Grateful Dead* – Fillmore East 2-11-69

Set 2 is wonderful primal Dead with smooth transitions between songs. A fascinating snapshot of the early days, when they were positioned to be the next big thing, opening for Janice Joplin. The early set 1 is a warm up for the band with some great moments, and the second set is a stunner. The sound recording is quality.

This is a much different release than I was expecting. There is way more blues than I care for with a dead show, though pigpen is just killing it and it serves as an interesting artifact for those that like what he brings to the band, unless you just want to hear them get sucked into these repeating elements of bluesy riffs and cyclical jamming in songs that don’t show up as frequently later in their live catalogs, there are better shows to be bought on vinyl.

Arguably an essential release for any Dead fan to be familiar with, 2-11-69 finds Grateful Dead at first struggling (during the "early" show), and ultimately succeeding (during the stellar "late" show) to play a 60-minute set as the opening (!) band for Janis Joplin. Joplin had parted ways with Big Brother and the Holding Company, the band with whom she skyrocketed to fame, and was now a solo star backed by the Kozmic Blues Band. These were to be Joplin's first post-Big Brother live performances, and anticipation was fever-pitch. As Gary Lambert writes in the booklet notes for this release, every press outlet imaginable was present, from San Francisco alternative papers to Mike Wallace and the "60 Minutes" gang. Bill Graham's customary two-sets-per-act-per-night format, along with the intense atmosphere surrounding Joplin's performances, surely must have put the legendary promoter on edge, no matter how familiar he was with Grateful Dead, Janis Joplin, and the business side of live music. Lambert points out that even the Dead, reasonably seasoned live performers by early '69, were "scared shitless." Whatever the reason, Grateful Dead's early set feels a little unsteady. They play well, but not with the tight attentiveness an on-the-clock opening band needs to be memorable. They rely heavily on Pigpen, as he and the band work through irable versions of "Good Morning Little School Girl," "I'm a King Bee," and "Turn On Your Lovelight." "Cryptical Envelopment" into "The Other One" works well, but the following transition into "Doin' That Rag" feels unsure and stilted. The band is urged by the crowd to return to the stage for an encore, but Grateful Dead should have just headed to the dressing rooms to regroup, as the concluding song of the early set, "Hey Jude," falls somewhere between uninspired and phoned-in. The Dead's late set that same night couldn't stand in starker contrast to their early set, as the band surely must've reflected between performances and made a commitment to play a tight, powerful set. Despite the 60-minute box they had to fit into, Grateful Dead begin with an unrushed, lovely pair of acoustic numbers, "Dupree's Diamond Blues" and "Mountains of the Moon," Jerry Garcia singing just beautifully. The transition from these songs into "Dark Star" is seamless, the first of several outstanding transitions the band makes during this set. "Dark Star" fans who champion the 20-minute-plus versions of the song should take note of how a timed-set forces the band to work through the song in roughly twelve minutes, creating one of the most powerful versions of "Dark Star" to be found. "St Stephen" bristles with energy, and the following flow from there to "The Eleven" and "Drums" is expertly performed, leading to an obligatory nod to Pigpen with "Caution (Do Not Stop On Tracks)" followed by "" and a lovely "We Bid You Goodnight." The encore, "Cosmic Charlie," is unfortunately cut off, but the late 2-11-69 set is memorable anyway.