The Grateful Dead—University Memorial Center Ballroom, Boulder, CO, April 13, 1969

w/Conal Implosion and Light Show by the Bulb

Not a hell of a lot was going down musically in Boulder in the sixties. The one band that did originate in Boulder—the bluesy hard rock group Zephyr, featuring Tommy Bolin and Candy Givens—often claimed that they were the only band in town. Denver had a more interesting live music history. Beginning in the late 1950s, there was a modest jazz scene in the Five Points neighborhood, which hosted international acts such as Louis Armstrong and Duke Ellington. By the mid-’60s, smaller clubs like the Exodus, Catacombs, and The Cave featured up-and-coming bands playing psychedelic folk and rock on the weekends.

In 1967, Chet Helms opened a branch of the Family Dog on 1601 West Evans Avenue in an effort to compete effectively with Bill Graham. It was a very clever idea, providing touring bands with a paying show partway to San Francisco. Locals were greeted to many national acts including Jimi Hendrix, Blue Cheer, Cream, Buffalo Springfield, and Big Brother & the Holding Company. Unfortunately, the Denver sheriff, with the support of the political establishment, harassed Helms incessantly and the Dog closed its doors in July of 1968.

The Grateful Dead, always the pioneers, did venture to Boulder in the spring of 1969. The event was billed as “The Third Ball for Peace,” a combination light show and dance. The unique Boulder gig seems to have been a throw-in following shows at the University of Arizona and Utah before the boys headed to Omaha (The Music Box), St. Louis (The Quadrangle at Washington University), and Purdue’s Memorial Union Ballroom the following week. Playing the tiny University of Colorado Boulder’s student union ballroom was probably just gigging for food and gas money. Lord knows the Dead were used to this practice—a necessity of the road, and something they had done time and again since their early Acid Test days.

The tape opens with a 25-minute (and incomplete) Turn On Your Lovelight. The band takes its sweet time warming up, building to some solid Pigpen crowdwork to get the vibe on for the evening. After an abbreviated Doin' That Rag courtesy of a tape cut, Weir asks "Hey, do you want it now or later?" The now is another dose of McKernan, and a palatial Good Morning Little Schoolgirl with some fat harp work from the Pigger. The final 54 minutes of set one is very compelling. Dark Star kicks it off. The playing is stunning, and the small post-verse tape gap—as the ensemble is accelerating toward oblivion—is barely noticeable. One of 13 stellar Dark Star outings during April, it’s exciting to hear the evolving group conversations and new spaces opening. Drums are becoming a more fixed part of the song with both Kreutzman and Hart adding significantly to the mix. On tonight’s take, the drummers ride their cymbals for a bit, before bringing in their kits for some swinging jams with Garcia, Lesh, & Weir. The segue into St. Stephen is efficient and is met with animated applause. The version is lively, with ample Garcia fills, fuzz-toned Weir flourishes, and curious ornamental rants from Constanten’s Vox. The Eleven that emerges has a relaxed, almost laidback feel. It picks up considerably with an extremely tight post-verse jam before landing sweetly onto Death Don’t Have No Mercy. The dynamic on this last tune is close to perfect—an electric, blues-drenched doxology, both ruminative and deeply psychedelic.

After almost two hours, the band takes a set break. When they return to the stage, we get 14 minutes of Alligator with a short Garcia/drummers jam, some chanting, more jamming, and a We Bid You Goodnight theme before the tape cuts off.

The next time the Dead played in Colorado was three months later at a joint called Reed’s Ranch in Colorado Springs. It would be their last small venue gig in the Centennial State. Two spring of ‘70 shows at the newly opened 3500 capacity Mammoth Gardens in Denver set the bar for future performances, which included the renowned 1972 Folsom Field concert, two smoking Denver Coliseum shows in ‘73, and a host of performances from 1977-1994 at McNichols Sports Arena and Red Rocks Amphitheatre.

But, we can’t forget that before the big stadium cash cows started to roll in, the Grateful Dead were living hand to mouth and scrambling to find paying gigs. Even by 1969, most paying performances were on Friday and Saturday nights. That being so, this Sunday night in Boulder was a bonus payday for the band. And, thanks to Bear, we’ll always have this one in our ‘69 playlist. Try it out, it’s tastier than a Denver omelet.

Owsley tape