Saturday Dead (Zimmer's Picks): 2.25.66

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Grateful Dead Live at Ivar Theater on February 25, 1966. <--- Direct Archive Link



She's On The Road Again, Next Time You See Me, I Know You Rider, Hey Little One, Cold Rain & Snow, King Bee, Caution, Stealin'

Words By Andy Zimmer

Sometimes it’s nice to feel spoiled. When I spend time perusing the thousands of Grateful Dead concert sources available on the web, and elsewhere, it really hit home how musically-spoiled I really am. What other band out there has such an extensively documented history, and so many archived performances to choose from? Truly, we have been blessed with a unbelievable resource... and it makes my “job” pretty damn easy, and a helluva lot of fun.

Today is my birthday and, while I’m not really into self-promoting behavior or flashy celebrations, I decided to dedicate this installment of my Dead Picks to... well, me. While the exact date of the proceeding show has largely been lost to history, several sources have placed it on the 25th of February, 1966. At the time, I was just a glimmer in my mother’s eye and the Dead were a young, up-and-coming band from San Francisco. For such an early show, this performance has superb sound quality, and fantastic takes on songs that would eventually become staples of the Dead’s live repertoire.

Furthermore, the listener can really pick up on the folksy, jug band roots of the Dead’s sound and see how that was beginning to mesh with elements of blues, rock, and the earliest traces of psychedelia. I particularly enjoy the takes on “She’s on the Road Again”, ”Hey Little One”, and ”Cold Rain and Snow”. I hope you join me in my birthday celebration with this nugget of vintage Dead.

www.dead.net

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