Grateful Dead - Berkeley Community Center 1971 (2023)

EXCEPTIONAL LATE SUMMER ’71 SHOW FROM THE LAST DAYS OF THE ORIGINAL 5-PIECE GRATEFUL DEAD • Just a month after closing down the Fillmore venues (both East and West) Bill Graham presented this two-night stand at the Berkeley Community Theater, with the Grateful Dead and New Riders of the Purple Sage. These were marathon shows for Jerry Garcia, who was onstage with both bands. These were to be some of the last ever performances by the original five-piece Grateful Dead line-up. • Just a few weeks after this show, frontman Pigpen would be diagnosed with cirrhosis of the liver, following years of alcohol abuse. The following month the group would begin rehearsals with Keith Godchaux, changing the sound of the band forever. Pigpen would return the following year, but would not be healthy enough to join the fall tour that October. • This is a most prolific era for lyricist Robert Hunter, who was now actively collaborating on new songs with Pigpen, Lesh, and Weir, as well as Garcia. He had penned the lyrics to both the Workingman's Dead and American Beauty albums, as well as much new material that would comprise Europe '72 and several of the band member's most beloved solo projects. • The Dead’s second night at BerkelEy, as presented in full on this new 2CD Set (with both the early and late sets included) is a bit more exploratory than the previous night, although it contains much of the same material. The pair of 1970 studio albums are represented by "Truckin'," "Casey Jones," and "Cumberland Blues." Again, a lot of newer material is being perfected, much of it soon to be staples of the band’s repertoire. Garcia/Hunter classics like "Sugaree," and "Wharf Rat," were reaching the definitive stage of development. Pigpen's vocal dominance is again minimal, but when he does surface, it's thoroughly enjoyAble however. He delivers one of the earliest performances of "Mr. Charlie" as well as "Big Boss Man," but on this night he returns at the end and belts out a fifteen minute "Turn On Your Lovelight," that harkens back to their primal sound. • Following the set closer "Lovelight," the audience wows the band back for an encore featuring a rip-roaring "Johnny B. Goode," followed by the a cappella gospel number "And We Bid You Goodnight."