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Welcome to the weekly newsletter that brings you the most interesting and significant facts from Grateful Dead History, along with reviews of the music for the week ahead! The idea is to give all you Heads a "Heads up" on the interesting and cool stuff the Grateful Dead were up to on this week in history! So tell me what you think!

Here's the highlights and music recommendations for Issue 12, for the week of April 15th, 2024, so check it out:

April 15th

4/15/70 Winterland Arena, San Francisco, CA - An over-the-top high energy performance captured in perfect sound quality on 30 Trips Around The Sun. The band is on a mission to jam your face off, and they certainly do. "The Other One" is probably the best one of 1970. Just listen to it, you won't be disappointed.

4/15/78 College of William and Mary, Williamsburg, VA - This entire show was released on Dave's Picks Volume 37. April 1978 was a period of time that contains some inconsistent performances and this show gets mixed reviews, but overall I think this is a fine show. There are some truly awesome moments including an explosive "Bertha > Good Lovin'" and "Playing in the Band".

4/15/88 Rosemont Horizon, Rosemont, IL - you can't really go wrong with a "Scarlet > Fire" opener. I mean, come on! The band is having fun and you know the crowd was psyched to get that as an opener! It's an odd setlist (in a good way) and other highlights include "Louie Louie > Cumberland", "Deal", and pretty much the entire second set.

April 16th

4/16/72 Stakladen, Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark - Officially released on Europe '72 The Complete Recordings. Another fine show from this spectacular tour. Phil is on fire and I'm so grateful we have these released recordings because they are spectacular. The first set is pretty laid back in terms of song selection and performance. Highlights are "Sugaree", "China Cat > I Know You Rider", and they break out "Dire Wolf" for the fist time in a year. Set 2 opener "Good Lovin'" is a monster version at 20 minutes. Pig shines as usual. "Cumberland Blues" is perfectly executed. "Truckin'" through the end of the show is pure bliss.

4/16/84 Community War Memorial, Rochester, NY - An outstanding show from beginning to end. The boys are energized and deliver every song with confidence and passion. This show is definitely worthwhile. Highlights are "Shakedown" opener, a very nicely executed "Dupree's" "Cassidy", "Far From Me > He's Gone" and "Stella Blue".

April 17th

4/17/72 Tivoli Concert Hall, Copenhagen, Denmark - Officially released on Europe '72 The Complete Recordings. Another magical performance that won't disappoint. Every song is played with confidence typical of this tour. Most of the show was later broadcast on "TV From the Tivoli" and is why Bobby says "Goodnight" after "One More Saturday Night". Set 3 is the big highlight in my opinion.

4/17/84 Niagara Falls Convention Center, Niagara Falls, NY - A fun show overall, with some typical highs and lows. The highlight of the show is the second set is the Jam Anthem version "Help > Slipknot! > Franklin's" after an iconic "Take A Step Back" plea. The "Slipknot!" is stretched to the limits here, at 9 minutes long! "Women Are Smarter > Eyes" is a nicely done unusual segue. I just wish "Eyes" was jammed a little more but it is well played and seems to pick up tempo for the second half. "Black Peter" out of "Space" is an interesting change up.

April 18th

4/18/78 Civic Arena, Pittsburgh, PA - The second set was released on Dave's Picks Volume 37. This is a fun, unusual show as you can see. Highlights include "Sugaree", "Lazy Lightning > Supplication", and all of the second set. The "Scarlet > Dancin'" is fun. The Transition is out of left field and is surprising in a good way.

4/18/82 Hartford Civic Center, Hartford CT - a vert fine show featuring many fun highlights. "Bertha > Promised Land" opener, "Friend of the Devil > C. C. Rider", "Let It Grow" in the first set. The entire second set is a highlight in my opinion. The most notable moment that blew people's minds was the "Phil's Earthquake Space" however. Phil channels his inner pirate and chanting about the Barbary Coast during "Space", which is obviously kind of pirate ship themed with wind and bird sounds.

April 19th (Ramrod was born on this day in 1945)

4/19/78 Veteran's Memorial Hall, Columbus, OH. I absolutely love this show and you should definitely give it a listen. Maybe it's partially because I spent most of my 20's living in Columbus but honestly there is some really great playing here and I wouldn't be surprised if this is slated for release on a future Dave's Picks. The "Bertha > Good Lovin'" is very nicely jamed version. "Passenger" is fun and high energy. Other highlights include "Candyman", "Deal", "Samson" which includes some funny howling that provides a kind of clue to the encore, and "Roses". There's more howling during "Drums" and it's obvious the band can't contain the excitement about the upcoming encore. The entire second set is very well played and then they debut "Werewolves of London" as the encore.

April 20th - Happy 420, y'all!

4/20/83 Providence Civic Center, Providence, RI - An excellent show with many highlights, including "Loser", "Cumberland Blues", "Looks Like Rain", "Maybe You Know", "Bertha", "Estimated Prophet" (Jam Anthem version), "Eyes > Jam", "Throwing Stones", "Sugar Magnolia".
4/20/84 Philadelphia Civic Center, Philadelphia, PA - An absolutely ripping, high energy show that you should NOT miss! The whole thing is excellent from start to finish. There are peaks to the peaks, however and I'll say the opening "Stranger" is one of them. It's also a Jam Anthem version, no surprise. The second set opener "Scarlet > Fire" is also a Jam Anthem version and is exceptional in that the "Scarlet" ending jam is one for the ages. They pull of some incredible stunts and the transition into "Fire" is flawless. Just listen to this whole show, it's guaranteed to put a huge smile on your face for 2 and a half hours.

April 21st

4/21/69 The Ark, Boston, MA - A standout show that you should absolutely listen to. The band is full of energy and every song is played with passion and purpose. They're in an exploratory mood, to be sure. This is the "Foxy Lady Jam" show, and we're not sure how this evolves because all of the circulating tapes kind of fade in, but they give it a concerted effort and jam it out for a couple of minutes. It's certainly fun to imagine Jimi sitting in with them, although there were only two occasions where they shared the bill - 6/18/67 for the Monterey Pop Festival and 5/16/70 Temple University in Philadelphia.

4/21/72 Beat Club, Bremen, Germany - On the surface, this doesn't look like a typical Dead show because it wasn't one. This was a TV studio in Bremen and the boys gathered to show off their magic for the cameras, and the Beat Club which was a German TV show would edit for broadcast at a later time. Anyways, don't let that throw you off because every song is a winner. Most notably you get 2 different versions of "Playin" and "The Other One" is a Jam Anthem version. You can read all about it in the always informative Dead Essays blog: https://deadessays.blogspot.com/2014/07/42172-beat-club.html

BTW, If you're not yet familiar with Jam Anthem versions of songs you can read all about it in Deadology II by Howard Weiner. Check it out here along with all his other great books.

And that's all for now! Of course, if you want to follow along in your very own copy of my book On This Day In Grateful Dead History: A Daily Listening Journal I still have some copies available here. Once they're sold out, I will have to decide whether or not I'm going to have more made. The costs of printing and shipping have gone way up in the last few years since I had them printed so I'm not sure if it's worth it or not. So get one now while you can! https://www.gratefuldeadbook.com/tigdh

Peace out my good people. Until Next week!

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