Set 1: Don't Ease Me In [1] , Mama Tried > Mexicali Blues , Jack-A-Roe , Looks Like Rain , They Love Each Other , Minglewood Blues , Stagger Lee , Cassidy [2] , Peggy-O [2] , The Music Never Stopped [2]

Set 2: Scarlet Begonias [2] > Fire On The Mountain [2] , Dancin' In The Streets > Drums > Space > Black Peter [2] > I Need A Miracle > Bertha > Good Lovin' [2]

Encore: U.S. Blues [2]

[1] Last known performance (by GD) 1974-08-06 (215 events ago) [2] Not present on any circulating sources.

  • All circulating sources are incomplete and order is uncertain (the placement of Miracle > Bertha at the end of the second set)

  • Weather:

High: 29.9 °F

Low: 11.9 °F

Feels Like High: 29.0 °F

Feels Like Low: -1.4 °F

Wind Speed: 18.3 mph

Humidity: 76.0 %

Moonphase: 0.35 

Clearing in the afternoon.

Show Certainty Confirmed

Setlist Certainty Uncertain Setlist

Sellout Yes

  • In Steve Parish's book Home Before Daylight he talks about this show as the one where Jerry ate four valiums before the show. His performance definitely deteriorates during the set. Stagger Lee through Bertha is pretty bad. Also discussed on the Big Steve Hour, February 5, 2020, around 8:39 for a few minutes. #SteveParrish
  •   Rare that you can't find a full audience as late as 1979. Guess the tapers were as "dead tired" as theband.  The highlight was the first "Don't Ease Me In" since Roosevelt 8-6-74. In the spirit of incompleteness, it is missing the first minute.  I saw some fun shows in January 1979 (unfortunately none of the Dark Star shows), which I will review in time on this blog, and February Midwest dates include some great night  (See Dick's Pick18, Scarlet>Fire and the double-long Samson  oops  Ripple Earthdevil reminded me this was 1978, no official releases from 12/31/78 Winterland to 5/4/79 Hampton). But even Bobby says, "meh" to the student reporter here the day after the show. Tired? Maybe tired of the fighting? And touring Illinois in February is far less fun than the summer I am sure.  I saw 19 Grateful Dead concerts in 1979 but I missed this one.  History only captures 75 minutes of soundboard, and no audience tapes to date as the Keith and Donna era was in winding down.
  • Fare Thee Well was my only Midwest Dead experience, but there were certainly fans in Illinois, with 76 shows played between  the Electric Theater on April 25, 1969 and July 24, 1994 at Soldier Field. This was the only performance at the University of Southern Illinois, and the students were ecstatic.#gratefulsecounds