Through the years, the Grateful Dead played more than a few unusual gigs. But there were few nights that they had more rarified company then on March 17, 1970. On that evening, the Dead shared not just the bill, but also the stage with the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra. A local northwest New York band, The Road, also played while Sonovision, “a far-out light-show outfit from Michigan” provided lightning effects from a laser beam and prism.
Dubbed the Philharmonic Rock Marathon, the evening was purported to be “history-making as the first fully-shared concert by a rock group and symphony orchestra.” And while there was some criticism of The Road’s performance and the overall format, the reports of the evening lauded the Dead’s efforts.
The Dead were not the orchestra’s first choice for the evening. The Byrds had been scheduled, but cancelled. Regardless, the Dead waived payment, both because the show was a benefit for the Philharmonic and, as they put it, “the privilege and delight of working with Lukas Foss,” the German-American conductor of the orchestra.
Sadly, there are no recordings of the evening. The home of the Buffalo Philharmonic, Kleinhans Music Hall, was a union building, so recordings of any sort would have required the expense of a union hand or two. And the one man who would have made sure a tape got made despite the shop rules – Owsley Stanley – was stuck in California under the terms of his parole. Without a recording, we are left to simply marvel at the reports and dream about the possibilities.
By all counts, the Grateful Dead were the stars of the evening, blowing the audience away. For instance, The Buffalo Evening claimed the next day that the Dead “sent a sublime shock through” the hall from the outset and that “one could feel the extraordinary rapport between the Dead’s rock and the orchestral prose, and also between both of these and the highly responsive young audience,” 2200 strong.
The Dead opened the evening with a short set that included Dark Star. As you might have expected, Garcia, who a reporter was “sure he just has to have dimples and a smile under his bushy beard,” played “really sharp and sweet phrases” throughout. At the same time, “like a scholar reading his notes, Lesh…set down perspicacious bass lines” while Weir provided “flourishes interweaving around the bass and lead guitars.” All the while, the drummers, joined by one of the Philharmonic’s percussionists, Lynn Harbold, formed “a figure 8 of sound around the guitars and organ,” alternating discordant “ping-pong drumming contests” with a closely matched “duet synchronizing move for move.” And Pig, “the individualistic loner in denim jacket and cowboy hat,” riled the crowd into a fever on Lovelight.
Following the Dead’s set and a short one from The Road, the bands joined Foss and the orchestra on some Bach, “The Grateful Dead working their wave of music more adeptly around the free-form style with a lot more adroit ramifications” than the local rock band.
The evening closed with “the most exciting new concept of contemporary music,” a battle of the bands playing alongside the orchestra. And, in the best of fashion, “as the groups and orchestras jammed, the atmosphere was intensified with a laser-beam light show. Rapid patterns and curves of pure light chased along the walls in time with the music like frantic balls of yarn. During this experimental work, a really exciting thing happened – a rock audience finally listening to a symphony group on its own terms suddenly took the initiative and began making music themselves by imitating the instruments and calls of the musicians.”
In all, the night with the Buffalo Philharmonic was, by all accounts, revelatory and ground-breaking. But that was just about what you would expect from a Grateful Dead concert. Though it sure would be sweet to have a tape of it all!
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