St Stephen provides an entry point to the Grateful Dead gestalt. It’s a song with psychedelic elements but still rooted enough in the rock idiom that it really, well, rocks! It’s easy to hear why the song has long been a favorite among fans of the Dead.

This version comes from the songs’ heyday in 1970. The 1968-1971 versions of the song was the apogee of St Stephen’s existence if you ask me. When the band brought it back for a stint in the late 1970s (occasionally played in the 1976-1978 period as well as once in 1979 and three times in 1983) it didn’t have the same élan that the earlier versions had. St Stephen is definitely a song that did not benefit from having its tempo slowed in later years.

So enjoy this version from the prime St Stephen years. It starts off a little reserved but by the end… hop boy! The band is cooking with gas! Enjoy!

The crowd reacts as one would expect upon hearing the opening notes of St. Stephen. The tempo is a bit slower here and the band jams out the intro chords for a bit before launching into the first verse. Bob and Jerry are in sync vocally, a tightness matched in the instrumentation. The guitar breaks are short but punctuated. Jerry handles the bridge with aplomb after which Phil takes the initial lead back into the main section. Everything gets kicked up a notched for the outro jam. Finally we’ve got a bit more bounce in the step here and both tempo and dynamics pick up. Weir plays some furious rhythm guitar throughout and the drummer add plenty of cymbal flurries to complement Bobby’s attack. When they drop back into the last verse there is much more oomph in the band’s playing, the kinetic energy of the previous minute or so refusing to dissipate. The final query of what would be the answer to the answer man is quickly resolved as they move immediately into Not Fade Away.

Complete Setlist 5/14/70

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