Grateful Dead - Shakedown New York (2CD)

The Grateful Dead's New York Dance Marathon 4th April 1971

Held across three nights at the Manhattan Center, on West 34th Street in April 1971, this somewhat infamous event was not quite what it seemed: the following report was published in the New Yorker magazine at the time; "When we arrived, there was not much dancing. The promoters, who ripped off a neat five dollars a ticket, had oversold the hall, so that while there was room in some parts for rhythmic breathing, dancing was rarely a possibility. In any case, there was no tinsel or glitter anywhere, and since a proper dance marathon requires a certain amount of these, the whole dance-marathon hype turned out to be a little bit embarrassing - some folks were expecting a 'They Shoot Horses.....' type event, with the Dead playing for 72 hours non-stop, and a 'last man standing' theme, but this wasn't the case. "Everyone was waiting for the Dead, and thinking about them. No one minded. The Manhattan Center has aquamarine walls and had murals on social themes. The legend under one of the largest reads, 'For the Furtherance of Industry, Religion, and the Enjoyment of Leisure.' The Dance Marathon fell, presumably, under the heading of leisure, although there was a spiritual angle as always, too. I didn't hear anyone say 'Oh, wow!' "The stage was bathed in lights of many colors, but mostly purple. The Dead came on. They did a lot of songs other people have done - 'Me and Bobby McGee' and 'In the Midnight Hour' and 'Oh Boy'. Bob Weir and Jerry Garcia, the leads, were on good form, and they received the response they are used to. By the time they got into some of their own stuff, like 'Casey Jones,' people were, in fact, dancing, although there was little room to do so. On the first balcony, ten guys danced in a circle, and then were joined by about twenty others and set off down the balcony in a snake. They mumbled the lyrics of 'Casey Jones' until they reached the 'high on cocaine' part, at which point they shouted the lyrics.'

Track Listing

Disc 1:

Bertha
Beat It On Down The Line
It Hurts Me Too
Me & Bobby McGee
Dire Wolf
Oh Boy
I'm A Hog For You Baby
In The Midnight Hour
Mama Tried
Cumberland Blues
Casey Jones
Greatest Story Ever Told/ Johnny B. Goode
Disc 2:

Loser
Good Lovin'
Sugar Magnolia
Goin' Down The Road Feeling Bad/Not Fade Away
Truckin'
Big Boss Man
China Cat Sunflower/I Know You Rider

Release date 12.07.2018