Jerry Garcia Band - 1980-02-29 - Hempstead, NY (SBD)

Jerry Garcia Band

1980-02-29

Late Show

Calderone Concert Hall

Hempstead Ny

Soundboard Recording

320 kbps

Artwork Included

01. How Sweet It Is To Be Loved By You

02. When I Paint My Masterpiece

03. Russian Lullaby

04. The Harder They Come

05. Tiger Rose *

06. Promontory Rider *

07. Dear Prudence

Encore

08. Midnight Moonlight

* With Robert Hunter

Jerry Garcia Band - 1980-02-29 - Hempstead, NY (SBD)

As February 1980 closed, and March 1980 began, the Jerry Garcia Band was in peak form. Their February 28 show from Kean College has been officially released on the album, After Midnight. The album takes its name from the legendary After Midnight > Eleanor Rigby > After Midnight jam that closed the first of the 2 shows the band played that night. I was at the early show at The Capitol Theatre in Passaic, NJ on March 1, 1980, which I posted on this blog last year. That concert found Garcia playing a superb mix of covers, solo material and Grateful Dead tunes, including a blistering version of Deal, perhaps the hottest rendition of that tune I’ve ever been privileged to hear. This post captures the band in between those 2 concerts, on February 29, 1980, 32 years ago today, during the late show at Calderone Concert Hall in Long Island. Jerry is joined for 2 songs, Tiger Rose and Promontory Rider, by his lyricist (and opening act), Robert Hunter. Download this one and well as the March 1 show, then go out and buy After Midnight, to own a trifecta of superb Garcia performances. By the way - check out the ticket stub on the back cover. Guess whoever printed it wasn't too familiar with how Mr. Garcia spelled his first name! And Rachel Sweet was replaced by Robert Hunter as the opening act, as I explained in this post.  By the way, while it may not seem immediately apparent, this show fits in with our folk rock and country western theme this month for several reasons.  First, Jerry, long before he was playing psychedelic rock, played in a folk/bluegrass band called the Wildwood Boys with David Nelson. Second,  Garcia and the Dead were know for covering a host of country Western tunes, including El Paso, Big River and Me and My Uncle.  Third, and finally, Garcia is joined by Robert Hunter, whose folk roots were detailed earlier this month!