Cool article about one of my first Dead shows- the epic 11/20/70 University of Rochester Palestra. Small basketball court, a few rows of bleachers on either side. Jack and Jorma showed up to jam, got done at 3:30 am. What more can I say?
The Grateful Dead
November 20, 1970
In what possibly is the most memorable concert in Palestra history, the Grateful Dead rocked the building with a concert that lasted until 3:30 a.m. and had fans screaming for more. After the second set, it was announced that “some friends from across town” had joined the party. Jefferson Airplane—like the Dead, a San Francisco Bay Area-based band—had been playing two miles away at the Community War Memorial. After their show ended, guitarists Jorma Kaukonen and Jack Casady learned the Dead were still playing and headed to the Palestra.
Freelance photographer Peter Corrigan remembers a “buzz passing through the crowd” after the Dead sang “Casey Jones.”
Grateful Dead playing in the Palestra, basketball in the background.
From left, Jerry Garcia, Phil Lesh, Jorma Kaukonen, and Bob Weir as members of the Grateful Dead and Jefferson Airplane jam in the Palestra in 1970. (vintagerockandrollphotos.com / Peter Corrigan)
“Casady could be seen behind the Dead’s amplifiers, and when some in the crowd noticed him, (Dead guitarist) Phil Lesh began playing the opening bass line to ‘White Rabbit,’’’ Corrigan remembers. “Jorma came on stage with his guitar, did some tuning, and then they launched into the incredible jam. It was an unforgettable evening.”
Kaukonen and Casady jammed with the Dead for a few songs, including “It’s All Over Now” and “Reelin’ and Rockin,” before an excited crowd.
“It was incredible,” says Jeffrey Newcorn ’73, ’77M (MD), now a psychiatrist in Greenwich, Connecticut, who reviewed the concert for the Campus Times. “I was a Dead freak, and there they were, right on campus! It was phenomenal. And then to have members of the Airplane join them? The jam session was fantastic, just an amazing moment.”
So amazing, in fact, that Rolling Stone magazine ranked it the ninth greatest jam at a Grateful Dead concert.
The Dead would return 11 months later, on October 26, 1971. Fans waited three hours outside the Palestra and were treated to a two-and-a-half-hour show.
The Grateful Dead
November 20, 1970
In what possibly is the most memorable concert in Palestra history, the Grateful Dead rocked the building with a concert that lasted until 3:30 a.m. and had fans screaming for more. After the second set, it was announced that “some friends from across town” had joined the party. Jefferson Airplane—like the Dead, a San Francisco Bay Area-based band—had been playing two miles away at the Community War Memorial. After their show ended, guitarists Jorma Kaukonen and Jack Casady learned the Dead were still playing and headed to the Palestra.
Freelance photographer Peter Corrigan remembers a “buzz passing through the crowd” after the Dead sang “Casey Jones.”
Grateful Dead playing in the Palestra, basketball in the background.
From left, Jerry Garcia, Phil Lesh, Jorma Kaukonen, and Bob Weir as members of the Grateful Dead and Jefferson Airplane jam in the Palestra in 1970. (vintagerockandrollphotos.com / Peter Corrigan)
“Casady could be seen behind the Dead’s amplifiers, and when some in the crowd noticed him, (Dead guitarist) Phil Lesh began playing the opening bass line to ‘White Rabbit,’’’ Corrigan remembers. “Jorma came on stage with his guitar, did some tuning, and then they launched into the incredible jam. It was an unforgettable evening.”
Kaukonen and Casady jammed with the Dead for a few songs, including “It’s All Over Now” and “Reelin’ and Rockin,” before an excited crowd.
“It was incredible,” says Jeffrey Newcorn ’73, ’77M (MD), now a psychiatrist in Greenwich, Connecticut, who reviewed the concert for the Campus Times. “I was a Dead freak, and there they were, right on campus! It was phenomenal. And then to have members of the Airplane join them? The jam session was fantastic, just an amazing moment.”
So amazing, in fact, that Rolling Stone magazine ranked it the ninth greatest jam at a Grateful Dead concert.
The Dead would return 11 months later, on October 26, 1971. Fans waited three hours outside the Palestra and were treated to a two-and-a-half-hour show.
"Do not write so that you can be understood, write so that you cannot be misunderstood." -Epictetus
First show: 8/16/69 (Woodstock)
Last show: 3/19/95 (Unbroken Chain breakout)
Member of the Four-Decade Club
Charter Member, President & CEO of OAD (Order of the Ancient Deadheads)
First show: 8/16/69 (Woodstock)
Last show: 3/19/95 (Unbroken Chain breakout)
Member of the Four-Decade Club
Charter Member, President & CEO of OAD (Order of the Ancient Deadheads)
