The Pacific Northwest in May, the best time to be here. This area, out in the Columbia River Gorge, gets incredibly hot in July and August, but in May it is simply stunning.

Although the Grateful Dead never visited this venue back in their touring days, in 1996, on the very first Furthur Festival, the Grateful Dead’s continuing traveling circus made a visit this gorgeous spot along the river. I don’t think I can think of a better looking view for concert-goers. Sitting on the hillside, looking down toward the band, and beyond them all you see is the winding Columbia River, and a strange-looking desertscape that seems oddly out of place way up here in Washington State. Regardless, those of you making this Saturday night trek are in for a real treat if you’ve never been to the Gorge.

The Grateful Dead visited the Pacific Northwest early and often. Seattle, Eugene and Portland were the main sites visited, with Seattle seeing 27 Grateful Dead shows, Portland hosting 22 shows, and Eugene seeing 21 shows. Add to this shows in Corvalis, Ashland, Veneta (near Eugene), Tacoma (near Seattle), Spokane and a few shows in Vancouver, Canada, and the Pacific Northwest was well-covered by the Grateful Dead.

There have been several historically “important” shows in the Pacific Northwest, and plenty of musical highlights, and heading southbound, we’ll look at a few. Vancouver, Canada featured the first-ever Grateful Dead concerts outside of the state of California, great nights of music in July, 1966. They also visited this magnificent city in 1973 and 1974 for excellent shows in both years. Seattle highlights include the January 1968 that was part of the band’s tour of the Pacific Northwest featuring Quicksilver Messenger Service (the 1/23/68 concert featured the finest Viola Lee Blues these ears have ever heard); the July, 1972 concerts that were released as Download Series Volume 10 ; and, like in Vancouver, the great shows of 1973 and 1974. Portland was always a great place for the Grateful Dead, including stops on the 1968 tour (during which Dark Star was played as a rare encore on 2/2/68 at the Crystal Ballroom); shows in 1973 and 1974 on the same tour as the aforementioned Vancouver and Seattle gigs; the comeback shows on 6/3&4/76 at the Paramount (now the Schnitzer Concert Hall); the 1972 shows at the same venue; the terrific little show on 1/18/70 that was released as Download Series Vol. 2; and the 1980 show, during which, at the exact time the Grateful Dead were playing Fire On The Mountain, Mount St. Helen’s volcano erupted just a hundred miles northeast of the Memorial Coliseum. Eugene saw plenty of good Grateful Dead action, with terrific shows on 1/22/78 at McArthur Court, and solid shows in 1983 and 1984 at the Hult Center, as well as loads of excellent nights at Autzen Stadium. Oh, and don’t forget visits to Veneta on 8/27/72 and 8/28/82.

Musically, there is so much to talk about in regards to the Grateful Dead’s history in the Pacific Northwest, but we’ll keep this brief, to two visits that were important moments in Grateful Dead history. The first is 8/27/72 at the Springfield Creamery Benefit in Veneta. You have likely seen the film Sunshine Daydream and it truly represents the idealized image of what it was like to be at a Grateful Dead concert: thousands of hippies, under the hot sun in a field in Oregon, with the soundtrack to the day being the Grateful Dead at the height of its powers. And the music at this show is, for the most, not overrated, which is to say that there are moments from this show that are some of the finest in the band’s history. Highlights that I’ve always thought made this show really stand out include: Bird Song, China>Rider, Bertha, Playing In The Band, Greatest Story Ever Told, Dark Star, Sing Me Back Home. Each of these songs could easily be played as magnificent examples of the Grateful Dead’s magic. Add to this the set and setting of the day, and you have one of the finest Grateful Dead experiences captured on film and multi-track audio tape. The other shows to mention are the two nights at the Paramount in 1976. The shows weren’t the best of 1976, and were the first Grateful Dead shows outside of California since the September, 1974 European tour, but the Grateful Dead that emerged that night was incredibly different from the 1974 Grateful Dead. First of all, Mickey was back, propelling the band forward with a powerful second rhythmic push, but equally important was the return of older, classic songs (Cosmic Charlie; Dancing In The Street in a very different arrangement from 1970; St. Stephen played at the soundcheck and debuted a week later; different arrangements of They Love Each Other and Cassidy), and the addition of many new songs, including Might As Well, Lazy Lightning>Supplication, The Wheel, Mission In The Rain and Samson and Delilah. Clearly, the genesis of the Grateful Dead that would play for the next 20 years was started at these two very interesting shows. Check them out if you get a chance.

Well, it’s really been fun going through the Grateful Dead’s touring history as we follow The Dead’s tour, from North Carolina to the Pacific Northwest, with plenty of great and exciting stops along the way. Thanks for joining us!

We'll update this page shortly after the show with the setlist and to recap each performance by The Dead as it relates to the context of the Grateful Dead's history at this venue or city.