Shakedown Street 8.3.24

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Levitt Pavilion
Denver, CO

Words & Photos by Andrew Wyatt

About halfway through the first set of Shakedown Street’s fiery tribute show celebrating Jerry Garcia’s birthday, a huge roar erupted from the 9,000+ Deadhead fans as if they were watching a young King Arthur lean over and carefully pull the mystical sword Excalibur from a hulking slab of stone. Only it wasn’t a sword that lead-guitarist Josh Rosen hoisted to his chest. It was the mystical Fender Stratocaster guitar of Jerry Garcia’s called Alligator that became his favorite to play during the fabled Europe ‘72 tour, but he never played in the state of Colorado.

The magical mix of history and myth swirled with the echo of cheers high above the sprawling grassy knolls of the outdoor Denver venue for what would become a legend of performances. It is no exaggeration to say that Alligator’s story is incredible and its sudden appearance at the weekend Shakedown show was equally incredible. Musician/songwriter Graham Nash reportedly bought the Strat in 1970 from a Phoenix, Arizona pawn shop for a reported $250.00. He gifted the guitar to Jerry that year as a thank you for his contribution for playing the pedal steel guitar on several song recordings including the hit, “Teach Your Children” on the now famous Crosby, Stills, and Nash album Déjà vu.

Under the guidance of sound engineer/LSD magician Owsley Stanley with other band technicians, Jerry modified it several times in the few years he used it including swapped-out Raytheon volume knobs. Later in 1972 Jerry added several stickers including the iconic cartoon grinning alligator, for which the guitar is named. The Grateful Dead threw a retirement party on the last night Jerry played Alligator on his birthday August 1st at a show in Jersey City in 1973. Purportedly, Alligator was stolen from a band equipment trailer and disappeared for several years before its recovery.

When asked how it felt to play Alligator, Josh gushed, “It was truly an out-of-body experience.” The history making moment on stage at the Levitt Pavilion last weekend was punctuated by the appearance of two other guitars. In addition to rocking Alligator during a rousing set-ending tribute to Europe 72, Grateful Guitars officially presented Josh with a new guitar he helped design with renowned luthier Bob Fishman. The music non-profit organization sponsored the build by 8West Guitars that included elements of a few favorite Jerry axes including Tiger, Wolf, and Rosebud. As if that wasn’t enough bandmate Peter Czolowski had the opportunity to jam an original Bob Weir 1984 Koa Blackknife near the close of the first set during “Lazy River Road.”

And then there was the buzzy, intoxicating performance of the five-piece band that is Colorado’s longest running Grateful Dead cover band spanning nearly four decades. The first, nostalgia-drenched set roared into such expansive improvisational second set that included the brightly twinkling “Eyes of the World” and a towering "St. Stephen" into "Shakedown Street," that the time curfew hit before the band could launch into an encore. The house light glare blasted the Levitt open field like beams from heaven or some otherworldly space ship revealing the enraptured glow on the faces of a crowd as if we all had just been invited to join some ancient secret circle of history, myth, and music as knights of the round table of live music.

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