1966: It's New! It's Groovy! It's A Happening with the Grateful Dead

So I am having too much fun lately researching the Grateful Dead mainly because it's new, groovy and a happening.  Today's post covers the media and the band in 1966.  Interesting that the first media mention of the band is in a Eureka Humboldt Post February 12, 1966 story on Ken Kesey. Take a look on what he says, it's awesome. Also check jgmf pieces on 1966

The piece below is priceless too with the beautiful photo

Here's some more grate-ness, but if you like, you can have the flacs of everything I know

http://deadessays.blogspot.com/2010/01/deads-1966-songs.html

All Available 1966 Shows I Know

A Tale of Two Playgrounds: Grateful Dead Rock 35,000 Over 1973 and 1974 in Des Moines, Iowa

Even before the release of Road Trips Volume 2, Number 3, Des Moines 1974, was in my radar as a killer show with the Eyes>Big River, Playin' and cool set 3  Truckin>Nobody's Fault>Wild Jam et al. However, now due the magic of the internet, I can present here, the local POV of not only this show drawing 18,000 to the Fairgrounds, but the 1973 version that drew 17,000 too.  35,000 deadheads in the middle of the country in very short 1973 (one show) and 1974 (two show) Midwest tours :)

Following the Stanford breakout monster on February 9, 1973, the band played 7 shows in the midwest (plus one in Salt Lake City) including a show at the Fieldhouse at the University of Iowa in Iowa City om February 24. According to bigmoe53 "the fieldhouse was packed".  The Dead also played the Fieldhouse prior on March 20, 1971.

Iowa must have loved the Dead since two months later on April 29, the Des Moines Register announced a big new five-hour long day show  two weeks later in May 13 promoted by Bill Graham.

 There is an interesting comment in the review of the 1973 show, saying the band was pretty mellow and made no effort to rock out "It never quite happened" though Keith and Donna "gave the most hope of taking the concert from a mellow to a hard driving experience".

The Grateful Dead did come back to the midwest in October and November of 1973, but no Iowa date. It happened again the next year.

They raised the prices to $6 in advance and $6.50 at the door. Interesting that just days before the event, it is described as sort of tentative.  Des Moines was having a few problems at shows like ZZ Top and a Grand Funk show they were worried about.

The Road Trips show has a similar "mellow" review on page 11 below, but page 1 has a story about one of the promoters being stabbed by a guy trying to pry open the fence around the show to let people in for free (foreshadowing 1995, crazy)

I love the China>Rider from 1974 so thats what you get today as you look at this interesting history lesson from Iowa in 1973 and 1974.  The next show two days later in Louisville has an amazing once only  It's A Sin Jam, but from the size of things it looks like Kentucky in 74 preferred Kiss :)

Jerry in the famous Marin Academy shirt

Fear Of The Wall In The Biggest Little City in America, May 12, 1974

It was a concert that was "no sweat: and a "Stereo Buff's Dream" and had a very cool extended jam, but first Nevada had to meet the deadheads. .But first they had to find a date.  It was first reported at April 11 on April 5th which turned out to be wrong. Second, it was May 11, but moved to May 12.

edit May 12, 2020, thanks Michael

The Grateful Dead and Nevada were never really a mix.

 Even though it was right next to groovy California, the Dead had avoided NV altogether, except for an Las Vegas Ice Palace (huh?) show March 29, 1969 until Reno scheduled the first Wall of Sound show outside the Bay Area on May 12, 1974.  The Reno Gazette-Journal gives a great play-by-play of what this conservative center would feel of the band and its fans.  The feeling was fear. First, they wanted to search the hippies and then more Fear of a super powerful sound. Finally, fear of sleeping Dead Fans. You can't make this stuff up folks. But listen here

How did the show go? It's funny in Deadbase IX, there are 27 shows voted on for best show of the year, and none of the 10,000 voted for Reno :)  Grateful Dead Listening Guide has a great piece on this show. I recall hearing on Sirius one day driving on the 210 this remarkable Truckin>Nobody's Jam>Other one>Mind Left Body>Row Jimmy.  Is this the only jam with both Nobody's and Mind Left Body?  This is an excellent second set and you should seek it out.

Busted Down In New Orleans; Delayed in St Louis 1970-02-02, Dead Deliver Dave's Pick 6

Dave's Picks 6 gave us this wonderful February 2, 1970 show, the first of 8 the band would play at The Fox in St Louis between 1970 and 1972, which followed the four night stand at the Warehouse House in New Orleans from January 29 to February 1 and the five night stand in Honolulu  from January 22 to January 26. (Two nights later would be a five night stand at the Fillmore West in SF, then NYC, then Texas, dudes you need Sam Cutler fast)

As par the course during the crazy 1970 schedule, the band's crew had to make a 677 mile trek from The Warehouse to the Fox and the band was only one night removed from Busted Down in New Orleans evening of January 31.  So it looks like everyone drove and the band and equipment arrived at 7pm and went on at 10:15pm according to the awesome St Louis Post-Dispatch.  Despite all these hurdles, travel, arrests and crazy schedule, the band go into an "epic" version of Dark Star according to All Music. I love finding treasure like the Post-Dispatch review after 46 years.

US Blues: Dueling July 4 Shows Never Occur in 1974

Red and white, blue suede shows. If you wanted to see the Grateful Dead on the 4th of July in 1974, you could try Oshkosh, Wisconsin with a nice fireworks display. Or you can get over to Columbus, Ohio and see Eric Clapton and Friends, the Grateful Dead and The Band.  Oops. Neither happened.

The great JGMF blogspot has some discussion on this in his great cancelled  http://jgmf.blogspot.com/p/canceled-grateful-d ead-and-jerry-garcia.html  But this is the first photos of the dueling ads.  The one on top appeared in
Neenah Menasha Northwestern
Oshkosh, Wisconsin
Thu, Jun 27, 1974 – Page 32 and the bottom one is fromvThe Indianapolis Star
Indianapolis, Indiana
Sun, Jun 9, 1974 – Page 180

Embed: Found on Newspapers.com

Grateful Dead Artifacts from my Attic: Part 1 1976-1981

Today I looked in my attic and found these:

Pink Section December 1978; gift of Harriet King

From The Village Voice, August 1978, rats No Waylon

Debut Issue of In Concert Magazine with Awesome Photo from Giant's Stadium 9-2-78 with contributing photos by Bobby Minkin 

Dead Relix In-Progress Spring 1977 Schedule with My Notes, what happened to the Big May 30, 1977 show in New York??

My Summer 1979 newspaper requests for California Shows

Dead Relix review of Spring 1977 Tour, I met Jerry Moore at the April 30, 1977 show at the Palladium which he loves in this article

My Copy of Issue One

1976 Delivery of Dead Relix

Pink Section 1981 Ad for New Years

May 22 1981 Acoustic benefit

Berkeley Food Flyer Greek 1981

Politic Flyer 1981 (I Think) Berkeley

More Interesting Berkeley Flyer

Blair and David Interview Jerry 1981

Blair and David Interview Jerry 1981, Note Date