50 years ago today

Your rain falls like crazy fingers
Peals of fragile thunder keeping time
Recall the days that still are to come some sing blue.
Hang your heart on laughing willow stray
Down to the water, deep sea of love
beneath the sweet calm face of the sea swift undertow.

I always liked the formality of Bill Graham's band member introductions: Mr. Keith Godchaux, Mr. Mickey Hart, Mr. Philip Lesh, Mr. Bob Weir, Mr, Bill Kreutzmann, Mrs. Donna Jean Godchaux, Mr. Jerry Garcia.

I always liked how Mr. Phil Lesh and Osiris steadily built up the thump behind bill's band member introductions 

well, there are actually a lot of things to like about it

those are probably just the first two

When I finally caught a show at GAMH a couple of years ago (Ry Cooder, Taj Mahal, and Joachim Cooder), I gained a greater appreciation for how intimate a venue it is.  Seeing this Grateful Dead show in that space in 1975 must have blown some minds.

Got me on the intro... always a buzz. Not sure it was ever nailed like that before or since. 
X-Factor 

Solid performance reflective of time spent in the studio that year.

Then there is that HQ thing. Not a lot of shows circulation then of that quality. That skews opinions sometimes. Stands the test of time and then some in this case. 

My personal favorite show.

"On lead guitar and vocals, Mr. Jerry Garcia, will you welcome please the Grateful Dead . . ."

^ I second that. It was always so "reliable."

Crazy Fingers soundcheck...

https://www.jambase.com/article/grateful-dead-crazy-fingers-one-from-the-vault-soundcheck

Great show. Great venue. I heard it was alot of record exec types though, in anticipation of the new album. So tickets for the masses were probably few and far between... Setlist, including new tight instrumental jams, very cool. And such a good tape. I've mentioned before that '75 was their best year because there was not a bad show, and this is one of the greatest. 

I'd like to acquire one of those cordial invitations...

the actual invitation sez:  Al Teller (President UA Records) and Ron Rakow (President Round Records) cordially invite...

How about one of these invitations:

https://www.dead.net/archives/1974/clippings/invitation-round-records-release-party

John Mayer wasn't born yet.

I really wish they filmed this or that some video existed... but I guess with the GD Movie pushing them to the brink of bankruptcy and the time involved in putting that together, filming was not an option.

I always liked the formality of Bill Graham's band member introductions: From Lost Live Dead....

The actual introduction was longer, and was elided for the release, but it was part of the radio broadcast.  Graham said "Before the show, I was offered 25 dollars to announce the band by Mr. Ron Rakow. I flipped a coin for double or nothing and won. We flipped a coin again, and I won, so I am being paid 100 dollars to introduce the band.

Lost Live Dead..reader Dave checked in. He picks up the story here, one of the few civilians to have actually witnessed the show.  Dave, having heard about the show by chance the night before, was not going to miss it:   

I was at the River City club [in Fairfax] on 8/12/75 seeing the Rowan Brothers and Phil was at the bar. This was the night before the Dead's Great American Music Hall show. I understand Phil had just come from their dress rehearsal at the gamh. We heard about the next night's Dead show while we were there. We went down in hopes of getting in. We heard the first set from outside. During the break many journalists who probably had to be there but didn't really want to, started leaving and would hand their invitations to us waiting fans. I think there were maybe 25 people trying to get it. I managed to get one but when I got to the door the guy asked who I got the invite from. I had to think quick because the wrong answer would mean not getting in and having the invitation taken away. I said Anton Round was the one who invited me and he let me in. I was able to see most of the second set but had to leave before the end as i was catching a plane home. 

I'd like to acquire one of those cordial invitations>>> 

 As I left I asked at the door if I could have an invitation as a keep sake and he said ok as long as I didn't give it to someone else. I still have it to this day.  I wouldn't give it away, either.

As a result of the broadcasts, many pristine copies of the tape circulated in an era when few tapes were available. The best of the bootleg companies, TAKRL (The Amazing Kornyfone Record Label), put out a nice sounding double lp. In the 70s, very few people had cassette decks, and bootleg lps were hugely influential in spreading music, titled the Make Believe Ballroom.

    . So, where's Mickey Hart?

Photos from the show by Patti Healy:

Phil and Donna seem to be inhabiting some very different spaces in that last shot.

Phil was there to make music not fuck spiders

I had a bootleg album of this show. "Make Believe Ballroom" It got a lot of spins on the old turntable.

The full introduction by mr Graham is in the SBD in the first post

introductions and telling about betting on the price for the gig 

One From The Vault's intro is the truncated version 

I taped it off the air on KSAN.   Couldn't get in - nobody could get in.  Except a friend - she got in.