After five months of 'retirement' the Grateful Dead returned to the stage at this benefit concert in San Francisco on March 23, 1975. While they were billed as 'Jerry Garcia and Friends' and Ned Lagin and Merl Saunders were sitting in, this performance was seen by most as confirming the rumors that the Grateful Dead's retirement was ending. 

I will leave it to you to imagine what it must have been like to have been in the audience and heard this wonderful piece of psychedelic music for the first time. Completely instrumental they blew the crowd away with the musicianship displayed here. 

When they finished, they broke out a spectacular 'Johnny B Goode' for good measure. 

 

Grateful Dead Kezar Stadium San Francisco, CA 3/23/1975 - Sunday      One     Blues For Allah > Stronger Than Dirt Or Milkin' The Turkey > Drums > Stronger Than Dirt Or Milkin' The Turkey > Blues For Allah Encore     Johnny B. Goode 

Extra: a pre-show radio interview with Jerry Garcia      Merl Saunders and Ned Lagin sat in for complete Dead set  

You can listen to this week's Deadpod here: 

http://traffic.libsyn.com/deadshow/deadpod033123.mp3 

 

"The sun will shine in my back door someday March winds will blow all my troubles away"