Life lessons on two wheels
to the tunes of the
Grateful Dead
The Deadhead Cyclist Book
Coming May 2023
Life lessons on two wheels
to the tunes of the
Grateful Dead
This Week in Grateful Dead History
Week 18
I don’t trust to nothing
As we continue our focus on the Spring ’77 tour, we collide head-on with five outstanding shows at the Palladium in New York City, April 29th – May 4th (with a well-deserved night off on May 2). The 3000-capacity Palladium played a storied role in rock music history during the ’60s, ’70s, ’80s and ’90s, when the property was purchased by New York University and converted into a student residential hall, affectionately referred to as Palladium Hall. The catalog of legendary concerts that took place at the Palladium includes the Rolling Stones’ first American tour in 1965 and The Band’s famous series of New Year’s shows, December 28-31, memorialized in the 1972 album, Rock of Ages.
Upcoming Weeks
The Thin Line Beyond
I don’t believe in aging. But before you misidentify me as a wingnut, “chronology change denier,” allow me to define the term “aging.” Within the context of aging as a biological fact, there is no “belief” involved. We all age and eventually die. That is an undeniable fact. However, there is more to “aging” than that. So, let’s drill down a little deeper, shall we?
All I Know
I don’t believe in aging. But before you misidentify me as a wingnut, “chronology change denier,” allow me to define the term “aging.” Within the context of aging as a biological fact, there is no “belief” involved. We all age and eventually die. That is an undeniable fact. However, there is more to “aging” than that. So, let’s drill down a little deeper, shall we?
This Week in Grateful Dead History: Week 1 – December 31, 1978
The storyteller makes no choice
The Grateful Dead were famous for their New Year’s shows, and played twenty-one times at the stroke of midnight on December 31, at six different venues, all in the Bay Area. Six of those shows took place at the Winterland Ballroom, an erstwhile ice skating rink which became a storied rock music venue with a capacity of some 5000. Sadly, Winterland was shuttered in 1979, but not until one final concert had taken place. For reasons ranging from its eight-hour length, to the line-up that included the Blues Brothers and the New Riders of the Purple Sage, to the almost-six-hour DVD – The Closing of Winterland – that was made to commemorate the event, this was easily the most famous of the Dead’s New Year’s shows, and the Deadhead Cyclist’s choice for T.W.I.G.D.H., as well as the best New Year’s Eve show of all time.
All Material Copyright 2020, 2021, 2022 and 2023 by Stewart Sallo