For the week of 3/3 – 3/9 we will revisit one of the defining moments in 60’s culture – the infamous Haight Street concert. We also remember Pigpen, who died on 3/8, and take a listen to Bobby play Black Throated Wind for the first time. I’ve put together a synopsis of 8 excellent shows this week:
3/3/1968 Haight Street, San Francisco, CA
3/3/1987 Henry J. Kaiser Convention Center, Oakland, CA
3/4/1994 Desert Sky Pavilion, Phoenix, AZ
3/5/72 Winterland Arena, San Francisco, CA
3/6/1981 Stanley Theatre, Pittsburgh, PA
3/7/1981 Cole Field House, University of Maryland, College Park, MD
3/8/1970 Star Theatre, Phoenix, AZ
3/9/1981 Madison Square Garden, New York, 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 9, for the week of March 3rd, 2025:
Interesting historical facts for this week:
The infamous Haight Street concert
First Black Throated Wind
Remembering Ron “Pigpen” McKernan (3/8)
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 3rd
3/3/1968 Haight Street, San Francisco, CA – On March 3rd, the band set up a makeshift stage on the back of a truck, ran power cords from the Straight Theatre and played the following short set: Viola Lee, Smokestack, Lovelight, Hurts Me Too, Cryptical > Other One > Cryptical, Dancin'. They might have played other songs, but the recording is cut short because the battery on the taper’s recording equipment died. There’s only one source available for this show, and it doesn’t sound that great but you have to consider the context. This event occurred at a pivotal time when there were massive shifts happening in counter-culture and pop culture alike. This recording stands as an incredible artifact from that historic event that took place on Haight Street. June, 1967 was dubbed "The Summer of Love", and in just a few short months, a massive influx of wannabe-hippies and runaways flooded the Haight Ashbury neighborhood of San Francisco seeking freedom and the hippie lifestyle. After some clashing between the hippies and the police earlier in February, the Mayor decided to close Haight Street and have a "festival" for two Sundays in a row in an effort to break the growing tension. By all accounts, that seems to have backfired after the second Sunday, as it led to a massive crowd in the streets and even more clashing with police due to unruly wannabe-hippies and drunks that continued into the weeks after this event. And that was it, the band decided that the Haight Ashbury scene had become too obnoxious and they were annoyed by constant busses filled with tourists to the area on "hippie scene sightseeing tours", so they moved out of their 710 Ashbury house. Read more about the history of the event, and the wider context here. Very brief video of the Grateful Dead performance can be seen here.
3/3/1987 Henry J. Kaiser Convention Center, Oakland, CA – 1st set highlights include a rousing Mighty Quinn opener, a vigorous Greatest Story, and an exuberant Tons of Steel, Cassidy that includes some nice exploratory jamming. A perfectly executed Half Step > Promised Land that surprises with and extended jam closes the set. The 2nd set opens with a Mardi Gras Drums parade and the Dirty Dozen Brass Band sitting in for Iko, and for a minute there's a struggle over which version of the song they're playing and moments of complete chaos unfold, where the drummers are completely out of sync with the rest of the band. They Dirty Dozen completely take over, and they settle into their version of the song. It's fun to hear all the horns and the additional call-and-response. Bobby delivers a passionate Saint Of Circumstance, followed by a nice Terrapin (Jerry does get lost and repeats a verse but no matter, his voice sounds sweet). Gimme Some Lovin' out of Space is given extra effort by all. Wharf Rat > Throwing Stones > Touch is well played. Touch is played at breakneck speed but perfectly executed. Jerry forgets a few words on the Brokedown Palace encore but it's a sweet, mellow way to finish the show.
March 4th
3/4/1994 Desert Sky Pavilion, Phoenix, AZ – This is the only known Grateful Dead performance on March 4th, so you get what you get, and what you get ain't bad actually. 1st set highlights include a spirited up-tempo Half Step opener, ripping versions of Ramble on Rose and Me & My Uncle > Big River. I really like hearing Weir on the acoustic guitar. It's a nice touch and he sounds great. After that we get a flawless Bird Song that includes really nice guitar work from Jerry and Bobby. The 2nd set Iko opener is guaranteed to get you dancing. A standard rendition of Crazy Fingers dissolves nicely into a really strong Estimated, followed by a jam that has Jerry blasting his MIDI horns, then switching back to his clean sound. A nice upbeat Miracle materializes out of Space. Bobby lays on the dirty crunch tone while Jerry blasts bluesy riffs. This gives way to a soulful Black Peter and a rare Throwing Stones set-closer (second of only 2 times ever performed in that spot). A good but standard U.S. Blues closes out the show.
Music link: https://relisten.net/grateful-dead/1994/03/04?source=346406
March 5th
3/5/72 Winterland Arena, San Francisco, CA – This would be Pigpen's final San Francisco performance because of the upcoming East Coast run at the Academy of Music in New York, and the infamous Europe ’72 tour, followed by some West Coast appearances. By the time the band is back in town, he would be too sick to perform. With a few brief exceptions, this show is played with precision and there are peaks of emotion. After all, this is 1972, and the boys are in their prime so peaks and valleys are all relative. I like SHNID 103282 the best, because it’s complete. The first 6 songs come from an audience recording. 1st set highlights include a rousing Bertha followed by the first performance of Black Throated Wind in which Bobby shows us what a profound song this is going to be. He's locked in and passionately belts out the ending while Jerry blazes away. The crowd, having never heard the song before, claps lightly. Other highlights include Greatest Story Ever Told, Tennessee Jed, Jack Straw, China Cat > I Know You Rider, and a rowdy Casey Jones to close the set. Pressed for time due to a strict curfew and the previous acts running over, the band plays a truncated 2nd set. The big highlight is a red-hot Good Lovin > Mind Left Body Jam > Good Lovin’. After Pigpen’s first verse they launch into a brief but explosive jam, and Jerry goes off. They pause for a breath and Pigpen does a short rap. But then Jerry throws in a short MLB jam as Pig is wrapping up his rap. They launch into a tight NFA > GDTRFB NFA and a hot One More Saturday Night to blow out the ending and finish strong.
Music link: https://relisten.net/grateful-dead/1972/03/05?source=336222
March 6th
3/6/1981 Stanley Theatre, Pittsburgh, PA – Overall this is a really good show, with lots of tight, energetic performances. They open the 1st set with a bang by ripping through a blistering Jack Straw. Jerry cools us down with a passionate and pretty Peggy-O. One thing that's different is Mickey tries out some different percussion accompaniment here. I hear maracas and congas at different times throughout the song. Theres lots of good but standard renditions of other songs but Let it Grow > Deal set closer is a real banger. The 2nd set opens with a good but standard Samson, followed by a gorgeous Roses. Jerry is singing and playing with lots of emotion. After that they launch into the big jam segment, kicking off with Estimated. The middle jam reaches great heights, followed by the second verse and then a sweet outro jam that works its way into a smoking Franklin's Tower that clocks in at over 15 minutes. They eventually make the jump into a powerful Drums > Space. The first hints of The Other One slowly emerge from the ashes of Space until the full band, followed by the drummers pounce full-force into it. They work through several jams, and slowly wind down into Stella Blue, and it’s a beautiful, soulful version. They lighten the mood and end the set with a rousing Sugar Magnolia. A fun, upbeat Don’t Ease encore closes out the show.
Music link: https://relisten.net/grateful-dead/1981/03/06?source=1999518
March 7th
3/7/1981 Cole Field House, University of Maryland, College Park, MD – This entire show is outstanding. This is one of the rare lopsided shows where the 1st set is longer than the second set. They kick off this 11-song marathon with a rowdy Alabama Getaway > Greatest Story. After a straight-forward Dire Wolf they play an energetic Me & My Uncle > Big River. Later in the set we get a Jam Anthem version of Bird Song which is 17 minutes long. Howard Weiner in his book Deadology II describes Jerrys solo: “The audience and his bandmates are in awe. The Great Garcia is spooling away, endless flight. It’s amazing, but there’s little repetition as he orbits planet Earth." The second set kicks off with a groovy Iko Iko that gets everyone in a party mood. Sailor > Saint > Jam follows. The jam is pretty interesting and almost 10 minutes in length. At first it kind of sounds like they're going to transition into Uncle John's Band, but quickly decide to get exploratory instead. It builds into a peak with screeching slide and fast-paced licks, and after a couple more minutes gives way to Drums. Truckin’ emerges out of Space and includes a nice extended jam at the end before the transition into a cool Black Peter. They close out the set with those good ol’ Rock and Roll classics Around And Around > Johnny B. Goode. The boys start to sound a little tired by the time they get to the One More Saturday Night encore, but they manage to build up the intensity enough to make this one worthwhile.
Music link: https://relisten.net/grateful-dead/1981/03/07/alabama-getaway?source=339000
March 8th
Bonus! 3/8/1968 Melodyland Theater, Disneyland, Anaheim, CA – no recordings exist, but I am entertained by the reviews.
Music link: no known authentic recording exists
3/8/1970 Star Theatre, Phoenix, AZ – Travelodge Theater went by a few names, and apparently was a rotating stage. What could go wrong?? 😂 According to Lost Live Dead blog (Link) the wildest part is that Vince Welnick allegedly attended this show. "One interesting detail about this show was that area resident Vince Welnick attended the show as a fan--little could he have expected". Several online articles talk about Vince at this show (including the official Jerry Garcia website and this Hooterollin blog article), but I have yet to find where Vince talks about this event. The tape cuts in, so it’s unclear how the set started but they apparently kick off this single set performance with a hot Cold Rain And Snow. After Bobby’s Yellow Dog Story they launch into a rousing China Cat > I Know You Rider which immediately segues into a passionate High Time. A snappy Dire Wolf and then Hard To Handle are played before switching to acoustic instruments. They play 4 acoustic songs, and then this mystery person shows up during Pigpen's acoustic blues song Katie Mae. The song morphs into the impromptu Blues Jam when this mystery vocalist completely takes over the stage. I can't find anyone who has identified or put forth suggestions about who this person is, but this mystery guest seems intent on trying to get the crowd dancing, constantly repeating "don't sleep too long!" and "get up and dance!". Soon the rest of the band comes back with electric guitars and drums, at which point they break into NFA > Lovelight, and proceed to blow the roof off the place. My theory is it's someone from another band who shared the bill that night. Who else would be allowed onto the stage like that? Pigpen actually tells the guy to “go on” when he steps up to the mic. Maybe the people running venue didn't like the slower acoustic set that had developed, and wanted more of a rock and roll show, so they sent someone from one of the other bands on stage to alter course? Who knows, but it certainly is bizarre to say the least. Where was Big Steve?? I'll have to call into his show and ask him if he knows anything about it, I guess.
Music link: https://relisten.net/grateful-dead/1970/03/08?source=335713
March 9th
3/9/1981 Madison Square Garden, New York, NY – 1st of a 2-show run. This whole show was released on the In and Out of the Garden box set. This is a gem of a performance. They kick off the 1st set with a Jam Anthem version of Feel Like a Stranger. This is an absolutely ripping version, and the place is hyped up! The whole first set features better than average renditions of almost every song, including especially hot renditions of C.C. Rider, Deep Elem Blues, Beat It On Down The Line, Bird Song, and concludes with a rare Minglewood Blues (3rd of only 4 times played in that spot). The boys bring the energy back out for the 2nd set and kick off with another Jam Anthem version of China > Rider. This a is long, jam-filled version at almost 16 minutes. Jerry delivers some unique and crazy tonalities before the first verse and it kind of sets the stage. There is an extended jam before the transition into Rider. They keep the momentum going with an immediate transition into a ripping Samson. Other highlights include Uncle John's Band with a nice long jam before Drums and a powerful Other One.
Music link: https://relisten.net/grateful-dead/1981/03/09?source=1922428
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 will have to decide whether or not I'm going to have more made. The costs of printing and shipping have gone way up in the last few years since I had them printed so I'm not sure if it's worth it or not. So get one now while you can! https://www.gratefuldeadbook.com/tigdh
Peace out my good people. Until next week!
Comments