On This Date in Dead Show History

https://vivalazone.org/other-stuff/325

Could it be a creation of Artificial Intelligence?

It would be great better if someone dosed the host.

>>>>Could it be a creation of Artificial Intelligence?

Don't think so by the below.  

>>>Hey everyone,

I’m a millennial Deadhead and researcher who has spent the last three years developing a project called "Searchlight". Today, March 24th, is the official launch, and I wanted to share it with this community.

To me, the Grateful Dead have always been more than just a band—they are a unique vehicle to explore the 20th century. Whether it’s the evolution of audio engineering, the intersection of counterculture and technology, or bizarre cultural footprints like the 1992 Lithuanian Olympic team, the Dead provide the perfect lens for broader historical storytelling.

For decades, scholars and historians have done incredible work documenting this band. Searchlight is my effort to continue the tradition of Dead scholarship and to serve as a high-production visual aggregate operating on two tracks:

The Weather Report Suite: Think of this as "Today in Grateful Dead History," but in video format. I include documents and photos from the archives in Santa Cruz, remastered videos by Chris Hazard, and first-hand accounts.

Long-Form Investigations: Deep-dive vignettes exploring topics like the technical evolution of the Wall of Sound and the true story behind the Lithuanian basketball shirts. I’ve already been lucky enough to film interviews with folks like Dennis McNally, John Meyer, Janet Furman, Brian Anderson, and Šarūnas Marčiulionis to get these stories right.

This project is a solo labor of love, and I’m aiming to provide a high-quality resource for those who love the history as much as the music. I’ll be respecting the sub’s rules on self-promotion, but since today is the official kickoff, I’d love for you to check out the first episode.

March 24th: https://youtu.be/AYwShX-V2ew?si=T4s7rzVzUcRAYW2w

I’d love to hear your thoughts or talk shop about the research process in the comments.

This project wouldn't exist without the primary research done by others. My work is heavily informed by and cites the research of Dennis McNally, Jesse Jarnow & the Good Ol' Grateful Deadcast, David Gans, Blair Jackson, Corry Arnold (LostLiveDead), Light Into Ashes, Brian Anderson, the Archive.org community, and many many more.

Seems like it's slowed down ...missing for a few days.  hmmm

04/01/1980 Tuesday Capitol Theatre, Passaic, NJ 

04/01/1984 Sunday Marin County Veterans Auditorium, San Rafael, CA

04/01/1985 Monday Cumberland County Civic Center, Portland, ME

04/01/1986 Tuesday Providence Civic Center, Providence, RI

04/01/1988 Friday Meadowlands Arena, East Rutherford, NJ

04/01/1990 Sunday The Omni, Atlanta, GA  

04/01/1991 Monday Greensboro Coliseum, Greensboro, NC

04/01/1993 Thursday Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum, Uniondale, NY

04/01/1994 Friday  The Omni, Atlanta, GA

04/01/1995 Saturday The Pyramid, Memphis, TN

April 1, 1981 – Grateful Dead: Reckoning is released

04/02/1973    Monday    Boston Garden, Boston, MA
04/02/1982    Friday    Cameron Indoor Stadium, Durham, NC
04/02/1989    Sunday    Pittsburgh Civic Arena, Pittsburgh, PA
04/02/1990    Monday    The Omni, Atlanta, GA
04/02/1993    Friday    Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum, Uniondale, NY
04/02/1995    Sunday    The Pyramid, Memphis, TN

He does a great job with this, especially for someone who never saw a show. Kudos to whatever his name might be.

If anything, it warrants being more in-depth as the more notable shows could use a more detailed inspection.

4/2/82 -  the day Jerry and Phil switched sides of the stage.

04/03/1970 Friday Field House, Cincinnati, OH
04/03/1982 Saturday The Scope, Norfolk, VA
04/03/1985 Wednesday Providence Civic Center, Providence, RI
04/03/1986 Thursday Hartford Civic Center, Hartford, CT
04/03/1987 Friday The Centrum, Worcester, MA
04/03/1988 Sunday Hartford Civic Center, Hartford, CT
04/03/1989 Monday Pittsburgh Civic Arena, Pittsburgh, PA
04/03/1990 Tuesday The Omni, Atlanta, GA
04/03/1991 Wednesday The Omni, Atlanta, GA

04/04/1969 Friday Avalon Ballroom, San Francisco, CA
04/04/1970 Saturday Field House, Cincinnati, OH
04/04/1971 Sunday Manhattan Center, New York, NY
04/04/1985 Thursday Providence Civic Center, Providence, RI
04/04/1986 Friday Hartford Civic Center, Hartford, CT
04/04/1987 Saturday The Centrum, Worcester, MA
04/04/1988 Monday Hartford Civic Center, Hartford, CT
04/04/1991 Thursday The Omni, Atlanta, GA
04/04/1993 Sunday Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum, Uniondale, NY
04/04/1994 Monday Orlando Arena, 0rlando, FL
04/04/1995 Tuesday Birmingham Jefferson Convention Complex Coliseum, Birmingham, AL

04/05/1971 Monday Manhattan Center, New York, NY    
04/05/1982 Monday The Spectrum, Philadelphia, PA
04/05/1988 Tuesday Hartford Civic Center, Hartford, CT
04/05/1989 Wednesday Crisler Arena, Ann Arbor, MI    
04/05/1991 Friday The Omni, Atlanta, GA
04/05/1995 Wednesday Birmingham Jefferson Convention Complex Coliseum, Birmingham, AL

04/06/1969 Sunday Avalon Ballroom, San Francisco, CA
04/06/1971 Tuesday Manhattan Center, New York, NY
04/06/1978 Thursday Curtis Hixon Convention Hall, Tampa, FL
04/06/1982 Tuesday The Spectrum, Philadelphia, PA
04/06/1984 Friday Aladdin Theatre, Las Vegas, NV
04/06/1985 Saturday The Spectrum, Philadelphia, PA
04/06/1987 Monday Meadowlands Arena, East Rutherford, NJ
04/06/1989 Thursday Crisler Arena, Ann Arbor, MI
04/06/1994 Wednesday Miami Arena, Miami, FL

04/07/1971 Wednesday Boston Music Hall, Boston, MA
04/07/1972 Friday Wembley Empire Pool, London, UK
04/07/1978 Friday Sportatorium, Pembroke Pines, FL
04/07/1984 Saturday Irvine Meadows Amphitheatre, Irvine, CA
04/07/1985 Sunday The Spectrum, Philadelphia, PA
04/07/1987 Tuesday Meadowlands Arena, East Rutherford, NJ
04/07/1988 Thursday The Centrum, Worcester, MA
04/07/1991 Sunday Orlando Arena, 0rlando, FL
04/07/1994 Thursday Miami Arena, Miami, FL    
04/07/1995 Friday Tampa Stadium, Tampa, FL

Yesterday 44 years ago 4/6/1982 first show.

Wow what a ride so far!

04/07/1972 Friday Wembley Empire Pool, London, UK ... start of the Europe '72 Tour.

04/08/1971 Thursday Boston Music Hall, Boston, MA
04/08/1972 Saturday Wembley Empire Pool, London, UK
04/08/1978 Saturday Veteran's Memorial Coliseum, Jacksonville, FL
04/08/1982 Thursday Onondaga County War Memorial, Syracuse, NY
04/08/1985 Monday The Spectrum, Philadelphia, PA
04/08/1988 Friday The Centrum, Worcester, MA
04/08/1989 Saturday Riverfront Arena, Cincinnati, OH
04/08/1991 Monday Orlando Arena, 0rlando, FL
04/08/1994 Friday Miami Arena, Miami, FL

That Worcester 88 run 4/7 - 4/9 to end the Northeast leg of the tour was such a disappointment at the time. Jerry's voice was cooked. Back to back Black Peters on the 7th and the 8th. Such high hopes after the 88 Hampton shows but that's what happens when you go into shows with high expectations they usually get crushed. I haven't listened to them since I wonder if they are as bad as I remember them to be. 

Spring '88: Week #1, Hampton/Meadowlands & Week #2, Hartford/Worcester.  Energy dropped like a stone after another good run of shows in Jersey, when Garcia voice crapped out at the 1st Hartford show, rough week on tour.

4/8/72  Dark Star>>Sugar Mag>>>Caution.       Boys released the Kraken on this jam

04/09/1970 Thursday Fillmore West, San Francisco, CA
04/09/1982 Friday Community War Memorial, Rochester, NY    Al
04/09/1983 Saturday Hampton Coliseum, Hampton, VA
04/09/1987 Thursday UIC Pavilion, Chicago, IL    
04/09/1988 Saturday The Centrum, Worcester, MA
04/09/1989 Sunday Freedom Hall, Louisville, KY
04/09/1991 Tuesday Orlando Arena, 0rlando, FL
 

04/10/1970 Friday Fillmore West, San Francisco, CA
04/10/1971 Saturday Mayser Center, Franklin & Marshall College, Lancaster, PA
04/10/1978 Monday Fox Theatre, Atlanta, GA
04/10/1983 Sunday Coliseum, Morgantown, WV
04/10/1987 Friday UIC Pavilion, Chicago, IL

04/11/1969 Friday University Auditorium, Tucson, AZ
04/11/1970 Saturday Fillmore West, San Francisco, CA
04/11/1972 Tuesday City Hall, Newcastle upon Tyne, UK
04/11/1978 Tuesday Fox Theatre, Atlanta, GA
04/11/1982 Sunday Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum, Uniondale, NY
04/11/1987 Saturday UIC Pavilion, Chicago, IL
04/11/1988 Monday Joe Louis Arena, Detroit, MI
04/11/1989 Tuesday Rosemont Horizon, Rosemont, IL

04/12/1969 Saturday Student Union Ballroom, Salt Lake City, UT
04/12/1970 Sunday Fillmore West, San Francisco, CA
04/12/1971 Monday Pittsburgh Civic Arena, Pittsburgh, PA
04/12/1978 Wednesday Cameron Indoor Stadium, Durham, NC
04/12/1982 Monday Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum, Uniondale, NY
04/12/1983 Tuesday Broome County Arena, Binghamton, NY
04/12/1986 Saturday Irvine Meadows Amphitheatre, Irvine, CA
04/12/1989 Wednesday Rosemont Horizon, Rosemont, IL

04/13/1969 Sunday Glenn Miller Ballroom, Boulder, CO
04/13/1971 Tuesday Catholic Youth Center, Scranton, PA
04/13/1983 Wednesday Patrick Gym, Burlington, VT
04/13/1984 Friday Hampton Coliseum, Hampton, VA
04/13/1985 Saturday Irvine Meadows Amphitheatre, Irvine, CA
04/13/1986 Sunday Irvine Meadows Amphitheatre, Irvine, CA
04/13/1988 Wednesday Rosemont Horizon, Rosemont, IL
04/13/1989 Thursday Rosemont Horizon, Rosemont, IL

04/14/1971 Wednesday Bucknell University, Lewisburg, PA
04/14/1972 Friday Tivoli Concert Hall, Copenhagen, DK
04/14/1978 Friday Cassell Coliseum, Blacksburg, VA
04/14/1982 Wednesday Glens Falls Civic Center, Glens Falls, NY
04/14/1984 Saturday Hampton Coliseum, Hampton, VA
04/14/1985 Sunday Irvine Meadows Amphitheatre, Irvine, CA
04/14/1988 Thursday Rosemont Horizon, Rosemont, IL

That Fire on the Mountain from Hampton Friday the 13th show was one of my favorites. I know a lot of people didn't like Healy doing his effects but when you were in the hockey rink and enhanced it was a very different experience than listening years later at home. At this point if I can remember specifics of a show it's a good thing. 

04/15/1969 Tuesday The Music Box, Omaha, NE
04/15/1970 Wednesday Winterland Arena, San Francisco, CA
04/15/1971 Thursday Allegheny College, Meadville, PA
04/15/1978 Saturday College Of William and Mary, Williamsburg, VA
04/15/1982 Thursday Providence Civic Center, Providence, RI    Al
04/15/1983 Friday Community War Memorial, Rochester, NY
04/15/1988 Friday Rosemont Horizon, Rosemont, IL
04/15/1989 Saturday The Mecca, Milwaukee, WI

Started in May of 79 and got my first Truckin on 4/15/82. Thought I had won the lottery. 

04/16/1972 Sunday Aarhus University, Aarhus, DK
04/16/1978 Sunday Huntington Civic Center, Huntington, WV
04/16/1983 Saturday Meadowlands Arena, East Rutherford, NJ
04/16/1984 Monday Community War Memorial, Rochester, NY
04/16/1989 Sunday The Mecca, Milwaukee, WI
04/16/2010 Friday Roarshock's little brother, Daniel Patrick Wilson died in Chimacum, WA, age 44. Never to be forgotten. Never to be replaced.
 

04/17/1969 Thursday Washington University, St. Louis, MO
04/17/1970 Friday Family Dog at the Great Highway, San Francisco, CA
04/17/1971 Saturday Dillon Gym, Princeton, NJ
04/17/1972 Monday Tivoli Concert Hall, Copenhagen, DK
04/17/1982 Saturday Hartford Civic Center, Hartford, CT
04/17/1983 Sunday Meadowlands Arena, East Rutherford, NJ
04/17/1984 Tuesday Niagara Falls Civic Center, Niagara Falls, NY
04/17/1987 Friday Irvine Meadows Amphitheatre, Irvine, CA
04/17/1989 Monday Metropolitan Sports Center, Bloomington, MN

04/18/1969 Friday Memorial Union Ballroom, West Lafayette, IN
04/18/1970 Saturday Family Dog at the Great Highway, San Francisco, CA
04/18/1971 Sunday Lusk Field House, Cortland, NY
04/18/1978 Tuesday Pittsburgh Civic Arena, Pittsburgh, PA
04/18/1982 Sunday Hartford Civic Center, Hartford, CT
04/18/1986 Friday Berkeley Community Theatre, Berkeley, CA
04/18/1987 Saturday Irvine Meadows Amphitheatre, Irvine, CA

04/19/1970 Sunday Family Dog at the Great Highway, San Francisco, CA
04/19/1978 Wednesday Veterans Memorial Hall, Berkeley, CA
04/19/1982 Monday Baltimore Civic Center, Baltimore, MD
04/19/1983 Tuesday Alfond Arena, Orono, ME
04/19/1984 Thursday Civic Convention Hall Auditorium, Philadelphia, PA
04/19/1986 Saturday Berkeley Community Theatre, Berkeley, CA
04/19/1987 Sunday Irvine Meadows Amphitheatre, Irvine, CA
 

The Oreno shoe was sumthin else, hockey rink, 10 dollar student tickets and plenty of room to Dance... My lightnin too...going to have to throw that one on again..good memories, great blow...long drive... totally worth it,  was at Irvine too cant remember much!

Yesterday I framed this poster from a show 57 years ago this past week at the University of Utah. April 12, 1969. Two shows at 8 and 10. $2 for students, $3 for "others." 

There SBD audio available on You Tube. No video I know of. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wujG0mtT5lg

04/20/1969 Sunday Atwood Hall, Worcester, MA
04/20/1983 Wednesday Providence Civic Center, Providence, RI
04/20/1984 Friday Civic Convention Hall Auditorium, Philadelphia, PA

> 04/20/1984 Friday Civic Convention Hall Auditorium, Philadelphia, PA

Great Easter weekend run in Philly. A buddy had just harvested his first crop of shrooms, and we were giving away freshies all weekend.

It was a great night for the Mighty Q

https://relisten.net/phil-lesh/2001/04/20?source=2783942

04/21/1969 Monday The Ark, Boston, MA
04/21/1971 Wednesday Rhode Island Auditorium, Providence, RI
04/21/1972 Friday Beat Club, Bremen, DE
04/21/1978 Friday Rupp Arena, Lexington, KY
04/21/1984 Saturday Civic Convention Hall Auditorium, Philadelphia, PA
04/21/1986 Monday Berkeley Community Theatre, Berkeley, CA

04/22/1969 Tuesday The Ark, Boston, MA
04/22/1971 Thursday Bangor Municipal Auditorium, Bangor, ME
04/22/1977 Friday The Spectrum, Philadelphia, PA
04/22/1978 Saturday Nashville Municipal Auditorium, Nashville, TN
04/22/1979 Sunday Spartan Stadium, San Jose, CA
04/22/1983 Friday Veterans Memorial Coliseum, New Haven, CT
04/22/1986 Tuesday  Berkeley Community Theatre, Berkeley, CA
04/22/1988 Friday Irvine Meadows Amphitheatre, Irvine, CA

O4/22/79. Sure glad I didn't miss that one. Drove down to San Jose with my brother, saw friends there. Two good opening bands, Greg Khin and Charlie Daniels. Bob Weir made it rain. The guy in the crowd at set break with the big sombrero singing "Me and My Uncle" a cappella {"Low DOWN dusty dirt!"}

Oh yeah, and it was Brent's first show.

The new guy nailed it.

04/22/86. "Visions of Johanna." One of my favorite Bob Dylan songs EVER. Say no more! Thank you Jerry.

Present  New Haven, Irvine  great times

I was at the New Haven show too, Tommy. Very jammy second set.

Barry Glassberg recording: https://archive.org/details/gd1983-04-22.fob.nak700.glassberg.21442.sbeo...

ODE TO THE DEAD

O, colors shifting, waves rippling
Wind blowing, rain falling
& music playing.
First, tune up strum cords
Growing volume of sounds
Drums & piano & Always
Guitars. 3 guitrs weaving
Together & jamming!
O, Music! O, Colors!
O, bright sun above!
Wine flowing, herbs burning
Faces contorting in streaming
Beaming ecstasy dreaming.
Living! O, living. Music singing!
Singing love songs, work
Songs, bad man's songs, my
Songs and your songs.
Giving songs to people
Who grow happy &
Peaceful in the web.
Loving, moving, smoothly
Dancing. O, dancing!
Like waves of grain
Or wind, or sea
Ripples of human beings
Vibrant allowable moving
Consciousness' expanding
Eyes sparkling, lips parting
Faces shining. O, Life!
O, Dead defy the dead
Proclaim the Living!
O, Dead the music singing!
Waves of music, waves of joy
Surround us. Abound within us.
Cool drops of water
Touch our skin. It looks like
Rain. It feels like Rain
It must be Rain. O, Rain!
Feel the Music, feel the Rain!
The Dead
Proclaim the Living!
The Laughing. The Loving.
O, we are the Living. Dead
Proclaim the Living!
In music singing words
Poetry playing. O, Joy!
O, beauty, wind, rain, waves
& waves & waves of people.
Sighing friends of common souls.
Enemies of common foes.
Anger freezes.
Living, breathing.
Feeling cool spring breezes.
O, Dead
Proclaim the living!

~ D. A. "Roarshock" Wilson

(After Spartan Stadium, San Jose, California, April 22, 1979)
 

That Spartan Stadium show is underrated IMO. Maybe not epic, but long, relaxed, winding, with some excellent jams, and if you like Phil bombs just listen to the first song.

It's also the first appearance of The Beast and what would lead to the true "drums/space" segment of a GD show that carried on through the remainder of their career.

Also perhaps the best sounding soundboard recording I've ever heard.

https://archive.org/details/gd1979-04-22.148569.sbd.composite.clugston.f...

>Also perhaps the best sounding soundboard recording I've ever heard.<

well now.....that's an inspiring comment...... I have to listen to that again before I even venture an opinion.....

Yeah, I'm not usually a fan of soundboards, usually too dry or something for me, but in my completely uneducated opinion this one really sounds good. I hope I posted the right one.

First time I heard it I was looking at posters in a Tower Records and it was playing on the store system, during Estimated/He's Gone. The outro to HG has this really cool whistle being played by Airto Moreira, who also sat in during drums. It sounded like there were birds in the store.

I talked to the guy working the counter, who no surprise was a dead head, and he immediately offered to make me a copy. It was one of the first tapes I ever had, I listened to that thing to death.

He was a very cool guy and we became friends and went to quite a few shows together until he moved to Minnesota. I've never known anyone who could handle large doses of LSD like that guy. He'd be on 3 - 5 hits or do "a puddle" (that's a large dose, right?) and except for his smile and eyes you couldn't tell he was high. He wasn't from Minnesota and I asked him why he was going there and he said, "I love blizzards during a trip". He was a pro's pro.

47 years ago, that's a lifetime.

On it goes.

04/23/1969 Wednesday The Ark, Boston, MA
04/23/1977 Saturday Springfield Civic Center Arena, Springfield, MA
04/23/1983 Saturday Veterans Memorial Coliseum, New Haven, CT
04/23/1984 Monday Veterans Memorial Coliseum, New Haven, CT
04/23/1988 Saturday Irvine Meadows Amphitheatre, Irvine, CA

4/23/84 comment from setlists.net.  Not mentioned on any other site.

  Phil got enormously pissed at Brent for doing Only A Fool. He was yelling at him right there on stage. I got the idea that Phil had nixed the idea of doing the song, and that Brent decided to overrule him and do it anyway without his okay. Phil was steaming mad the rest of the show, and wore headphones for the rest of the set. I suspect that this is the reason that this song was never played again.

04/24/1970 Friday Mammoth Gardens, Denver, CO
04/24/1971 Saturday Wallace Wade Stadium, Durham, NC
04/24/1972 Monday Rheinhalle, Duesseldorf, DE
04/24/1978 Monday Horton Field House, Normal, IL
04/24/1984 Tuesday Veterans Memorial Coliseum, New Haven, CT
04/24/1988 Sunday Irvine Meadows Amphitheatre, Irvine, CA

04/25/1969 Friday Electric Theater, Chicago, IL
04/25/1971 Sunday Fillmore East, New York, NY
04/25/1977 Monday Capitol Theatre, Passaic, NJ
04/25/1983 Monday The Spectrum, Philadelphia, PA

The April run in Passaic was as good as anything in May. 

Well no wonder Phil didn't like it.  Not only is it threatening, they lyrics are shallow and the music goes nowhere -- it resembles several of Brent's anguished songs which were much better.

Only a fool could tell his friends
Of a war that just won't end
Only a fool would go so far
As you you have gone, my man

How my friends spoke so good of you
Makes me burn inside
Think of all you did to him
I don't care how far or fast you ride

I'm gonna break you down
That's all I'm gonna do
You're gonna wish the ground
Was six feet over you

To think you're wise, only goes to show
How wrong someone can be
Hey, king of lies, you ain't no mask
For the hell I got in me

I'm gonna break you down
That's what I'm gonna do
You're gonna wish the ground
Was six feet over you

This was played once, on 23 April 1984. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tpYo74Lg8hc

04/26/1969 Saturday Electric Theater, Chicago, IL
04/26/1970 Sunday York Farm, Poynette, WI
04/26/1971 Monday Fillmore East, New York, NY
04/26/1972 Wednesday Jahrhundert Halle, Frankfurt, DE
04/26/1977 Tuesday Capitol Theatre, Passaic, NJ
04/26/1983 Tuesday The Spectrum, Philadelphia, PA
04/26/1984 Thursday Providence Civic Center, Providence, RI

04/27/1969 Sunday Labor Temple, Minneapolis, MN
04/27/1971 Tuesday Fillmore East, New York, NY
04/27/1977 Wednesday Capitol Theatre, Passaic, NJ
04/27/1984 Friday Providence Civic Center, Providence, RI
04/27/1985 Saturday Frost Amphitheatre, Palo Alto, CA
04/27/1991 Saturday Sam Boyd Silver Bowl, Las Vegas, NV    

Good times!

^^^^we play the Birdsong w/Santana from that show a couple times a year

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OGJB3BMnbl4

04/28/1971 Wednesday Fillmore East, New York, NY
04/28/1980 Monday Boutwell Auditorium, Birmingham, AL
04/28/1985 Sunday Frost Amphitheatre, Palo Alto, CA
04/28/1989 Friday Irvine Meadows Amphitheatre, Irvine, CA
04/28/1991 Sunday Sam Boyd Silver Bowl, Las Vegas, NV

04/28/1980 Monday Boutwell Auditorium, Birmingham, AL....Encore was....

Brent's GDTRFB debut, last played 1/12/79

04/29/1971 Thursday Fillmore East, New York, NY
04/29/1972 Saturday Musikhalle, Hamburg, DE
04/29/1977 Friday The Palladium, New York, NY
04/29/1980 Tuesday Fox Theatre, Atlanta, GA
04/29/1984 Sunday Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum, Uniondale, NY
04/29/1989 Saturday Irvine Meadows Amphitheatre, Irvine, CA

04/30/1977 Saturday The Palladium, New York, NY
04/30/1981 Thursday Greensboro Coliseum, Greensboro, NC
04/30/1984 Monday Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum, Uniondale, NY
04/30/1988 Saturday Frost Amphitheatre, Palo Alto, CA
04/30/1989 Sunday Irvine Meadows Amphitheatre, Irvine, CA

Walpurgisnacht Rock!

Walpurgis Night, a traditional holiday celebrated on April 30 in northern Europe and Scandinavia. In Sweden typical holiday activities include the singing of traditional spring folk songs and the lighting of bonfires. In Germany the holiday is celebrated by dressing in costumes, playing pranks on people, and creating loud noises meant to keep evil at bay. Many people also hang blessed sprigs of foliage from houses and barns to ward off evil spirits, or they leave pieces of bread spread with butter and honey, called ankenschnitt, as offerings for phantom hounds.

In Finland Walpurgis Night and May Day are effectively merged into a single celebration that is usually referred to as Vappu and that is among the country’s most important holidays. Initially, Walpurgis Night was celebrated by the Finnish upper class. Then, in the late 19th century, students (most notably engineering students) took up its celebration. Today merrymaking begins on the evening of April 30, often augmented with the drinking of alcoholic beverages, particularly sparkling wine. The carnival-like festivities carry over to the next day, frequently taking on a family dimension, as friends and relatives picnic in parks among balloons and consume sima, a homemade low-alcohol (and sometimes not so low-alcohol) mead.

https://www.britannica.com/topic/Walpurgis-Night

05/01/1970 Friday Alfred College, Alfred, NY
05/01/1977 Sunday The Palladium, New York, NY
05/01/1980 Thursday Greensboro Coliseum, Greensboro, NC
05/01/1981 Friday Hampton Coliseum, Hampton, VA
05/01/1988 Sunday Frost Amphitheatre, Palo Alto, CA

05/02/1969 Friday Winterland Arena, San Francisco, CA
05/02/1970 Saturday Harpur College, Binghamton, NY
05/02/1980 Friday Hampton Coliseum, Hampton, VA
05/02/1981 Saturday The Spectrum, Philadelphia, PA
05/02/1987 Saturday Frost Amphitheatre, Palo Alto, CA

05/03/1969 Saturday Winterland Arena, San Francisco, CA
05/03/1970 Sunday Field House, Middletown, CT
05/03/1972 Wednesday Olympia Theater, Paris, FR
05/03/1977 Tuesday The Palladium, New York, NY
05/03/1979 Thursday Charlotte Coliseum, Charlotte, NC
05/03/1986 Saturday Cal Expo Amphitheatre, Sacramento, CA
05/03/1987 Sunday Frost Amphitheatre, Palo Alto, CA
05/03/1991 Friday Cal Expo Amphitheatre, Sacramento, CA

05/04/1968 Saturday Central Park, New York, NY
05/04/1972 Thursday Olympia Theater, Paris, FR
05/04/1977 Wednesday The Palladium, New York, NY
05/04/1979 Friday Hampton Coliseum, Hampton, VA
05/04/1980 Sunday Baltimore Civic Center, Baltimore, MD
05/04/1981 Monday The Spectrum, Philadelphia, PA
05/04/1986 Sunday Cal Expo Amphitheatre, Sacramento, CA
05/04/1991 Saturday Cal Expo Amphitheatre, Sacramento, CA

05/05/1967 Friday Fillmore Auditorium, San Francisco, CA
05/05/1977 Thursday Veterans Memorial Coliseum, New Haven, CT
05/05/1978 Friday Thompson Arena, Hanover, NH
05/05/1979 Saturday Baltimore Civic Center, Baltimore, MD
05/05/1981 Tuesday Glens Falls Civic Center, Glens Falls, NY
05/05/1990 Saturday California State U. Dominguez Hills, Carson, CA
05/05/1991 Sunday Cal Expo Amphitheatre, Sacramento, CA

5/5/68 is the Bandshell in Central Park w/Airplane & Paul Butterfield featuring Elvin Bishop   

5/4/68: A couple of sources list Pritchard Gym, SUNY Stony Brook, Stony Brook, NY:    Opener Incredible String Band

"5/4/68: A couple of sources list..."

It does get a bit murky sometimes in the early years.

Maybe not officially a date in "Grateful Dead" history, but May 5th is still pretty important in the band's history.

What would those crazy young kids have thought if they could have seen what was to come?

05/06/1970 Wednesday Kresge Plaza, Cambridge, MA
05/06/1978 Saturday Patrick Gym, Burlington, VT
05/06/1980 Tuesday Recreation Hall, State College, PA
05/06/1981 Wednesday Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum, Uniondale, NY
05/06/1984 Sunday Silva Hall, Eugene, OR
05/06/1989 Saturday Frost Amphitheatre, Palo Alto, CA
05/06/1990 Sunday California State U. Dominguez Hills, Carson, CA

05/07/1969 Wednesday Polo Field, San Francisco, CA
05/07/1970 Thursday Dupont Gymnasium, Cambridge, MA
05/07/1972 Sunday Bickershaw Festival, Wigan, UK
05/07/1977 Saturday Boston Garden, Boston, MA
05/07/1978 Sunday Field House, Troy, NY
05/07/1979 Monday Kirby Fieldhouse, Easton, PA
05/07/1980 Wednesday Barton Hall, Ithaca, NY
05/07/1981 Thursday NBC Studios, New York, NY
05/07/1984 Monday Silva Hall, Eugene, OR
05/07/1989 Sunday Frost Amphitheatre, Palo Alto, CA

> 05/07/1981 Thursday NBC Studios, New York, NY

Acoustic set on Tom's Snyder's Tomorrow Show with Kesey along for the ride.

https://www.facebook.com/LiquidSilverStream/videos/1981-05-07-tomorrow-s...

05/08/1970 Friday Farrell Hall, Delhi, NY
05/08/1977 Sunday Barton Hall, Ithaca, NY
05/08/1979 Tuesday Recreation Hall, State College, PA
05/08/1980 Thursday Glens Falls Civic Center, Glens Falls, NY
05/08/1981 Friday Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum, Uniondale, NY
05/08/1984 Tuesday Silva Hall, Eugene, OR

05/08/1970 A month after Paul McCartney announced that he had left the Beatles, the British rock group released Let It Be, their 12th and final studio album.

05/09/1970 Saturday Worcester Polytechnic Institute, Worcester, MA
05/09/1977 Monday War Memorial Auditorium, Buffalo, NY
05/09/1978 Tuesday Onondaga County War Memorial, Syracuse, NY
05/09/1979 Wednesday Broome County Arena, Binghamton, NY
05/09/1981 Saturday Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum, Uniondale, NY
05/09/1987 Saturday Laguna Seca Recreation Area, Monterey, CA

seems the band loved upstate NY

thank goodness

05/09/1987 Saturday Laguna Seca Recreation Area, Monterey, CA <<<<

Iko in the encore slot.

10/18/88 @ Keifer Lakefront Arena also had Iko as an encore. Are there others?

^^^Last song of the first shed tour summer '83^^^  

05/09/1987 Saturday Laguna Seca Recreation Area, Monterey, CA <<<<

That night after the show they filmed what became the Touch of Grey video.

> Iko in the encore slot

It looks like Iko was played 185 times, and six times in the encore slot: 08/16/80, 06/28/83, 06/21/84, 05/09/87, 12/31/87, and 10/18/88.

https://www.setlists.net/?search=true&venue=&city=&state=&month=&day=&ye...

05/10/1969 Saturday Rose Palace, Pasadena, CA
05/10/1972 Wednesday Concertgebouw, Amsterdam, NL
05/10/1978 Wednesday Veterans Memorial Coliseum, New Haven, CT
05/10/1980 Saturday Hartford Civic Center, Hartford, CT
05/10/1986 Saturday Frost Amphitheatre, Palo Alto, CA
05/10/1987 Sunday Laguna Seca Recreation Area, Monterey, CA
05/10/1991 Friday Shoreline Amphitheatre, Mountain View, CA

Roarshock, thanks for posting about Laguna Seca. 

IWT too!

I have said before, somewhere, that my only regrets regarding the Grateful Dead are the shows that I missed. I particularly wish that I had seen them play in Europe.

05/10/1972 Wednesday Concertgebouw, Amsterdam, NL

Their first performance in Amsterdam. I didn't arrive there for the first time until September 2006 and instantly fell deeply in love with the city, and have returned many times in the twenty years since. On two of my early visits, I stayed at Amsterdam Hostel Annemarie, which are gloriously seedy digs across Jan Willem Brouwerstraat from the Concertgebouw. I had no idea, before today, that the Grateful Dead had played that venue. The times I stayed at Annemarie there were classical concerts being performed. The stage door is directly across the street, and from the hostel window I could see the musicians in their formal ware, coming and going, hanging out and smoking, but I didn't have any clue that I had just missed the Grateful Dead by about 34 years! I still had fun times, made friends with Ander the house cat, and was told by the management that I was welcome to stay there anytime, but subsequently have opted for somewhat nicer lodgings. Clean, convenient, safe and affordable on my modest budget is what I look for and have found.    I love Amsterdam! If you go there the locals are quite friendly, so long as you don't act like a dick tourist, I suppose. I am pining to return again. Sure must have been grand to see the Grateful Dead at the Concertgebouw in 1972. Okay, I was eleven years old at the time, so that would not have really been doable, but I am old enough to have been at the Melkweg on 10/16/81. Didn't get it together to go on that tour. Damn it! 

Laguna Seca Recreation Area, Monterey, CA

Those May 1987 shows featured Ry Cooder and Bruce Hornsby and the Range as opening acts. Since John Molo was a member of the Range, I am guessing that must have been an early meet up of John and Phil. Of all Phil's Friends in the post-GD universe, Molo is foundational and in the Ensemble more often than not until the end, and now after the end. I am curious as to how their musical relationship developed. Those two definitely brought the thunder.

05/11/1969 Sunday Aztec Bowl, San Diego, CA
05/11/1972 Thursday Rotterdam Civic Hall, Rotterdam, NL
05/11/1977 Wednesday St. Paul Civic Center Arena, St. Paul, MN
05/11/1978 Thursday Springfield Civic Center Arena, Springfield, MA
05/11/1979 Friday Billerica Forum, Billerica, MA
05/11/1980 Sunday Cumberland County Civic Center, Portland, ME
05/11/1981 Monday Veterans Memorial Coliseum, New Haven, CT
05/11/1986 Sunday Frost Amphitheatre, Palo Alto, CA
05/11/1991 Saturday Shoreline Amphitheatre, Mountain View, CA

47 years ago a last minute show was added to the tour for the University of Lowell at the "Forum" in Billerica Massachusetts. Only alumni could buy tickets. A high school English teacher in Hudson NH who was an alumni decided to buy a bunch of tickets for her students who were seniors but a few of those tickets ended up in the hands of some of the freshman students and that's how ended up at my first show. 

The "Forum" was really a high school hockey rink. The only dead songs I new were ones I heard on the radio so Trucking and Casey Jones. I had just turned 16 and was offered heroin in the lot. The staff at the Forum had no idea what they had gotten themselves into. People had lined up for the GA show but no one in the building knew what was going on outside. There was no staff at all outside and mob had slowly formed crushed up against the doors. When the doors finally opened my feet were  no longer on the ground and the first 500 people in didn't even have their tickets ripped because I guess they thought everyone would be politely lined up when they opened the doors and instead they got run over by the crush outside. 

Once in I smartly decided to go the side and grab a seat about 5 rows up from the floor but the whole rink had maybe 15 rows total. The lights finally went down and they opened with Half Step and I could not believe how the whole crowd was dancing and they never stopped. Everything about the vibe was completely different from Aerosmith and ELP concerts I had been to before this one -  and I was instantly hooked. These were my people. 

The show was best know for the fact that they had put plywood on top of the ice but it got so hot in there that the ice was melting faster than they anticipated and apparently the band was worried the speaker stacks were going to fall over. I learned that many years later but that explained why there was no encore. After the show there were people selling bumper stickers and trinkets and I talked to some of them and found out they were paying their way to the next show and I remember thingking to myself that was posible. Of the 15 or so classmates that went to the show only myself and my tour buddy friend took it to the next level and by 82 we were hitchhiking across the midwest from Red Rocks to St. Louis selling trinkets to get to the next show and I flew to Oakland in 82 for the NYE run which introduced me to the bay area. Took me until 91 to move out to where I live today 46 years later the day that changed my life as much as any other did. 

Mississippi Half-Step
Franklin's Tower
Mama Tried
Mexicali Blues
Peggy-O
It's All Over Now
Brown Eyed Women
Lazy Lightnin'
Supplication

Shakedown Street
Passenger
Ship of Fools
Estimated Prophet
Eyes of the World
drums
Black Peter
I Need a Miracle
Bertha
Good Lovin'

Great story, El Nino!

05/12/1974 Sunday University of Nevada, Reno, NV
05/12/1977 Thursday Auditorium Theater, Chicago, IL
05/12/1979 Saturday Alumni Stadium, Amherst, MA 
05/12/1980 Monday Boston Garden, Boston, MA 
05/12/1981 Tuesday Veterans Memorial Coliseum, New Haven, CT 
05/12/1991 Sunday Shoreline Amphitheatre, Mountain View, CA

'79 was a great year for the band, and kxela's story is what makes this place cool. It reminded me of similar memories of early shows I attended. Plus, before today I'd never heard of the University of Lowell or Billerica Massachusetts. Win/win.

And that Shoreline weekend in '91 was important to my life and memorable in many ways, and was the best run the band ever played at the dump. Win/win.

I like this thread, it evokes so many memories & stories. We may be hopeless fan nerds, but at least we picked a worthy subject to be nerdy about.

Carry on.

05/13/1972 Saturday Lille Fairgrounds, Lille, FR
05/13/1973 Sunday State Fairgrounds, Des Moines, IA
05/13/1977 Friday Auditorium Theater, Chicago, IL
05/13/1978 Saturday The Spectrum, Philadelphia, PA
05/13/1979 Sunday Cumberland County Civic Center, Portland, ME
05/13/1981 Wednesday Providence Civic Center, Providence, RI
05/13/1983 Friday Greek Theatre, Berkeley, CA

Sure enjoyed that 5/13/1981 Providence Civic Center show. Got a real kick out of Weir when he went all animated trying to jack up the tempo going into Aiko Aiko, seems like a longtime ago. Totally toasted at that point of the tour. I was invited to the hospitality suite but I declined and chose to sleep in the car. Then later I heard a tapping on the car window and it was Jerry and Phil staring in the window at me making faces. My friend who chose to party-on told the boys that he had St Stephen captured in a car out in the lot.  I told them to go away. High Times :)

05/14/1970 Thursday Meramec Community College, Kirkwood, MO
05/14/1974 Tuesday Adams Field House, Missoula,, MT
05/14/1978 Sunday Providence Civic Center, Providence, RI
05/14/1980 Wednesday Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum, Uniondale, NY
05/14/1983 Saturday Greek Theatre, Berkeley, CA
05/14/1993 Friday Sam Boyd Silver Bowl, Las Vegas, NV    

05/15/1970 Friday Fillmore East, New York, NY
05/15/1970 Friday Fillmore East, New York, NY
05/15/1977 Sunday St. Louis Arena, St. Louis, MO
05/15/1980 Thursday Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum, Uniondale, NY
05/15/1981 Friday Rutgers Athletic Center, Piscataway, NJ
05/15/1983 Sunday Greek Theatre, Berkeley, CA
05/15/1993 Saturday Sam Boyd Silver Bowl, Las Vegas, NV

05/16/1969 Friday Campolindo High School, Moraga, CA
05/16/1970 Saturday Temple University, Philadelphia, PA
05/16/1972 Tuesday Radio Luxembourg, Radio Luxembourg, LU
05/16/1978 Tuesday Uptown Theatre, Chicago, IL
05/16/1980 Friday Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum, Uniondale, NY
05/16/1981 Saturday Barton Hall, Ithaca, NY
05/16/1993 Sunday Sam Boyd Silver Bowl, Las Vegas, NV

5/16/70 also with Jimi Hendrix, Steve Miller Band, Manhattan Transfer

5/16/72 Luxembourg gets a GD show, none in Delaware.

05/17/1974 Friday P.N.E. Coliseum, Vancouver, BC, CA
05/17/1977 Tuesday Memorial Coliseum, Tuscaloosa, AL
05/17/1978 Wednesday Uptown Theatre, Chicago, IL
05/17/1981 Sunday Onondaga County War Memorial, Syracuse, NY

>>>05/16/1970 Saturday Temple University, Philadelphia, PA

"The Lineup: The Jimi Hendrix Experience (Headliner), The Grateful Dead, The Steve Miller Band, Cactus, Jam Factory 

Around 10,000 fans gathered for the daytime event, which is famously the first and only concert ever held at the Temple University Stadium.

Local Backlash: The sheer volume of the music and the rowdy festival atmosphere caused an uproar in the surrounding neighborhoods. Police officials, including future mayor Frank Rizzo, dubbed it a "hippie catastrophe" and ensured it was the last concert the venue would ever host."

5/17/81 was my 10th show of that tour. All I can remember was checking in at a fancy hotel with a lobby full of very well-suited biz types who were checking us out with great curiosity. My tour pal and I had huge backpacks and were quite frazzled and haggard by that point. Then, when we pulled out a huge wad of cash to pay for the room, they all exchanged glances, without saying a word. Some nights we stayed at The Hotel VW. We lowballed transportation costs but ate duck pâté, caviar, and LSD regularly. I remember absolutely nothing about that particular show. Might we have done one too many? Highlights were 5/1, 5/5, 5/11 and 5/16 for me. 

holy spring  east coast tour

in 1981 from Feb 25-May 21st the dead toured up and down the east coast with a small stint in Europe

5/17/25 was also the last Dead & Co show at the Sphere, which Bobby closed out like this.

Eyes of the World

Looks Like Rain

Tangled Up in Blue

Knockin' on Heaven's Door

Ripple

05/18/1972 Thursday Kongressaal, Muenchen, DE
05/18/1977 Wednesday Fox Theatre, Atlanta, GA

<<  Kongressaal, Muenchen >>

I learn of another venue where the Grateful Dead played to which I have been adjacent without knowing it. Three times I have been to Oktoberfest on the Theresienwiese, and I once had lunch next door to Alte Kongresshalle at Wirtshaus am Bavariapark ~ good Bavarian food and Augustiner, the best beer in Munich.

I always thought they played at the newly built Olympic Arena but they probably didn't want a bunch of hippies in there before the Olympics. There is the story from one of the books of how the Germans were very concerned about the sound system and all the electrical equipment being set up by hippies and they wanted to stop the show and then it was agreed upon that the show could go on but there would have to be a line of firefighters stationed behind the sound board with buckets of sand in case of fire. So of course the crew dosed the beer that the firefighters were drinking. 

>>>05/13/1972 Saturday Lille Fairgrounds, Lille, FR

"After the cancelled concert of Friday, May 5, 1972 at the Rotonde of Faches-Thumesnil,
Grateful Dead will play for free on Saturday 13 on the Esplanade de Lille (Fairgrounds Lille)."

http://philippe.andrieu.free.fr/concerts/19720513/005-19720513-grateful-...

Merci voodoo trés intéressant  (~);)

05/19/1966 Thursday Avalon Ballroom, San Francisco, CA
05/19/1974 Sunday Portland Memorial Coliseum, Portland, OR
05/19/1977 Thursday Fox Theatre, Atlanta, GA
05/19/1992 Tuesday Cal Expo Amphitheatre, Sacramento, CA
05/19/1995 Friday Sam Boyd Silver Bowl, Las Vegas, NV

05/20/1973 Sunday Campus Stadium, Santa Barbara, CA
05/20/1992 Wednesday Cal Expo Amphitheatre, Sacramento, CA
05/20/1995 Saturday Sam Boyd Silver Bowl, Las Vegas, NV

05/21/1982 Friday Greek Theatre, Berkeley, CA
05/21/1992 Thursday Cal Expo Amphitheatre, Sacramento, CA
05/21/1993 Friday Shoreline Amphitheatre, Mountain View, CA
05/21/1995 Sunday Sam Boyd Silver Bowl, Las Vegas, NV

I went to every Grateful Dead Berkeley Greek show from 1981 through 1984 and they were all great. Even by that standard, the May 1982 run was an extraordinary gobsmack from start to finish, Friday, Saturday and Sunday. If I could, I would take that ride again (Actually have many times via tape over the many decades and years since).

05/22/1977 Sunday Sportatorium, Pembroke Pines, FL
05/22/1981 Friday Warfield Theater, San Francisco, CA
05/22/1982 Saturday Greek Theatre, Berkeley, CA
05/22/1993 Saturday Shoreline Amphitheatre, Mountain View, CA

05/23/1968 Thursday National Guard Armory, St. Louis, MO
05/23/1969 Friday Seminole Indian Village, West Hollywood, FL
05/23/1972 Tuesday The Strand Lyceum, London, UK
05/23/1982 Sunday Greek Theatre, Berkeley, CA
05/23/1992 Saturday Shoreline Amphitheatre, Mountain View, CA
05/23/1993 Sunday Shoreline Amphitheatre, Mountain View, CA

After the epic weekend at the Greek in September of 1981 (to this day a high-point in my concert going career) I went into those '82 Greek shows with unfair expectations, and especially the truncated Friday night show (Jerry had to meet his dealer?) left me underwhelmed.

The next two shows were better, but that weekend was another lesson learned about the GD... don't ever "expect" anything. As the kids say (they still do, don't they?) my bad.

And while those '92 & '93 Shoreline shows weren't much to remember musically, they were lifetime experiences for me.

I could write a freaking book.

Thinking about those '82 Greek shows just got me to look back at my old photos, I did get some favorites from that weekend.

I didn't know what I was doing with the camera, but I was having fun and all these decades later I'm sure glad I made the effort.

I was 21 when I took these. My oh my.

Indulge me please...

Great photos! Thanks Lance Newberry. Yes, September 81 Greek shows were epic, but May '82 was an even higher peak for me, and especially the Sunday show. I often went in with sky high expectations in those days, and was seldom disappointed. It is interesting getting different takes on shows and weekends, and shows to go how much of the Grateful Dead experience was and is subjective. One thing I think we can always agree on, you and I are lucky boys to have been there.

https://archive.org/details/gd82-05-23.sbd.gorinsky.5058.sbeok.shnf

Don't tell me this town ain't got no heart.

5/23/72: Might be the best of the tour ending Lyceum shows.

Dark Star, Dew, Comes A Time, final Sitting On Top Of World, final Two Souls, 1st of 3 Not Fade/Bo Diddley sandwiches, debut of Rockin' Pneumonia. 19 song 1st set w/5 Pen tunes.

GD Channel    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H2uM80g2YEs&list=OLAK5uy_kDsVTd95Qu0Hn12...

1st of 112 times Promised Land as an opener per jerrybase.com  

Nice shots, Lance. I really like the fourth one down of Bob.