We go behind the scenes, into the crowd, around the specially-installed mirror ball, & inside the music at the Dead’s 3 legendary 1972 shows at St. Louis’s Fox Theatre with promoters Sepp Donahower & Tony Dwyer, musicologist Graeme Boone, & Dead freaks who were there.
by Jesse Jarnow
The Grateful Dead’s three shows at the Fox Theatre in October 1972 were in many ways a culmination of the previous four years during which the band had played the city as often as any location between the Bay Area and the the vicinity of New York City. One guest in our St. Louis episodes, local St. Louis head John Ellis, helped compile a jaw-dropping multi-part in-depth history of the Grateful Dead in St. Louis, 1968-1971, with even more unseen photos in a supplementary post. It’s definitely worth checking out.
David Gans provided us with some great audio of Owsley Stanley. You can read the full interview in his essential interview collection, Conversations With the Dead, available in signed copies from David’s online bookstore. The Owsley Stanley Foundation has lots of great music to check out.
There wasn’t any review of the Dead’s 1972 shows in the St. Louis Outlaw, but there was this sweet photo spread, though no credited photographer, where you can see the mirror ball that the band installed especially for these shows. Thanks to the State Historical Society of Missouri and the New York Public Library for archival assistance, and to Uli Teute for helping to sew it back together.
Comment
Fantastic as usual! For some…
Fantastic as usual! For some reason I was struck with emotion and brought to tears as the music teacher followed closely along with the versions of Bird Song from the run. Thank you!
Not to be a buzzkill but...
Thank you so much for your wonderful podcast- I have learned so much about the Grateful Dead and its community! I wanted to say that while I have nothing but the deepest respect for the psychedelic and mind-expanding elements of the GD and counter culture, I feel that we also have a responsibility to discuss the dangers of substance abuse as well. The gleeful stories about "dosing" concert security guards and trash bags full of contraband make it all sound like a wonderful party. However, at the risk of stating the obvious, so many lives have been destroyed (and continued to be destroyed) by substance abuse. The destroyed lives include band members of the Grateful Dead, and we have an obligation to point out the negative impacts. Thank you once again, and I will look forward to the next podcast!
Thank you so much for your wonderful podcast- I have learned so much about the Grateful Dead and its community! I wanted to say that while I have nothing but the deepest respect for the psychedelic and mind-expanding elements of the GD and counter culture, I feel that we also have a responsibility to discuss the dangers of substance abuse as well. The gleeful stories about "dosing" concert security guards and trash bags full of contraband make it all sound like a wonderful party. However, at the risk of stating the obvious, so many lives have been destroyed (and continued to be destroyed) by substance abuse. The destroyed lives include band members of the Grateful Dead, and we have an obligation to point out the negative impacts. Thank you once again, and I will look forward to the next podcast!
Fantastic as usual! For some reason I was struck with emotion and brought to tears as the music teacher followed closely along with the versions of Bird Song from the run. Thank you!