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 (5/13/73); Campus Stadium, UCSB, Santa Barbara (5/20/73); Kezar Stadium, San Francisco (5/26/73); and Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium, Washington, D.C. (6/9/73 & 6/10/73).
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 (who co-headlined the show).
“Here Comes Sunshine” runs $189.98 for the CD set (which is limited to 10,000 individually numbered copies) and $99.98-$124.98 for digital download ($124.98).
“RFK Stadium, Washington, D.C. (6/10/73)” is also being made available as a stand-alone collection, sold as a four-CD set ($39.98), digital download ($19.98-$24.98) and limited-edition eight-LP set ($174.98, beginning July 28).
Visit dead.net for more information on, or to purchase, these products.