Skip to main content

Today in Grateful Dead History: Watkins Glen


Grand Prix Racecourse
Watkins Glen, NY

Words By J-man


Today we feature one of the largest gatherings in the history of this great nation!

Grateful Dead Live at Grand Prix Racecourse on July 28, 1973.



Set One: Bertha, Beat It On Down The Line, Brown Eyed Women, Mexicali Blues, Box Of Rain, Here Comes Sunshine, Looks Like Rain, Row Jimmy, Jack Straw, Deal, Playin' In The Band

Set Two: Around & Around, Loose Lucy, Big River, He's Gone-> Truckin'-> Nobody's Fault But Mine-> El Paso, China Cat Sunflower-> I Know You Rider, Stella Blue, Eyes Of The World, Sugar Magnolia Sing Me Back Home

Encore: Not Fade Away*, Mountain Jam*, Johnny B. Goode*

*Robert Santelli notes that some 600,000 people attended:

"Many historians claimed that the Watkins Glen event was the largest gathering of people in the history of the United States. In essence, that meant that on July 28, one out of every 350 people living in America at the time was listening to the sounds of rock at the New York state racetrack. Considering that most of those who attended the event hailed from the Northeast, and that the average age of those present was approximately seventeen to twenty-four, close to one out of every three young people from Boston to New York was at the festival."

This fantastic show began with an intro by the man himself, Bill Graham. What follows is a crisp soundboard recording full of incredible moments! Highlights of the first set include "Bertha," "Mexicali Blues," "Jack Straw" and "Deal!" Though the first set was enjoyable, the second set unfolds like a dream, with highlights including "He's Gone," "Truckin" into "Nobody's Fault But Mine," "El Paso," "China Cat" into " I know You Rider," "Eyes of The World," "Sugar Magnolia" Now, I'm sure that you're saying to yourself "WOW, what a show!" But wait, here's the kicker... The Allman Brothers Band joined the Dead for their encores which included "Not Fade Away," "Mountain Jam" and "Johnny B. Goode!"

The historical importance of this show is staggering, but even more mind-blowing was the performance that the boys put on that day! We hope that you enjoy this pick from "Today in Grateful Dead History!"

www.dead.net

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Livetronica Sampler 3.22.11

Words by Greg Molitor ( ReMIND Photography ) Ozric Tentacles This British group has proven innovative throughout the years offering a space-rock meets psytrance sound that remains alive to this day. Though never having a major record label, Ozric Tentacles has produced 28 albums of diverse psychedelia throughout its career. The band met at the Stonehenge Free Festival in 1983 and truly fathered livetronica music with its use of sequencers and synthesizers. Simply put, there would be no livetronica without Ozric Tentacles. www.ozrics.com Octopus Nebula Colorado’s Octopus Nebula has certainly hit its stride as of late with its constant touring and increased festival interest. The group expands on the deep sounds of highly regarded acts such as STS9 and Shpongle but also carves a path of its own with its fresh takes on synthesizer tones and sampling in the live setting. Octopus Nebula Live at Cervantes' Masterpiece Ballroom on March 26, 2010. www.octopusnebula.com Big Gigantic Big...

Buckethead: Gimmick or Guitar God?

Words & Photos By Nicholas Stock ( phatphlogblog.blogspot.com ) At what point does the gimmick overshadow the performance? The obvious answer is Buckethead. The man is an amazing guitarist but something is not right in this world. The idea a performer who dons a KFC chicken bucket on his head for a concert has always intrigued me, and some of his side projects such as Colonel Claypool’s Bernie Bucket of Brains have been huge successes. However his performance last weekend in Fort Collins simply left me perplexed. From his robotic dancing, to his nunchuck display, to the fact the he performed with an iPod rather than a band all added to my confusion. Going into the show I was ready to be blown away, despite rumblings of disgruntled fans from the previous night’s show at The Gothic. Buckethead had had some sound issues and some missed cues in Denver but I was still trying to be positive for the show in Fort Collins. It did go off without a hitch technically but that was the least ...

The Origin of MusicMarauders

Words By J-man "What should I name this fucking thing?" I asked myself in the midst of a joint in my Upstate, NY apartment. "It's got to be something with just 'Music'in the title. Nothing more specific than that, as we'll be covering a wide variety of genres." One more drag on the joint yielded the memory of driving down Woodward Ave. in Detroit, listening to Tribe Called Quest's Midnight Marauders. "MusicMarauders! That's it... It completely encompasses what we do in the sense the we are 'maraudering' or 'pillaging' for music," I thought as I stared out of the window at about three and a half feet of fresh Upstate snow. First things first, the domain had to be registered. "Do I have ten dollars in my account?" I thought to myself from a position of just scraping by. Pulling out my shiny, rarely used debit card, I put it to the test and was able to secure MusicMarauders.com. "What's next?" I ...