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1 Show Found

09/03/77
Raceway Park - Englishtown, NJ

Set 1:
Promised Land
They Love Each Other
Me And My Uncle
Mississippi Half-Step
Looks Like Rain
Peggy-O
New Minglewood Blues
Friend Of The Devil
The Music Never Stopped

Set 2:
Bertha
Good Lovin'
Loser
Estimated Prophet
Eyes Of The World
Samson And Delilah
He's Gone
Not Fade Away
Truckin'

Encore:
Terrapin Station

Download/Listen to this Show at Archive.org

Comments:

one of the best dead shows i have ever heard.
-


Tell you what, no matter how many times I hear that "Eyes of the World" It sends
shivers up me spine. It's EN FUEGO!!!!
Thank you Dick Latvala......
-Obie


A "Promised land" opener for the ages.......
-john


a half step for the ages!!! the LLR will send chills down your spine...the peggy o is lovely and who can forget donna's lovely primal scream on nfa??
i have an audience bootleg of this show and her scream is there in all it's glory...from what i have been told the dick's pick version had mixed out the scream...dumb move!!
-


Jimmy, anytime a Donna scream is mixed out in favor of a sweet sbd recording is certainly not a dumb move.
-Anonymous


sorry i disagree with you on that one...her scream is perfectly on key and is delivered at just the right moment to give the song an extra "jolt"...if you haven't heard it then you can't really comment.
-


Fantabulous version of Music Never Stopped.
-Anonymous


Heck, guys n' gals, I dunno about ya'll but I'd mix out Yoko ... I mean, Donna ... every chance I got. I was NEVER a big fan of "Primal Scream Donna Jean" and the only shivers that go up my spine are listening to her caterwauling like she caught her lef in a bear trap! Her banshee-like wails at jam's end on `70's-era Playin's are like crochet needles jammed in my ear drums. Mix her righ the heck out, I say!
-


The Half-Step is the best I have ever heard! I've never heard it jammed this well and Phil is on FIRE! He trades licks with Jerry very often throughout this show.
-


One of the all time great shows from one the all time great bands.
Eyes is one of the best!ever!
-Anonymous


i haven't heard this show, but i still find it hard to believe you could get a 'half-step' any better than the one they did on 11/10/85, also in NJ.

-


Arrived at Raceway Park about 8pm the night before (I lived in Matawan at the time, only twenty minutes away). We then realized that the gates weren't supposed to open til about ten the next morning. As the night grew on, the crowd swelled to the 30-40 thousand range in front of the entrance. They had Tractor trailor boxes set in a big ring around the natural slope down to the stage. with an entrance in the very back of the ring. around three in the morning, the decision was made to let everybody in because there was no room to handle them outside the venue. I remember waking up at about 8am and seeing nothing but people as far as the eye could see. It was a major chore just to go to the bathroom. Forget about food, if you didn't bring it there was much to be had. It was endless before Marshall Tucker Band took the stage. I think there was another band but I can't remember. The Dead came on later in the evening so there was a lot of sitting around waiting. The concert was broadcast live on WNEW. Tired, hungry, thirsty, my friend and I decided to leave during Not Fade Away. We had to walk about 3 miles to a school for a phone to call for a ride home. As we walked, most of the neighborhoods had the concert on the radio so we listened as we walked home. What a couple of days!
-


This show happened to be one of the biggest audiences the Dead ever played for. It had to be 95 Degrees that day. I was dehydrated during the first set and only had beer to quence my thirst. Needless to say by the end of the first set I was so wasted my eyes couldn't open. The guys sitting behind my a coupe of rows back thankfully shot me with squirt-guns which really helped cool me off. Thanks a lot whoever you guys were.
-grateful farmer


MESSAGE TO CHRIS...

you're wrong about Donna...i agree that some of her playin' screams were terrible...BUT...her harmony singing in the late 70's added a nice touch to many songs...i particularly love Looks Like Rain from that era with Bobby and Donna's harmonizing.
and i kid you not her scream on the NFA on this show is really cool...i have a nice audience version of the show and it sounds really good.
just my 2 cents. smile, smile, smile
-


This was my first Dead show. I was 13 and I told my mom I was going to the mall and then sleeping at my friend's. Anyway, my boyfriend passed out as soon as we set out our tapestry blanket. The people behind us(sensing my concern) asked if I knew what he had taken. I didn't, but I reached into his pocket and found some little red pills. I showed them to my new friends and one guy said, "hey man - don't worry - he'll be fine by the time The Dead come on". I trusted that they knew their stuff, so I just enjoyed Marshall Tucker and The New Riders and they shared their weed and water the whole time. Dave arose just as The Dead were jammin' to the Promised Land!! The music, the people and the whole experience made me a Deadhead, gratefully.
-Jen
-Jen


One of the largest and most amazing outdoor concerts I have ever been to. Grateful Dead, New Riders of the Purple Sage, Marshall Tucker, Charlie Daniels Band, and ?? I wore that Grateful Dead t-shirt constantly afterward! The music was great, as were all the people there (even the ones who crashed over!) and the partying was even better. Great memories. Thanks Andy!
Lisa
-Lisa & Andy


The traffic WAS tough but the Eyes was great. Nice stage backdrop. I came across a great photo poster of that Terrapin backdrop. Did someone really steal it?
Good friends Paul, Nancy, Brad, and sister Marcia. Nancy, where are you now?
-


It was hot as holy hell. I was stuck with a friend down in front of the stage, and we couldn't get out for water. Every once in a while a bucket of water would be passed around, which may have saved people from dehydration or even death.

Great show.
-


One thing...not to contradict Lisa, but I sure as heck don't remember Charlie Daniels being there. Or am I mistaken?
-


Its was just New Riders, Marshall Tucker and the Dead. This was my first dead show I was 13 and was living only a few miles from the show. I remember getting there around 8am with a group of about 15 friends and lots of bags of pot. It was so hot I remember drinking a six pack of soda after standing most of MTB. It took about two hours after the show to get picked up and got home around 3am.
-Anonymous


I remeember walking about 3 miles to get to show. Got their in middle of New Riders set. They closed roads to get there at one point. Weirdest memory was walking through this town called Oak Bridge and people that lived in the neighborhood could not believe their eyes. It's like a bunch of freaks took over their town and they were right lol. Took my friend and I 2 hours to find our car. Concert was incredible, we left during encore of Terrapin and leaving was such a cool aura hearing Terapin and navagating our way out of that place.
-


I like to beat off during shows, usually at set-break. I busted 3 nuts during this show - the last as Donna let out here scream during NFA.

For anyone that thinks this is the best half-step, give 05/07 a listen.

I beat off to that one
-Art Glass


14 y.o me wondered why all these hippies were walking through the neighborhood and parking their cars everywhere! heard some of the show from my kitchen window but had to wait and hear the tapes once I got "on the bus." it was about 2 miles as the crow flies from the site to my house. thanks for playing my hometown!
-


Estimated>
Eyes>
Samson
Only time this sequence was played. Normally , Samson starts off the set instead of the conclusion of a Bobby & Jerry hand off before drums. Show temps never ends with last of the relative ease from He's Gone evaporating into NFA then Truckin. While Terripin was less than a year old, for it to be placed as an encore makes the show end with a shining spot.
-Perrin


Well Mr. Wolf, as a mattah of fact, this was the 21st of over 300 hundred Terrapin's performed. Any show with a Peggy-O & a 2nd set Loser is worth multiple listens to perm spot in the collection. The boys were smart to add this to the official releases.
-Brian Merrilyn


Tremendous "He's Gone", best version I know.
-Scar (05/17/2007)


donna rules!!
-Anonymous (05/19/2007)


I stayed home to record this awesome show because I felt it was my duty to sacrifice myself. My apartment was in Manhattan with a clear view to the radio transmission tower, so I knew I would get as good a reception as anyone. Sure hope my neighbors appreciated my efforts to bring them the best in music.
- (07/30/2007)


This was my 4th show after Roosevelt Stadium in '76 and two Palladium shows in May 1977. What a time! I was a 16 yr old Long Island kid and had to get to Jersey which at the time might as well have been Russia. Me and a neighbor met up with some folks who would take us one way but no ride home. In those days nothing much mattered but getting there, and we did. I remember it was hot. Mid 90's hot and NRPS led off followed by Marshall Tucker. The weather cooled and by sunset with the stage draped in the one eyed skull cyclops from Terrapin the boys opened up. Truly lots of great versions of many tunes including 1/2 step but I thought the FOTD was the best version ever played! One of my Top 5 favorite first sets overall after 250+ shows and you gotta love the He's Gone> Truckin> NFA.
The most uncanny thing was after exiting we ran into a gal we went to high school with and her Mom had driven from Long Island to pick her and some others up in Jersey in the family station wagon. She had room for 2 and me and my buddy got dropped off in front of her homes...hassle free! 1977 was a much more simpler time. This show launched me into the next 18 years of wonderful long strange trips around the US.
- (08/01/2007)


NEw Riders? I don't think so.Waylon and Willie were on the bill but one of 'em didn't show. I forget which one. Tucker was pretty awesome I was a big fan , but definitely one of the best Dead shows. Loved Estimated Prophet. Half-Step. He's Gone seemed to cool everyone down.
- (08/04/2007)


It was NRPS, MTB, and the Dead. (Willie was next year at Giants Stadium)

I remember there being 125,000 people there, when they were expecting about 30,000. I thought I remembered a "mini break" in the middle somewhere.

Last show for the Travis Bean I believe.
- (09/05/2007)


I believe you are right Scott M. it was jerry's last show with the travis bean and what a show all my friends went but i could not go had to wait till the winter and caught them in hartford conn.
I heard an interview about this show and some kid was asking jerry that he was told they were not good on this day jerry replied laughing i thought we played very well as he took another line .
- (09/28/2007)


I KNOW that I commented on this show before, but my comment appears to be gone, now. Well, to briefly recapitulate: Over 100 Dead/Garcia shows under my belt, including every NYC venue ('cept Fillmore) Red Rocks, Hampton Roads and on and on. This was may favorite show AND the best show I ever saw - the very definition of "There is nothing like a Grateful Dead concert." This was the tour (if not the show) where they premiered Terrapin. Killer first set, Unbearably great second set; the best Eyes>Estimated ever (to these ears), soon followed by the alltime greatest He's Gone but then, most amazingly and for the first time in a very long time, Truckin'. Listen to the sound of the crowd as they recognize, after the drumroll out of NFA, what they're hearing. Not the greatest version ever, in fact, pretty ragged, with what sounds like Phil doing some real rough harmonizing. Amazing. And so many cool things about the show. It was absolutely NRPS (with Jerry on a tune or two, perhaps?) and MST as the openers. The sheer size of the crowd (3rd largest in the history of East Coast shows, after Watkins Glen & Woodstock), the walk to and from the site, having the car "borrowed" (and later returned - a story in itself), hitching back to NYC. A totally memorable trip a totally awesome show.
-NY Sam (01/30/2008)


Which dicks picks is this?
- (03/14/2008)


It used to be that the Cornell 77 and Englishtown, Fox, and St Paul were the Gems of 77 but I now realize that I just never heard all the other magnificent shows. Incredible year, incredible decade, Incredible Band.
Simply Amazing
-AJS (08/05/2008)


I had to hear the CD to know what they played, but I'm surprised how many folks don't even know who played the concert. I guess Im not as burnt as I thought (graded on a curve). This was my first dead show. Thirsty to the point of drinking Mud, and Sunburned to the extreme. Three out of four of us made it home the next morning, and the fourth a day later. Gone are the days when just making it home again was considered a victory. Oh and it was NRPS, MTB and the Dead. Of that I am certain.
-Ben (04/27/2009)


this was my first show. much like Steinbeck's Pearl, life is measured for me as before and after.













































































































- (04/28/2009)


Like so many of you who have commented, this was my first of many, many shows and what a way to get my long strange trip started. I was 18 and my friends and I actually brought a four foot bong into the show! Those were the days. It was an incredible scene and, needless to say, the Dead just won me over big time. After listening to dozens of versions, I still think this is the best Eyes i have ever heard. Really a fantastic show from the first note of Promised Land to the last one of Terrapin. And one of my first bootlegs. A friend who couldn't make the show was nice enough to record it for me. I listened to that tape hundreds of times throughout college until it got worn out. You can imagine how pleased I was when it came out on Dick's Picks.
-anon (10/01/2009)


Quite possibly the best version of "Eyes". Noticed on Dicks Picks, that they kind of compressed an excited Phil chord in the first chorus of Eyes. Compare the original tapes (possibly an FM broadcast) to the Dick's Pick's. Just an observation.

I was only 10, and was not at the show, but my bro was, and I remember listening to the tapes shortly after...man o man. Yeh, i was affected young.
-rob cal (01/30/2010)


What a show. My Dad let me use the family"s brand new station wagon. Only 500 miles on it. We lived on long Island App. 70 miles from raceway park. I had to work till noon that day so I picked my Pals At 1230 pm and the six of us headed to NJ. We went in on a back road. We parked on someone lawn on Texas rd for five dollars. The guy said his son would drive us to the front gate for five more bills. So he loaded us in this old phone company army green van. We drove through Police road blocks and all right up to the gate. We arrived at 230 . MTB were playing and we saw the sea of people and decided to wait outside till the Dead went on. What a good move. We hung out and drank ice cold beer and smoked up . 45 min after tucker were done we marched in right up to the sound booth. the crowd was so spent we walked right up to the booth and in two min the Dead opened up. Our timing and luck that day were a gift from God. I remember driving over outer bridge and 1010 wins said stay away from English town, roads closed traffic backed up for miles.We pushed on and what a Day
- (05/20/2010)


first post hiatus "truckin'". thank god they brought it back.
-dr. doug e. fresh (07/29/2010)


There was a pretty good Deadhead crowd in New Brunswick/Rutgers and we have a friend who's parents lived in E-town about 10 minutes from the drag strip.

Our friends parked on some back road, and every car but theirs got towed>

What a huge show, fantastic!

Post Script: The helicopters took the band to a hotel in Hightstown, NJ right next to where my wife and lived. We went over to the Hilton the next day, and sure enough, Jerry was having breakfast, and so were we!

I think a copter crashed nearby (not fatally) and there were rumors of the Dead being on that one, but I don't think that was true.


- (09/03/2010)


Great show, hot & humid weather, and a very large crowd. I remember overhearing someone say that the crowd seemed as big or bigger than the Watkins Glen show in '73. Actually, it was smaller. My first time experiencing Terrapin. This day and GD show remains one of the best days of my life. Ah, to be 21 years old - again! SWEET!

Joel (11/07/2010)
- (11/07/2010)


donna's harmonies are okay, but her screams are the worst thing i've ever heard
-Anonymous (03/26/2011)


comparing donna to yoko is a fucking joke. at least donna could actually sing an when she did scream it didnt sound anywhere near as bad as the noises yoko used to make. listen to an Audience version of the music never stopped from this show. as soon as her part comes up to sing you can hear everyone cheering for her. the audience knows better than a bunch of people sitting behind computers typing out their skewed opinions. donna was part of the best 10 years the dead ever had and i for one appreciate her contribution to the band especailly on songs like scarlet/fire and especially music never stopped. the only shows she can sound a little overbearing in are 73 and 74 and that probably had more to do with the wall of sound vocal mics being shitty an making the vocals sound flat.
-Anonymous (05/11/2011)


Donnas scream DEFINITELY is on Dicks Picks. Listen and you shall hear.
-Anonymous (05/11/2011)


Last So Many Roads, decent Operator
-Anonymous (11/22/2011)


Donna's screams are a form of art she was ahead of her time
-scott (12/15/2011)


know i love not fade away is all i can say i sware, best version ever
-mahrten (01/07/2012)


holy willy bum bum grateful dead is tha greatest ever and this show is proof motha fuckaz they come out and JUST WAIL on every fucking song..rip jg much love brother
-martin (03/19/2012)


I went to this show and it was the weakest one I ever attended.
-scott (03/31/2012)


had to work that day in Lincroft, NJ. Our boss got so sick of us bellyaching about missing the show he said get out. We went to Jacks Records in Red Bank (Kevin Smith for all of you all) and bought tickets. A quick hitchike got us to within two miles of the venue. This was my Woodstock. Seventeen, looking for a way, we came over the hill and saw the crowd of 125K. Watching flamethrowers, girls without shirts, and listening to what turned out to be a great show was a defining time of my life. The boys knew how to rock the East Coast.

- (07/03/2012)


hahahaha Scott ^, man you're funny, worst show you ever saw, hahahahaha, you're a comedian! Oh God, I haven't laughed that hard since I was a little girl
-Dr. Evil (04/30/2014)


I was 15 when I was at this concert. I remember watching a girl cut the legs off her jeans to make them shorts! As I recall, the bands that played at this show were Marshall Tucker, New Riders of the Purple Sage, Greatful Dead & Willie Nelson. Awesome concert!
- (10/01/2014)


Lest there be any confusion, I repeat: I was at this show. The lineup was NRPS (Spencer Dryden injured; played a tambourine, as I recall); Marshall Tucker; and the Dead. There was no Charlie Daniels (thank God...I am a fiddler and I can't stand him), and there was no Willie Nelson. A great show in absolutely unbearable heat. I was right down in front of the stage...got there a couple days early and was among the first ones let in.
- (10/11/2014)


First show after Elvis's passing ... hence the Promised Land opener ... yes, yes, Chuck Berry too.
- (12/16/2014)


My favorite Eyes. The absolute best He's Gone>NFA. 2nd set Loser is a tasty one. C'mon its Englishtown. Great show to turn a newbie onto the Dead with.
-Stagger lee (06/15/2015)


zx/?@#* LAZY LIGHTNING for Clarksons friend too.Notice that sets without drumspace are favorites .Jeff Chiminti is becoming my favorite rockstar.Dont forget Phil doing Adams family.
- (03/03/2016)


The most memorable concert experience in my lifetime.The sound system was incredible beyond belief,better than my own home stereo equipment.The performance level rates among four to five stars as the Dead were on there A game that year to begin with!The whole scene is emblazoned on my brain like a tatto of concert memorabilia!I met people from all over the U.S.A. This kind of stuff ONLY happens at Grateful Dead shows,like Vegas what happens there stays there!
- (03/06/2016)


Great time. 12 speaker towers. Daily News centerfold of 150,000 of us.
- (08/20/2016)


BERTHA IS 🔥
-Anonymous (01/22/2017)


What a show!! Can't wait from time travel.. Here's some photos of the show.

http://mashable.com/2015/07/03/grateful-dead-historical-photos-in-1977/#1FDz7vPasEqr
-Sir Jigglejugs (05/31/2017)


For a long time, this was "the" Dead show for me. I was born towards the end of the Dead's run as a band, so unfortunately, I can't offer recollections of being at their shows or stuff like that. But, make a long story short, this was the first archival recording of theirs I've gotten. Some fifteen years after first listening to it, it just still blows everything from the rest of '77 out of the water. Other stuff comes close (Cornell 5/8, Hartford Civic Center 5/28), but it's here where you see "Estimated Prophet" segue nicely into "Eyes;" not to mention the "Not Fade Away." The version captured here, I'm positively convinced, was transmitted from another planet.
-Bob (06/15/2017)


Always Grateful Dead fanatics TRADE what are the best years, best months, best shows, best tours. And I always argue that 9-03-77 Englishtown be placed in the TOP THREE of ALL TIME.
This concert is a demonstration that they truly were and are the FINEST BAND IN THE LAND... LADIES AND GENTLEMEN... THE GRATEFUL DEAD.
They had the greatest repetoire of cover songs, and their original songs were beyond reach of any other musicians. Only the Beatles are in the same sphere of mastery, creativity, and social-global impact on the human consciousness expansion and human evolution.
There are no errors. And they play with power, precision and forethought. Actually, they were supremely focused and put lots of thought and energy into their music. People who attended the concert later claimed that there was a higher power or Alien Influence of the Band that guided or empowered them.
Jerry loved the supernatural and aliens...

- (09/01/2017)


Was a young one at the time. Papers headline following day headline, 2 die 3 born.

Our house abetted local sports fields which turned into parking. My intro to the dead. What a fun time for a young one to get into trouble

- (12/28/2017)


Dick's Picks 15

Disc 1

Introduction 0:41
Promised Land 5:08
They Love Each Other 7:41
Me & My Uncle 3:52
Mississippi Half-Step 13:35
Looks Like Rain 7:52
Peggy-O 9:18
New Minglewood Blues 5:21
Friend of the Devil 8:13
The Music Never Stopped 7:03

Disc 2

Bertha 8:35
Good Lovin' 6:00
Loser 8:37
Estimated Prophet 9:30
Eyes of the World 13:17
Samson and Delilah 6:40

Disc 3

He's Gone 14:19
Not Fade Away 20:07
Truckin' 10:06
Terrapin Station 11:02



-Bookkeeper (07/21/2019)


You won’t find a more thoroughly jammed NFA than this here performance. Jerome and Philip are all over it.
-Just Exactly Perfect Band (05/01/2021)


>>> BERTA is all nite running >>>>
-Anonymous (12/20/2021)


1977-09-03 Englishtown, NJ
My cousin, some friends, and I went to our first Dead show at Englishtown Raceway. We were 15 years old. It was a crazy day, we arrived by bus from Manhattan. The roads were all blocked as we approached the Raceway. With the roads clogged, we all just ran off the bus and headed to the show. It was the largest crowd I've ever been in in my whole life. The day was hot & humid & hot. But the music was absolutely amazing. Hours later, when the show was over, we realized we had absolutely no idea where to get the bus home. So we found a pay phone and called my Mom in Yonkers. She called cousins we had in Englishtown to pick us up. Of course, the show was like a mini Woodstock and was all over the news, so my Mom was worried the whole day. When we met our Englishtown cousin, he was worried that we were carrying drugs (the news reports apparently were focused on everyone smoking pot at the show). He said "I know the cops in town, you guys better not have any drugs". We laughed and told him no, we had no drugs. So my Mom and Uncle drove two hours to come pick us up. The ride home was... fun. This was my very first Dead show!
- (07/27/2022)


Man, the 21+ minute version of Not Fade Away is probably my favorite they've done.
- (04/22/2024)


IWT, I think I can explain why so many people can't remember who the other acts were. The first thing we noticed besides the huge number of people were the huge number of huge speakers. I was a little concerned we were going to get blown away. However, when the NRPS came on the sound was HORRIBLE, it was so bad we couldn't tell who or what was playing. It was muffled for their whole set.
The sound for MTB was alot better but still not very good. Thankfully someone must have figured out the problem because when the Dead came out it was KABOOM! Then it seemed to get louder and clearer for the whole show. I can still feel Phil's bass on Terrapin.
- (10/11/2024)


Comment on this Show!

 

Band Configuration
(10/20/74 - 02/17/79)

Lead Guitar: Jerry Garcia
Rhythm Guitar: Bob Weir
Bass: Phil Lesh
Keyboards: Keith Godchaux
Drums: Bill Kreutzmann
Drums: Mickey Hart
Backup Vocals: Donna Godchaux

Note: Band configuration is across specified time period. Configuration for particular show may have differed.

The SetList Program is Copyright © 1996-2024 Madhu Lundquist. Band configurations compliments of .
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