Week of March 30-April 5, 2026
Welcome back to the Tapers’ Section, where this week we have Grateful Dead music from 1969, 1983, and 1988.
Our first stop this week is on 8/29/69 at the Family Dog with a double dose of Pigpen plus and early Workingman’s Dead tune: Lovelight, Casey Jones, Midnight Hour.
Next is the start of the show on opening night of a three night run in Eugene, OR, on 8/29/83, featuring Shakedown Street; New Minglewood Blues; Friend Of The Devil; Hell In A Bucket.
Lastly this week is the first set from 9/5/88 in Landover, MD, where we have Iko Iko ; Walkin' Blues; Ramble On Rose; Mama Tried > Mexicali Blues; Row Jimmy ; Stuck Inside of Mobile With The Memphis Blues Again ; When Push Comes To Shove; The Music Never Stopped.
Be sure to join us here next week for more music from the vault.
David Lemieux
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Tapers’ Section 3/30/2026
The 8/29/69 at the Family Dog double dose of Pigpen plus an early Workingman’s Dead tune: Lovelight, Casey Jones, Midnight Hour. Every liisting I have seen for this show Deadbase XI, Deadlists Project, and jerrygarcia.com show Casey Jones as the opener, Lovelight as the closer, and no Midnight Hour at all. Am I missing something? Are all the databases incorrect?
Not missing anything as far as I can see
I googled " Did the Dead play IN THE MId NIGHT HOUR IN AUGUST 1969 "? No, the Grateful Dead did not play "In The Midnight Hour" during their famous August 1969 performances, including their Woodstock set on August 16. While they performed the song about 69-70 times between 1965 and 1994, it was not part of their setlist during that specific month in 1969 .Then I asked about September and got Yes, the Grateful Dead performed their cover of Wilson Pickett's "In the Midnight Hour" in September 1969.
September 6, 1969: The band performed "In the Midnight Hour" during their show at the Family Dog at the Great Highway in San Francisco, CA.
Setlist Details: The song was part of a setlist that included other staples of the era, such as "Good Lovin'", "Dark Star", and "St. Stephen".
Performance Frequency: While "In the Midnight Hour" was a staple for the band in 1966-1967, it was still played occasionally in 1969 before being dropped from the regular rotation for many years.
The performance was typical of their "Primal Dead" era, often featuring Ron "Pigpen" McKernan on vocals. Either it is a September at the Dog or Filler as they play the Casey Opener and Love Light, closer in August at the Family Dawg. Good eyes and ears Bobby W.
08 29 69
Songs 5 and 6 - New Orleans and Searchin'. Two real treats. A nod to their upcoming performances in Jan 1970?