GOOD OL' GRATEFUL DEADCAST
Episode: Here Comes Sunshine: RFK Stadium, 6/73
Released: June 1, 2023

Episode Overview

This episode of the Good Ol’ Grateful Deadcast is the season seven finale and dives deep into two legendary Grateful Dead concerts at RFK Stadium in Washington, D.C., held on June 9 and 10, 1973. These shows, featuring the Allman Brothers Band as co-headliners, marked the culmination of the band’s transformative spring 1973 tour and are now part of the “Here Comes Sunshine” box set. With firsthand accounts, archival interviews, fan stories, and expert insights, the episode explores the music and legacy of these unique megagigs, the technical innovations behind their sound, and the confluence of two titans of American rock.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

The "Here Comes Sunshine" Box Set & RFK Stadium Shows

[04:34]

• Scope of the Release: Includes five previously unreleased concerts from Spring 1973, with the two RFK shows as the grand finale.
• Significance of RFK: First time the Dead played a major East Coast stadium, co-headlining with the Allmans in a setting that required an unprecedented sound system.

“We’ve got May 13 through June 10. We’ve got four weeks of Grateful Dead spread over five weekends with some of the best and most inspired Grateful Dead I’ve ever heard.” – David Lemieux [04:48]

The Dead & Allmans: Parallel Histories and Collaborations

[07:03, 08:06, 09:39]

• Historical Intertwining: Both bands valued the live performance as their core experience, not just album sales or singles. Approaches were marked by improvisation, shared jams, and mutual admiration.
• Missed Opportunities: Multiple planned co-headlining gigs between the Dead and Allman Brothers, with more thwarted by tragedy and logistical issues than realized. The RFK concerts represented the fulfillment of years of plans.

“They were just sort of doing it as they went… They really did still view live performance as their bread and butter.” – Alan Paul [08:06]

The Scene: Stadium Innovation, "Mega Gigs," and the Wall of Sound

[05:35, 28:29, 30:19]

• Technical Evolution: Owsley “Bear” Stanley’s work on the sound system was revolutionary, with the RFK shows being a prototype for what would soon become the famed Wall of Sound.
• Growing Pains: The Dead faced logistical and existential challenges as their scale increased – immense PA systems, ballooning crews, financial stress, as well as the trade-off between intimacy and mass experience.

“We got into sort of a spiral scene where we have a lot of employees and a huge overhead… To pay for it all, we had to play bigger places… In order to play bigger places and get decent sound, we had to buy a bigger PA.” – Bob Weir [30:19]

Vivid Memories: Fans and Firsthand Experiences

[41:48, 45:22, 47:14, 51:53, 54:51, 88:48, 92:54]

• Fans share stories of traveling to RFK by train or car (including with nitrous tanks!), camping in parking lots, and enduring intense heat and emotional highs and lows.
• Saturday, June 9: Kicked off with Doug Sahm, then three hours of the Dead, highlighted by “Promised Land”, “Deal”, “Looks Like Rain”, and a unique second set jam.
• Sunday, June 10: Known as one of the longest Dead shows ever (4 hours 40 minutes). Features “Morning Dew” as a show opener—rare and emotionally resonant.

“It felt like I was walking into a Roman amphitheater about to be slaughtered on the floor… with my heart and mind torn apart. I was holding steady, rough steady and calm as I could be, already seasoned and ready to withstand whatever fate delivered to me.” – Dano O’Hanklin [46:39]

The Music: Highlights and Setlist Analysis

Saturday, June 9

• Set 1: “Promised Land”, “Deal”, “Looks Like Rain”, “Loose Lucy” (last early version), “Big River”.
• Set 2: Tight, energetic jams including “Eyes of the World” (peaking “sonic sculpture” version) and “China Doll”.
• Crowd & Chaos: Fans attempting to scale the stage, Christmas lights ripped down, communal but chaotic energy.

“The concert, as per usual, or per often, was a tapestry of darker and lighter themes... reminding me that hey, [shit] happens, man. But there’s a good side too.” – Dano O’Hanklin [52:25]

Sunday, June 10
[88:48, 89:58, 92:54, 94:18, 101:16]

• Set 1: “Morning Dew” opener, rare and powerful; “Wave That Flag” (last version before morphing into “U.S. Blues”); “Bird Song”, “Playing in the Band”.
• Set 2: Begins with “Eyes of the World”, features extended, jazzy “Jam in 7”, haunting “Stella Blue”, and monumental “Dark Star” loaded with “Philo stomp” from Phil Lesh.
• Super Jam / Set 3: Grateful Dead join by Dickey Betts (Allmans), Chuck Leavell, Butch Trucks, possibly Merle Saunders and others for “It Takes a Lot to Laugh, It Takes a Train to Cry,” “That’s All Right, Mama,” “Not Fade Away,” “Goin’ Down the Road Feeling Bad,” “Drums,” etc.

“I feel that this second set, third set, Super Jam, is some of the most inspired Grateful Dead music I’ve ever heard.” – David Lemieux [114:05]

Allman Brothers Band Perspective

[62:23-64:18]

• Their post-Duane lineup, featuring Dickey Betts and Chuck Leavell, won over Deadheads with tight playing and a distinct sound.
• Played nearly identical setlists each night, but delivered spirited performances.
• Legendary Onstage Moment: Rumors of “Eat a Peach” scented incense, and discussion of the collaborative encore jam, even if lineups are still debated to this day.

“Oh, I remember them being really tight. Greg Allman’s just incredible. And I didn’t know quite what to expect without Duane Allman, but I was not disappointed at all.” – Jay Curley [63:08]

Behind the Scenes: Tapers, Crews, and Rock’n’Roll Chaos

[79:53, 83:23, 85:56, 86:23]

• Early tapers describe DIY efforts to document the shows, hiding microphones, smuggling in poles, and even holding tape machines while disguised as pregnant.
• Crew logistics, food and drink antics (a promoter gets pasta dumped on him for failing to provide steak/beer), and near disasters (a shade cloth fire extinguished by spraying beer bottles) illustrate the wild and woolly nature of staging a 1973 Dead show.
• Crew politics flare up: a Capricorn Records promoter is beaten by Allmans roadies during a stage access dispute.

“The worst thing that can happen to a concert is the eggs are cold in the morning… and that’s basically what happened at RFK.” – Bunky Odom [73:25]

Cultural & Personal Impact

[119:04 – 120:03]

• Content Warning: The podcast does not shy away from the dark realities and dangers at the periphery of large festivals, sharing a harrowing account of sexual assault outside the stadium.
• Tales of sleeping outside, missing wallets, and lost tapes, juxtaposed with the lasting power of the music and Dead-community glow.

“Headphones and music help, you’re on the train. But secretly you’re saying, I just saw the Grateful Dead and you didn’t… that glow lasts for a while.” – Ihors Labicki [125:12]

Memorable Quotes & Moments (with Timestamps)

• On stadium scale & the Wall of Sound:
  “You can look at photos of RFK and you can see the prototype of the wall of sound.” – David Lemieux [28:29]

• On the 'mega gig' experience:
  “The experience… got to be one that was totally controlled… airplanes to motel, motel to gig, backstage, heavy security, nobody near the stage, you know.” – Jerry Garcia [32:39]

• On the spirit of collaboration:
  “I think the Dead and the Allmans had a kinship, and they played music in a very similar way… they let the music guide them.” – David Lemieux [114:05]

• Fan experience:
  “We had this giant [nitrous] tank, and we said, oh great, we’ll take the tank with us. Of course you’re going to see the dead, you got to take the tank.” – Ihors Labicki [42:49]

• On Morning Dew opener (June 10):
  “That show, all of a sudden, the show opened up with Morning Dew—it was mind blowing to most of us… we sort of should have known that it was going to be extra special.” – Brian Schiff [90:19]

Important Segments & Timestamps

| Time | Segment | |---------|-----------------------------------------------------------------------| | 04:34 | Overview of the RFK shows and Here Comes Sunshine box set | | 07:03 | Introduction to Allman Brothers Band’s relation with the Dead | | 28:29 | Discussion of stadium scale and the Wall of Sound | | 41:48 | Firsthand fan accounts—arriving at the stadium, road stories | | 54:51 | Saturday setlist breakdown (Deal, Looks Like Rain, Loose Lucy, etc.) | | 88:48 | Sunday show—heat, exhaustion, apples as the “breakfast of champions” | | 91:00 | The rare “Morning Dew” opener—emotional impact | | 101:16 | “Stella Blue”, stadium echo, and audience tape specialness | | 104:08 | "Dark Star" and its significance in the set | | 110:09 | The Super Jam: Dead + Allmans + others | | 119:04 | Difficult events on the festival periphery (content warning) |

Final Reflections

The two nights at RFK Stadium in June 1973 capture the Grateful Dead at an exhilarating and transitional moment: both technically (laying groundwork for the Wall of Sound), musically (fluid setlists, rare song arrangements, inter-band jamming), and culturally (fan immersion, chaos, and communal highs and lows). The collaboration with the Allman Brothers brought together parallel countercultural forces in a setting that was both innovative and fraught with the perils and joys of the era’s festival culture.

For Deadheads, scholars, and the merely curious, this episode encapsulates not just two great gigs but the arc of American rock’s evolution in the early 1970s.

“We’d like to thank our guests in this episode Bunky Odom, Buddy Thornton, Ron Wickersham, Alan Trist, Ben Haller, Peter Rowan… and all the Dead family, past and present.” [128:44]

Links to further reading, rare tapes, and the full Here Comes Sunshine release are available at dead.net/deadcast.