Grateful Dead at the Fillmore East, January 2nd, 1970
Photograph © Amalie R. Rothschild, 1970
Early Show
This show starts with Also Sprach Zarathustra coming over the PA as the band takes the stage; tongue in cheek or whatever (Bear was that you?), it does give the proceedings a sense of event, followed through by the oblique Mason’s Children cracking out of the speakers. This version is tight (it’s the one featured on Fallout From the Phil Zone), and it influences everything that comes after. A bit of banter here & there aside (Jerry, after the inevitable hollers of “play St. Stephen!!”: “That song’s on two albums, maaaan..”), the band gets right down to business. Even the Cryptical comes hot on the heels of Cumberland, and the band really sounds like they have a plane to catch. Not in the sense of rushing things, but in the sense of flying down those intricate corridors without a moment to waste. I’ve noticed that happens sometimes with these one-set early/late shows; there’s a lot to pack in and you don’t want anyone feeling ripped off. In this case, I can’t imagine anyone did! Feel ripped off, that is. After a rip-roaring Other One it’d be hard to.
The Cosmic Charlie that flows so gently and naturally out of the tail-end Cryptical makes one wonder why they didn’t pair these more often, but then, such are the mysteries and beauties of the Grateful Dead!
That takes care of the early show. But I’ll just pair them here as the link below gives you both.
Late Show
As per the era, the band starts this show out with a batch of Workingman’s tunes - tight, elastic, clearly woodshedded at this point. (Fun to note that Jerry’s always trying to get the audience to sing along to Dire Wolf in its early readings. Seems kinda uncharacteristic, but then again it maybe speaks to some latent desire on Jerry’s part to bring out the “campfire” vibe of Workingman’s Dead - and that part of the Dead in general - at these shows. Kinda sweet really! Anyway, they really don’t comply much, and he gives it up after a while. Though the vibe he’s going for is certainly more fully realized in the soon-to-come acoustic sets.) A batch of “standard Dead” follows - played excellently, natch - though Good Lovin’ isn’t quite yet the prime Pig rave-up it would become in 1971. But y’know, we get a China>Rider, a Monkey, a broken string and some goofy banter.
Next thing ya know, though, you’ve gone back in time a year for a deep dose of primal Dead - the complete Live/Dead sequence, but with a distinctly 1970 flavor. The Dark Star - oh man, this Dark Star. It gets spacey & atmospheric right outta the first verse, and out of that slowly unfolds one of the most gorgeous and fully developed Feelin’ Groovy Jams ever. Similar in flavor to February 13th but hey, it ain’t fair to compare. This is a totally different Dark Star, different universe, and it’ll make ya glad to be alive. Cruelly, there seems to be no way around the cut at the end / beginning of St. Stephen.
Somehow the jamming in The Eleven was never as furious after the latter half of ‘69; still, it’s a singular beast and truly unique in all of music. And this is a good one - it gets that floaty feeling I dig in some Elevens, where the drummers let the other instruments hang out for a while. Listen up, too, because there are only a half dozen left before it’s gone for good (aside from the very occasional jam on it’s chords, all the way up to 1981).
Pig wraps things up nicely with everybody in fine & rowdy form in a great, raucous Lovelight.
Worth noting that both complete sets (along with portions of the following night) came out on Dave’s Picks Volume 30. Happily, those cruel cuts you hear here are restored in the official release.
Listen HERE.
