The Deadpod

All the snowy weather this week reminded me of a show I saw out in Denver at McNichols one year.. this is a great show, I think, and I decided that it would be fun to share it with you. This one highlights the rejuvenation I think Hornsby sparked in the Dead, and especially in Garcia. He's all over this one and lots of fun throughout.. This first set is marked by a fine Candyman, a crazy Mexicalli...

We're lucky enough to hear the second set from the Dead's performance on 10/29/77 at Northern Illinois University in DeKalb Illinois this week. This is a fine recording of a strong set.. Bertha opens with that unique tempo the band was working on at this time and it sounds mighty fine.. Good Lovin' is better than usual.. Friend of the Devil and Estimated are played crisply but for me the magic sta...

One of the joys of producing the Deadpod comes from the many fine folks I've met, even if only through the medium of the internet, since I started to publish these shows. This week's show comes from a suggestion from one of those old friends, and it is an excellent suggestion.. This show comes to us from DeKalb Illinois and was performed during the Fall tour of 1977, on 10/29/77. The show begins w...

Halloween always seems to be a favorite holiday for Deadheads so seeing as this Halloween fell on a Friday I thought I should play one of the band's shows that took place on this date. This one comes to us from 1985.. sure not the band's strongest year but I think this first set is alot of fun, especially here at the start, so I'm hoping you enjoy the frivolity and enjoy yourself as you reminisce...

In casting about for a show to fit some recent requests, I came across this well-known yet astonishing work of unparalleled psychedelia. Unfortunately there is no Pigpen on this night (or the next) which is what my listener had requested, however I'm confident that the peerless jamming and enthusiasm present on this recording will allow me to be excused for that omission. This show starts with an...

  This week's Deadpod, the second set from Barcelona Spain on October 19th, 1981, bursts out of the gate with a smoking Scarlet Begonias into Fire on the Mountain. Garcia clearly wants this one to stand out, and his leads throughout are choice. Garcia is clearly inspired throughout.. even on the Sailor ->Saint, Garcia shines on one of the best versions ever... there's a nice little space that f...

As far as I know, this was the Dead's only performance in Spain, and while I recall wearing this tape out at one time I hadn't thought about it for some time, until I came across it again searching for a show for this week's 'pod. I'm thrilled to have rediscovered it. There's plenty of energy here as the band, and Garcia, seem pumped for the end of this European tour. This set starts off plenty ho...

This week's Deadpod features the second set from the Dead's performance at the Carrier Dome in Syracuse NY on September 24th, 1982. This is quite a fine set, and opens with an unusual Brent opener - Far From Me.. always a song I enjoy hearing. They follow that up with a very well executed Playin' In The Band->Crazy Fingers, and Jerry does some fine work on that latter number. Weir's new song, T...

This week we feature a show that marked the end of the Fall East Coast tour of 1982 - this one took place in the Carrier Dome on the campus of Syracuse University in Syracuse NY. This show was widely praised in its day and I think much of the playing holds up today as an example of a good early 80s Dead show. The band opens with a Jack Straw that is on fire.. and leads nicely into a very fine Frie...

This week's Deadpod takes us back to Dijon France for the second set of the band's amazing performance which took place back on 9/18/74. I have however, taken some liberties with this presentation however, as I omitted the first two songs of set 2, Loose Lucy and Big River, because the vocals in these two are hopelessly lost and cannot be heard. In place of those, I decided to include the 3 songs...

This is such a great show that I'm astounded that I've not played it on the Deadpod until today.. as the 40th anniversary of this great show approaches I will right that oversight. One of the greatest first sets ever.. from Dijon France, September 18th, 1974. It opens with a warm, delightful Uncle John's Band.. then the great songs roll on, Jack Straw, Friend of the Devil, Black Throated Wind, Sca...

his week's Deadpod features a beast of a second set.. but what else can you expect from a show from 1972. This one features some great interplay between Lesh and Garcia throughout. Innocently enough the set starts out with a fat Big River followed by a standard Friend of the Devil and Me & My Uncle, things start getting interesting on the Bird Song.. here we find quite an interesting jam after...

Labor Day weekend.. summer's swan song so they say with the kids going back to school .. or college.. and lots of folks getting one last weekend of warm weather activities.. well I decided to bring you a show from a fall tour.. the Fall of 1972.. had a request for one of these wonderful shows so I'm bringing you the last night of a great three night run at the Fabulous Fox theater in St. Louis, Oc...

A classic second set from 1989 on this week's Deadpod.. marking the band's final appearance at the Alpine Valley Music Theater and in a way, the end of an era, as the scene was becoming so large that places, like Alpine Valley, felt they had no choice but to ban the band from returning. The second set took place in a downpour, and its reflected in some of the song choices.. a beautiful Box of Rain...

"Summer flies and August dies the world grows dark and mean"   I had a request for something from Alpine Valley, and it seemed to me that this show fit best right now, this is the last show that the band ever played at that storied venue, July 19th, 1989. Surely not the best show of the year, or even of that monstrous Summer Tour, but a show that displayed the band as it was at the end of an era o...

Here we are on what would have been Jerry Garcia's 72nd birthday.. whew .. hard to imagine how much music he would have produced had he stuck around these last 19 years. We get to share what we have, and this week that is the second set from the Grateful Dead's performance at the Greek Theater in Berkeley California on July 15th, 1988. We start out with a great choice for a summer night, Scarlet-&...

Summer keeps rollin' by... and I thought it just wouldn't be right if I didn't find a proper Shakedown Street to mark the season.. I think this one should fit the bill. Here is a high-energy show from 1988, originally a Rex Benefit show, that gives us plenty to like during these long days of Summer. This one comes from the Greek in Berkeley, where the boys always enjoyed playing. After the strong...

The second set of the show the Dead performed on July 13th, 1985 from Ventura California. In my opinion this is a fine second set, highlighted by a very nice drums/space into the Wheel, then a rare Cryptical into a very jammy Other One. That is followed by a particularly touching 'Comes A Time', always a favorite. While there may be better versions, I think this set stands up to scrutiny as the bo...

While we are in high summer my thoughts turned to great summer tours and despite my reservations about some shows from this year, I couldn't help but realize that this year had to be represented - 1985. The band played an amazing summer tour with such a wide variety setlists filled with extraordinary breakouts that the year deserves to be honored despite the well-known problems with Garcia's voice...

Happy 4th of July! With the 4th falling on a Friday it just seems to be fitting that I play one of the seven shows that the boys played on this date. Since I've already played the 7/4/90 show on the Deadpod, I decided to bring back this beauty from the Summer of 1984.. I happen to think the boys were on a peak during this time (the night before when they played Kansas City is a great show too!), a...

This week's Deadpod features the 2nd half of the electric set from June 6th, 1970 at the Fillmore West in San Francisco CA. There is some furious playing here - a wonderful jam that comes out of Alligator and into Lovelight. Pigpen is in his element here, and you'll enjoy him on this great Lovelight->Not Fade Away->Lovelight portion of the set.. Garcia is turning on a dime throughout and I t...

I had several requests this week for some 'primal' Dead.. and so I thought I came upon this fine soundboard from the spring of 1970. While we only have the electric set its still a fine example of the boys in their early formative years and I'm hoping you'll really enjoy it.  This electric set is so long in fact, that I'm going to split it up so we will hear the 2nd part - including a fabulous ver...

This week's Deadpod features a fine second set from the band's return to the stage in 1976. I really like how they have changed up the set list here, and they start out with the debut performance of Samson and Delilah.  A nice, very new Crazy Fingers goes into a haunting Wharf Rat. Let It Grow follows and this second set spot suits the song in that the musicians have a chance to explore some new g...

This week we have a show I find quite interesting, the band's first live performance after a 20 month hiatus back in 1975-76. You'll be struck by the fact that the tempo is slower than you'd expect. Some have attributed this to the band's breaking in both alot of new material and adjusting to having both drummers in the lineup. This show features a whole lot of firsts -- the first Might as Well, t...

I think this second set from 7/31/82 is a fitting treat for this 3 day Memorial Day weekend. This one is a real keeper.. it starts out with an incredible Scarlet ->Fire.. Jerry really takes the lead here with a number of very nice solos, each different and each wonderful to listen to.. the seque into Fire is very nicely done as well.  They follow with an enteretaining reggae-esq Estimated, then a...