Grateful Dead

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..and to our good Doctor, I have been pretty good at taking the '71 plunge so far, I had not listened to many of these April shows before. In light of recent glowing praise for this date in GD History, I set the wayback for 4/14/71.

Also.. as documented in the amateur malingerer's handbook, April 14th is national leave two hours early from work for a fictitious dental emergency day. It's a twofer for fun day, it is written in the stars.

Doc, today's -71'er looks pretty interesting. I will take a dive. A second set kickoff with an early Bird Song? Yes please.

Speaking of Fourteens, lest we not forget the mammoth from Europe '72 that was on this date. Perhaps the most explosive Dark Star of the lot (at least this was my recollection when I did a full E'72 DS Review a few years back). The show is impeccable with many many fine moments:

https://archive.org/details/gd1972-04-14.sbd.miller.34552.sbeok.flac16

All these stories about wraaaaaaslin' & GD sharing moments is gold!
I said pure GOLD, JERRY!

And Jimmy - fully agree, mine and all of ours should be 'Two-Wall-Of-Sound-Homes'. And maybe a third that is outside in the yard, as a playset for the kids. Monkey bars aka Phil's sky-high scaffolding. Press the 'Phil Bomb' button and the whole set shakes like an earthquake, the goal to hold on kinda like a buckin' bronco.

Be Well People!
Sixtus

50 years ago today…..

April 14, 1971
Davis Gym, Bucknell University, Lewisburg, Pennsylvania

Set 1: Truckin'-Deal-Me & Bobbie McGee-Next Time You See Me-Bertha-Playing In The Band-Sing Me Back Home-Me & My Uncle-China Cat Sunflower> I Know You Rider-I Second That Emotion-Casey Jones

Set 2 Bird Song-Sugar Magnolia-Cryptical Envelopment > drums> The Other One > Wharf Rat-Hard to Handle-Not Fade Away> Goin’ Down The Road Feelin’ Bad> Not Fade Away> Johnny B. Goode

“In their penultimate Pennsylvania performance, the Grateful Dead…….”

A powerful and deep show, wonderfully designed and perfectly executed by the Dead, crackling with energy, a supernova of a show that blows away almost everything else played that month. How did they do it? Did they all drop acid? I’ll even ignore the fact that there are only two Pigpen tunes. The band is on fire, every tune here works, cosmic reflections of all that was good and pure about the Dead’s music that month. Rocking all over the place, with wonderful slices of country, soul and psychedelia, on this night everything the Dead touches turns to gold and pure bliss. Somehow, some way, on April 14 1971, in Lewisburg, Pennsylvania, the Dead played a show for the ages………

Rock on!!!

Doc
Music is truly love itself, the purest, most ethereal language of the emotions, embodying all their changing colors in every variety of shading and nuance…..

Every basement needs a 1/6th scale, fully functional Wall of Sound. I saw that too.. but it took Sixtus to post it. Good job.

Scratch that.. you really need two. A 1/6 scale in the basement and a 1/3 scale in the back yard. Like a 2 car garage, we need a 2 Wall of Sound house. ...and just imagine if two or three deadheads lived on the same block.

Ha.. nice story KF. Way to keep it together under duress. It's good to see highly skilled partiers practicing their craft. I think we all have our burger king cup story to tell.

To your point, there was always a shot that a Phillies game was letting out the same night as any during concert season. They certainly didn't plan around it, and it sounds like you're familiar with Philly - the Vet and the Spectrum were right across the street from each other, so coming and going could be a real mess since we we were all pretty much driving the same direction. That led to a lot of post-show balloons while waiting for the lots to clear out (that was my excuse anyway). Will never forget grabbing a day-of ticket to the Stones on the Bridges to Babylon Tour. Baloons and beer before tailgating with some new friends, great seat for the show next to the stranger guy who sold his ticket to me over the internet (his buddy bailed last minute and he had an extra ticket and extra joints). Great show, but I only recall Crazy Mama. More balloons in the parking lot after the show, and the a long wait in the line for the bridge. And then the queasy feeling. And then the realization that the stop and go traffic was due to a cop directing cars onto the Walt Whitman Bridge. And the awful luck of being first in line when he next raised his hand to gesture cars to stop. The realization that I WAS going to chuck my cookies before it was my turn to go, and that this man was 10 yards from me. I grasped for a half-full Burger King cup in the drink holder and was resigned to spending the night in the tank, but he somehow was looking at the other traffic he was waving in when the time came for me to chuck said cookies. Made a mess of myself but made eye contact when it was my turn and saluted him as I drove by and made my way to the bridge.

What a great box set idea, if there were enough '74 shows left to warrant a box set. Package it in a Wall Of Sound Replica, maybe made out of titanium or at least die-cast metal. Maybe just start remastering all of the old Dick's Picks from '74 that don't sound quite as snappy as, say 30 Trips or Jai-lai (did I get that right?) Or the awesome sounding PNW '74 shows. Just, just a boatload full of those shows in a Wall of Sound box package made out of that new magnesium compound the Chinese developed. And throw in Chicago 7/25 so we have that final Dark Star. Someone get Rhino, Pinkus, and Lemeux on the line; tell them there's business to discuss, by oder of the Peaky Blinders!

I wasn't at the Spectrum that year. mmm.. that did jar a memory loose though. I guess it's not that uncommon to have parking lots that share crowds and venues that multi task. ..but a bridge too far, I was not at the spectrum on or near 84 through 87.

I read Spectrum, and 1986 Libya bombing, and I can tell you that's what was on the news when my brother, cousin, and I came home home from my first Rush concert, Power Windows Tour, April 14, 1986. That's all I've read of your post so far, but thought it was funny.

I’m positive it was the Spectrum and that it was 86 or 87, but not sure which year?
I’m pretty sure it was 86 partially cause they Played Midnight hour encore that year and it would of been well past midnight...
It was also sort of a short show which would of made sense. The Dew outta space was the last song and was killer!
Folks were saying they did the dew ending because the US bombed Libya that night, but I don’t think that’s accurate? According to Wikipedia, that happened earlier...I think it was just because it was so late...

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1986_United_States_bombing_of_Libya

As we were waiting outside to be let in, I remember folks doing unmentionable things to the Rocky Statue out front lol.
I vaguely remember the looks on the faces of the wrestling crowd as they exited and had to make their way through the throng of aaaa, “over prepared” lol Dead heads who were getting antsy to say the least!
I think we were all pretty well behaved and mostly respectful to them...they on the other hand looked startled? Surprised for sure, and many seemed concerned if not out right scarred lol.
In there defense, it was mostly fathers with their kids etc, so if you weren’t aware of the situation and walked out into that culture shock...well, I’d probably have been concerned too lol...fortunately, like Pig before us onward, we just look scary!
Anyway, it was yet another fun unusual occurrence care of the GOGD that ill (somewhat ;) always remember, just wish I knew which show for sure. Can’t believe no one else has ever brought that show up or seems to remember? Of course if I could remember who I was with I could ask them lol!

EDIT: Ha!, who needs McGruff? Lol...finally found some corroborating evidence, it was 86!
Mind like a melting, dripping, hallucinating steel trap!

https://www.google.com/search?q=philadelphia+3/24/1986&client=safari&hl…

I have this heavy fog memory of Pro Wrestling / Grateful Dead sharing a parking lot or in close proximity or the next night, night before, earlier in the day, over the weekend where stragglers that were too messed up to leave ended up in the GD/Shakedown parking lot or something.. and I am quite sure I made the '86 Hampton run. We are going to have to get to the bottom of that. Bueller?

I wonder what became of the pro wrestling fans that stuck around and accidentally got dosed. There had to have been one or two or five of them.... what a thought.

Good memory Oroborous. I can't help but think we bumped into each other at a venue or two. There is good overlap on the shows we saw from that period.

Listening to that Supplication Jam > Let It Grow from Hampton '86 for the first time, since.. well, 3/21/86. I really love that they brought that back even though sans Lazy Lightning. Juicy.... ..Really good later era stuff. Don't tell this town (band) ain't got no heart...