30 Days of Dead
It's a Dead Head's most wonderful time of the year! Welcome to another 30 days of unreleased Grateful Dead tracks from the vault, one for every day of November, selected by archivist and producer David Lemieux. The tracks are yours, 100% free gua-ran-teed, but the real fun is taking part in the challenge for the chance to win some sweet swag from the Dead.
How the heck does that work?! Let us remind you...
You know your Ables from your Bakers from your C's, but can your finely tuned ears differentiate the cosmic "comeback" tour from a spacey 70s show? Each day we'll post a song from one of the Dead's coveted shows. Will it be from that magical night at Madison Square Garden in '93 or from way back when they were just starting to warm it up at Winterland? Is that Pigpen's harmonica we hear? Brent on keys? If you think you know, lob your answer in and you just might find yourself taking home our daily prize of a 2026 Grateful Dead wall calendar or the grand prize – a copy of the SOLD OUT limited-edition ENJOYING THE RIDE boxed set!'
Woo! I learned something new at Grateful Dead school today! Too bad they didn't play Doin' That Rag more often as it's got some of Hunter's most wonderfully Weird lyrics.
The tempo of this version is too fast for me. I prefer slower versions. I can't recall a specific performance right now.
is a few months?
...and doin' that rag. Maybe the best rendition of this trippin' song. And check out the wild opening of the next song at this show - and the evolution of the band's improvisation through the rest of this formative period. Maybe Dave can see fit to offer up some of those other enlightening gems from this show (please?). Ah well, let the rain come, just keep doin' that rag!
… may be apparent, but it’s tough to say for sure given the era.