This show has been commercially released as "Ladies and Gentlemen, the Grateful Dead"

Truckin', Mama Tried, Bertha, Next Time You See Me, Cumberland Blues, Me And Bobby McGee, Loser, Hard To Handle, China Cat Sunflower-> I Know You Rider, Casey Jones Sugar Magnolia, Deal, Me & My Uncle, Bird Song, Playing In The Band, Dire Wolf, Searchin'*, Riot In Cell Block #9*, Good Vibrations**, I Get Around**, Help Me Rhonda*, Okie From Muskogee*, Johnny B. Goode*, Sing Me Back Home, Uncle Johns Band > Turn On Your Love Light

MSR 7 inch (7.5 ips) Revox A 77 > Alesis Masterlink> CD-R; via Bob Murphy; d1,3 are tracked for 80 min; see details in info file; see Bill Gadsden's detailed commentary in pub comments for 4/29/71; note 4 CD best-of-run is available from the Dead







The new Vault release, "Ladies and Gentlemen, the Grateful Dead" is a compilation of all five shows from the April, '71 Fillmore run. LAGTGD is from the multitrack masters and is commercially available on Arista, or from GDM at http://mars.dead.net







For the obsessive completist collectors, here are the complete 4-27-71 NRPS & Dead Sets directly from two-track masters.







Errata: Lodi fades in already in progress. Hard To Handle starts late and has some sound fluctuations in the first minute or two. Sugar Magnolia fades in already in progress. There is a splice in the segue between Uncle John's Band and Lovelight. The faults listed above are consistent with previous versions.







shn conversion and ftp uploading by Bob Murphy

plus-circle Add Review

comment Reviews

Reviewer: Wastrel Way - favorite favorite favorite favorite favorite - April 28, 2020

Subject: Steel Guitar Jerry was arguably one of the best country pedal steel guitar players ever. "The Wait" is improved by it.. etc. - April 28, 2020Steel Guitar

Reviewer: c-freedom - favorite favorite favorite favorite favorite - April 27, 2020

Subject: we don't make a party out of lovin' We don't smoke marijuana in Muskogee;

We don't take no trips on lsd

We don't burn no draft cards down on Main Street;

We like livin' right, and bein' free.

I'm proud to be an Okie from Muskogee,

A place where even squares can have a ball

We still wave Old Glory down at the courthouse,

And white lightnin's still the biggest thrill of all

We don't make a party out of lovin';

We like holdin' hands and pitchin' woo;

We don't let our hair grow long and shaggy,

Like the hippies out in San Francisco do.

And I'm proud to be an Okie from Muskogee,

A place where even squares can have a ball.

We still wave Old Glory down at the courthouse,

And white lightnin's still the biggest thrill of all.

Leather boots are still in style for manly footwear;

Beads and Roman sandals won't be seen.

Football's still the roughest thing on campus,

And the kids here still respect the college dean.

We still wave Old Glory down at the courthouse,

In Muskogee, Oklahoma, usa. - April 27, 2020we don't make a party out of lovin'

Reviewer: deadmax - favorite favorite favorite favorite - October 10, 2019

Subject: Good show but selective listening is encouraged. 1st Set: LOSER is large and played to perfection. It might be the best one this spring but I might say that about all of them. HARD TO HANDLE is where we blast off! Pig’s singing is perfect. The jam gets a big set up. They keep it simple to start with but then they build it and build it and it pretty much goes off the rails in a really good way. Excellent. The CHINA / RIDER is crispy and clean and played to perfection. While I was listening to this one I was thinking about how the song had changed by ‘72. 71 is compact where 72 stretches out and ties each knot perfectly before untying it. A real ride.



2nd Set: Really strong SUGAR MAGNOLIA but it still isn’t where it’s going to be. DEAL is good but still a slow version and just good. BIRDSONG is where they start to take off dabbling in some intricate stuff here. PITB is tight and well played. DIRE WOLF is played while the Beach Boys set up. SEARCHIN is a mess except for Pig who “saves” it. RIOT is ok. They tell the audience to sing along with GOOD VIBRATIONS. Nobody does. I don’t think they understand this audience. The next two are cringe-worthy. The Dead come back for the sarcastic OKIE. The Dead start off JBG but the BB slow it down and they need to go. SMBH is one of my favorite versions, I’m starting to get it. They start up UJB which is always a crowd-pleaser, and play it well. We think it’s over but they launch into a 20-minute LOVELIGHT that has Pig trying to set up two audience members before everything gets kind of quiet and Pig is almost whispering about needing some love and he knows where she hides it. Great send-off. - October 10, 2019Good show but selective listening is encouraged.

Reviewer: Thumbblue - favorite favorite favorite favorite favorite - February 5, 2017

Subject: Love it Not a huge fan of the beach boys or anything ....even though I respect their talent but it is a hoot to hear them playing with the dead. I listen to all these shows and marvel at the access we have to this music we all love. Used to chase down a bootleg cassette like it was my final meal. - February 5, 2017Love it

Reviewer: doug_the_dude - - December 23, 2015

Subject: -- That Beach Boys stuff is a real head-scratcher - one of the most cringe-inducing moments on any Dead-related tape is Mike Love's frantic, almost cold-sweat-panicked insistence that Beach Boys were indeed 'drunk and stoned and everything!' ("it was great!!!") with Buffalo Springfield while jamming out "Good Vibrations". I dunno, the crowd seems to dig the Boys onstage, but Jesus Christ, Mike...



Love, of course, has long held the crown of the King Asshole of Rock - this ain't Brian Wilson's band at this point, and it shows. The utter incompetence of Mike & co's ability to just groove, to chill, to kick back, to not underline EVERYTHING is painfully obvious. When, of all people, BOB WEIR comes off as the hippest guy in the room with his bemused "thank you Beach Boys!" you know something's a bit twisted.



And, you know, I actually do like the Beach Boys a lot, from their earliest albums until that "God Made the Radio" one they put out a few years ago. Here they do manage a couple of good moments - the r&b swing of "Searchin'" with Pigpen really enthusiastic on vocals, "Riot in Cell Block #9" and "Okie" are a lot of fun, esp. the latter.



Oh, as to the Dead? Check that Lovelight. Wonder if Chris and Marsha really did 'make it'. Pigpen: what a card. - December 23, 2015--

Reviewer: ms42466 - favorite favorite favorite favorite favorite - December 20, 2012

Subject: hth 8 6 71 its got more Umf, more cylanders firin all at once

more outrageous energy in shorter time

more meltdown, critical mass.

the crowd goes wildnutz WITH the crowd !

when i dance my ass falls off! that how i know its "better"

yet this is a longer, verbally clearer version

but im NOT in english class !

i am @aDEAD SHOW!!!!!! again !!! HAAAAAAAAA

weeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeehhaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!!!! - December 20, 2012hth 8 6 71

Reviewer: johnzias - favorite favorite favorite favorite - February 8, 2012

Subject: Best HTH This IS the best Hard to Handle IMO as well. I was perfectly positioned in the first row of the first balcony for this show. Not sure why 4/29 and 8/6 get all the attention. They're like the 5/8/77's of HTH's! This also features "eye of the tiger" Jerry at his most self assured, just ripping your head off!



The rest of the show including the Beach Boys appearance was good but not outstanding. 5 Stars for the HTH, 3-1/2 for the rest of the show. - February 8, 2012Best HTH

Reviewer: cosmicdave - - June 11, 2010

Subject: wtf? so what we can't even listen to the 2 track tape because they released an incomplete version from the multitrack masters. I totally don't get that!! Bobby!! Wtf man... - June 11, 2010wtf?

Reviewer: Medicus - favorite favorite favorite favorite favorite - July 30, 2008

Subject: Hard to Handle I would have to agree with some of the above comments. This to my ears is the best Hard to Handle. The vocals and the jam are better than the one from the Hollywood show in 8/71.



I know that everyone gets all nuts about that 8/71 Hard to Handle (rightly so), but the 4/27/71 is the best!



5 stars on that track. - July 30, 2008Hard to Handle

Reviewer: tamedturtle - favorite favorite favorite favorite - April 21, 2006

Subject: beach boys the closing run of the fillmore east is up there with the month of decemeber and this show is a classic the beach boys and the dead haha i love the okie the playing was a little sloppier than the rest of the run but i dont know these are def solid performances 3.5 stars - April 21, 2006beach boys

Reviewer: Grateful Jeff - favorite favorite favorite favorite - August 29, 2005

Subject: My 2nd Show Still 15 and seeing the Grateful Dead for the 2nd time (the first at Woodstock). What can I say wrong? My 2nd show, a classic Fillmore East performance with The Beach Boys joining the boys for several tunes in the 2nd set. A lot of fun and a solid performance. And I do remember the NRPS opening with Jerry on pedal steel. What great memories! - August 29, 2005My 2nd Show

Reviewer: Hamhead - favorite favorite favorite favorite - July 6, 2005

Subject: What a trip. The Beach Boys and the Dead together This show is a blast. The Beach Boys fired their manager 4 months before the show. Their new manager brought them to the Fillmore and told them "this is your audience" and pushed them onstage, Riely saved their asses. If Jack Riely never came along, the Beach Boys would still be "the Good Humour hallucination" pumping out oldies in those white suits in high school gyms. Riely told them "let heir hair down, get hip and write new material" and they made 2 great albums (Surf's Up and Holland) in the process. This show was the Beach Boys being baptised by fire. I love both bands but this is the most. The only downfall is that the tape runs out during "Help Me Rhonda" when Garcia is ripping. Can somebody patch this from a audience source. If it was complete, I would give it 5 stars. I have 4 (non-Dolby) 7" second gen 7.5 ips half-track reels of this show and they have the same breaks. I'm still waiting to hear the ending of "Rhonda". - July 6, 2005What a trip. The Beach Boys and the Dead together

Reviewer: ommani - favorite favorite favorite favorite - September 10, 2004

Subject: Brian Wilson absent, Bob Dylan present This was my first Dead concert, what a trip, halfway through the concert Garcia announces "We'd like to bring on another great California rock band" and I remember thinking: The Airplane? Hot Tuna? When "The Beach Boys" are announced, the crowd boo's, no kidding, it seemed like a let down as the BB's we're so uncool at the time, like the Four Freshman or something. Anyway, as the BB's set was ending the word "Dylan" appeared projected on the backdrop and I definitely thought Bob himself was going to appear....I read in The Rolling Stone magazine that Dylan was backstage with his guitar and harmonica and about to walk onstage except that when he saw his name he got pissed and split....who knows.

Casey Jones goes on and on and I distinctly remember seeing Weir screaming his head off 'til he was blue in the face. Pigpen was his usual obstreperous self....I am of the opinion that Keith and Donna were the beginning of a long, slow, and at times glorious decline. - September 10, 2004Brian Wilson absent, Bob Dylan present

Reviewer: Carpe Diem - favorite favorite favorite favorite - August 10, 2004

Subject: A String of Pearls The first set has a number of pearls. Truckin' is on par with any opening version. Bertha is used on the Skull & Roses LP. The Hard To Handle is the best version I've ever heard. Weir sets the table with Garcia joining in with some nice chord work before embarking on a jam where Garcia and Lesh lead two passes through "the Theme" with two extraordinary climaxes before the tune is tightly closed by Pigpen and the band. Closing the set is Casey Jones which is full of energy and is played out so far that only when Weir begins to lose his voice does Garcia bring it to a close. A must have set for your collection and listening pleasure.



The second set begins well. While the Beach Boys add to the novelty of the show, my personal preference is for the band to play by itself. I believe Dennis Wilson is playing drums on Johnny B. Goode and Garcia has to slow down so he can keep up. - August 10, 2004A String of Pearls

Reviewer: lpenoza - favorite favorite favorite favorite favorite - July 21, 2004

Subject: This is the Hard to Handle!

LP The discussion about the '71 Fillmore East Hard to Handles has gone on for years - this is the one I picked out decades ago. Someone who reviewed 4/29 below mentioned what he called "The Theme" and this one has it as well, but even better. After hinting at it for a few bars, at 6:00 minutes they pull it back to a tentative simmer with Lesh and Garcia delicately building tension, then launch into "The Theme" and take it to full bore, and at 6:35 the Theme starts to peak, but from around 7:12 to 7:30 the afterburners come on and it's a runaway freight train of the hottest 18 seconds of music the GD ever played. BAM!LP - July 21, 2004This is the Hard to Handle!

Reviewer: Mike Ashenfelder - favorite favorite favorite - July 16, 2004

Subject: Beach Boys Adding to the uniqueness of the concert is the Moog synthesizer toted along by the Beach Boys. They use it as a slide whistle on "Searchin," then as a siren for "There's a Riot Going On," and then to cover the theramin part of "Good Vibrations."



Pig Pen's almost-in-tune voice is distracting, as ever. When he drops out after "Searchin," the Beach Boys shine on "Riot," "Good Vibrations," and "I Get Around" (it sounds as if the Dead take a break for those songs).



The Dead join the Beach Boys on "Help Me Rhonda," which takes on a loping "Truckin" feel. It's cut off halfway.



I don't know if Brian Wilson was there that night. It's likely that he wasn't. - July 16, 2004Beach Boys