After thirty-eight
spirited performances in Bill Graham’s Filmore East on Manhattan’s lower east
side, the Grateful Dead and their zealous fans bid farewell to this hallowed
venue in April 1971. The Dead were a Bay Area phenomenon, and before they
become a beloved American band with the releases of Workingman’s Dead and American
Beauty in 1970, they developed an East Coast fanbase hungry for Haight
Ashbury hippie culture. As the war in Vietnam continued to tear the nation
apart, the Grateful Dead experience provided a distinct hedonistic escape,
especially for peaceful souls in liberal strongholds like New York, Boston, and
Philadelphia. There was a swirling liveliness in the band’s music that struck a
nerve with East Coat fans. And the band tapped into the combustible energy and
enthusiasm of their Eastern devotees to elevate their music to higher ground.
The Fillmore East was an essential breeding ground for the Dead’s massive
popularity. The last concert in the Fillmore East was on June 27, but the
Dead’s last stand in Uncle Bill’s Church was a five-night run that ended on 4-29-71.
In stark contrast to the band that played
mind-melting jams and primal blues during their six-song Fillmore East debut in
June of 1968, the Dead played thirty-one songs on 4-29-71. The opening set
features a pair of stellar Pigpen performances, “It Hurts Me Too” and “Hard to
Handle.” April ’71 was a sensational month for the Dead’s version of Otis
Redding’s tune. It went from being an enjoyable cover that didn’t distinguish
itself from the other Pigpen songs, to emerging as a showstopper—the most
explosive rock jam on many nights, as it was on 4-21-71 in the Providence Civic
Center. The “Handle” solos became longer and more intense as they band constructed
a groove with movements where Garcia could build a dramatic crescendo. This
“Handle” from the last night at the Fillmore flows with consistent energy. It
was one of the hottest solos of the night, but it didn’t explode like the one
from Providence.
In the opening set of Fillmore
farewell, the band rolled out some of their finest new compositions, “Truckin’,”
“Cumberland Blues,” “Casey Jones,” and “Ripple.” It was the last time “Ripple”
was played until the Dead opened their acoustic/ electric run of the Warfield
Theatre in 1980. This eclectic evening of song also featured the final
performances of “Alligator” and “Second That Emotion.” Jerry Garcia Band would
later revive Smokey Robinson’s “Second That Emotion,” and perform a more
soulful and substantial version than the Grateful Dead.
Set two commences with a crisp
“Morning Dew” and is followed by the last performance of “New Minglewood Blues”
until 1976. “Minglewood” became a regular in the rotation again, but it never regained
the reckless nature of the song’s early days—Weir’s fiery vocals, and the
urgent rush of the music. This 4-29-71 “Minglewood” is a firecracker that
reminds me how exciting this song could be.
Out of Alligator > Drums the jam
teases “The Other One,” “Not Fade Away,” “Goin’ Down the Road Feelin’ Bad,” and
“St. Stephen,” before splicing into a GDTRFB > Cold Rain & Snow combo.
The evocative mix of songs continues with Cat > Rider and Greatest Story
Ever Told > Johnny B. Goode. The triple encore of “Uncle John’s Band,”
“Midnight Hour,” and “We Bid You Goodnight,” finished the Dead’s final Fillmore
East jamboree and signified the end of a musical era for the band. With the impending
addition of Keith Godchaux, the sonic terrain of a Grateful Dead concert was
completely overhauled and raised to another level by the time they played the
Musikhalle in Hamburg, West Germany, a year later on this date.
The first set of 4-29-72 Hamburg is
typical for Europe ’72. On this tour, typical equals excellent. Tight versions
of “Mr. Charlie,” “Big Railroad Blues,” China Cat > Rider, and a Pigpen
powered “Good Lovin’” set the stage for “Cassy Jones” to end the set. The
following set is light on tunes but there’s an abundance of high-octane
improvisation. In ’71 “Greatest Story Ever Told” was a nice addition to the
lineup, but the revamped version that launches set two of 4-29-72 is
outrageous. Phil’s jackhammer bass lines combined with the screeching genius of
Garcia’s solo turn “Greatest Story” into a rock and roll dream. The fourth live
rendition of “He’s Gone” follows and clocks in at a quick seven-and-a-half
minutes. It’s a refreshing change of pace to hear these snappy versions.
“Dark Star,” Musikhalle’s
masterpiece, exquisitely lifts off to explore the cosmos, and eventually eases
into an early “Feelin’ Groovy” jam, a rarity prior to the opening verse. Time
is suspended as the band melodically noodles its way back through the cosmos until
Jerry sings. It seems masterfully orchestrated as if the band’s playing from sheet
music. This sophistically executed improv was indigenous to the Grateful Dead.
They didn’t adhere to musical rules as much as they were obeying the natural
laws of physics in the universe.
A frisky tone arises as the Dead soar
into the next segment of “Dark Star.” The mood’s heavy as Jerry, Phil, and Bill
play with intense patience on the same frequency. Kreutzmann’s stunning
drumming at the same time supports the band and leads the voyage in new
directions. This dark jam carries on until it unexpectedly leaps into “Sugar
Magnolia” at the twenty-nine-minute mark. The segue into “Sugar Magnolia” isn’t
as lengthy or euphoric as the one they played in London three weeks earlier. The
Dark Star > Sugar Magnolia > Caution trifecta was played in that order
three times on the Europe ’72 tour, and the tour also features two other
combinations that include those songs in slightly altered variations. Pigpen,
who was ailing throughout this tour, sings boldly on the 4-29-72 “Caution (Do
Not Stop On the Tracks),” and as always, the jamming on this number is
incendiary. This cocktail of connected Dead is as sublime as anything the
Grateful Dead created. The premier Dark Star > Sugar Magnolia > Caution
is 4-8-72 London, which will be dissected in the chapter on that date.
Jumping from Europe ’72 to the most
revered East Coast tour of them all, the Grateful Dead began their five-night
residency at The Palladium in New York City on 4-29-77. The show opens with
their latest triple shot pride and joy, Help on the Way > Slipknot! >
Franklin’s Tower.” It’s a strong rendition with a gripping transition into
Franklin’s Tower that enthralls the New York City faithful. And here lies the
problem of truly enjoying this show. The best existing recording of 4-29-77 is
a noisy audience tape, making this an ugly duckling amongst the beautiful Betty
Boards of ’77. Betty Cantor’s splendid soundboard recordings from this year set
the standard for dynamic sound and listening pleasure. The rough sound of 4-29-77
will keep this performance from receiving its fair share of praise, but that doesn’t
diminish what they did. The opening set ends with a resounding version of “The
Music Never Stopped.”
There’s good news from set two of
4-29-77 because soundboard recordings of three tunes were released on Volume 10
of the Download Series which features the entire concert from the following
night at The Palladium. One of the salvaged songs of 4-29-77 is a stunning
version of “Sugaree,” during which, each succeeding solo eclipses the previous
one in length and intensity. It’s one the best “Sugarees” in a year when that
tune blossomed into a masterpiece. The other soundboard treat is a rare Scarlet
Begonias > Goin’ Down the Road Feelin’ Bad. It’s an interesting choice
because the band had just discovered the joys of Scarlet > Fire. However, there’s a rebelliousness to the
Begonias jam that steered it away from a segue into “Fire.”
On 4-29-80 the band executed a
professional show in Atlanta’s Fox Theatre. Everything about this show ranges
from mediocre to good. The playing’s crisp
and there are few vocal flubs, yet there’s no reason to get excited about the
performances. This makes for a compelling contrast for the next April 29 show.
On the thirteenth anniversary of their
farewell to the Fillmore East, the Dead were back in the New York area playing
at a much larger venue, the Nassau Coliseum in Uniondale, Long Island. 4-29-84
Nassau was the next to last show of their East Coast spring tour, a tour I witnessed
in its entirety. Garcia’s physical appearance was troublesome. His ashen skin, rotund
stomach, swollen legs, and unkempt frizzy beard and mane should have been
extremely alarming, but by 1984, Deadheads were used to seeing Garcia put on
ten pounds and age three years each tour. His guitar virtuosity contradicted
his appearance, making him seem like the grandfatherly Buddha of rock and roll.
There’s impressive soloing from
Garcia on the first two numbers, “Feel Like a Stranger” and “Friend of the
Devil.” Jerry’s voice was diminished all tour, and this night his singing is
stronger than it had been at the previous shows in Providence. “Birdsong” makes
a surprise appearance in the fourth spot, and Garcia’s guitar work is
mechanically prodigious. It’s undeniable that Jerry’s appetite for smoking Persian
was poisonous to his wellbeing, and consequently, his woes trickled down to the
health of the band, but on occasions like this “Birdsong,” Garcia would meander
endlessly and create unbelievable music. And then a song or two later he might
just plod ahead in a robotic stupor. After a lackadaisical middle segment, the opening
set concludes with a hot but disorganized “Let it Grow.” The second set was a
nice workout for the band and audience as the Dead served typical second set
treats, although they didn’t build or sustain much momentum along the way.
There are several shows from the
fall tour that are better than 4-29-84 Nassau, yet there are worthy jams
sprinkled about. Communication and comradery between band mates may have been
at an all-time low, but their collective virtuosity was intact, and unmatched
in the world of music. At its best, the jamming from Nassau is more advanced
than the last night at the Fillmore East, but you can’t compare the overall quality
of the performances. The Dead were masters bogged down in a muddy quagmire in
1984. On their final night in the Fillmore East, the Grateful Dead kissed
goodbye to a shrine that was an essential part of their rise to fame. Groundbreaking
innovation beckoned.
No comments:
Post a Comment