Any Grateful Dead fan has at some point has listened to the Barton Hall show in the Spring 1977. Some prefer other Spring 1977 shows or other eras of the Dead, but most agree that something magical was going on that night. The show has reached such mythical proportions that the Grateful Dead finally did the show it’s due justice and released it earlier this week as part of a larger box set featuring an incredible run of shows from 5/5/1977 to 5/9/1977 entitled May 1977: Get Shown the Light. Variations of the box set, including a Cornell only 3-disc set can be streamed on Spotify or any of the other major streaming services.
So why all the fuss about the Cornell show? Here are some of the testimonials that the Dead have culled from the hundreds of reviews of the show:
“…the single best rock performance anywhere, anytime, by anyone.”
“There was just some kind of magical connection this night between the band members and the band and the audience – some texture, or some type of cosmic or celestial force is in the room.”
“This show is, was, and always will be Mecca.”
But the real proof is in the pudding. Sit back with your favorite beverage and enjoy this excellent Betty Board matrix of the show. Some of the better known highlights include possibly the best “Scarlet Begonias > Fire on the Mountain” of all time and “Morning Dew,” but the entire show from the opening energetic “New Minglewood Blues” to the “One More Saturday Night” encore is pure gold. A couple of other stand outs of the show include “Brown Eyed Women,” “Dancin’ in the Streets” and “Jack Straw.”
Leading up to the release of May 1977: Get Shown the Light, the Dead did a mini-documentary of the show featuring interviews from fans who attended the show. The first hand accounts of the show really are magical.
Here is the full setlist from 5/8/1977 Barton Hall, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY
Set 1
New Minglewood Blues
Loser
El Paso
They Love Each Other
Jack Straw
Deal
Lazy Lightning >
Supplication
Brown Eyed Women
Mama Tried
Row Jimmy
Dancin’ In The Streets
Set 2
Scarlet Begonias >
Fire On The Mountain
Estimated Prophet
Saint Stephen >
Not Fade Away >
Saint Stephen >
Morning Dew
Encore
One More Saturday Night
Thanks to Steve Maizner and Betty Cantor-Jackson for the recording!
