Garcia said “We were great for seconds on end.” I was lucky to see Jerry play for about 1,000,000 seconds exactly. Thanks for your 1,000,000 views here . Dave Davis wrote this blog for 500 posts and 5 years from 2015 to 2019. Contact me at twitter @gratefulseconds
I have never seen this reported but this show may have replaced a cancelled show from June 15, 1973 (which is a weird date, 5 days after the June 10 show in DC and 7 days before the Vancouver show on 6-22).
I don't know about you Jim from Cincinnati but it sure looks like it was worth the wait to me. Most of this show fits on Disc 10, the Bonus Disc, in the Winterland 1973 Box Set. A 23 Minute 12/73 Eyes!
According to Jim, "The band played like robots this night", but they must have been soul crushing December 1973 robots since you get an amazing compact version of a show during the bands peak.
Johnny B. Goode ; Sugaree ; Me And My Uncle ; China Cat Sunflower > I Know You Rider ; El Paso ; Deal ; Big River ; Tennessee Jed ; Truckin' > Stella Blue ; Around And Around
Eyes Of The World > Sugar Magnolia > Goin' Down The Road Feeling Bad > Casey Jones
EncoreOne More Saturday Night
Bonus Disc
December 4, 1973, Cincinnati Gardens, Cincinnati, Ohio:
"China Cat Sunflower" (Garcia, Hunter) – 7:58 >
"I Know You Rider" (traditional, arranged by Grateful Dead) – 5:57
So 39 years ago today, on the day before I work embark on first of 8 shows in 1977 , there was this little gem at the Spectrum.
You might like:
14 Minutes of Half Step; First East Coast Estimated or the last stand-alone first set 20 minute Playing In the Band. First East Coast Scarlet>Fire. They are all here for your pleasure.
But I suggest you will stay for the nice little ditty playing in the background (foreground?) now.
It's called Dancin>Got My Mojo Working>Dancin>The Wheel>Terrapin Station. No need for an encore after that. Enjoy.
Rip Prince, only saw you once at the Cow Palace on March 1, 1985 during the Purple Rain tour. While the Dead never covered you, Warren always had a soft spot for you
Yes, after last year's piece on China>Rider, it's time to tackle Scarlet>Fire. These guys were more like 300+ timers rather than the mammoth 500+ versions of C>R but they still rocked the world of you and I.
Background
Scarlet Begonias on June 9, 1976 was the third song I ever heard the Grateful Dead play (Cold Rain & Snow, Cassidy, Scarlet Begonias, The Music Never Stopped, Crazy Fingers ha!). Fire on the Mountain was just a pump-song to a greatest story and would be taken for a little spin in Chicago later that month (Eyes of the World>Happiness is Drumming>Wharf Rat). The first 49 Scarlet Begonias sparked, but did not burst into Flame. Maybe because 43 of these were first set Scarlet.
The next time I heard Scarlet on April 23, 1977, it would be different.
Jimmy Roux, Cubby, Mike Barr, Tom Fake behind the wheel, and I rode out from Andover after they drove down from Maine and took the Mass Pike out to classic Springfield Civic Center for the first time.
And after a little side detour in the collection unconscious of the time, and meeting the great unknown PA taper Dave Weidner for the first time, we arrived at Scarlet Begonias late in the first set, right after a nice Bobby Beatles Blackbird tease. And then it happened. The third ever Fire. And it was set one magic.We had no clue (and we were picturing ourselves on a boat on river). Back then we did not know about the first two in California and Philly the night before, heaven's no, that was a million miles away in California and Philadelphia. No one told us about the breakout three states away the next before.
The Springfield was the second of only seven first-set Scarlet>Fire pairings (and the only one I ever saw, the others were 3-18-77 Winterland , 5-13-77 Chicago, 5-17-77 Tuscaloosa, AL , 5-21-77 Lakeland, FL, 4-16-78 Huntington, WV and 12-31-78 and a bookend with the Closing of Winterland.
Prehistoric Scarlet Jams, March 23, 1974 Cow Palace to December 31, 1976 Cow Palace
As an infant, Scarlet Begonias periodically played long and weaves into unfamiliar territory. After debuting over 6:06 at the Cow Place on March 23, 1974 (Dick's Picks 24), on the very next version May 14, 1974 in Missoula (Dave's Picks 9) it made its way into It Must Have Been the Roses, which became a popular pairing in its maiden year. On June 28 at the Boston Garden Sugar Magnolia opened the second set into Scarlet Begonias before eventually ending the set with Sunshine Daydream (Dick's Picks 12). And then there's August 6, 1974 where Playing In the Band>Scarlet>Playing In the Band ended set one in Jersey City (Dick's Picks 31). A stand alone 9:30 Scarlet opening set one of Dick's Picks 7 is another. The last one of the year from Winterland October 19 runs more than 12 minutes and starts off disc two of The Grateful Dead Movie Soundtrack.
If you notice a pattern here in 1974 (cool Scarlet = official Dead release), then you notice the same thing I see.
In 1976 at my first show June 9 in Boston, the 8:48 version, which is the third song of the show (and the third song of my Grateful Dead career) appears on Road Trips 4:5.
The other 1976 versions that transition in other songs are:
June 11 Boston Scarlet Begonias>Looks Like Rain, set one
December 31 Cow Palace Sugar Magnolia > Eyes Of The World> Wharf Rat> Drums > Good Lovin' > Samson And Delilah> Scarlet Begonias> Around And Around>Help On The Way [4:20] > Slipknot! > Not Fade Away > Morning Dew (Live at the Cow Palace official release)
The Golden Years, March 18, 1977 to April 26, 1984 (
Except for the 3-20-77 Winterland where the Scarlet simply ended set one for the last time and the two April Fools (the April 29, 1977 Scarlet>GDTRFB (a must listen from Download Series #1, bonus selection) from the Palladium in NYC and a wild Scarlet Begonias>Dancin In The Street on April 18, 1978 in Pittsburgh, Scarlet would dance into Fire every single time it was played until May 8, 1984, when the experimental era began.
Fire on The Mountain also only appeared a three times without its BFF in the Golden Era but each time was with a special and well-known show.
The Experimental Era, May 8, 1984 to August 16, 1991
This lucky seven year period was one of more experimentation of song selection and other usual occurrences in the desert, especially at the beginning in the 1984-1985 period.
The Endgame, September 4, 1991 to July 2, 1995
The last 38 Scarlet Begonias> Fire On the Mountain, were simply that, a return to the genesis of the pairing, all second set specialties.
During the endgame era, there were three more Scarlet-less Fires with the Boston One being the most special
My 22 Scarlet Begonias and 21 Fires (and 20 Scarlet>Fires)
01 June 9, 1976 Boston Scarlet Begonias song 3 set 1
02 April 23, 1977 Springfield Scarlet>Fire closes set one
03 April 30, 1977 Palladium Scarlet>Fire>Good Lovin opens set two
04 November 6, 1977 Binghamton Scarlet>Fire>Good Lovin after Samson Sunrise set two
05 May 11, 1978 Springfield "Mescaline Show" Scarlet>Fire opens set two
06 September 2, 1978 Giants Stadium "Dick Favorite" Scarlet>Fire opens set two
07 January 17, 1979 New Haven Scarlet>Fire opens set two. Dead encore Casey Jones and I turn 20
08 May 5, 1979 Baltimore Scarlet>Fire opens set two
09 May 8, 1979 Penn State Scarlet>Fire opens set two
10 May 13, 1979 Portland Scarlet>Fire opens set two
11 June 28, 1979 Sacramento Scarlet>Fire opens set two My first California show
12 August 5, 1979 Oakland Scarlet>Fire opens set two My second Bay Area show
13 May 11, 1980 Portland Scarlet>Fire opens set two
14 December 26, 1980 Oakland Scarlet>Fire opens set two
15 December 31, 1980 Oakland Sugar Magnolia>Scarlet>Fire opens set three right after midnight
16 September 12, 1981 Berkeley Greek Scarlet>Fire opens set two
17 December 26, 1981 Oakland Scarlet>Fire opens set two
18 February 17, 1982 Warfield Scarlet>Fire>Estimated>Eyes opens set two. First SF S>F
19 May 23, 1982 Berkeley Berkeley Greek Scarlet>Fire opens set two
20 December 31, 1984 SF Sugar Magnolia>Scarlet>Fire opens set two
21 June 16, 1985 Berkeley Greek Scarlet>Fire>Samson opens set two. My 20th and Final S>F
22 June 22, 1986 Berkeley Greek Fire>samosn open set two. Now its 21 Fires and 21 Scarlets :)
23 July 24, 1987 Oakland Dylan show Hell in a Bucket>Scarlet opens set 2, final score 22 Scarlets and 21 Fires with 20 Scarlet>Fires in there
So once upon a time, Juliet had never seen the Grateful Dead. Then the band debuted at Giant's Stadium and the rest is history. (Juliet's Blog)
If they would have played Space>If I had the World to Give>Sugar Magnolia it would have been perfect, but either curfew or\ something made this show extra short after drums.
Immediately after the show, the Dead announced on the stadium electronic billboard the three shows in Giza. Too bad, we had school and no money to go.
After seeing eight monster shows in 1977 at age 18, I have to admit 1978 was a bit of a let-down at the time. The shows were more predictable and formulaic. Perhaps Jerry was starting to take more medicine too. However, as an old dude now, I have come to really respect 1978 shows for their sheer power (see Dew 4-21-78. Repeat). So I am really looking fforward for the July 1978 box-set with the three new Betty Board SBDs I also loved the January West Coast shows (Stockton! Eugene!), the short February and April Midwest shows, the Mescaline Show in May and this show in East Rutherford, New Jersey.
If I had to pick grateful seconds here, I would have to pick the nearly 6,000 seconds of:
Scarlet>Fire and Estimated>Eyes. I checked DeadBase 11 and found there were only six shows in the 1970's where the Grateful Dead performed Scarlet>Fire and immediately followed it with Estimated>Eyes. And here lies the main error in my thinking. It wasn't that the Dead were playing this four song sequence every night, it is just that I saw three of the first five times the band did it. So it was my own predicable sequence. It's so funny.
Set two Scarlet Begonias>Fire On the Mountain followed immediately by Estimated Prophet>Eyes of the World
April 8, 1978 Jacksonville
September 2, 1978 Giant's Stadium My first
October 17, 1978 Winterland
January 17, 1979 New Haven My Second
August 5, 1979 Oakland Auditorium My Third. How can I always be at these shows??
September 5, 1979 Madison Square Garden
I might have thought the Dead were "less repeative" in 1980 and 1981 because I missed all eight. :)
I think you will all love Dick's comments on the show below calling Scarlet Fire "one of the best versions I have heard." And we know Dick heard them all.
I asked some of my friends to remember the show.
Ed (yes that Ed) from Andover
I was there with Sasha, Jenny, Tim and Tom F from PA and Tom C and Tom K who were two lunatics from my hometown. The night before the show, my homies and I took a bus out to the Meadowlands and spent the entire night tripping, tramping through a swamp and annoying fellow heads by ranting about alligators. At one point we pissed off some bikers and had to make ourselves scarce. The next day the PA crew came out and miraculously met us. We were exhausted with no choice but to trip again. During the show we sat in front of some guys who kept doing this kind of warble/chant that went "oyoyoyoyoyoyoyoyoyoyoyoyoooooooooow!!!" We thought that they were hilarious and the funny thing is that I have heard them in the background on a couple of audience tapes from other shows. I recall that Waylon and Willie were there and maybe Marshall Tucker. I also recall getting on the floor and seeing/watching a Scarlet/Fire/Eyes or something like that. Check the tape. i was never a set lister. I had an amazing time at that show. Very psychedelic and fun and the band was great. At the end of the show I salvaged a Kodak instamatic from a garbage heap on the floor and got the film developed. The show shots were not very good and I have no idea where they are now but the funny thing was the first several shots were of guys mooning the camera in some working class suburb probably in northern New Jersey. Nice.
Juliet
Dave- yea- my first show - I'm off to work but of course I do have some nice memories - tho no pix
That's the show if you need it
Juliet
I was such a newbie!!
No pictures required
You were like 14
Juliet
Well, 17, soon to be 18
Ed
I see that NRPS was there. I knew there was a third act.
Both new riders and dead played new mingle wood blues
Arnie
I think I was in my first week of college back then, going to rush week, playing beer pong at TD, and wondering who this wacky roommate was who kept disappearing to drive to Dead concerts all over the northeast. Missed a few good shows by not jumping in, but made some good friends too. Can't say the beer pong was super-productive.
Yes Arnie. I met you 9-4-77 the day after English town dead. Jimmy and I showed up a day late I think
Liz
I wasn't there, was up at Bowdoin for my exchange year, so I think I had to be there early like the freshmen? Or maybe most people got there early because of rush week. Either way, everyone at Bowdoin who found out I liked the Dead told me I had to meet Dave
You weren't there yet because you were in NJ, apparently at this concert. But turned out we'd both been at Englishtown the year before.
I think Dick had better handwriting than me. But I am impressed when I look at my real-time set list how consistent my writing is (I so wish I can find my notes from Springfield 77 or some other mind-melting show for comparison). The only thing I am mad about the boys that day, is that darn 4:35 to 5:15 break that left no time after drums to play longer due to what I believe is a 7:00pm curfew. I am surprised looking back how consistent my writing is. My first call for the name of I Need A Miracle is "Walk Away". I remember first calling Estimated "California" on my 4-23-77 setlist notes.
Only meet Jerry Moore once (4-30-77) but love his Dead Relix stuff
Huh? I thought Jerry did ok too :)
There were two New Minglewood Blues played that day, as the NRPS played it earlier in the day. This was the first (only) time I ever saw Willie Nelson too.
Yes, Matt Dillon says it best here to Eddie Vedder and mates in Cameron Crowe's Masterpiece "Singles": "This Weekend We Rock Portland"
And the Grateful Dead rocked (the other) Portland, the one down 95 from Lewiston in the glorious state of Maine eight times between 1979 and 1985, with two additional Jerry Garcia Band in 1982 and 1993. I saw the first two, the 1979 and 1980 versions, under very difference personal circumstances, before I moved to the Bay Area in December, 1980 and never saw an East Coast show again after Lewiston on September 6, 1980.
The 1979 version was part of 7 shows in 10 days for me, my first real tour (and Brent's as well) and one of 17 Grateful Dead shows I saw that crazy year, but in 1980, I had become a serious senior At Bowdoin. From 1977 to 1979, my grades were under 3.0, by 1980, I was 3.8 with extra classes ad 4.0 with a normal load. Thus, for the first time since 1976, I actually missed shows in New England,
That was a bad plan because I missed these shows:
May 10, 1980 Hartford
Set Two of this show is incredible as the Deadlist timing shows:
China Cat Sunflower [6:36] > I Know You Rider [7:03] ; Feel Like A Stranger [7:45] > Comes A Time [8:42] ; Estimated Prophet [10:45] > He's Gone [14:53] > Uncle John's Band [7:32] > Space [3:52] > Drums > Space [1:04] > Not Fade Away [8:51] > Sugar Magnolia [8:18]
EncoreAlabama Getaway [4:22] > One More Saturday Night [4:49]
May 12, 1980 Boston Garden, I really should have gone to this as well
One
Jack Straw [5:21] > Alabama Getaway [4:53] > El Paso [4:12] ; Althea [8:16] ; Lazy Lightnin' [3:22] > Supplication [4:44] ; Far From Me [3:37] ; New Minglewood Blues [7:08] ; China Cat Sunflower [5:04] > I Know You Rider [6:07]
Two
Feel Like A Stranger [8:12] ; Ship Of Fools [8:06] ; Estimated Prophet[11:21] > He's Gone (1) [21:35] > Drums [9:19] > Space [2:03] > Saint Of Circumstance [5:24] > Wharf Rat [8:54] > Sugar Magnolia [7:41]
Encore
U.S. Blues [4:56]
Comments
(1) He's Gone [11:35] > Jam [10:00]
and all of Radio City, I kind of tried for seats at least.
I wasn't completely an idiot though as I saw Lewiston and all five shows at New Year's Eve.
Back to My "Good Grades Tour"
But a bunch of us got together on May 11, 1980 to take the 20 minute ride down to Portland for the show which is tied for #26 on the Deadbase 11 rankings of greatest shows of 1980. Let me say that again. Tied for 26. How can 5-10-80 not even been on the list either? That shows you young Dead fans that Any show in 1980 is an equal to any show in the last golden era of 1989-1991. Take that, you lucky later fans who saw Dark Star every 4 shows while I only saw one in 80. :)
The first set was a monster with Alabama>Promised Land, Cassidy, It's All Over Now, and a Big Railroad Blues and a powerhouse Don't Ease>The Music Never Stopped to cap the 11-song set.
And the second set is rather remarkable as well. After a very well regarded Scarlet>Fire, there's a great Feel Like A Stranger>Terrapin Station>Playing In the Band trio that preceeds a short D>S.
But I was always partial to the rare Goin' Down the Road that comes out of Black Peter and jumps into two Chuck Berry's to end the set. This was only my 5th GDTFB in my 37th show (the others being Hartford 8-2-76 out of drums, Springfield 4-23-77 out of Around & Around, Providence 30 Trips 5-14-78 out of NFA, Boston, 11-14-78 out of NFA) and it was always unexpected and a treat.
