Larry Groce for NPR – May 14 is my “Deadiversary.” It’s the first time I saw the legendary group Grateful Dead. It was on that date in 1970 at what was then-called Meramec Community College, outside of St Louis. It wasn’t until years later that I went back and found that show in the extensive Grateful Dead archive and checked out the set list. Funny enough, the band played two of the three songs in this set we put together from the Mountain Stagearchives, “Attics of My Life” and “New Speedway Boogie.” In fact, on the site I’m looking at, it says “First ‘Attics,'” so it seems I was there the very first time that song was performed live. I’m sure any Dead enthusiast will dig these arrangements of popular Garcia/Hunter co-writes, but even if you don’t know “Dark Star” from Star Wars, I think you’ll enjoy them just as much.
In 2006, we did a show at West Virginia’s famous Greenbrier Hotel & Resort, which was the first time we worked with the incredible vocalist Catherine Russell. You’ll hear Cat and her band do a cool, stripped-down, jazzy version of “New Speedway Boogie.”