That’s the Swing Auditorium. It was in San Bernardino and was a rock n’ roll victim of aviation hijinx just like Buddy Holly and Lynyrd Skynyrd and that poor tour bus that Randy Rhodes crashed into. 1981. Hit by a twin-engine Cessna going 200 miles an hour. Pilot and his son died, and the building was razed after the fires were put out.
Before that, Sammy and Dean and Frank played there. Bob Hope brought Jerry Colonna and some pretty girls and a new armful of jokes for 13 years straight. San Bernadinans always did like that wholesome, patriotic material. The Sisters Andrews and MacGuire came through, and the King. The kids filled the hall, too, when Alice Cooper and KISS and Zeppelin played. Rock Stars loved the gig: close enough to Los Angeles to make it to Last Call at the Whiskey after the show. Stones did their very first American show here in 1964, one of those early tours with the tiny amps and the teenies down front pissing themselves.
The Dead played there on 2/26/77, which is the new Dave’s Pick, but you can listen to it for free because of the First Amendment. It was their first show in almost two months, having gotten deeply strange over New Year’s at the Cow Palace and then been (literally) locked into the recording studio to finish up Terrapin Station. You can tell: there is bit-champing, and there is leash-straining. The drummers are syncomeshed, and Phil is approaching the heaviest tones of his career, and Keith isn’t bored. Plus, this is Garcia’s first tour with his new Mu-Tron pedal and he’s putting that fucker through its paces. (The Mu-Tron is the effect that Garcia applied to his guitar starting in 1977 that made it sound even more Garcia-ish.)
Is there a heaven for venues? And if there is, do the other venues make fun of the Swing Auditorium?
“How do you get hit by a plane?”
“Dude, shut up already.”
“The odds are so against it!”
“I said ‘shut up!'”
And so on.
Heaviest tones of Phil’s career were in Fall 71. Not up for debate.
No debate, but also… Run Rudolph Run, sung by Phil.
12/6/71
that’s a hot terrapin
“one more…”
Great looking venue, wish I could have seen the band there.
Great sound, great songs, that 2/27/77. Donna sounds pretty.
I love the Grateful Dead.
Hot Terrapin for sure, and also something about that Estimated. I lucked into a decent cassette copy of this show relatively early on back in the old blanks and postage days, and always thought there was something special about it, and particularly these early renditions, so was great to see it pop up as DP 29. That said, was late to realize same and missed the window, regrettably; if anyone who ordered a second copy is now wondering what to do with it, let’s transact.
a Mac about to crack
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BYJlx-xTBRU
.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dRvkSbDIsIk
phil hit it off with cucamonga
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QLA1N7DlfrI