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Electric Dead would’ve been too intense, I reasoned, and surely something acoustic would help me relax and enjoy the doses. Another percussive laden jam follows that seamlessly steers itself into a mesmerizing version of “The Other One.I (kind of) remember tripping heavily one afternoon in college on two or three pure white-on-white tabs, with just enough mental wherewithal left during the come-up to pop this show into the CD player. Hot Tuna’s Will Scarlet adds a touch of harmonica to this one. The relatively fresh “Truckin’,” debuted only months earlier at the Fillmore West, follows. This is followed by one of the better two-song sequences of the evening. Surprisingly, at its conclusion, this shifts right back into one more quick take of “Not Fade Away,” albeit this time with Weir confidently taking the lead on vocals.Īfter more than three minutes of a break between songs, Weir once again takes lead on the “Mama Tried” that follows. More splendid Winwood outbursts later lead into “Goin’ Down The Road Feelin’ Bad” with Garcia and Weir reassuming command. This eventually evolves into a deep, drum-led jam. Chris Wood and Jim Capaldi of Traffic join the band on a half-hearted attempt at the vocals. Right after, the heavily percussive intro of “Not Fade Away” begins with. Then came the relatively new “Big Railroad Blues,” yet another cover, written by Noah Lewis of Cannon’s Jug Stompers that dates all the way back to 1928. This one gets into a serious jam with Pigpen taking a backseat and Winwood soloing on top of the groove. Winwood’s backing on Pigpen’s Hammond organ is immediately felt and can be heard throughout. Once again, Pigpen lends his signature vocal prowess to this classic Dead cover. The blues sentiment that had been previously established seems to carry right over to the cover of Otis Redding’s “Hard To Handle” that follows.

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Afterwards, Pigpen finally gets to take lead for a while as he leads the Dead through a cover of Slim Harpo’s blue standard “I’m A King Bee.” The opening harmonica solo and later interludes between that and guitar solos stretch this one out into a healthy, bluesy jam.Īnother classic first set pairing ensues with “China Cat Sunflower,” eventually joined by its traditional partner, “I Know You Rider.” A seemingly quick transition jam later sees the band in full vocal harmony on this spirited take of yet another classic blues cover.Īt this point, a special guest joins them on stage in the form of Traffic’s Steve Winwood. Then, after essentially a “no huddle” transition, a short yet crisp version of “Cold Rain and Snow” takes place. Oddly, the house PA seems to cut in after this with a recording of Elton John’s take on “Honkey Tonk Women.” This leads into a a cut version “Friend of the Devil.” Despite this lapse, Garcia’s vocals sound pristine in the recording and the band is on point.

Next, Bob Weir leads them through the traditional first set stalwart of “Me and My Uncle.” After a Bill Graham introduction, the band is off and running immediately with a “Casey Jones” that ably motors down the tracks. For years, it’s been misidentified as an 11/23/70 show at the Anderson Theater in New York City. There’s also some previous controversy surrounding this show. The New Riders of the Purple Sage played an opening set as well as was customary for this tour. Since Slick was still pregnant at the time, Jefferson Airplane wound up being replaced as the opener by Hot Tuna.

Allegedly, two nights before at the same venue, Grace Slick, on behalf of Bill Graham, announced an impromptu “pop-up” show with Jefferson Airplane and the Dead at the same venue that would take place just days later. One of the better Grateful Dead shows at the Fillmore East was aided by its surprise attack.