According to Phil Lesh, the Grateful Dead hasn’t been the same since their five-night run at San Francisco’s Winterland in October of 1974. They took a brief hiatus, playing only a few shows in 1975, before returning to the stage full-time in June of 1976. They continued at this rate up until Jerry’s dead in 1995.
The August issue of Rolling Stone magazine features a spread on the beloved bassist. Entitled “The Last Word”, journalist David Fricke asks Lesh what the best part of the GD’s success was for him, to which he responds: “It was wildly successful for me until we took the break from touring [in 1975]. When we came back, it was never quite the same. Even though it was great and we played fantastic music, something was missing.”
“It’s hard to pin down – a certain spirit. It would come back now and then, on some awesome evening, some particularly great performance. But that was even more frustrating, because it would disappear again for X number of shows, just disappear,” he continues, referencing specific times in 1977, 1985, 1989, and 1991. While none of us will ever relate to Phil’s sentiments, we respect his opinion and are grateful for the years and years of music he’s contributed to our lives.
Thanks to YouTube user voodoonola, you can enjoy some of the 1974 performances below:
[H/T JamBase]