{"id":538,"date":"2021-05-16T18:08:04","date_gmt":"2021-05-16T18:08:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dev.nysmusic.com\/2021\/2021\/05\/16\/the-final-grateful-dead-show-at-barton-hall-may-16-1981\/"},"modified":"2021-05-16T18:08:04","modified_gmt":"2021-05-16T18:08:04","slug":"the-final-grateful-dead-show-at-barton-hall-may-16-1981","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dev.nysmusic.com\/2021\/2021\/05\/16\/the-final-grateful-dead-show-at-barton-hall-may-16-1981\/","title":{"rendered":"The Final Grateful Dead Show At Barton Hall: May 16, 1981"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

When terms like the Grateful Dead<\/a> and Barton Hall come up in conversation, there’s a good chance the show being discussed is the band’s venerable May 9, 1977 performance. But there were two other shows played at this field house on the campus of Cornell University in Ithaca, NY. The final one occurred 40 years ago today. Pound for pound, it can certainly hold its own with the legendary ’77 show. And it’s certainly one of finer shows from 1981. So much so that the band recently included it on their massive 30 Trips Around The Sun<\/em> box set that was released in 2015, 80 CDs worth of previously archived Dead shows celebrating the band’s lifespan. One listen shows why this was an easy choice for inclusion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This year, the Dead<\/a> take off from the starting blocks with “Feel Like A Stranger,” and Brent Mydland making his presence felt early with his electronic keyboards that are turned up way high in the mix. As the opener progresses, Jerry Garcia and the effects his guitar bring to the table rise to the top, giving it an injection of funk. For a song that had only been debuted weeks earlier at the Capitol Theater in Passaic, NJ, the groove is easy and seamless already, serving as the perfect opening salvo for this powerhouse show. Almost surprisingly, they decide to ease up immediately afterwards with a slowed down and soulful take of “Friend Of The Devil.” Mydland’s keyboard tone takes a turn for the heavens, lacing the Dead classic with an ethereal tone throughout. His efforts are rewarded with a spot for a solo and he produces a phenomenal one before handing the reigns back to Garcia. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The “Me And My Uncle” that follows finally gives Bob Weir a chance to take center stage and he navigates through the longtime Dead staple effortlessly. Mydland, still turned up plenty high in the mix, and Garcia go back and forth supplying the instrumental harmony for a band that sounds completely locked in. As was now Grateful Dead custom, once “Uncle” wraps up the drumbeat doesn’t stop and carries right over into a smoking “Big River,” highlighted by a jaw dropping run on the fretboard from Garcia. For gigs going as far back as 1978 and until 1982, these two songs would be joined at the hip just like this.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

One of the real high points of the first set is the “Althea” that follows. It’s Garcia at his peak, delivering both soulful lyrics and another poignant guitar solo. Bassist Phil Lesh adds some nice extra layering on a somewhat slower but certainly potent version.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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