The Deadpod

Let''s roll into March with a really excellent show from the Spring of 1981. This one comes to us from New York City, March 9th, 1981 Madison Square Garden. From start to finish this is a most excellent show, one of the best in the earlier Brett years. Here in the first set all the songs are tight and well-played. I particularly enjoy the 'Althea' and 'Bird Song' but we are treated to a most welco...

This sweet second set from 1973 will close out the month of February 2016 for the Deadpod.  Judging from the length of this set I assume this is really not the entire set, however what we have is very pleasing indeed.. Starting off with an early 'Wave That Flag' the boys move through a 'Me and My Uncle' into a well-played if short for the period 'Dark Star'. That moves into an exceptional 'Eyes of...

This week's Deadpod really comes from one of my favorite years for the band - 1973. This show comes from the University of Illinois in Champaign-Urbana IL, from February 22nd, 1973. The first set starts out with a great rocking version of 'Promised Land' followed by a nice, bright version of 'They Love Each Other'. 'El Paso' follows - check out Phils' bass lines on this one, it too rocks.. Jerry b...

Happy Valentines' Day Weekend! This week's second set from Lake Placid New York, October 17th, 1983 should bring a warm smile to any lover's heart as it contains a really wonderful 'To Lay Me Down'.. one of the most romantic of all Garcia's songs. Of course I don't want to minimize the enjoyment the remainder of this set will bring you. They start off with 'Touch', then move into 'Samson and Delil...

Here's a request from one of our listeners.. I could've sworn that I'd featured this one before but since I can't find in the archives I'm going to assume that's just a result of some busted synapses ;)  This one, from Lake Placid, NY, October 10th, 1983 is most renowned for this blistering opening 'Sugaree', which clocks in at over 16 minutes. The remainder of this first set is quite good as well...

This week's Deadpod almost falls into the history lesson category.. I had a request from a listener  who noticed that the only two years of the band's history that he did not have represented in his collection of Deadpods were 1965 and 1966.. so they asked if that could be remedied. I thought that was probably long overdue so I decided to bring you this week's Deadpod.. it is made of of two differ...

Here's the great second set of the band's performance in LA on January 11th, 1978. They start with a Samson and Delilah, then we get one of the last 8 or 9 performances of 'Sunrise'. The 'Terrapin Station' that follows marks the start of the meat of this set. Following a well-played Terrapin we have a quite exploratory 'Playin' In the Band'. The drums that follows is relatively short, and then Phi...

I think this is a real barnburner.. a date in Los Angeles at the Shrine Auditorium in January of 1978. When you look at the set list and see that Minglewood is the opener you might dismiss this set, but don't.. give it a listen .. you can tell right away that Jerry is going to fire this thing up. A nice 'Dire Wolf' follows.. and then a sweet 'Looks like Rain' with nice Donna backing vocals.  This...

This week with the start of a new year, I decided to take a look back to a truly fecund period for the band - early 1969. We have an exceptional sounding recording of a show that took place back on January 17th, 1969 in Santa Barbara, California. This recording shows how the band is ready to take off during this seminal year that saw the release of  both Aoxomoxoa and Live Dead. The tape starts wi...

Happy New Year! It just wouldn't be right if I didn't feature a NYE show on this date, and while many of the shows that the band played on New Years Eve were a bit of a letdown, I think I've chosen one that wasn't.. this comes to us from New Years Eve 1981. While the boys opened with an acoustic set with Joan Baez, I had to spare you that and omit it from this podcast. I did not however, omit anyt...

Merry Christmas!   As always, our Christmas Deadpod features some fine acoustic Dead.. this selection comes from a very special show - it took place back on December 6th, 1980 at the Mill Valley Recreation Center in Mill Valley California. The boys put on an acoustic set for some special needs children and young adults and while the performance was not amplified, it was recorded by Betty Cantor-Ja...

I am certain that you'll enjoy this second set from the Dead's performance back on November 29th, 1980 in Gaineville, Florida. I found this a delight to listen to ,especially the transitions between songs.. those jams are full of life and fire! They start with a great Shakedown Street, which flows nicely into a Franklin's Tower. The Estimated that follows is Soooooo good, in my opinion.. and not o...

As we head into the home stretch on 2015, I've decided to bring you another one of my favorites from 1980... this show took place at the University of Florida, Alligator Alley, on November 29th, 1980. This is a day after the show included on '30 Trips Around the Sun' and a day before the show immortalized on Dick's Picks' 8, Atlanta , 11/30/80. The boys were definitely on a roll and I hope you'll...

This week we have some great fun from the second set of the Dead's performance at the Milkweg in Amsterdam, Netherlands back on October 16th, 1981. This week we get to hear the electric set of this impromptu performance, when the band played on borrowed instruments in a club environment. This set is very much a Bobby dominated set, with the boys opening with a nice Playin' in the Band. Then they p...

I so hope that everyone had a warm and happy Thanksgiving! As is my wont around the holidays, this week I'm posting an acoustic set, one of the most famous of those, this comes to us from the Milkweg in Amsterdam on Bobby's birthday, October 16th, 1981. From all reports a very impromptu appearance, the boys play on borrowed instruments, yet the boys put out a very fun and engaging performance. Whi...

This week's Deadpod features a fine second set from November 21st, 1985 at the Kaiser Auditorium in Oakland CA. Energetic and well-played throughout this one features a fine set list with two songs that would never again be played by the band, 'She Belongs to Me' and 'Walkin' The Dog'... They open with a wonderful 'Shakedown Street' that rather oddly, goes into a great 'Crazy Fingers'.. I've read...

Yikes! Friday the 13th! but not only is it Friday the 13th it is ODD day! - 11/13/15 :)  I decided such an auspicious occasion deserved an unusual show and I think this one fits the bill. It features *three* songs that would never be played by the band again - one in this first set and the other two in the second set that we'll hear next week.   This is from November 21st, 1985 at the Kaiser in Oa...

This week's Deadpod features the second set from the band's performance on November 2nd, 1979 at the Nassau Coliseum in Uniondale, NY. The set starts off quite uptempo with a great 'I Need a Miracle' going into a rousing version of 'Bertha'. Bobby performs a fine rendition of 'Lost Sailor' which goes into again a nice uptempo 'Saint of Circumstance'. The highlight of the set follows, at least for...

This week's Deadpod features another great request from one of my listeners, this time for the Dead's performance on November 2nd, 1979 at the Nassau Coliseum in Uniondale N.Y. The first set starts with an amazing sequence of Mississippi Half-Step into a wonderful Franklin's Tower, marred just a bit by the fact that the first 2 minutes of the Half-Step are missing from the soundboard tape. I just...

This week on the Deadpod we'll finish hearing the end of the third set of the band's performance on 10/10/80 at the Warfield Theater in San Francisco CA. This section starts with a wonderful verison of 'Big Railroad Blues' one of my favorite rockers. Then we get a nice jam that follows in 'Estimated Prophet' into 'Eyes of the World'.  This is probably my personal highlight of this week's set as th...

We'll continue this week with the Grateful Dead's performance during one of their historic performances at the Warfield Theater in San Francisco, CA on October 10th, 1980. This week we will finish listening to the first electric set and being hearing set 3. While the sound quality may not be as wonderful as that for the acoustic set, I still really enjoy hearing them on these songs. We start with...

It is only fitting that we go back to the famous 'acoustic' shows of 1980 for this week's Deadpod. This was a request from one of my wonderful listeners for a show that not only features the famous acoustic first set, but outstanding electric sets 2 and 3. The first set is a treat for everyone who enjoys the acoustic Dead, and while I do like to feature this genre around the holidays, the arrival...

This week's Deadpod takes us back to the second set of the Grateful Dead's performance at Madison Square Garden on Thursday September 20th, 1990. Not only is the crowd fired up by a great first set, but it quickly apparent that the boys are not about to phone in this set, as it turns into one of the strongest performances of the 90s. They come out of the gate with a strong rockin' Truckin'.. then...

Generally considered the strongest show of one of the strongest runs in the band's Post-Brent Mydland career, this week's Deadpod pays homage to the band's performance on September 20th, 1990 at Madison Square Garden in New  York City, NY. I clearly remember how excited and happy I was when I first heard of, then finally got to listen to, this run of shows. There was much uncertainty about how the...

This week we return to the Berkley Community Theater for the second set of the band's performance back on August 14th, 1971. The tape cuts into Truckin' in progress,  luckily however the excellent jam that ends the song is preserved.. from there we go into an early set Drums, and then, suddenly if not unexpectedly, the bombs drop signalling a truly great Other One to follow. Phil really shines on...