The Grateful Dead has always been a ‘live’ band. And because they allowed taping their shows it’s one of the most documentated bands in rock history. And they sure like to jam and travel into deep space… Their live album “Live/Dead” is together with the Allman Brothers’ “Live at the Fillmore” a great example of how adventurous music can be.
The song featured below isn’t actually a song. The band did a soundcheck for a concert the next day at Watkins Glenn. And once they get into the groove there is no way of stopping them. Luckily the soundboard tapes were rolling and you can hear how close these guys were.
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Text below is from Icepetal from the “deadlistening.com” blog, where you can also download the audience tape of this soundcheck which became a two set long concert. Other sources are available at Etree.
…. There are two distinct jam sections in the Watkins Jam and both defy anything that was stereotypically 1973, the second one even more so than the first – Keith’s amazing lead off to the second jam always sends shivers up my spine. These jams embody the fluid acrobatic and lyrical dancing of Jerry Garcia’s playing style in 1973. And coupled with the rest of the band locking in and playing such intricately inspired counterpoint, it is easy to see how this jam somehow becomes one of the greatest musical events of the band’s entire existence. This entire jam strums the strings of an instrument that is more than simply Rock music. In its ability to intertwine formless spacey improvisation into spiritually and physically uplifting move-your-body music, into a good old country-folksy-rocking homegrown underground Americana jam, this musical journey goes beyond. It transcends ….
