On this day back in 1970, the Dead headlined a three-band bill, just like the night before, opening up the legendary New Orleans rock and roll venue, The Warehouse. Of course, a great deal had transpired between the previous night’s show and this one. TC had parted ways with the band, leaving Pigpen as, once again, the only organist in the Dead. But probably of more historic import, the band had been “busted, down on Bourbon Street” when they returned to their hotel after the gig the night before. Today’s show had its own bit of surprises for the band, when a broken amp - they had been getting shocked by the sound system during Mama Tried - finally forced them to finish the second half of the show with an extensive acoustic set.

The playing on the electric portion is fairly standard 1970 fare, which is to say, quite tasty. The two Pig tunes - Big Boss Man and, especially, Hard To Handle - are the standouts, but everything in there is more than worth a listen. The acoustic section, though, is where the real gems are, starting with a far too uncommon Long Black Limousine. The rest of the way, the rarities are legion, and, often, the choicest. For instance, Bobby offers up some beautifully resonant vocals on Seasons, as he does on Bound In Memories. But, really, everything here is fabulous; just listen to the pacing on The Race Is On, Pig send Katie Mae with Jerry’s sparse blues licks, or the lovely playing on Been All Around The World.

The Dead had been experimenting with acoustic numbers at least as far back as the debut of Mountains Of The Moon on December 20, 1968, at the Shrine in LA. Through the summer of ’69 the boys occasionally opened with an acoustic song or two, and, in December, they had played two full acoustic sets - a four-song set on the 19th and a chunkier, seven-tune one on the 26th. So, the acoustic set on this day was far from unprecedented. With only one acoustic guitar between them, the instrumentation is simple, even when Jerry accompanies Bobby on electric on a few of the numbers. Of course, just two weeks later, on February 13th at the Fillmore East, the Dead would come out with their first complete, fully planned acoustic set, something that would become a staple through a good deal of 1970.