From March 1970 through February 1971, the Grateful Dead performed at The Capitol Theatre 13 times, and the band’s performance on February 18th, 1971 was one for the history books. It was during this show that the band debuted not one, not two, not three, but five original songs, some of which became staples during their shows up until the end of their run in 1995.
Opening with the live debut of “Bertha”, the band also treated fans to renditions of then-new songs, including “Loser”, “Greatest Story Ever Told”, Bob Weir‘s “Playing in the Band”, and “Wharf Rat“. Other songs included in the setlist that night were “Sugar Magnolia”, “Truckin‘”, “Dark Star”, “Casey Jones”, “Candyman”, “St. Stephen”, and more. Experimental electronic musician and keyboardist Ned Lagin even sat in with the band on several songs throughout the evening.
The Grateful Dead also played their second-ever cover of Chuck Berry‘s “Johnny B. Goode” during this show, following its debut on January 22nd in Eugene, OR. The rock n’ roll standard would become a setlist regular in the decades to follow, played nearly 300 times through 1995.
The February 18th, 1971 concert is such a treasure within the Dead vault that RHINO released the show as part of the American Beauty 50th Anniversary reissue in 2020. Stream the band’s full performance via audio from Jonathon Aizen below.
Grateful Dead — The Capitol Theatre — Port Chester, NY — 2/18/71 — Full Audio