The Brief History of Dark Star>Morning Dew

Originally published on August 26, 2016 at 521pm

At the very height of the Grateful Dead, between 1972 and 1974, the band performed the magical medley of Dark Star>Morning Dew one dozen times. You can hear all of them by clicking above.

This combination is the very pinnacle of the Grateful Dead experience. And I believe it's the very essence of the Grateful Dead, the wild space of the greatest song ever written by the band moving beautifully into a pace-slowing cover song that the Dead made their own, run at the creation of the group.  It's funny, if you check the Dick Lavata clips below, he basically calls every version of Dark Star>Morning Dew, "the greatest version ever".   Some goodies are here

1972 Versions, 7 of 12

05-18-1972  Munich        Dark Star [26:28] > Morning Dew [11:12]   Europe 72 Complete
05-23-1972  London        Dark Star [31:12] > Morning Dew [11:17]   Europe 72 Complete
08-24-1972  Berkeley      Dark Star [27:14] > Morning Dew [13:00]   The Perfect Show
09-21-1972  Philly           Dark Star [37:06] > Morning Dew [11:05]   Dick's Picks 35
10-18-1972  St Louis       Playing In The Band [15:50] > Drums [2:45] > Dark Star [28:25] >                                                        Morning Dew [11:07] > Playing In The Band [5:13]    1st Playing Sandwich
11-13-1972  KansasCity  Dark Star [31:19] > Morning Dew [11:09]  Philo Stomp Dick's GEMS
12-15-1972  Long Beach Truckin' [11:37]> Dark Star [21:24]> Morning Dew [12:39]


http://www.agitators.com/gd/dick_1972.html

The 'Dark Stars" from 8/21 and 8/24 are enormous. I need to
re-listen to the 8/22 show, but it seems to me that the show from 8/24
might be the winner here.

 Now to the really exceptional material. First up is
9/21/72- Philadelphia Spectrum.  This show is one of my favorite shows
ever. This version of "Dark Star->Morning Dew" might be the best one!
(there is a jam segment that is very unique and thrilling, and one that I
don't really think that I have ever heard before.)

The next most exciting show, is the middle night of the run of three at
the fabulous Fox Theater, in St. Louis, Mo. , October 18, 1972. It took me
awhile to hear this show correctly, but now it is a clear example of one
of the very best, with a couple of unusual and unique treats within the
"jam" segment before "Morning Dew".

Long Beach (12/15) was
another matter. Although I don't think of it in the same class as the
shows at the end of November, it does contain some excellent playing in
the 2nd set jam that is highlighted by a long "jam" section that follows
"Truckin", which contains some improvisational jamming that is especially
unique, and then comes "Dark Star"! Sounds great, right?  Unfortunately
the only part that one notices as "Dark Star"  are the lyrics. As soon as
the words are over, the playing resumes in the unique style that preceeded
"Dark Star". This very interesting part continues for many minutes before
the chords of "Morning Dew" become apparent. 

1973, The Duo


09-11-1973  Williamsburg Dark Star [22:09] > Morning Dew [12:41]
10-19-1973  OklahomaCity Dark Star [27:04] > Mind Left Body Jam > Morning Dew [8:12]

http://www.agitators.com/gd/dick_1973.html

The 9/11/73-Williamsburg, Va. show is another favorite of
mine. Well actually it isn't a favorite in the sense of the whole
show, but it certainly has one of the finest examples of the famous
medley "Dark Star->Morning Dew". (which, BTW, I find the
9/10/74- Alexandra Palace to be one of the highest of the high
versions!!!)

I guess we can say with confidence that things take on new
meanings on 10/19/73 in Oklahoma. This could easily have been
the first of the DP series, except for the absolute awesomeness of
"Here Comes Sunshine" on 12/19 /73. This has to be yet another
example of the "top version ever", of "Dark Star->Morning
Dew"!!! (and the jam within this incredible medley, of course!)
There is another excellent version of "Eyes of the World" that
goes into "Stella Blue" as the first encore!

1974, The Trio


02-24-1974  SF                  Dark Star [28:57] > Morning Dew [13:35]
09-10-1974  London          Dark Star [30:53] > Morning Dew [12:37]   Dick's Picks 7
10-18-1974  SF                  Seastones [24:38] > Jam [17:40] > Dark Star [17:37] > Morning Dew    
                                            [12:56]

http://www.agitators.com/gd/dick_1974.html

I was never too thrilled by the opening 3 shows at Winterland. Clearly 
the 2/24/74 night is the one to get and give a good listen.

We all know how I felt about the shows at the Alexandra Palace in 
London (9/9->11). (see 1973)

Out of the 5 shows that closed the year at Winterland, I feel that 
the middle 3 are worthy of attention. I guess that 10/18 might get the 
nod over-all, but since these are multi-track recordings, I don't have a 
whole lot of effect on whether these are released or not.

With Filler

03-16-1973  Nassau          Dark Star [26:30] > Truckin' [8:26] > Morning Dew [11:33]
08-01-1973  Jersey City    Dark Star [25:34] > El Paso [4:12] > Eyes Of The World [17:27] >                                                        Morning Dew [13:29]

Kinda/Almost
08-17-1991 Shoreline        25 Years ago this month Smokestake>He's Gone>Drums>Space>70
                                            seconds of a Dark Star Jam>Morning Dew>One More Saturday Night

In Reverse :)
12-31-81      Oakland          > Space [7:40] > The Other One [11:09] > Not Fade Away [7:28] >                                                       GDTRFB [7:21] > Morning Dew [10:44];  Dark Star [15:16] > Bertha                                                   [6:32] > Good Lovin' [10:03]

timings from deadlists.com

In my era of the Dead, they once played this medley nearly in reverse. This was the only known reverse medley that ever occur, however the band played Dew followed by Dark Star on at least four occassions in the first set in shows in 1969.

Some comments are below
On The Bus: Review of May 23, 1972 in London
The "Dark Star" is everything you want from the song in 1972. The initial jam is melodic and fast, as the band finds new grooves and permutations of the theme to explore with fervor. They descend into a quick spacey jam that is cut short with a brief drum interlude. Phil joins Billy for quick, melodic drum-and-bass duet, and then it's off into deep space. Jerry plays wandering lines with that harsh yet clean tone, as Bobby, Keith, and Billy strive to find weirder and weirder ways to play the rhythm, ultimately settling on dissonance and chaos. Jerry finds some semblance of form coming out of the chaos, and Keith peppers his meandering notes with crashing piano chords. Billy swings like the rhythmic beast he is, and Phil helps steer the groove back to the light. Jerry takes some coaxing, but eventually they find release and re-emerge with the "Dark Star" theme, crisp and clear. However, it's clear this one traveled a long, arduous road to get back to the song. It must all seem trivial to Jerry, and he signals the dawn with the opening chord of "Morning Dew." What an epic way to end this sequence, with the gently building guitar lines eventually exploding into the crescendo and the nuclear ashes settling on the soundsphere. Ladies and gentlemen, we're not yet halfway through the first set!!

Review of December 15, 1972 Long Beach for Teens :)

Dead Listening
http://www.deadlistening.com/2009/10/1972-august-24-berkeley-community.html
http://www.deadlistening.com/2008/04/1972-october-18-fox-theatre.html
Blair (I am getting to you soon)
http://www.dead.net/features/blair-jackson/blair-s-golden-road-blog-dark-star-crashes?page=6
Reddit
https://www.reddit.com/r/gratefuldead/comments/49pbpo/best_dark_star/
Heady
http://headyversion.com/song/184/grateful-dead/morning-dew/
Clubhouse
http://www.gratefuldeadprojects.com/dark_star.html
Kirkville
http://www.mcelhearn.com/the-darkest-star-shines-the-brigthest/

Dead Sell-Out Iowa City, February 24, 1973

Here is probably some Dead items you never saw before. A color copy of the February 24, 1973 Poster at the University of Iowa, found deep in their digital online archives and a snice little review of this concert that we don;t know everything about. 

For a long time, there were only four songs in SBD from this show, but in the past few years an audience appeared of much of the show.  Raead about it here from the experts at http://deadessays.blogspot.com/2009/12/from-incomplete-show-files-february.html

Since it is February 1973 the Playing in the Band is suberb, you can get the tunes here

Wish I had more information, but what we have here is cool enough for me

For more on more famous Iowa Dead shows in this era read http://www.gratefulseconds.com/2016/05/a-tale-of-two-playgrounds-grateful-dead.html

First time I ever saw this in color

University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA (2/24/73)

Bertha

Mexicali Blues

Brown Eyed Women

Looks Like Rain

Loos Lucy

Beat it on Down the Line

China Cat Sunflower

I Know You Rider

Jack Straw

Here Come Sunshine

El Paso

Box of Rain

Tenessee Jed

Playing in the Band

They Love Each Other

Greatest Story Ever Told

Row Jimmy

Big River

Ramble On Rose

Me and Bobby McGee

Truckin'

Nobody's Jam

Eyes of the World

Sugar Magnolia

The Economics of Watkins Glen, 1973

A Grand Night For Rock Culture, Portland, OR May 24, 1973

Happy 45th birthday!

After some killer East Coast, supposedly Billy hurt his hand and Vancouver, Portland and Seattle got postponed from early May to late June. Likely for us, since David is issuing these three 1973 shows and their 1974 cousins as the next great Grateful Dead 19 CD box set.


After the postponement, the Dead played three killer three-set outdoor shows in May, in Iowa, Santa Barbara and Kezar and opened June with the two RFK shows with the Allmans. Nice tee off for these three Northwest shows.  Let's talk Portland.  And lets listen to Portland. Any Dark Star Eyes of the World China Doll is a friend of mine.  Here is a Charlie Miller of this show until September when the official release comes out. Also there's some New Riders in print below who came in May when the Dead had to postpone.  Wish i would have seen a show up here.

And don't forget the short bottom piece below that describes Deadheads saving enough acid for three shows!

The Promised Land ; Loser ; Mexicali Blues ; They Love Each Other; Looks Like Rain ; Box Of Rain ; Big Railroad Blues; Jack Straw; Sugaree; The Race Is On ; Row Jimmy ; Beat It On Down The Line ; China Cat Sunflower > I Know You Rider ; Around And Around

Mississippi Half-Step Uptown Toodeloo ; You Ain't Woman Enough ; El Paso ; Stella Blue ; Greatest Story Ever Told > Bertha ; Big River ; Dark Star [27:50] > Eyes Of The World [14:35] > China Doll [6:15] > Sugar Magnolia  Encore One More Saturday Night

Looks Like Rain for the Versatile Grateful Dead in Tempe, November 25, 1973

I woke the day 45 years ago (i wish), felt your  side of bed (wished even harder), the covers were still warm. I was dreaming it was raining in Arizona.  Pure fantasy right?

Not true, I was cold in Maine in the attic, but I was four days past my first true Trip.
So I was heading towards the bus, which would stop in Boston in exactly 23 months.

Meanwhile, the Dead were amidst Maybe The Best Tour Ever, starting with The Seven  http://www.gratefulseconds.com/2016/08/october-1973-seven.html  and making the Magic Winterland shows in November and the Delightful December in Boston, Ohio, ending up with Florida.  Tempe is not considered in the top-tier of these shows but I would gladly trade many of my tourdates for this Rainy Arizona Afternoon.

A typically wonderful 14 sing set-one ends with a typically wonderful Playing In The Band.  You can have the 320s heres.

And although the second set play have been shortened to the weather, it is a wonderful Eyes of the World>Weather Report Suite that starts the set.

Archive's Chris U says the band woke up on the right set of the bed here. Give it a listen.  Less known is not lesser quality

Some music

 Promised Land
Sugaree
Beat it on Down the Line
Don't Ease Me In
Black Throated Wind
Tennessee Jed
Mexicali Blues
China Cat Sunflower
I Know You Rider
Big River
Row Jimmy
Me and My Uncle
Brown Eyed Women
Playing in the Band

Eyes of the World
WRS Prelude
WRS Part 1
Let It Grow
Casey Jones
Sugar Magnolia
Goin' Down the Road Feeling Bad
One More Saturday Night

We Bid You Goodnight

The Night Before: Dick Could Have Picked This One First Too, Tampa, December 18, 1973

Any show that starts with Jed and ends with

 Deal 

Jack Straw 

China Cat Sunflower ->

Jam ->

I Know You Rider 

Set 2

The Promised Land ->

Bertha

Greatest Story Ever Told 

Row Jimmy 

Weather Report Suite Prelude ->

Weather Report Suite Part ->

Let It Grow ->

Dark Star ->

Drums ->

Eyes Of The World ->

Wharf Rat ->

Sugar Magnolia 

Encore

Uncle John's Band

could be a Dick's Picks. Too bad this show took place exactly one night before Dick's Picks Volume 1 in the same exact venue in Tampa, Florida.  Boy, the band was on fire in December 1973. And boy, Jerry looks like a kid in the pages of The Tampa Times. Grab the show here

As typical in multi night runs, the first show is reviewed and not the next night aka DP1.  

This show is so important to the canon that John R. Dwork reviewed it (see below)

Wolfman Jack Sitting Plush with a Royal Flush in Baltimore, March 26, 1973

Just Like Crazy Otto
Just Like Wildman Jack


On March 26, 1973, the Dead played again a fine show in Baltimore, Maryland on a rainy Monday night complete with a character from Ramble On Rose.

A fine 17 song first set ends with China Rider LLR Don't Ease and a nearly twenty minute Playing in the Band. Wolfman Jack introduced the band in set two and they start with, what else, Ramble On Rose.  After a bunch of songs including Here Come Sunshine, He's Gone hits truckin>Weather Report Suite Prelude>Wharf Rat>Me & Bobby McGee>Eyes>Dew. Nice little show here.

The tunes are here. What else could you ask for from a 45 year old show?  Take the time and listen.

John Schulin since then became a famed sports writer and TV program writer as well.  He knows two sets of my old friends but does not know me.  Hope all is good John.

http://deadsources.blogspot.com/2012/09/march-26-1973-baltimore-civic-center.html

Reviewer: kochman - favoritefavoritefavoritefavoritefavorite - December 20, 2013
Subject: 2nd Set is Brilliant
Promised Land starts with great SQ and that fun sound we know.
Half-Step has a great tempo, especially this early in the game. The first solo by Garcia is a bit slow, though it picks up slowly.
Race is On is generally fun but a very prominent, and “where’s my martini” voiced Donna isn’t fun.
Wave that Flag is the rough creature that would become US Blues, still fun.
Jack Straw is nice, from fast tempo, to half time on a dime, and back again.
Sugaree is sleazy as ever, not the beast it would later become.
Mexicali is short and sweet.
Box of Rain well performed team effort.
Row Jimmy is rather poignant to me. It sticks out in my ears as I multi-task.
BIODTL
BEW has a nice country rhythm to it, drums chugging along nicely.
El Paso is another effort that does the trick.
China>Rider has a great tempo and feel to it. They get through the transition in a form we will become use to, Phil leading with some be-bop notes in the section of the transition that becomes a feature through the rest of their renditions of C>R until the retirement. Very nice C>R here.
LLR
Don’t Ease
PITB goes through a few phases in the journey of just under 20 minutes, and starts strongly right out of the vocals with nice wah sounds from Jer. Around 8 minutes we take a turn for the jazzier side of PITB. Slowing down after 9 minutes, it then heads into a strongly themed yet exploratory jam that takes us through the rest of the song. Generally it is a solid jam session.

Intro by Wolfman Jack
Ramble On maintains a decent tempo, and somewhat “lights up” as the Wolfman directed. Phil sounds great, especially toward the end.
Big River has the energy we all know and expect.
HC Sunshine is led in with some muted tuning, and then the solid intro. The jam segment is well played, keeping a pleasing tempo and featuring great Garcia licks. Phil is hitting some high notes, at the timing change in the middle of the jam, that are pretty cool, though this is by no means unique in this rendition of the song.
GSET is full of watery wah wah sounds from Jerome. A nice version but there are clearly better out there.
Candyman starts off with a slow tempo, but gets to a nice place when Jer blows away Mr. Benson. Nice, but short, jam.
MAMU
He’s Gone>Truckin>WRS Prelude>Jam>Wharf Rat>Bobby McGee
He’s Gone is mellow. They do into an extended vocal jam which subsides just after 10:30 to Jerry’s guitar hitting those familiar high notes, and we some instrumental jam as our reward. We get a 3 plus minute jam that stays between Gone and the upcoming Truckin theme.
Truckin begins with middling tempo, but precision playing. At the typical 5 minute mark we get the first of Jerry’s solos while the tempo has clearly gained momentum. He whips out some sassy intro notes, and then we head into the build up strongly coming out into the full blues theme/structured musical interlude we all know with more precision. We get a very bluesy jam that goes long (for Truckin) and maintains a decent head of steam, though I would like more. It sounded like Jerry wanted to perhaps head into Schoolgirl (or any the other related/easily segued blues tunes, Schoolgirl being most prominent to my ear), but it never happened. Around the 11 minute mark we get some momentum build up into a little segment I’ve never heard before, but it’s short lived, and as Jerry retreats into low, but higher pitched noodles, we’ve got Phil somewhat dominating. Keith puts in his two cents, and Jerry gets a bit louder as we get another minor build up similar to the thematic build up, which falls into more exploratory areas nicely. As it quiets, there are hints of Comes a Time and China Doll.
WRS Prelude in its early days. It starts low and smooth with cymbals accenting. The band, not ready for Part 1, instead heads into a beautiful, mellow jam lead by a poignant Garcia, the master of never overdoing it. 4 minutes in Jerry starts into some noodles, but still never overdoes it. Jamming like this, off the cuff, is what it’s all about. This is clearly the highlight of the show thus far.
Wharf Rat is great, solidifying the strength of this awesome meat sequence. Synched, nearly error free, powerful. The beginning of the instrumental power section of the song is where they have a minor flub which slows the momentum as they recover but with a slight limp.
McGee emerges from the tail end of the flight, to round out the meat sequence at well over 50 minutes.
Eyes>Dew
Eyes really comes right out of the end of McGee, with no real stop other than letting the previous song end. We’re buckled up? 25 more minutes of awesome coming your way. Eyes is beautiful, the 2nd verse jam has peaks into several nice little corners of groove.
The transition out of Eyes could have also gone China Doll, but Jerry pushes for the Dew, to my delight. Jerry either flubbed the lyrics, or there was a cut, I think it was a cut… it wasn’t a logical kind of flub and the music changed a bit. There was a seamless stitching anyhow! The build up to the finale is powerful and clear, with Keith putting in some great backing notes as Jerry gains us to the finish line, then switches into wah wahed fanning for a moment.
OMSN


Though the 1st set is somewhat inconsistent, with some songs I don’t really enjoy, it was a pretty good effort.
The second set is clearly the highlight, with an amazing sequence from the post-vocal jam of He’s Gone, through Truckin, WRS Prelude and about halfway through Wharf Rat where they were just about invinsible.
Overall, they go deep a lot in this show, but didn’t always have the juice, though usually they did. Definitely worth being familiar with this show.
Reviewer: JamsOnly - favoritefavoritefavoritefavoritefavorite - November 26, 2013
Subject: Set 2
This set may be just exactly perfect.
Reviewer: chris phillips - favoritefavoritefavoritefavoritefavorite - October 21, 2013
Subject: Of Interest
HCS and Eyes are very fine and the Truckin jam is excellent. There are actually many other good versions.
3/24-3/31 is high quality Dead.
Reviewer: njpg - favoritefavoritefavoritefavoritefavorite - June 21, 2013
Subject: Rating is mainly for 2nd set
It's not that the 1st isn't good, but it pales next to the 2nd, which is top-notch Grateful Dead with everything falling into the right place.
Reviewer: Sparky_Bowls - favoritefavoritefavoritefavorite - August 23, 2012
Subject: (~);}
'73 is where it's at. The penultimate GD sound.
Reviewer: CHARLIEPHOGG - favoritefavoritefavoritefavoritefavorite - June 27, 2012
Subject: 73
Ilove March 1973! Especially the Spectrum, Baltimore and Sprinfield shows. ....late year shows are incredible too!
Reviewer: Picky Deadhead - favoritefavoritefavoritefavoritefavorite - June 26, 2012
Subject: 1973
What an amazing year, everyone knows that. I am just starting to get into spring '73. And why has it taken so long? Every damn song could have the word '>jam' attached to it.

This show contains my current favorite 'Playin', 'Greatest Story', 'Candyman', 'Wharf Rat', and of course the Truckin that melts into Weather Report is indescribably perfect.

I can't reiterate enough how awesome this Playin' is...please listen you're absolutely positively guaranteed to start dancing right on the spot!
Reviewer: babyblu - favoritefavoritefavoritefavoritefavorite - March 26, 2011
Subject: WHY????????????
WHY DO THEY HAVE TO BE SO FUCKIN' GOOOOOOOD!!!!!!!!!!
Reviewer: Stony Trips - favoritefavoritefavoritefavoritefavorite - June 30, 2010
Subject: first show
When Wolfman came out alot of people booded. You could hear Wolfman quickly say " Whoever likes the Dead LIGHT UP" Its seemed quite a few of us lit up more than matches. We repeated this when Jerry said "just like wolfman jack" during Ramble On Rose. Quite a Cosmic moment for me being my first of many shows.

The Night Dark Star Met Eyes of the World, February 15, 1973

45 Years Ago Tonight was the first Dark Star>Eyes of the World and I finally found all the local buzz.  Here's where the buzz is.

Dane was the second show of the Wake of the Flood intro February tour. And the Dead had a chance a week earlier at Stanford to introduce most of the tunes.  Here we get a chance to start exploring.
There is an excellent guest post at Grateful Dead Guide from Taylor Coble this is a must-read on this show http://deadessays.blogspot.com/2014/08/21573-dane-county-coliseum-madison.html
You really must read Taylor's piece  but I give you a small sample:

Over the years, many listeners have waxed ecstatic about the Madison show, especially concerning the Dark Star->Eyes of the World->China Doll segment. This “trifecta masterpiece” has made appearances on various lists like “The best jam segments” and “Best versions” lists through the years. Well known examples include former GD archivist Dick Latvala, who called the Dark Star->Eyes “superb” and rated the show as a top ten of the year. Nick Paumgarten, writer of the “DeadHead” article featured in The New Yorker, included the Madison date on his “Nick’s Picks” list. He specifically mentions the Dark Star->Eyes as putting this show on his “life raft.” 

There are multiple reviews from local papers, oh the days when this occurred is long gone too bad and still its Madison (think of Berkeley, Cambridge etc), they are positive and insightful.  If the reviews are little more blurry this time, try the PDF versions in the buzz.  Be well my Dead Head friends. This was a rare Loose Lucy opener (and the first and only time, they shoudl have played it more) and in honor of JPB, Bobby plays a number of Weir-Barlow tunes, Mexicali, LLR, and OMSN.

 Loose Lucy Beat It On Down  Brown Eyed Women   Mexicali Blues  Tennessee Jed
 Looks Like Rain  Box Of Rain  Row Jimmy  Jack Straw  China Cat Sunflower > I Know You Rider [ Me And My Uncle  Bertha  Playing In The Band  Casey Jones

Here Comes Sunshine  El Paso  You Ain't Woman Enough  They Love Each Other Big River
Dark Star [19:15] > Eyes Of The World [19:09] > China Doll [7:03] ;
The Promised Land Sugaree Sugar Magnolia [9:08]
Encore [6:58] ; Uncle John's Band [6:58] ; One More Saturday Night


In October the Dead would return for another barnburner, a similar looking show with a little extra oomph in set two. I'll get there some day. :)