Grateful Dead

Sorry, Cryptical70, but as a life-long Memphian, I can tell you the Mid-South Coliseum was not a favorite of Elvis. He played the old Auditorium once or twice, but I don't think he ever played the Coliseum. Elvis was booked into the Coliseum for a show that sold out, but he died before the show.This particular Dead show was one that had a black cloud over it from the jump. Officials and police had heard of the Dead's pranks in California and were loaded for bear. There was at least one article in the local paper warning any attendees not to associate with the band or their roadys or anyone near the stage. This was to prevent being dosed with LSD by anyone traveling with the band. During the show, police patrolled the aisles, forcing the audience to sit down at all times. The lights were turned on frequently during the show to prevent any shenanigans from occurring, onstage or off. Jerry himself declared after the show that the Dead would never return to Memphis. When they did actually return for 2 shows in 1995, Jerry was dead by the end of that year. The song Candyman refers to narcs infiltrating the Dead social family in Memphis. In doing research, I couldn't find a review of the show in the morning newspaper. The afternoon paper had an extensive review of the Illusion's set, describing a long guitar solo and a drum solo. Country Joe played a 20 minute set, and 2 girls in the audience interviewed said they were aware that Joe had recently cut his hair. Not a word was printed about the Dead's set!

Possibly the first show for the Dead inside an arena or Coliseum? This venue was a favorite of Elvis since he lived there.