Grateful Dead

The Dead ended the evening with "Dancin' In The Street". They sounded very tired.

The show was a benefit for the Black Man's Free Store. We arrived after the food had all been eaten, toward the end of the talent show for kids in the community. The house band for the talent show was Jerry, Bobby, a drummer and bass player I didn't recognize, and Billy on conga. Three little girls did a Motown number. Then the MC asked us to give a hand for "Little Andre, only 13 years old!" Little Andre was about four feet tall, dressed in a white suit with a cape. He sang "Cold Sweat" which involved grunting about once every thirty seconds. The band took off and roared behind him, the most memorable music of the evening.

I've only got from the chanting (post-Lovelight) on, and it's one of the stranger performances. Barely even sounds like them at times during the jam before Main Ten. Very experimental, seems more like a subdued acid test or a jam in their living room (which I guess the Carousel kind of was at that time) than a professional gig.