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Set 1:
Promised Land
He's Gone
Mexicali Blues
They Love Each Other
Looks Like Rain
Wave That Flag
Box Of Rain
The Race Is On
Row Jimmy
El Paso
China Cat Sunflower
I Know You Rider
Around And Around
Tennessee Jed
Playin' In The Band

Set 2:
Loose Lucy
Me And My Uncle
Brown-Eyed Women
Big River
Mississippi Half-Step
Stella Blue
Jack Straw
Truckin'
The Other One
Eyes Of The World
China Doll
Johnny B. Goode

Encore:
Casey Jones

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Comments:

If my memory serves me well,(which it still does from time to time),I believe that the band OPENED the show with a long, slow, sad and solemn He's Gone.It was their first performance since Pigpens death a few days earlier.(they were touring the east coast at the time).It was a chilling tribute to Pig that still haunts me to this day. Does anyone else have this same recolection?If they really did open the show with Promised Land i either missed it,or more likely, it was over shadowed by that awesome fairwell tribute to Pigpen. By the way, there weren't many dry eyes in the audience or on stage during that song. MB.
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they opened with PROMISED.
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The Race Is One-Last played 5.1.70 Alfred College
-Brianmerrilyn (03/19/2008)

My one and only Dead Show. A great show and a crazy night. What helps me recall the show all these years later is Lenny Kaye's still freash review of the show
in the April 1973 Rolling Stone....Enjoy
***************************************
Performance: The Grateful Dead
Dead send off Pigpen

LENNY KAYE

Posted Apr 26, 1973 12:00 AM



It had to happen: even the Dead have gone glitter. Resplendently suave in Nudie-type sequined suits, the group appeared on the stage of this comfortably-sized Long Island arena as formal gentlemen, playing before a sold out and devoutly clamoring Monday crowd who nonetheless held true to their flannel shirt and dungaree colors. The music was consistently superb and was delivered with a professionalism and class that might even be taken for granted were it not so historically precarious, caught as it is in the double bind of massive anticipations and internal complexities, good nights mixing inevitably over the bad.

Still, instead of wrestling with the hyper-reactions of their audience -- as was once the case -- the Dead have resigned themselves to that unquenchable factor, even to the point of enjoying it, learning ways in which it might be manipulated and controlled. Their technique here involved pacing -- stretching out the four hours of their pair of sets so that the crowd moved with, rather than against them. The long breaks between songs served the dual purpose of relaxing the audience as well as the band.

The audience had been warmed early in the evening by the pedal steel dominated sound of the New Riders (replacing the Sons of Champlin who opened the first two nights of the stand), high-pointing with "Willie and the Hand-Jive" and a lovely country version of Billy Joe Royal's "Down in the Boondocks." Producer Bill Graham also was on hand, nostalgically tussling with the crowd. "I know this is Long Island," he said at one point, attempting to gain breathing room for those unlucky souls piled up in front of the stage, "but let's try it anyway." No one budged and, of course, Graham threw up his arms and stalked out.

The Dead came on to the usual mass eruptions, played a quick western shuffle and closed it off before Garcia took even the glimmerings of an extended lead. They moved deliberately into "He's Gone," Jerry leaning to the microphone in the evening's only apparent reference to the recent death of Ron (Pigpen) McKernan, reeling out the final chorus: "Ooooh, nothin's gonna bring him back . . ."

The improvement and strength of the group's vocal harmonies was readily apparent; no more do their voices quaver up and down the scale trying to find the right series of notes. Joined by Donna Godchaux, the blend registered chorally near-perfect, if a shade eccentric.

The group then opened into their repertoire, which has become so large as to be in the main unrecognizable. Alternating between Bob Weir and Garcia, the band offered such things as a sharp clicking rendition of "Mexicali Blues," matched by "Looks like Rain" (perhaps Weir's finest composition), "The Race Is On," Marty Robbins' "El Paso," and finally, the first semi-oldie of the night "Box Of Rain." Instrumentally, they were in high form, Phil Lesh bottoming well, Bill Kreutzmann hale and hearty, Keith Godchaux wrapping piano fills around Weir's and Garcia's tone-perfect guitars.

It was the longer songs that got them into trouble, but not by much. "China Cat Sunflower" began the launch into what has become the Dead's extended trademark, and as they took it in a roundabout way to "I Know You Rider," it seemed as if the night was sure to be tinged golden. But later, over the hump of "Around And Around" and "Tennessee Jed"'s sing-a-long chorus, it proved to be a false start. The big song of the set, "Playin' in the Band," never quite caught the handle they were searching for, gears touching but never completely in mesh.

The rest of the night belonged to Garcia. Returning from a short intermission and several filial descendants of "Cumberland Blues," he forcibly led the band through a combination of old and new material, capped by a beauteous ode to a woman named Stella Green. A long jam around "Truckin'" was successful in parts, as was a follow-up slice from "The Other One," and with the band now beginning to group around Kreutzmann in a semicircle, concentrating on making contact, they finally got what they wanted in a long, jazz-oriented piece I'd never heard before, the sound very free, gunning and spooking each other in a continuous upchurned spiral.

They left the stage after "Johnny B. Goode," all those hours of playing not diminishing its strength. To call them back, the audience set off a few matches in the orchestra, a few more responding along the balconies, expanding outward until the whole inside of the arena was lit by matchpower. The Dead returned with "Casey Jones," responsive puffs of smoke rising from the banks of amplifiers, the band chugging along as a revolving mirror-ball refracted minispots around the audience.

[From Issue 133 — April 26, 1973]

- (11/02/2008)

My 2nd ever GD show and it turned out to be nearly as special as my 1st, if for no other reason than the Nudie Suits!

He's Gone, was of course, quite emotional, but what cemented my fandom was Garcia absolutely ripping it up on bottleneck during the Truckin jam bleeding into a very solid The Other One.

Very nice NRPS set as well. A great night!
- (10/03/2009)

Marc in NYC may be right about the Dead opening with He's Gone. Unfortunately, I only have minimal memory of this show. But what I can tell you is the stage was draped in black and He's Gone played on for what seemed like a good half hour or more. Everyone was quitely singing along. An inspiration to me even to this day.

- (02/01/2013)

nice Half Step>Stella>Jack Straw in the second set. Everyone gives it their all on the China Doll vocals.
-Just Exactly Perfect Band (11/26/2014)

Marc in NYC...I was at the show, and I recall the solemn He's Gone as the opener, like you remember it.
- (09/08/2018)

Set 1

Promised Land - Rocking opener.

He's Gone - So freakin' good. Emotional take.

Mexicali Blues - Textbook efficiency.

They Love Each Other - You can tell the band is comfortable w/this tune.

Wave That Flag - Good time music.

The Race Is On - Heck yeah ! Super-duper tight.

Row Jimmy - Vibes everywhere !

El Paso - Standard execution.

China > Rider - Really good. Sneaky Cat./Perfect Rider to conclude.

Around and Around - Tremendous energy in the closing measures !!!!

Tennessee Jed - Smoking version. End of story.

Playing In The Band - After a few takes of predominantly loose jamming...they waste no time here. The pedal is to the metal in this mother trucker!!!! From start to finish this jam is vintage Dead. Concludes my favorite first set of early 73.....well....so far.

Set 2

Loose Lucy - Rock N Roll raver. Love Jerry's scratchy voice.

Me and My Uncle - Does the trick.

Brown Eyed Women - Great rendition of a classic.

Big River - Phil & Keith laying it down. Where's my Stetson ?

Mississippi Half-Step Uptown Toodeloo - Awesome job. Another tune nailed.

Jack Straw - Warbles but holds together.

Truckin' - Nobody's Fault But Mine jam. Great slide work. Nice shuffle from Billy K ! If I could roll this and smoke it I would !

The Other One - Fluid jamming by all. Effortless.

Eyes of the World - Never fails to amaze.

China Doll -Sweet as honey & soft as velvet.

Johnny B. Goode - Rocks !!

Casey Jones - Solid

Of the 28 songs played the 25 above I would download and spin again.

25 of 28 is a grade of 89.29%

Cheers !
-Bloggy Mcgee (09/15/2018)

Nice China Doll to finish Other One -> Eyes sequence.

-fz (09/01/2022)

As somepne posted on another show, I can't take many more of Bloggy McGee's ridiculous grading system!!
- (03/26/2023)

Grading by song is pointless and a waste of space. Write a detailed description of a few jams/highlights that spoke to you and save us the headache lol
-Anonymous (03/19/2024)

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