Before its closing following the Grateful Dead‘s 1978/1979 New Year’s celebration, Winterland Arena played host to the Dead on 60 separate occasions. One of the main San Francisco breeding grounds for their brand of psychedelic rock, the Winterland was not only a hub for the Bay Area counterculture but the music scene at large, regularly bringing in top-flight talents like Jimi Hendrix, The Rolling Stones, The Who, Janis Joplin, and The Band.
Today we look back to this date in 1974 when the Dead served up an exploratory combination of “Dark Star” > “Morning Dew” at Winterland on the final night of a three-show run. This combination alone would be worth the price of admission. Take a listen below:
Grateful Dead – “Dark Star > Morning Dew” – San Francisco, CA – 2/24/1974
[Video: Graeme Sweetapple]
Setlist: Grateful Dead | Winterland Arena | San Francisco, CA | 2/24/74
Set One: U.S. Blues, Mexicali Blues, Brown Eyed Women, Beat it on Down the Line, Candyman, Jack Straw, China Cat Sunflower > I Know You Rider, El Paso, Loser, Playin’ in the Band
Set Two: Cumberland Blues, It Must Have Been the Roses, Big River, Bertha, Weather Report Suite Prelude >Weather Report Suite Part 1 > Let it Grow > Row Jimmy > Ship of Fools, Promised Land, Dark Star > Morning Dew, Sugar Magnolia, Not Fade Away > Goin’ Down the Road Feelin’ Bad > Not Fade Away
Encore: It’s All Over Now, Baby Blue
[Originally published on 2/24/19]