Didn’t score those much-sought-after ducats to see the final Dead & Company shows at Oracle Park in San Francisco?
Well, you could join the throngs outside the venue for those three nights, July 14-16, and hope for a “miracle” ticket or two. Or you could stay home and just crank up some good ol’ Grateful Dead with the excellent new “Here Comes Sunshine 1973” box set.The 17-CD collection, which is also available in digital download format, captures the mighty Dead in the spring of ’73 as the band makes its way through the final five shows of a tour in brilliant fashion.
These previously unreleased recordings hail from the Iowa State Fairgrounds, Des Moines ; Campus Stadium, UCSB, Santa Barbara ; Kezar Stadium, San Francisco ; and Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium, Washington, D.C. . All of the shows are keepers, of course. Yet, the one that stands out from the pack is that second RFK Stadium concert, a legendary gig that ran nearly five hours and featured performances from Dickey Betts and Butch Trucks of the Allman Brothers Band .