The Deadpod

This week's Deadpod comes from close to home for us here in Michigan: Ford Auditorium in Detroit on Monday, October 30, 1972. It was the last stop on the Dead's fall 1972 Midwest run, with Jerry, Bob, Phil, Keith, Donna, and Bill on stage just months after the band got back from Europe '72.
This week we're playing the full first set, and it's a long one. It's the 1972 band at its best, mixing tight rock and roll with patient, open-ended jamming. Bertha gets things moving, and from there the Bob and Jerry songs trade off all night, with the cowboy tunes Me And My Uncle, El Paso, Big River, and Mexicali Blues alongside Deal, Sugaree, and Don't Ease Me In. Black Throated Wind and Jack Straw were both still fairly new songs in the fall of '72.
The highlights for me are a long, exploratory Bird Song and a China Cat Sunflower > I Know You Rider that really flies. Phil also steps up to sing a lovely Box Of Rain near the end of the set.
This is a fine audience recording, warm and full, with a real sense of being in the room. It isn't flawless: there's a splice in Bird Song, Big River gets clipped at the end, and it is said to be recorded by Owlsey. But the sound is so good for an audience tape from 1972 that the rough spots are easy to forgive.
Grateful Dead
Ford Auditorium
Detroit, MI
10/30/1972 - Monday
One
Bertha [7:30]
Me And My Uncle [3:27]
Deal [6:03]
Black Throated Wind [7:41]
Sugaree [9:15]
El Paso [6:36]
Bird Song [12:54]
Big River [4:52]
China Cat Sunflower [6:19] >
I Know You Rider [7:38]
Jack Straw [5:21]
Don't Ease Me In [4:28]
Mexicali Blues [3:38]
Box Of Rain [5:12]
Playing In The Band [10:19]
You can listen to this week's Deadpod here:
https://traffic.libsyn.com/deadshow/deadpod103026.mp3
Thanks as always for listening and for supporting the Deadpod. Happy Halloween, and enjoy the show.
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This week on the Deadpod we continue with the second set from the Grateful Dead's October 20, 1989 show at the Spectrum in Philadelphia. As you listen to this expansive set, you'll quickly hear how Brent was at the top of his game during this period. His keyboards and MIDI work really bring these songs to life. The highlight, in my opinion, is the "Other One Jam" out of "Truckin'." It's nearly 15 minutes of Brent and Jerry stretching out on "The Other One" theme, and DeadBase lists it as the band's first "Other One Jam" since 1975. From there the music flows into "Drums" and "Space," then into Brent's ballad "I Will Take You Home," before the band comes back to "The Other One" with a vengeance. This is the Grateful Dead at their most adventurous.
I hope you enjoy it as much as I do.
Grateful Dead
The Spectrum
Philadelphia, PA
10/20/1989 - Friday
Two
Hey Pocky Way [6:48]
Scarlet Begonias [10:03] >
Fire On The Mountain [13:44]
Truckin' [7:07] >
The Other One Jam [14:33] >
Drums [10:35] >
Space [10:48] >
I Will Take You Home [5:06] >
The Other One [11:11] >
Wharf Rat [10:26]
Sugar Magnolia [5:52]
Encore
Brokedown Palace [5:46]
You can listen to this week's Deadpod here:
https://traffic.libsyn.com/deadshow/deadpod102326.mp3
Be well and thanks for your kind support.
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This week we travel back to the fall of 1989 for the first set of the Grateful Dead's October 20 show at the Spectrum in Philadelphia—a performance that's been called their longest of the year.
This was one of the band's high-water periods, in my opinion, and you can hear the energy and enthusiasm from the first notes of "Touch of Grey." Brent's contributions are a big part of what makes this show so enjoyable, not only on his own "Just a Little Light," but on "Tennessee Jed" as well.
Played just three days after the Loma Prieta earthquake, the show also featured the Dead's first performance of Rodney Crowell's "California Earthquake," which closes the first set.
Grateful Dead
The Spectrum
Philadelphia, PA
10/20/1989 - Friday
Set One
Touch Of Grey [6:19]
Greatest Story Ever Told [4:10]
Candyman [6:44]
Picasso Moon [7:26]
Just A Little Light [4:44]
Tennessee Jed [8:39]
Stuck Inside Of Mobile With The Memphis Blues Again [8:56]
Stagger Lee [5:39]
The Promised Land [4:27]
California Earthquake (Whole Lotta Shakin' Goin' On) [5:50]
You can listen to this week's Deadpod here:
https://traffic.libsyn.com/deadshow/deadpod101626.mp3

This week on the Deadpod we go back 54 years, to October 9, 1972, for the second set of the "benefit for the roadies" at Winterland in San Francisco, CA. It opens with a somewhat amusing, clearly well-lubricated rap from Grace Slick, who was eventually led off the stage by Bill Graham, before the band eases into "He's Gone."
The set features some really fine vocals from Garcia and great versions of "Mississippi Half-Step" and "Brokedown Palace." There's also some unique improvisation in "Truckin'" and "The Other One" that I'm sure you'll enjoy. Unfortunately, the set-closing "Casey Jones" is cut off, and the reported "Johnny B. Goode" encore isn't on the tape. Nevertheless, this one earns its place in the pantheon of fine shows from the fall of 1972.
Grateful Dead
Winterland Arena
San Francisco, CA
10/9/1972 - Monday
Two
Banter (God Is Gonna Understand) [3:13] >
He's Gone [11:46]
Big River [4:38]
Mississippi Half-Step Uptown Toodeloo [9:32]
Greatest Story Ever Told [4:47]
Brokedown Palace [5:53]
Truckin' [11:36] >
The Other One [13:33]
Wharf Rat [11:16]
Sugar Magnolia [8:33]
Casey Jones [1:20] (incomplete, fades out)
You can listen to this week's Deadpod here:
https://traffic.libsyn.com/deadshow/deadpod100926.mp3

This week on the Deadpod we go back to the fall of 1972 for a show at Winterland that was billed as a benefit for the band's road crew. The night is remembered for two things: a brief, unplanned cameo by Grace Slick at the start of the second set, and the first electric performance of the much-loved "Box of Rain," which the band hadn't played since its acoustic debut in September 1970. This episode covers the first set, which is where "Box of Rain" turns up.
The fall of '72 was a very busy touring stretch for the band, and one of the high points of a great year. This show features some excellent vocals from Jerry and Bob. Phil, I guess, was warming up for "Box" when he tried to add his own contribution to "Tennessee Jed." I'm glad it didn't scare him off from bringing out "Box of Rain" later in the set.
One of several highlights here is the set-closing "Playing In The Band," which, despite being cut at the end, has some wonderful exploration.
Grateful Dead
Winterland Arena
San Francisco, CA
10/9/1972 - Monday
One

The Promised Land[3:19]
Deal [4:34]
Me And My Uncle [3:06]
Tennessee Jed [7:30]
Black Throated Wind [6:48]
Friend Of The Devil [3:24]
Beat It On Down The Line [3:14]
Loser [6:23]
El Paso [2:08#]
Box Of Rain [#6:24]
China Cat Sunflower [7:09] >
I Know You Rider [5:13]
Sugaree [7:02#]
Playing In The Band [20:36#]
You can listen to this week's Deadpod here:
https://traffic.libsyn.com/deadshow/deadpod100226.mp3
My thanks for your continuing support of the Deadpod!