The Grateful Dead played a brief 10-show tour in September of 1973 and included among these was a stop at the Onondaga County War Memorial in Syracuse. This tour featured the one and only time the band would be joined by a horn section on stage. Tenor saxaphonist Martin Fierro and trumpeter Joe Ellis were familiar with some of the Dead’s catalog, mainly due to their involvement with the recording of the band’s sixth studio album Wake of the Flood, which would be released the following month.
As it happens, Fierro and Ellis were members of The Doug Sahm Band which served as the opener for eight of these shows. Since they were already on tour with the Dead, a sit-in seemed only natural. According to Fierro, the horns were not incredibly well received at the time as this was a stray from the standard Grateful Dead concert experience. But their knowledge of the material is evident and offers a unique twist on some of the classic songs from the band’s repertoire. On this evening in Syracuse, with the exception of “Here Comes Sunsine,” the entirety of Wake of the Flood would be played, serving as a sneak peek for the new album.
The recording of this show, which can be found below, doesn’t start until the tail end of the “Tennessee Jed” opener. The Dead follow this up with a blistering “Me and My Uncle” with Phil Lesh coming in loud and clear on the bass guitar. This is succeeded by another first set staple with an uptempo version of “They Love Each Other” which made its debut earlier this year and is highlighted by some delicious guitar licks from Jerry Garcia and timely fills from Keith Godchaux on piano. It’s a short, but sweet, take and very much to the point.
Some classic Dead tuning then takes place with Bob Weir advising the crowd about a “couple of technical problems” before the band launches into an older first set standard with their cover of “Beat It On Down The Line.” Here, Donna Jean Godchaux makes her voice heard for the first time as she and Weir harmonize throughout on another crisp albeit brief opening set selection. The musical reigns are then passed back to Garcia who leads the band through a slow and soulful “Sugaree” with Lesh coming in hot on bass towards the song’s end.
Weir then reassumes lead vocals on another rapid first set song in “Mexicali Blues” that the Dead navigate through with ease before “Loser,” which is also partially cut on the recording and has some echoey vocal effects from Garcia to along with his signature pristine guitar solo. This sets the stage for a poignant “Looks Like Rain,” a song first featured on Bob Weir’s solo album Ace that was released last year. It features some interesting synthesizer and electric keyboard work from Godchaux that supplements Weir’s always impassioned vocals nicely.
Things stay in the emotional vein with a slow and plodding “Row Jimmy” that follows with Garcia, backed by Donna Jean on vocals, leading the way and drummer Bill Kreutzmann maintaining a deliberately steady tempo throughout. A little steam begins to pick up with the “Jack Straw” that follows which sees more intricate piano work from Godchaux to go along with some three-part vocal harmonies before Garcia leads the way on another fairly new number in “Loose Lucy” which also made its debut earlier this year.
Donna Jean even gets to take center stage in this opening set in Syracuse as she jumps on lead vocals for the Grateful Dead’s cover of Loretta Lynn’s “You Ain’t Woman Enough.” It’s a song the band would only play a handful of times in 1973 and this is the second to last ever performance of it with her husband throwing in some spirited work on piano. This carries right over into the “El Paso” that follows before the Dead end the first set at the War Memorial with the Robert Hunter and Garcia-penned “Casey Jones” that starts off rather mellow but, like a train barreling downhill, picks up in speed and intensity by the time all is sang and done.
After a chock full first set with 15 different songs played, the Dead opened up and let loose with a much more improvisational second one on this night in Syracuse and finally broke out the horn section. After an introductory “Mississippi Half-Step Uptown Toodleoo,” Martin Fierro and Joe Ellis finally emerge for the majority of the rest of the show. They begin with a rather unknown tune at the time, “Let Me Sing Your Blues Away,” which would be featured on the upcoming Wake of the Flood release. Garcia, Weir and Donna Jean are all involved on vocals with Fierro taking an extended saxophone solo that helps serve as the song’s bridge. It’s a song the band would only play live on this brief September 1973 tour.
Phil Lesh then gives a belated and quick introduction of Fierro and Ellis before the start of “Truckin’” which has a bouncier, jazzy feel to at the outset thanks to the additions from each. The horns maintain a steady presence all throughout the composed section and well into the jam that ensues. It’s a song that had been played three times already on this tour so there’s a discernable comfort level in the playing which makes for a very unique take on a Grateful Dead classic that sees Fierro and Godchaux linking up to take control in the latter portion of the jam that ensues.
The ensemble would go on to play some more songs from Flood, including “Eyes of the World” with Fierro and Ellis continuing to provide background harmonies on horns, especially in the purely instrumental sections between verses. Fierro gets an extended solo as the jam progresses and meshes nicely with the rest of the band although Ellis sounds a bit too excited and a bit off key before Garcia reels things back in to a more customary “Eyes” jam. Once finished, the band then jumps right into a full “Weather Report Suite” where the horns are much more understated and seem to fit a little better. The same can be said for the beginning of “Let It Grow” as Fierro and Ellis are comfortable with the composed/lyrical section but seem to do a little too much once the jam that ensues begins to stretch out a little.
The Grateful Dead wrap up this Syracuse show with a mellow and somber “Stella Blue” that sees Fierro on sax mesh perfectly with Garcia’s guitar tone. After one last tuning break, this one seemingly inspired by the Looney Tunes theme, a “Sugar Magnolia” closes things out with the horns taking a bit of a back seat at first and then coming alive in the “Sunshine Daydream” section.
Overall, there are moments of greatness, mainly during compositional and slower sections, but the horns seem to try to do a bit too much when the improvisation kicks into high gear. This is likely what led to some Deadheads being less than enthused about their addition to a traditional Grateful Dead show. This brief tour would go on to Philadelphia and Pittsburgh, PA before ending in Buffalo at the War Memorial nine days later.
Grateful Dead – Onondaga County War Memorial – Syracuse, NY – September 17, 1973
Set 1: Tennessee Jed, Me & My Uncle, They Love Each Other, Beat It On Down The Line, Sugaree, Mexicali Blues, Loser, Looks Like Rain, Row Jimmy, Jack Straw, Loose Lucy, You Ain’t Woman Enough, El Paso, Casey Jones
Set 2: Mississippi Half Step, Let Me Sing*, Truckin’*-> Eyes Of The World*-> Weather Report Suite Prelude*-> Weather Report Suite Part 1*-> Let It Grow*-> Stella Blue, Sugar Magnolia
*with Joe Ellis on trumpet and Martin Fierro on saxophone
