and tasty guitar playing.
6/27/69 Veterans Memorial Hall, Santa Rosa, CA I really wanted to listen to this show after @OmIsWhereTheHeartIs @US Blues and @notesofachord were talking about it yesterday. I’ve heard the Dark Star before but I’m pretty sure that’s it. The Slewfoot opener is good bluegrassy fun with Jerry on pedal steel (plus Peter Grant on banjo and Tom Ralston on drums). Mama Tried has a twangy country vibe to which Jerry adds some fuzzy raspiness. Nice, mellow High Time (with Tom Ralston again). Dupree’s brings an earlier ‘69 vibe to the proceedings then Me & My Uncle manages to straddle both. There’s a nice mini jam before Casey Jones that gives it a different feel and tempo. Bob sings Dire Wolf! It’s quick-paced with Jerry on pedal steel. Sitting On Top Of The World rocks it up and adds some raspy edge. This is apparently the first Big Boss Man since 9/3/67; it takes its time and grooves nicely. Dark Star is a somewhat unique performance for this time. I previously wrote that at times it feels more like a Dark Star framework with other various jamming in the middle especially since some of that jamming touches on other songs like TOO and Lovelight. As it winds down the opening notes to St. Stephen rise up. It rocks with an edgy, fuzzy tone, brings it down and then surges forth with a cannon blast. The William Tell Bridge does its thing nicely followed by a brief The Eleven jam that gives way to a lovely Green, Green Grass Of Home (with Jerry back on pedal steel), bringing things full circle. A good, semi-twangy Baby Blue with big Pigpen organ flourishes finishes the set. Cool show!
I saw them in the summer of 72 at the nassau coliseum with the kinks opening. I remember the whole show being quite good. Saw them again in 74 with csny, joni mitchell and Jesse Colin Young at Roosevelt raceway. Great show all around.
