Dead of the Day: 07-03-1966
Fillmore Auditorium
San Francisco, California
We go to some seriously primal Grateful Dead for our Dead of the Day with this sweet 1966 show from the original Fillmore. Many of the tapes of the night begin with a heady early Dancin’ in the Streets. From the first notes, it is clear this is special music. The vocal harmonies are out of sight, and the playing puts a psychedelic – and even a bit of surf music, with Jerry’s Dick Dale-eque guitar – twinge on the Motown classic. A quick I Know You Rider, layered in thick magical syrupiness, emerges next, poppy, driving, and hallucinatory. Then the boys deliver an unbelievable He Was A Friend Of Mine. It is not clear what is better on it, Jerry’s vocals or Pigpen’s organ, both of which have the perfect range of tremulous emotion.
Nobody’s Fault But Mine
Dancing in the Street
I Know You Rider
He Was a Friend of Mine
Next Time You See Me
Viola Lee Blues
Big Boss Man
Sittin’ on Top of the World
Keep Rolling By
New, New Minglewood Blues
Cold Rain and Snow
Tastebud
Beat It On Down the Line
Cream Puff War
Don’t Mess Up a Good Thing
Cardboard Cowboy
Gangster of Love
You Don’t Have to Ask
In the Midnight Hour
According to liner notes, the Grateful Dead played two sets at this show, with the group Love playing between the band’s first and second sets.
We finally get Pig’s full vocals on Next Time You See Me, sounding like a straight-up, fifties blues recording, including the wailing harp. It is followed up by an out of this world Viola Lee, which begins with an introduction from a seriously tripping Garcia. The tune itself is Dead psychedelia of the first order mixed with that surf sound again. Next, Pig comes back around for another vocal turn on Big Boss Man, which is so bluesy and fine, but also far removed from the rough and tumble, hide your daughters Pigpen renditions of just a few years hence. Finally, our recording finishes off with a juicy Sittin’ On Top Of The World. This show is such a treat. And while we are so grateful to have it, one really has to wonder what else the band played at the Fillmore that night. Sit back, pop this in, and marvel at the beauty of the boys at this early stage; it is pure bliss.
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