This Week In Grateful Dead History #12 (Week of 3/24)

A picture of a skull and roses with the words "This Week in Grateful Dead History"

For the week of 3/24 – 3/30 there were a lot of shows to pick from. March was typically a busy time of year for the band as they were on the road for Spring touring. I did my best to select the best, but I’m sure there are some that people like that I didn’t include. The truth is, some weeks there are so many shows that I can’t possibly get to them all. Nonetheless, I’ve written listening guides for 18 excellent shows:

3/24/1973 The Spectrum, Philadelphia, PA

3/24/1990 Knickerbocker Arena, Albany, NY

3/25/1972 Academy of Music, New York, NY

3/25/1985 Springfield Civic Center, Springfield, MA

3/25/1990 Knickerbocker Arena, Albany, NY

3/26/1972 Academy of Music, New York, NY

3/26/1973 Baltimore Civic Center, Baltimore, MD

3/26/1990 Knickerbocker Arena, Albany, NY

3/27/1972 Academy of Music, New York, NY

3/27/1987 Hartford Civic Center, Hartford, CT

3/27/1988 Hampton Coliseum, Hampton, VA

3/28/1972 Academy of Music, New York, NY

3/28/1973 Springfield Civic Center, Springfield, MA

3/28/1990 Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum, Uniondale, NY

3/29/1990 Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum, Uniondale, NY

3/30/1980 Capitol Theatre, Passaic, NJ

3/30/1990 Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum, Uniondale, NY

So grab your copy of my book On This Day In Grateful Dead History: A Daily Listening Journal if you have it to follow along. Ok, let's jump into it. Here's the highlights for Issue 12, for the week of March 24th, 2025:

Interesting historical facts for this week in Grateful Dead history:

John Belushi guest appearance
First performance of Hey Bo Diddley (with the man himself!), The Weight, Far From Me
Final performance of Revolution
Only Grateful Dead performance of How Sweet It Is (To Be Loved By You), Are You Lonely For Me

By the way, if you're new here, this is my weekly listening guide that brings you the most interesting and significant facts from Grateful Dead History, along with reviews of the music for the week ahead. The idea is to give all you Heads a "Heads up" on the interesting and cool stuff the Grateful Dead were up to on this week in history. So hit the Subscribe button below to go to the top of my blog page where you can enter your email to get this delivered to your email every week!

March 24th

3/24/1973 The Spectrum, Philadelphia, PA – Officially released on Dave's Picks Volume 32. Another massive show with hours of peak Grateful Dead. The band is dialed in and almost every song is perfectly played. The jam segments are all very interesting and stretched out. The monster 18-song 1st set highlights include very strong renditions of Bertha, Don’t Ease, Cumberland, Box Of Rain, Row Jimmy, They Love Each Other, Mexicali, Tennessee Jed, Looks Like Rain, Here Comes Sunshine, and a monster 20-minute Playing which takes you on a nice spacey jazz-rock ride to close the set. The energy and passion continue all the way through the astounding 2nd set. Highlights are China Cat > I Know You Rider which features a full-on rampage by every band member. Truly wild. The last part of the second set consisting of He's Gone > Truckin’ > Spanish Jam > Jam > Dark Star > Sing Me Back Home > Sugar Magnolia is pure bliss and not to be missed!
Music link: https://relisten.net/grateful-dead/1973/03/24?source=336525
3/24/1990 Knickerbocker Arena, Albany, NY – 1st of a 3-show run. Partially officially released on Dozin’ At The Knick. This would be the first of 19 times that the band played at the Knick. This whole show is excellent and features a great mix of song selection and passionate performances. Kicking off the 1st set they get the party started with a fun take on Let The Good Times Roll, which segues into Help On The Way > Slipknot! > Franklin’s Tower. While it’s not the tightest version in existence it’s always a nice 1st set treat. Other 1st set highlights include a scorching Loser (released on Spring 1990: So Glad You Made It) made special by Jerry’s passionate signing and guitar solo, and a fun rendition of One More Saturday Night that was selected for release on Without A Net closes out the set. They dial up the intensity and the passion for the 2nd set. The entire pre-Drums > Space segment is one big highlight: Playing > Uncle John’s Band > Terrapin > Mind Left Body Jam. The rest of the set is standard but very enjoyable: Wheel > Watchtower > Stella Blue > NFA but the rare and wonderful And We Bid You Good Night encore is quite special.
Music link: https://relisten.net/grateful-dead/1990/03/24?source=344156

March 25th

3/25/1972 Academy of Music, New York, NY – 4th of a 7-show run. Partially released on Dick's Picks Volume 30. This highly energetic show features Bo Diddley on the entire first set, and makes for some exciting listening. Highlights include the opening sequence of Hey Bo Diddley (with the man himself!) > I’m A Man > I’ve Seen Them All > Jam. The final jam segment is a kind of funky/bluesy jam that sounds more like a Jerry Garcia Band moment than a Grateful Dead jam, but they’re really having fun and Bo Diddley does a nice rap. The next song, Take It All Off, has a NFA feel but doesn’t really develop into anything and sounds more like they’re goofing off. After that they do a short but tight rendition of Mona. Bo Diddley was just getting warmed up and I feel like they could have developed it more but they decide to abruptly end it. The next two songs You Know I Love You > You’ve Been Runnin’ Round are really interesting and feature some nice guitar work by Bo Diddley. Pollution is a raw, powerful blues-funk fusion song. It takes a couple of minutes for everyone to get on board but it develops nicely. The next song Say Boss Man is an upbeat gospel style song. The last two songs are a couple of hot instrumental Jams. On the first Jam Jerry gets a spotlight moment. The beginning of the second Jam features some real interesting funky strumming by Bo Diddley. It starts off minimalistic, but they launch into a powerful, distorted jam. Bo Diddley delivers some really frantic strumming that takes the intensity up to a big peak for several minutes. Jerry was really inspired by Bo Diddley because they kick off the 2nd set with the only Grateful Dead performance of How Sweet It Is (To Be Loved By You), and it’s a scorcher. Jerry is passionately belting it out and Keith is pounding out incredible piano riffs. If someone played just this track for you, you’d swear you were listening to a JGB show. They follow that up with another only GD performance of Are You Lonely For Me, another song that Jerry played a few times outside of the Grateful Dead. After that short JGB detour, they return to playing typical Grateful Dead songs starting with a nice rendition of Next Time You See Me. A very nice reading of Brown Eyed Women, followed by an inspired rendition of Smokestack Lightning. It would have been cool for Bo Diddley to join on that one. Other highlights include Sitting On Top Of The World, Bertha, Playing, and a 20 minute Pig-tastic Lovelight.
Music link: https://relisten.net/grateful-dead/1972/03/25?source=336107
3/25/1985 Springfield Civic Center, Springfield, MA – This is an all-around really good show with one of the best first sets of the year. They come charging out of the gate to open the 1st set with a hot Jack Straw, followed by a rollicking Sugaree. No wonder both of them are Jam Anthem versions. Other highlights include high voltage renditions of Rooster and Bird Song, followed by a monster Let It Grow to end the set. The 2nd set has great song selection but suffers from a strange high-pitched sound system gremlin. Despite Jerry’s vocals being a little tentative at the outset the band is locked in on a very nice Help > Slipknot! > Franklins. Unfortunately, the high-pitched gremlin shows up for the majority of Estimated but seems to fade before the nice outro jam. Eyes is a fast and has some great moments. The rest of the set is good but standard except for a poignant China Doll that Jerry delivers with passion.
Music link: https://relisten.net/grateful-dead/1985/03/25?source=341465
3/25/1990 Knickerbocker Arena, Albany, NY – 2nd of a 3-show run. Officially released on Spring 1990. Successfully continuing the momentum gathered from the previous show the band kicks off the 1st set with an upbeat Greatest Story > Touch Of Grey. It’s clear the band is locked in, and they deliver a delightful first set highlighted by Jack A Roe, Bird Song, and a rousing Let It Grow to close. The 2nd set opens with a gorgeous, laid-back Eyes that provides Jerry with a canvas to create some interesting solo passages. The outro jam seems to lack direction with everyone kind of playing their own thing until they pause and the drummers throw down the beat to Samson. Everyone quickly jumps on board. Jerry delivers a passionate Crazy Fingers, after which Bobby launches into Truckin’ and a nice MIDI-infused intro to Spoonful develops out of the peak of the Truckin’ outro jam. The remainder of the set is good but standard delivery of Drums > Space > I Will Take You Home followed by an exciting rendition of GDTRFB > Black Peter and a laid-back vibe on Around And Around. The chosen Mighty Quinn encore was a rare treat.
Music link: https://relisten.net/grateful-dead/1990/03/25?source=694805

March 26th

3/26/1972 Academy of Music, New York, NY – an outstanding show officially released on Dave's Picks Volume 14. The 1st set highlights include a scorching Greatest Story opener, followed by energetic readings of Cold Rain And Snow, and China Town Shuffle. Pigpen shines on Mr. Charlie. There’s also strong versions of Loser, Looks Like Rain, Big Boss Man, Playing, and a long, wild Good Lovin’ to end the set. The entire second set is pure psychedelic delight. Kicking off with a long jammed out Truckin’ that includes a powerful outro jam that builds to a big peak and then winds down into a spacey jam passage before building into a nice driving jam led by Phil. At the end it sounds like they are headed for The Other One, but the drummers take over first for a few minutes, and then Phil leaps into a thunderous bass into one of the best Other One > Me And My Uncle > Other One sammies you’ll ever have. They did that combination a total of 12 times, but this is one of my favorite versions. The intro jam to the Other One has some really interesting moments. There’s a spiraling riff by Jerry around the 3:30 mark on the Dave's Picks CD that I love. They take their time with it, and at certain points you can’t tell if you’re listening to Dark Star or The Other One. They dissolve into a frantic cacophony jam for a minute but then start to build back the structure of the song until it finally leads to the first verse after about 11 minutes of jamming. The middle jam reaches a quick peak, and then they again fall into more frantic cacophonic jamming, followed by another passage of structured jamming. The segue into Me And My Uncle happens very organically and isn’t forced. Many people have talked about the Dead’s trail-blazing mix of heavy psychedelic music mixed with Bakersfield Country songs and I’ll just say I think it’s genius. The transition directly back into The Other One happens as seamlessly as the entry, and before you know it you’re thrown back into that psychedelic jam-space. Jerry lets some beautiful, delicate riffs fly as the band creates a platform to build back the structure to finish out the last verse of The Other One. A passionate reading of Wharf Rat ensues. Bobby’s Sugar Magnolia throws open the curtains and lets the party mood come flooding back in. Pigpen gets a chance to shine again with Two Souls In Communion. A short but fierce NFA > GDTRFB > NFA closes out the show strong.
Music link: https://relisten.net/grateful-dead/1972/03/26?source=336042
3/26/1973 Baltimore Civic Center, Baltimore, MD – There is a lot to like on this massive 4+ hour show. They come charging out of the 1st set gate with a rowdy Promised Land and follow it up with a sweetly-sung Half Step. Sugaree has a powerful laid-back vibe and Row Jimmy will captivate you with seductive sounds. Beat It On Down The Line is crackling with energy, as is Jack Straw featuring a soaring Jerry solo. A tight China Cat > I Know You Rider is added in for extra measure, and a 20 minute passionately jammed-out Playing that takes us on a trip to outer space and back to end this long set. The 2nd set kicks off with a feisty Ramble On Rose, and they confidently deliver a bunch of songs including a rousing Here Comes Sunshine, and a scorching Greatest Story. The big jam segment of the show is one big highlight. Beginning with a very pleasing rendition of He’s Gone, they make the switch into hyper drive with a crackling version of Truckin’ that boils over with passion and energy. The outro jam is really speedy, and they are cooking. Jerry’s got his slide on and it looks like he’s headed for a Nobody’s Fault but it never materializes. The jam is really interesting nonetheless. It dissolves into a quiet spacey passage and then a long Weather Report Suite Prelude segment which is used as just a platform for Jerry to delicately noodle over. At one point, after about 4 minutes the familiar structure of Weather Report Suite falls away in favor of a structured jam. Jerry starts strumming some choppy, almost Spanish chords and the intensity builds. It doesn’t really go anywhere and they’re just sort of free-form jamming until it dissolves into a poignant Wharf Rat. A strong Me And Bobby McGee emerges out of the ashes of Wharf Rat. The final segment of Eyes > Morning Dew gives us one final dose of pure musical bliss. Eyes is taken at a medium pace, and is incredibly melodic. Keith’s piano and Jerry’s solos really soar. The outro jammin is strong and leads to a long, passionate rendition of Morning Dew. A strong reading of Saturday Night closes out the show.
Music link: https://relisten.net/grateful-dead/1973/03/26?source=90345
3/26/1990 Knickerbocker Arena, Albany, NY – 3rd of a 3-show run. Officially released on Spring 1990. This whole show is outstanding, and is the strongest show of the run. The 1st set opens with a powerful Hell In A Bucket, followed by a strong Dupree’s. Other highlights include Just A Little Light, Big Railroad Blues, Row Jimm, and a fierce Blow Away to close the set. The 2nd set opens with a fine Built To Last, followed by a dark and contentious reading of Victim that contains lots of chaos that makes that song interesting. They build the dance groove back up with a hot China Cat > I Know You Rider which continues into a fun Women Are Smarter. A good but standard Miracle emerges from Space, but things get way more interesting with a passionate presentation of Dear Mr. Fantasy that allows Brent to shine and Jerry to soar. Phil directs the music into a scorching Gimme Some Lovin’, and a beautifully-delivered Morning Dew provides a gratifying end to the set. A beautiful rendition of Brokedown Palace encore closes out this very fine show.
Music link: https://relisten.net/grateful-dead/1990/03/26?source=725003

March 27th

3/27/1972 Academy of Music, New York, NY – 6th of a 7-show run. Partially officially released on Dave’s Picks Volume 14 Bonus Disc (2015). We’re very fortunate nowadays to have great sound quality recordings now of this entire run of shows (thank you Charlie Miller!). Back in the day (1990’s) that wasn’t the case. I had several of them and was excited to listen to them, until I popped them in and was not impressed. Anyways, this show contains many songs that were also played other nights. What’s different is that there is no multi-song jam segment. There is however a bunch of really well played material. 1st set highlights for me are Bertha, Black Throated Wind, China Town Shuffle, Brown Eyed Women, China Cat > I Know You Rider, Cumberland Blues, Playing. The 2nd set highlights are Greatest Story, Ramble On Rose, Good Lovin’ (Pig-tastic!), Two Souls, Sugar Magnolia, Casey Jones, Saturday Night.
Music link: https://relisten.net/grateful-dead/1972/03/27?source=336267
3/27/1987 Hartford Civic Center, Hartford, CT – 2nd of a 2-show run. An outstanding show officially released on Dave's Picks Volume 36. The 8-song first set kicks off with an edgy Alabama Getaway > Greatest Story featuring passionate singing and enthusiastic playing. Other highlights include West L.A. Fadeaway, Rooster, Brown Eyed Women, Tennessee Jed, and a Jam Anthem version of Music Never Stopped to close the set. The 2nd set kicks off with a pristine rendition of Touch Of Grey. Jerry nails all the lyrics and his guitar playing is inspired. Rousing versions of Samson and Cumberland follow, and then a nice Estimated > Eyes pairing. The back half of the set is pretty sweet with a rare (10 of only 14) Uncle John’s emerging out of Space. They follow it up with a powerful Morning Dew. A ripping Johnny B. Goode encore closes out this fine show.
Music link: https://relisten.net/grateful-dead/1987/03/27?source=342259 or Dave’s Picks.
3/27/1988 Hampton Coliseum, Hampton, VA – 2nd of a 3-show run. Officially released on Grateful Dead Download Series Volume 5. This whole show is outstanding. The band is energetic and inspired. 1st set highlights are a fun Iko opener that sets the party mood and letting everyone know they’re going to have a real good time. Later in the set we get the first Bob Weir performance of Ballad of a Thin Man and he signs it with such gusto you would have thought he wrote it. Other highlights include Cumberland, To Lay Me Down (first one since 10/17/83 – 289 shows) and a rousing Let It Grow to close the set. The 2nd set is real interesting as it opens with some Space, followed by an impromptu performance of the Miles Davis jazz song So What Jam. They’re not serious about it, and it’s just a warm up but you can tell Jerry’s having fun! After that they launch into a surprise Bobby Sugar Magnolia that kicks off a standout five-song segment. They save the Sunshine Daydream bit for the close of the set and instead launch into excellent versions of Scarlet Begonias > Fire On The Mountain. These are top-notch versions full of passion and enthusiastic playing. As Fire winds down there is a very short pause and they pounce on a great version of Estimated. Brent’s electric piano sounds are unique here and even better, they’re very prominent in the mix. Bobby gets real intense with the “worry about me no, no! no!” as he’s screaming his head off. Jerry lets a real interesting solo fly and as it winds down it’s obvious they’re headed for Eyes. This version takes off right from the start. This version is on the shorter side, but no notes are wasted and it’s a pleasure to listen to. A fun GDTRFB develops out of Space but they don’t jam it out much and it leads to an energized Miracle after which Brent kicks the intensity up even more with Dear Mr. Fantasy. The compulsory Sunshine Daydream predictably (but enjoyably) closes out the set and the Sugar Magnolia sammich. A spry U.S. Blues encore closes out this fabulous show.
Music link: https://relisten.net/grateful-dead/1988/03/27?source=1920295

March 28th

3/28/1972 Academy of Music, New York, NY – 7th of a 7-show run. Officially released on Dick's Picks Volume 30. This entire show is outstanding. 1st set highlights are a rousing Truckin’, Tennessee Jed, Cumberland Blues, Looks Like Rain, Big Railroad Blues, China Cat > I Know You Rider and Casey Jones. The entire 2nd set is one big highlight and kicks off with a nice Playing, followed by Sugaree. After Pig’s Two Souls Bobby launches into a fierce Sugar Magnolia that segues directly into a monster 28+ minute jam-filled Other One. They close the set with a powerful NFA > GDTRFB > NFA.
Music link: https://relisten.net/grateful-dead/1972/03/28?source=336128
3/28/1973 Springfield Civic Center, Springfield, MA – Officially released on Dave's Picks Volume 16. This whole show is excellent. They open the 1st set with a rousing Cumberland that gets the blood pumping right out of the gate. Mexicali, Beat It On Down The Line, Loser, Box Of Rain, They Love Each Other, Row Jimmy are all excellent. A rousing China Cat > I Know You Rider closes out the set. The 2nd set opens with some decent songs, but the real highlight is contained in the jam segment of Weather Report Suite > Dark Star > Eyes > Playing.
Music link: https://relisten.net/grateful-dead/1973/03/28?source=336548
3/28/1990 Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum, Uniondale, NY – 1st of a 3-show run. Officially released on Spring 1990. The band is inspired and deliver a very enjoyable show. 1st set highlights are Cold Rain And Snow > Minglewood, High Time, Cassidy, and Deal. The second set has a notch more enthusiasm and fine renditions of Foolish Heart > Looks Like Rain > Cumberland > The Weight ensue. This would be their first performance of The Weight. Out of Space emerges a nice Other One > Wharf Rat > Good Lovin’. They encore with the final performance of Revolution.
Music link: https://relisten.net/grateful-dead/1990/03/28?source=607550

March 29th

3/29/1990 Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum, Uniondale, NY – 2nd of a 3-show run. Officially released on Spring 1990. The band continues their outstanding run with an explosively energetic show. They charge out of the gate with Jack Straw > Bertha that sets the pace and the intensity to a high level. Something is clearly up on this night. The rest of the set is all high-quality performance but the big highlight is the Jam Anthem version of Bird Song featuring Branford Marsalis. They close the set with a ripping version of Promised Land. Now that we know Branford is on board, everyone anxiously anticipates the 2nd set, and they don’t disappoint. This is one of the epic sets of the 1990’s. They open with a Jam Anthem version of Eyes. If you were lucky enough to witness this epic Eyes, you knew right away that this version would become one of the iconic versions, and it certainly did. As the outro jam winds down, they segue into Estimated. It’s a long jammed out version with Branford. But buckle up, because one of the best “late” versions of Dark Star is up next. Branford again brings his unique touch to the song and the rest of the band is locked on tight. After the first verse the jam goes atonal and dissonant for a while and the intensity really builds, but the clouds break and the intensity settles somewhat. Jerry has a lot of MIDI horn sounds going, and Branford is wailing. It all leads to a very interesting Drums > Space and Dark Star emerges. After several minutes of jamming, we get the second verse. There’s no real outro jam to speak of and they quickly segue into The Wheel. Bobby delivers a fine Throwing Stones. Again, Branford’s sax melds perfectly and adds so much rich texture to the song. They steer the music into Lovelight to close the set, and it’s another perfect selection to compliment Branford. Jerry switches on his MIDI sax to compliment Branford. A sweetly-sung Knockin’ encore closes out this epic show.
Music link: https://relisten.net/grateful-dead/1990/03/29

March 30th

3/30/1980 Capitol Theatre, Passaic, NJ – 1st of a 3-show run. This entire show is a scorcher. The band is fired up and deliver a fierce Alabama Getaway > Promised Land to open the first set. They cool it off with a pretty Peggy-O and a passionate rendition of Cassidy follows. The boys have found a spark and a very nice Loser ensues. The first version of Far From Me is next, and being new, it’s not the most polished rendition but enjoyable. They close the set with a gratifying rendition of Lost Sailor > Saint Of Circumstance. The 2nd set is only 6 songs (not including Drums) but includes a fine Scarlet > Fire opener that carries the energy over from the first set. Bobby’s up next and they deliver a standout Estimated > Eyes. The connecting jam has some nice peaks as they segue into an up-tempo Eyes. The outro jam is extended and they explore some interesting themes before giving way to the drummers. There’s no real “Space” on this one, and instead Jerry steers it into a powerful Black Peter. Bobby lightens the mood with a rousing Sugar Magnolia to close the set. The encore U.S. Blues includes an appearance by John Belushi on vocals (and cartwheels).
Music link: https://relisten.net/grateful-dead/1980/03/30?source=338416
3/30/1990 Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum, Uniondale, NY – 3rd of a 3-show run. Officially released on Spring 1990. The band closes out the run with a strong follow up to the previous night’s epic performance. They had a lot to live up to, and they delivered. They open with a standout rendition of Help > Slipknot! > Franklin’s Tower followed by a fine Rooster. A real nice Dire Wolf follows. Phil delivers a nice Tom Thumb’s after calls of “we want Phil!” break out. They end the set with a hot Picasso Moon > Don’t Ease. A fun Iko sets the party mood, but it’s the following jam segment that’s the real highlight: Playing > China Doll > Uncle John’s > Terrapin. After a predictable Miracle out of Space, things get a little more exciting again with Phil and Brent belting out a nice Gimme Some Lovin’. Jerry cools off the intensity with a beautiful rendition of Standing On The Moon and they rock out the set with a punchy NFA to close out the set. They encore with a rare (3 of only 5) Attics.
Music link: https://relisten.net/grateful-dead/1990/03/30?source=850928

BTW, If you're not yet familiar with Jam Anthem versions of songs you can read all about it in Deadology II by Howard Weiner. Check it out here along with all his other great books.

And that's all for now! Of course, if you want to follow along in your very own copy of my book On This Day In Grateful Dead History: A Daily Listening Journal I still have some copies available here. Once they're sold out, I won't be getting any more made. The costs of printing and shipping has almost doubled in the last few years since I had them printed, and I've decided it's just not worth it. So get one now while you can! https://www.gratefuldeadbook.com/tigdh