The Bus Came By & I Got On: 5 Songs from Grateful Dead Bootlegs

This week's songs are from the Grateful Dead

The Grateful Dead is a funhouse mirror of America and embodiment of the central idea of what it means to be an American. Seekers of a new frontier. Pilgrims. Sooners. Cowboys. Prospectors. Okies. Beatniks. Hipsters. Hippies.

The West was settled. After WWII, Americans expanded out to suburbs. Jack Kerouac idealized his adventures with Neal Cassady as itinerant, searchers on a quest to find truth, meaning—anything—in On the Road, chronicling a generation with nowhere further out to go, at least on a map. Expansion was over. How can you “Go West, young man” when you’re born in California? The Dead were getting off the ground just as Timothy Leary and Owsley Stanley were taking LSD out of the lab and into the streets. If you can’t expand on land, expand your mind. They picked up where Kerouac and Cassady and Kesey left off, turning a touring Rock & Roll band into one long, endless journey around North America (and a bit of Europe). The band even lived with Cassady at one point (who was, by many counts, exhausting). They took the beatnik ideal—very much in the tradition of American seekers— and made it a way of life.

But oh, right—the music….

That too is a funhouse mirror of America. Their music is a melting pot of Jazz, Blues, Country & Western, Folk—all music born here. Some would argue the music was just an excuse to do drugs. Others would say they’re brilliant. Dance music for white people. Virtuosic, revelatory improvisation. Sloppy hippies with bad rhythm. A groundbreaking exploration of how far and wide they could take music. Out-of-tune junkies noodling. True innovators of what a live music experience could be. None of them can really sing.

The only other band I can think of where I am just as likely to agree with the detractors as I am the super fans might be Pearl Jam. I find their obvious faults endearing. Both bands share something of a covenant of sorts with their fans and insisted on doing things on their own terms. It’s honest music. It’s authentic and occasionally ambitious. But you’re never going to have a long-lasting entity without a few duds along the way. The Dead committed to an idea—create something new every time—hoping to unlock a bit of magic, fully aware that magic is a difficult thing to make happen on accident, and it’s worse when it feels forced.

I backed into Dead fandom after years of resistance. I have a natural aversion to jam bands. In 2003, the “Core Four” played Bonnaroo as The Dead and I was pretty vocal about “only knowing, like, two songs” going into it. They proceeded to play a run of Jerry songs, where after each one I said, “Ok-that’s the one I know.” I was very soon at the “American Beauty and Working Man’s Dead and that’s it” level of fandom, where I stayed for a solid decade. In that time, I made a concerted effort to get into jazz—trying to crack an uncrackable code, better understand it as an artform, or at least find something I liked within it. So in 2015 during the week of the Fare Thee Well shows, XRT aired live Dead shows the whole weekend. The music made more sense. I wanted more.

Since then, it seems every summer I get the itch to listen to the Dead live bootlegs. It’s a perfect summer soundtrack - you can leave it on quietly, listen intently, have it on driving, reading. At this point it’s woven into the fabric of the season, like barbeques, pools, and baseball. When I mentioned the connection to the season, my brother suggested it was because “the music keeps going—it’s like you don’t want it to end, like summer.” Maybe it’s a little bit of that. It’s also a little bit of the hippie vibe to relax a little. It’s perfect vacation music—it’s there to settle your mind, ease off the mental gas pedal so to speak. It’s also got the choogle and a lot of songs about hitting the road; there’s an element of the possibilities it’s open to—more the journey than any destination. After a few weeks, I get sick of hearing “Not Fade Away,” “El Paso,” and “Good Lovin,” and it’s on to the next thing. Like summer, Dead Season is here and gone.

There are far more people who go deeper into Dead bootlegs and more knowledgeable than I. Some of these selections are from more well-known shows—but they’re well-known for a reason.

Here are 5 songs from Grateful Dead bootlegs worth checking out. If you’ve got other shows worth listening to, please share!

“You know what foldin’ chairs are for, don’t you? They’re for foldin’ up and dancin’ on!” - Bob Weir, June 18, 1967 (Monterey Pop Festival)

“Mr. Charlie” - August 23, 1971

The initial idea behind the Grateful Dead was to be a blues band. Ron “Pigpen” McKernan, known to be the showman, would be the one to stir up audiences with blues tunes. He and Robert Hunter adapted Lightnin’ Hopkins’ “Mr. Charlie”—a slavery-era term similar to “Uncle Tom”—into this song more or less about a violent menace. As a Pigpen tune, it was retired after his death in 1973. It’s not a particularly stand-out song, but this recording from the famed Auditorium Theater in Chicago has a stellar guitar sound, and a really tight, killer solo from Jerry. At 3 minutes & 14 seconds, it’s a glimpse at their humble beginnings as a Pizza Parlor/bar band. The rest of the show has an enviable setlist, and a not-so-enviable length of three and a half hours.

“Mr. Charlie” - August 23, 1971 @ the Auditorium Theater (Not on YouTube)

“Ok now, you folks should all follow the fine example of the fella over here, who got it on over here with his girlfriend. We’re going to take a short break. So I want you all to feel each other for about ten minutes.” - Bob Weir May 7, 1970 (Harpur College Binghamton, NY)

“The Other One> Cryptical Envelopment” - February 11,1970

The billing for this run of shows for the Fillmore East in New York was Love, the Allman Brothers, and the Grateful Dead. Calling that a healthy lineup is an understatement. Just over a year later, the Allman Brothers would be back in the same venue recording their iconic, blistering Live at the Fillmore East. We all know what they’re capable of. I’ve heard comedians talk about what they do to when they have to follow a strong act with high energy—they have to pick up a bit of the other’s energy, win the crowd over just enough, and then settle into their own. I have to assume that’s exactly what the Dead are doing here, as they open with a ripping version of “The Other One” and “Cryptical Envelopment” together, with the up-tempo shuffle of the Allmans’ “Whipping Post,” before dropping into a pretty sleepy “Dire Wolf.”

This recording is a Phil Lesh showcase. Like Flea, Lesh’s original instrument was the trumpet. He taught himself bass specifically so he could join the Dead, but looked down on rock & roll. He fully untethered himself from any responsibility to be a time keeper. Early on he shifts between rhythm and lead every few measures bass for “The Other One,” he keeps drips and drabs in a small breather of “Cryptical Envelopment” before whipping up a storm with a killer riff that kicks open the flood gates. This show wraps up with a “Dark Star>Spanish Jam>Turn on Your Love Light” sequence that lasts nearly an hour, with the original Fleetwood Mac lineup (Mick Fleetwood, Peter Green, Danny Kirwan) and the Allman Brothers Band (Duane and Greg Allman, Butch Trucks, Berry Oakley). Given there were already three drummers on the stage, Mick Fleetwood, dosed by the Dead, walked around the stage shirtless, with an ‘Out of Order’ sign around his neck during the extended jam. Most memorably to Lesh, was that this was the early show: the audience walked out and it was still daylight.

“The Other One > Cryptical Envelopment” February 2, 1970 @ the Fillmore East (Not on YouTube)

“Yeah, tonight we’re going to reinvent the term ‘Mañana’” - Bob Weir, October 30, 1977 (Assembly Hall, Indiana University)

“Scarlet Begonias>Fire on the Mountain” - May 8,1977

It’s my understanding that this is considered one of the greatest Dead shows ever. It’s possible that’s the case because of how good the recording is, but the music is no doubt a contributing factor. There’s a nice “Loser,” “They Love Each Other” and “Row Jimmy,” which have an almost reggae-like bounce to them, and some fine harmonies as well. The extended jam of “Scarlett Begonias>Fire on the Mountain” kicks off a spectacular second set, and the show later climaxes with a great “Morning Dew.”

What’s special here is that a bouncing funk hits from the opening notes. They ease into nothing; pedal to the floor. Reggae guitars, Latin percussion and piano, funk bass mix together into something special. It’s not a difficult entwining of the songs; they have a similar groove and chord pattern. They would do the same transition for The Closing of Winterland (December 31, 1978), and enough times over their career to earn it the nickname “Scarlet Fire.” The Winterland version has a clumsy transition into “Fire on the Mountain,” where everyone but Kreutzmann abruptly drops out and he has to pick up the shuffle beat to get into the right groove, and the anemic pace carries on for 13 minutes. The version from ‘77 is brimming with energy from the opening notes and carries on through when they stick the landing with an impressive build up. The groove for “Fire on the Mountain” was originally released as “Happiness is Drumming” an instrumental track on Diga by the Diga Rhythm Band, of which Mickey Hart was a member.

“Hey, you up on the balcony, Management is requesting you don’t hang off of there….You gotta realize that first step is a real doozy, and so—uh, kind of cool it. Don’t hang off the balcony!” - Bob Weir, June 27, 1985 (Saratoga Performing Arts Center)

“Bird Song” ft. Branford Marsalis - March 29, 1990

This show, at the Nassau Coliseum was released as Wake Up to Find Out, and there’s full video footage of it as well. Marsalis received an out-of-the-blue invitation to join them for the gig, which was something of a blind date. Marsalis wasn’t familiar with the Dead and only Phil Lesh knew of Marsalis’ work. He was asked to join for the second-to-last song of the first set "Bird Song,” (featured here), which went so well, they had him stick around for the entire second set, which includes a legendary “Eyes of the World,” a fantastic “Dark Star,” and ends with a pretty great “Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door.” In addition to Marsalis, I like this show because it’s also a great Brent Mydland showcase at the piano and with his gruff, strained backing vocals.

As for “Bird Song,” it’s crazy how weightless the song feels, particularly taking off once Marsalis jumps in on the song’s riff. Although Marsalis said he followed Jerry’s lead, it really sounds like Jerry’s playing softened to match Marsalis’s alto sax. It’s also hard to admit this, but maybe my affinity for this sound has something to do with being a 90s kid and the Dave Matthews Band. But here, the band takes the song pretty far out until it breaks apart, and within a few bars, there they are back at the chorus.

“You might, you might want to move back on account if you're real up close you can't see—or hear—shit.” - Bob Weir, December 28,1969 (Miami Pop Festival)

“Comes A Time” - December 10, 1971

“Wharf Rat” and “Brokedown Palace” are two of my favorite Dead songs. Jerry’s voice is at its best in slow, sad tunes. It’s soulful, which is kind of odd given his voice is a higher register than is typically attributed to soul. He’s definitely singing more from his head than his chest, but it never really sounds nasally. It’s got a pain to it, but doesn’t strain. “Comes A Time” here is a perfect showcase for it. He even takes a shot reaching for a super high note with a little falsetto.

This version is also pretty instructional about what makes the band great—they leave so much open space for each other. Phil Lesh lets every other note hang there, and Bill Kreutzmann’s kick drum gives the song a stuttering pulse. Like the aforementioned sad Jerry songs, you feel it, but it doesn’t bring you down. As any great concert should, it takes you someplace and then lets you go.

Thanks for reading. Enjoy listening.

Full playlists of songs featured in 5 Songs:

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