Grateful Dead Hour no. 1515

Week of October 2, 2017

Part 1 19:31
Jerry Garcia and Merl Saunders, GarciaLive Volume 9 (8/11/74)
LA LA

Part 2 35:08
Grateful Dead 8/15/71 Berkeley Community Theater
WHITE RABBIT RIFF
PROMISED LAND
BIG BOSS MAN
CHINA CAT SUNFLOWER->
I KNOW YOU RIDER
ME AND BOBBY McGEE
CASEY JONES

Continuing with the tape we started on last week: August 15, 1971 at the Berkeley Community Theater. I talked last week about the lean-and-mean lineup of the band here – the original five players, with Pigpen playing a reduced role on the keyboards as his health declined and the improvisational power of the quartet of Jerry, Bob, Phil and Billy grew and grew. Another reason this recording is so clear is that there’s not a huge amount of stuff onstage – the guitarists are using simple amplification rigs with very few effects, and it’s just Billy on drums since Mickey Hart left the scene in February of that year. So you can hear everybody clearly. Plus it’s just a very strong performance by a band in its prime. The vocals are slightly overdriven on this particular recording, but not enough to interfere with the amazingness of the performance.

“White Rabbit riff” is a VERY amusing interaction with a member of the audience who made a weird request.

Enjoy!

Support for the Grateful Dead Hour comes this week from:

Dead and Company – Bob Weir, Bill Kreutzmann, Mickey Hart, John Mayer, Jeff Chimenti and Oteil Burbridge – on tour November 12 through December 8. Complete details and ticketing at www-dot-deadandcompany-dot-com. That’s Dead and Company, on tour from November 12 through December 8.

The Capitol Theatre in Port Chester, New York. Jamband torchbearers Umphrey’s McGee play The Cap on October 20th and 21st. This will be one of the heaviest rocking and hardest dancing parties of the year. Events, information, and ticketing at thecapitoltheatre.com.

Red Roses, Green Gold, a new show from MWM Live by Michael Norman Mann, featuring the music and lyrics of Jerry Garcia and Robert Hunter. It’s playing in New York City’s Greenwich Village at the Minetta Lane Theatre. Tickets are available at Ticketmaster.com or RedRosesGreenGold.com.