April 15, 1970: Winterland Arena

Listen to this show.

     Going through the Dead's lofty series of recorded shows reveals a few patterns. Certain years are certainly better than others, but also certain months: sometimes, there's a stretch of time where the gang is really on for whatever inexplicable, cosmic reason. Other months, they're a bit more reserved, average, or sometimes even underwhelming. April of 1970 is, on its face, not a bad month at all, but it isn't an on time period, either. Compared to February and March of that year which saw a host of legendary shows — beloved dates at the Fillmore East and their debut at Port Chester's Capitol Theater included — April is a considerably more subdued time period. Even this show, selected for the Dead's monster 30 Trips Around the Sun boxset to represent the year of 1970, is more of an average night compared to, say 2/13/70, 2/11/70, or even 3/20/70. That doesn't mean that there is nothing of note or excitement during this set, though — the Winterland usually has a way of getting a good show out of the gang.

    The choice of song also showcases the change of musical ambition that was slowly sweeping the Dead by 1970. We saw this earlier in 1969, when some of the Dead's earlier psychedelic material was quietly phased out for a host of new songs that eventually found their way onto the fantastic Workingman's Dead studio album: gone were tracks like "New Potato Caboose," "Doin' That Rag," "Mountains of the Moon," and "Dupree's Diamond Blues," and in their place was the likes of "Dire Wolf,"  "Cumberland Blues," "Mama Tried," and a reworked version of "Cold Rain and Snow." All four of these songs find their way onto this Winterland set with varied results — of these mentioned tunes, the opening "Cold Rain and Snow" is probably the sharpest, and it makes for a great introduction to the show. More new songs had worked their way into the Dead's repertoire by this point, too, including a James Brown cover ("It's a Man's, Man's, Man's World) and a few new Garcia/Hunter tracks, including both "Friend of the Devil" and "Candyman." Both "It's a Man's World" and "Candyman" debuted earlier in April, and get some fitting versions during this show: Pigpen's vocal on the former, along with some spirited jamming, makes it probably the first great version of the song the Dead would perform. As for "Candyman," this electric version showcases a different arrangement, but it's still a strong moment in the show. At the very least, the boys sound confident here.

    Then it's the jamming where the show must shine, and indeed that is the case. We have three proper jam moments during this set: a particularly explorative "That's It For the Other One," "Dancin' in the Streets," and a medley of "Turn On Your Lovelight → Not Fade Away → Turn On Your Lovelight." All three occupy the second chunk of the show, and they make a sometimes lackluster first half ("Cumberland Blues" is pretty rough, not unusual for early 1970, but still worth mentioning). The nebulous six minute jam that emerges out of the drum solo is white-hot, with the drums bashing away frantically while Bobby keeps up a rapid pace. If you ask me, it sounds an awful lot like "Caution" without actually being "Caution." Pretty damn cool! The "Dancin' in the Streets" is typically great for this era, bolstered by a fairly average but always pretty Tighten Up jam in the midst of the song. Frankly, a 1970 "Dancin'" would get awful boring without the uplifting breath of life that is the Tighten Up jam, but I digress. Then there's the "Lovelight → Not Fade Away → Lovelight" jam, one of a few Pigpen vehicles throughout this show (there's also the previously mentioned "It's a Man's World" and an admittedly weak "Hard to Handle"). I'm a stickler for "Lovelight" most of the time, and this is no exception. It's not Pigpen at his most vamping or vocally sharp, but the band interplay here is certainly good, and the song's return after the diversion of "Not Fade Away" feels appropriately explosive, especially with Bobby screaming his head off towards the song's climax. It makes for a very good conclusion.

     Not every Dead show was an all-time work of brilliance. Sometimes shows were sloppy, mediocre, or even bad: this is not one of those shows. In spite of some weak moments and rough patches, this performance at the Winterland is, ultimately, a good show. Hell, it's probably one of the best shows to come out of April 1970, a time period sandwiched between months with considerably more meat on their bones. I think it's important to look at shows that aren't only the best of the best: we need to be realistic about the Dead sometimes, and that includes the acknowledgement that they weren't always plugged in every night. Besides, even an average show reveals a gem or two, and this show is no exception.

Show Rating: ★★★½☆

Thank you for reading, and I bid you goodnight.