This is meant to be the most accurate list of 1969 shows available online. Older sources like Deadbase and deadlists are incomplete or out of date in places, and newer discoveries are included here. However, 1969 is much better-documented than earlier years, so there are very few updates here compared to previous lists.
In general, the problem of misdated shows or unknown dates that plagued ’66-68 is rare in 1969. Only a few spots of uncertainty remain – occasionally I’ll note when a show was misdated, wasn’t played, or is still unconfirmed; old implausible and disproved dates are dismissed in silence. But overall there aren’t many corrections to older lists.
Canceled shows (and there were many) are mostly not listed here – see the JGMF list:
A few known Hartbeats shows are included in the main chronology, but Garcia side-jams and New Riders shows can be found in the appendix.
Other bands that played with the Dead are listed on their own page:
Aoxomoxoa studio sessions aren’t listed. The Dead must have been in the studio through the winter, but only a few studio dates are known (Deadbase lists 1/6, 1/15, 1/20 & 3/11). Some of the circulating Aoxomoxoa outtakes may be from 1969, and a couple (undated) studio sessions later in 1969 are on the list, but overall the Dead’s recording activities this year remain undocumented. (A mix of Live/Dead was being played on KSAN in April ’69, months before its release.)
Within the setlists, thematic jams and tuning jams are generally not noted. (The tuning-jam trend started in September ’69, and the Dead went wild with it at first, for instance on 9/27, 9/30 & 11/7.) And though Weir aficionados may be disappointed, Yellow Dog stories are not listed here.
A note on Drums – drum breaks occurred mainly in three songs:
All the Pigpen versions of Good Lovin’ (from 9/29 onwards) feature a drum break, but I don’t list it except for a couple occasions when it goes into a different song.
The drum break in the Cryptical suite grew longer through the year, from 10 seconds on up to 7 minutes – the turning-point came in the summer when the drums started topping a minute. But I decided not to separately list Drums here; their presence can always be assumed, and a Cryptical intro invariably led to an Other One.
Alligator also always featured Drums, but in this case the destination out of Drums was more open-ended; they didn’t always go back to Alligator.
This is just a basic list of shows and songs, not a guide to tape sources; so tape details and song cuts are not noted. For more tape information, see www.deadlists.com (which is excellent in ’69).
Links to show reviews, Lost Live Dead pages, videos, or other resources are provided when available.
Missing songs are listed when known (from newspaper reviews, Deadbase, or eyewitness accounts), but otherwise I don’t comment on sets that are clearly incomplete on tape. Some shows are only partially available, and many others are still unknown blanks. More info on missing music from the year is here:
The Dead played over 140 shows in 1969. The exact number can’t be known – some shows we don’t know whether they were played; others weren't full Dead shows; and a few might still be undiscovered.
Bear taped the Dead through the year, and all SBD tapes were recorded by him. Nonetheless, there are gaps. Over 40 shows are missing on SBD tape (and others are incomplete), although a few of those survive on audience tapes. At this point only a few audience tapers existed to fill the gaps, and their efforts vary widely in quality and completeness.
This is still a better survival rate than the earlier years – compared to the ’66-68 period which only exists in fragments, 1969 is the first year for which we have most of the Dead’s shows on tape. (More shows may still be hiding in the Vault, too.)
Of the missing shows, it’s noticeable that they’re mostly from specific runs and venues, rather than scattered randomly across the year. Some tapes must have been lost; Bear may not always have been able to record; perhaps sometimes conditions defeated him. But most of the shows we do have are complete (or nearly so). The largest loss is the entire east-coast run of September/October: the Fillmore East, the Cafe au Go Go, the Boston Tea Party… But other significant gaps include most of the Fillmore East shows in June, all of the Fillmore West and Kinetic Playground shows in January, and all but one set of the Winterland shows in May.
For more info on tours and venues, see the Lost Live Dead performance lists:
February 1969
March 1969
April 1969
May 1969
June 1969
July/August 1969
September/October 1969
November 1969
December 1969
February 1969
March 1969
April 1969
May 1969
June 1969
July/August 1969
September/October 1969
November 1969
December 1969
The Dead’s repertoire went through a tremendous change in 1969. At the beginning of the year they were intent on playing the Live/Dead suite and Anthem material in every show, with just a sprinkling of new songs. But in April comes a shift – they start bringing back lots of old cover songs; and by June the turn towards country music is increasingly evident, as Garcia brings out the pedal steel and Weir becomes a country crooner. (Reviewers at the time mostly approved this trend, but many audience members were startled that the Dead didn’t sound like their records: “Not only did they look like cowboys, they played country and western tunes!” “I was surprised that they played ‘cowboy songs’ and blues.”)
The Dead started introducing new country-style songs in the summer, and in the fall this would become a flood of Workingman’s Dead debuts emphasizing down-home harmony singing. Now that the Dead’s repertoire had expanded considerably, the shows tended to become longer while the jam suites shrank (or sometimes weren’t even played). By the fall, the Dead were covering a wide range of material in increasingly song-filled, leisurely shows, with the Live/Dead set becoming rare even as the album was released. And at the end of the year, they started to dip their toe into acoustic sets.
Anyway, here's the list of shows...updates and corrections welcome!
Anyway, here's the list of shows...updates and corrections welcome!
1969
1/2/69 Fillmore West, San Francisco (Thu.)
1/3/69 Fillmore West, San Francisco (Fri.)
1/4/69 Fillmore West, San Francisco (Sat.)
1/5/69 Fillmore West, San Francisco (Sun.)
SONGS:
Morning Dew
Good Morning Little Schoolgirl
Dark Star > [St. Stephen > The Eleven >]
Turn On Your Lovelight
REVIEW:
1/17/69 Robertson Gym, U of California, Santa Barbara, CA (Fri.)
TAPE:
Turn On Your Lovelight
Dark Star >
St. Stephen >
The Eleven >
Death Don’t Have No Mercy
Cryptical Envelopment > The Other One > Cryptical Envelopment >
Cosmic Charlie
REVIEW:
1/18/69 CBS Studios, Hollywood, CA (Sat.)
Playboy After Dark TV taping (broadcast 7/10/69).
VIDEO:
Mountains of the Moon
St. Stephen
Turn On Your Lovelight
1/23/69 Avalon Ballroom, San Francisco (Thu.)
Soundcheck/Rehearsal
TAPE:
The Eleven*
Doin’ That Rag
Cosmic Charlie
Born Cross-Eyed
Dupree’s Diamond Blues*
The Other One > Cryptical Envelopment
*Released on Download Series vol. 12.
Avalon Background:
1/24/69 Avalon Ballroom, San Francisco (Fri.)
TAPE:
I
Cryptical Envelopment > The Other One > Cryptical Envelopment >
New Potato Caboose*
Dupree’s Diamond Blues
Doin’ That Rag
II
Dark Star
Turn On Your Lovelight >
Drums
*Released on Aoxomoxoa 50th-anniversary CD.
1/25/69 Avalon Ballroom, San Francisco (Sat.)
TAPE:
I
Dark Star >
St. Stephen >
The Eleven >
Turn On Your Lovelight
II
Dupree’s Diamond Blues* >
Doin’ That Rag* >
Cosmic Charlie^
Alligator > Drums > Alligator* >
Caution* >
Feedback* >
And We Bid You Goodnight*
And We Bid You Goodnight*
*Released on Aoxomoxoa 50th-anniversary CD.
^Released on Aoxomoxoa 2001 CD.
1/26/69 Avalon Ballroom, San Francisco (Sun.)
TAPE:
I
Cryptical Envelopment > The Other One > Cryptical Envelopment >
Clementine^ >
Death Don’t Have No Mercy^
II
Dark Star >
St. Stephen >
The Eleven* >
Turn On Your Lovelight*
*Released on Live/Dead.
^Released on Aoxomoxoa 50th-anniversary CD.
1/31/69 Kinetic Playground, Chicago, IL (Fri.)
2/1/69 Kinetic Playground, Chicago, IL (Sat.)
2/2/69 Labor Temple, Minneapolis, MN (Sun.)
TAPE:
Good Morning Little Schoolgirl
Dark Star >
St. Stephen >
The Eleven >
Death Don’t Have No Mercy
Cryptical Envelopment > The Other One > Cryptical Envelopment >
Turn On Your Lovelight
REVIEWS:
2/4/69 Music Box, Omaha, NE (Tue.)
TAPE:
Good Morning Little Schoolgirl
Morning Dew
Dark Star >
St. Stephen >
The Eleven >
Death Don’t Have No Mercy
Turn On Your Lovelight (not on tape)
Cryptical Envelopment > The Other One >
Alligator > Drums >
Caution >
Feedback >
And We Bid You Goodnight (not on tape)
REVIEWS:
2/5/69 Soldiers & Sailors Memorial Hall, Kansas City, KS (Wed.)
TAPE:
Turn On Your Lovelight (missing from Archive copy)
Cryptical Envelopment > The Other One > Cryptical Envelopment
Dark Star >
St. Stephen >
The Eleven >
Caution >
Feedback >
And We Bid You Goodnight
ARTICLE:
2/6/69 Kiel Auditorium, St. Louis, MO (Thu.)
TAPE:
Morning Dew
Dark Star >
St. Stephen >
The Eleven >
Turn On Your Lovelight
Cryptical Envelopment > The Other One > Cryptical Envelopment >
Feedback >
And We Bid You Goodnight
2/7/69 Stanley Theater, Pittsburgh, PA (Fri.) – early show
TAPE:
Dark Star >
St. Stephen >
The Eleven >
Turn On Your Lovelight
2/7/69 Stanley Theater, Pittsburgh, PA (Fri.) – late show
TAPE:
Cryptical Envelopment > The Other One > Cryptical Envelopment >
Death Don’t Have No Mercy
Alligator > Drums > Jam >
Caution >
Feedback >
And We Bid You Goodnight
REVIEWS:
2/9/69 Lyric Theater, Baltimore, MD (Sun.) – early & late shows
2/11/69 Fillmore East, New York, NY (Tue.) – early show
TAPE:
Good Morning Little Schoolgirl
Cryptical Envelopment > The Other One > Cryptical Envelopment >
Doin’ That Rag
I’m A King Bee
Turn On Your Lovelight
Hey Jude
Released on Fillmore East 2-11-69.
About 12 seconds of film of the Other One can be seen in this clip – filmed for a 60 Minutes special.
REVIEWS:
2/11/69 Fillmore East, New York, NY (Tue.) – late show
TAPE:
Dupree’s Diamond Blues
Mountains of the Moon
Dark Star >
St. Stephen >
St. Stephen >
The Eleven >
Drums >
Caution >
Feedback >
And We Bid You Goodnight
Cosmic Charlie
Released on Fillmore East 2-11-69.
2/12/69 Fillmore East, New York, NY (Wed.) – early show
2/12/69 Fillmore East, New York, NY (Wed.) – late show
TAPE:
Dark Star >
St. Stephen >
The Eleven >
Death Don’t Have No Mercy
Alligator > Drums > Alligator >
Caution >
Feedback >
And We Bid You Goodnight
2/14/69 Electric Factory, Philadelphia, PA (Fri.)
TAPE:
I
Good Morning Little Schoolgirl
Dark Star >
St. Stephen >
The Eleven >
Turn On Your Lovelight
II
Morning Dew
Cryptical Envelopment > The Other One > Cryptical Envelopment >
Death Don’t Have No Mercy
(possibly Alligator>Caution ended the show)
2/15/69 Electric Factory, Philadelphia, PA (Sat.)
TAPE:
I
Doin’ That Rag
Cryptical Envelopment > The Other One > Cryptical Envelopment
Morning Dew >
Turn On Your Lovelight
II
Dupree’s Diamond Blues >
Mountains of the Moon >
Dark Star >
St. Stephen >
The Eleven >
Death Don’t Have No Mercy
Cosmic Charlie
Alligator > Drums > Alligator >
Caution >
Feedback >
And We Bid You Goodnight
2/19/69 Fillmore West, San Francisco (Wed.)
“Celestial Synapse”
SONG:
Dark Star
TAPE:
I
Turn On Your Lovelight >
Drums >
Not Fade Away >
Turn On Your Lovelight*
II
Jam* >
The Main Ten >
Jam >
Other One Jam
(Misdated 6/19/68.)
*with unknown singer in Lovelight, and another guitarist (probably Gary Duncan) in the second-set jam. There may be other musical guests as well. The tape is apparently the end of a four-hour set.
REVIEW:
https://library.stanford.edu/blogs/special-collections-unbound/2017/12/grateful-dead-bob-fitch-contact-sheets
http://deadessays.blogspot.com/2011/01/mystery-of-61968.html
http://deadessays.blogspot.com/2011/01/mystery-of-61968.html
2/21/69 Dream Bowl, Vallejo, CA (Fri.)
TAPE:
Good Morning Little Schoolgirl
Doin’ That Rag
Dark Star >
St. Stephen >
The Eleven >
Turn On Your Lovelight
Morning Dew
(The first set may be missing.)
2/22/69 Dream Bowl, Vallejo, CA (Fri.)
TAPE:
I
Dupree’s Diamond Blues >
Mountains of the Moon >
Dark Star >
Cryptical Envelopment > The Other One > Cryptical Envelopment >
Death Don’t Have No Mercy
II
Doin’ That Rag >
St. Stephen >
The Eleven >
Turn On Your Lovelight
Released on 30 Trips.
2/24/69 The Matrix, San Francisco (Mon.)
2/25/69 The Matrix, San Francisco (Tue.)
2/26/69 The Matrix, San Francisco (Wed.)
Mickey and the Hartbeats.
(Tuesday show from Examiner listing.)
2/27/69 Fillmore West, San Francisco (Thu.)
TAPE:
I
Good Morning Little Schoolgirl
Doin’ That Rag
Cryptical Envelopment > The Other One > Cryptical Envelopment^
II
Dupree’s Diamond Blues >
Mountains of the Moon >
Dark Star* >
St. Stephen* >
The Eleven >
Turn On Your Lovelight
Cosmic Charlie+
*Released on Live/Dead.
^Released on So Many Roads.
+Released on Fillmore West 1969 3-CD.
Full show released on Fillmore West 1969 Complete.
REVIEW:
2/28/69 Fillmore West, San Francisco (Fri.)
TAPE:
I
Morning Dew*
Good Morning Little Schoolgirl*
Doin’ That Rag*
I’m A King Bee*
Turn On Your Lovelight*
II
Cryptical Envelopment > The Other One > Cryptical Envelopment >
Dark Star* >
St. Stephen* >
The Eleven* >
Death Don’t Have No Mercy*
Alligator > Drums > Jam >
Caution >
Feedback >
And We Bid You Goodnight
*Released on Fillmore West 1969 3-CD.
Full show released on Fillmore West 1969 Complete.
3/1/69 Fillmore West, San Francisco (Sat.)
TAPE:
I
Cryptical Envelopment > The Other One > Cryptical Envelopment >
New Potato Caboose >
Doin’ That Rag >
Cosmic Charlie
II
Dupree’s Diamond Blues*
Mountains of the Moon*
Dark Star >
St. Stephen >
The Eleven >
Turn On Your Lovelight
Hey Jude
*Released on Fillmore West 1969 3-CD.
Full show released on Fillmore West 1969 Complete.
3/2/69 Fillmore West, San Francisco (Sun.)
TAPE:
I
Dark Star >
St. Stephen >
The Eleven >
Turn On Your Lovelight
II
Doin’ That Rag>
Cryptical Envelopment > The Other One > Cryptical Envelopment^ >
Death Don’t Have No Mercy*
Morning Dew
Alligator > Drums > Jam^ >
Caution^ >
Feedback*^ >
And We Bid You Goodnight*^
*Released on Live/Dead.
^Released on Fillmore West 1969 3-CD.
Full show released on Fillmore West 1969 Complete.
3/12/69 Fillmore West, San Francisco (Wed.)
SF State strike benefit (unconfirmed).
3/15/69 Hilton Hotel, San Francisco (Sat.)
“Black & White Ball” SF Symphony benefit.
TAPE:
Hard to Handle
Good Morning Little Schoolgirl
Dark Star >
St. Stephen >
The Eleven >
Turn On Your Lovelight
REVIEWS:
3/17/69 Winterland, San Francisco (Mon.)
Olompali Chosen Family benefit (unconfirmed).
3/21/69 Rose Palace, Pasadena, CA (Fri.)
Witnesses recall the show starting with Good Morning Little Schoolgirl, including “everything from Anthem” and a “space jam,” and ending with Feedback > And We Bid You Goodnight.
3/22/69 Rose Palace, Pasadena, CA (Sat.)
TAPE:
Good Morning Little Schoolgirl
Dark Star >
St. Stephen >
The Eleven >
Turn On Your Lovelight
3/22/69 Thee Experience, Hollywood, CA (Sat.)
Unannounced guest set.
3/23/69 Thee Experience, Hollywood, CA (Sun.)
Jam session.
3/27/69 Merced County Fairgrounds, Merced, CA (Thu.)
This was a misdated tape; it’s possible that the Dead actually did play a show here, but so far it’s unconfirmed.
3/28/69 Student Center, Modesto Junior College, Modesto, CA (Fri.)
TAPE:
Good Morning Little Schoolgirl
Dark Star >
St. Stephen >
The Eleven >
Death Don’t Have No Mercy >
Turn On Your Lovelight
Cryptical Envelopment > The Other One > Cryptical Envelopment
3/29/69 Ice Palace, Las Vegas, NV (Sat.)
TAPE:
Morning Dew
Good Morning Little Schoolgirl
Doin’ That Rag
Dark Star >
St. Stephen >
The Eleven >
Turn On Your Lovelight
4/4/69 Avalon Ballroom, San Francisco (Fri.)
TAPE:
I
Good Morning Little Schoolgirl
Doin’ That Rag
Cryptical Envelopment > The Other One > Cryptical Envelopment >
Death Don’t Have No Mercy
II
Turn On Your Lovelight*
Dark Star >
St. Stephen >
The Eleven >
Feedback
*with unknown organist (possibly Bob Powell of Sanpaku).
4/5/69 Avalon Ballroom, San Francisco (Sat.)
TAPE:
I
Dupree’s Diamond Blues >
Mountains of the Moon >
Dark Star >
St. Stephen >
Turn On Your Lovelight
II
Hard to Handle >
Cosmic Charlie
China Cat Sunflower >
Doin’ That Rag
Cryptical Envelopment > The Other One > Cryptical Envelopment >
The Eleven >
It’s A Sin
Alligator > Drums >
Feedback >
And We Bid You Goodnight
4/6/69 Avalon Ballroom, San Francisco (Sun.)
TAPE:
I
Good Morning Little Schoolgirl
Beat It On Down the Line
It’s All Over Now Baby Blue
I’m A King Bee
II
Cryptical Envelopment > The Other One > Cryptical Envelopment >
Death Don’t Have No Mercy
Turn On Your Lovelight
Viola Lee Blues
FM broadcast.
REVIEW:
4/11/69 Auditorium, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ (Fri.)
SONGS:
Morning Dew
Sittin’ on Top of the World
TAPE:
I
[Cryptical Envelopment] > The Other One > Cryptical Envelopment >
It’s A Sin
Hard to Handle
II
Dark Star >
St. Stephen >
The Eleven >
Turn On Your Lovelight
REVIEW:
4/12/69 Student Union Ballroom, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT (Sat.)
TAPE:
I
Morning Dew
Good Morning Little Schoolgirl
Doin’ That Rag
He Was a Friend of Mine*
Cryptical Envelopment > The Other One
II
Dark Star >
St. Stephen >
The Eleven >
Turn On Your Lovelight >
Feedback
*This song is actually titled “Just a Hand to Hold,” but I’ve left it under the familiar title.
Tidbits:
4/13/69 Ballroom, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO (Sun.)
TAPE:
I
Turn On Your Lovelight
Doin’ That Rag
Good Morning Little Schoolgirl
Morning Dew
Dark Star >
St. Stephen >
The Eleven >
Death Don’t Have No Mercy
II
Alligator > Drums >
Caution Jam
4/15/69 Music Box, Omaha, NE (Tue.)
TAPE:
I
Hard to Handle
Beat It On Down the Line
Morning Dew
It Hurts Me Too
China Cat Sunflower >
Doin’ That Rag >
It’s A Sin
Turn On Your Lovelight
II
Sittin’ on Top of the World
Cryptical Envelopment > The Other One > Cryptical Envelopment >
Dark Star >
St. Stephen >
The Eleven
It’s All Over Now Baby Blue (not on tape)
Per the review the three-hour show ended with “an hour-long version of Anthem,” which may be what we have on tape.
REVIEW:
4/17/69 Quadrangle, Washington University, St. Louis, MO (Thu.)
TAPE:
Hard to Handle
Morning Dew
Good Morning Little Schoolgirl
Dark Star >
St. Stephen >
It’s A Sin >
St. Stephen >
The Eleven >
Turn On Your Lovelight
Cryptical Envelopment > The Other One > Cryptical Envelopment >
Caution
Released on Download Series vol. 12.
ARTICLE:
4/18/69 Purdue Memorial Union Ballroom, Purdue University, Lafayette, IN (Fri.)
TAPE:
Hard to Handle
Morning Dew
Cryptical Envelopment > The Other One > Cryptical Envelopment >
Sittin’ on Top of the World >
I’m A King Bee
Doin’ That Rag
Turn On Your Lovelight
Cosmic Charlie
Beat It On Down the Line
4/20/69 Atwood Hall, Clark University, Worcester, MA (Sun.)
TAPE:
Morning Dew
Good Morning Little Schoolgirl
Doin’ That Rag
Dark Star >
St. Stephen >
The Eleven >
Death Don’t Have No Mercy
Turn On Your Lovelight
Dupree’s Diamond Blues >
Mountains of the Moon
(Originally scheduled for 4/19 but delayed due to late equipment.)
4/21/69 The Ark, Boston, MA (Mon.)
TAPE:
I
Hard to Handle
Morning Dew
Cryptical Envelopment > The Other One > Cryptical Envelopment >
Sittin’ on Top of the World
Alligator > Drums >
Jam >
Doin’ That Rag
II
Foxy Lady Jam
Dark Star >
St. Stephen >
The Eleven >
Turn On Your Lovelight
Viola Lee Blues >
Feedback
ARTICLE:
4/22/69 The Ark, Boston, MA (Tue.)
TAPE:
I
Sittin’ on Top of the World
Morning Dew
Beat It On Down the Line
Good Morning Little Schoolgirl
Doin’ That Rag
Cryptical Envelopment > The Other One > Cryptical Envelopment >
Death Don’t Have No Mercy
II
Dupree’s Diamond Blues >
Mountains of the Moon >
Dark Star >
St. Stephen >
The Eleven >
Turn On Your Lovelight
4/23/69 The Ark, Boston, MA (Wed.)
TAPE:
I
He Was a Friend of Mine
Dark Star >
St. Stephen >
It’s A Sin >
St. Stephen >
Cryptical Envelopment > The Other One > Cryptical Envelopment >
Sittin’ on Top of the World >
Turn On Your Lovelight
II
Morning Dew
Hard to Handle
Doin’ That Rag
Alligator > Drums >
Jam >
The Eleven >
Caution >
Feedback >
And We Bid You Goodnight
(Not Fade Away tease)
It’s All Over Now Baby Blue
4/25/69 Kinetic Playground, Chicago, IL (Fri.)
TAPE:
Hard to Handle
Doin’ That Rag
Good Morning Little Schoolgirl
Morning Dew
Sittin’ on Top of the World
Turn On Your Lovelight
4/26/69 Kinetic Playground, Chicago, IL (Sat.)
TAPE:
Dupree’s Diamond Blues*
Mountains of the Moon* >
Dark Star tease* >
China Cat Sunflower* >
Doin’ That Rag*
It Hurts Me Too >
Hard to Handle
Cryptical Envelopment > The Other One* >
The Eleven Jam* >
The Other One* >
It’s A Sin*
Morning Dew
Sittin’ on Top of the World
New Minglewood Blues
Silver Threads and Golden Needles
It’s All Over Now, Baby Blue
St. Stephen >
Turn On Your Lovelight
Viola Lee Blues (includes Caution & Seven motifs)+ >
Feedback >
What’s Become of the Baby >
And We Bid You Goodnight
*Selections released on Dick’s Picks 26.
+released on Fallout from the Phil Zone.
4/27/69 Labor Temple, Minneapolis, MN (Sun.)
TAPE:
Turn On Your Lovelight >
Me and My Uncle >
Sittin’ on Top of the World
Dark Star >
St. Stephen >
The Eleven >
Turn On Your Lovelight
Morning Dew
Released on Dick’s Picks 26.
REVIEW:
5/2/69 Winterland, San Francisco (Fri.)
SONGS:
I
Cold Rain and Snow
II
“Anthem of the Sun” (most likely Cryptical Envelopment > The Other One)
Death Don’t Have No Mercy
Alligator (encore)
REVIEW:
5/3/69 Sierra College, Rocklin, CA (Sat.) – afternoon show
TAPE:
Morning Dew
Turn On Your Lovelight
It’s All Over Now Baby Blue
Beat It On Down the Line
Streamed in a dead.net Jam of the Week.
5/3/69 Winterland, San Francisco (Sat.) – evening show
TAPE:
I
He Was a Friend of Mine
Cryptical Envelopment > The Other One > Cryptical Envelopment >
Doin’ That Rag
Me and My Uncle
II
Dupree’s Diamond Blues
Sittin’ on Top of the World
Dark Star >
St. Stephen >
The Eleven >
Turn On Your Lovelight
It’s All Over Now Baby Blue
No recording of the second set known.
5/7/69 Polo Field, Golden Gate Park, San Francisco (Wed.)
Free show.
TAPE:
Me and My Uncle
Instrumental (also played 10/26/69)
The Other One >
Smokestack Lightning
Good Lovin’ (Garcia vocal)
Dark Star >
Drums >
Turn On Your Lovelight
An eyewitness setlist also includes Dancing in the Street, Cryptical, Hi-Heel Sneakers, and the Eleven (placement uncertain).
5/9/69 Hall of Flowers, County Fairgrounds, San Mateo, Ca (Fri.)
SONGS:
Me and My Uncle
Hard to Handle
Doin’ That Rag
New Potato Caboose
Turn On Your Lovelight
5/10/69 Rose Palace, Pasadena, CA (Sat.)
TAPE:
Hard to Handle
Me and My Uncle
Morning Dew
Doin’ That Rag
Dark Star >
St. Stephen >
The Eleven >
Turn On Your Lovelight
5/11/69 Aztec Bowl, San Diego State University, San Diego, CA (Sun.)
TAPE:
Morning Dew
Cryptical Envelopment > The Other One > Cryptical Envelopment >
Good Morning Little Schoolgirl
Me and My Uncle
Alligator > Drums* >
Percussion Jam* >
Turn On Your Lovelight*
Radio broadcast. Formerly misdated 5/29/69.
*with Santana percussionists Mike Arabello & Chepito Areas; possibly Gregg Rolie vocal.
VIDEO:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WTbpEH2PCKU (a re-edit synced to Morning Dew; the original footage is no longer on Youtube)
REVIEW:
5/16/69 Campolindo High School, Moraga, CA (Fri.)
TAPE:
Good Morning Little Schoolgirl
Doin’ That Rag
Me and My Uncle
Hard to Handle
Turn On Your Lovelight
http://jgmf.blogspot.com/2010/01/gd-may-16-1969-campolindo-high-school.html (a fictional story, but see comments)
5/23/69 “Big Rock Pow Wow,” Seminole Indian Village, West Hollywood, FL (Fri.)
TAPE:
Hard to Handle
Morning Dew
Me and My Uncle
Dark Star >
St. Stephen >
The Eleven >
Turn On Your Lovelight
Released on Road Trips 4.1.
5/24/69 “Big Rock Pow Wow,” Seminole Indian Village, West Hollywood, FL (Sat.)
TAPE:
Turn On Your Lovelight
Doin’ That Rag >
He Was a Friend of Mine >
China Cat Sunflower >
The Eleven >
Death Don’t Have No Mercy
Alligator > Drums >
St. Stephen >
Feedback >
And We Bid You Goodnight
Released on Road Trips 4.1.
5/28/69 Winterland, San Francisco (Wed.)
People’s Park Bail Ball benefit.
SONGS:
Smokestack Lightning
Doin’ That Rag
St. Stephen
Cryptical Envelopment > The Other One > Cryptical Envelopment >
Turn On Your Lovelight
REVIEW:
5/29/69 Robertson Gym, U of California, Santa Barbara, CA (Thu.)
SONG:
Turn On Your Lovelight
REVIEW:
5/30/69 Springer’s Hall, Portland, OR (Fri.)
TAPE:
Morning Dew
Me and My Uncle
Doin’ That Rag
I’m A King Bee
Dark Star >
Cosmic Charlie
St. Stephen >
The Eleven >
Turn On Your Lovelight
REVIEW:
5/31/69 McArthur Court, U of Oregon, Eugene, OR (Sat.)
TAPE:
I
Hard to Handle
Cold Rain and Snow
Green Grass of Home*
Me and My Uncle
Cryptical Envelopment > The Other One > Cryptical Envelopment >
Sittin’ on Top of the World
It Hurts Me Too
Turn On Your Lovelight
II
He Was a Friend of Mine
Dark Star >
Doin’ That Rag
Cosmic Charlie
It’s All Over Now Baby Blue*
And We Bid You Goodnight
*Ken Babbs, speaker.
6/5/69 Fillmore West, San Francisco (Thu.)
TAPE:
I
Morning Dew
Me and My Uncle
Doin’ That Rag >
He Was a Friend of Mine
Hard to Handle
Cosmic Charlie
Cryptical Envelopment > The Other One > Cryptical Envelopment
II
II
China Cat Sunflower >
Sittin’ on Top of the World >
Dark Star >
St. Stephen >
The Eleven >
Turn On Your Lovelight
6/6/69 Fillmore West, San Francisco (Fri.)
TAPE:
Smokestack Lightning*
Green Grass of Home*
Me and My Uncle*
Checkin’ Up On My Baby*
Beat It On Down the Line*
Turn On Your Lovelight
*Wayne Ceballos (of AUM) replaces Garcia.
6/7/69 Fillmore West, San Francisco (Sat.)
TAPE:
Dire Wolf >
Dupree’s Diamond Blues >
Mountains of the Moon >
Dark Star >
St. Stephen >
The Eleven >
Sittin’ on Top of the World >
Cold Rain and Snow >
Doin’ That Rag
Me and My Uncle
Turn On Your Lovelight*
*with Janis Joplin.
6/8/69 Fillmore West, San Francisco (Sun.)
TAPE:
I
Dancing in the Street >
He Was a Friend of Mine* >
China Cat Sunflower* >
New Potato Caboose*
Me and My Uncle
II
Turn On Your Lovelight+
The Things I Used To Do^
Who’s Lovin’ You Tonight^
Cryptical Envelopment > The Other One >
Cosmic Charlie
*Released on Fillmore West 1969 bonus disc.
+with Wayne Ceballos (no Pigpen) and drummer Billy Nicks, possibly others.
^with Elvin Bishop (no Garcia)
6/11/69 California Hall, San Francisco (Wed.)
SONGS:
Let It Be Me
Silver Threads and Golden Needles
Mama Tried
Cathy’s Clown
Me and My Uncle
Slewfoot
Dire Wolf
Games People Play
The Race Is On
Green Grass of Home
Tiger by the Tail
I’ve Just Seen A Face
All I Have To Do Is Dream
Wabash Cannonball
Railroading the Great Divide
(“Bobby Ace” acoustic show with John Dawson, David Nelson, Peter Grant on banjo, and Constanten on piano; possibly a Scientology benefit. No tape known.)
6/13/69 Convention Center Arena, Fresno, CA (Fri.)
TAPE:
Hard to Handle
Me and My Uncle
Sittin’ on Top of the World
Beat It On Down the Line
Good Morning Little Schoolgirl*
China Cat Sunflower >
Morning Dew
St. Stephen >
The Eleven >
Turn On Your Lovelight*
*with Wayne Ceballos; also Gary Larkey (of Sanpaku) on flute in Lovelight.
REVIEW:
6/14/69 Gymnasium, Monterey Peninsula College, Monterey, CA (Sat.)
TAPE:
Turn On Your Lovelight >
Me and My Uncle >
Doin’ That Rag >
He Was a Friend of Mine
Dire Wolf
Dark Star >
St. Stephen >
The Eleven >
Turn On Your Lovelight*
*with Wayne Ceballos
6/69 Unknown Studio
Garcia Solo Acoustic Demos
TAPE:
Dire Wolf
Casey Jones
High Time
Bottleneck Blues Instrumental
6/20/69 Fillmore East, New York, NY (Fri.) – early show
SONGS:
Casey Jones
Alligator
6/20/69 Fillmore East, New York, NY (Fri.) – late show
TAPE:
Old Old House (pedal steel)
Sittin’ on Top of the World
I’m A King Bee
Dire Wolf (pedal steel, Weir vocal)
Mama Tried
High Time
Dupree’s Diamond Blues
Dark Star >
St. Stephen >
The Eleven >
Turn On Your Lovelight
Cold Jordan (“acoustic spiritual” encore, not on tape)
This show has long circulated as the 6/21 late show, but is in the Vault dated 6/20 and matches a review of the 6/20 late show in several songs.
REVIEW:
6/21/69 Fillmore East, New York, NY (Sat.) – early show
TAPE:
Green Grass of Home (pedal steel)
Me and My Uncle
High Time
China Cat Sunflower >
Morning Dew
Alligator > Drums >
The Other One > Cryptical Envelopment >
Slewfoot (pedal steel)
Cosmic Charlie
6/21/69 Fillmore East, New York, NY (Sat.) – late show
A review states that this show started with a couple country numbers (with Garcia on pedal steel) and finished with a two-hour jam suite ending with a half-hour Turn On Your Lovelight. (Exactly like the 6/20 late show, unless one of the reviews was misdated.)
REVIEW:
6/22/69 Central Park, New York, NY (Sun.)
Free show.
TAPE:
Dancing in the Street
Casey Jones
Hard to Handle
Me and My Uncle
Sittin’ on Top of the World
Silver Threads and Golden Needles (pedal steel)
Dark Star >
The Other One >
St. Stephen >
It’s A Sin
Turn On Your Lovelight
REVIEW:
6/27/69 Veterans Memorial Auditorium, Santa Rosa, CA (Fri.)
TAPE:
Slewfoot* (pedal steel)
Mama Tried >
High Time
Dupree’s Diamond Blues
Me and My Uncle
Casey Jones
Dire Wolf^ (pedal steel, Weir vocal)
Sittin’ on Top of the World >
Big Boss Man
Dark Star >
St. Stephen >
The Eleven >
Green Grass of Home (pedal steel)
It’s All Over Now Baby Blue
*with Peter Grant on banjo. Drummer Tom Ralston also sits in for Mickey during the first few songs.
^Released on Workingman’s Dead 2001 CD.
6/28/69 Veterans Auditorium, Santa Rosa, CA (Sat.)
TAPE:
Slewfoot* (pedal steel)
Silver Threads and Golden Needles (pedal steel)
Mama Tried*
Me and My Uncle*
Doin’ That Rag* >
High Time
I’m A King Bee
Sittin’ on Top of the World
Turn On Your Lovelight
*with Peter Grant on (inaudible) banjo on Mama Tried and Me & My Uncle; Grant also plays pedal steel on Doin’ That Rag. David Nelson plays guitar solos in Slewfoot and Mama Tried. John Dawson sings on Me & My Uncle.
6/29/69 The Barn, Rio Nido, CA (Sun.)
Listed on the Santa Rosa poster, but apparently not played. The announcer on 6/28 says there will be “a jam session” the next day; we know that proto-Hot Tuna played, and possibly Garcia, but what did the Dead do?
7/3/69 Reed’s Ranch, Colorado Springs, CO (Thu.)
TAPE:
Green Grass of Home (pedal steel) >
Slewfoot (pedal steel)
Sittin’ on Top of the World
Morning Dew
High Time
Me and My Uncle
Casey Jones
[Mama Tried (not on tape)]
Hard to Handle
He Was a Friend of Mine
Turn On Your Lovelight
(Mama Tried listed on deadlists, but isn’t on tape. One witness claims Cosmic Charlie ended the show.)
7/4/69 Kinetic Playground, Chicago, IL (Fri.)
TAPE:
Hard to Handle
Mama Tried
Slewfoot (pedal steel)
Silver Threads and Golden Needles (pedal steel)
Cryptical Envelopment > The Other One >
High Time >
Casey Jones
I’m A King Bee
Sittin’ on Top of the World >
Me and My Uncle
Doin’ That Rag
Let Me In (pedal steel)
Dire Wolf (pedal steel, Weir vocal)
St. Stephen >
Turn On Your Lovelight
REVIEW:
7/5/69 Kinetic Playground, Chicago, IL (Sat.)
TAPE:
I
Morning Dew
Dark Star >
St. Stephen >
The Eleven >
It’s All Over Now Baby Blue
II
China Cat Sunflower >
High Time >
Mama Tried
Hard to Handle
Casey Jones
Turn On Your Lovelight
7/6/69 Grande Ballroom, Detroit, MI (Sun.)
Show scheduled but not confirmed.
7/7/69 Piedmont Park, Atlanta, GA (Mon.)
Free show.
TAPE:
Morning Dew
Mama Tried >
High Time >
Casey Jones
Dark Star >
St. Stephen >
The Eleven >
Turn On Your Lovelight
A super-jam with players from multiple bands followed the show, not recorded.
REVIEW:
7/8/69 Rock Pile, Toronto, Ontario, Canada – early show
SONGS:
Green Grass of Home (pedal steel)
El Paso (pedal steel)
Cryptical Envelopment > The Other One > Cryptical Envelopment
Casey Jones
Morning Dew
(Per witnesses, Mountains of the Moon, Doin’ That Rag, St. Stephen & New Potato Caboose may also have been played.)
REVIEW:
7/8/69 Rock Pile, Toronto, Ontario, Canada – late show
7/11/69 New York State Pavilion, Flushing Meadow Park, Queens, NY (Fri.)
TAPE:
Dupree’s Diamond Blues >
Dire Wolf
Hard to Handle (pedal steel)
Silver Threads and Golden Needles (pedal steel)
Casey Jones
Sittin’ on Top of the World >
Big Boss Man
Mama Tried
High Time
Alligator > Drums >
Jam >
The Other One >
Death Don’t Have No Mercy >
Turn On Your Lovelight
Cosmic Charlie (encore, not on tape)
(One review says Mountains of the Moon was also played among several Aoxomoxoa songs, and another review mentions an “acoustic encore” – this can’t all be right.)
REVIEWS:
7/12/69 New York State Pavilion, Flushing Meadow Park, Queens, NY (Sat.)
TAPE:
Green Grass of Home (pedal steel)
Slewfoot (pedal steel)
Mountains of the Moon
Doin’ That Rag >
China Cat Sunflower >
Mama Tried >
High Time
Dark Star >
The Other One >
St. Stephen >
The Eleven >
Turn On Your Lovelight
Tiny snippets of film from these two Pavilion shows can be spotted in the “Backstage Pass” video. Details in this discussion.
7/16/69 Longshoreman’s Hall, San Francisco (Wed.)
Hell’s Angels party.
8/1/69 Family Dog, San Francisco (Fri.)
Light show artists’ strike. Garcia & Hart stayed outside the picket line, while other members of the Dead (including Weir & Kreutzmann) “jammed with two flutists and a conga drummer.”
ARTICLES:
8/2/69 Family Dog, San Francisco (Sat.)
TAPE:
Casey Jones
Hard to Handle
Mama Tried*
High Time
Seasons of My Heart (pedal steel)
Slewfoot* (pedal steel)
Big Boss Man
Cryptical Envelopment > The Other One > Cryptical Envelopment >
Turn On Your Lovelight
*with David Nelson on guitar.
8/3/69 Family Dog, San Francisco (Sun.)
TAPE:
Hard to Handle
Beat It On Down the Line
Hi-Heel Sneakers
High Time
Mama Tried*
Dark Star
Alligator > Drums >
The Other One >
Caution >
And We Bid You Goodnight
*with David Nelson on guitar. The rest of the show features unknown guest players on saxophone and viola.
8/16/69 Woodstock Music & Arts Fair, Max Yasgur’s Farm, Bethel, NY (Sat.)
TAPE:
St. Stephen >
Mama Tried >
(High Time false start, Ken Babbs babbling)
Dark Star^ >
High Time
Turn On Your Lovelight*+
*with unknown ranter.
^Dark Star released on Woodstock: 40 Years On.
+Lovelight video released on Woodstock 40th-Anniversary DVD.
Full show released on Woodstock: Back to the Garden 50th-Anniversary. Dark Star & High Time included on 50th-Anniversary 10-CD compilation.
VIDEO:
8/20/69 El Roach Tavern, Ballard, WA (Wed.)
The Aqua Theater show was initially scheduled for this date but rained out, so the Dead played a local bar instead.
8/21/69 Aqua Theater, Seattle, WA (Thu.)
TAPE:
Casey Jones
Easy Wind
Morning Dew >
High Time >
Mama Tried >
Me and My Uncle
New Minglewood Blues* >
China Cat Sunflower* >
Doin’ That Rag
Big Boss Man
Sittin’ on Top of the World
Cryptical Envelopment > The Other One > Cryptical Envelopment >
Dark Star >
Cosmic Charlie
*with Gary Larkey on flute.
ARTICLE:
8/23/69 “Bullfrog 2 Festival,” Pelletier Farm, St. Helens, OR (Sat.)
TAPE:
Hard to Handle
Mama Tried >
High Time
Casey Jones
Easy Wind
Sittin’ on Top of the World
Dark Star >
St. Stephen >
The Eleven >
Turn On Your Lovelight
And We Bid You Goodnight
8/24/69 Paradise Valley Resort, Squamish, British Columbia, Canada (Sun.)
The Dead did not appear. They were also announced for a free show on Hippie Hill in San Francisco that day, but probably didn’t play that either.
8/28/69 Family Dog, San Francisco (Thu.)
Hartbeats with Howard Wales.
TAPE:
It’s A Sin
Hi-Heeled Sneakers
Dark Star* >
The Eleven Jam
*with unknown flute player.
Family Dog background:
8/29/69 Family Dog, San Francisco (Fri.)
TAPE:
Casey Jones
Easy Wind
Me and My Uncle >
High Time
New Orleans >
New Orleans >
Searchin’ >
Good Lovin’ (Garcia vocal)
Dire Wolf >
I’m A King Bee
Turn On Your Lovelight
8/30/69 Family Dog, San Francisco (Sat.)
TAPE:
China Cat Sunflower >
Doin’ That Rag
Morning Dew
Easy Wind
Dark Star >
St. Stephen >
The Eleven >
Drums >
High Time
9/1/69 New Orleans Pop Festival, Baton Rouge International Speedway, Prairieville, LA (Mon.)
TAPE:
Casey Jones
Morning Dew >
Mama Tried >
High Time
Easy Wind
Dark Star >
St. Stephen >
The Eleven >
Turn On Your Lovelight
There was also a multi-band jam session at the end of the festival in which the Dead and the Airplane played.
9/6/69 Family Dog, San Francisco (Sat.)
TAPE:
Good Morning Little Schoolgirl
Doin’ That Rag
He Was a Friend of Mine
Big Boy Pete
Good Lovin’ (Garcia vocal)
It’s All Over Now
Not Fade Away >
Easy Wind
Casey Jones
In the Midnight Hour
https://archive.org/details/gd69-09-06.sbd.samaritano.16608.sbeok.shnf (or this speed-corrected remaster)
https://archive.org/details/gd1968-00-00.sbd.miller.97671.flac16 (Midnight Hour)
Garcia & Hart also played in a jam in Jefferson Airplane’s set.
9/7/69 Family Dog, San Francisco (Sun.)
TAPE:
Peggy Sue
That’ll Be the Day
Johnny B. Goode
Baby What You Want Me to Do
Surf Instrumental (not Wipe Out) >
Big Railroad Blues
Louie Louie >
Twist & Shout >
Blue Moon
Not a Dead show – Garcia & Hart with Hot Tuna members. It’s unknown whether the rest of the Dead played that day.
9/11/69 – The AUD fragment of Easy Wind circulating with this date turned out to be from 8/30/69.
9/17/69 Probably the Dead’s warehouse in Novato, CA
Rehearsal Session
TAPE:
Blues Instrumental
Seasons of My Heart (pedal steel)
Sawmill (pedal steel)
Tuning ditties (pedal steel)
Cold Rain and Snow
Dire Wolf
The Eleven
9/26/69 Fillmore East, New York, NY (Fri.) – early show
SONGS:
Cryptical Envelopment > The Other One (“side one of Anthem”)
He Was a Friend of Mine
REVIEW:
The Fillmore East shows replaced dates at the Pavilion: http://hooterollin.blogspot.com/2012/04/september-26-27-1969-pavilion-flushing.html
9/26/69 Fillmore East, New York, NY (Fri.) – late show
TAPE:
Dark Star >
St. Stephen >
The Eleven >
I’m A King Bee >
Death Don’t Have No Mercy
SONG:
Turn On Your Lovelight
(This tape is usually ascribed to the early show, but the review of the early show makes me think the tape comes from the late show.)
One eyewitness description of the late show:
"Most of the songs are in a gentle country-western mode reminiscent of the new Byrds, but the show stealer came when a musician known as Pigpen led the audience in a hand-clapping number [Lovelight]... [He] asked everyone to stand up. From then on he could have sustained [it] forever. He brought it to a halt once, but the audience was too ecstatic to stop. So the chanting continued until Bill Graham himself came onstage and asked the group to stop. Responding to a persistent demand for an encore, they did some gentle western songs, which settled the audience, and then gracefully exited.”
9/27/69 Fillmore East, New York, NY (Sat.) – early show
TAPE:
Morning Dew
Mama Tried
Next Time You See Me
Casey Jones
China Cat Sunflower >
High Time
Dire Wolf
Me and My Uncle
(Good Morning Little Schoolgirl may have been the encore.)
REVIEWS:
9/27/69 Fillmore East, New York, NY (Sat.) – late show
SONGS:
Mama Tried
Good Morning Little Schoolgirl (these two songs may belong to the early show)
In the Midnight Hour?
Cryptical Envelopment > The Other One
Morning Dew
Alligator > Feedback
And We Bid You Goodnight
9/29/69 Cafe au Go Go, New York, NY (Mon.) – early show
SONG:
He Was a Friend of Mine
TAPE:
Doin’ That Rag >
The Seven >
Good Lovin’* >
St Stephen >
The Eleven
*I can’t really tell whether Garcia or Pigpen is singing, but it seems to be Pigpen; this is the first Good Lovin’ with a drum break.
9/29/69 Cafe au Go Go, New York, NY (Mon.) – late show
9/30/69 Cafe au Go Go, New York, NY (Tue.) – early show
TAPE:
China Cat Sunflower >
I Know You Rider
Alligator > Drums >
The Other One >
(Death Don’t Have No Mercy is listed by deadlists, but may not have been played.)
9/30/69 Cafe au Go Go, New York, NY (Tue.) – late show
10/1/69 Cafe au Go Go, New York, NY (Wed.) – early show
10/1/69 Cafe au Go Go, New York, NY (Wed.) – late show
10/2/69 Boston Tea Party, Boston, MA (Thu.)
10/3/69 Boston Tea Party, Boston, MA (Fri.)
SONG:
In the Midnight Hour (pedal steel?!)
10/4/69 Boston Tea Party, Boston, MA (Sat.)
On the 2nd and possibly all dates, Garcia, Constanten & Hart played an improv set with mime Joe McCord. A half-hour jam from Anthem was apparently played on the 4th.
REVIEWS:
10/5/69 Sam Houston Coliseum, Houston, TX (Sun.)
SONG:
Turn On Your Lovelight
10/6/69 Family Dog, San Francisco (Mon.) – Unconfirmed and doubtful.
10/17/69 College Union Ballroom, San Jose State College – Actually a New Riders show, not the Dead.
10/24/69 Winterland, San Francisco (Fri.)
SONGS:
Hard to Handle
Mama Tried
Good Lovin’
TAPE:
Casey Jones
Dire Wolf >
High Time
Easy Wind
China Cat Sunflower >
I Know You Rider
[Cryptical Envelopment] > The Other One > Cryptical Envelopment >
Cosmic Charlie
10/25/69 Winterland, San Francisco (Sat.)
SONGS:
Good Lovin’
Me and My Uncle
China Cat Sunflower >
I Know You Rider
Casey Jones
High Time
TAPE:
Dark Star >
St. Stephen >
The Eleven >
Turn On Your Lovelight*
*with Stephen Stills.
10/26/69 Winterland, San Francisco (Sun.)
TAPE:
Instrumental (also played 5/7/69)
Hard to Handle
Cold Rain and Snow
Me and My Uncle
Next Time You See Me
Dire Wolf
Casey Jones
Easy Wind
SONGS:
I’m a King Bee
Beat It On Down the Line
Good Lovin’
Doin’ That Rag
China Cat Sunflower >
I Know You Rider
It’s All Over Now Baby Blue
10/31/69 College Union Ballroom, San Jose State College, San Jose, CA (Fri.)
TAPE:
Casey Jones
Dire Wolf
It Hurts Me Too
Cryptical Envelopment > The Other One > Cryptical Envelopment >
China Cat Sunflower >
I Know You Rider
[Mama Tried (not on tape)]
High Time
Sittin’ on Top of the World
Next Time You See Me >
Easy Wind
Turn On Your Lovelight
ARTICLE:
11/1/69 Family Dog, San Francisco (Sat.)
TAPE:
I
Morning Dew
Dire Wolf >
Cold Rain and Snow
Hard to Handle
Mama Tried >
High Time
Good Lovin’
Easy Wind
II
He Was a Friend of Mine >
China Cat Sunflower >
I Know You Rider >
Casey Jones
Alligator >
Alligator >
Jam (includes Uncle John’s jam) >
Turn On Your Lovelight
11/2/69 Family Dog, San Francisco (Sun.)
TAPE:
Cold Rain and Snow
In the Midnight Hour
Seasons of My Heart
Mama Tried
Next Time You See Me
Good Lovin’
Big Boss Man
Casey Jones
Dancing in the Street
Dark Star >
St. Stephen >
The Eleven >
Death Don’t Have No Mercy
11/7/69 Fillmore Auditorium, San Francisco (Fri.)
TAPE:
Morning Dew
Hard to Handle
Casey Jones
Mama Tried
Me and My Uncle
[Star-Spangled Banner (audience member)]
Cold Rain and Snow
Next Time You See Me
High Time
Good Lovin’
China Cat Sunflower >
I Know You Rider
Dark Star (includes Uncle John’s jam) >
Cryptical Envelopment > The Other One >
Turn On Your Lovelight*
*Released on Dick’s Picks 16.
11/8/69 Fillmore Auditorium, San Francisco (Sat.)
TAPE:
I
Good Morning Little Schoolgirl
Casey Jones
Dire Wolf
Easy Wind
China Cat Sunflower >
I Know You Rider >
High Time
Mama Tried
Good Lovin’
Cumberland Blues
II
Dark Star >
The Other One >
Dark Star (includes Uncle John’s jam) >
St. Stephen >
The Eleven >
Caution* >
Main Ten Jam >
Caution >
Feedback >
And We Bid You Goodnight
*with unknown speaker (John Dawson?).
Released on Dick’s Picks 16.
11/15/69 Lanai Theater, Crockett, CA (Sat.)
TAPE:
Casey Jones
Me and My Uncle
Easy Wind
Cumberland Blues >
China Cat Sunflower >
I Know You Rider >
High Time
Next Time You See Me
Mama Tried
Big Boss Man
Cosmic Charlie >
Dire Wolf
Cold Rain and Snow
Good Lovin’
Turn On Your Lovelight
11/21/69 Cal-Expo Building A, Sacramento, CA (Fri.)
TAPE:
I
Casey Jones
Good Morning Little Schoolgirl
Cold Rain and Snow
Cumberland Blues
Easy Wind
II (break for technical difficulties)
Good Lovin’
China Cat Sunflower >
I Know You Rider
High Time
Me and My Uncle
Turn On Your Lovelight
11/23/69 Boston Music Hall, Boston, MA (Sun.)
Thought to be canceled until a ticket stub turned up; it turned out that (as the Boston Globe reported) the Youngbloods replaced the Dead.
11/69 The Poppycock, Palo Alto, CA
A correspondent reports: "I saw the Dead once in Palo Alto in '69 at a place called "The Poppycock." As I remember the Dead were a substitute for another band at the Poppycock gig and therefore would not have been on any publicity for the gig. The Poppycock show was during their "Live/Dead" period and Constanten was still in the band."
This was most likely in November ’69, when the New Riders were playing several shows at the Poppycock and the Dead were playing few shows.
12/4/69 Fillmore West, San Francisco (Thu.)
TAPE:
Casey Jones
Black Peter
Big Boss Man
Me and My Uncle
Cumberland Blues
Dire Wolf
Dark Star >
High Time
Good Morning Little Schoolgirl >
Good Lovin’
China Cat Sunflower >
I Know You Rider
Uncle John’s Band
12/5/69 Fillmore West, San Francisco (Fri.)
TAPE:
Me and My Uncle
Casey Jones
Black Peter
Mama Tried
It Hurts Me Too
Cumberland Blues
Cryptical Envelopment > The Other One > Cryptical Envelopment >
Cosmic Charlie
Dancing in the Street
Dire Wolf
China Cat Sunflower >
I Know You Rider >
High Time
Uncle John fragment/The Main Ten >
It’s All Over Now Baby Blue
12/6/69 – The Dead managed to cancel two shows this day, at Altamont and at the Fillmore West.
Their original plans for the evening: http://jgmf.blogspot.com/2016/09/altamont-dreams.html
12/7/69 Fillmore West, San Francisco (Sun.)
TAPE:
Black Peter
Hard to Handle
Cumberland Blues
Mama Tried >
Easy Wind
Dancing in the Street
Good Lovin’
China Cat Sunflower >
I Know You Rider >
St. Stephen >
The Eleven >
Turn On Your Lovelight
12/10/69 Thelma Theater, Los Angeles, CA (Wed.)
TAPE:
I
[China Cat Sunflower (not on tape)] >
I Know You Rider
Black Peter
Me and My Uncle
Cold Rain and Snow
Mama Tried >
High Time
Easy Wind
Casey Jones*
Good Morning Little Schoolgirl*
Morning Dew*
Black Queen* >
Turn On Your Lovelight*
II
Cryptical Envelopment > The Other One > Cryptical Envelopment >
Cosmic Charlie
*with Stephen Stills.
12/11/69 Thelma Theater, Los Angeles, CA (Thu.)
TAPE:
I
Casey Jones
Cold Rain and Snow
Mama Tried
Dire Wolf
It Hurts Me Too
China Cat Sunflower >
I Know You Rider
Black Peter >
Me and My Uncle
Hard to Handle
Dark Star* >
St. Stephen* >
The Eleven* >
Cumberland Blues*
II
Morning Dew
Next Time You See Me
Sittin’ on Top of the World
Beat It On Down the Line
Big Boss Man
Good Lovin’
High Time
Dancing in the Street
Easy Wind
Cryptical Envelopment > The Other One > Cryptical Envelopment* >
Cosmic Charlie*
https://archive.org/details/gd69-12-11.sbd-aud.cotsman.8998.sbeok.shnf (AUD through Dark Star/rest SBD)
*Selections released on Dave’s Picks 10 bonus CD.
12/12/69 Thelma Theater, Los Angeles, CA (Fri.)
TAPE:
I
Cold Rain and Snow
Me and My Uncle
Easy Wind
Cumberland Blues
Black Peter
Next Time You See Me
China Cat Sunflower >
I Know You Rider
Turn On Your Lovelight
II
Hard to Handle
Casey Jones
Mama Tried >
High Time
Dire Wolf
Good Lovin’
I’m A King Bee
Uncle John’s Band >
He Was a Friend of Mine >
Alligator > Drums > Alligator >
Caution >
Feedback >
And We Bid You Goodnight
Released on Dave’s Picks 10.
12/13/69 Swing Auditorium, San Bernardino, CA (Sat.)
TAPE:
Casey Jones
Hard to Handle
Black Peter
Mama Tried >
China Cat Sunflower >
I Know You Rider >
High Time
Good Lovin’ >
Cumberland Blues
St. Stephen >
Turn On Your Lovelight
12/19/69 Fillmore Auditorium, San Francisco (Fri.)
TAPE:
Acoustic -
Monkey and the Engineer
Little Sadie
Long Black Limousine
I’ve Been All Around This World
Electric –
Mason’s Children
Black Peter
Hard to Handle
Cumberland Blues
Casey Jones
Good Lovin’
Cryptical Envelopment > The Other One > Cryptical Envelopment >
Uncle John’s Band >
Turn On Your Lovelight
REVIEW:
12/20/69 Fillmore Auditorium, San Francisco (Sat.)
TAPE:
I
Mason’s Children
China Cat Sunflower >
I Know You Rider >
High Time
Me and My Uncle
Hard to Handle
Cumberland Blues
[Black Peter (not on CD)]*
II
Dark Star >
St. Stephen >
The Eleven >
New Speedway Boogie >
Turn On Your Lovelight
*Black Peter may be a false listing, since it’s not on the reel.
Released on Dave’s Picks 6.
12/21/69 Fillmore Auditorium, San Francisco (Sun.)
TAPE:
Smokestack Lightning >
New Speedway Boogie
[Mama Tried (not on CD)]
Dire Wolf
Mason’s Children
China Cat Sunflower >
I Know You Rider >
Black Peter
Not Fade Away*
[Uncle John’s Band (not on CD)]
[High Time (not on CD)]
Good Lovin’ > Drums >
The Other One >
Cumberland Blues
Mostly released on Dave’s Picks 6 bonus CD except for *. Uncertain whether those songs were played.
12/22/69 Napa Valley Sports Camp, Napa, CA
Possibly a benefit for St. Mary’s College High School (unconfirmed).
12/26/69 McFarlin Auditorium, SMU, Dallas, TX (Fri.)
TAPE:
Acoustic –
Monkey and the Engineer
Little Sadie
Long Black Limousine
I’ve Been All Around This World
Gathering Flowers for the Master’s Bouquet
Black Peter
Uncle John’s Band
Electric –
Casey Jones
Hard to Handle
Cold Rain and Snow
China Cat Sunflower >
I Know You Rider >
High Time
Me and My Uncle
Dark Star
New Speedway Boogie
Turn On Your Lovelight
12/28/69 Miami Rock Festival, Miami-Hollywood Speedway Park, Pembroke Pines, FL (Sun.)
TAPE:
Black Peter
Me and My Uncle
China Cat Sunflower >
I Know You Rider >
High Time
Cumberland Blues
Good Lovin’
Cold Rain and Snow
Hard to Handle
Mason’s Children
Turn On Your Lovelight
12/29/69 Boston Tea Party, Boston, MA (Mon.)
TAPE:
I
Cold Rain and Snow
Mama Tried
Black Peter
Easy Wind
Me and My Uncle >
China Cat Sunflower >
I Know You Rider >
High Time
Hard to Handle
Mason’s Children
II
Cumberland Blues
Casey Jones
Good Lovin’
Dancing in the Street
Dire Wolf
St. Stephen >
Not Fade Away
REVIEW:
12/30/69 Boston Tea Party, Boston, MA (Tue.)
TAPE:
I
Good Lovin’
Mama Tried
New Speedway Boogie
Casey Jones
Black Peter
Me and My Uncle
In the Midnight Hour
Cumberland Blues
Cryptical Envelopment > The Other One > [Cryptical Envelopment (not on tape)] >
Cosmic Charlie
II
Uncle John’s Band >
Mason’s Children >
China Cat Sunflower >
I Know You Rider
Dark Star
Alligator > Drums >
The Eleven >
Alligator/Caution Jam >
Feedback >
And We Bid You Goodnight
12/31/69 Boston Tea Party, Boston, MA (Wed.)
TAPE:
I
China Cat Sunflower >
I Know You Rider
Mama Tried
Next Time You See Me
Cold Rain and Snow
Black Peter
Hard to Handle
Me and My Uncle
Mason’s Children
Dire Wolf
Uncle John’s Band
II
Alligator > Drums >
Alligator >
Caution >
Feedback >
Good Lovin’ > Drums >
The Eleven
High Time
Cumberland Blues
Big Boy Pete
Not Fade Away
Seasons of My Heart
The Race Is On
Silver Threads and Golden Needles
Slewfoot
Dancing in the Street
ARTICLE:
??/69 Pacific High Recording, San Francisco (possibly August/September)
Studio Session
TAPE:
I’m A Lovin’ Man
“Buckeye’s Theme”
(I’m A Lovin’ Man was also played at one of the Family Dog shows in Aug/Sep ’69.)
And discussion here: http://lostlivedead.blogspot.com/2016/06/pigpen-solo-projects-1969-1971-1973-why.html
??/69 Various Locations (possibly October)
Home Recordings
TAPE:
Friend of the Devil (Hunter/NRPS)
Robert Hunter demos
Uncle John’s Band jams
*
APPENDIX
Jerry Garcia was also active outside the Grateful Dead; in late 1968 he started regularly jamming at the Matrix and playing in little side-bands, and this continued into 1969.
Garcia was probably a frequent visitor to the Matrix in early ’69, but only a few dates are known (and one isn’t even the right date). It’s safe to say that Garcia likely dropped into Matrix jam sessions many other weeks that we don’t know about.
1/6/69 Matrix - Garcia & Hart jam with Peter Albin, David Getz & David Nelson.
1/12/69 Fillmore West – Garcia & Hart jam with Country Joe & the Fish & friends on ‘Donovan’s Reef.’
(Hart also sat in with Country Joe during an earlier show.)
1/20/69 Matrix – Garcia jams with Al Kooper & Jack Casady.
2/19/69 Matrix – Garcia on banjo with High Country.
(The date is almost certainly wrong.)
http://jgmf.blogspot.com/2011/01/listening-notes-high-country-21969.html
5/20-21/69 Matrix - Garcia & Friends, and Sanpaku
(The 'friends' are unknown.)
https://jgmf.blogspot.com/2018/09/jerry-garcia-and-friends-sanpaku-at.html
5/20-21/69 Matrix - Garcia & Friends, and Sanpaku
(The 'friends' are unknown.)
https://jgmf.blogspot.com/2018/09/jerry-garcia-and-friends-sanpaku-at.html
6/28/69 Veterans Memorial Auditorium, Santa Rosa – Garcia sits in on pedal steel with the Cleanliness & Godliness Skiffle Band (opening for the Dead).
(Mickey Hart also guested with the CGSB at the Matrix around this time.)
9/5/69 Family Dog – The listed schedule this day was “Malachi, Rubber Duck (mime), and a jam with members of 3 groups we’re not allowed to name.” The Dead/Airplane shows at the Family Dog this weekend were not announced in advance, so their appearances seem to have been a hushed and secretive affair. But it’s pretty certain that if there was any jam on the 5th, Garcia would have been there, possibly backing Rubber Duck.
9/6/69 Family Dog – Garcia & Hart jam with Jefferson Airplane. The next day they jam with Hot Tuna members (as listed above).
There were also a couple other ‘festival’-type jams with multiple musicians (7/7 and 9/1/69) which weren’t recorded so I’m not sure how many Dead members or other players took part.
Then there were also private ‘home jams’ which by their nature have mostly left no trace – one was recorded (10/28/69 Garcia & Hart blues jams with Kaukonen, Casady & Dryden), others are only memories (such as the 1/13/69 rehearsal-space jam with Fleetwood Mac).
Garcia also played pedal steel on a few recording studio dates this year, with his friends the Jefferson Airplane ('Eskimo Blue Day' 5/27/69 & 'The Farm' around the same time) and Crosby Stills & Nash ('Teach Your Children' 10/24/69).
See the JGMF list: http://jgmf.blogspot.com/p/jg-guest.html
NEW RIDERS OF THE PURPLE SAGE
After Garcia bought a pedal steel in April ’69, he immediately started looking for a friend to play with, and in no time, a new band was formed. Briefly, Garcia began playing with John Dawson in May ’69; the New Riders started performing as a band in July ’69, occasionally opening for the Dead but more often playing in small clubs. After November they temporarily disbanded, playing almost no more shows until April ’70, when the band was revived.
These are the dates of known shows (advertised in posters or newspapers), but it's likely that the New Riders played more often in several of these venues.
5/14/69 The Underground, Menlo Park
5/14/69 The Underground, Menlo Park
Wednesdays in May/June ‘69 The Underground, Menlo Park
(John Dawson/Jerry Garcia – David Nelson joined sometime in May.)
Dawson & Nelson participated in the 6/11 “Bobby Ace” show at California Hall, but possibly just as guest musicians, not doing New Riders material.
6/69 Peninsula School, Menlo Park, CA (date unknown)
The New Riders may have played at Peninsula School again sometime later in the year. Memories are hazy.
6/25/69 The Underground, Menlo Park
7/16/69 Longshoreman's Hall, San Francisco (New Riders debut, opened for Dead)
7/16/69 Longshoreman's Hall, San Francisco (New Riders debut, opened for Dead)
7/23/69 Bear's Lair, UC Berkeley
This date is on the NRPS site but is unconfirmed. However, David Nelson later recalled “we played two or three nights there at the Bear’s Lair student union.”
8/1/69 Bear's Lair, UC Berkeley
http://jgmf.blogspot.com/2010/01/nrps-bears-lair-uc-berkeley-berkeley-ca.html
(Now released in the Dawn of the New Riders box.)
(Now released in the Dawn of the New Riders box.)
8/69 Lion's Share, San Anselmo (date unknown)
8/6-9/69 Matrix, San Francisco (the first time the "New Riders" name was used)
8/13/69 Family Dog, San Francisco (hoedown/square dance)
The New Lost City Ramblers also played. Pete Grant recalls, "I played banjo on a few tunes on the August 13 gig. Garcia, Nelson, and I
held the NLCR in high esteem. I remember Garcia's excitement leading up
to the gig. After both bands played, we played some tunes together."
http://lostlivedead.blogspot.com/2010/04/family-dog-at-great-highway-august-13.html
http://lostlivedead.blogspot.com/2010/04/family-dog-at-great-highway-august-13.html
8/19/69 Family Dog, San Francisco
This seems to be a misdate of the 8/13 show, but may be genuine.
8/21/69 Aqua Theater, Seattle WA (opened for Dead)
The New Riders may also have played the 8/20 El Roach Tavern appearance and the 8/23 Bullfrog Festival, but these are uncertain.
8/28-30/69 Family Dog, San Francisco (opened for Dead)
(Part of 8/28 now released in the Dawn of the New Riders box.)
(Part of 8/28 now released in the Dawn of the New Riders box.)
The NRPS site also lists 9/6-7/69 Family Dog (opening for the Dead), but there's no confirmation.
9/18/69 Inn of the Beginning, Cotati
10/9/69 Inn of the Beginning, Cotati
10/14-16/69 Mandrake's, Berkeley
(Part of 10/14-15 now released in the Dawn of the New Riders box.)
(Part of 10/14-15 now released in the Dawn of the New Riders box.)
10/17/69 Student Union Ballroom, San Jose State College
10/22/69 Family Dog, San Francisco
11/3-4/69 Matrix, San Francisco
11/6/69 Inn of the Beginning, Cotati
11/13/69 Poppycock, Palo Alto
11/18/69 Family Dog, San Francisco (square dance)
Along with the New Riders, one witness reports, "a band composed of Garcia on banjo and David LaFlamme on fiddle, amongst others," played for the Family Dog "Barn Dance."
https://jgmf.blogspot.com/2017/12/magic-at-edge-of-western-world.html
Along with the New Riders, one witness reports, "a band composed of Garcia on banjo and David LaFlamme on fiddle, amongst others," played for the Family Dog "Barn Dance."
https://jgmf.blogspot.com/2017/12/magic-at-edge-of-western-world.html
11/19/69 Fillmore West, San Francisco (Family Dog benefit)
11/20/69 Poppycock, Palo Alto
The New Riders were also scheduled to play at the Poppycock on 11/26, but Michael Parrish recalls, “I tried to go to this show. They had a long list of acts scheduled that night. My dad called the Poppycock to find out when the NRPS might be playing and they said they had no idea when or if they would play. We didn't go.”
11/22-23/69 Family Dog, San Francisco
11/27/69 Family Dog, San Francisco
11/28-29/69 Inn of the Beginning, Cotati
11/69 Pacific High Recording, San Francisco (studio demo tape for Warners)
(Later released on the 1986 album Before Time Began. Just like John Dawson's demos back in 1968, it seems these demos were rejected or ignored by Warner Bros. and other labels.)
(Later released on the 1986 album Before Time Began. Just like John Dawson's demos back in 1968, it seems these demos were rejected or ignored by Warner Bros. and other labels.)
After playing almost daily through November ’69, the New Riders then abruptly vanished for several months – there’s one known benefit in January (1/19/70 Pauley Ballroom, UC Berkeley), then another benefit in March (3/18/70 Family Dog), but otherwise no confirmed shows until April ’70.
For those who want to read reams of speculations about what happened to the New Riders in winter 1969-70...you are in luck:
MISCELLANY
A few stray 1969-related posts on other bands that played with the Dead:
http://lostlivedead.blogspot.com/2011/03/february-28-1969-fillmore-west-grateful.html (Shades of Joy)
http://lostlivedead.blogspot.com/2010/03/april-4-6-1969-avalon-ballroom-san.html (Flying Burrito Brothers)
http://lostlivedead.blogspot.com/2017/06/jerry-garcia-sneaky-pete-kleinow-and.html (more on the pedal-steel connection)
http://hooterollin.blogspot.com/2013/03/april-6-1969-avalon-ballroom-grateful.html (Wayne Ceballos/AUM)
http://lostlivedead.blogspot.com/2010/11/rolling-stones-oakland-coliseum-arena.html (11/9/69 Oakland - The Dead did their part to make bootlegs sound better.)
http://lostlivedead.blogspot.com/2009/12/guest-flute-players-with-grateful-dead.html (The Dead played with more flute players in 1969 than all other years combined.)
Thanks for these excellent Shows posts. Very informative!
ReplyDelete- dw
Hi LIA, it's not yet Christmas, but this is really a welcome gift. Wonderful job as usual, LIA.
ReplyDeleteThank You from Italy. Ciao. Paolo
As always, LIA, your in-depth analysis is amazing..... thank you! Looking forward to 1970!
ReplyDeleteI have no plans to do a 1970 list! Plenty of other things I'd like to work on instead...
DeleteWhat is the date 1/8/69 on the sleeve of Grayfolded under versus on the last black page.
ReplyDeleteThanks.
I believe that's a typo for 11/8/69 Fillmore, which was also used earlier in Grayfolded.
DeleteThese various show lists have been a godsend while I'm looking for shows to listen to at work. I'm doing the Europe 72 tour in order once again this year (though most years I dont finish, and start skipping most first sets by May). But I took a break to get to some Feb/March 69/70 shows I passed on, I'm on 2/15/69 today. I'm wondering why nobody ever patched in the Alligator section that circulated with the "1968 Mystery Reels." The quality sounds a fair bit better to my ears. Plus the current 2/15 seems like it runs a bit slow for most of the show, especially that first set. Just putting that out in the universe.
ReplyDeleteMy ears couldn't tell any difference in quality between the circulating 2/15/69 Alligator & the Mystery Reel fragment, they seemed identical in speed and sound. But maybe we'll get a Miller copy someday!
DeleteA Hooterollin' post alerted me that one witness remembers the 3/17/69 Olompali benefit at Winterland:
ReplyDelete"As someone who was living at Olompali at the time of this concert I have vague memories of this gig. Most of the members of both the Airplane and the Dead showed up to play as well as Elvin Bishop and some of the members of It's a Beautiful Day and others. It was a good gig though not as successful monetarily as was hoped, and the ranch was sadly closed not too long afterwards due to the drowning of 2 of the ranch's resident children in the unattended swimming pool."
https://rockarchaeology101.blogspot.com/2010/04/winterland-san-francisco-monster-jam.html
11/2/69 and 12/26/69 were released on Dave's Picks 43. This has a cassette patch in 11/2/69 for a few minutes of Dancing in the Street jamming that was lost in the reel change.
ReplyDeleteIs it from the actual show? They're notorious for splicing in sections from nearby performances to make songs appear complete.
DeleteI believe it is from Bear's cassette of the show - while they often substitute song portions from nearby shows, it's more difficult to splice in the middle of a jam.
DeleteLemieux wrote in the notes, "The rendition of 'Dancing in the Street,' most of which was missing from the master reels due to a tape cut, was found to be complete on Bear's backup cassette master."
The appearance of Cold Jordan as the encore on 6/20/69 is exciting. Assuming it was played here, it would be the Dead's first documented performance in a live show, to my knowledge, and possibly the last performance for 118 shows until 5/1/70 at Alfred College. After that, it remained a regular acoustic set staple through September 1970 before being permanently dropped. The song's appearance on 6/20/69 is sourced to the contemporary review by Robert Christgau in the NY Times who wrote, "Garcia and Weir responded [to audience requests for an encore] with a brief acoustic spiritual." The implication is that it was just the two of them performing. Are there any other reasonable candidates for what this song could have been?
ReplyDeleteDeadbase included Cold Jordan in its 6/20/69 songlist. They may have inferred it from Christgau's mention of the "brief acoustic spiritual" encore, so without a tape it's not really confirmed. Still, it would be neat to hear a version of this with just Garcia & Weir, and an acoustic encore in 1969 would be unique. They rarely did encores at all in 1969, mostly just in New York shows.
DeleteRegarding 5/7/69: Does anyone know if there are online resources that show Judy Dawson's original setlists? It was apparently her original list on which Hi-Heel Sneakers appeared, and I am interested in the order in which it may have been in the show. JerryBase places Hi-Heel Sneakers as the last song in the snow, but I'd say a more likely showstopper is Lovelight. Interestingly, Andy Lemieux, in the Deadhead Taper's Compendium Addendum (p. 70), describes the tape as starting with Me & My Uncle, then a pause for tuning and addressing technical difficulties, then: “The ‘Jam’ that follows starts very loosely with just Jerry, and slowly, everyone else climbs on board. It bears more and more resemblance to ‘Hi-Heel Sneakers’ as it goes along, but unfortunately it cuts at just under four minutes.” If this is indeed where Judy Dawson had Hi-Heel Sneakers in the show, then perhaps what is on tape was indeed the opening segment to it. Could that mean that Hi-Heel Sneakers was also performed on 10/26/69? This would make it the fourth and final known performance by the Grateful Dead of this rarity (which Jerry continued to play into the early 70s with Merl Saunders).
ReplyDeleteI have not seen Judy's original list but the set does end with Lovelight after which Bob says "Bring on the Jefferson Airplane". I agree Sneakers probably follows the Jam.
DeleteI commented elsewhere on the 5/7/69 Golden Gate Park setlist:
DeleteDeadbase's old list from eyewitness Judy Dawson had Lovelight*, Good Lovin'*, Dancing in the Street, Cryptical>Other One*>Cryptical, Dark Star*, Me & My Uncle*, Hi Heel Sneakers, The Eleven, Smokestack Lightning*
The songs marked * are on the circulating tape, which is incomplete - it starts with Me & My Uncle (which may not have been the first song), and cuts into the Other One, possibly missing a big chunk beforehand.
I think if Dawson was able to correctly list all six of the songs played on the tape, she was likely right on others as well, although they were listed totally out of order. It's quite possible that Dancing was played, and Hi Heel Sneakers was heard again in August '69 so it's not implausible. Cryptical probably did open up the Other One (though they didn't reprise it). The one suspicious entry on her list is the Eleven, which doesn't plausibly fit into the show. Then again, it's possible the Dead in their utterly zonked-out state at that show, opened it with a Dancing>Eleven>Hi Heel Sneakers....
While the instrumental here was played again (more coherently) on 10/26/69, it was done as a standalone piece then, so I'm not sure it has any connection to Hi-Heel Sneakers. Both times it occurs, the Dead are killing time while waiting for technical issues to be fixed, so my guess is they came up with this piece just for those occasions. (Bob plays a bit of it again after Big Boy Pete on 9/20/70.)
Thank you both. Maybe any similarity between the post M&MU idling jam and an off-tape Hi Heel Sneakers noted by the reviewer was purely coincidental. Judy's lists at the 4/18/70 Family Dog shows proved basically spot on when the tape was found. Maybe one day the 4/19/70 tape will turn up and we'll all finally know what she meant by "Big Breasa."
DeleteNewly found Grateful Dead set from 9/7/69!
ReplyDeletehttps://www.facebook.com/OwsleyStanleyFoundation/posts/pfbid02P9J4mxzELrtbsMHqT3bR7qTUdL71vUuDB21cEnZ68TfxTeY6nbxFteNWSb9wkQAbl
Hell yeah!
Delete"Grateful Dead, Family Dog, September 7, 1969: a mysterious listing in an underground paper announced a “jam with members of 3 groups we’re not allowed to name.” Two of these 3 groups turned out to be the Grateful Dead and Jefferson Airplane. With thanks to the generous support of OSF Adopt-A-Reel Patrons...we believe the third band was New Riders of the Purple Sage.
Portions of the shows have circulated, especially the jam set on 9/7. But in the process of preserving these reels, we found a few very pleasant surprises, including the following set, which does not appear to circulate:
1. Me & My Uncle
2. China Cat Sunflower
3. High Time
4. Mama Tried
5. Big Boy Pete
6. New Orleans
7. Not Fade Away
8. Easy Wind
9. Sitting On Top Of the World
According to the notes on the box, Bear didn’t like the way the drums sound in the mix, but everything sure sounds pretty good to us. Very high-energy performance!"
Newly found 3-minute film clip of the Dead at Central Park, 6/22/69:
ReplyDeletehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=91oLc0zNSV0
Awesome! Hopefully we can keep the new clips and setlists coming at this same pace.
ReplyDelete12/22/69 has now been disconfirmed:
ReplyDeletehttps://lostlivedead.blogspot.com/2010/01/december-22-1969-napa-valley-sports.html?showComment=1725951426071#c5008851761156759455
From the Napa Valley Register, 12/16/69:
ROCK FETE DENIAL IS APPLAUDED
Recent county denial of short-lived plans for a day-long rock concert at Napa Valley Boys Camp on Dealy Lane gained hearty support from county planning commissioners Monday when they warned the promoter that his use permit would be revoked if the concert is held there.
George Serpa, camp executive director, appeared before the commission Monday night to relate that the concert will be relocated in Oakland Auditorium at a date later than the already scheduled Dec. 22 event. He said the concert will not be held here in spite of the fact that he had had county sanction prior to last Wednesday.
However...[he] admitted that students from participating Bay Area high schools do not yet know of the change in plans and tickets are still being sold. He said a press release would be sent to Bay Area papers today announcing the change in plans...
[A county planning director expresses shock that the boys' baseball training camp could be used for a concert: "a gathering with thousands of people without public facilities and parking really shook us up when we read about it... This is another use entirely."]
Serpa told commissioners that the "rock festival" had been planned by students from 20 Bay Area high schools for the benefit of scholarship funds and athletic-event funding [and summer-camp funding]. The concert was planned by the high schools, was not public, and would have been attended solely by these schools' students... "We would have had 3,000 to 4,000 students here - chaperoned."
[After more details on the concert planning,] "I was contacted by the sheriff last week and he said 'No concert.'"
The concert has been moved to Oakland at a later date, Serpa said.
When Serpa admitted that tickets were still being sold and students were yet to be notified of the change of location, McNeely told him that the county has prepared a restraining order directed against holding such a concert...
Serpa said he understood the commission's feeling about the rock festival since this came to light after "the mess at Altamont."...
Commissioners...informed him that if there is any gathering of youths at the Dealy Lane site next Monday, the commission will consider action to revoke his use permit "forthwith."